A Saviour is Born Part 1
Memory Verse
Luke 2:11
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord.
The men whom God used to write down the books of the New Testament used the Greek language. Later the Bible was translated into English and other languages. The word “Christ” comes from a Greek word “Christos.” It means “The Anointed One.”
In Old Testament times when a king was crowned, oil was poured on his head to show that he was chosen and set apart by God for this special work. Jesus Christ was anointed and set apart by God for the special work of taking away the sin of the world and bringing everlasting life to man. When we say “Christ”, we mean the One whom God sent from Heaven to be the Saviour of the world.
The word “Lord” means master. In some countries where they have kings and queens, the title of Lord is given to certain men. In some countries tribal lords or heads of government still have the power over those who live in the land. Over 600 times in the New Testament Jesus is called Lord. When we call Him Lord we mean that we havegiven Him the right to rule over us. He made us and He died for us. When we say “Jesus is my Lord,” we mean that we have given Him control over our lives so that He may do as He thinks is best with us. Even when we do not understand, we will love and trust Him.
After Joseph and Mary were married they lived in the little village of Nazareth in Galilee. About 700 years before this God had done something else as a preparation for the coming of the Saviour. Through one of the prophets (Micah 5:2) He said the Saviour should be born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem was about 60 miles away from Nazareth, a long way when all the travelling had to be done on foot or on a donkey.
Mary and Joseph would not be taking that long trip just to visit, for it would mean that Joseph would be away from his carpenter’s shop for many days, and it would be a very tiring trip for them. So they would stay in Nazareth unless there was a good reason for them to go to Bethlehem.
But God watches over His Word. Every bit of it is perfectly true and will come to pass just as He has said. In those days the Roman emperor ruled a lot of the world, including the land of Palestine. Those from Abraham’s race did not like the Roman soldiers who were stationed throughout the land, but they had to obey their orders.
While God was preparing the world for the coming of the Saviour, He moved the heart of the Roman emperor to send out an order saying that everyone had to go back to the city where they were born in order to be registered. This was done so they could be told how much tax they would have to pay to the Roman government.
Both Mary and Joseph belonged to the royal family of David. Bethlehem was called the city of David. So Mary and Joseph had to make the long trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be registered there and pay their tax. It would have taken them several days to make the trip. When they arrived, they found the city was crowded. All the places to sleep were full so there was no place for them to stay except a stable.