Romanticizing the Birth of Jesus

Romanticizing the Birth of Jesus

Stes de Necker

What does this picture remind you of?

Of course, Christmas and the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But do we actually understand the amount of pain and suffering that lie hidden in this well known nativity scene?

Nowhere in the Bible do we find another woman with which so much praise and respect is spoken about. In Luke. 1: 28 we read: "And the angel came unto her, and said:" I greet you, favored one! The Lord is with you " and in Luke. 1: 42 "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb."

Most nativity scenes are depicted and romanticized as that of a mother who has given birth to her firstborn child in a stable near the town of Bethlehem, with Angels singing and the stars that were shining.    

The truth is that the story of the birth of Christ was written in blood and deep suffering written.

In the eyes of the Jewish people of that time, Jesus' birth was in fact the result of one of the greatest sins that a Jewish girl could commit, and that was being with a man before marriage.

In Luke 2: 5 we read: "... Mary, his fiance, who was pregnant, went with him to enroll themselves".

Now see this against the backdrop of what is written in Deuteronomy 22: 21.  “.... She should die because she committed an outrageous thing in Israel, when she had sexual intercourse with a man while she was still unmarried. " 

In the Old Testament it is clear that any sex outside marriage was a heinous sin in the sight of the God.

In the New Testament in Matthew 1: 18 we read:  "When His mother was betrothed to Joseph, before they were married, it turned out that she was pregnant. The pregnancy came of the Holy Spirit. Her fiance, Joseph, who was faithful to the Law of Moses, did not want to be shamed in public and resolved to end the engagement.”

According to the factual analysis between Luke 2: 5 and Matthew 1: 18, it appears that Joseph and Mary were married after they arrived in Bethlehem, but before Jesus was born. Although Jesus therefore illegitimate conceived, he was born within wedlock.

Joseph knew it was not his child because he was obedient to God and never had sex with Mary before. That is also confirmed by the fact that she was still a virgin at the time of Jesus’ birth.

In Biblical times, engagement had a much more significant meaning than what is the case today.

Joseph could not see his betrothal to Mary as justification to break God's command.

Although there exist no confirmation in the Bible that Mary did fear for her life, it is only natural to believe that both Josef and Mary had to fear for Mary’s life in view of the Mosaic laws that made premarital intercourse between a man punishable by death.

We can safely assume that Mary must have felt like an outcast because how does a young Jewish girl explain to the orthodox elders of that time, that a "spirit" made ​​her pregnant!

The flight of Josef and Mary to Egypt took place within the two years period following Jesus' birth.

According to Matt. 2: 16, Herod ordered that all male children two years and younger, had to be killed.

The birth of our Lord Jesus, did not take place in the peaceful and tranquil setting as most of our Christmas cards would have it.

For Josef and Mary, Jesus’ birth must have been one of the most traumatic experiences the couple had to endure.  

And for the people of Israel, the birth of Jesus resulted in one of the gravest times in Israel's  history.

The death of all male children under the age of two.