The First Christmas

by Marcus J. Borg

  Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”

  Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. When his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

  After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.” (1:5–25)

  Conception of Jesus (the Annunciation)

  In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. (1:26–38)

  Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth and Hymn (the Magnificat)

  In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

  And Mary said,

  “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

  for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

  for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

  His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

  He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

  He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;

  he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.

  He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,

  according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

  And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home. (1:39–56)

  Birth of John the Baptizer and Hymn (the Benedictus)

  Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

  On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.

  Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:

  “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.

  He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David,

  as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

  Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant,

  the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,

  might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

  And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

  to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.

  By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,

  to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

  The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel. (1:57–80)

  Journey to Bethlehem and Birth of Jesus in a Stable

  In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (2:1–7)

  Announcement of Jesus’s Birth by Angels

  In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you go
od news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

  “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

  When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (2:8–20)

  Circumcision of Jesus

  After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (2:21)

  Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and Hymn (the Nunc Dimittis)

  When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.”

  Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

  “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word;

  for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

  a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

  And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

  There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

  When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. (2:22–39)

  Jesus at Age Twelve in the Temple

  The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

  Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

  And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor. (2:40–52)

  FEATURES OF A PAGEANT BASED ON LUKE

  First, much of the pageant would be about the parents of John the Baptizer, Zechariah and Elizabeth. They appear in forty-three verses, more than half of Luke’s first chapter (in Matthew’s birth story, there is no mention of John or his parents).

  Elizabeth and Zechariah are childless, and both are very old. In this, they are like Abraham and Sarah in the Old Testament, the ancestors of Israel. But then, as with Abraham and Sarah, Elizabeth conceives in her old age. The child, known to history as John the Baptizer, will be like Elijah, one of the greatest prophets of ancient Israel and one who, many Jews believed, would return as the predecessor, the forerunner, of the kingdom of God. Elizabeth appears in the story again when Mary (now pregnant with Jesus) visits her.

  A second feature of a pageant based on Luke is that women play much more prominent roles. We have just mentioned Elizabeth. And Mary’s role is much greater than in Matthew, where she is a completely passive figure, neither speaking nor receiving any revelation. For much of Luke’s birth story, Mary is the central character. Indeed, Joseph is almost invisible in Luke, in sharp contrast to Matthew. Luke’s pageant also has a third woman, the eighty-four-year-old prophet Anna, who “began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” (2:38).

  Music would constitute a third feature of Luke’s pageant—lots of it. His story has three hymns, or canticles. Though Luke does not call them “hymns,” they have been sung by Christians for centuries and may well have originated as hymns. The first two (the Benedictus, sung by Zechariah, and the Magnificat, sung by Mary) are longer, and the third (the Nunc Dimittis, sung by Simeon) is shorter. Because each is sung by an individual, we might imagine them as three arias. In addition to these three arias, a brief song is sung by a chorus of angels in the night sky to stunned shepherds below: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” (2:14).

  A fourth feature of Luke’s pageant is that it would include the most familiar part of the Christmas story (2:1–20). Its opening words are fixed in the memories of many: “In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.” Joseph and Mary make the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born in a stable and placed in a manger. Then to shepherds “keeping watch over their flock by night” an angel of the Lord appears and proclaims, “To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

  And, as a final feature, Luke’s pageant would go on considerably longer than one based on Matthew. We refer not simply to the greater number of verses in Luke, but the extension of his story into Jesus’s infancy and youth. Luke narrates the circumcision of Jesus when he was eight days old and his presentation in the temple when he was about forty days old, where he was acclaimed by Simeon and Anna. Luke’s pageant would conclude with Jesus at age twelve in Jerusalem amazing the teachers in the temple with his wisdom.

  THE RICHNESS OF TWO STORIES

  As we complete our description of the Christmas pageant that would result from each gospel, we underline our primary purpose for doing so. Our major point is very simple: these are very different stories. Of course, they share some things in common: the names of Jesus’s parents, his birth in Bethlehem near the end of the reign of Herod the Great, and his conception by the Spirit of God. Yet these points of commonality are embedded in two very different narratives.

  Most often, as we noted at the beginning of th
is chapter, we do not hear the stories of the first Christmas as whole and distinct narratives. Rather, we hear them through filters. One common filter is “harmonizing” them, either by combining them into one story or preferring one version and ignoring contradictions from the other. Another common filter is hearing them through later tradition. We provide an example of each.

  What was the home of Mary and Joseph before Jesus was born? Where did they live? Most people would answer: Nazareth. In Luke’s story, Mary and Joseph live in Nazareth in Galilee, where Mary has become pregnant by the Spirit. When it is almost time for her to give birth, she and Joseph journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in Judea, where there is no room in the inn, and so Jesus is born in a stable and placed in a manger. But in Matthew, Mary and Joseph live not in Nazareth, but in Bethlehem, where Jesus is born at home. Nazareth becomes their home only after they return from Egypt after Herod’s death. They move to Nazareth because the new ruler of Judea, Herod’s son Archelaus, is as dangerous as his father was.

  These two living and travel patterns are very different and do not lend themselves to combination. Because Luke’s nativity story is the longer one replete with colorful details, most people are familiar with the Nazareth to Bethlehem to Nazareth pattern. The Bethlehem to Egypt to Nazareth pattern in Matthew is largely ignored.

  As an example of a filter of tradition, who brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the infant Jesus? Many would answer: three kings from the East, as in the well-known Christmas carol “We Three Kings of Orient Are.” But Matthew’s story does not refer to kings. Instead, Matthew speaks of wise men, magi, from the East. And how many wise men were there? Matthew does not tell us how many—only that they brought three gifts. The notion that there were three and that they were kings is a much later tradition.