The Greatest Story Ever Told

“The Greatest Story Ever Told”
Matthew 1:18-2:23 & Luke 1:26-2:40
Compiled and Paraphrased by Adam Weatherly

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To tell The Greatest Story Ever Told, we have to go back in time 2009 years to year 1 AD. This story starts around the Arabian Desert. That is where there were some Magi studying the stars. The Magi were know to be wise men, priests, and astrologers who were experts in interpreting dreams and other “magic arts.” One night while studying the stars, they notices something different. They found a new star in the sky. Because of the new star, they knew that something special had happened. They knew the King of all Kings had been born, and they needed to go worship him. So that night the Magi set out to follow after the star.

Around the time the Magi first saw the star, God sent Gabriel, the angel, to a town in Galilee named Nazareth. God sent him to speak to a girl named Mary. Mary was a young woman probably around 13 to 17 years old. She was a virgin, and was engaged to a carpenter named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David.

When Gabriel went to Mary he said “Hi Mary! You are the one chosen women, and the Lord is with you!”

This shook Mary up a little, and she didn’t know what to think about what Gabriel had said.
Then Gabriel spoke to her again, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God has chosen you to be blessed. You will become pregnant and will give birth to a baby boy, and you will name him Jesus. The boy will be very great, and will be called the Son of God. God will give him the throne of King David, he will rule over Israel forever, and his kingdom will never end.

Mary heard what Gabriel said, was still kinda shaken up, and now was probably a little concerned about getting pregnant without ever sleeping with a man. So Mary asks the Angel, Gabriel, “How exactly is this going to happen? I’m still a virgin, and plan on staying that way until I get married to my Fiance Joseph.”

Gabriel answered Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come on you and the power of God the Most High, will overshadow you. Because of this the baby will be called the Son of God. You see Mary, nothing is impossible with God.

Then Mary said, “Yea, I think I understand, I see it all now: I’m the Lords servant, and am ready to serve. Let it happen just like you say it will.”

Before Mary and Joseph got married, Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant. He didn’t know that the baby came from the Holy Spirit, so he decided to divorce her. But, because of Joseph’s upright and moral character, he decided to take care of the situation quietly so that Mary wouldn’t be disgraced.

One night, Joseph was up really late and troubled about what was going on. While trying to figure out how to deal with Mary and the Pregnancy, he fell asleep. Then he had a dream where the Angel of the Lord appeared to him. “Joseph son of David,” the angel said “Don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife! The child she is going to have has come from the Holy Spirit. The baby will be a boy and you should name him Immanuel – which means, ‘God is with us.’ This baby will save his people from their sin. This will happen to fulfill God’s message through his prophets – watch for this sign – A virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel.”

When Joseph woke up, he did exactly what the angel told him to do in his dream. He married Mary, but did not sleep with her until she had the baby.

About the same time Joseph had the dream, Caesar Augusts (the Roman Emperor), said there was going to be a census taken. Every man was required to take his family and return to their home town. Because Joseph was a member of King David’s royal line, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea. So Joseph took Mary and traveled 6.5 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

When they arrived in Bethlehem it was time for Mary to give birth, but there was no room at the Inn. So they found a near by cave, that was being used as a stable for animals. It was there, in that dark and dirty cave, that Mary gave birth to her first, a baby boy. Mary wrapped the baby snugly in a blanket, and laid him in an empty feeding trough (manger).

That night there were some Shepherds camping right outside of Bethlehem, guarding their sheep. Out of nowhere and angel appeared to them and God’s glory shined around them lighting up the are around them. The Shepherds were terrified.

“Don’t be afraid,” the Angel told them. “I’m here to bring good news that is meant for everyone all over the world: the  Messiah had just been born in Bethlehem. He is the Savior and Master of the world. God look for the baby, he is wrapped in a blanked and lying in an empty feeding trough.”

Then they were joined by a choir of Angels who were singing praises to God. They sang out “Glory to God in the heavenly heights. Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.”

After the Angels went back to heaven, the Shepherds talked about what just happened. They decided to go into town as fast as they could so they could worship the Messiah. So they ran as fast and as hard as they could to get to town, and when they found Mary and Joseph and saw the baby laying in the feeding trough they worship him. When they saw the baby they believed, and told everyone they met about what the angels said about the child. And, Everyone who heard what the Shepherds said were impressed. Then the Shepherds returned to their camp and praised God for everything they had heard and seen.

Eight days later, the baby was taken to the Temple where he was circumcised, and was given the name Jesus. That day Jesus was dedicated to God to follow the law of Moses and 2 doves were sacrificed as an offering to God.

While they were still in the temple a good old man who was filled with the Holy Spirit, named Simon, came in. Simon constantly prayed that help would come to Israel. Earlier that day the Holy Spirit showed him that he would see the Messiah before he died, and led him to the temple. When Simon saw baby Jesus, he took him in his arms and blessed God, them blessed Mary and Joseph, and said to Mary:

    “This child marks the failure and recovery of Israel. Many will misunderstand him and will reject him, But he will be the greatest Joy to many others.”

When Simon said that, an old woman, who was a prophetess named Anna, came into the temple. When she saw the baby, she began thanking God and telling everyone in Jerusalem that the Messiah had finally arrived.

During the time that was going on, the Magi, from the far east, who set out to follow the star arrived in Jerusalem. The started asking people in Jerusalem “Where is the new born King of the Jews?” They said to people there “We saw his star from the far-off eastern lands and have come to worship him.”

By the time word got around to King Herod, there were already rumors going around about this in Jerusalem. Herod became really mad about the rumors, and the thought that another King had come to take over. So Herod called a meeting with the Jewish priests. He asked them “Did the prophets tell us where the Messiah would be born?”

“Yes,” they said. “The prophet Micah wrote that he would be born in the little town of Bethlehem.”

Then Herod called a secret meeting with the Magi from the east. Herod pretended to be a devout believer, and got the Magi to tell him everything they knew about the star and the new born king. The he told them about the prophecy from Micah, and sent them to Bethlehem. Right before the Magi left, Herod told them “Go find the child, and then report back to me as soon as you find him. When you do I’ll come and worship him with you.”

As the Magi set out towards Bethlehem, the star appeared again. It lead them straight to the house in Bethlehem where Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus were staying. When they entered the house they threw themselves to the ground in front of Jesus to worship him. Then they opened their presents for the new born king and gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
After the Magi left the house, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a second dream. The Angel said to Joseph “Flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus, and stay there until I come back to you. Do this because King Herod wants to kill the child.” That same night Joseph took Mary and Jesus to set out to Egypt.

When King Herod heard that the Magi disobeyed him, he was furious. So, he sent his soldiers out to kill all the baby boys who were 2 years old and younger. This brutal action happened to fulfill the prophecy of Jeremiah: “People will cry out in Israel, weeping for their children, because they were killed.”

After sometime had gone by, King Herod died. Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph a third time through a dream. The Angel said “Joseph, get up. Take the baby and his mother, and return to Israel, because the one who wanted to kill the child is dead.” So Joseph took Mary and Jesus and returned to Israel to their home in Galilee in the town of Nazareth. It is there where Jesus grew up, to become a strong, robust boy, and was known for wisdom beyond his years; and God poured out his blessing on him.