Jesus’ Birth
5 BC
Carousel of images for this Bible Exhibit
Adoration of the Shepherds
The adoration of the shepherds at Jesus' birth
Adoration of the Shepherds
The birth of Jesus the Savior
Church of the Nativity
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem
Entrance to the Church of the Nativity
The main entrance to the church known as the door of humility
Stefan entering church
Stooping to enter through the door of humility
Betlejem
The interior or nave of the Church of Nativity lined with columns of red limestone
Bethlehem BW
The trapdoors in the floor revealing beautiful mosaics from Constantine’s original structure from the 4th century
Church of the Nativity (Bethlehem)
The interior of the Church of the Nativity with a view of the high altar
Nativity Church
The small cave or grotto underneath the high alter which commemorates the location of the birth of Jesus with a silver star
The Silver Star
The 14-point silver star marks the birthplace of Jesus
Star at the Nativity Church
The grotto below the silver star
Illustration from Views in the Ottoman Dominions by Luigi Mayer
A painting of the grotto of the nativity
Listen to this Bible Exhibit
The birth of Jesus the Christ fulfills God’s promise to his people in the Old Testament Matthew 1:22-23 Isaiah 7:14 . Matthew recounts the story of Jesus’ birth through the eyes of the humble carpenter Joseph, who descended from the Davidic line Matthew 1:18-25 .
In a culture that viewed all human events through the lens of honor and shame, Joseph learned of the shame of Mary’s pregnancy before they came together. His desire not to make a public spectacle of Mary in divorce showed that he was compassionate and merciful, traits that would serve him well as the man who would help raise Jesus. However, his plan to divorce Mary was thwarted by an angelic visitor telling him that she had indeed conceived by the Holy Spirit and to take her as his wife. Just as Joseph would save Mary from public ridicule by marrying her, Matthew presents Jesus’ birth with the divine purpose of saving people from the consequences of their sins Psalm 130:7-8 .
The writer Luke weaves secular human history into the birth narrative with divine intent Luke 2:1-7 . He presents the Roman census issued by Caesar Augustus as the reason the Virgin Mary traveled with her betrothed husband, Joseph, to his hometown of Bethlehem to register for taxation. Like Matthew, Luke also emphasizes Joseph’s lineage to King David in fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant. In exquisite detail, Luke records the uniqueness and complete humility of the Christ child’s birth, planting the seed for Jesus’ life as the coming King.
The location of Jesus’ birth is commemorated today in the famous Church or Basilica of the Nativity. The entrance is small, and its unassuming door was lowered in AD 1500 to stop looters from driving their horses and carts in. This current building, built by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century, is the oldest church in the Christian world. It replaced the original church built by Constantine and dedicated in AD 339 over the cave thought to be Christ’s birthplace. You can still see ancient mosaics from Constantine’s structure through trapdoors on the floor. While the Persians destroyed every church in the Holy Land in AD 614, this church was preserved because they saw the mosaic of the Magi wearing traditional Persian dress.
Below a 14-point silver star in the floor is the Grotto of the Nativity, a rock cave thought to be the original location of Jesus’ birth. Today, much of the cave is lined with polished marble, as pilgrims have visited this location for over 1700 years.
