The story of Christmas is the story of God saving the world.

Where do we begin? Before we get to that, let’s look at the last verses of the Old Testament. In Micah 4:5-6 the prophecy of a Messiah comes and the people wait 400 years before He comes. God works on His own time, not ours.

This story starts with two odd and wonderful pregnancy announcements.

  1. First we see that Elizabeth is pregnant (Luke 1:5-25). … Zechariah and Elizabeth were an old couple who had been unable have children. Zechariah, a priest, goes into the temple to perform his duties. Gabriel, an angel, appears to him and tells him he we have a son and that his son’s name will be John. John is to take a vow to never drink any kind of wine. John is to prepare the way for the Messiah. Zechariah finds all of this hard to believe and then we learn that God wants us to take Him at His word and makes Zechariah mute until the baby is born and named John.

  2. Second we see Mary is pregnant (Luke 1: 26-38). … Gabriel goes out to the boondocks of Israel in Nazareth and appears to Mary. Gabriel tells her not to be afraid, that she has been chosen to give birth to the Messiah. Mary is confused. She doesn’t understand how she, a virgin, could have a baby.

Then Mary goes to visit Elizabeth. Both are pregnant at this time. Something odd and wonderful happens. John senses the presence of Jesus and jumps in Elizabeth’s womb. Mary breaks out in song.

When Mary returns home, Joseph, her betrothed, finds out she is pregnant and decides to quietly divorce her (Matthew 1:18-25). … But an angel appears to him and tells him to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife because the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The angel tells him to name the baby Jesus. The name is significant. It means Yahweh saves. It is a message to Joseph and to the world that this child will save the world, He will save us from our sins. … The angel also tells Joseph this was happening in this way to fulfill the prophecy of the virgin birth. The virgin conception is certainly odd and wonderful. … The baby will also be called “Immanuel” which means “God with us.” The virgin conception is important to this. If Jesus had had two human parents then we might have more trouble believing He is fully human and fully God. But with God as His Father, we can see more easily how Jesus is both.

It is truly an odd and wonderful plan.