【The Birth Story of Jesus Christ】
The Birth Story of Jesus Christ
Years ago, in the days when Herod was king of Judea, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth in Galilee to a virgin named Mary.
Angel Gabriel came to Mary and gave her a message from God, that a child would be born to her.
This message was surprising to Mary, but she was attentive and obedient.
Angel Gabriel informed Mary that she was to name the child Jesus, for He would be the son of God and rule over Israel forever.
Mary said, “My
soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit
rejoices in God my Savior”
Mary who was engaged to her soon-to-be husband Joseph, was surprised and confused as to how a child of God would be born to her.
When she told Joseph, he did not believe Mary’s story, he was confused and hurt.
‘How can this story
be true, that an angel told Mary that she will have a son of God’?
Joseph was also worried that Mary was expecting a baby before their marriage had taken place.
At night Joseph thought to himself to divorce Mary quietly,
but then an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and assured Joseph that the child in Mary’s womb was the son of God, who would save his people from their sins.
The angel told Joseph to take Mary as his wife and name the child Jesus.
When Joseph awoke from his dream, he did all that the angel commanded.
When the time of the birth drew near, Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem because of an order from the Roman emperor
that a census would be taken in their hometown to count the people.
Joseph took the pregnant Mary and they travelled on a donkey for several days.
It was not an easy journey on Mary.
Soon they arrived in Bethlehem and looked for a place to stay.
But they were told that the inns were full, as many travelers were in town for the census.
There were no places to
stay.
Seeing that Mary was due at any moment, an owner of an inn told Joseph that they could
stay in his stable.
Mary and Joseph settled down on
the hay in a stable and surrounded by animals.
It was not long that Mary
went into labor(分娩，陣痛)and in
the place where the animals slept, Mary gave birth to Jesus;
Jesus was born in the stable in Bethlehem.
Baby Jesus was laid in a manger which is animals' trough, and the sleeping baby Jesus, the son of God, rested in the manger.
Now, when Jesus was born, a brand-new
bright star appeared in the sky.
During this time, an angel appeared to 3 shepherds who
were watching their flocks in the fields near Bethlehem.
The angel told them the good news of the birth of the Savior and
Messiah, Jesus Christ.
The shepherd saw a shining star in the sky and the shepherds immediately followed the star as they went to find baby Jesus.
The star led them to where baby Jesus was laid in a manger(馬槽).
The shining star rested
over where Jesus was born.
The shepherds knelt and worshipped the Savior and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense (乳香), and myrrh (沒藥).
【註】
乳香的英文「Frankincense」源自古法語「francencens」，意指「純淨的香料」。
數千年來，乳香一直被用於宗教文化儀式的焚香和冥想，猶如佛教使用檀香一樣，基督教也常使用乳香。此外，在非洲、中東、中國和印度等地，乳香也廣泛應用於傳統療法和美容護膚之中。
乳香被賦予眾多別名，包括「上帝的眼淚」（因其流出的汁液形似眼淚），「沙漠的珍珠」（由於乳香樹在沙漠中生長，其汁液呈現乳白色），以及「白色黃金」（古代乳香的價值媲美黃金）。
The birth of Jesus is celebrated yearly at Christmas time.
沒藥（ㄇㄛˋ Myrrh）是一種芳香的樹膠樹脂，源自於原產非洲和阿拉伯半島的沒藥樹（學名：Commiphora myrrha）樹皮滲出物，經風乾而成紅棕色硬塊。它具有悠久的歷史，在古代被廣泛用於宗教儀式、香水、防腐（ embalming）和傳統醫學。
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