Bible Christmas Scriptures

Where Do I Find Bible Scriptures on Christmas?

Below are Christmas bible verses from the gospel of Luke.Chapter 1, Verses 27-38

Bible Christmas verses also appear in The Gospel according to Matthew, Chapter 1, Verses 18-2:23

I use the KJV esword version because it is an online version of the Bible.
You may prefer other versions of the Bible which speak in more modern language. For example the NIV, and especially The Message.

For my personal take on these bible verses, click through to read Guidance For The Spiritual Journey Through Bible Christmas Verses

In the scriptures on Christmas in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is referred to as Immanuel, translated as “God with us”.
I love that.

The birth, life and death of Jesus let us know that God is not some distant being or a vague nice idea. God is with us, living in us.

In how many Gospels does the story of Christmas appear?

The Bible Christmas story appears in only two gospels. The gospels of Luke and Matthew.
There are no Bible Christmas scriptures in the gospels of Mark and John.
This is a clear indication that Easter is the main celebration of the Christian church.

Another interesting fact:
Although the three kings or wisemen have become well known as part of the Bible Christmas story the wise men do not appear in the Nativity story in the gospel of Luke, only in Mathew.
in the Bible, they are not called Kings.

Contents for Bible Christmas verses

Please scroll down to read each in turn

• The Angel Gabriel Visits Mary - The Annunciation
• Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth
• Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem where Jesus is born
• An angel tells the shepherds of the birth of Jesus
• Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
• The Kings and the birth of Jesus
• The Christian Christmas celebrates Jesus as the light in the darkness
• From St Paul's letter to the Galatians.
  
• Bible Christmas Scriptures from the Old Testament
• LIST of Spiritual Christmas articles on this website.
  

Bible Christmas Scriptures

The Angel Gabriel Visits Mary - The Annunciation

“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Bible Christmas Scriptures:

Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth

And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed"

(Luke 1:26 -48, KJV esword)

Bible Christmas Scriptures:

Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem where Jesus is born

“And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."

Bible Christmas Scriptures:

An angel tells the shepherds of the birth of Jesus

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.”
(Luke 2:3-20, KJV esword)

I took the photo of this picture of the annunciation in St Mary's church, Purton, Wiltshire, close to where I live.
My grateful thanks to the artist and to the parishioners of that parish, Katherine

Bible Christmas Scriptures from the Gospel of Matthew

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about : His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet he did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son.
And he gave him the name Jesus.

(Matthew 1:18-25, NIV Bible Christmas Scripture)

Bible Christmas Scriptures

The Kings and the birth of Jesus

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

...And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:”

(Matthew 2:2-3,8-14, KJV esword)

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The Christian Bible Christmas celebrates Jesus as the light in the darkness

As with Pagan and Hindu festivals at the same time of year, the Christian festival of Christmas invites us to believe in Light even in a time of darkness.

"In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it."
(John 1:4, NIV Bible Christ consciousness Christmas verse)
The above reading is read twice in the Christmas Catholic celebrations of the 12 days of Christmas.

“I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Bible Christmas Scriptures from St Pauls' Letters

St Paul mentions the Nativity in his letters to the Galatians.

He lets us know that the Bible story of Christmas has personal relevance to the relationship each one of us has with God.

We are all God's sons.

In a very real sense we are all the only son of God.

"What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate.
The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.
So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world.

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

Because you are his sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child;
and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.”
(Galatians 4:1-7, NIV Bible)

The book A Course In Miracles expands on this theme of the personal relevance of the Christmas message to our spiritual journey.
A Course In Miracles celebrates the birth of Christ (the Spirit of his Son in our hearts) in each one of us.

Bible Christmas Scriptures from the Old Testament

Bible Christmas Reference in Micah

"The Lord will abandon them till the time when she who is to give birth gives birth.
Then the remnant of his brothers will come back to the sons of Israel.
He will stand and feed his flock with the power of the Lord,
with the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
He himself will be peace."
(Micah 5:2-3,4, NIV)

Bible Christmas References in Isaiah

“the Lord himself will give you a sign:
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right.”
(Isaiah 7:10-15, NIV Old Testament prophesy of birth of Jesus verse)

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.

For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.

Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.”
(Isaiah 9:2-7, NIV)

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Articles relevant to Bible Christmas verses

• Move to read the Hail Mary Prayer which is based on these bible christmas scriptures. The same bible verses also form the basis for the Magnificat Prayer.
• Move from Bible Christmas Scriptures to the home page - Practical Spirituality and Healing

Click on the link below to move from Bible Christmas Scriptures to read about The Symbolism of the Christmas Story inspired By Scriptures about Christmas.