Why the Nativity? | Docudrama Film | Dr. David Jeremiah
Why the Nativity? | Docudrama Film | Dr. David Jeremiah
Learn more about Why the Nativity on the official website
Message Description:
Every year, millions of people around the globe celebrate Christmas. But what does it all mean? Do we really understand the profound importance and authenticity of the birth of Jesus? Why the virgin Mary? Why a carpenter named Joseph? Why poor shepherds and wealthy kings clamoring to worship a Newborn King? And why are the Old Testament prophecies that predicted the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem so important to the Christmas story?
Drawing from both the Old and New Testaments, noted pastor, author, and theologian Dr. David Jeremiah provides answers to some of the most thought-provoking questions surrounding the most pivotal moment in human history—the birth of Jesus Christ.
Travel back in time and experience the sights and sounds of that first Christmas. You’ll have a front-row seat to the Nativity story as you witness the Old Testament prophets foretelling the birth of Jesus, Gabriel appearing to Mary, Joseph and Mary traveling the road to the crowded city of Bethlehem, angels appearing to shepherds, the brilliant star guiding the Wise Men from the East, and baby Jesus lying in a manger in a humble stable in Bethlehem.
Why the Nativity? is a fascinating presentation of biblical history with stunning visual dramatics creating an unforgettable journey through the wonders of Christmas!
Make watching Why the Nativity? a new holiday tradition!
(Dr. David Jeremiah) The world is about to change forever. A day of reckoning. A decree from on high. A time to be counted. A world ruled by an iron fist.
Just when people needed hope, God would send a baby, a King, to offer a foretaste of a better future. But why? Why was a virgin chosen to be the mother of Jesus? Why would an earthly man be chosen to raise a baby sent from heaven? Why choose the lowliest of men to be the first to see the newborn King? Why did kings come from the East to worship the king of the Jews? Why Bethlehem? And perhaps the most important question: Why should we care?
And what should the baby in Bethlehem mean to me? Though many years have gone by, and that stable in Bethlehem is long gone, we need to concentrate our gaze through the midst of time through the lens of scripture, and use our imagination, not to change the Christmas story, but envision the people, places, and circumstances that could have been a part of the nativity; and in doing so, we will answer the mystery, the meaning, and the question:
Why the nativity? (Dr. Jeremiah) Why the nativity? Is it just another historic event, just another superstition, or a leftover fairytale from childhood? What if this special moment in history was the beginning of our redemption? To answer these questions, it will require the Word of God to be our guide and our imagination to tell the story.
It will require us to do just what the shepherds did, just what the wise men did, and even what Joseph and Mary did. We need to travel to Bethlehem. I’m David Jeremiah. Won’t you journey back with me to a faraway place and to a time that might otherwise be forgotten? Let’s set our course, then, for two millennia ago, the dividing point in history.
The scene is the little town on the quiet landscape of Judea. There are rumors of a miracle happening any day. (Dr. Jeremiah) We are now ready to explore the questions that surround our remarkable journey through the wonder of Christmas. (narrator) 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. (Dr. Jeremiah) Just when people most needed hope, God sent prophets to offer a foretaste of a better picture. More than 300 Old Testament prophecies would be fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; and the first would come to pass in a little town called Bethlehem.
But before we visit the little town of Bethlehem, let’s step back further in this story to discover what we can about the man and woman who were chosen to raise God’s only Son. [goat bleating] [people chattering] (Dr.
Jeremiah) Joseph and Mary grew up in an unremarkable town called Nazareth. [children giggling] (Dr. Jeremiah) It was much like any number of other villages on the Galilean plain. Most likely, the two would have played together in the fields and town square as children. ♪♪♪ (Dr. Jeremiah) The two sets of parents had arranged their marriage that would unite not just the two young people, but two families.
Mary would be thinking about her young handsome carpenter. He noticed her smile and the godliness of her character. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ (Dr. Jeremiah) Joseph was probably a simple and practical man. He would pursue his craft, maintain a good name in the community, attend the synagogue, and raise a family.
And Mary? A Jewish young lady who would one day live with her husband’s family; and there, the two would begin a life and a family to call their own. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ (Dr. Jeremiah) The preparation for this young couple’s marriage included exchanging of gifts by the couple and between each family.
(Mary) You’re welcome. These are some grapes, cheese. I hope you like it. Be sure to share. (Joseph) Hey, boys, hey. (Dr. Jeremiah) Mary and Joseph anticipated the joy and revelry of the ceremony, with the opportunity to wear fine clothes and don expensive jewelry and eat specially prepared food, and above all, to happily live in marriage with their beloved.
(Joseph) Wanted you to have it. (Mary) Beautiful. (Joseph) It’s a wedding bouquet. (Dr. Jeremiah) Nothing could come between them and the life together they had planned since childhood. (Dr. Jeremiah) Mary’s presupposed quiet life would be spent in useful service to her family and community.
How could Mary have known about the life that lay ahead of her? (narrator) Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
And having come in, the angel said to her… (Gabriel) Rejoice, highly favored one. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women. (narrator) But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying. Then the angel said to her… (Gabriel) Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great. He will be called the Son of the highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.
(narrator) Then Mary said to the angel… (Mary) But how can this be, since I know not a man? (narrator) And the angel answered and said to her… (Gabriel) The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the highest will overshadow you. Therefore, also, that holy one who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
(narrator) Then Mary said… (Mary) Behold, the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word. (narrator) And the angel departed from her. [Mary gasps] (Mary) All my life, I have dreamt– (Dr. Jeremiah) Why Mary? She was a virgin who honored scripture and obeyed the will of her Father.
She was a clean vessel to provide God’s only Son a home from which he would emerge to redeem the world. Mary’s heart was in the right place, and her focus was on God’s will. She knew God’s strength makes all things possible, and his love makes any burden a joy to bear.
[laughing softly] (Dr. Jeremiah) We can imagine that Joseph, like Mary, would desire an orderly and ordinary life. Certainly, Joseph’s life was proceeding in the right direction. He was in love and making all the preparations that needed to be made for his wedding to Mary.
[people gasping] [crowd whispering] ♪♪♪ (Dr. Jeremiah) And now in shock and disbelief, Joseph had observed the obvious pregnancy of his fiancée. Everyone would wrongly assume that Joseph was the father. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ The Bible tells us that Joseph was a just and honorable man, now faced with a difficult decision.
(friend #1) Come on, we need to go back. Azarel, talk to him, please. You don’t make sense. Let’s just go back. (Dr. Jeremiah) And though by law he had the right to put Mary away, he was righteous and was not willing to disgrace her publicly. (friend #1) Talk to him. Talk to him.
(Azarel) You’re speaking in anger. I will go. (friend #2) He’s lost. (Dr. Jeremiah) Some friends agreed with his decision of compassion, while many most likely did not. [Joseph crying] ♪♪♪ (friend #1) Adulterer, an adulterer. What were you thinking? You don’t make sense.
(friend #2) Think of yourself. In front of the whole town–no. Speak to him. Where are you going? (Joseph) God, please, I need you to answer. I need you. (Gabriel) 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. (narrator) 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.
” (Dr. Jeremiah) When Joseph awoke from his dream, he did exactly what the angel of the Lord commanded him to do. He trusted in God and in the word he received through God’s messenger. ♪♪♪ (Dr. Jeremiah) Consider the change that came about in Mary’s life since she was visited by the angel Gabriel.
Thoughts of marriage turned to thoughts of motherhood, and thoughts of a quiet, ordinary life turned to being at the center of ridicule and speculation from those in her village. (man) No! No! (Dr. Jeremiah) Why Mary? Mary herself must have wondered. Indeed, the reasons she was chosen are known only to God, but we do know this.
She was highly favored by God, obeyed the holy scriptures, and surrendered to God’s mysterious plan. Mary prayed Joseph would do the same. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ (Dr. Jeremiah) Joseph would take Mary as his wife.
He would be the earthly father to the Christ child. He would postpone his desires for the will of God; and in this plan, he believed. (narrator) And Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took to him his wife and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus.
(Dr. Jeremiah) What was it about the vast Roman Empire that was ideal for the coming of Christ? The Romans themselves, unknowingly, were part of the answer. For the first time in history, the Mediterranean world, the cradle of civilization, was unified. All roads led to Rome, and Roman roads led almost everywhere on earth, including Jerusalem and the entire region around where Roman ruler Herod the Great ruled with an iron fist and a troubled heart.
