Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

It is the most celebrated holiday on the Western calendar. It is popular even in nations where Christians are in the minority. Christmas is one time of the year when you get the best opportunity to tell the story of Christ. The following article tells the Biblical story in harmony, drawing from the birth narratives of the gospels of Matthew and Luke. The Great Announcement (Luke 1:26-38) For centuries, the Israelites waited for the promised king from the lineage of David. Like the shepherd king, this God-sent man would fight their battles, overcome their foes, and lead them to liberty and a ‘golden age.’ That special person heir of David was known as The Messiah: The Anointed One (Greek: Christ). God kept His promises - He always does - but not in the way they expected. The Lord sent no one less than the angel Gabriel, who stands in God’s presence, to a teenage girl named Mary (Hebrew: Miriam). She lived in an obscure Galilean village of no more than three hundred residents called Naza...

It is a familiar and welcome scene during the Christmas season. Three men, with a star above them and camels beneath, rode from the East and came to visit the Christ child. In order to meet the new-born infant, they had to crowd into the 'maternity barn’ full of shepherds and livestock. Many an olive wood nativity scene has replicated this setting millions of time. This Christmas, we want to explore the story of the wise men and their divinely appointed visit with the young Jesus. While we are respectful of tradition, we are even more respectful regarding what is written in God’s Word. 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 Matthew 2:1-3 Background: A little background information woul...