What Child Is This? (Part 3) Series

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Christmas Trivia

1. Which angel told Mary she would give birth to the Son of God?

a. Michael

b. Gabriel

c. Clarence

d. The Bible doesn’t say

2. What was the nature of Mary and Joseph’s relationship when Mary became pregnant?

a. They were friends

b. They didn’t know each other

c. They were engaged

d. They were married

3. Who told Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem?

a. An angel

b. God in a dream

c. Caesar Augustus

d. Mary’s parents

4. What did the innkeeper say to Mary and Joseph?

a. “We have no room in the inn.”

b. “You can stay in our stable.”

c. “Try the Holiday Inn.”

d. The Bible doesn’t say

5. When did baby Jesus cry?

a. Whenever babies usually cry

b. When he opened the wise men’s gifts

c. He never cried

d. When the cattle started lowing

6. Who many wise men visited Jesus?

a. 4

b. 7

c. 3

d. Who knows?

7. Where did the wise men find Jesus?

a. In a house

b. In a cave

c. In a stable

d. In the temple

8. Where did Mary, Joseph, and Jesus live after they left Bethlehem?

a. Nazareth

b. Jerusalem

c. Rome

d. Egypt

9. Which one of the following statements did Jesus make?

a. “I came to bring peace.”

b. “I did not come to bring peace.”

c. “On earth peace, good will toward men.”

d. None of the above

10. Why was December 25th chosen as Christmas Day?

a. That’s when Jesus was born

b. To compete with a pagan celebration

c. That’s the day Santa chose

d. That’s when the Bible says to celebrate Christmas

Answers: 1-b, 2-c, 3-c, 4-d, 5-a, 6-d, 7-a, 8-d, 9-b, 10-b

There once was a king who was very wealthy. His power was known throughout the world. But he was unhappy, because he desired a wife. Without a queen, the vast palace was empty.

One day, while riding through the streets of a small village, he saw a beautiful peasant girl. She was so lovely that the heart of the king was won. He wanted her more than anything he had ever desired. On succeeding days, he would ride by her house on the mere hope of seeing her for a moment in passing.

He wondered how he might win her love. He thought, “I will draw up a royal decree and require her to be brought before me to become the queen of my land.” But, as he considered, he realized that she was a subject and would be forced to obey. He could never be certain that he had won her love.

Then, he said to himself, “I shall call on her in person. I will dress in my finest royal garb, wear by diamond rings, my silver sword, my shiny black boots, and my most colorful tunic. I will overwhelm her and sweep her off her feet to become my bride.” But, as he pondered the idea, he knew that he would always wonder whether she had married him only for the riches and power he could give her.

Then, he decided to dress as a peasant, drive to the town, and have his carriage let him off. In disguise, he would approach her house. But, somehow the duplicity of this plan did not appeal to him.

At last, he knew what he must do. He would shed his royal robes. He would go to the village and live among the peasants. He would work and suffer with them. He would actually become a peasant. This he did. And he won his wife.—Illustrations Unlimited, p. 303

The story of Christmas is much more amazing: God became a man.

“The claim that Christianity makes for Christmas is that at a particular time and place God came to be with us Himself. When Quirinius was governor of Syria, in a town called Bethlehem, a child was born who, beyond the power of anyone to account for, was the high and lofty One made low and helpless. The One who inhabits eternity comes to dwell in time. The One whom none can look upon and live is delivered in a stable under the soft, indifferent gaze of cattle. The Father of all mercies puts Himself at our mercy.”—Frederick Buechner (Illustrations Unlimited, p. 78)

John the Baptist—Not the Light

“There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John” (v. 6).

“John” = John the Baptist. Who was John the Baptist?

• Vital statistics: parents – Zechariah and Elizabeth; distant relative – Jesus; home – Judea; occupation – prophet (there had not been a prophet in Israel for 400 years).

• His coming was predicted in Isaiah 40:3: “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the LORD, make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God’” (cf. John 1:23).