Nativity Illustration
I started this as a Christmas project but it extended far beyond, as you see. Christmas has a way of horning in on your time.
I wanted to highlight the Messianic prophecies behind the birth of Jesus. Everyone knows, or at least at one point has heard, the "Christmas Story" (Luke 2:1-20), but that is only the middle of the narrative of the Bible.
It is like picking up the Lord of the Rings and reading only the point when Frodo comes to Rivendell, and then putting the book away. You miss why Frodo came there and what he had to do afterward!
You want to know the Christmas Story? Start in Genesis and read to the end of Revelation.
Genesis covers why Jesus needed to come.
Exodus-Malachi tells, among other themes and topics, who, where, when, and why the Messiah would come.
Matthew-Jude explains the fulfillment of 40 of the 51 different Messianic prophecies.
And Revelation tells the future of how Jesus Christ is going to fulfill the last eleven prophecies. The Bible is all about God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Recently, I completed a thorough investigation into the Prophecies of the Messiah, read the post here:
The first messianic prophecy was given by Yahweh-God himself, right after Adam and Eve first sinned in the Garden. As a matter of fact, Adam just sinned then, when questioned by God, blamed God for it. But Yahweh is incomprehensibly merciful and gave them a promise of redemption rather than striking them them dead.
"And I will put enmity between you (the Serpent) and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." – Genesis 3:15
Here I chose to illustrate God being taller than Adam and Eve, and made Him indistinct with holy fire. His eyes also burn with a purity inconceivable to man, Revelation describes God in that manner. He is physically wearing the Crown of the Trinity, that I have used in past illustrations to show God's sovereignty over a particular being or situation; a crown with three glowing jewels to symbolize the Trinity. One hand is open toward Adam and Eve as a sign of mercy and the other is lit with fire and pointing in judgement to Satan.
Adam and Eve, I have clothed, head to toe, in fig leaves. Scholars have said that, unlike the Renaissance depictions of the middle aged couple, a muscular Adam and a chunky Eve, with only little oak leaves covering their private parts, they believe they sewed entire suits of fig leaves, covering every inch of skin.
Lastly, I put legs on Satan, the Serpent of Old. God curses the serpent and says that all snakes will slither on their bellies. Snakes always slither on their bellies, so I have always wondered if they had legs in the past, and recent fossil discoveries show that some serpents, like the Najash Rionegrina, did in fact, have legs.
God promised Abraham that He would make him a great nation and that from him all the nations will be blessed.
The last part is a reference to the coming Messiah, because though Abraham's descendants, Israel, have become a great nation, they are no more a blessing to the nations than any other country.
Tediously, I transcribed Jesus's genealogy from both Gospels of Matthew and Luke to a tablet, then copied it from the tablet to the project, and lastly rewrote it with the Hebrew inspired font. It is not an exhaustive genealogy, but probably only a listing of the notable ancestors of Christ.
In the flowing banner to the right, I copied all the promises God gave to individuals about the Messiah. First to Abraham, then to Isaac, and so forth finally handing it down to Mary.
Enter Gabriel! Angels, which means literally Messengers, are fascinating beings. So little is known about them. How are they dressed? Do they carry weapons? Do they have wing? And so much is distorted by the world's interpretation of angels.
Here, I depicted Gabriel as wearing fine and abnormal garments... or maybe just fantasy elf, I don't know. Because I believe, the attire of Heaven is far more exquisite than the emperors of old could have dreamed of.
Instead of wings, I gave him ethereal floating train; the only winged angelic beings mentioned in the Bible are Cherubim (Not Cupid. There is a difference.) who have two wings, the four Living Creature, who have six wings, and Seraphim, who also have six wings.
The Crown of the Trinity hovers over his head, because God's sovereignty is over him.
Joseph leading the donkey on which Mary is riding.
I went with the cliché, but the Bible never mentions Mary riding a donkey.
To be honest, they may have walked the whole way, or they could have ridden a cart. It is highly unlikely that they traveled alone because of the dangers on the highways.
Plus, if Joseph had to journey to Bethlehem, it is also likely that he would have had several relatives and others in Nazareth who would have had to go there too.
So in conclusion, I had them going with a caravan away from the Sea of Galilee (pictured in the background).
Movies and groundless, preconceived ideas:
Mary is going into labor right on the donkey's back. Joseph is in a frenzy. "Help! Give us a place to stay!" He cries as he goes from door to door. Heartlessly each proprietor shuts them out, saying, "No vacancy."
Actually the Bible says this:
"So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." - Luke 2:6-7
I believe, going by the text and removing Hollywood drama, that Mary and Joseph arrived a little earlier than her due-date, since the scriptures say, "While they were there," and that they stayed with relatives. People in past tended to operate in family circles. Since it is the town of Joseph's ancestors he would likely have stayed with distant relatives.
The word "Inn" in Greek literally means "lodging place". Two other places in Scripture, the word is translated as "Guest Room". I believe, they went to a relatives house but it was full because of the census, so they are put in the converted stables, which was commonly below the multi-floored house.
The odds that they would be only ones in the stables is quite slim. They would have to be the only ones to come after the house reached full capacity. And I think, women of the household helped Mary give birth.
Why do I believe that? Because who would put a young, pregnant woman and her husband in a filthy, muck-filled stables, and then make her give birth all by herself, when the rooms above most likely had multiple seasoned mothers? One last thing: He was laid in a stone feed trough, not a wooden one as seen in all nativities.
"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night." - Luke 2:8
This gets fascinating!
Next to Bethlehem, on a hill was Migdal Eder (Tower of the Flock), which over looked the pastures that flocks would graze in.
According to Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, popular journalist and Bible scholar, these shepherds were Levitical shepherds. They raised sacrificial sheep for the Temple. When a lamb was born they would take it and inspect it for any blemishes.
If it were unblemished, they would bind it in strips of cloth and lay it in a manger, a stone feed trough that was so narrow the lamb could not move, to keep it from injuring/blemishing itself.
The angel says, "And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” - Luke 2:12
This happened, not because the Messiah appeared to lowly shepherds first, but because they were sacrificial lamb specialists, and Jesus was God's sacrificial lamb. Not that God needed their approval, but they were witnesses to the fact that Jesus was an unblemished sacrificial lamb.
After eight days, the Child was circumcised and christened, Jesus. Then after thirty-three days, according to the Law of Moses, they came to the Temple in Jerusalem to present their offerings.
Simeon is led by the Holy Spirit to the Temple to see God's Salvation.
“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.” - Luke 2:29-32
Another common misconception is the Magi:
Three Magi or wise men or kings, promptly drop in right after the shepherds and bring gifts.
"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem," - Matthew 2:1
"Wise men" could mean two of them or two hundred.
"And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him." - Matthew 2:11
That is important to note that Mary and Jesus were in a house now. Joseph is not mentioned, so I suspect he had found work while they stayed there.
Also, Jesus was not a newborn at this moment. If the star appeared when He was born then it would take the Magi several months to a year to prepare and travel. Not to mention, King Herod determined from the Magi when the star appeared and then had all male children two years old and under in Bethlehem slain. Thus Jesus was a little older at this time.
Attempting to map Israel while marring the land with banners was an experience.
At first, it was going to be a very simplistic map displaying only the cities and locations mentioned in the account of Christ' Birth but Jerusalem and Bethlehem was crowded with detail and the rest of the lands were a bare as Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard.
So I decided to add topographical details to the lands that lacked nomenclature. I was fairly accurate but was not looking to win any awards.
Also I have no clue what path Mary and Joseph took nor where they stayed in Egypt, so I improvised.
Fun Fact:
"And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.” - Matthew 2:23
There is not a verse in the Bible that says, verbatim, the Messiah will be called a Nazarene. But many say it is a reference this verse.
"There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots." - Isaiah 11:1
The word Branch in Hebrew is Netser (nay'-tser), meaning, a sprout, or shoot. It is believed to be the root word of Nazareth (which is pronounced nad-zar-eth', not Nah-zer-rith, as most people say it.)
Now you may ask, "Is there any evidence that Jesus truly was the Messiah? Actually, what is a Messiah, and why do I care?"
I'm glad you asked because recently I completed a thorough investigation into the Prophecies of the Messiah, and do you know what I found? Well, read it for yourself...
The Night the Earth Stood Still - Prophecies of the Messiah:
Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think.
