Top Bible Verses About Christmas | Sharefaith Magazine

The holiday season is here! Christmas will be fast approaching. Like many, Christmas lights need to be hung, trees need to be cut, presents need to be purchased, and cards need to be mailed out. The list can be overwhelming! In all the busyness, let’s not forget about the cornerstone of the season. From the Old Testament prophecies to the Christmas story, we are invited to experience the power of God through the life of His one and only son, Jesus Christ. We have gathered a number of Bible verses about Christmas that focus your attention on what is most important during this time of year. And in the spirit of gifting this year, we have included the Christmas story from the Passion Translation at the end of this article. We may have heard the Christmas story over and over about the wise men, King Herod, Mary and Joseph, and the manger… but not like this! The Passion Translation tells the story of Jesus’ birth in a unique way. This is our gift to you this holiday season. Enjoy!

Bible Verses About Christmas

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. – Isaiah 7:14 New American Standard Bible

Matthew 2:2

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” – Matthew 2:2 New American Standard Bible

2 Corinthians 9:15

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! – 2 Corinthians 9:15 New International Version

Zechariah 9:9

Everyone in Jerusalem, celebrate and shout! Your king has won a victory, and he is coming to you. He is humble and rides on a donkey; he comes on the colt of a donkey. – Zechariah 9:9 Contemporary English Version

John 16:33

I’ve said these things to you so that you will have peace in me. In the world you have distress. But be encouraged! I have conquered the world.” – John 16:33 Common English Bible

James 1:17

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. – James 1:17 New International Version

Isaiah 9:6

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. – Isaiah 9:6 New Living Translation

John 1:14

The Word became flesh and made his home among us. We have seen his glory, glory like that of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14 Common English Bible

Philippians 2:8-10

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, – Philippians 2:8-10 English Standard Version

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. – John 14:27 New American Standard Bible

Isaiah 11:1

Then a Shoot (the Messiah) will spring from the stock of Jesse [David’s father], And a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. – Isaiah 11:1 Amplified Bible

Luke 2:10-11

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. – Luke 2:10-11 New American Standard Bible

John 1:29

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” – John 1:29 English Standard Version

Titus 3:4-7

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. – Titus 3:4-7 English Standard Version

Matthew 2:10

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. – Matthew 2:10 New King James Version

Luke 1:30-31

“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. – Luke 1:30-31 New Living Translation

Galatians 4:4-5

But when the right time came, God sent his Son who was born of a woman and lived under the law. God did this so he could buy freedom for those who were under the law and so we could become his children. – Galatians 4:4-5 New Century Version

John 1:9-10

The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. – John 1:9-10 New Living Translation

Luke 2:14

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” – Luke 2:14 New International Version

Matthew 1:23

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” – Matthew 1:23 New Living Translation

John 3:16

For this is how much God loved the world—he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life. – John 3:16 The Passion Translation

1 John 5:11

And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. – 1 John 5:11 New American Standard Bible

1 Timothy 1:15-17

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. – 1 Timothy 1:15-17 English Standard Version

John 13:3

Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. – John 13:3 New Living Translation

Matthew 1:21

“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” – Matthew 1:21 English Standard Version

John 10:27-28

My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me, and I give them eternal life, so that they will never be lost. No one can snatch them out of my hand. – John 10:27-28 Contemporary English Version

The Christmas Story (Matthew 1:18-2:23, The Passion Translation)

An Angel Comes to Joseph

This was how Jesus, God’s Anointed One, was born.

His mother, Mary, had promised Joseph to be his wife, but while she was still a virgin she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Her fiancé, Joseph, was a righteous man full of integrity and he didn’t want to disgrace her, but when he learned of her pregnancy he secretly planned to break the engagement. While he was still debating with himself about what to do, he fell asleep and had a supernatural dream. An angel from the Lord appeared to him in clear light and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t hesitate to take Mary into your home as your wife, because the power of the Holy Spirit has conceived a child in her womb. She will give birth to a son and you are to name him ‘Savior,’ for he is destined to give his life to save his people from their sins.”

This happened so that what the Lord spoke through his prophet would come true:

Listen! A virgin will be pregnant,
she will give birth to a Son,
and he will be known as “Emmanuel,”
which means in Hebrew,
“God became one of us.”
When Joseph awoke from his dream, he did all that the angel of the Lord instructed him to do. He took Mary to be his wife, but they refrained from having sex until she gave birth to her son, whom they named “Jesus.”

The Wise Men Visit

Jesus was born in Bethlehem near Jerusalem during the reign of King Herod. After Jesus’ birth, a group of spiritual priests from the East came to Jerusalem and inquired of the people, “Where is the child who is born king of the Jewish people? We observed his star rising in the sky and we’ve come to bow before him in worship.”

King Herod was shaken to the core when he heard this, and not only him, but all of Jerusalem was disturbed when they heard this news. So he called a meeting of the Jewish ruling priests and religious scholars, demanding that they tell him where the promised Messiah was prophesied to be born.

“He will be born in Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,” they told him. “Because the prophecy states:

And you, little Bethlehem,
are not insignificant among the clans of Judah,
for out of you will emerge
the Shepherd-King of my people Israel!”
Then Herod secretly summoned the spiritual priests from the East to ascertain the exact time the star first appeared. And he told them, “Now go to Bethlehem and carefully look there for the child, and when you’ve found him, report to me so that I can go and bow down and worship him too.”

And so they left, and on their way to Bethlehem, suddenly the same star they had seen in the East reappeared! Amazed, they watched as it went ahead of them and stopped directly over the place where the child was. And when they saw the star, they were so ecstatic that they shouted and celebrated with unrestrained joy. When they came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, they were overcome. Falling to the ground at his feet they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure boxes full of gifts and presented him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Afterward, they returned to their own country by another route because God had warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod.

They Escape to Egypt

After they had gone, Joseph had another dream. An angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Get up now and flee to Egypt. Take Mary and the little child and stay there until I tell you to leave, for Herod intends to search for the child to kill him.”

So that very night he got up and took Jesus and his mother and made their escape to Egypt and remained there until Herod died. All of this fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through his prophet:

I summon my Son out of Egypt.

When Herod realized that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated. So he sent soldiers with orders to slaughter every baby boy two years old and younger in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding countryside, based on the time frame he was given from interrogating the wise men. This fulfilled the words of the prophet Jeremiah:

I hear the screams of anguish,
weeping, and wailing in Ramah.
Rachel is weeping uncontrollably for her children.
And she refuses to be comforted,
because they are dead and gone.

They Return to Nazareth

After Herod died, the angel of the Lord appeared again to Joseph in a dream while he was still in Egypt, saying, “Go back to the land of Israel and take the child and his mother with you, for those who sought to kill the child are dead.”

So he awoke and took Jesus and Mary and returned to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus, Herod’s son, had succeeded him as ruler over all of the territory of Judah, he was afraid to go back. Then he had another dream from God, warning him to avoid that region and instructing him instead to go to the province of Galilee. So he settled his family in the village of Nazareth, fulfilling the prophecy that he would be known as the “Branch.”