7 Bible Characters Who Bring the Christmas Story to Life

1. Jesus

The most important Bible character who brings the Christmas story to life is Jesus. There wouldn't be a Christmas story without the Lord. We first meet Jesus in His incarnate form in Luke 2:1-21. Within this passage of Scripture, the Lord is meek and humble. He was born in a manger to Mary and Joseph. Despite many modern adaptations of the Christmas story, the three wise men were not present at the birth of Jesus, nor were there any animals present.

The only people who would have been present at Jesus' birth were Mary and Joseph. We can only dream of the delight and awe they must have experienced on this silent night. Jesus deserved to enter this world with celebration and prestige, yet He entered this world, lowly and humble in heart. He chose to enter the world in this way to relate to us in every way possible.

Since Jesus was born into the world, He had to grow up just like we do and face all the same troubles that we do every day, such as pain, sadness, and tears. Jesus knew this ahead of time, yet He still chose to leave Heaven in order to save us from our sins (John 3:16-17). All of this is because of the Lord's love for us. This humble and gentle baby came into the world to grow up, live a sinless life, and pay the sin debt we owed.

Without Jesus, we would still be lost in our sins. As we reflect on the Christmas story, we don't need to forget who it is all about—Jesus. It can be easy to think of Jesus as only a baby on Christmas, but He is the One who grew up, was fully man and fully God, and died on the cross for us. Rather than stressing about the materialism of Christmas this year, focus on Jesus' love, humbleness, and peace.

2. Mary

If Mary were here today, she would tell everyone that all praise, glory, and worship belong to Jesus. She was a servant of God, chosen to do His will. She acknowledges her own sinfulness when she sings, "My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46b-47). As Mary sings, we see her say that she rejoices in God, her Savior. 

From Mary's words, we can ascertain that she knew she needed a Savior. Mary wasn't sinless, nor were her other children born in supernatural ways. Each of her other children was born in the natural way of a husband and a wife. When we reflect upon the Christmas story, we should take notice of Mary's bravery and trust in God, but we don't need to treat her as an idol. Our Savior and Lord is Jesus, not Mary.

3. Joseph

Joseph is a unique character in the Bible, showing extreme loyalty, respect, and care for Mary. When Mary tells him that she is with child, he plans to divorce her privately in order to prevent her from facing any public ridicule (Matthew 1:19). However, an angel sent by God comes in a dream and tells Joseph, "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" (Matthew 1:20).

Once Joseph hears this message, he obeys and takes Mary home to be his wife. Joseph's actions show his faithful devotion and obedience to God. They also show his love for Mary and how he wanted to protect her. He fully understood that the baby inside her was from the work of the Holy Spirit.

After Jesus' birth, Joseph stays with Mary. They have more children, and he helps raise all of them until he passes away. Although we don't know how old Jesus was when Joseph passed away, we do know that he had already died before Jesus started His ministry. Joseph's presence in the Christmas story gives us a different perspective on what it means to be faithful, obedient, and trusting of God.

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4. The Angel Gabriel

Gabriel does not make many appearances in the Bible, but one of his key visits was when he talked with Mary (Luke 1:26-38). Mary was frightened by Gabriel's greetings and what his words could mean. Gabriel tells her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end" (Luke 1:30-33).

Mary is confused when Gabriel tells her this, as she is a virgin. Gabriel informs her that the Holy Spirit will overshadow her, and she will give birth to the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Mary doesn't fight, argue, or question Gabriel. Instead, she trusts in God (Luke 1:38). Gabriel leaves, and Mary becomes full of joy. 

From Gabriel's character in the Bible, we see he is an obedient angel who follows God. He does exactly as he is told and is blessed to be the one to bring this news to Mary. We never hear of Gabriel after this account in the New Testament, but he most certainly celebrated and rejoiced at the birth of the Lord into the world.

5. The Shepherds

The shepherds were not dignified people in society. Per Jewish family tradition, the youngest sibling became the shepherd. On the night of Jesus' birth, the Father chose the shepherds to witness what would soon happen. The Father sent an angel to tell the shepherds that the Messiah had been born into the world (Luke 2:8-20). Out of pure excitement, the shepherds leave their fields and go to Bethlehem. Heavenly hosts praised the Lord from Heaven and the shepherds went to worship Jesus in the manger. While they were not there right when Jesus was born, they did come later the same night. When they saw Jesus, they worshiped and praised Him. They knew Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. He would save them from their sins and give them deliverance. We don't hear from the shepherds again, but we do know that they returned home and chose to share the good news of the birth of the Messiah with others (Luke 2:20).

6. The Three Wise Men

The three wise men came when Jesus was older (Matthew 2:10-11). According to the mandate from Herod to kill all males under the age of two in Bethlehem, Jesus would have been anywhere from a month old to two years old when the wise men came to visit Him. Even though the wise men would have come a long way, they were overjoyed to travel to see the Messiah. In modern times, the wise men would have traveled all the way from Iraq to Bethlehem just to see the Lord. The three wise men present the Lord with three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Each of these gifts had special meanings connected with them. The gold symbolized Jesus' kingship, the frankincense symbolized his future role as our perfect high priest, and the myrrh symbolized His death and burial. None of these gifts were given without intention; they all pointed to the Lord's deity, kingship, and holiness. We are not told if the three wise men fully understood what each gift meant, but they did know Jesus was God in the flesh as they worshiped Him (Matthew 2:11). 

Even though they were of Persian descent, the three wise men were more knowledgeable about the coming Messiah than the Jewish brothers and sisters in Bethlehem. The account of the three wise men shows us that God's followers are all across the world. We never hear of the three wise men after this account in Luke; however, we can be assured that they were believers in the Messiah.

7. Herod

An unlikely Bible character who brings the Christmas story to life is Herod. Herod was the Roman-appointed leader of Judaea. Known as a vicious ruler, Herod wanted to cause many problems for Jesus. Once Herod had learned of Jesus' birth by the three wise men and the confirmation from his scribes of Micah 5:2-4, he was angry. Herod tells the three wise men to report back to him about the Messiah, but they outsmart him.

Herod is furious when this happens, and he orders a massive slaughter of all male children under the age of two in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16-18). Due to pride, envy, and hatred, Herod wanted the Messiah dead. He thought if Jesus rose to power, he would lose his seat on his throne. From Herod's actions, we can see he is a horrible person, yet he is very important within the Christmas story.

Herod wanted to destroy Jesus, but the Father had other plans. Shortly after Herod's edict to kill all male children under the age of two in Bethlehem, he died himself (Matthew 2:19). After Herod died, Joseph was visited by an angel, who told him to take Mary and Jesus, and to go to the land of Israel (Matthew 2:19-23). Joseph obeys, but once he hears that Herod's son is ruling in Judea, he takes Mary and Jesus to the town of Nazareth.

Through trust in God, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were all kept safe. Jesus grows up and goes on to die for the sins of the world. May we all celebrate this Christmas with joyful and happy hearts, knowing that we are worshiping the Messiah.