There are only 51 verses that give us direct information about the Christmas story, but are there other clues in Scripture that help shape our understanding of the birth of Jesus? Are there aspects we miss about Christmas simply because we only read those 51 verses during the Christmas season?

Every year as we approach Christmas, there is always something new that stands out to me. Something about the Christmas story I missed in years past, something fresh that jumps out at me.

It led me to ask this question: Are there things I miss about the Christmas story, the birth of Jesus, simply because I don’t know them? We go through the season of Christmas, we read the birth of Jesus, we hear that “unto us a Savior is born,” but are there other realities we overlook? Is there underlying knowledge that would help us fully grasp the weight of what this season is all about?

And there are really three points that shape the way we view Christmas. Three facts that stand out to me about the birth of Jesus that alter the way I see it. Three things you might have missed about the Christmas story.

God’s silence
For nearly 400 years, the people of God heard absolutely nothing from Him. Since creation, God had been present, speaking through prophets and leaders, communicating with His people again and again. But then suddenly, everything went quiet. The people of God would have wondered: Is God still here? Are His promises still true? Has He turned His back on us?

As we approach Christmas this year, there are often moments when we feel the same way. As we deal with the loss of loved ones, the pressure of the holiday season, and the expectation that everything should feel perfect, filled with hope and joy, but we don’t feel those things, we’re left asking the same question: Is God really there for us?

What struck me about the story of Jesus’ birth is that this is the exact feeling the people of God were experiencing. This is the world. The silence, the uncertainty, the heaviness that Jesus was born into. So maybe when you’ve read the Christmas story in the past, you didn’t realize it happened in the midst of silence, in the midst of brokenness, and in the midst of questioning.

Be reminded this Christmas that even in the moments when it feels like God is silent, He is still working. He is moving according to His timing, for His glory, and for our good, even when we can’t hear Him yet.

Jesus was adopted?
Yes. This hit me a couple of years ago. I had this new understanding as I was reading through the Christmas story that Jesus was actually adopted by Joseph. Yes, the Savior of the world was adopted. We read in the accounts of Jesus’ birth that He was born of the virgin Mary, and there’s this moment where Joseph, Mary’s future husband, was about to leave her because she was pregnant. Joseph ends up finding out through an angel that she conceived through the Holy Spirit.

Joseph was left to make a decision. Would he walk out on his future wife, or would he choose to believe the angel that stood before him and trust what God was doing? He chose to stick with his fiancée and ultimately adopt Jesus as his son.

What I’m reminded of with this, and the context that it gives us for the Christmas story, is that God works in the uncertainty, He works in the unexpected, and He works to adopt and create a home for those who call Him and love Him.

God’s promises are both general and specific. 

A theme that is apparent throughout Scripture is that we worship a God who is a promise-keeper. There are numerous times where a Savior was promised in the Old Testament, and Jesus is ultimately the fulfillment of that. Promises like “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3), “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Isaiah 7:14), and the ruler coming from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) all point forward to Him.

The thing that hit me while reading the birth of Jesus this year was that while there are these general promises to all people about the coming Messiah, there are also personal promises throughout the Christmas story:

• Mary is promised that she will conceive and give birth to the Messiah (Luke 1:30–33).
• Joseph is told by the angel that what Mary is saying is in fact true, “that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20–21).
• The shepherds, while they’re out in the fields, are told that the Messiah has come (Luke 2:10–12), and they ultimately see that fulfilled when they go to visit Him.
• Simeon is promised that he will see the Messiah before he dies (Luke 2:25–26), and that promise is fulfilled.

Time and time again there are both general promises to all people, but also specific promises to the people in the Christmas story. What this reminds me and the encouragement it brings to us today, God cares about both the general situations going on in the world as well as the specific situations going on in my life and in your life. You worship a God who gives us these general promises to all people and specific promises to you and me as we are attentive to seek after Him.

So this Christmas, as you hear the birth of Jesus read and as you celebrate the season, take a moment to pause and ask yourself: Are there things I’ve missed about the Christmas story in years past that God wants me to see this year? Are there facts, characters, or settings I haven’t noticed before that God may want to use to show me something specific? As you pray that prayer and seek after those answers, you’ll be amazed that every single Christmas there is something new to see and new truth to understand.