Read Luke 1:5-25. (If you click on this link you can read it from the NIV Bible.)

An angel from God told a Priest named Zachariah that his wife was going to have a son, and that they were to name him John. His wife Elizabeth was old and had no children. Zachariah didn’t believe the angel at first so he was unable to speak again until after the baby was born. They named the baby John.

“Why does the Christmas story in the Bible start with a baby named John? I thought Jesus was the baby. ” Children look at me with puzzled faces when I read the Christmas story to them from the Bible. The book of Luke in the Bible tells about John before it tells about Jesus. Who is John?

John was called John the Baptist when he grew up. God had a special job for John to do. His important job was to help people get their hearts ready to meet Jesus. John taught people that they needed to turn from their sins and to be baptized. When John baptized Jesus, he knew that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah.

The real Christmas story is about Jesus, but God used people like John to help show that Jesus was God’s Son. John was about six months older than Jesus. He was also Jesus’ cousin.

Dear God, help me to remember John’s message to the people, and help me to keep from sinning. Help me to have a clean heart so I can live better for Jesus. Help me to remember that Jesus is the real reason why we have Christmas. Help me to love you more and more every day. Amen.

© 2010 by Janice D. Green