The Nativity Story Movie Review

 

   Without a doubt, my favorite Christmas movie is The Nativity Story. It’s a movie that beautifully captures the wonder of the Nativity.
  The costumes and settings are wonderfully done, really bringing you back to turbulent first-century Judea. And the music--I love the music! The score is beautiful, and there are lovely renditions of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” “Silent Night,” and other Christmas songs.
  I like how it portrays Mary, Joseph, and the other characters who played a part in the birth of Christ. They were people who loved God and were seeking to serve Him, yet they were sinful human beings who needed a Savior just like the rest of us.
  Keep in mind that it is Biblical fiction; there is artistic license taken. We don’t know how Mary felt at first about being betrothed to Joseph or what the wise men’s names and personalities were. And the wise men probably didn’t arrive on the night of Jesus’ birth. But for the most part, the story stays consistent with Scripture.
  Most importantly, it communicates that Jesus is truly the promised Messiah, the One who came to save His people from their sins. The prophecies of the Messiah to come are talked of throughout the movie. Joseph relates to Mary how the angel told him He would be called Jesus because He will save His people from their sins. And Mary tells a shepherd, “He is for all mankind.”
  It shows the sinful and broken world He was born into, including the unpleasant, but important, part of the story when Herod has the baby boys in Bethlehem slaughtered in an attempt to kill Jesus. We also see examples of how the Jews suffer under Roman rule--executions, high taxes, someone’s daughter being sold to be able to pay those taxes, and other glimpses of poverty and oppression. It was in the midst of that darkness that the true light of the world came to save us from our worst problem--sin, and give us the hope of eternal life with Him. 

   Overall, I highly recommend The Nativity Story as a beautiful portrayal of when “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” (John 1:14). 

   But don’t just watch the movie! Read the accounts in the Bible of the birth of Christ: Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2. Read in John 1:1-18 the beautiful words about how the eternal God became man. Read in the first chapters of Genesis about Creation and the Fall, and how God had a plan for redemption even then. Read the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled such as Micah 5:2, Isaiah 9:6, and Isaiah 53. And read the accounts of His death and resurrection in Matthew 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, and John 18-21.     Remember how He came humbly in a manger, suffered, and died, for you. And have a Merry Christmas!

All for Him,
Savannah Jane