Christmas drama:
SCENE 1
[Mary on stage]
Narrator: Mary was an unknown young woman who was engaged to a man called Joseph.
Suddenly an angel appeared to Mary & said:
[Angel rushes onto the stage]
Angel: Greetings, God is pleased with you!
Narrator: Mary was pppp-petrified!
Angel: Don't be afraid Mary, God is pleased with you.
You are going to have a baby, & you must give him the name 'Jesus'.
God will be the father, so he will be called the Son of God!
Mary: How come?! I can't have a baby, I'm not married!
Angel: God's Spirit will make this happen, don't worry.
[Angel leaves the stage]
Narrator: Mary believed what the angel had told her.
But she had a problem ... how was she going to tell Joseph!
[Mary leaves the stage stroking her chin & shaking her head]
SCENE 2
[Joseph stomps onto the stage]
Joseph: [angrily] What do you mean, you're pregnant!
I haven't touched you!
[Mary comes onto the stage, head hanging down]
Joseph: Our wedding can't go ahead!
I'll cancel all the arrangements!
Mary: But an angel appeared to me!
You've got to believe me!
God is going to be the father of this baby!
It's true Joseph, you'll have to believe me!
[Mary runs off the stage]
Joseph: What am I going to do?
This is so humiliating!
[Joseph buries his head in his hands]
Narrator: While Joseph was in despair, an angel appeared & said:
[Angel walks onto the stage]
Angel: Joseph! Don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife!
God is the father of this baby.
Mary will give birth to a son, & you are to name him Jesus.
He will save his people from their sins.
[Angel leaves the stage]
Narrator: Now all this happened according to a prophesy which was spoken 700 years earlier.
The prophet had said:
"See, a virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and he will be known as Immanuel," which means, "God with us."
[Joseph leaves the stage]
Narrator: There was another prophecy, relating to where this child was going to be born, & that place was Bethlehem.
But Mary & Joseph lived in a little village called Nazareth, which was 180 miles from Bethlehem!
So did they remember the prophecy & go to Bethlehem just to have the baby?
No! This is what happened:
As the time got nearer to the baby being born, the Roman authority, who ruled Israel, did an amazing thing.
They decided that everyone in the whole Roman empire should be counted, but they didn't issue forms to be filled in.
They ordered that every family was to go back to the town where the head of their household was born.
So for Joseph, that meant travelling to Bethlehem!
When Joseph & Mary got to Bethlehem they found the town heaving with people, & all the guest houses & hotels were full.
But because Mary was so pregnant, an Inn keeper had pity on her.
He took them to a stable where there was at least some dry straw to sleep on.
Mary gave birth to a son & she laid him in a straw lined feeding trough - known as a 'manger'.
SCENE 3
[A group of shepherds sitting around a fire]
Narrator: Meanwhile out on a hillside nearby, a group of shepherds were huddled around a camp fire.
[Angel rushes onto the stage]
Narrator: Suddenly an angel appeared to them & said:
Angel: Don't be afraid!
I bring you great news - not just for you, but for everyone!
Today in the town of Bethlehem a Savior has been born.
He is God's Son, the One that all the prophesies point to.
Go & look!
This will be the sign to you that you've found the right child: You will find a baby wrapped in small strips of cloth & lying in a manger.
[Onto the stage walks a group of angels]
Narrator:Then a whole group of angels appeared & said:
Group of angels: May everyone adore & worship God, & may His peace be upon those who please Him.
[Shepherds fall onto the ground in fear]
[All the angels leave the stage]
Shepherd 1: They've all gone!
Shepherd 2: Amazing! This is something special to tell the family!
Shepherd 3: Let's go down to Bethlehem & see the baby! Come on!
[Shepherds leave the stage]
Narrator: So the shepherds found Joseph, Mary & the baby lying in a manger, just as the angels had told them.
They then returned to their hillside, praising & worshipping God, & whoever they met they told them what they had seen.
SCENE 4
[King Herod sitting upon his throne]
Narrator: Later, some wise men from the east saw a very bright star & they believed that it signified the birth of a great King in Israel.
So they travelled to that land to meet this newly born King.
But the trouble was, they didn't know where he was, so they went to the capital - Jerusalem, & met king Herod.
[The 3 wise men come onto the stage & bow before king Herod]
Wise man 1: Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?
Wise man 2: We saw his star, signifying that an important king has been born in Israel.
Wise man 3: So we have come to worship him & give him gifts.
King Herod: [angrily] What! A king has been born!
Where? I haven't heard about this!
I am the king around here!
I want to know more about this - get my advisors!
[The advisors come onto the stage]
King Herod: This king that these wise men from the east are looking for, does the Scripture tell us where he will be born?
Advisor 1: Yes king Herod. The Scripture tells us that he will be born in Bethlehem.
Advisor 2: And that he will be a Ruler who will shepherd his people.
[king Herod looks worried]
King Herod: You wise men, go & find this newly born king.
Then come back to tell me where he is. [Herod gives a sly look]
I want to worship him as well!
[Wise men leave the stage]
Narrator: The wise men left king Herod & the star reappeared which led them to where Joseph, Mary & Jesus were.
They were now living in a house at Bethlehem, which was much more comfortable than the stable!
[King Herod leaves the stage]
SCENE 5
[On stage: Mary, Joseph & Jesus]
Joseph: That's a knock on the door. Who can that be at this time of the night?
[Joseph leaves the stage & then brings the wise men onto the stage with him]
Joseph: These men are from a far away country.
They have followed a bright star to here, & they want to give some gifts to the newly born King!
Mary: You are welcome. Come & give your gifts.
[The wise men, one at a time, go up to Jesus, kneel down on one knee & put their gift next to the baby, & then rejoin the others]
Wise man 1: I bring you gold, to show that you are indeed a King.
Wise man 2: I bring you incense, to show that you are God.
Wise man 3: I bring you myrrh, to show that you will die.
[The wise men leave the stage]
Narrator: The wise men get warned by an angel not to go back to king Herod, but to go home by a different route.
King Herod wasn't interested in worshipping Jesus, he just wanted Jesus killed, so that there was no threat to himself being king.
When king Herod realised that the wise men hadn't come back to say where Jesus was, he ordered his troops to kill all the boys under 2 years old in that area.
That would guarantee that Jesus would be killed!
But God sent an angel to Joseph & Mary:
[An angel runs onto the stage]
Angel: Get out of here! Quick!
Escape to Egypt, because king Herod's troops are coming to kill the child!
[They quickly gather together a few things & then leave the stage]
Narrator: So they left that very night & went to Egypt.
SCENE 6
[Joseph asleep in a chair]
Narrator: When king Herod died, an angel appeared to Joseph & said:
[An angel walks onto the stage]
Angel: Get up! Take Jesus & Mary to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are now dead.
[Joseph leaves the stage with the angel]
Narrator: They then went back to Nazareth, & in doing this they fulfilled another prophecy which said: "Out of Egypt I called My Son."
Jesus grew into a young man.
He taught many people about God - calling Him 'Father', & he performed many miracles proving that what He had said was the truth.