So I’m a little late with this, about 3 months or so, but I finally saw The Nativity Story this weekend. A film about the most famous birth in all of human history, it came originally during the Christmas season of 2006 but I was sadly unable to see it at the time.

The film begins with Zechariah at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem finding out that his wife, who was of old age, was going to have a child — he would later become known as John the Baptist. Then it goes into Mary’s life and her visit from an angel telling her that the holy spirit would come upon her with God’s child. It also shows how Joseph and Mary were the result of an arranged marriage, which I personally did not know before watching the movie. I did know, however, that there was a lot of difficulty between them, particularly at first due to Mary’s pregnancy with Jesus in her womb, and the film did a good job of illustrating this.

It shows how Joseph and Mary ended up in Bethlehem and the hardships they endured on their journey, which ultimately brought them closer together. Finally, it shows the birth of Jesus, and the tremendous occasion it was for all at the time. The movie concludes with Joseph taking Mary and Jesus to Egypt to flee King Herod, after an angel visits Joseph and tells him Herod is coming to kill baby Jesus.

All-in-all I thought this was a magnificent film that I could watch over and over again, and perhaps the most moving one I have seen since The Passion of the Christ. I highly recommend this movie to Christians all around the world, as well as anyone with an interest in Jesus, Mary or Joseph.