WHY THE NATIVITY? Answers 25 Questions About the Birth of Christ
By Movieguide® Staff
Jesus’ birth changed the course of human history forever. In the faith-filled movie, WHY THE NATIVITY? experts dove into the beauty and depth of the momentous moment.
The movie, which is based on the book of the same title written by Dr. David Jeremiah, is a documentary style movie that draws from both the Old and New Testament to answer commonly asked questions about the Nativity story.
According to the Movieguide® review, WHY THE NATIVITY? has a strong Christian, biblical worldview. It discusses the meaning of the incarnation of the only begotten Son of God. It also presents the Gospel of Jesus Christ. WHY THE NATIVITY? is a great Christmas gift for the whole family.
Jeremiah recently sat down with Sheila Walsh to discuss his book, the movie, and reason for celebration this Christmas season.
“Every book is like an adventure. People always ask you, why did you write that book? And if you stop for a moment and think about it, there’s always a reason,” he explained. “I was in my office one day and a friend of mine called in and said that they wanted to do this book project where we would answer 25 questions about the Nativity. We brought our team together and worked on it and ‘Why The Nativity’ was the result.”
However, the movie version of the book presented several challenges, that were amplified when the COVID-19 pandemic delayed production.
“I think a lot of times, if we knew at the beginning, what it was going to take for us to get to the end, we might have said, let’s don’t do this,” he said. “But we had a great sense of what this could mean.”
“We have a guy on our staff named Paul Joiner, who has a background in this and knows a lot about it and we had no doubt that if we got everything together, Paul could pull it off,” he said of the movie’s director.
Despite their initial optimism, they said delays from the pandemic made several on the team question whether or not they should try to finish the project.
“That was so discouraging, because we had just gotten a sense of momentum,” he said. “We’d got started and then we started getting messages back. We don’t have any workers, nobody can come to work. And so we had to shut it all down. And we didn’t know what to do. We just sort of said, well, let’s try to get through COVID. See what happens.
“If you were among the inner circle of this group, you would know there was a meeting one day in the conference room, we were about halfway into our budget. And we had half way to go. It’s kind of like you’re in the middle of the lake. And it’s as far to the other side as it is to where you started, and we had this discussion,” he continued. “I remember there were some tears in that meeting. I’ll never forget it. For a moment, we thought maybe this isn’t going to happen. And then I remember saying, look, we’ve never started anything in the past that we didn’t finish and we’re going to finish this. I don’t know how we’re gonna finish it, but we’re gonna finish it. So let’s quit talking about not finishing it. Let’s finish this. And we all took a deep breath and began part two.”
Jeremiah said that they were thankful that they did press on, because stories of how the project affected people started to pour in.
“There’s so many stories about people whose lives have been impacted,” he said. “One of the things that I think is really cool is that we have used some people in the set who aren’t from our faith, people who are just really good actors and actresses. They’ve come on this set and they’ve seen the love of Jesus in the lives of our people. And it’s had an amazing impact on them. And we hear this almost every day that God is in this because he’s in the people that are doing it.”
Although Jeremiah said that they plan to air the program on several networks, the Museum of the Bible is putting on a special premiere event in Washington D.C.
“There’s a wonderful ministry there called the Museum of the Bible and they have a grabbed hold of this and they’re going to show it during the Christmas season. There’s something to be said about doing projects that when they’re done, they’re so amazing that only God can get the credit. That’s what I think is happening,” he said. “We all worked hard. We know we had a part in this. But this is not something that humanity can pull off. If God were not in this, we couldn’t be doing what we’re doing.”
As for the movie itself, Jeremiah hopes that it will show believers and non-believers alike the hope that the birth of Christ brings to the world; in the past and today.
“We’ll show you that when Jesus entered this world, everything changed,” he said. “We who are Christians know that He came to change us. But he also changed the world. And he brought hope where there wasn’t any hope. He brought peace into hostility. Yes, the coming of Jesus Christ into this world was the watershed of history.”
“if you study history, you realize that it was Jesus, or oblivion. History was at a very, very challenging point,” he continued. “The Bible says, ‘In the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son.’ What a great message.”
“The result of putting one’s faith in Christ is quite evident to anyone who wants to really examine it,” he added. “It’s not an isolated story. For all these many years since He came, hundreds of thousands of people have put their trust in Christ. He is the truth. If you put your trust in Him, He will do for you what He’s done for all those who put their trust in Him.”
Jeremiah said that in today’s culture it is an unpopular opinion to believe in one truth, but it is reality.
“So many people say, ‘well, that’s not my truth. That’s your truth. I don’t believe in that.’ But the truth of Jesus is true for everyone. Everywhere. Always,” he said. “It’s not implicated by how we respond to it. Some people give you the impression that it’s since they don’t believe in it, it isn’t true. You cannot make the truth of Jesus untrue by simply saying, I don’t accept it. He is the truth.”
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
