Bible Verses About Christmas Eve: What to Read on December 24th

Ashland Watson
Dec 24, 2025
5 min read

December 24th hits different, doesn't it? Maybe you're finally off work, or the kids are wound up with anticipation, or you're alone and feeling the weight of another year passing. Whatever your Christmas Eve looks like, the Bible has something to say about this night, about waiting, about hope arriving in unexpected ways, about God showing up when we need Him most.

These Bible verses about Christmas Eve aren't just historical accounts. They're about the night everything shifted, when prophecy became reality and heaven couldn't stay silent anymore.

Isaiah 7:14 – The Ancient Promise

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

Call his name Immanuel, God with us. This prophecy was spoken centuries before that first Christmas Eve, but it's the perfect place to start your reading tonight. The virgin shall conceive. It's the promise that Mary his mother would fulfill, the moment when God's rescue plan moved from prophecy to reality.

On Christmas Eve, we're sitting on the edge of Immanuel becoming flesh and dwelling among us.

Luke 1:30-35 – Mary's Yes

"And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of God...The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.'"

Mary's story is one of the best Bible verses about Christmas Eve because it's so deeply human. An ordinary young woman receiving extraordinary news. Her response, "Let it be to me according to your word"... changed everything.

Tonight, as you read about how she would bear a son, remember that God still does His most beautiful work through people who simply say yes to Him.

Luke 2:10-12 – Fear Not, For Behold

"And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger.'"

These verses are Christmas Eve in scripture form. The birth of Jesus Christ announced to shepherds, working-class guys on a night shift who suddenly found themselves at the center of the most important moment in human history.

Behold, I bring good news. That's what this night is about. Not just sentiment or tradition, but actual, earth-shaking good news that a Savior has come.

Luke 2:13-14 – Glory to God

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'"

On Christmas Eve, we join that chorus. We add our voices to the angels' song, celebrating the firstborn son and wrapped in cloths who would change everything.

Matthew 1:23 – Immanuel Has Come

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us)."

Matthew quotes Isaiah's prophecy again, but now it's not future tense, it's present reality. Behold the virgin, look! See! It's happening. What was promised is now fulfilled.

God with us. That's what you're celebrating tonight. Not a distant deity, but God who chose to be near, to be vulnerable, to be one of us.

John 1:14 – Grace and Truth Arrived

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 1:14 might be my favorite of all the Bible verses about Christmas Eve because it captures the theological weight of what happened. Grace and truth, both together, perfectly balanced in Jesus.

The Word didn't just speak to us from a distance. He became flesh. He moved into the neighborhood. That baby in the manger is God choosing proximity over power, humility over majesty.

Matthew 2:11 – Gifts of Worship

"And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold and frankincense and myrrh."

The wise men's journey (which likely came later, but began because of this night) shows us how to respond to Jesus. They brought gifts: gold and frankincense and myrrh, gold for a king, frankincense for a priest, myrrh for burial.

Even in infancy, Jesus' purpose was clear.

What gift are you bringing tonight? Not wrapped in paper, but the offering of your life, your trust, your yes to whatever He's asking.

John 3:16 – Why He Came

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

Christmas Eve isn't just nostalgia. It's the beginning of God's rescue mission. That baby came with purpose, to offer eternal life, to reconcile us to the Father, to make a way when there was no way.

Tonight, as you read these Bible verses about Christmas Eve, remember: this is personal. This is for you.

Sitting in the Wonder

December 24th has its own particular grace. The anticipation, the quiet, the sense that something sacred is about to break through. These Bible verses about Christmas Eve remind us that God meets us in our waiting. He entered darkness as light. He came into brokenness as wholeness.

As you read tonight, let these words sink deep. Let them carry you into Christmas morning with fresh wonder at the God who refused to stay distant.

This Christmas season, Mosaic is inviting you to cultivate change alongside local church leaders transforming communities from Tanzania to the Philippines, to South Asia to Rwanda. Just as God planted hope in Bethlehem that first Christmas Eve, He's still at work through His church today. Consider joining our year-end campaign to help plant seeds of transformation that will bear fruit for generations to come.