“So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered, and she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:6-7 (NKJV)
We all know the story of Joseph and Mary’s journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register for the census; most of us might have considered the difficulty of that journey for a very pregnant Mary. As difficult as the travel might have been, there is another level of anxiety that we (or at least I) have overlooked. I think of Joseph, a just man according to Matthew 1:19, and also a man charged by “an angel of the Lord” to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife; adding more pressure upon Joseph, the angel tells him that this Jesus will be the Savior.
I can easily see this couple frantically searching for a room for Mary to birth her baby as door after door was closed to them. Mary is beside herself with the need to find shelter and Joseph is desperate to take care of his young bride as he searches for a room. When they’ve done all that they can (there is a lesson there too) someone offers them a stable with the animals for the birth of their baby.
Surely God could have provided a more suitable accommodation? Indeed He could, but it was by His grand design that the Christ child was born in such meager lodgings; God has a history of using the weak and the poor to further His plan. Within hours after the birth of Jesus the angels appear to a band of shepherds and announce the birth of Jesus. Luke 2:8-20 tells us of their experience and resulting visit to the stable where Jesus lay.
Why did God choose lowly shepherds to be the first to know of the birth of our Savior? If we think about it, it makes perfect sense; the Shepherds were probably the only folk for whom a visit to a stable to visit a newborn baby would not have been distasteful, the conditions there would have been very familiar to them.
Once again “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise...” 1 Corinthians 1:27 (KJV) n
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:14
Merry Christmas!!!
