December 24, 2023
Reading: Luke 2:1-24
Focus: Luke 2:10-12 – But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Father God, we worship You on this night of the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Help us to remember Who we celebrate. Help us to see beyond the presents, food and fun to see the Reason for the Season, Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
It’s Christmas Eve, the night that tradition tells us that Jesus was born. Tradition is an integral part of Christmas. Tradition tells us that Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem just in time for the birth of Jesus. It tells us that He was born in December. It also tells us that the inn had no room. It tells us that He was born in a stable. Both shepherds and wise men came to see the newborn. There were three wise men and hundreds of baby boys were slaughtered by Herod. But are those traditions correct? Let’s look at some of these traditions.
The actual date of Jesus’ birth is a mystery but there are clues in the Gospels that give us a general idea of when and many scholars agree that it was not December 25. Some theories place the choice of that date with the Roman Empire and the Emperor Constantine. Big pagan festivals held at that time of year were replaced with the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus to draw the pagans into the church. Others believe that a historian fixed the date sometime during the 2nd to 3rd century A.D. Regardless of who, how and why the date was chosen, those pagan winter festivals were converted to the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Christian scholars have researched and surmise that He was actually born in early fall. This is based on the fact that shepherds usually are out in the fields until late fall, after which they bring the flocks into the folds for the winter. The year is also an unknown. Herod the Great was king from around 36 BC to 4 BC. The star that the magi followed, calculated by modern astronomers, appeared in the sky between 6-4 BC and the census and taxation by Caesar occurred during the same time frame. So, based on this, Jesus may have been born somewhere between 6-4 BC. To change Christmas at this late date would be a disaster. It would require massive changes for the entire world. Economies are tied to the year end sales increases, as well as school calendars, church calendars and family calendars. It really doesn’t matter when He was actually born as long as we celebrate the fact that He was born.
There was a census around 6-4 BC and every man was to go to the hometown of his family to be registered. We know that both Mary and Joseph were of the House of David. David’s home city was Bethlehem. So, they had to travel to Bethlehem. So, the timing seems just about right. The census was not a sudden thing either. It generally occurred about every 5 years. Joseph would have known that it was coming up and probably planned for it. He knew how long it would take them to travel to Bethlehem and most likely took great care in making it easier on Mary, since she was pregnant.
Luke says this about Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem. “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” (Luke 2: 6-7). This tells us a great deal about the timing of Jesus’ birth and where. The Bible tells us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but it does not state that Mary and Joseph arrived just in time for the baby’s birth. I would like to ask the women reading this. Would you travel 75 miles, give or take a few, on a donkey at nine months pregnant? Husbands, would you take a trip that far with your wife in that condition? I don’t think so. I also don’t believe that God would cut the timing that close either. Luke says, “While they were there . . .” I take that to say they had been there for a time period. How long? Is that necessary to the story? In short, no. Then he says, “. . . the time came for the baby to be born . . .” They were waiting for the birth, not arriving in the throes of labor.
Now, looking at where He was born. Joseph and Mary were of David’s family and, most likely, had many relatives in Bethlehem. With the census sending everyone back to the city of their family origin, Bethlehem was full up. All the relatives had other relatives staying with them. The story in Luke does not mention an inn or innkeeper in the original Greek. The Greek word kataluma which was translated as ‘inn’ in early translations does not mean an actual inn. It means a guest room. Most homes, at that time, had two levels. The upper level was for guests and the lower level was divided into two parts. One for the family and the other, when necessary, for livestock brought into the downstairs area for protection. So, when Mary and Joseph arrived at their relatives’ door, the guest room was already full, probably to overflowing. They were given a portion of the lower floor to live in, which would have included a manger for feed when animals were inside. In a society that valued family, what relative would turn away a pregnant woman?
Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth is a long story, short. It gives all the details but not all the actual timing. Just the facts. Which is all we really need. Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem for a reason, the census. She was pregnant and while they were there for the census, she gave birth. They more than likely stayed in a portion of a relative’s home but not the guest room because it was full. The portion in which they were living in had a manger, which was a perfect cradle for the newborn.
We know that the shepherds came to see the newborn baby. They said an angel had appeared to them and scared them nearly to death. But the angel told them not to be afraid. There was wonderous news. Luke puts it this way, “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”” (Luke 2:10-14). Ok, I’m going out on a limb here. You drop an angel in on me in the middle of the night and I am going to be on my face in abject fear. You’re gonna have to do some serious “Don’t be afraid” to calm me down. I can’t even imagine what those shepherds were feeling. First of all, nowhere in the Bible are angels described as women or soft. They are warriors, people. Gabriel stood in the presence of God, regularly. They appeared as men. So, yeah, fear is a natural reaction. But they listened and went to see what the angels were talking about. They were the first Christian news reporters. AND THEY TOLD EVERYONE THEY SAW about the baby in the manger!
The next part of the story is the three wise men. The Bible does not give the number of wise men. It DOES state that there were three types of gifts. Gold, frankincense and myrrh. The Bible does not say that they were kings however they did have the right connections to be able to visit King Herod in his palace. They came from the east. They had seen “His star” when it rose and had come to worship Him. But the Bible does not say they followed the star at first. These men were astrologers and astronomers, believing the star was an astrological sign that signified the birth of a king. These men were scholars as well. They probably had copies of the prophets and all the other portions of the Old Testament, so they would have known where the child was to have been born. Speculation is that they came from Arabia or Persia. Hundreds of miles from Bethlehem. It would have taken them a couple of years to get to Jesus’ birthplace. But they persevered and arrived in Jerusalem, where one would expect a king to have been born or to be living.
King Herod was not a happy man after he learned why the wisemen had come to Jerusalem. He questioned them, learned when the star had first appeared and shared with them the prophecy his advisors had found that Bethlehem was where the “. . . ruler who will shepherd my people, Israel.” would be born. He told the wisemen to find the child and then come back to tell him where He was so that he could worship him too. But Herod was a very paranoid man and guarded his kingship ruthlessly. Worship was the last thing on his mind.
The men headed to Bethlehem and according to Matthew 2:9, “. . . the star that they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.” They had found who they sought. They went into the house (not a stable but a house), bowed down and worshiped Him. They had no question that this was the King that has been prophesied and whose star proclaimed His birth. They gave gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold for the royalty of the King of Kings. Frankincense, costly and often used in the worship of deity. Myrrh, a key ingredient in the spices used to prepare a body for burial. The amount of these gifts is not given but they were not cheap items either. They are symbolic of the life that Jesus would live. The wisemen left, never returning to Herod because they had been warned in a dream not to.
Herod, in his insane jealousy, not willing to allow anyone else to be called King of the Jews, ordered that all baby boys, age 2 and under, in Bethlehem to be killed. The age of two was not arbitrary. He had learned when the wisemen had first seen the star and knew about how old Jesus was at the time of their visit. Tradition has that there were anywhere from 14,000 to 144,000 baby boys killed. However, remember that Bethlehem was a tiny town of about 1000 people. It is estimated, based on that population, that there were maybe 12 to 16 baby boys, age 2 and under in Bethlehem.
Tradition is a good thing. Please, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes, traditions are just that. Tradition, based on someone’s idea of what occurred or should occur. Sometimes we get all wrapped up in traditions of Christmas and forget the reason for Christmas. So, when we celebrate Christmas, we should not be celebrating the traditions. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. The baby who would grow to be the man who would die on the cross about thirty-three years later for our sins. Christmas is the advent of Salvation for all mankind. The news went to Israel first. The Israelites were originally shepherds. Then, the Gentiles sought Him out. Wise men still seek Him.
What are you celebrating? Christmas or Christ?
Father God, Help us to focus of the Christ of Christmas. Help us to look beyond the traditions to You. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Food For Thought
- What family traditions do you have that you follow at Christmas?
- What do those traditions mean to you?
- Do they help you focus on the reason for Christmas? Why or why not?
- Have you added to your family traditions at Christmas? How?
- Do you celebrate the season or the reason for the season?
