When a life-upsetting event occurs, many of us like to go away to a different place so that we can think about the situation. Perhaps a change of environment will help to see our situation more clearly. When the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would give birth to a son through the power of the Holy Spirit, she went to stay for about three months with her relative Elizabeth, who was also expecting a child. However, when the time came for Elizabeth’s child, John, to be born it was also time for Mary to return to her own home.
Though Mary received great comfort and encouragement from her stay with Elizabeth, she returned to an uncertain future. Though Luke does not record this in his inspired Gospel, we know from other Scriptures that Joseph, Mary’s fiancé, decided to divorce her. He thought Mary had broken her vows and been unfaithful to him. It was only after an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and explained the true situation that Joseph was willing to accept Mary into his house. No doubt the village gossips had plenty to say about both Mary and Joseph when he did so.
The unbelief of their friends and the slander of the village gossips was not the only problem the couple had to face. The Roman government also gave them trouble. In chapter 2, verses 1 through 7 of his inspired Gospel, Luke explains, “Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant. While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
The birth of Jesus totally violates our sense of what is appropriate. Remember that the angel told Mary that the son she would bear would be a king and that His kingdom would never end. It is true that both Mary and Joseph were descendants of King David, but it is also true that they were poor, unknown and from an obscure village. On the surface, there was nothing royal about them. Royal couples travel with a huge entourage of servants to take care of their every need. Their vehicles are the best and most comfortable that money can buy. But this couple did not travel in comfort. Joseph and Mary had no one to attend them. Though popular tradition pictures Mary riding a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the Bible does not say she did. It is possible that she had to walk the whole way even though she was pregnant. On the roads she and Joseph probably traveled this was a distance of about 145 kilometers. Royal couples are given the best rooms in the fanciest accommodations. But for this couple there was no room at all. They had to content themselves with staying with the animals. The birth of a royal child is attended by the finest physicians and given the best care. This child was born attended by animals and had to make do with a feeding trough for a bed.
There are some who take offense at the circumstances of Jesus’ birth and say that God would never subject His holy Prophet to such lowly and humiliating circumstances. But they forget the reason Jesus came into the world. Though He was born a King, He came to serve and eventually give His life for all mankind. He taught that greatness is achieved by serving others. Therefore it is entirely appropriate that the One through whom the universe was created would be born into obscure poverty. Starting with His birth His life was a practical illustration of His teaching.
God gave another sign that the Savior was for everyone, not just the rich and powerful. In verses 8 through 20 Luke writes, “There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.” Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.” When the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough. When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child. All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.”
The shepherds were terrified when the angel appeared to them and the Lord’s glory shone around them. Almost anyone would be frightened if their normal routine was interrupted by a divine visitation. However, unlike many, the shepherds did not allow their fright to paralyze them. They not only listened to the angel’s message, they believed it. Then, the shepherds acted on their belief. They left their flocks in the fields and hurried to Bethlehem to see the new-born Savior as He lay in the manger. The shepherd’s behavior is in stark contrast to that of the religious leaders in Jerusalem. The Apostle Matthew records that when the leaders were told that the Messiah the Jewish people had been anticipating for hundreds of years had finally been born, they could not be bothered to travel the short distance to Bethlehem to welcome Him. Throughout His time on the earth it was the religious leaders who opposed Christ while the common people heard Him gladly.
The rough and primitive conditions in which they found the Savior did not matter to the shepherds. Instead, they praised and glorified God. Since the shepherds found the new-born baby and His parents just as the angel described them, they knew the angel also spoke the truth about this child being the promised Savior. After seeing Jesus they spread the news about His birth.
What about us? Are we are offended by the circumstances of Jesus birth? Like the innkeeper do we refuse Jesus room? Are we indifferent like the religious leaders, or like the humble shepherds do we rejoice at the coming of our Savior? If you would like to know more about this child born in such lowly conditions, listen to our next program.