Key Verses: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you
are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me one who will be
ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
Micah 5:2
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be
born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.
Luke 2:6-7A
It's interesting that I began this series talking about a
road trip. Today, we can see the big
sign that informs us that we have arrived.
"You have reached your destination on the right, an inn." The inns of those days served as the rest stops
for weary travelers without family ties, just as today. Messiah is here, in the inn. Well, he isn't really in the inn. He's really out back, in the stable for the
inn as there was no other room available.
All of that glory that Moses couldn't even look at on Mount
Sinai without losing his life is now here, lying in a feeding trough with
peasants for parents and nothing decent to wear for clothes. No
smiling photographer is here to record the moment. The new, proud parents won't send out birth
announcements. This baby is just another
one of the poor riffraff that take up too much of the nation's resources
already.
Our Christmas pageants often make it seem as if Mary was in
labor as they entered Bethlehem. Joseph
is often depicted as the frantic, caring husband, going door to door, throwing
himself on the mercy of anyone who will listen.
We don't know if any of this is true.
It is true that they probably traveled 90 miles from their home in
Nazareth to get to Bethlehem for the census.
But we don't know at all whether they walked or rode a donkey. They also may have had time to settle in a
bit before Mary's labor began.
In addition, it's possible that other family members
traveled with them. After all,
descending from David would be a family matter.
But we have no clue. It is
equally possible, though perhaps less likely when you think about, it that
Joseph was an only child and his parents and other family were all dead and
gone. There is a lot we just don't know
and, evidently, God decided that we don't need to know those extemporaneous
details. The important matter is that
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, just as prophesied.
What we do know is that this is all according to plan. God, not only promised a Savior through the
family of Abraham, but 700 years before this event, God assured little
Bethlehem, the city of David, that it would be the birth place of the hope of
the world. That promise has now been
fulfilled.
God has stooped to the lowest place among man to walk with
the hopeless and to gain the right to say, "I understand." The Lord of the Universe will know hunger and
depravity. He will experience poverty in
all of its rawness. He will know how it
feels to be oppressed by a demanding, uncaring, out of control government; Rome. He will know how it feels to be looked down
upon for lack of position, lack of education or lack of money, even by his own
peers, not to mention the religious leaders of the day. He will know what it is to be lonely. He will know how it feels to be betrayed. He will know your pain as well. You can trust Him with it.
The writer of Hebrews tells us, "We do not have a high
priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has
been tempted in every way, just as we are yet was without sin." (Hebrews
4:15) The example of a perfect life, set before us, has begun this night. Thank you, Lord.
Hymn: "O Little Town of Bethlehem"
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