Joseph and Mary’s Journey to Bethlehem
Luke 2:1-20
Summary
Imagine you had a friend who had never heard the Christmas story before. They
might have seen a Holywood film but all that would end up suggesting is snow, a
fat man wearing red and reindeer. They would have no idea of the story told in
the Bible. How would you tell the story?
Caesar Augustus passes a law that everyone should be registered for a poll tax,
in Israel this take s the form of returning to where your family is from, which
means Joseph and Mary returning to Bethlehem. It was a while before the time
there that the baby was born. We don’t know how long they were there before
the baby was born but there is no evidence to suggest it happened on the night
they arrived - the Bible doesn’t tell us!
Since they were around Bethlehem for a while, they would have needed a place
to stay. The nativity suggests that because of the census, everywhere was full
and so they had to stay in a stable of an inn. However, as Joseph was returning
to some form of family, no family member would have been refused hospitality.
The word used for inn is “Katalyma” which was the word used for guest room
either on the roof of the house, or at the side of it. (The Story of the Passover in
Luke also uses this word). As these were full Mary and Joseph would have
stayed in the one family room of the Bethlehem houses.
When the time came for Jesus to be born, he was born and placed in a manger
but that’s because the animals were kept in the same room as the family lived
but the ‘family room’ was on a slightly raised level.
On the same night there were shepherds, watching their flocks at night, on the
hills around Bethlehem. They were regarded as unclean by Jewish teachers and
were outcasts of society. However, an angel appeared that night and told them,
first, that the Saviour, the Messiah, the one the Jews had expected for centuries,
had been born. But not in a palace, but in a normal little house like their house
was. In fact, the manger would have been a sign for the Shepherds.
The Shepherds went down to Bethlehem where they were received and
welcomed. They left “praising God for all they had heard and seen.” Why “all”?
This probably included the wonderful hospitality, the family in perfectly adequate
accommodation. It wasn’t a dirty stable, or the shepherds would have invited
Mary and Joseph back to theirs.
What Does the Story Mean?
Deliberate Contrast Between Caesar and Jesus
Caesar was described as “Saviour of the World”; gifts were exchanged on his
birthday. He ruled in Rome and sent commands throughout the empire. The true
Saviour of the World was born in a small peasant house in Bethlehem, fulfilling
Micah 5:2.
The Messiah Identified with Ordinary Humble People
It was a picture of what true leadership in the Christian era was about – humble,
servant leadership. No status, no pomp and ceremony, no fine robes or special
clothes for Christian leaders. Leadership is to reflect the one who was born in a
peasant home and laid in a manger.
It Announced God’s Plan to Rescue the World through Israel’s Messiah.
The Messiah is born, a descendent of David. Where as when David was
anointed, when they first had to go to the hills to find a shepherd boy, we see
here that the boy was born and it was announced to the shepherds in the hills
around – this is God’s way of putting everything right!
But What About the Inn…
The inn is possible though very unlikely as the word is better translated as guest
room. However, these imaginative stories convey a truth of Jesus having been
often not received, so is still useful. But the true story also teaches us very
important things…
Questions:

In what ways did Sunday’s message alter your view of the Christmas
story? Was there parts of the story you had never considered before?

How does the ‘real story’ of Christmas improve Christmas for you?
o In this story the important of family takes a more central role.

If God’s concern right from the beginning was the poor and needy. How
can we as a group and individuals help those in need this Christmas?