The Real Christmas Story? (12/12/11)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Luke 2:1-7.

We all know that the current "spirit of Christmas" is extremely corrupt and virtually ignores the birth of Jesus. People are pepper spraying other shoppers to get the special sale item. A man in West Virginia died of a heart attack while other shoppers stepped over him to grab the special deal. Even in our churches too much time is spent on the decorations and not enough time on the power of the incarnation of our Lord and Savior. The Christians need to be praying and seeking their Lord for direction on how to overcome the influx of the world's influence into something that was meant to honor Jesus our Messiah and Master.

In Luke we see Joseph and Mary, normal Jewish people of their time, except of course for this virgin birth thing. Joseph had to pay taxes to King Herod. He also had to pay a Temple tax. But worst of all was that Rome also collected taxes. Caesar wanted more money, and to be sure that everyone was accounted for, he required all of them to return to the town of their birth to register in a census.

Thankfully, yes we can be thankful about taxes and government paperwork (1 Thes 5:18), our government collects census information by mail or by sending representatives door to door. Our government collects taxes from our payrolls, at the store, no matter what we think they find us. Caesar made everyone go to him, no exceptions. So Joseph, with his very pregnant wife Mary, had to travel to Bethlehem to register in order to have the privilege of paying another tax. The "very pregnant" wife is traditional thing. All we know is that it happened after the third month of Mary's pregnancy (Luke 1:56).

I know that the majority of Christmas cards and story books depicting their travel to Bethlehem show Joseph leading a donkey with Mary riding on it. It's all very gallant and gentlemanly, but also unlikely, because nowhere in the biblical account is a donkey mentioned. They probably walked to Bethlehem. Certainly there were rich Jews who had donkeys or horses or camels for transportation, but that was a luxury at this time. In fact, if Joseph owned one it's most likely that the donkey was used to carry his carpentry tools.

Their travel was tough and spartan. There were no motels along the way as they traveled the 70-75 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. They had to sleep in barns or stables or out in the open. This was the norm for people traveling at this time. When they finally arrived at Bethlehem they actually got what would be considered decent accommodations for their time, a stable. The innkeeper gets a bad reputation in most of our traditional stories, but again the biblical account doesn't even mention one. All it says is, "there was no room in the inn."

Actually, given the situation of Mary's pregnancy, they got a better deal staying in the stable. An inn (caravansary) wasn't very sanitary, with people and animals crammed into small spaces. The rooms were small and had dirt floors. It was likely a courtyard surrounded by rooms, without much privacy and a whole lot of noise.

Now there are all kinds of ideas and speculations about the stable. Some say it was a cave. Others say it was a barn made out of stone or dried clay bricks. Some even think it was a wooden barn. The only hint we have is that Jesus was laid in a manger, an animal feeding trough. If it was a cave, which is very likely given the way Bethlehem is surrounded by hills, then it was a trough carved right out of the limestone. If it was something else, then a wooden one would certainly be likely. No matter what, it was an extremely humble birth for the King of the Universe.

Now for the night of his birth. Most of our traditional stories tell us Mary was in labor the moment they entered Bethlehem. The Bible says, "While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born." That doesn't sound like such an immediate thing. They no doubt had time to settle in and find a midwife to help with the birth, or maybe an innkeeper's wife could actually fit into the story. We don't get tons of detail from the Scriptures. There's no date given, just a hint of the season. And the Magi didn't show up on the night of his birth, only the shepherds did.

The Wise Men weren't kings, but were court astrologers/advisors. They were men like what Nebuchadnezzar trained Daniel to do. They no doubt saw the star on the night Jesus was born, but they studied it a while before beginning their travels. And even if they'd started on the night of his birth, you don't get from India or Assyria or Arabia to Israel in one night riding on camels or horses or donkeys. According to he biblical account, they didn't arrive for almost two years. Why else would Herod kill all male children two and under? Compare the shepherds seeing the "baby in a manger" with the Wise Men seeing the "child in the house."

We can very well assume that there was hay, straw, and grain in this stable. If there were animals to tend, the innkeeper's personal ones or those of travelers or those of the owner, you would expect a supply would be on hand. There would be jugs or pails filled with water on hand also. Some was meant for caring for the animals, but it was also on hand for fire safety. It's likely there were lamps, open flames, and even though they were small, one accident could be disastrous. They also practiced fire safety, because we know barns are dangerous places where care is needed.

With fresh hay and straw, Mary would have had the best place available for giving birth. We really can't imagine the conditions people gave birth in during this time. They didn't know about germs and such things. They didn't have highly scrubbed sanitary birthing rooms. Sterile birth procedures weren't practiced until about the time of the Civil War. Childbirth was very private, and the only male in the vicinity would be the husband/father. But then again, doesn't it seem strange how some modern people invite their friends and relatives to witness the birth of their children, or that they videotape it for later viewing?

Luke's story specifically mentions a manger. Whether it was hollowed-out limestone or made of wood really doesn't matter. The humility of it stands out. But later Jesus would say, "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head" (Matt 8:20). The Sovereign King of all the Universe didn't come into this world in the lap of luxury, but in the situation of a normal person.

This is hard for us to imagine in our materialistic society. Jesus owned no car, telephone, TV, computer, VCR, DVD player, or any other such gadgets. He didn't have health insurance, a pension plan, or a bank account. And yet our Lord was content and walked in his Father's will without wavering. Throughout his life on this earth he trusted in his Father's care and had all his needs supplied. The incredible humility he displayed while living as a human on this earth should shame us all when we consider how we often demand privileges.

Think of our modern problems concerning this thing called Christmas. People get upset that they can't give much for Christmas presents or they can't be home for Christmas or they didn't get what they wanted for Christmas. There is rampant holiday depression out there, people who regularly have this seasonal ailment. Maybe we need to reconsider what Christmas really is. Maybe all the stuff that's been crammed into this season has been done without seeking the Father's will. When we look at Jesus, at his extremely humble birth, we should reevaluate our traditions. If we'll quit focusing on ourselves, we can overcome all of these problems and ailments.

On the night of his birth, the only extra visitors Jesus had were the shepherds. At the invitation of the angels, they go to see the newborn King, their Messiah. This lowly group who provided so much to their society, yet were looked down on as trivial and menial, got the invitation too the King's birth, not the elite of their society. The Good Shepherd's arrival is announced only to these local shepherds. But I believe that's very appropriate because of the mission of our Lord.

These shepherds weren't only told to go see this newborn King, they were told to spread the news around town. And the Bible says that's what they did. There may have been some other curious people who went to see their Messiah after the shepherds shared what they'd seen and heard, but again we have no biblical account of this. It says people were amazed at what the shepherds reported to them, but that's all.

In the center of this whole thing is Jesus. Whether or not your Christmas cards properly depict the biblical story isn't really important. Maybe even the celebration of Christmas isn't all that important. There are no instructions to do this in the Bible. And much of what we attach to the story of Christmas is extra-biblical. Maybe we need to reconsider what we do this time of year. Instead of joining in with the pagans and selfishly clinging to our traditions, maybe we should pray and ask the Father for his will.

No matter how sentimental the Christmas season makes you feel, the point needs to be Jesus. He's central to everything we do, whether we place him there or not. He must always remain central to our lifestyle, our worship, our devotion, our everything. Don't demand that the Father, Son, or Spirit bless your traditions because you claim to be honoring them. Seek their counsel and direction for what you do, and then know that they are pleased with your actions. Christmas may be very special to you, but are you sure they way you celebrate it is glorifying the One it's named after.

Don't take it for granted that this is a "holy" time of year because the Church says so. The Church has done a lot of things to dishonor their God and King at times. We need to be sure that we're obediently following our Master. So please pray and seek his will and then be radically obedient in following what you're told - even if he tells you to abandon your Christmas traditions. May Jesus be Lord of all you do and may you be blessed as you honor him throughout the year.

Blessings & Peace, Mike