Reconsidering the Christmas Story
This month at the International Bible Church we're considering all the ways that God the Father prepared his Son Jesus to begin his public ministry at 30 years old, a ministry that would end 3 1/2 years later in a brutal death on the cross. July is a great time to think about the Christmas story in large part because it is not the usual time of year to do so. All the sentimentality is stripped away and we are more willing to let the Bible inform us of what really happened. Let's consider Luke 2:1-7 for now.
It is interesting to read the biblical account of the birth and compare it with what we have come to love and think happened. Our view of the Christmas story is probably derived more from greeting cards, TV and Hollywood than the Bible. Let’s let the Bible destroy our mythology and rebuild a strong, truth-centered foundation that will instill awe in us. First, there is no donkey: we don’t know how they got there, only that they “went up from Galilee…to Bethlehem” (2:4). Secondly, against many popular movies, including the recent release of "The Nativity," Mary doesn't go into labor the moment they get close to the town. Luke informs us that they were settled in when the time came: “While they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Lk. 2:6). And the swaddling cloth? Where did that come from? It seems likely that they went to Bethlehem planning to have Jesus there, not just to register. They would have know the Micah 5:2 prophesy and probably saw the Augustus census order as God's clear leading to leave Nazareth late in Mary's pregnancy and take the 3-5 day trip south to Bethlehem. If this was their plan, then they probably brought with them the swaddling cloths (2:7). What about the frantic search for lodging? It's not in the text. The inn keeper? He's not there either. Joseph was going to register family land--that's what the census was for: assesing property tax. It is very likely that they were planning on staying with distant family in Behtlehem. Joseph certainly was aware that he was not the only peron heading to Bethlehem to register. He knew it would be crowded. Given the fame of Middle Eastern hospitality, it seems unlikely that anyone—least of all relatives—would have turned away a very pregnant girl and her young husband.
In considering what the text actually says, we walk away with an image of God's care and protection of Jesus. Luke just doesn't present us with the image we commonly see of a frantic, sense-lacking Joseph who was totally caught off guard by the labor and lack of lodging. This image of Joseph just doesn't fit with the contemplative, thoughtful, and righteous man we see in Matt. 1. It seems that we need to give more credit to Joseph and Mary. They were very aware of the lateness of the pregnancy and what to expect in Bethlehem when they got there. Look back over Luke 2:1-7 and see what it says, and perhpas more importantly, what it doesn't say.