All Things Christmas (11 page)

Chapter
Twelve

The Birth of the
Mashia
c
h

“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled…And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the City of David, which is called Bethlehem…”
— Luke 2:1-4

T
he Geography
of Bethlehem

Bethlehem is located about five miles south of Jerusalem, on the east side of
what was called
the
Patriarch's Highway
that ran along the ridge between
Shechem
and Hebron.
The city is the birthplace of one of Israel’s greatest kings,
David
.
It was in Bethlehem that
David
was born and raised and
tended his father's sheep.

Three miles to the southeast of Bethlehem
is
Herodium
, an elaborate retreat, residence and fortress constructed by
Herod the Great
. Following Herod’s death, a procession of his servants, the Temple priests and his private guards, escorted his body from Jerusalem to
Herodium
for
burial. Ironically,
Herod was buried within
sight of
the spot
where Jesus
, who he tried to kill,
was
born.

Exploring Favorite Traditions

U
pon research and reflection
, m
any
of the
traditions
surrounding
the birth of Jesus
are found to
have little basis in fact.
For instance,
Jesus was
most likely
not born in a stable, but in the home of a member of
Mary and/or
Joseph's
extended family in Bethlehem.
This misconception
ar
o
se
from a mis
translation
of
a
Greek word
used in Luke’s Gospel
.
It should
have been translated as
guest room
, rather than
inn
. This
familiar
situation
often
arises when the
birth narrative
is presented based on Western culture rather
than
a Middle Eastern viewpoint. This error is easily verified by comparing Luke’s use
of the term
kataluma
in the Nativity story and his use of
pandocheion
, a place of public lodging, when
he referred to the inn where the Samaritan brought the wounded Jewish traveler
in the story of the Good Samaritan.
(Luke 10:34).

Mary and Joseph
would
ha
ve
return
ed
to Bethlehem to register for the Roman
census/
tax
because it was the
ancestral home
of their families,
which
traced
their lineage
back to David
and
the tribe of Judah.
A
lthough they had settled in Galilee, their tribal roots remained in Bethlehem. Recent research
indicates
that a group of Judeans
who
returned from Babylon
. F
ollowing the
Maccabean
reclamation of
the northern
region
s of the country, a large group of them left Judea and migrated to Galilee where they
establish
ed
such towns as Nazareth
.

Luke also tells us that when Mary went to visit Elizabeth she “went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah…” (Luke 1:39).
With many
relatives living in
and around
Bethlehem, it would have been unthinkable for Mary and Joseph to seek a
public inn, if one
did indeed
exist. In
such a
small village, family members would not have
expected or accepted such a rejection of their hospitality especially in view of the imminent birth
of
Mary’s
first child.

There is
also
no indication that Jesus was born immediately
after Mary and Joseph arrived, or that He was born at night. The text,
“
…while they were there,
the days were accomplished for her to give birth,
”
(Luke 2:6) could just as easily be interpreted to mean
that His birth took place at a later
time, perhaps days or
even
weeks
after their arriv
al.

Most homes at the time of Christ had an interior guest room.
W
hen Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem they
may have
found
the guest room in
the
family member's home
where they intended to stay
already occupied
…most likely
by other relatives who had
also
retur
ned to register for the census.

Arrangements w
ould
then
have been
made
for Mary to give birth in another part of the house, presumably
the
family
living area. Or more likely, whoever was occupying the guest room would vacate it so she could deliver her baby with complete privacy.
Either way, it’s safe to assume
Mary gave birth to Jesus in
side
a family
home.
She also would have had a midwife in attendance along with some of her female relatives.
Her extended family would never leave her alone
at a time like that.

Luke
most probably
mentioned the availability of
a
manger
not
to
emphasize
any
inadequacy in the conditions of Jesus' birth
, but to provide a transition to the shepherds. A
nimals were usually brought into
adjacent areas
of rural homes at night for
safety, and in the winter, to provide warmth.
If the house was truly overcrowded, the animals could be
penned
outside and the area swept and cleaned. With fresh straw and a few utensils it would make an adequate overflow area. Recall how often travelers are shown bedding down in the barn in shows such as Little House on the Prairie, The
Waltons
, etc.

This very well may have been
what happened
since t
he angels identified the manger as the place where the shepherds would find Jesus.
M
anger
s were
typica
lly carved from stone
and
measur
ed
three to four feet in length.
Its
cavity
, cleaned and filled with fresh straw,
would be just the right size and height for a baby
.

Since they also mentioned the cloth wrappings used for newborns, the angels
might
have
simply
been emphasizing the normalcy of His birth circumstances rather than provid
ing
a
means of identifying the baby. In any case, finding the baby lying in a manger, wrapped
according to common practice, seemed to have caused no surprise to the shepherds or problem
s
for the family members present. Jesus
’
birth, surrounded by loving family
members
, reflected the
customs of a humble,
F
irst
C
entury
existence
.

Jesus entered this world in conditions
not un
common
to
his
time
and much of the world
today
. It was not the
picturesque
setting that is often
portrayed in the Carols and Christmas cards, but it was also not unusual or squalid conditions either
.

To impose
a
Western interpretation on the circumstances of Jesus' birth distort
s
the reality of the event
,
the people
,
and
the times
.
Jesus' birth in a local family home and
h
is being found in a manger by shepherds
is symbolic
of his
availability to all people, even those whom many of that
era
would exclude.

Chapter
Thirteen

Shepherds Keeping Watch by Night

Shepherds Watching in the Night

“And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.” —Luke 2:8-9

Stars of the Christmas Pageant

No Christmas program is complete without its little band of shepherds
wandering across the stage or up the Church aisle
. Frightened by the angel’s sudden appearance, they marvel
ed
at the good news and
immediately
rush
ed
to Bethlehem to see their Savior-King. As they return to their flocks, they praise God and tell all who will listen about the birth of the chosen Child.

Digging Deeper

They finish spreading the good tidings, leave the stage, and we hardly give them another thought. But why did the announcement come to them at all? Shouldn’t the angels have gone to priests
at the Temple
instead?
Why not notify all the neighboring kings?
Who were the
se shepherds
that they should be
the sole
eyewitnesses of God’s glory and receive history
’s greatest birth announcement?

No Social Standing

Unlike the priests, i
n Christ’s day
a shepherd
stood on the bottom rung of Palestinian
society
. They shared the same unenviable status as tax collectors and dung sweepers. Of the four evangelists, only Luke
bothers to
mention them.