In a Stable

Luke 2:1…

The journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem must have been an incredible one.

When my wife was 8 months pregnant with our son we traveled from Meridian, Mississippi to Austin, Texas on a house-hunting trip. I can more easily relate to how difficult it would have been for Mary to travel in her condition, because it was a difficult trip for Tina, and we were traveling by plane and rental car. Mary, on the other hand, was 9 months pregnant, and was traveling by (probably) donkey.

That is not a picture of privilege and ease one might expect at the arrival of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but it does readily depict His life on earth.

Nothing came easily or luxuriously to Jesus, or His mother. His life on earth was an intervention. Even the poorest of the poor and the lowest of the low would be able to relate to THIS king. In a sense, they would be without excuse – exactly the way God would have it.

Even the children of the house-slaves would not be born out in the stable. It is amazing that Jesus was, and yet it is the perfect place if you think about it.

Of course behind all of this was the sovereignty of God. The Bible declares in Micah 5:2 Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem. It was one of the most obvious prophecies about the coming of Messiah and about how we would know Him to be Messiah. No one can control the location of their birth. With all the other recognizable traits possibly exhibited by Messiah, the location of His birth would serve as a final determining factor of recognition. Anyone NOT born in Bethlehem could not possibly be the Messiah - even if everything else was in place.

A problem with this scenario could have been that Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth, which is 60 miles away from Bethlehem as the crow flies, and a lot further than that over the meandering mountain roads and trails. Could God in His sovereignty arrange for Jesus to be born in Bethlehem? In a stable?

-Pastor Bill