Hi All as Advent begins I am going to do a series on Luke 2 which is the gospel that has the most information on the birth and early life of Jesus – here is the first one
Luke 2 vs. 1-7 The Birth of Jesus In Bethlehem
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went
To their home town to register, this meant many people had to travel around Israel via roads rural
Often walking or travelling by donkey for many miles, arriving at the destinations tired, dusty, spent
Looking for somewhere to sleep and rest feed them and their donkeys, from travels unwind, unfurl
To catch up with family members and do what was required to complete the census and to it relent
For by completing the census it meant that they could be identified for tax purposes in the Roman world
And they knew that the Romans would ensure their taxes were collected and that caused much resent
To his own town to register so Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there
To register with Mary for them it was a journey of 80 miles from Nazareth, and was hard for them to do
Mary heavily pregnant had to endure much bumping and jolting on a donkey for 7 days to get there
By the time they arrived in Bethlehem they both would have been tired, resting all they would want to do
To arrive to find the town jam packed, knocking on many doors and being turned away everywhere
To register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth
Not in a nice room in an Inn, but in a stable surrounded by animals, rough and wild
Smelly amongst the dung and straw, hardly a place fit for a king, a very lowly birth
Jesus’ arrival was inconspicuous; his start to life was not one which was tender and mild
Yet in his birth he fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies in coming to this earth
To her firstborn, a son, she wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger,
Because there was no room for them in the inn
Mary and Joseph made their best in the circumstances putting straw in the manger
Wrapping Jesus in swaddling cloth and putting him in
The clean and warm manger, in the days to come they would be visited by strangers
From the east, from the fields, all would glorify him
Today too we should glorify him, remember the greatest gift came wrapped in a manger
In a stable, for there was no room for him in the inn
Mark Maffey, December 2009
(NIV)