“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth 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.” Luke 2:6-7
A lasting impression from reading Luke’s account of the Christmas story is the discovery of a family surviving on the basic necessities while a part of a larger plan, a blueprint from the mind of God, carried out under His control. Mary and Joseph were required to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem because of the decree of Caesar Augustus to conduct a census which required the people of Israel to return to their hometown (2:1-5). While we may react negatively to what we consider a major interruption in the life of the couple, it appears that the great Caesar was in fact obeying the Lord. In order to fulfill prophecy, the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). But a manger for a crib for our King!?
In hindsight, it is the only scene that makes sense. The humble birth of the Redeemer of the world is contrasted to the power and glory of Augustus. The lowly birth of our Savior anticipates His meek and simple life, for He had no place to lay His head as an adult (Luke 9:58). Even more, His rejection by the people in Bethlehem—as seen in the thought that “there was no room for them in the inn”—indicates what was going to happen to him.
“The only place where there was room for Him was on the cross. He sought an entry to the over-crowded hearts of men; he could not find it; and still His search—and his rejection—go on” (William Barclay).
Or as J. R. H. Moorman so bluntly states, “When Christ first came among us, we pushed him into an outhouse; and we have done our best to keep Him there ever since.”
Jesus was rejected at His birth, by His own people (John 1:11), to the point of dying on the cross, and is rejected by the world today. As we examined during Lent last Spring, we—as did the thief on the cross—easily identify with that same world.
The manger should be our first hint that God “chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27). The manger is not simply a sentimental piece of our nativity set or the centerpiece of the Christmas play at church; it is a reminder that our Lord’s birth was orchestrated so that the place of the birth of God’s Son would foreshadow His life, one culminating in His death. Accordingly, what appears as a major inconvenience in the life of Mary and Joseph was, in fact, the plan all along, a plan to save the world.
Submitted by Dr. Rich Menninger
Prayer
O Sovereign God, we marvel at Your ability to take the common—even the unexpected—and show Your power and love and control in working out Your plan. We thank You for Your grace, mercy, and protection, especially in the places we would never look. Amen.