Luke 2:1-21
Jesus is Born
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 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. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
God stepped through time and had His Son come to earth...Hope was born in a lowly and probably dirty stable...Joseph and Mary were on their own having the Baby, or were they?...And one might ask why would the Son of God be born in a stable and around animals?...Would you want your newborn child placed in a manger?...But God's Own Son would be placed in a manger on hay to sleep...A manger is where the animals eat...And Jesus was in this manger...It will be His first place to sleep...What would the normal birth be like in Bethlehem, how unusual was it to be born in a stable?...Would the normal and average mother and father place their son on a pile of straw to sleep...God knew what was going on and how Joseph and Mary felt about the situation they were in, with the pregnancy and having Jesus, their Son, being born in this environment...The choice to be born in this stable and to be placed in a manger in Bethlehem was deliberate and purposeful...God always has a reason and purpose and meaning in what He does...God gives Jesus a most unique and different way to enter our world, as the Good Shepherd...
This place of birth for Jesus must have been an uncomfortable place, when we compare it to other places and ways to be born...Shepherds around the region heard the angelic call, and would visit the Young Boy who seemed homeless on the day of His birth...And maybe some of the shepherds themselves were nomads and were homeless...They know what it was like to sleep around animals and be in the cold, dark, tough environments...And the shepherds hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby, who was lying in the manger...When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this Child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them...But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart...The shepherds returned to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told...
Jesus was born in a stable and placed in a manger...This shows us the humblest of beginnings for our Messiah, and the Son of God...Jesus helps those who are utterly lost, hopeless, helpless, and those who have very little...Jesus was not pampered even from His birth...His birth shows us what God thinks about the importance of wealth...We see just how humble God is and how humble His Son is...Jesus had no palace, but does have a Kingdom...His first bed was a manger, and the first bed shows us His nature and even an idea of His purpose and how He would minister and teach us...