The Inn: Glory in Rejection
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 4 viewsNotes
Transcript
WEEK 2
Luke 2:1–7
Series: Glory in the Ordinary
We’ve all experienced the feeling of not having enough room—crowded schedules, full houses, constant obligations.
Sometimes life feels so full that the most important things get pushed to the edges. That’s exactly what was happening in Bethlehem.
An ordinary town was bursting at the seams. People were busy, distracted, preoccupied. And into that ordinary chaos came the Savior of the world—yet there was no room for Him.
Luke anchors the birth of Jesus in real history. Caesar issues a census. Everyone travels to their ancestral towns. Joseph and Mary make the difficult journey to Bethlehem.
By the time they arrive, every home and guest room is full. No drama. No hostility. Just busy people with full houses. It is an ordinary scene—yet God is revealing His glory through humble beginnings.
Main Idea: God Reveals His Glory in a World Too Busy to Notice Him.
The inn teaches us that even when the world has no room for Christ, God still brings His glory near.
What does the “no room” of Bethlehem teach us about our own hearts today?
Luke highlights three realities that show how God brings glory into the ordinary, crowded, distracted spaces of life.
1. Ordinary Busyness Often Blinds People to God’s Glory (vv. 1–3)
1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town.
Verse 1 – “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.”
Luke does not start with a Hallmark scene. He starts with a decree.
“In those days” anchors this in real time, real history, real life. This is not a fairy tale. This happened in a specific moment under a specific ruler.
Caesar Augustus is on the throne. Humanly speaking, he is the most powerful man in the world. His word moves armies. His decree moves entire populations. When he says, “Register,” the whole empire goes into motion.
From Caesar’s perspective, this census is about control and taxation. From the people’s perspective, it is a giant hassle. It means rearranging plans, taking time off work, making long, difficult journeys, dealing with government requirements. Nobody is thinking, “I wonder what God is doing through this.” They are thinking, “We have to go. Rome said so.”
But from God’s perspective, this decree is a tool in His hand. He is using the machinery of an empire to move one young couple from Nazareth to Bethlehem, so that His Son will be born exactly where Micah 5:2 said He would be born.
What feels like political pressure is actually providential guidance. What looks like ordinary busyness is actually heaven’s choreography.
Verse 2 – “This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.”
Luke then adds a detail we might be tempted to skip over. Quirinius was governor of Syria. Why does that matter?
Because Luke wants us to know this is not “once upon a time.” This is anchored in a specific administration, a specific governorship, a specific moment on the calendar. God is not working in myth. He is working in history. He is stepping into a world of real rulers, real borders, real census records, real travel routes, real crowded cities.
At the same time, think about what this would have felt like on the ground. Ordinary people did not care about the fine points of Roman provincial politics. They cared that Rome kept interrupting their lives. Quirinius is just another name on another decree that complicates their week.
Luke quietly reminds us: even when life feels like it is being jerked around by distant leaders and decisions we don’t control, God is still writing His story. He is not absent from the chaos. He is working right through it.
Verse 3 – “And all went to be registered, each to his own town.”
Now Luke broadens the lens: “all went to be registered.” The whole region is on the move. Every household is affected. Every family has to make adjustments. Every town is filling up. Every road is busier than usual.
You can almost feel the stress in this verse. Packing. Traveling. Finding lodging. Standing in lines. Dealing with officials. Trying to keep kids in line. Managing animals. Losing income while you are away from home. It is a snapshot of a world in motion, a world under orders, a world too preoccupied with its own movement to ask, “What is God doing in all this?”
And in the middle of all that, Joseph and Mary are walking toward Bethlehem. She is pregnant. They are tired. They are just obeying the law, doing what everyone else is doing. To everybody around them, they are just another couple in the crowd.
But they are not just another couple. They are carrying the Savior of the world.
The world sees crowds, noise, busyness, census business.
Heaven sees the moment when the eternal Son of God will step into human history.
So right here in verses 1–3, Luke shows us the contrast that will hang over the entire birth narrative:
A world busy with Caesar’s demands,
and a God quietly, faithfully fulfilling His promises.
God is revealing His glory, but most people are too busy to notice.
This pattern in Luke 2 appears all throughout Scripture: ordinary busyness blinds people to God’s activity. In the days of Noah, people were “eating and drinking” and completely unaware of what God was doing (Matt. 24:38–39). In Isaiah’s day, God rebuked His people for being very busy with religious activity while their hearts were far from Him (Isa. 1:12–15). And even in Jesus’ ministry, Martha was “distracted with much serving” while Mary saw the glory sitting right in front of her (Luke 10:40–42). The message is clear: it is often not rebellion that blinds people to God, but routine; not wickedness, but weariness; not hostility, but hurry. The world in Luke 2 was busy answering Caesar’s decree, and while everyone was moving, almost no one was watching.
“Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day.” — Dallas Willard
John Ortberg, The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People, Zondervan, 1997, p. 20.
(Ortberg records Willard saying this word-for-word in a personal conversation.)
Luke shows us that an entire world was moving—and almost no one was watching for God. Caesar’s decree had everyone rushing, packing, traveling, and scrambling. That same danger lives in us. Busyness may not be sinful, but it is blinding. It fills our schedules, drains our attention, and quietly pushes God to the margins of our hearts.
So what does faithful living look like in a world that never slows down?
First, identify where busyness is blinding you.
Where has life become so full—work, kids, stress, noise—that God’s presence feels distant? Name that place. Bring it before the Lord.
Second, choose stillness this week.
Even two minutes of silence in the morning or evening can reawaken your heart to God. Pray simply, “Lord, slow me down enough to see You.”
Third, embrace interruptions as invitations.
The census felt like an interruption, but God used it to fulfill prophecy. What if the frustrations of your week are actually moments God wants to use to draw you closer to Him?
Fourth, look for God in the ordinary.
In chores, conversations, commutes, and quiet moments—He is there. Bethlehem was small, unnoticed, and crowded, yet it held the glory of God.
Finally, turn worry into worship.
Replace one anxious thought with one Scripture promise. Choose attentiveness over hurry, presence over pressure, worship over weariness.
Because here is the truth:
God is moving all around you—but you will only see Him if you slow down long enough to look.
Ordinary busyness often blinds us to God’s glory.
In the ordinary, God brings glory—but we must be attentive.
The world was busy. Now we see how that busyness leads to no room for Christ.
Luke shows us what happens when the world makes no space for the Savior.
2. Ordinary Indifference Leaves No Room for Christ (v. 4-7)
When Christ entered the world, He was pushed to the margins, not out of hostility, but out of ordinary indifference. A world preoccupied with its own concerns left no room for its Savior.
Verse 4 - Luke 2 4
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
Jospeh had to leave his town of Nazareth which is in Galilee and head south to Bethlehem.
Why?
Because he was a branch of the family tree of King David.
Why is this important to note?
Because Joseph was a legal heir of the most important King of Israel.
And it is important because God made a promise to King David approximately 1000 years earlier.
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
These were promises from a God who can not lie.
These were promises that would have literal, not spiritual fulfillment.
These were promises about Jesus.
Jesus was and is the promised Son of David who will sit on his throne forever.
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”
47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
But also remember, this event, Joseph leaving Nazareth and heading south to Bethlehem, is a simple ordinary act of obedience to the goverment of that time. This man Jospeh was of royal blood, yet he had to walk in obedience just as his son, Jesus would do as well.
Verse 5 -
Why did he go? Look at the text…
5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
To be registered with Mary.
Why?
1. Immediate historical reason
This registration was part of Rome’s imperial census under Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1).
The purpose was taxation and administrative control.
Joseph had to go to Bethlehem because he was of the house and lineage of David (Luke 2:4).
From a human standpoint, this was:
Bureaucratic
Inconvenient
Politically motivated
Spiritually indifferent
No worship. No expectation. No awareness that the Messiah was about to be born.
Caesar thought he was registering his empire, but God was fulfilling His Word. The census was ordinary, political, and indifferent to anything spiritual, yet it became the very means God used to place His Son in Bethlehem. While the world was busy counting heads and collecting taxes, God quietly sent a Savior, and almost no one noticed.
The world was too busy to notice Christ, but not too powerful to stop God.
Verse 6 - To stop God from what? Appearing!
Nothing thwarts the plans of God.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
The perfect time. The God-ordained time. A time that was established before the foundations of the earth.
4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
He was born of a woman - deity took on humanity. It was critical that our savior was human, because the first Adam was human. The last Adam, in order to be the proper sacrifice for our sins needed to be 100% human to be a fitting substitute for humanity.
Jesus was born human, but He was Jewish - He was born under the Law. This too is critical because being born under the law meant that he was, as a Jew, responsible to live under the restrictions of the Mosaic Law. Jesus did, and did it perfectly (because he was 100% God) making Him the perfect human sacrifice to satisfy the eternal wrath of God.
“He was born of a woman, born under the law.”
Verse 7 -
7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Mary gave birth to her firstborn son just as the angel predicted.
Jesus entered this world in the most ignoble and yet amazing way for the God of the universe. The the birth canal of a woman. He came into the world the same way you and I do. We do not have a distant deity who lays cumbersome rules and regulations on us. No, we have a God who can relate to us because He is one of us.
There is no indication in the text that there was a doctor or a midwife to aide in this ordinary birthing process. Just her and Joseph. Yet not only was He born with their proper care, she wrapped him up as a demonstration of her love and care for her son.
Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling cloths, the ordinary strips of fabric used for newborns, highlighting His true humanity and humble beginnings. There was nothing royal or impressive about it, and that is the point—the Son of God entered the world the same way poor Jewish babies did. Wrapped in ordinary cloths and laid in a manger (a feeding trough), this became the sign to the shepherds. The baby Jesus reveals that God’s glory often comes clothed in the ordinary, and only those with eyes to see will recognize the King.
And why did Mary and Jospeh have to resort to this?
Because, as Luke tells us there was “no place for them in the inn.” The word inn, refers not to a commercial hotel but to a family guest room.
The homes of Bethlehem were already full, and no one made space for this ordinary couple at the most critical moment.
It was not cruelty that forced Mary and Joseph into a manger, but ordinary fullness, and that quiet indifference left no room for Christ.
This is a picture of the human heart. We are not naturally receptive to Christ. We fill our lives with everything else. As John writes,
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
Have you recieved Jesus? Is He your one and only Savior? Have you entrusted your soul to Him?
This is why He came - to seek and to save that which is lost.
You and I are lost - destined for eternal Hell.
Jesus was born to live the life we could not live, to die the death we deserved on the cross, and to rise victorious over death so that all who trust in Him might live forever.
Unfortunately, lost people are indifferent to the One who can save them from this fate.
We have all heard fire alarms go off and assumed it was a drill. People keep sitting. Keep working. Keep talking. Nobody panics because alarms have become background noise. But when the danger is real, indifference is deadly. The alarm was not the problem. The response was. In the same way, Jesus is not ignored because the message is unclear. He is ignored because people assume there will be time later.
And that is why Scripture says, “Today is the day of salvation.”
If you have never received Jesus Christ, do not be indifferent today. Indifference is not a neutral response. It is a decision to remain lost. Scripture says that today is the day of salvation, not someday when life slows down, not later when it feels more convenient.
And for those who do know Christ, this is a sober reminder. Lost people around us are not always hostile to Jesus. Most are simply indifferent. So pray for eyes to see them with compassion, hearts that care deeply, and courage to lovingly point them to the only Savior who can give life.
The ordinary decision to make no room becomes a spiritual picture of our need.
Even when we fail to make room, God still brings His glory near.
Busyness led to no room. Now we see how God responds to our indifference.
Though the world was too full, God still enters with humility and grace.
3. God Reveals His Glory Through Ordinary Humility (v. 7)
Luke 2:7 (ESV)
7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Humility is the willing laying aside of status, comfort, and self-importance in order to submit fully to God’s will and serve others.
Luke piles up humble details in this single verse to show us exactly what that looks like. Mary gives birth to her firstborn son, reminding us this is a real mother and a real child, not a myth.
She wraps Him in swaddling cloths, ordinary strips of fabric used for newborns, emphasizing His true humanity and humble beginnings. Then she lays Him in a manger, a feeding trough meant for animals, because there was no place for them in the guest room.
Nothing about this moment feels impressive or celebrated, yet this is precisely how God chose to reveal His glory, quietly, humbly, and through the ordinary.
As Mary herself had already declared about God
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;
And nowhere is that more clearly seen than in the Son of God laid in a manger.
This is not an accident of circumstances, it is the theology of Christmas. God reveals His glory through humility because humility is the very heart of the gospel. Philippians 2:5–8 tells us that though Christ existed in the form of God, He did not cling to His rights or privileges, but humbled Himself by taking the form of a servant. That humility did not stop at the incarnation. It continued downward, step by step, until it reached the cross. The manger is the beginning of that descent. The One who deserves a throne chooses a feeding trough. The One who owns all things enters the world with nothing.
Paul reinforces this same truth in 2 Corinthians 8:9, when he writes,
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
Jesus did not become poor by accident. He chose poverty, obscurity, and humility so that sinners might receive spiritual riches they could never earn. The manger is grace on display, God giving up comfort so that we might gain salvation.
This pattern also explains how God works more broadly. In 1 Corinthians 1:27–29, Paul reminds us that
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
God delights in overturning human expectations. He reveals His glory not through power, status, or impressiveness, but through weakness, humility, and dependence.
And the reason matters. God is showing us what He is like. Scripture tells us that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. So He sends His Son in humility to save proud sinners like us. The manger declares that God’s glory is not displayed through earthly greatness, but through Christ’s humble love that moves toward sinners and rescues them.
Charles Spurgeon once wrote,
“He who is the Son of God became the Son of Man, that the sons of men might become the sons of God.”
— Charles H. Spurgeon, Sermon: “The Incarnation and Birth of Christ,” preached December 24, 1854.
If God revealed His glory through humility, then pride has no place in our response to Christ. We do not come to Jesus impressed with ourselves, but emptied of self. We do not make room for Him by adding Him to our lives, but by laying down our rights, our status, and our self-sufficiency.
So here is the question this manger forces us to answer: Have you humbled yourself before Christ, or are you still trying to come to Him on your own terms? The only people who truly see the glory of God are those willing to kneel beside a feeding trough and say, “Lord, I need You.”
God reveals His glory through the humility of Christ’s arrival.
The ordinary manger becomes the stage for God’s extraordinary glory.
The world was busy. The world made no room. Yet God came in humility.
Now this passage calls us to respond personally.
CONCLUSION
This Advent, don’t let busyness or distraction push Christ to the margins of your life. Make room. Slow down. Worship Him. Let the humility of Christ’s coming shape your humility, your priorities, and your heart.
John Calvin observes that Christ’s lowly birth was intended to teach us humility, since the Son of God willingly entered the world in poverty and obscurity.
— John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, on Luke 2:7.
Imagine a church that makes room for Christ in every part of life. Hearts bow low, hands open wide, and obedience becomes joyful worship. And through ordinary people who treasure Jesus above all else, God displays His extraordinary glory to the world.
