Come Let Us Reason Together

Every Christmas the world hears about the birth of Jesus. But do we, the Church understand the significance of the elements of the story of the birth of Jesus beyond the basics? For example, do we know why Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes from God’s perspective? Do we know why Jesus was visited by shepherds and wise men? Do we know the actual timing of the birth story from scripture and why the timing is significant?

God is purposeful

This means that God is intentional and does things for a reason.

We are told in Micah 5:2 that the Messiah was going to be born in Bethlehem.

 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

though you are small among the clans of Judah,

out of you will come for me

one who will be ruler over Israel,

whose origins are from of old,

from ancient times.”

Mary and Joseph were living in Nazareth in Galilee at the time that Luke 2 records that Harod demands a census be taken and each man had to register in their city of heritage. Joseph was from Bethlehem, so he had to register there. So we can see from scripture that God needed to get Mary, who was very pregnant, to Bethlehem, because the messiah needed to be born there to fulfill scripture. That means that even before Joseph ever had a thought about how good looking Mary was, God made sure he was from Bethlehem. And Joseph would have been from Bethlehem because he was from the line of King David who was born in Bethlehem and grew up there. So God allows the circumstances to dictate that Mary and Joseph have to travel 97 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem when Mary is due to give birth. But why did it have to be Bethlehem? We know that this fulfills prophecy, but why from God’s perspective did Jesus need to be born in Bethlehem?

Bethlehem is the place where the passover lambs are all born. So the fact that they had to travel there and that there was no room in the Inn, and they were forced to take refuge in a stable so that Mary could have the baby was all purposeful. They did not just find “a stable”, this stable was one of the places where the passover lambs are born. So it makes sense that God wanted the Messiah, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29), to be born where all of the Passover Lams are born, in these designated stables in Bethlehem.

We are told in Luke 2:7 that they wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. These swaddling cloths were not something that they had brought with them, they were supplies from the stable. We read in Exodus 12:5 the specifications for the passover lambs. They had to be one year old and they had to be without blemish. This means that they could not have any spots on them, or have any places that they had gotten injured that left a permanent mark. The reason for this is that the spotless, or unblemished lamb represents a perfect sacrifice, a sacrifice without sin. So the lambs for passover had to be perfect, and it was the job of the shepherds to make sure that the lambs were perfect. So. when the lambs were born, they would take them and wrap them in swaddling cloths and lay them in the manger because baby lambs are full of energy and they are also clumsy and if they don’t wrap them, they may accidently become blemished.

We read in Luke 2:8-14

The New International Version Chapter 2

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.”

God is Passionate

This means that God expresses intense positive emotions towards Biblical details. Remember that God gave detailed prophecy to the prophets so that after he revealed what was going to happen, he could fulfill it perfectly.

In Matthew 2, we are told of the visit of the three wise men who follow the star and come and give gifts to Jesus. When we hear the story at Christmas time, this event is lumped together with the birth story, and we see the three wise men showing up at the manger to give him their gifts. But is this biblical?

In Matthew 2:16 we are told that the wise men told Harod that the star they followed appeared about two years prior. But, we are not told how long their journey took, or if they left right away, so we need to evaluate what we do know. Harod believed that the child could have been up to two years old, so he had all males around two years old killed in Bethlehem. However, we know some things from Jewish customs, and from scripture that may help us better understand the timeline. Jesus was circumcised on the 8th day ( Luke 2:21) Then we are told that Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the Temple after the time of purification. The time of purification was 40 days after giving birth to a son (Leviticus 12:1-4), so Joseph and Mary would have likely gone to the Temple on the 41st day. Luke 2:22-38 tells the story of the consecration of Jesus at the Temple where Simeon and Anna pray for Jesus. Then Luke 2:39 says that after this Joseph and Mary went back to Nazareth in Galilee. They would have had their wedding ceremony before traveling together to Bethlehem, but we know they did not consummate the marriage until after Jesus was born. Once the marriage had officially began, the law dictated a one year time period where the husband stayed home bond with his wife.

God is Powerful