Church For All Nations

No Room at the Inn

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​Luke 2:4-15

Have you ever sat down and thought of what it must have been like for Mary and Joseph on that first Christmas, Mary was expecting their first child which in itself is traumatic, but this was no ordinary child, this was God’s own Son, God leaving His heavenly home and coming to earth to be born as a baby.

​It would have been much easier if the baby had been born where Mary & Joseph had lived but that wasn't God's divine plan and Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem to fulfil biblical prophecy. 

The journey was difficult, but Jesus's birth in Bethlehem fulfilled Old Testament prophecies, particularly from the prophet Micah, which stated the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, King David's city, making it a crucial part of God's plan, not an accident, but demonstrating divine purpose through humility and faith. 

​It wasn't by accident that Joseph and Mary had to travel on that dangerous journey, it was God's perfect timing. 

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V1-2. The Census of Quirinius, ordered by Caesar Augustus around the time of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:1-2), is described as the first global registration, requiring people to go to their ancestral towns (like Bethlehem for Joseph), but historians debate if it was the very first census in Jerusalem, though Luke links this significant event to a Roman decree for the whole world.

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V3-5. Everyone had to leave their homes and travel to their own city. Joseph was from the family of David and had to make the Journey from their home in Nazareth and travel the 156km (97 miles) to Bethlehem.

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NOW! You may not think that 156km (97miles) is very far, as we often travel more than that everyday using our modern roads but let us go back over 2000 years, although the Romans had started to build their roads, the famous road was the Appian  Way which began in 312BC and would link Rome with Southern Italy. They were not concerned for peoples travelling comforts. These roads later expanded across Europe, Africa, and Asia, serving armies, trade, and administration. 

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Mary and Joseph started their journey in Nazareth and set off towards Bethlehem, the journey would have been dangerous as the mountains would have been full of thieves and murderers. Mary and Joseph may have looked alone, but they were never alone, they would have been protected by an angel that God had sent to protect them. Sometimes we have to look through the bible to know that God would never leave them without protection on such a long and perilous journey which would normally have taken about seven days, but with Mary being pregnant and having to keep stopping for a rest, it may have taken them a day or two more.

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Mary would have rode, possibly a donkey, although the bible doesn't mention the animal used, A donkey is a very gentle animal and one that our Lord used for entering Jerusalem, it would be easy for Mary to sit with ease. while Joseph walked at the side of the donkey. relying on their faith, very basic provisions, hopefully managing to stay with people on the way, or they would have to sleep under the stars, under Gods wonderful creation, finally tired and probably exhausted they arrive in Bethlehem to find no available rooms for them to stay in.

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V7, After probably trying the very last inn, the innkeeper seeing  Joseph and his wife Mary, very tired and a pregnant Mary on his doorstep, took pity on them and offered his stable for the couple to sleep in.

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And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7

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Jesus was in fact born in a manger in a stable in Bethlehem.

 

❖ A stable were they kept all of the animals; we often think of a stable that is made of a wooden structure but in biblical times a stable would possible have been a cave dwelling for the animals.

 

❖ All the rooms were full except a stable, although there would have been a terrible smell from the animals, the stable was the quietest and warmest place in Bethlehem to give birth to baby Jesus.

 

❖ Many homes during biblical times and even today in countries such as Spain there are many people who live in homes that have been build in the side of a mountain.

 

Hotel rooms in those days had no privacy, it has been known when the weather was cold that you may have had to share a bed with a few strangers all snuggling up together to keep warm. Not ideal when you would share 4 to a bed all sleeping in all their cloths.

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❖ The birth of Jesus wasn’t just a quiet event. NO!

 

❖ 8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

10 And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army of angels praising God and saying,

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❖ 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.”

 

Hallelujah, Praise the Lord! Baby Jesus has been born and is laid in a manger.​

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Joseph and Mary were very poor as they hadn't a cradle for the baby Jesus to lie in. Whilst this is true, Joseph was a carpenter and could have made a cradle, although time was against to do so but to fulfil prophecy announced by the angels to the shepherds, the baby would have to be laid in a manger, a stall which would have held the animals feed.

This is consistent with traditional Christian nativity narratives and interpretations of the biblical texts (specifically the Gospels of Luke and Matthew). The story highlights themes of humility and divine purpose, which are central to the Christian understanding of the event.

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V8-15. Shepherds, the lowliest of all Jews, and considered a low-status occupation because of the type of work that they were doing.  It was a Nomadic, dirty as the shepherds would have to keep moving their flocks to find better pastures.

 

And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

16 And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.

17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. Genesis 37:14-17

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In the same region, some shepherds were guarding their flocks, I have often wondered what the shepherds would have been discussing between themselves

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When the angel appeared to the shepherds near Bethlehem, they were likely engaged in the mundane, everyday discussions typical of people working a monotonous job, perhaps covering topics such as:

• Flock Management: They might have been discussing the health of specific sheep, the challenges posed by predators, where the best grazing areas were located, or the expected timing of lambing season.

• Weather and Conditions: Conversations likely included forecasts for the night or coming days, the cold, the darkness, or specific celestial observations relevant to their work.

• Daily Life and Hardship: They were probably talking about food (what they had or what they wished they had), their low social standing, their lack of a permanent home, or perhaps local taxes and Roman rule which impacted everyone, regardless of status.

• Boredom and Storytelling: To pass the long hours of the night watch, they may have shared stories, jokes, personal anecdotes, or perhaps even simple songs. They might have been recounting local events, village gossip, or family matters.

Their dialogue would likely have been practical and immediate, centered on survival, duty, and the simple realities of their challenging lives. The sudden, celestial appearance would have been an overwhelming interruption of this very ordinary routine.

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V15. When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 When they had seen Him, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it were amazed about the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

 

How frightened the shepherds must have felt, during that heavenly visitation with such a beautiful heavenly light filling the night sky. The first words that we have heard before when an angel has appeared to men or women, “Do not be afraid,” words of comfort followed by the message that the angel had be sent to give.

 

Behold, I bring you good new of great joy which will be for all people, a message that was not only for the people of Israel but for the whole world. Just think of it, the message that the angels gave to the shepherds was also a message for you and for me, for all people, past, present and future.

 

The angel told the shepherds where this very special baby could be found, Not in a kings palace where all kings or born but in humility was born in a manger, a place of food for the animals.

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Suddenly the heavens came alive with a multitude of angels praising God and saying “Glory to God in the highest.

 

The bible only mentions that there were a multitude of angels, the exact number of angels is unknown, although there may have been a few hundred, there may even have been a few thousand or the heavens could in fact have been full of the voices of angels, praise and glorifying God for the birth of His Son in a stable in Bethlehem.

 

In fact, our minds could not fully imagine the number of angels that lit up the sky during that miraculous event in man’s history.

 

We do get an insight to the number of angels present

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I have often wondered what was discussed by the shepherds once the angels had disappeared, one thing that we do know is that they went to Bethlehem to find the baby that they had been told about by the angels. They told to Mary and Joseph about the heavenly visitation by the angel of the Lord, Mary kept everything that the shepherds had told them in her heart, then the shepherds left glorifying God.
 

But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

Hebrews 12:22
 

God could have made known about the birth of His son to kings and religious leaders but He chose a lowliest of all people of that time, the shepherds who didn’t return right away to their sheep but went on their way telling others what they had been told and what they have seen.

 

Christmas is once again almost here, it is a time for celebration at the birth of Christ Jesus, not a time as in western countries to be gluttonous and drunkards but to spend time with our friends and families and to tell others the wonderful news about the birth of Jesus Christ.

 

This news is as important today as it was when the shepherds first was told it by the angel of the Lord.

 

As the angels were chosen to carry this great news. Each one of us have been chosen to continue to take the news of Jesus Christ to this unbelieving generation.

 

Jesus didn’t choose well educated men as His disciples, His first disciples were fishermen, Jesus isn’t looking for rich and well-educated people to take the gospel to the lost, He is looking for people with willing hearts and hearts full of love for our Saviour and for taking the gospel to our neighbours.

 

The Shepherds Heard the good news of what the angels had told them, they went and saw the baby lying in the manger, just as the angel had told them and went away glorifying God. ​

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They couldn't keep quiet about what they had hear and seen

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25th December is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, we have the greatest and wonderful story to tell, a story of the Nativity.

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Could I encourage you all on Christmas day to visit those who are lonely, taking them a small Christmas gift of food and sit and talk with them about Jesus, telling them the Nativity story.

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Please get your church involved and take the love of Jesus Christ to the lonely on Christmas Day!

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​Coming shortly ​

The visit of the Magi