Jesus' Birth in Bethlehem, Part 2 B

In the fullness of time, God sent forth his son, born of a woman Emmanuel, the God of eternity stepped into time and space, the Lord of immensity the Lord of night presence was confined to a body about 10 pounds in weight under 2 feet.

Maybe from a school Christmas play work because you attended a yearly Christmas service or maybe your parents read the biblical account to you each year. But there's always something new and wonderful to learn when you explore the wonders of Jesus birth, and today on grace to you.

John MacArthur is going to help you do just that. Take a fresh look at the Christmas story in John's study called the promise of Christmas. So open your Bible to Luke chapter 2 and here's John with today's lesson.

Luke wanting us to grasp the significance of what's going on provides for us as any good historian does a setting for this event. The event is verse seven she gave birth. The setting is what enriches it and informs it and he he works his way down starts with the world setting and then a national setting and then a personal setting. First we learn the role that the larger world played in this.

Then the role that is uniquely designed by God for the nation Israel and then the particular circumstances of the couple in Bethlehem and the birth of the baby and so we get the big picture narrowed down to the little picture so that we can grasp in every perspective the wonderful solemn richness of this remarkable unheard of event. Now we come to the personal setting, and this is where the charm of the story comes the personal setting.

Lucas focus now is not on the world scene. It's not on the national scene.

It's on the personal circumstances that are so interesting became about verse six that while they were there.

I stopped there and I said okay where Bethlehem where in Bethlehem we have no idea with no idea they were just there, we don't know how long they were there they were there days because the days were completed for her to give birth. They were there. We don't know where, for how long we don't know some days, maybe three, maybe four, maybe six, maybe seven I don't know maybe eight I we don't know they were there. It doesn't tell us where they were, but it does tell us at the end of verse seven there was no room for them in the in and I'll tell you this if there had been room and in for the prior days.

Nobody in their right mind would've kicked them out when she was about to deliver the baby.

Some of suggested that for the first few days they were there.

They stayed with relatives. What relative in the world is going to kick them out on the day of the birth of the child.

The fact of the matter is, wherever they were when the baby was born, was where they'd been the whole time they were there they just were there for an understated time in an undesignated place simple words with which to excite profound imagination. They were the homeless. There were the homeless. I'll say more about that in a few minutes.

There were certain shelters as there are today provided for people who are homeless public shelters and you can be sure this the Roman soldiers, the Roman registrars who were doing the registration of the people all the Roman dignitaries.

Believe me, occupied whatever few guestrooms existed in a little tiny place like Bethlehem, which probably when you think of an in you think of some kind of three-story motel no such thing existed. Whatever accommodations there were would've been taken by the officials, the Roman officials of the Jewish officials who were running this whole thing so they were there in the days were completed for her to give birth. Nine months was up. Absolutely nothing said about the details. Nothing and she verse seven gave birth all set. I just wish there was more than that.

Can I indulge a little sanctified imagination not stretching the point. I hope I can imagine Joseph just almost beside himself with curiosity. I mean if you knew that your wife was gonna give birth to the God man you might have a few imaginations about what this child might be like probably holding her hand through the long, silent night of her labor, perhaps smoothing her forehead with a cool cloth, perhaps speaking sweet comfort to his dear young wife as she spent hours in labor in a place that offered no comforts, no doctors, no nurses, no mother, every girl would want her mother. There no family, just a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old hours of labor, just a teenage husband to help and finally she at the culmination of the labor at the glorious moment pushes one more time and pushes out the son of God, and he cried the cry of life in the fullness of time, God sent forth his son, born of a woman Emmanuel, the God of eternity stepped into time and space, the Lord of immensity the Lord of the night presence was confined to a body about 10 pounds in weight and under 2 feet in length. That little life came out into the arms of that young father, and neither of them could fathom what was going on and they had been told by an angel and everybody around them had absolutely no idea. Lucas, careful to tell us that she gave birth to her firstborn son Kroll taught the con firstborn. He does not use mono again ace only son, the Roman Catholic Church would have you believe she had only one child and she was a perpetual version till her death.

That is not true. She had many sons and daughters. It says in Matthew 124 and 25, but he kept her a virgin until Jesus was born after that Joseph and Mary had normal relationships as any husband-and-wife wood and they had boys and they had girls in Matthew's gospel chapter 12 we are introduced to Jesus brothers in chapter 13 there even named for us.

Jesus brothers were born to Joseph and Mary have brothers actually James, Joseph, Simon, Judas, verse 56 and his sisters are mentioned as well. Now the crowd at that point was incredulous.

They were singing on Jesus this is Mrs. nobody special.

They said this is just a carpenter son. His mother is Mary is brothers are James and Joseph and Simon, and Judas and his sisters there all with us just wanted that family is an ordinary family. They got the whole family for kids.

We read we meet his brothers again later on Luke records a their appearance in chapter 8 we read about his brothers and John to John seven that they didn't believe we read about his brothers again in acts one.

Jesus was not the only son Mary had. Jesus was not the Monaghan ace the only begotten he was the protonic on the firstborn. You see, that's very important because not only is he the firstborn, which of course means that she was a virgin but he is the firstborn, which of course means that he has the right to the inheritance he has the primogeniture as it was called the primary right to the family inheritance. Frankly, Joseph didn't have a lot to leave it.

It was a tradesman was a carpenter. Mary didn't have any great estate as far as we know to leave them but what they did have was the right to the throne of Israel.

There hadn't been a king in a long time in Israel a long time the Babylonians had devastated that whole thing and they were followed by the Medo Persians and they were followed by the Greeks and they were followed by the Romans and somebody was always ruling in Israel.

But it wasn't in the royal line of David. But the royal line was still there, was there in the life of Joseph and in the life of Mary and what they passed on to Jesus was the right to rule on the throne of David. He was the firstborn. If you study the Old Testament you find how important that firstborn inheritance was and then some simple details that I find amazing. She wrapped him in cloths and to you ever ask why is that there because that was normal that was routine.

This is just a birth like every other birth in a Jewish mother did this. Typically you can find this in all the indications and in history about babies are born they would wrap them in class. The Greek word is she swaddled him swaddled is why we talk about swaddling cloths swaddled is an old English word to describe wrapping and here's what they would do the custom was take long strips of cloth and wrapped the arms and wrap the legs and then wrap the little body tightly. This was for warmth. This was for security me that little baby in the womb is in there all cuddled and nestled tightly in their home. Son comes out into the stark hospital room, nothing touching it little extremities flailing in every way.

No wonder they're screaming. This is a violent experience. They would just take that little baby immediately and they also believe that wrapping up those limbs and wrapping up that little body protected that little child also believed that it helped to keep their bones straight when they grew in early life. The point is, she treated the baby like any other baby. This is just a normal little baby. This is just a baby like other babies physically look like any other child physically treated like any other child know royal robes, no fancy clothing didn't come out with a little halo over is it cannot like everybody else comes out same exact way, no doubt kissing that little boy as she wrapped him tightly warmly caressed him nurse Tim and then it says most interestingly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the end, manger is the word phot may phot may, in Greek it means a feeding trough a feeding trough. By the way, it never says in the Bible Jesus was born in a stable, not in there so if you been looking for you will find doesn't say he was born in a stable to use word stable a traditional tradition is that he was born in a cave doesn't say was born in a cave.

All it does say is he was laid in a manger from that which we can deduce that it was a stable because that's an animal feeding trough and it says there was no room for them in the end, and that indicates that they couldn't get into the facility for people and so in every facility for people in ancient times there was an adjacent facility for the animals which they had with them when they travel you you you see a motel and a meeting outside a motel.

What you see the parking lot means of transportation H times as animals and so they carried goods on their animals. If you're a traveling salesman you had a beast of burden to carry your goods so it was fewer traveling family you had beast of burden to carry the women and children and so there would be adjacent to every place to stay.

A place for the animals in the feed trough as well and the indication was there was no room for them in the guesthouse and they were outside in the little one was laid in a feeding trough down in verse 16.

It refers to that again. When the shepherds finally came to see them. They found the baby as he lay in the feed trough. Now that is pretty good indication that it was a stable. There was no room in the enemy talk about that for a minute so much confusion about that scenario I remember was a little kid thing was about eight, I was selected to play the innkeeper son in the Christmas pageant and I remember never forget it because there were this funny little tunic and they put makeup on my legs. You know and as a little guy thought that was so strange but I was the innkeeper son and the innkeeper was a really rotten guy really rotten guy and he would let Jesus mother and dad in and so his son grew up to be Barabbas that was the story. And so I was I was the childhood bad guy. Barabbas Frankie was poor casting worst. Worse than that. It was a ridiculous fabrication but anyway they made this innkeeper to such a bad guy. His kids are not to be Barabbas arch criminal of Israel your member who was offered to the crowds that of Jesus.

While that was all apocryphal, but there have been a lot of strange things about the poor innkeeper was far as we know, there wasn't one me tell you why in is the word, Luma, but it's not the normal Greek word for Ian. There's a different word for in the Greek used in, for example, chapter 10 of Luke verse 34.

This word simply means shelter. It means place of lodging. It means just guest facilities or guest quarters it doesn't refer to an actual Ian being operated for feeding and housing guests. As such it's it's a very, very broad word. It's a lodging place and probably refers to a place of public shelter more like a campground this very unlikely that there would've been actual commercial. In in this little village, but they would have some kind of public area. Typically, they would build it on four sides to floors it would be like a shelter. The top part being like a loft in a barn one part of it might even be enclosed or it might have some some rather primitive ability to close the doors, but it would be very very primitive kind of places where people in transit could say and they would perhaps have four sides and in the middle the animals would be Where they would be protected and From people who would steal them in your goods would be kept there as well. Perhaps such a caravan stopping station or a public guest facility would have as well. Places on the second floor and the first floor for the people to stay where they could keep their animals close by.

This would've been an overcrowded situation. Artie told you the Romans were probably taken up most of the spots as well as some Jewish officials and then the people coming back to their hometown to register the place became very very crowded. The rooms were all taken again.

It was probably as I said public shelter. They wound up this little couple just staying with the animals outside the appropriate quarters. Now if you are in that condition.

You probably had to carry her own bedding if there was no place for you in the guestroom. They might've provided some your rough place to lie on straw mattress and maybe a straw pillow or blanket, but if you are on the outside, you had have your own blanket in your own pillow and if you had no blanket. You'd wind up wrapping yourself in your own robe and try to find a place out of the wind.

This could be very cold. You would be down there, probably on the ground floor where the animals were kept in the middle.

Pack animals, camels, donkeys here, you would find your rest for the night.

Four days, how many days Joseph and Mary were huddled in that kind of a place we don't know when they register they had to wait a long time to get to the head of the line to register. We don't know whether they had already registered, and Joseph didn't didn't want to take her back because he knew that she was going to give birth any day they were going to wait there until the birth came may well of been that they even knew the prophet of Micah headset Bethlehem and they wanted to be sure they stayed there, none of those details are given for us. The downstairs guest rooms. The upstairs loft. Whatever kind of facility it was to house these people was full and they were bedded down with the animals, so probably wasn't any kind of innkeeper who shut them out was just the nature of the situation, the tradition, as I said goes back that this all happened in a cave or that it was a cave nearby.

This caused Helena, the mother of Constantine to build a church on top of some cave that was presumed to be the site to go to Bethlehem today, you'll go to church.

You'll go into that church and it's a horrible place. Frankly, it's an awful place full of smells and bells and hanging stuff and clutter in the 100 down into this holding bill will be a star in a whole not supposed to be to cave in. That is not of course known by us, it's the traditional site that the church you see there today is not the one built by the mother of Constantine. It's one built by Justinian the glitter in the trappings of that thing certainly wouldn't be anything like the stench and the smell and the odor the crowd and all that was going on in the place of Joseph and Mary were when Jesus came into the world and he came in the most comfortable of conditions, smelly, filthy.

This is the wonder of grace though is night and this is part of the story that when God came down. He came all the way down. He thought us equality with God, not something to be held onto but he gave it up and humble himself and he humbled himself all the way down, not just a stinking stable but to become a substitute for stinking sinners and bear the stench of our guilt in his own body. He came down to the poor and the lowly in the humble and the base and the wicked. He came down to the common people to bring his glorious salvation was fitting in a sense, then, that he was born in a stinking smelly stable because what smelled far worse to the nostrils of God than the odor of animals is the odor of sinners sent the Savior all the way down in the lives of the lowly in the whole picture of that scene is a metaphor for the stench of sin which Jesus borne his own body is little cloth wrapped in his little body must've collected the smell would've been the smell of animals. The stench of animals.

The smell of fires burning in there to keep people warm. The smell of the humanity that milled around in that place the filthiest place imaginable. Unthinkable entrance for the rural into the world for God's son sweat and pain, blood and coldness of manure strong odors, but he came all the way down to the stench of sin.

The baroness own body our sins on the cross and that this was a picture and metaphor of the condescension of God became all the way down all the way down all the way down to the smell of a stable, all the way down to a smell the smell of a sinner like you and like me they had no room for them. Then they still don't have any room for the writer John says he was in the world. The world was made by him in the world knew or not. He came unto his own his own received him not. Became for sinners came all the way down to bear in his own body.

The wretched wicked sin belongs to us smelly stable was simply a metaphor for sin and its wretchedness. What a picture. So we come from the world's setting to the national setting in the fulfillment of the Hebrew prophets statement that he would be born in Bethlehem all the way down to the circumstances of his birth, which speak of his lowliness.

He controls those God great kings of the world. He fulfills the prophecies of Scripture, and he comes all the way to the lowly center sovereign God. God of Scripture, God of the humble sinner coming all the way down. Well, it was a in some ways a sad moment because of the obscurity of it all, but that didn't last. At that same time, some angels began to tell what was going on to some shepherds and will look at that next time. Father, thank you for this wonderful wonderful portion of your great word.

We grieve it as the centuries have passed. The Savior has been treated pretty much in the same way, but we are also glad Lord that he came all the way down all the way down to the wretched smell of a stable and even farther, far farther down to the wretched smell of a sinner came into the world, he came to the lowly in the humble and the race wicked, vile, to take our place on the cross and bear your judgment and arson.

What a wondrous scene.

It is you control the great movements of history. You control the fulfillment of prophecy brought your son all the way down to touch the lives thank you for this race. This condescension is salvation and that's John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary helping you make Christ the centerpiece of your Christmas celebration. It's part of John's study called the promise of Christmas here on grace to you John, you usually spend all but a couple of minutes each program teaching God's word, but in light of the upcoming Christmas celebration. It's appropriate for you to take a moment and mentioned some items.

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