Who was in Bethlehem? (part 1)

Luke 2:4-7

Nativity scenes often give us a wrong impression of who exactly was at the birth of Jesus. They typically include Mary, Joseph, Jesus, sheep, a donkey, perhaps camels, shepherds, the "3 kings", and an angel. This was done to save space while including all involved in the Christmas story, but were all of these actually at the manger?

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Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 2:4–7

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As we consider who, when, and where those involved in the birth of Jesus appear in the story, I want to be clear that I am not trying to get anyone to throw out their nativity scene. As is the case with all of my devotions, I simply want to teach what the scriptures reveal to us. Like many things that are not quite Biblical, they can be used to open up conversations that point to Jesus as long as those conversations are had in love.

In this first passage we will consider, there are only three people present. Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem just in time for Mary to give birth. Joseph tries to secure a room for them at an inn, but there are no vacancies. So, someone makes their barn available. It is in that barn that baby Jesus makes His appearance.

This is the beautiful scene that almost did not happen. Remember that when Joseph found out Mary was pregnant, and he knew the child was not his, he thought to break off the engagement quietly. It was only after an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream that he followed through on the marriage plans with Mary. Joseph was a Godly man and obeyed God. This meant choosing to love Mary and the baby that was not his. While this may seem like it was an easy decision, it was not one that was without difficulties.

In John 8:41, the Pharisees made a comment to Jesus that reveals the common belief about Jesus's birth. They tell Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father--God". This was more than a denial of any kind of inappropriate relations by their parents, it was an accusation against Mary. The accusation was either that Mary and Joseph did not wait until they were married, or Mary had relations with someone other than Joseph. Either way, it was an attempt to cast doubt on the ministry of Jesus. If this was known 30 years later, we can almost be sure that Joseph had to deal with the talk early in his marriage to Mary also.

This little family was the only one at the manger initially. God gave Mary the privacy she needed to give birth to His Son. Sometimes we see an innkeeper depicted as bringing blankets to the manger. This is entirely possible, but not mentioned in the scriptures. We can be assured that there was indeed an innkeeper in this story because they told Joseph that there was no room in the inn. We will see that God was going to make quite the announcement about the birth of His Son, but He was considerate of Mary's needs as well.

Father, You are a God of details. You are not driven by Your passions. You are always in control and act within Your character. May we learn daily to be more like You.