December 17, 2024 • 42 mins
What if the nativity story isn't quite what we've always imagined? Join us as we challenge age-old perceptions about the birth of Jesus. We'll explore intriguing historical contexts and cultural nuances that shed new light on this pivotal biblical event. From the misinterpretations of Greek words and the true nature of Joseph and Mary's relationship to the societal roles of shepherds, we'll provide a fresh perspective on the nativity narrative that goes beyond the simplicity of a lone couple in a stable.
Have you ever considered the significant role women played in the nativity story? Our reimagining paints a picture of Jesus being born not in isolation, but in the warmth of a peasant home, surrounded by supportive women. This episode uncovers the vital contributions of women during crucial moments in Jesus' life, offering a richer understanding of customs and norms that highlight their often-overlooked significance. By reexamining these narratives, we aim to honor the strength found in community and hospitality that would have been evident to the first listeners of the gospel.
The essence of Christmas isn't just a distant echo from the past; it's a vibrant reminder of God's presence among the humble. As we navigate the socio-economic realities of Mary and Joseph's lives, we'll reflect on the universal reach of God's message, as shown through characters like Simeon, Anna, and the Magi. Listen in for a discussion that not only revisits the roles of the ordinary people in the nativity story but also encourages us to embrace the message of hope and humility during this festive season.
Have you ever considered the significant role women played in the nativity story? Our reimagining paints a picture of Jesus being born not in isolation, but in the warmth of a peasant home, surrounded by supportive women. This episode uncovers the vital contributions of women during crucial moments in Jesus' life, offering a richer understanding of customs and norms that highlight their often-overlooked significance. By reexamining these narratives, we aim to honor the strength found in community and hospitality that would have been evident to the first listeners of the gospel.
The essence of Christmas isn't just a distant echo from the past; it's a vibrant reminder of God's presence among the humble. As we navigate the socio-economic realities of Mary and Joseph's lives, we'll reflect on the universal reach of God's message, as shown through characters like Simeon, Anna, and the Magi. Listen in for a discussion that not only revisits the roles of the ordinary people in the nativity story but also encourages us to embrace the message of hope and humility during this festive season.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jessica LM Jenkins (00:02):
Welcome back .
Today we are talking throughour second part of the
Historically Accurate Nativityseries.
It's a two-part series.
Today we're going to befocusing on Luke, chapter 2, and
the birth of Jesus.
Again, as I look through thispassage, I'm not going to be
doing it exegetically, I'm notpreaching a sermon.
(00:23):
I'm going to be kind of takingapart the story as the author of
Luke wrote it.
I'm not going to be doing textcritical work to see was Jesus
really born in Bethlehem or anyof those sorts of issues.
I'm just going to take the textas it is written and talk about
the historical context elementsthat enlighten the text as we
(00:44):
have it written so that we canget inside this story more
accurately.
That means I will be talkingabout some people who aren't
mentioned in the text but werelikely there and bringing out
some themes from Matthew,chapter 1 that I think Luke also
brings fully to our attentionover and over.
(01:06):
So Luke 2 starts with a census.
It says In those days, caesarAugustus issued a decree that a
census should be taken of theentire Roman world.
This is the first census thattook place while Quirinius was
governor of Syria and everyonewent to their own town to
register Verse 4,.
So last time we talked aboutJoseph and how he was probably a
(01:27):
construction contractor orlaborer, not a carpenter with
his own little shop who makestables and chairs.
(01:48):
He likely would have gone outto work on major construction
projects, either when he livedin Nazareth, either in Tiberias
or Sephora, or when he's inBethlehem, maybe even in
Jerusalem.
He could have gotten a jobworking, because Herod's Temple
is being built it's in progressduring this time, so he could
have gotten a job working thereor on other major architectural
(02:13):
works going on in the region atthe time, which there were
several.
So his job, though he's artisanclass, which we talked about
last time, but it can be veryfluid in where he's actually
working at the time.
If that was the type of jobthat he had.
The word for Joseph as acarpenter in the Greek just
(02:35):
means artisan, so it's somebodywho works with their hands as
some sort of craftsperson, notjust like day laborer, the
person you'd go hire to haulrock for you on the construction
site.
So he has specialties andtechniques, but we don't
necessarily know specificallywhat they are.
So Joseph is going, he's inNazareth and he's going to be
(02:56):
going from Nazareth to Bethlehembecause he is from the town
lineage of David and he wentverse five he went there to
register with Mary, who waspledged to be married to him and
was expecting a child.
Now this is where our look atthe text starts to diverge from
the stereotypical nativity storythat's often taught.
(03:19):
This may sound familiar to you.
The Christmas story from Luke 2is often framed as Mary and
Joseph are a young, very, veryyoung, poor couple that are
engaged to be married butthey're not married yet and they
have to go from Bethlehem toNazareth.
(03:39):
So she is like nine months,right at the end of her
pregnancy, traveling just thetwo of them on their little
donkey, traveling from Nazarethto Bethlehem.
They get there middle of thenight.
She is in labor.
She's been in labor for hours.
Joseph is desperate.
They go to the nearest hoteland they knock on the door and
the hotel manager says sorry,we're full up because, hey, you,
(04:02):
it's a census, you should haveplanned ahead.
But you can go sleep in thebarn out back.
And so Joseph takes his wife,who's literally in labor, in his
arms and gets her into the barnin the back of the hotel and
there she continues laboring.
Nobody else wants to host themor let them in because they're
not married yet.
(04:23):
And this is a shamefulsituation.
So people are tittering and, oh, look at that, you know baby
that's going to be born out ofwedlock.
And so they go into this barnNobody's there, smelly cows,
manure everywhere, gross, andshe's laboring.
She has the baby in the barn,he delivers it, and then the
angels come to the shepherds,who are the outcasts, despised,
(04:46):
hated by the community.
They're like the thieves andthe homeless people, basically.
And it's the shepherds who comerunning in to see this baby
just after he's born, deliveredby Joseph, and some people put
the wise men right there.
Some people think, oh, they gotout of the barn and now they're
, a couple years later, they'rein a house somewhere in
Bethlehem, and then the wise menshow up and Jesus is two or
(05:08):
three years old when the wisemen show up.
That's kind of a very roughdraft of how the nativity story
from Luke 2 is often told.
But this verse verse 5, iswhere we're going to start to
pull it apart and say, okay,let's compare to Matthew and
let's think historical contextas we go through, and say, okay,
let's compare to Matthew andlet's think historical context
(05:28):
as we go through.
So it says that Joseph waspledged to be married to Mary.
Later rabbinical writings talkabout this sort of engagement,
this betrothal, as a legaldocument that to sever that is
as serious as divorce.
There's all sorts of types ofmarriages that were going on in
(05:48):
first century Judea and Galilee.
We're not exactly sure whattype of betrothal they had.
They could have had a documentlike what the rabbis described
later on in the second or fifthcenturies, or it could have been
a much more informal agreement.
Either way, matthew, chapter 1,verse 24, says when Joseph woke
(06:12):
up from the dream he had withthe angel where the angel told
him to marry Mary.
When Joseph woke up, he didwhat the angel of the Lord had
commanded him to do and tookMary home as his wife, as his
woman in Greek.
So by the time he gets, by thetime Jesus is born, joseph has
married her.
So there's a little bit ofcontradiction between Matthew
(06:34):
and Luke on whether they aremarried or engaged.
It's likely they were in thatprocess somewhere.
I would say they were probablymore married, or at least the
legal ramifications was thatthey were as good as married and
Joseph, in deciding to marryher, is basically taking the
(06:55):
blame for the illegitimate child, for her pregnancy, which
nobody ever considers is anillegitimate child.
Jesus is not raised under thestigma of being an illegitimate
child.
He's raised as though he'sJoseph's son.
So when Mary and Joseph arrivein Bethlehem it is not under the
(07:15):
stigma of a illegitimatepregnancy.
It is a young couple, engagedand just didn't make it to the
wedding, or newly married, andshe's pregnant.
So they arrive.
It's also likely they didn'ttravel the ninth month.
That's just not smart.
Their travel from Nazareth toBethlehem.
(07:36):
The text doesn't tell us whenit happened.
It simply says that while theywere there in Bethlehem she had
the baby, so they could havebeen.
The annunciation happens withthe angel.
She gets pregnant, she goes tovisit Elizabeth, stays there
about three months and then goesback and then sometimes she and
(08:01):
Joseph go to Bethlehem.
So she is anywhere from four toseven and a half I would guess
seven and a half eight monthspregnant Probably not past seven
, I wouldn't think becausethey're not going to want her
traveling a whole lot towardsthe end of that pregnancy.
So they get to Bethlehem whenshe's partway through the
pregnancy.
But we're not talking likemiddle of the night, desperate
(08:23):
contractions kind of deal.
The Proto-Evangelium of James,which is a, I believe, second
century pseudepigraphal orapocryphal writing.
It gets a lot of the details inthe Proto-Evangelium of James.
Proto-evangelium of James,excuse me, does not match Luke's
(08:45):
account.
That apocryphal work looks atit differently.
I didn't look up whether it'spseudepigraphal or apocryphal
before this.
It's one of the two, Iapologize.
So it gets details from theaccount in Luke.
It changes some of thosedetails but that is likely where
(09:07):
the idea of Mary being in laborwhen she arrived in Bethlehem
came from, though in theproto-evangelium of James she
doesn't even get to Bethlehem.
They end up doing it on theside of the road, on the way to
Bethlehem, in a cave.
That's where the cave ideacould have come from.
Way to Bethlehem in a cave.
That's where the cave ideacould have come from and they're
(09:28):
not in Bethlehem proper.
It doesn't even talk about aninnkeeper, as I recall from when
I read it a couple years ago.
It's just he grabs a cavebecause she's about to have the
baby.
Then he runs and goes and findsa midwife, which shows the
historical assumption that amidwife is necessary for the
birth.
Anyway, getting back to theflow of the text, so they get to
Bethlehem and she is pregnant,but not that far along.
(09:52):
While they were there, the timecame for the baby to be born,
they likely were staying in asmall peasant house.
He has family.
He has generational roots inBethlehem.
They probably have traveledfrom Nazareth with potentially
Joseph's parents and aunts anduncles and extended family,
(10:14):
because they obviously wouldhave similar roots if they had
relocated to Nazareth.
And if they haven't relocatedto Nazareth, they might be in
Bethlehem and Joseph might beheaded to their house.
Joseph's job he could have beenmore mobile around the country
because, unlike Peter James andJohn, they were fishermen who
had a family business that'sphysically located on the Sea of
(10:37):
Galilee could be moving towhere the big construction jobs
are happening.
So he might have been moremobile than an agrarian family
or a peasant family that isfarming or fishing or some such
like that.
So anyway, joseph and probablyextended family if that family
was in Nazareth with them, wouldhave been all traveling, and if
(11:00):
family wasn't traveling withthem, then there would have been
a caravan In the first century.
You don't travel alone.
We see this in Jesus' parables,like the parable of the Good
Samaritan how dangerous it is tobe traveling by yourself.
The Samaritan gets mugged andbeaten and left for dead.
And we know when Joseph andMary go to Jerusalem for
(11:20):
Passover, when Jesus is 12 andgets left at the temple, they
were traveling in a largecaravan at that time as well,
with a bunch of family.
So it's likely there's a lot offamily, or the very least
neighbors from Nazareth or somesuch that they're part of a big
group.
Some may have petered off inJerusalem or other cities as
they were all traveling south,but they were not traveling
(11:41):
alone.
We have no idea if they had adonkey, no idea.
So they get to Bethlehem, theygo probably to family to try to
find somewhere to stay.
That would be the logical placefor a peasant to stay.
There were hotels or inns in theancient world.
There's a specific word forthat and it's used in the
parable of the Good Samaritan.
(12:03):
That.
And it's used in the parable ofthe Good Samaritan because
that's where the Samaritan takesthe injured man to a hotel and
asks the innkeeper, the hotelowner, to care for the injured
man.
So there is a specific Greekword for hotel.
However, when we look at Luke 2and it says that there's no
room in the inn, in manytranslations the NIV translates
(12:26):
it guest room.
That is a different Greek word.
That Greek word indicates guestroom or a place where guests
would stay.
It is not the official Greekword for hotel or inn, which is
used in the parable of the GoodSamaritan.
So you have two different Greekwords going on here.
Samaritan so you have twodifferent Greek words going on
(12:48):
here.
It is likely that the guestroom was already full with a
higher status guest of some kindor family of the host family,
like a son-in-law and his family, are occupying the guest room
of this small peasant house.
It's likely that the houseJoseph and Mary would have gone
to stay at with their family orextended family would have been
a one, maybe two-room peasanthome.
They would have a large roomwhere baking, weaving of cloth,
(13:16):
your daily things that you haveto do indoors would happen in
this one room and into that room.
They would also bring theiranimals at night.
If they had a donkey, any sheep, they would bring those animals
inside at night for safety.
Most peasants did not haveexternal barns, so the idea of
Mary and Joseph being sent awayto a barn, even a barn that's
(13:39):
attached to the house, like onthe side of the house, that
doesn't really match up with thegeography of how peasants lived
.
Wealthy families would havekind of like a compound where
they would have like the mainrooms of the house and they
would have a stable room intheir compound.
If Mary and Joseph were goingto wealthy people to try to find
(14:02):
somewhere to stay, are going towealthy people to try to find
somewhere to stay, they couldpotentially have been sent to a
separate stable room, but not ifthey are going to peasants like
them to stay.
The manger for the animals wouldbe in the main room of the
house with the rest of thefamily, so that when you have in
(14:35):
verse 6, while they than Maryand Joseph being sent away to a
barn, they have been brought inand encapsulated into this house
.
The guest room is full so theycan't stay there.
The manger is in basically theliving room because animals are
brought in at night for safetyfrom robbers and also that's
(14:55):
free heat for your house.
Cows or sheep put off a lot ofheat, so do donkeys.
It's cold.
We don't know what time of yearit was Jesus was born.
We celebrate Christmas inDecember.
The jury don't know what timeof year it was Jesus was born.
We celebrate Christmas inDecember.
The jury is out on what time ofyear they may have been
bringing the animals inside alot because of the winter or if
it's a different time of year.
The animals may have been keptin an enclosed courtyard, but
(15:19):
the animals are still.
The manger is likely inside thehouse, where the animals' water
or food or whatever they wouldneed during certain times of the
year would be.
It's probably made of stone.
It could even be built into thewall of the house, not a
freestanding object.
So baby Jesus is born in acompletely different setting
(15:42):
than our tale typically tells.
This also means there arepeople that probably would have
been there that our typicalretelling of the nativity
stories completely ignore.
If we place Jesus' birth in apeasant home, you have the host
family who would be there?
Likely the wife, the hostessshe would likely have been there
(16:04):
when baby Jesus was born.
A midwife or a woman in thevillage who's skilled at
midwifery things, even if she'snot an official midwife, likely
was brought in to help with thebirth.
Any family members who Mary andJoseph were traveling with
probably came.
Mary was not alone andostracized shamefully when she
(16:26):
gave birth to Jesus.
That is how I was always taughtthe story.
Growing up outside of myimmediate family, my dad was the
one who brought to my attentionthe fact that Jesus was
probably born in a peasant home.
But in church and everywhereelse they always taught the
(16:47):
story as though Jesus was bornin a barn the whole.
Were you born in a barn?
Yes, he was born in a stablewith the animals.
It is most likely they broughthim in.
So you have the host woman, youhave the midwives, you have all
of these women who aresurrounding Mary and Jesus.
It's likely they even kickedthe men out, because for
thousands of years birthing wasa purely women's activity and
(17:08):
men were not to be around.
And so Joseph may not have evenbeen present when baby Jesus
was born and the women wouldhave surrounded Mary and baby
Jesus so that when theincarnation happens, it happens
into the womb and then the handsand the arms of women.
(17:32):
When God becomes flesh, womenare the first to touch God.
The hospitality culture of theancient world would not let a
laboring newlywed mother who'snot at home labor alone.
That would be deeply shamefulfor the family, for the
(17:57):
community, that would be a blackmark against them.
And so they draw in Joseph andMary, perhaps even the host,
giving up their own bed in themain living area of the home for
Mary and baby Jesus.
And he is born and these women,they take him, they rub him
(18:21):
down.
I've seen sources that theywould rub newborns with salt and
wrap them in swaddling clothes,sources that they would rub
newborns with salt and wrap themin swaddling clothes.
They took care of Jesus in hismost vulnerable moments, all
throughout scripture.
In Jesus' vulnerable moments itis women who are there
(18:44):
ministering to his needs.
It is always women who are thefirst to touch God.
When the incarnation happens,it is women who are there
touching and caring for Jesus.
When the resurrection happens,it is women who are there
touching Jesus.
When Jesus died, right beforethe resurrection, it was women
who were going to anoint hisbody and care for him after
(19:06):
burial.
The role of women in the gospelstory is incredibly important.
Now you might be asking if it'sso important, why isn't it
mentioned in Luke chapter 2?
Luke chapter 2 says nothingabout a hostess or a midwife or
neighbor woman coming in to help.
Why wouldn't it be mentioned?
My argument is it isn'tmentioned in Luke chapter two
(19:31):
because to the original hearersit is obvious.
They would know mangers are inthe living room.
They would know that you don'tsend away family to a hotel,
because that's where Romansoldiers stay, that's where
wandering traders stay, that'swhere Gentiles stay.
(19:54):
You're not going to send apregnant woman and a son of
David, who's from your town, toa hotel.
How could you?
The original hearer wouldunderstand that implicitly.
We, as the modern readers, arethe one who have no idea.
We're the ones who seemistranslation of the word guest
(20:19):
room.
The Greek word for guest roomhas been translated as inn, so
we assume hotel, when it'sactually the same word used for
the Last Supper.
When Jesus tells the disciplesgo prepare the guest room for
the Last Supper, it's the exactsame words the place in which
there was no room for Mary andJoseph.
So if Mary and Joseph areknocking on the door of the
(20:43):
hotel and being denied entrance,we also have to place the Last
Supper in the conference room ofthat hotel rather than the
upper room of a house inJerusalem, which is how we
always frame the Last Supper.
So we need to be consistent onour definitions of this word.
(21:05):
So the women are there.
We don't see them because wedon't understand how the culture
works.
The expectations, thepresuppositions of the original
hearer would be hospitality onthe part of the Bethlehemites
and Joseph's family.
It would be that animals forpeasant families, which is who
we're dealing with here, arebrought inside the house and it
(21:27):
would be that women are going tosurround and care for the
laboring mother while she givesbirth.
We are used to women going awayto the hospital.
Maybe her mom or sister or likeone person from her family,
goes with her, but her neighborsdon't.
Her best friend usually doesn't.
Women labor alone.
(21:48):
We're used to anindividualistic culture where we
do things alone.
In the ancient world that wascompletely outside of their
frame of mind.
They had no reason to specifythese things because it was so
obvious to them.
So she wrapped baby Jesus incloths and placed him in a
(22:08):
manger because there was noguest room available to them.
Now there are shepherds livingout in the fields nearby keeping
watch over their flocks atnight.
These shepherds I've often heardit taught.
People often teach that theshepherds were vagabonds,
(22:29):
they're thieves, they're smelly,they're despised, they're just
like the lowly of the lowly.
That idea, thatcharacterization of the
shepherds, comes from 5thcentury rabbis in Babylon.
So we're talking Babylonian,talmudic writings, which is 5th
century, 500 years after theevents of Luke, chapter 2.
(22:51):
Rabbis wrote about shepherds inBabylon, in Persia.
So we're talking thousands ofmiles away, completely different
geographical region.
They, those rabbis in the 5thcentury in Persia, babylon,
despised shepherds and theshepherds around them were
(23:12):
smelly thieves, the dregs ofsociety In Israel, in Judea and
Galilee.
We have no evidence from theJerusalem Talmud that's written
around or Mishnah that's writtenaround the 2nd century.
We have none of thatishnahthat's written around the second
century.
We have none of that evidencefrom them From the second
century.
We don't have it and we see allthroughout scripture that
(23:41):
shepherds was a perfectly finejob to have.
There's no shame attached tobeing a shepherd.
In fact, there may have beenpriestly shepherds in and around
Bethlehem that were watchingthe flocks that would be
sacrificed at the temple.
We have absolutely zero evidencethat those shepherds were the
ones that the angels came to.
They could have been priestlyshepherds.
They could have also just beenthe run-of-the-mill blue-collar
(24:03):
worker, peasant person, husband,teenage boy kind of shepherd
that's out in the field.
It could even be some of thehusbands that the wives kicked
out of the house when Mary wentinto labor.
So they're going to go hang outwith the sheep for a bit,
because what are we going to do?
The women just took over thehouse.
We don't know who theseshepherds are, except they are
(24:23):
nearby Bethlehem.
They might've even been from anadjoining town, not from
Bethlehem proper, but imaginethem in your minds not as like
the despised dregs of society,but like your neighbor Joe who
drives truck, or Charlie whoworks at the shop and takes care
of cars.
You know your good-hearted,hardworking, blue-collar
(24:46):
neighbor who's just doing whathe needs to do and doing it
faithfully.
That's the kind of people theshepherds were, and so the
angels appear to them sayingglory, and the glory of the Lord
shone around them and they wereterrified.
But the angels said don't beafraid, I bring you good news
that will cause great joy forall the people.
(25:06):
Today, in the town of David, aSavior has been born to you.
He is the Messiah, the Lordthis.
So the shepherds immediately runto see this baby, and they are
just so excited, so, verse 16,excited, so verse 16, they
(25:29):
hurried off and found Mary andJoseph and the baby who was
lying in the manger, and whenthey had seen them, they spread
the word about what had beentold them about this child and
all who heard it were amazed.
So there's a lot going on here.
You have Mary has given birthand they lay the baby in a
manger.
Why would they say they lay thebaby in a manger?
Baby in a manger.
Why would they say they lay thebaby in a manger?
(25:50):
Partly because that is a cuethat says this baby's like the
rest of the peasant babies.
A manger is a strong, sturdy,solid walled, safe place to put
a baby in a peasant home, bedscould have been a wooden bed
like we have, where you have amattress on some sort of bed
frame or it's a rolled up mat onthe floor, depending on the
(26:12):
peasant family.
So there may not be a bedavailable to lay your baby down.
If you need to stop holding itfor a minute, you definitely
don't want to put the baby on atable.
We've all learned that Don'tput babies on tables.
That's a bad idea.
Mangers are a great place toset the baby down for a few
minutes because it has walls,it's sturdy, it's not going to
(26:33):
get knocked over by an errantsheep or toddler or something.
It's stone.
It's not going anywhere.
These are co-sleeping cultures,so it's not like they're using
the manger as a crib.
They don't do cribs, they'reco-sleeping cultures and we have
evidence of that throughoutscripture.
So a manger is a great place toput a baby because it's built
(26:53):
in, it's solid, it has walls,it's secure, baby's not going
anywhere.
So they lay the baby in themanger and that's familiar
language to all the peasants.
Because part of what's going onin Luke 2 is a bringing home of
the concept from Matthew 1 thatthis child is Emmanuel.
It's God with us.
(27:14):
Matthew 1 tells us thatdirectly.
The angel tells Joseph he isEmmanuel, he is God with us.
Luke 2 shows us that he isEmmanuel, god with us.
It doesn't say the words inLuke 2.
It describes it that God becamehuman, born into the hands and
(27:37):
arms of women in a peasant home.
He is not in the temple, he isnot in the palace.
He is with the average everydayperson.
He is God with us.
The shepherds know where to lookbecause they're looking for a
(27:57):
home that's similar to theirs.
There might have also been agiant party going on outside.
A son of David is born inBethlehem.
The men are all celebrating,the women are taking care of
Mary and the baby.
There's a giant party happening.
This baby has been born.
Mom and baby are healthy.
This is good news.
The shepherds come into townLook for the party.
That's where you're going tofind the baby, and a manger is
(28:20):
also a great place to lay a babyfor safe viewing.
When a bunch of shepherds comebarging into your house, into
your hospital room, into yourbirthing room, straight off the
field, and I just imagine themidwife being like whoa, whoa,
whoa, what's going on?
The shepherds are like we justsaw an angel and they said the
(28:41):
baby.
And she's like okay, I don'tknow what's going on because I
didn't hear the angel.
I've been busy with the mom,but I'll put the baby in the
manger.
You may look, no touching, youmay look at the baby you want to
see.
(29:11):
I think further evidence thatJesus was born in a peasant
house, not in a rich person'sstable room or a barn that's not
adjacent to the house, astandalone barn somewhere else,
is that the shepherds have noproblem with the living
arrangement of the baby.
The angels come and they say asavior has been born, he is the
Messiah.
The shepherds show up at thehouse to see the Messiah and
he's in a manger in a peasanthome.
To them.
That's like.
This is awesome With us.
(29:33):
The Messiah is with us.
He is ours, he belongs to us.
He is our people.
He is going to work on ourbehalf.
He is not here to work on thebehalf of the rich mucky mucks
in Jerusalem that tax us andtake our sheep.
He is here to work on ourbehalf.
But if he was in a stable orostracized away the shepherds
(29:54):
who, again, are not the dregs ofsociety, they're your average
neighbor If Jesus was off in abarn somewhere, the shepherds
would be like hold on, you'rethe Messiah.
The Messiah is in a stable bythe hotel with the Romans,
caravans and Gentiles.
No, no, no, no.
You're coming home with us.
(30:15):
Come home with us.
Come home with us right now.
We're getting you out of this.
We're getting you out of thebarn.
We're getting you out of thehotel.
You're coming home with us.
We will take care of you.
You are our Messiah.
We can't leave you in a stable,in a hotel situation, like the
typical situation.
These shepherds would not likelyhave abided Once they have
heard from a literal angel thatthis is the Messiah, the Savior
(30:39):
of Israel.
They are not going to be okaywith a barn, hotel situation,
but they are going to have noproblem at all with their
Messiah being in a peasant homelike theirs, being cared for by
their family and community.
(31:00):
So, verse 19 mary treasures upall these things and pondered
them in her heart.
The shepherds returnedglorifying and praising god for
all the things they had heardand seen, which were just as
they had been told.
The shepherds leave.
Baby's been born, life startsto settle back down.
(31:20):
Mary and joseph are stillstaying in town.
She's just had had a baby.
Now maybe Joseph's trying toget some work.
He's like we need to be herefor a while.
He might be getting a job orsome such, and life starts to
settle in.
But Mary is remembering allthis.
She's treasuring this in herheart.
Eight days later, when it wastime to circumcise the child
(31:42):
verse 21, he was named Jesus,the name the angel had given him
before he was conceived, whichVerse 21.
The angels told the shepherdthe Savior is born.
The Messiah.
Jesus' name literally means theLord saves.
(32:06):
So, verse 22, when the time camefor the purification rites
required by the law of Moses,joseph and Mary took him to
Jerusalem to present him to theLord and to offer the sacrifice
a pair of doves or two youngpigeons.
So they're offering a sacrificefor a family that's not wealthy
.
They are definitely peasant,even though Joseph could have
been an artisan class, which youcan listen to the last episode
I talked about that in moredetail have been an artisan
class, which you can listen tothe last episode I talked about
(32:27):
that in more detail.
Even though he may have been ahigher class than peasants, that
doesn't mean he has stable work, that doesn't mean he's wealthy
.
He's just a slightly differentsocial class and so he may not
have a lot of work at the time.
And so they're offering thepoor people's sacrifice a couple
of doves or pigeons.
And when they go to do this,there's a man in Jerusalem
(32:48):
called Simeon who is righteousand devout and waiting for the
consolation of Israel.
And so the Holy Spirit had toldSimeon you're not going to die
until I've seen the Lord'sMessiah.
So Simeon goes to the templethat day and he sees the baby
Jesus and he breaks out inprophecy saying verse 29,.
(33:11):
Sovereign Lord, as you havepromised, you may now dismiss
your servant in peace, for myeyes have seen your salvation.
Again that theme Jesus, theLord saves your salvation, which
you have prepared in the sightof all nations, a light for the
revelation of the Gentiles and aglory of your people, which you
have prepared in the sight ofall nations, a light for the
revelation of the Gentiles and aglory of your people, israel.
The child's father and mothermarveled at what was said about
(33:33):
him.
Then Simeon blessed the childand said this child is destined
to cause the rising and fallingof many in Israel and it is a
sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many
hearts will be revealed and asword will pierce your soul also
.
There was also a prophet namedAnna.
She is called a prophet.
(33:54):
She was around 80 somethingyears old, woman who lives in
and around the temple, and shecomes.
The text doesn't tell us whatshe tells them, but she comes
(34:14):
and she speaks to Mary andJoseph, giving thanks to God,
and then she tells everybodyaround about this child.
Jesus' birth is brought into thelives of the average everyday
people.
It is God with us in the mostmundane ways.
(34:36):
It is not in the temple,surrounded by the priests.
Notice that you have Simeon,who's just, he's righteous and
devout.
He's not in the temple all thetime.
He has to come to the temple.
The Spirit brought him to thetemple that day.
You have Anna, who is a widow.
She's been a widow for decadesand she lives in the temple.
(34:59):
She's a prophetess and she justlives there.
It is these people who recognizewhat God is doing.
It is not the Sadducees, it isnot the Pharisees, it is not the
priests.
It is the simple people who arelistening to God that get to
participate in what God is doing.
Last episode we talked abouthow God started in the temple
(35:23):
with Zachariah, and Zachariahdid not believe God and was
silenced.
Though God's plan was notimpacted by Zachariah's faith,
zachariah's privilege toparticipate in some of the plan
was curtailed through disciplineand the rest of the priestly
class and the Pharisee class andall of these people.
(35:45):
They did not participate.
God is incarnating himself.
Yes, to humanity, but also tothe lower classes of humanity.
These are not the rich and thepowerful.
They are not the strong and thewealthy.
It is the simple, humble peoplewho hear the word of God and
(36:06):
rejoice.
And then, lastly, going back toMatthew, looking at Matthew,
chapter 2, the magi come tovisit and see Jesus.
We don't know.
They could have been thereright after the birth.
They could have been a coupleyears Arguments I've heard that
they were there a couple yearsafter Jesus was born is because
it says they were in a housewhen the Magi come.
And so people who assume thatJesus was born in a stable are
(36:30):
like, well, now he's in a house,so that's sometimes later, but
if he was born in a house tobegin with he would have already
been in a house.
We don't know when the Magishow up, it doesn't really
matter.
But we see God working in theeveryday Jewish people and then
he brings in magi.
These could be priests orastrologers from foreign nations
, we don't know which nations,just that they were to the east.
(36:51):
And he brings in Gentileastrologers and perhaps
Zoroastrian priests to worshipthe Messiah, to worship the king
of the universe made flesh.
God is coming to be with hispeople, not in pomp, not in
(37:12):
circumstance, not in power, notin declarations made to those
who could move and shake andmake things happen, but to the
simple, everyday, weak,powerless person who has very
little social standing and verylittle ability to do anything on
(37:33):
the grand governmental scale.
He comes to your everyday,humble person and he says I am
with you.
I am with you in the suffering,I am with you in the joys.
I am just, I am God with you,and their voices cry out that
(37:53):
God is doing something beautiful, god is doing something unique
and I want you, this Christmasseason, to have that vision of
God with us, to have that visionof God with us.
It's easy to get caught up inthe presents and the shopping
and the cookies and the bakingand the events and the parties
(38:13):
and all of the things, and,especially as those of us who
are wives and moms, there's allthe doing, the doing, doing,
doing, doing, the mental load ofChristmas and it's easy to
forget that Christmas is aboutGod being with us.
While we're shopping, whilewe're working, while we're doing
(38:34):
whatever.
God is with us in real time now, because he came to be
incarnated then.
Women have always been crucial.
They've been central to theplan of the gospel.
The gospel hope was first givenalthough she probably didn't
(38:56):
fully understand it to Eve backin Genesis, chapter 3, where God
says I will send a seed of thewoman who will crush the head of
the serpent.
That is fulfilled in Mary, whogives birth to the Messiah Jesus
, who is helped by the invisiblewomen, who are not mentioned in
(39:18):
the story, though they wouldhave been assumed to be there.
God is working through theaverage, everyday, normal people
, and especially women.
Women have been there every stepof the way along the gospel
journey and God uses those whoare weak and lowly and limited
(39:45):
to show his goodness and hisgrace, and he longs to walk
alongside them.
Jesus has no interest inrubbing shoulders with the power
brokers and those with money tofurther his own status.
He just wants to be with hispeople.
So as you continue on in thisChristmas season this year, I
(40:08):
hope we can all take that withus, the idea of God with us.
Emmanuel born into a communityfor the sake of that community,
and being born into thatcommunity enables him to act on
behalf of that community.
Those are his people the lowly,the peasant, the weak, the
(40:32):
limited.
That is the people that God,from the very beginning, says
these are mine, these are theones I want to be around and
among, so that when we feel weakand limited and unable and
whatever, we can remindourselves that we are the very
people God said he was theMessiah, for, that he promised
(40:56):
to work on the behalf of andthat he promised to walk through
life with.
Merry Christmas, may you, thiscoming year, know, in great
fullness and joy, how much yourGod is with you and how much he
loves you.
God bless.
Welcome back .
Today we are talking throughour second part of the
Historically Accurate Nativityseries.
It's a two-part series.
Today we're going to befocusing on Luke, chapter 2, and
the birth of Jesus.
Again, as I look through thispassage, I'm not going to be
doing it exegetically, I'm notpreaching a sermon.
(00:23):
I'm going to be kind of takingapart the story as the author of
Luke wrote it.
I'm not going to be doing textcritical work to see was Jesus
really born in Bethlehem or anyof those sorts of issues.
I'm just going to take the textas it is written and talk about
the historical context elementsthat enlighten the text as we
(00:44):
have it written so that we canget inside this story more
accurately.
That means I will be talkingabout some people who aren't
mentioned in the text but werelikely there and bringing out
some themes from Matthew,chapter 1 that I think Luke also
brings fully to our attentionover and over.
(01:06):
So Luke 2 starts with a census.
It says In those days, caesarAugustus issued a decree that a
census should be taken of theentire Roman world.
This is the first census thattook place while Quirinius was
governor of Syria and everyonewent to their own town to
register Verse 4,.
So last time we talked aboutJoseph and how he was probably a
(01:27):
construction contractor orlaborer, not a carpenter with
his own little shop who makestables and chairs.
(01:48):
He likely would have gone outto work on major construction
projects, either when he livedin Nazareth, either in Tiberias
or Sephora, or when he's inBethlehem, maybe even in
Jerusalem.
He could have gotten a jobworking, because Herod's Temple
is being built it's in progressduring this time, so he could
have gotten a job working thereor on other major architectural
(02:13):
works going on in the region atthe time, which there were
several.
So his job, though he's artisanclass, which we talked about
last time, but it can be veryfluid in where he's actually
working at the time.
If that was the type of jobthat he had.
The word for Joseph as acarpenter in the Greek just
(02:35):
means artisan, so it's somebodywho works with their hands as
some sort of craftsperson, notjust like day laborer, the
person you'd go hire to haulrock for you on the construction
site.
So he has specialties andtechniques, but we don't
necessarily know specificallywhat they are.
So Joseph is going, he's inNazareth and he's going to be
(02:56):
going from Nazareth to Bethlehembecause he is from the town
lineage of David and he wentverse five he went there to
register with Mary, who waspledged to be married to him and
was expecting a child.
Now this is where our look atthe text starts to diverge from
the stereotypical nativity storythat's often taught.
(03:19):
This may sound familiar to you.
The Christmas story from Luke 2is often framed as Mary and
Joseph are a young, very, veryyoung, poor couple that are
engaged to be married butthey're not married yet and they
have to go from Bethlehem toNazareth.
(03:39):
So she is like nine months,right at the end of her
pregnancy, traveling just thetwo of them on their little
donkey, traveling from Nazarethto Bethlehem.
They get there middle of thenight.
She is in labor.
She's been in labor for hours.
Joseph is desperate.
They go to the nearest hoteland they knock on the door and
the hotel manager says sorry,we're full up because, hey, you,
(04:02):
it's a census, you should haveplanned ahead.
But you can go sleep in thebarn out back.
And so Joseph takes his wife,who's literally in labor, in his
arms and gets her into the barnin the back of the hotel and
there she continues laboring.
Nobody else wants to host themor let them in because they're
not married yet.
(04:23):
And this is a shamefulsituation.
So people are tittering and, oh, look at that, you know baby
that's going to be born out ofwedlock.
And so they go into this barnNobody's there, smelly cows,
manure everywhere, gross, andshe's laboring.
She has the baby in the barn,he delivers it, and then the
angels come to the shepherds,who are the outcasts, despised,
(04:46):
hated by the community.
They're like the thieves andthe homeless people, basically.
And it's the shepherds who comerunning in to see this baby
just after he's born, deliveredby Joseph, and some people put
the wise men right there.
Some people think, oh, they gotout of the barn and now they're
, a couple years later, they'rein a house somewhere in
Bethlehem, and then the wise menshow up and Jesus is two or
(05:08):
three years old when the wisemen show up.
That's kind of a very roughdraft of how the nativity story
from Luke 2 is often told.
But this verse verse 5, iswhere we're going to start to
pull it apart and say, okay,let's compare to Matthew and
let's think historical contextas we go through, and say, okay,
let's compare to Matthew andlet's think historical context
(05:28):
as we go through.
So it says that Joseph waspledged to be married to Mary.
Later rabbinical writings talkabout this sort of engagement,
this betrothal, as a legaldocument that to sever that is
as serious as divorce.
There's all sorts of types ofmarriages that were going on in
(05:48):
first century Judea and Galilee.
We're not exactly sure whattype of betrothal they had.
They could have had a documentlike what the rabbis described
later on in the second or fifthcenturies, or it could have been
a much more informal agreement.
Either way, matthew, chapter 1,verse 24, says when Joseph woke
(06:12):
up from the dream he had withthe angel where the angel told
him to marry Mary.
When Joseph woke up, he didwhat the angel of the Lord had
commanded him to do and tookMary home as his wife, as his
woman in Greek.
So by the time he gets, by thetime Jesus is born, joseph has
married her.
So there's a little bit ofcontradiction between Matthew
(06:34):
and Luke on whether they aremarried or engaged.
It's likely they were in thatprocess somewhere.
I would say they were probablymore married, or at least the
legal ramifications was thatthey were as good as married and
Joseph, in deciding to marryher, is basically taking the
(06:55):
blame for the illegitimate child, for her pregnancy, which
nobody ever considers is anillegitimate child.
Jesus is not raised under thestigma of being an illegitimate
child.
He's raised as though he'sJoseph's son.
So when Mary and Joseph arrivein Bethlehem it is not under the
(07:15):
stigma of a illegitimatepregnancy.
It is a young couple, engagedand just didn't make it to the
wedding, or newly married, andshe's pregnant.
So they arrive.
It's also likely they didn'ttravel the ninth month.
That's just not smart.
Their travel from Nazareth toBethlehem.
(07:36):
The text doesn't tell us whenit happened.
It simply says that while theywere there in Bethlehem she had
the baby, so they could havebeen.
The annunciation happens withthe angel.
She gets pregnant, she goes tovisit Elizabeth, stays there
about three months and then goesback and then sometimes she and
(08:01):
Joseph go to Bethlehem.
So she is anywhere from four toseven and a half I would guess
seven and a half eight monthspregnant Probably not past seven
, I wouldn't think becausethey're not going to want her
traveling a whole lot towardsthe end of that pregnancy.
So they get to Bethlehem whenshe's partway through the
pregnancy.
But we're not talking likemiddle of the night, desperate
(08:23):
contractions kind of deal.
The Proto-Evangelium of James,which is a, I believe, second
century pseudepigraphal orapocryphal writing.
It gets a lot of the details inthe Proto-Evangelium of James.
Proto-evangelium of James,excuse me, does not match Luke's
(08:45):
account.
That apocryphal work looks atit differently.
I didn't look up whether it'spseudepigraphal or apocryphal
before this.
It's one of the two, Iapologize.
So it gets details from theaccount in Luke.
It changes some of thosedetails but that is likely where
(09:07):
the idea of Mary being in laborwhen she arrived in Bethlehem
came from, though in theproto-evangelium of James she
doesn't even get to Bethlehem.
They end up doing it on theside of the road, on the way to
Bethlehem, in a cave.
That's where the cave ideacould have come from.
Way to Bethlehem in a cave.
That's where the cave ideacould have come from and they're
(09:28):
not in Bethlehem proper.
It doesn't even talk about aninnkeeper, as I recall from when
I read it a couple years ago.
It's just he grabs a cavebecause she's about to have the
baby.
Then he runs and goes and findsa midwife, which shows the
historical assumption that amidwife is necessary for the
birth.
Anyway, getting back to theflow of the text, so they get to
Bethlehem and she is pregnant,but not that far along.
(09:52):
While they were there, the timecame for the baby to be born,
they likely were staying in asmall peasant house.
He has family.
He has generational roots inBethlehem.
They probably have traveledfrom Nazareth with potentially
Joseph's parents and aunts anduncles and extended family,
(10:14):
because they obviously wouldhave similar roots if they had
relocated to Nazareth.
And if they haven't relocatedto Nazareth, they might be in
Bethlehem and Joseph might beheaded to their house.
Joseph's job he could have beenmore mobile around the country
because, unlike Peter James andJohn, they were fishermen who
had a family business that'sphysically located on the Sea of
(10:37):
Galilee could be moving towhere the big construction jobs
are happening.
So he might have been moremobile than an agrarian family
or a peasant family that isfarming or fishing or some such
like that.
So anyway, joseph and probablyextended family if that family
was in Nazareth with them, wouldhave been all traveling, and if
(11:00):
family wasn't traveling withthem, then there would have been
a caravan In the first century.
You don't travel alone.
We see this in Jesus' parables,like the parable of the Good
Samaritan how dangerous it is tobe traveling by yourself.
The Samaritan gets mugged andbeaten and left for dead.
And we know when Joseph andMary go to Jerusalem for
(11:20):
Passover, when Jesus is 12 andgets left at the temple, they
were traveling in a largecaravan at that time as well,
with a bunch of family.
So it's likely there's a lot offamily, or the very least
neighbors from Nazareth or somesuch that they're part of a big
group.
Some may have petered off inJerusalem or other cities as
they were all traveling south,but they were not traveling
(11:41):
alone.
We have no idea if they had adonkey, no idea.
So they get to Bethlehem, theygo probably to family to try to
find somewhere to stay.
That would be the logical placefor a peasant to stay.
There were hotels or inns in theancient world.
There's a specific word forthat and it's used in the
parable of the Good Samaritan.
(12:03):
That.
And it's used in the parable ofthe Good Samaritan because
that's where the Samaritan takesthe injured man to a hotel and
asks the innkeeper, the hotelowner, to care for the injured
man.
So there is a specific Greekword for hotel.
However, when we look at Luke 2and it says that there's no
room in the inn, in manytranslations the NIV translates
(12:26):
it guest room.
That is a different Greek word.
That Greek word indicates guestroom or a place where guests
would stay.
It is not the official Greekword for hotel or inn, which is
used in the parable of the GoodSamaritan.
So you have two different Greekwords going on here.
Samaritan so you have twodifferent Greek words going on
(12:48):
here.
It is likely that the guestroom was already full with a
higher status guest of some kindor family of the host family,
like a son-in-law and his family, are occupying the guest room
of this small peasant house.
It's likely that the houseJoseph and Mary would have gone
to stay at with their family orextended family would have been
a one, maybe two-room peasanthome.
They would have a large roomwhere baking, weaving of cloth,
(13:16):
your daily things that you haveto do indoors would happen in
this one room and into that room.
They would also bring theiranimals at night.
If they had a donkey, any sheep, they would bring those animals
inside at night for safety.
Most peasants did not haveexternal barns, so the idea of
Mary and Joseph being sent awayto a barn, even a barn that's
(13:39):
attached to the house, like onthe side of the house, that
doesn't really match up with thegeography of how peasants lived
.
Wealthy families would havekind of like a compound where
they would have like the mainrooms of the house and they
would have a stable room intheir compound.
If Mary and Joseph were goingto wealthy people to try to find
(14:02):
somewhere to stay, are going towealthy people to try to find
somewhere to stay, they couldpotentially have been sent to a
separate stable room, but not ifthey are going to peasants like
them to stay.
The manger for the animals wouldbe in the main room of the
house with the rest of thefamily, so that when you have in
(14:35):
verse 6, while they than Maryand Joseph being sent away to a
barn, they have been brought inand encapsulated into this house
.
The guest room is full so theycan't stay there.
The manger is in basically theliving room because animals are
brought in at night for safetyfrom robbers and also that's
(14:55):
free heat for your house.
Cows or sheep put off a lot ofheat, so do donkeys.
It's cold.
We don't know what time of yearit was Jesus was born.
We celebrate Christmas inDecember.
The jury don't know what timeof year it was Jesus was born.
We celebrate Christmas inDecember.
The jury is out on what time ofyear they may have been
bringing the animals inside alot because of the winter or if
it's a different time of year.
The animals may have been keptin an enclosed courtyard, but
(15:19):
the animals are still.
The manger is likely inside thehouse, where the animals' water
or food or whatever they wouldneed during certain times of the
year would be.
It's probably made of stone.
It could even be built into thewall of the house, not a
freestanding object.
So baby Jesus is born in acompletely different setting
(15:42):
than our tale typically tells.
This also means there arepeople that probably would have
been there that our typicalretelling of the nativity
stories completely ignore.
If we place Jesus' birth in apeasant home, you have the host
family who would be there?
Likely the wife, the hostessshe would likely have been there
(16:04):
when baby Jesus was born.
A midwife or a woman in thevillage who's skilled at
midwifery things, even if she'snot an official midwife, likely
was brought in to help with thebirth.
Any family members who Mary andJoseph were traveling with
probably came.
Mary was not alone andostracized shamefully when she
(16:26):
gave birth to Jesus.
That is how I was always taughtthe story.
Growing up outside of myimmediate family, my dad was the
one who brought to my attentionthe fact that Jesus was
probably born in a peasant home.
But in church and everywhereelse they always taught the
(16:47):
story as though Jesus was bornin a barn the whole.
Were you born in a barn?
Yes, he was born in a stablewith the animals.
It is most likely they broughthim in.
So you have the host woman, youhave the midwives, you have all
of these women who aresurrounding Mary and Jesus.
It's likely they even kickedthe men out, because for
thousands of years birthing wasa purely women's activity and
(17:08):
men were not to be around.
And so Joseph may not have evenbeen present when baby Jesus
was born and the women wouldhave surrounded Mary and baby
Jesus so that when theincarnation happens, it happens
into the womb and then the handsand the arms of women.
(17:32):
When God becomes flesh, womenare the first to touch God.
The hospitality culture of theancient world would not let a
laboring newlywed mother who'snot at home labor alone.
That would be deeply shamefulfor the family, for the
(17:57):
community, that would be a blackmark against them.
And so they draw in Joseph andMary, perhaps even the host,
giving up their own bed in themain living area of the home for
Mary and baby Jesus.
And he is born and these women,they take him, they rub him
(18:21):
down.
I've seen sources that theywould rub newborns with salt and
wrap them in swaddling clothes,sources that they would rub
newborns with salt and wrap themin swaddling clothes.
They took care of Jesus in hismost vulnerable moments, all
throughout scripture.
In Jesus' vulnerable moments itis women who are there
(18:44):
ministering to his needs.
It is always women who are thefirst to touch God.
When the incarnation happens,it is women who are there
touching and caring for Jesus.
When the resurrection happens,it is women who are there
touching Jesus.
When Jesus died, right beforethe resurrection, it was women
who were going to anoint hisbody and care for him after
(19:06):
burial.
The role of women in the gospelstory is incredibly important.
Now you might be asking if it'sso important, why isn't it
mentioned in Luke chapter 2?
Luke chapter 2 says nothingabout a hostess or a midwife or
neighbor woman coming in to help.
Why wouldn't it be mentioned?
My argument is it isn'tmentioned in Luke chapter two
(19:31):
because to the original hearersit is obvious.
They would know mangers are inthe living room.
They would know that you don'tsend away family to a hotel,
because that's where Romansoldiers stay, that's where
wandering traders stay, that'swhere Gentiles stay.
(19:54):
You're not going to send apregnant woman and a son of
David, who's from your town, toa hotel.
How could you?
The original hearer wouldunderstand that implicitly.
We, as the modern readers, arethe one who have no idea.
We're the ones who seemistranslation of the word guest
(20:19):
room.
The Greek word for guest roomhas been translated as inn, so
we assume hotel, when it'sactually the same word used for
the Last Supper.
When Jesus tells the disciplesgo prepare the guest room for
the Last Supper, it's the exactsame words the place in which
there was no room for Mary andJoseph.
So if Mary and Joseph areknocking on the door of the
(20:43):
hotel and being denied entrance,we also have to place the Last
Supper in the conference room ofthat hotel rather than the
upper room of a house inJerusalem, which is how we
always frame the Last Supper.
So we need to be consistent onour definitions of this word.
(21:05):
So the women are there.
We don't see them because wedon't understand how the culture
works.
The expectations, thepresuppositions of the original
hearer would be hospitality onthe part of the Bethlehemites
and Joseph's family.
It would be that animals forpeasant families, which is who
we're dealing with here, arebrought inside the house and it
(21:27):
would be that women are going tosurround and care for the
laboring mother while she givesbirth.
We are used to women going awayto the hospital.
Maybe her mom or sister or likeone person from her family,
goes with her, but her neighborsdon't.
Her best friend usually doesn't.
Women labor alone.
(21:48):
We're used to anindividualistic culture where we
do things alone.
In the ancient world that wascompletely outside of their
frame of mind.
They had no reason to specifythese things because it was so
obvious to them.
So she wrapped baby Jesus incloths and placed him in a
(22:08):
manger because there was noguest room available to them.
Now there are shepherds livingout in the fields nearby keeping
watch over their flocks atnight.
These shepherds I've often heardit taught.
People often teach that theshepherds were vagabonds,
(22:29):
they're thieves, they're smelly,they're despised, they're just
like the lowly of the lowly.
That idea, thatcharacterization of the
shepherds, comes from 5thcentury rabbis in Babylon.
So we're talking Babylonian,talmudic writings, which is 5th
century, 500 years after theevents of Luke, chapter 2.
(22:51):
Rabbis wrote about shepherds inBabylon, in Persia.
So we're talking thousands ofmiles away, completely different
geographical region.
They, those rabbis in the 5thcentury in Persia, babylon,
despised shepherds and theshepherds around them were
(23:12):
smelly thieves, the dregs ofsociety In Israel, in Judea and
Galilee.
We have no evidence from theJerusalem Talmud that's written
around or Mishnah that's writtenaround the 2nd century.
We have none of thatishnahthat's written around the second
century.
We have none of that evidencefrom them From the second
century.
We don't have it and we see allthroughout scripture that
(23:41):
shepherds was a perfectly finejob to have.
There's no shame attached tobeing a shepherd.
In fact, there may have beenpriestly shepherds in and around
Bethlehem that were watchingthe flocks that would be
sacrificed at the temple.
We have absolutely zero evidencethat those shepherds were the
ones that the angels came to.
They could have been priestlyshepherds.
They could have also just beenthe run-of-the-mill blue-collar
(24:03):
worker, peasant person, husband,teenage boy kind of shepherd
that's out in the field.
It could even be some of thehusbands that the wives kicked
out of the house when Mary wentinto labor.
So they're going to go hang outwith the sheep for a bit,
because what are we going to do?
The women just took over thehouse.
We don't know who theseshepherds are, except they are
(24:23):
nearby Bethlehem.
They might've even been from anadjoining town, not from
Bethlehem proper, but imaginethem in your minds not as like
the despised dregs of society,but like your neighbor Joe who
drives truck, or Charlie whoworks at the shop and takes care
of cars.
You know your good-hearted,hardworking, blue-collar
(24:46):
neighbor who's just doing whathe needs to do and doing it
faithfully.
That's the kind of people theshepherds were, and so the
angels appear to them sayingglory, and the glory of the Lord
shone around them and they wereterrified.
But the angels said don't beafraid, I bring you good news
that will cause great joy forall the people.
(25:06):
Today, in the town of David, aSavior has been born to you.
He is the Messiah, the Lordthis.
So the shepherds immediately runto see this baby, and they are
just so excited, so, verse 16,excited, so verse 16, they
(25:29):
hurried off and found Mary andJoseph and the baby who was
lying in the manger, and whenthey had seen them, they spread
the word about what had beentold them about this child and
all who heard it were amazed.
So there's a lot going on here.
You have Mary has given birthand they lay the baby in a
manger.
Why would they say they lay thebaby in a manger?
Baby in a manger.
Why would they say they lay thebaby in a manger?
(25:50):
Partly because that is a cuethat says this baby's like the
rest of the peasant babies.
A manger is a strong, sturdy,solid walled, safe place to put
a baby in a peasant home, bedscould have been a wooden bed
like we have, where you have amattress on some sort of bed
frame or it's a rolled up mat onthe floor, depending on the
(26:12):
peasant family.
So there may not be a bedavailable to lay your baby down.
If you need to stop holding itfor a minute, you definitely
don't want to put the baby on atable.
We've all learned that Don'tput babies on tables.
That's a bad idea.
Mangers are a great place toset the baby down for a few
minutes because it has walls,it's sturdy, it's not going to
(26:33):
get knocked over by an errantsheep or toddler or something.
It's stone.
It's not going anywhere.
These are co-sleeping cultures,so it's not like they're using
the manger as a crib.
They don't do cribs, they'reco-sleeping cultures and we have
evidence of that throughoutscripture.
So a manger is a great place toput a baby because it's built
(26:53):
in, it's solid, it has walls,it's secure, baby's not going
anywhere.
So they lay the baby in themanger and that's familiar
language to all the peasants.
Because part of what's going onin Luke 2 is a bringing home of
the concept from Matthew 1 thatthis child is Emmanuel.
It's God with us.
(27:14):
Matthew 1 tells us thatdirectly.
The angel tells Joseph he isEmmanuel, he is God with us.
Luke 2 shows us that he isEmmanuel, god with us.
It doesn't say the words inLuke 2.
It describes it that God becamehuman, born into the hands and
(27:37):
arms of women in a peasant home.
He is not in the temple, he isnot in the palace.
He is with the average everydayperson.
He is God with us.
The shepherds know where to lookbecause they're looking for a
(27:57):
home that's similar to theirs.
There might have also been agiant party going on outside.
A son of David is born inBethlehem.
The men are all celebrating,the women are taking care of
Mary and the baby.
There's a giant party happening.
This baby has been born.
Mom and baby are healthy.
This is good news.
The shepherds come into townLook for the party.
That's where you're going tofind the baby, and a manger is
(28:20):
also a great place to lay a babyfor safe viewing.
When a bunch of shepherds comebarging into your house, into
your hospital room, into yourbirthing room, straight off the
field, and I just imagine themidwife being like whoa, whoa,
whoa, what's going on?
The shepherds are like we justsaw an angel and they said the
(28:41):
baby.
And she's like okay, I don'tknow what's going on because I
didn't hear the angel.
I've been busy with the mom,but I'll put the baby in the
manger.
You may look, no touching, youmay look at the baby you want to
see.
(29:11):
I think further evidence thatJesus was born in a peasant
house, not in a rich person'sstable room or a barn that's not
adjacent to the house, astandalone barn somewhere else,
is that the shepherds have noproblem with the living
arrangement of the baby.
The angels come and they say asavior has been born, he is the
Messiah.
The shepherds show up at thehouse to see the Messiah and
he's in a manger in a peasanthome.
To them.
That's like.
This is awesome With us.
(29:33):
The Messiah is with us.
He is ours, he belongs to us.
He is our people.
He is going to work on ourbehalf.
He is not here to work on thebehalf of the rich mucky mucks
in Jerusalem that tax us andtake our sheep.
He is here to work on ourbehalf.
But if he was in a stable orostracized away the shepherds
(29:54):
who, again, are not the dregs ofsociety, they're your average
neighbor If Jesus was off in abarn somewhere, the shepherds
would be like hold on, you'rethe Messiah.
The Messiah is in a stable bythe hotel with the Romans,
caravans and Gentiles.
No, no, no, no.
You're coming home with us.
(30:15):
Come home with us.
Come home with us right now.
We're getting you out of this.
We're getting you out of thebarn.
We're getting you out of thehotel.
You're coming home with us.
We will take care of you.
You are our Messiah.
We can't leave you in a stable,in a hotel situation, like the
typical situation.
These shepherds would not likelyhave abided Once they have
heard from a literal angel thatthis is the Messiah, the Savior
(30:39):
of Israel.
They are not going to be okaywith a barn, hotel situation,
but they are going to have noproblem at all with their
Messiah being in a peasant homelike theirs, being cared for by
their family and community.
(31:00):
So, verse 19 mary treasures upall these things and pondered
them in her heart.
The shepherds returnedglorifying and praising god for
all the things they had heardand seen, which were just as
they had been told.
The shepherds leave.
Baby's been born, life startsto settle back down.
(31:20):
Mary and joseph are stillstaying in town.
She's just had had a baby.
Now maybe Joseph's trying toget some work.
He's like we need to be herefor a while.
He might be getting a job orsome such, and life starts to
settle in.
But Mary is remembering allthis.
She's treasuring this in herheart.
Eight days later, when it wastime to circumcise the child
(31:42):
verse 21, he was named Jesus,the name the angel had given him
before he was conceived, whichVerse 21.
The angels told the shepherdthe Savior is born.
The Messiah.
Jesus' name literally means theLord saves.
(32:06):
So, verse 22, when the time camefor the purification rites
required by the law of Moses,joseph and Mary took him to
Jerusalem to present him to theLord and to offer the sacrifice
a pair of doves or two youngpigeons.
So they're offering a sacrificefor a family that's not wealthy
.
They are definitely peasant,even though Joseph could have
been an artisan class, which youcan listen to the last episode
I talked about that in moredetail have been an artisan
class, which you can listen tothe last episode I talked about
(32:27):
that in more detail.
Even though he may have been ahigher class than peasants, that
doesn't mean he has stable work, that doesn't mean he's wealthy
.
He's just a slightly differentsocial class and so he may not
have a lot of work at the time.
And so they're offering thepoor people's sacrifice a couple
of doves or pigeons.
And when they go to do this,there's a man in Jerusalem
(32:48):
called Simeon who is righteousand devout and waiting for the
consolation of Israel.
And so the Holy Spirit had toldSimeon you're not going to die
until I've seen the Lord'sMessiah.
So Simeon goes to the templethat day and he sees the baby
Jesus and he breaks out inprophecy saying verse 29,.
(33:11):
Sovereign Lord, as you havepromised, you may now dismiss
your servant in peace, for myeyes have seen your salvation.
Again that theme Jesus, theLord saves your salvation, which
you have prepared in the sightof all nations, a light for the
revelation of the Gentiles and aglory of your people, which you
have prepared in the sight ofall nations, a light for the
revelation of the Gentiles and aglory of your people, israel.
The child's father and mothermarveled at what was said about
(33:33):
him.
Then Simeon blessed the childand said this child is destined
to cause the rising and fallingof many in Israel and it is a
sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many
hearts will be revealed and asword will pierce your soul also
.
There was also a prophet namedAnna.
She is called a prophet.
(33:54):
She was around 80 somethingyears old, woman who lives in
and around the temple, and shecomes.
The text doesn't tell us whatshe tells them, but she comes
(34:14):
and she speaks to Mary andJoseph, giving thanks to God,
and then she tells everybodyaround about this child.
Jesus' birth is brought into thelives of the average everyday
people.
It is God with us in the mostmundane ways.
(34:36):
It is not in the temple,surrounded by the priests.
Notice that you have Simeon,who's just, he's righteous and
devout.
He's not in the temple all thetime.
He has to come to the temple.
The Spirit brought him to thetemple that day.
You have Anna, who is a widow.
She's been a widow for decadesand she lives in the temple.
(34:59):
She's a prophetess and she justlives there.
It is these people who recognizewhat God is doing.
It is not the Sadducees, it isnot the Pharisees, it is not the
priests.
It is the simple people who arelistening to God that get to
participate in what God is doing.
Last episode we talked abouthow God started in the temple
(35:23):
with Zachariah, and Zachariahdid not believe God and was
silenced.
Though God's plan was notimpacted by Zachariah's faith,
zachariah's privilege toparticipate in some of the plan
was curtailed through disciplineand the rest of the priestly
class and the Pharisee class andall of these people.
(35:45):
They did not participate.
God is incarnating himself.
Yes, to humanity, but also tothe lower classes of humanity.
These are not the rich and thepowerful.
They are not the strong and thewealthy.
It is the simple, humble peoplewho hear the word of God and
(36:06):
rejoice.
And then, lastly, going back toMatthew, looking at Matthew,
chapter 2, the magi come tovisit and see Jesus.
We don't know.
They could have been thereright after the birth.
They could have been a coupleyears Arguments I've heard that
they were there a couple yearsafter Jesus was born is because
it says they were in a housewhen the Magi come.
And so people who assume thatJesus was born in a stable are
(36:30):
like, well, now he's in a house,so that's sometimes later, but
if he was born in a house tobegin with he would have already
been in a house.
We don't know when the Magishow up, it doesn't really
matter.
But we see God working in theeveryday Jewish people and then
he brings in magi.
These could be priests orastrologers from foreign nations
, we don't know which nations,just that they were to the east.
(36:51):
And he brings in Gentileastrologers and perhaps
Zoroastrian priests to worshipthe Messiah, to worship the king
of the universe made flesh.
God is coming to be with hispeople, not in pomp, not in
(37:12):
circumstance, not in power, notin declarations made to those
who could move and shake andmake things happen, but to the
simple, everyday, weak,powerless person who has very
little social standing and verylittle ability to do anything on
(37:33):
the grand governmental scale.
He comes to your everyday,humble person and he says I am
with you.
I am with you in the suffering,I am with you in the joys.
I am just, I am God with you,and their voices cry out that
(37:53):
God is doing something beautiful, god is doing something unique
and I want you, this Christmasseason, to have that vision of
God with us, to have that visionof God with us.
It's easy to get caught up inthe presents and the shopping
and the cookies and the bakingand the events and the parties
(38:13):
and all of the things, and,especially as those of us who
are wives and moms, there's allthe doing, the doing, doing,
doing, doing, the mental load ofChristmas and it's easy to
forget that Christmas is aboutGod being with us.
While we're shopping, whilewe're working, while we're doing
(38:34):
whatever.
God is with us in real time now, because he came to be
incarnated then.
Women have always been crucial.
They've been central to theplan of the gospel.
The gospel hope was first givenalthough she probably didn't
(38:56):
fully understand it to Eve backin Genesis, chapter 3, where God
says I will send a seed of thewoman who will crush the head of
the serpent.
That is fulfilled in Mary, whogives birth to the Messiah Jesus
, who is helped by the invisiblewomen, who are not mentioned in
(39:18):
the story, though they wouldhave been assumed to be there.
God is working through theaverage, everyday, normal people
, and especially women.
Women have been there every stepof the way along the gospel
journey and God uses those whoare weak and lowly and limited
(39:45):
to show his goodness and hisgrace, and he longs to walk
alongside them.
Jesus has no interest inrubbing shoulders with the power
brokers and those with money tofurther his own status.
He just wants to be with hispeople.
So as you continue on in thisChristmas season this year, I
(40:08):
hope we can all take that withus, the idea of God with us.
Emmanuel born into a communityfor the sake of that community,
and being born into thatcommunity enables him to act on
behalf of that community.
Those are his people the lowly,the peasant, the weak, the
(40:32):
limited.
That is the people that God,from the very beginning, says
these are mine, these are theones I want to be around and
among, so that when we feel weakand limited and unable and
whatever, we can remindourselves that we are the very
people God said he was theMessiah, for, that he promised
(40:56):
to work on the behalf of andthat he promised to walk through
life with.
Merry Christmas, may you, thiscoming year, know, in great
fullness and joy, how much yourGod is with you and how much he
loves you.
God bless.
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