Christmas through the Eyes of Mary & Joseph
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 12/18/2011
VIDEO: A Social Network Christmas (Joseph & Mary on Facebook)
Last week Ashley, the kids and I went with Dusty, Kara, and Mylee Ribble on a journey to Bethlehem. Of course, we didn’t travel to the actual city of Bethlehem in Palestine; rather, we drove down to Harvester Christian Church in Saint Charles where we were absorbed in a production they call Journey to Bethlehem. More than just a play, Journey to Bethlehem is an immersive experience where the audience is drawn into the story of Jesus’ birth—encountering shepherds and sheep, angels, Roman soldiers, tax collectors, Magi and their camels, as you make your way to Bethlehem to witness the birth of Jesus.
I’ll tell you more about it as I go, but more than anything this Journey served as a vivid reminder that the story of Christmas is wrapped around people—real life men and women we think we know, but who have never taken on much of a life of their own. In order to fully appreciate the miracle of Christ’s birth I’d like to pull back the curtain of your imaginations and invite you to journey with me back to the first century, to see Christmas through the eyes of a young, happy couple betrothed to one another and on the verge of the greatest moment in history.
In the first chapter of the book of Luke, the Bible says, “God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary” (Luke 1:26-27 NIV).
Although this is all the background information we’re given about this young couple, we can learn quite a bit from it. The fact that Mary lived in Nazareth means that she came from humble beginnings. Nazareth wasn’t known for much. It was a small, insignificant town on the outskirts of a Roman garrison. It boasted a few bars and a red light district that offered a little weekend entertainment to soldiers with a few days leave and some bonus pay. Needless to say, Nazareth wasn’t the brightest star in the ancient Near East.
Matthew tells us that Joseph was a carpenter. In those days the job of a carpenter was to plan and build homes, manufacture household furniture and construct farming tools. If Joseph resembled the pious, hard-working class of his Jewish colleagues, he wouldn’t consider marriage until he was at least 25 years old. Mary, on the other hand, was probably no more than 15 when the angel Gabriel appeared to her. Marriages, like Mary and Joseph’s, were usually negotiated and agreed upon by the parents. Since neither of them came from wealthy families, money wasn’t an issue. But both Mary and Joseph came from the proud lineage of King David—some twenty-eight generations down the line—which made Mary and Joseph literally a match made in heaven. From the moment Mary first caught Joseph’s eye, their destinies would be entwined forever.
Mary is probably sitting at home alone, busy about her wedding plans—going over the guest list and the budget—when the angel appears to her. Naturally, she’s frightened and troubled, but the angel tells her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:30-33 NIV).
He then explains to her that, even though she’s still a virgin, nothing is impossible for God. The Holy Spirit will come over her and the power of God would be contained within her womb. I’m sure a million thoughts ran through Mary’s head in that moment. How can this be? Why me? What will my parents thinks? What will Joseph think? But all her concerns are pushed aside, as she surrenders to God’s will for her life: “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38 NIV). Then, as suddenly and miraculously as he appeared, the angel leaves her.
The Bible doesn’t reveal her conversation with Joseph, but it’s safe to assume, it didn’t go very well. The Bible does say, “Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly” (Matthew 1:19 NLT). Oddly enough, among the colorful cast of characters associated with Jesus’ birth, Joseph is the lone silent member of the cast. Angels bring heavenly greetings. Mary sings a praiseful solo. Wise men worship. Shepherds preach. Joseph is silent. No notable lines are attributed to him. No sound bites. No quotes. Only silence. Yet, his actions speak volumes.
He was clearly heart-broken and betrayed. He loved Mary and he thought she loved him. But now she’s pregnant with some else’s child. Her explanation was unbelievable—even blasphemous. Joseph could have had her stoned at the city gate for adultery. Their marriage contract had already been signed. To break the engagement at this point was no different than filing for divorce. But despite her impossible story of divine conception, despite the pain and disgrace she had caused him, Joseph was a good man. He didn’t want to hurt her in return. He’d probably never trust her again, but he couldn’t bear to see her hurt or humiliated, so he planned to divorce her discreetly.
But that night, as Joseph tossed fitfully in his sleep, God gave him a glimpse of his divine plan. An angel appears to Joseph in his dream and tells him, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the baby in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21 NCV).
I don’t know if Joseph sat on the edge of his bed in amazement for a while or if he flew out the door so fast that he forgot to tie his sandals, but one way or another he eventually wound up Mary’s door with flowers in one hand a ring in the other. Joseph took Mary as his wife and Mary took Joseph as her husband. This is where most love stories end—happily ever after. But Mary and Joseph’s whirlwind wedding was only the beginning of their journey.
Joseph had decided to keep Mary a virgin until after their child was born, but before Mary even had the chance to start her Lamaze classes, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. Unlike the door-to-door type censuses we have today, Mary and Joseph were required to return to their ancestral home to register, which meant a taking a Journey to Bethlehem.
The most common form of travel in those days was by caravan. It was much safer in case of accident or injury or possible attack by bandits, as well as being more enjoyable. With a census like this involving as many people as it did, a caravan going to Bethlehem would not be hard to find. Caravans would generally travel about 20 miles in a day, and the distance between Nazareth and Bethlehem—80 miles—would translate into a four-day journey.
In our own Journey to Bethlehem, we were grouped into caravans of fifteen to twenty people. We were part of the family of Josephus. We bundled up with our coats and gloves and stayed close together as we walked the path through the wooded area behind Harvester Christian Church which had been transformed into a first century Judean countryside. It was cold. We could see the breath of the Roman soldiers shouting to see our traveling papers or the tax collectors demanding toll money for use of the Roman roads. Every so often we’d pass by another caravan camped beside the road and warm ourselves by their fire as they shared stories about angels singing or shepherd ringing. By the end of our Journey to Bethlehem, our noses were frozen, our feet were sore, and our tummy’s were growling. And it only took about an hour.
Just imagine hiking twenty miles a day for four days in wooden sandals through barren lands. Then imagine being nine months pregnant the whole time! It’s possible that Mary and Joseph traveled in a caravan of family and friends, but we don’t know. With the rumors Mary’s miracle had stirred and the ruined reputation Joseph had earned, they may not have had any family or friends left. The truth is—the Bible doesn’t tell us anything about their journey, but it does tell us of their arrival!
Luke sums up the first Noel like this: “While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have the baby, and she gave birth to her first son. Because there were no rooms left in the inn, she wrapped the baby with pieces of cloth and laid him in a feeding trough” (Luke 2:6-7 NCV).
Can you imagine what it was like that first Christmas morning?
The stable stinks like all stables do. The stench of urine, dung, and sheep reeks pungently in the air. The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling and a mouse scurries across the dirt floor. A lowlier place of birth could not exist. Yet, it was in these humble circumstances that the impossible happened.
God had entered the world as baby.
Mary’s head rests on the soft leather of Joseph’s saddle, the pain of child birth eclipsed by wonder. She looks into the face of her baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point in history, the human being who best understands who God is and what he is doing is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. She can’t take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knows she is holding God. She touches the face of the infant-God. How long was your journey!? She wonders.
Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.
Conclusion:
This is how Christmas looks through the eyes of Mary and Joseph. But the story isn’t over because the end of the nativity story is really just the beginning of the greatest story ever told. And it’s a story that God has personally invited you to be a part of.
Just as our two families were absorbed into the production of Journey to Bethlehem, God wants you to be more than just a listening audience; rather He invites you to be immersed in the experience, to play an active part in the story of His Son and in the Kingdom of Christ—a story and a kingdom which, as the angel reminded Mary, will never end.
Invitation:
As our worship team comes forward, I want to extend that invitation to you. As you prepare for Christmas this week and you celebrate the birth of Jesus with your loved ones, please remember that God wants more than for you to simply see the Christmas story or even to share it; he longs for you to be a part of it, to experience it, and to be forever changed by it. If there’s any way I can help you with that please let me know as we stand and sing.
