“Eighty Miles To Christmas”
"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)" Luke 2:4 (KJV)
Intro: From Nazareth to Bethlehem is about eighty miles. The town of Nazareth was one of the most beautiful places in all of Galilee. It is situated on the most southern range of the lower hills which are referred to as the south ridges of Lebanon near Mt. Tabor.
We do not have a biblical record of the route that Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem or exactly how many days and nights it took them. But we can speculate and imagine from what we do know what the trip would have been like.
About 10 miles outside the village the land begins to sink into a steep and winding gorge as you descend about 1000 feet lower, southward into the rocky plains of Esdraelon.
The Emperor Caesar Augustus issued a royal order conduct a census across the land. This would help to register men to draft into his army and to aid in the collection of taxes. The Jews did not have to serve in the Roman army. But they did have to pay taxes. So the government forced Joseph to make the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem because he was of the house and linage of his ancestor David.
The crazy thing is this, while it was necessary for Joseph to make this journey, it was totally unnecessary for Mary to go. Women were not required to show up for the census. Only the men were counted.
So what in the world were Joseph and Mary thinking when they set out on this journey together? What would cause Joseph to take Mary along when she was obviously pregnant by this time?
We know what it is like to live in a small town. We remember the controversy surrounding Mary's pregnancy.
Oh sure the Holy Spirit revealed that Mary would have a child and an angel appeared unto Joseph in a dream. But imagine the gossip that would erupt whenever people saw Mary or Joseph, the humiliating whispers…, the embarrassing finger pointing, and the shameful and rude comments that were made about them would be worse than the thoughts of weeks alone for Mary as Joseph made the journey to Bethlehem and back.
Remember also, the penalty for this kind of pregnancy by the law was death by stoning. Mary could not stay in Nazareth by herself. Joseph would have to protect her and shield the baby.
And so it fulfilled the old prophecy of Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel."
Joseph and Mary set out on the “Eighty Miles to Christmas.”
I. About Eighteen miles from Nazareth (write down 18) would have been a good first days travel for the duo. They would have set up camp…, ate a hearty meal.., for in the morning they would depart onward toward the town of Samaria.
They would not likely make it all the way to Samaria on their second day. In fact their course would likely keep them several miles away from Samaria itself. But the road was treacherous. There would be many places along the pathway for thieves and robbers to steal and take advantage of travelers along this highway. So they would have to make haste and travel as quickly as they could through this dangerous land.
I imagine as Joseph and Mary laid their heads down that first night that they would have wondered: What lesson was God trying to teach them? What purpose would this trip have for their future?
When you and I are faced with a dreadful direction. When you have to ride on the back of a donkey…, Or sleep on the ground…, God uses even gossip and cruelty to force our system to protect itself from hurt and fear. God never lets a pain go to waste. He uses every sorry…, every hurt…, every brokenness…, to power our resolve…, to fuel our strength. He will turn our weakness into drive. There is nothing that can stop God from loving us.
You see there are a lot of people who will only come to church for wedding and funerals. Some people are not interested in God when everything is going smooth. It takes the hills and valleys. It takes the stones and bruises. It takes the rough times. It takes the times when you are out of gas and walking down the side of the road, for some of you to be able to hear God speak. You have to be practically broke…, defeated…, on deaths bed, before you will look up to see that God loves you. Do you know anybody like that?
It is often the hard times that teach us who we are. What we are made of. Who God is and what God is made of. It is often the bitter moments of struggle that cause us to turn to God and call upon His Holy Name.
II. Twenty-two miles outside of Samaria (write down 18+22=40)
By the end of day two they would be about half way to Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary would have been thinking about the number 40. The number 40 in the bible always has an important significance.
1. In Genesis 7 the rain and flood was upon the earth for 40 days. It was a time of judgment and testing upon the whole earth and Noah and his family and the future of humankind.
2. In Genesis 50 when Jacob died his son Joseph and all of Egypt mourned for 40 days. At the end of the 40 days of mourning Jacob went to the house of Pharaoh and asked for permission to take his father’s body to bury in the land of Canaan. Joseph had suffered a great loss in the death of his father, but he had gained great trust and privilege and freedom
and so Pharaoh granted a former slave the rank over other senior officers of Egypt. Instead of Joseph exacting revenge on his brothers who had sold him into slavery After the death of his father and the 40 days of mourning Joseph demonstrated God’s grace and offered forgiveness to his family that had wronged him.
3. In Exodus 24 Moses was on the Mountain with God for 40 days. God gave Moses the instructions on building the Holy Tabernacle, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments,
God gave Moses the law.
The number 40 has great significance. Forty miles from Bethlehem would have been a testing time for Joseph and Mary.
God will help you overcome obstacles that want to block the road ahead of us. There will be days and nights that you think there is no way you are going to make it through the gauntlet of thieves and robbers and highway men. There will be times when you feel more like going back than going forward. There will be tests, and trials, and problems that you will think there is no way I can make it through this pain, through this sorry, through this loss, through this sickness, through this death, through this divorce, through this financial crisis, through this spiritual battle.
But guess what…, the test means you are half way there. You are not half dead you are half way there! You are not half defeat you are half way to victory! Mary you are half way to delivery!
III. Day three. Sixteen miles from Jerusalem (write down 40 + 16). That would be about the least amount Joseph and Mary could travel on this day and still make it Bethlehem in four days.
I don’t know but I can imagine that maybe Mary had a rough day. Maybe on the third day she had a bout of morning sickness. The Bible does not say that Mary had a donkey to ride on. We just assume that they would have had a beast of burden to carry their food, and utensils, survival gear. But we do know that when they finally arrived in Bethlehem they don’t even have any baby clothes because they had to us strips of cloth called swaddle to wrap baby Jesus in. And so whatever they had with them they could not have had much.
If Mary did have a donkey to ride on…, I can hear her now…, “Joseph can’t you make this thing go any faster? (That is the way the backseat drivers always talk isn’t it?)
And then here she is pregnant…, just when Joseph thinks they are making good time, Mary says those familiar words of travel. “I’ve got to stop and go to the bathroom.” This would mean that they did not make it as far on their third day as they had the days before.
Somewhere along the southern side of the Jordan River, before it flows into the Dead Sea, is the Jericho section. As Joseph and Mary lay their heads down that night they would have been thinking about all of these things…,And how they would have to make up for the lost time on this day of their journey.
God will help you put right what has been wrong.
This would have been near the traditional sight of the crossing of the Jordan by the Israelites. Crossing the Jordan River meant moving out of the 40 years of wilderness and moving into the promised land of milk and honey.
Jericho was one of the oldest cities in the world. When Joshua led the children of Israel into battle against the mighty walls of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down. This put right what had been wrong for 40 years. The wondering in the wilderness and the receiving of God’s promise was finally at hand. Israel was about to make up for lost time.
The battle of Jericho was a great victory. Jericho was an oasis in the desert. God gave this city with its healing balm, and wealth to the children of Israel. Joseph and Mary could have been thinking about all these things.
It would also have been close to where Elijah was caught up in the chariot of fire. The book of Malachia 4:5 promised God would send Elijah the prophet before the coming "day of the Lord."
Zechariah was told by the angel of the Lord that the baby his wife Elizabeth was carrying would prepare the way for the baby Mary was carrying. The John the Baptist would precede the Messiah.
Luke 1:17 "He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah, the prophet of old. He will precede the coming of the Lord, preparing the people for his arrival. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will change disobedient minds to accept godly wisdom."
In other words God was going to make things right through Elijah, John the Baptist, and Jesus! Some of you need to go home and study this to understand how God’s plan is all connected! Joseph and Mary were camping in the vicinity of the pilgrimage of John's baptism of Jesus. You see God has it all worked out. Whatever is wrong in your life God has a plan to fix it.
God already has your best life mapped out for you. Joseph and Mary might have only travelled 16 miles on day three. But God has it mapped out for them to travel 24 miles the next day and make up for all the lost time!
I know the bible does not specifically give us the mileage log of Joseph and Mary’s trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem. We can only guess and speculate.
But the precepts, the lesson, the principles I am teaching you here today are sound. Remember God will use the dreadful things we face to make us stronger. God will help you overcome whatever obstacles you may face. God will help put right what is wrong in your life.
IV. Day four. Twenty-four miles to Bethlehem (write down 40+16+24=80) You would think that “Eighty Miles To (Bethlehem) Christmas” would be simple. You might think Mary would feel well the whole way. They would average a steady twenty miles a day. The trail would have a nice scenic view. The donkey ride would a pleasant trip.
But I just don’t believe it was that simple. I do not believe that by the time Joseph and Mary got to Bethlehem that it was much of a Christmas card moment.
I think life is filled with steep and winding road. Rocky valleys and treacherous mountains. Dangerous highways and fearful places where if it were not for my trust in God I could not make it.
Learn this final lesson: Even though you are tough, you still need God’s help to make it.
Mary would have been one tough lady. Even if she had a donkey to ride on, a woman 9 months pregnant would not have made it unless God was helping her.
There were no rest stops along the way, no fast food places to stop and eat, no motels or hotels. They would have slept on the hard ground, made do with the food they were carrying, and it would have been pretty cold.
Men…, you think you are tough…, Mary was tougher!
"And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn." Luke 2:6-7 (NLT)
"That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David. And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others--the armies of heaven--praising God:
Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors." Luke 2:6-14
Closing: If you will give credit where credit is due…, there have been times in your life when you would not have made it if God had not been watching over you. Protecting you…, guiding you…, giving you strength. Joseph and Mary had a whole host of angels watching over them.
To many times we like to think we can make it without God’s help. But I don’t believe you can. I know I can’t. I know you need God’s help too. I am willing to make the journey to see Jesus. Are you willing to make the journey today?
