Several years ago, a church held a Christmas pageant with a group of 4 year-olds. Everything went along pretty well until Mary and Joseph “arrived” at the inn. The 4 year-old Joseph asked: “Do you have any room for us?”. “No,” replied the innkeeper, “the inn is full.” “But it’s so cold outside, and my wife is going to have a baby. Don’t you have any place for us?”
The little innkeeper paused for the longest time before saying: “I’m not supposed to say this, but you come right on in.” (Christy Ehmann in Christian Reader Nov/Dec 99)
Our Bible passage for this morning says that (Mary) “gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7
Now, down through the ages, there have been a few misunderstandings about the Christmas story. Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th (more likely it was at the latter part of the month of September or early October. And, there’s nothing about Mary riding a donkey (or anything else) into Bethlehem. And, despite what you may have seen as a child growing up - Jesus wasn’t born in a red barn… it was a cave under a house (when I went to Israel, my guide told me there is common agreement that they’ve found the cave Jesus was born… and it was in that cave that Jerome translated the Latin Vulgate. He stayed there because he wanted to be close to the place Jesus was born). And the 3 Kings? Well, they were never called Kings in Scripture (wisemen), there’s no number of wisemen given… and they didn’t even show up when Jesus was born. They arrived about 2 years later.
And of course, most scholars take great pride in telling us that Bethlehem was too small to have a “Days Inn.” One scholar noted that “The Bible never mentions an innkeeper. In fact, it’s possible there was never even an ‘inn’ at all. A recent study notes that the Greek word normally translated as “inn” in Luke 2:7 is best translated as a ‘place to stay.’ (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/5-popular-misconceptions-christmas-story/)
Now, that’s nice. Totally irrelevant but that’s nice. And the reason it’s irrelevant is because the main focus of the Scripture was this - there was NO ROOM for them. Whether in an INN or in a HOUSE there was NO ROOM! The question is this… why not!? Why wasn’t there any room for a very pregnant mother and her husband to stay?
Now, granted, Bethlehem was crowded. “Caesar Augustus (had decreed) that all the world should be registered. And all went to be registered, each to his own town.” Luke 7:1 & 3
So, everybody who’d ever been born in Bethlehem… came home. The problem was that Joseph and Mary were late to the party. All the available space had been taken. But, you’d have thought SOMEBODY would have been like that 4 year old in the play. SOMEBODY could have taken pity on this expectant mother. SOMEBODY could have made room. But there was NOBODY. There was NO ROOM… anywhere. No one made room for Christ. Why?
Well… I have a few thoughts on that. 1st – The reason there was no room was because Jesus didn’t fit into their lives. John 1:11 tells us “He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.” People rejected Mary and Joseph partly because they had their own lives to live. They had a place to stay, Mary and Joseph didn’t. Tough. We got here first. In order for them to have a place to say, others would have to have given up their place, and they couldn’t be bothered. Letting Jesus be born in their room/house was inconvenient.
ILLUS: Now, I’ve been noticing that people haven’t changed much over the years. Jesus is becoming more and more inconvenient in our culture. I went to a Sam’s Club a couple weeks before Halloween… and they’d already started setting up their Christmas Decorations. One of these days, they’ll start decorating sometime after July 4th. And you can’t blame them. Christmas is THE major sales event of the year.
So I’m making my way down through the aisles and I’m looking at all the Christmas yard ornaments, thinking maybe I might but something for decorating my yard this winter. And I noticed they were selling all kinds of yard ornaments: there were Santas, and Reindeer and Candy Canes and Lollipops.
But I noticed that something was missing from all their Christmas displays. Can you guess what it was? That’s right, there nothing about Jesus. No manger scenes; No wisemen from the East; No star to light up the heavens. Even angels were off-limits. And the music at the store… Santa was in, Jesus was out.
Now why would they do that? Why would they leave Christ out of Christmas??? Because they might offend somebody. They offended me, but apparently I don’t matter.
Now, this isn’t surprising, because apparently somebody finally figured out that baby Jesus is dangerous (and they’re right). The innocent baby born in a manger is a proclamation that God became flesh and dwelt among us. The angel told Mary “They will call him Immanuel”— which means, ‘God with us.’” Matthew 1:23
So, people have begun to catch on that that baby Jesus would one day grow up to be a man. A man who would say things that would make people mad. A man who’d be beaten and whipped, and crucified die on a cross. And all that would happen because Jesus had come to die for sinners… which means everybody is a sinner. People don’t like to hear that. That truth is inconvenient for a world that would rather not be bothered. There’s NO ROOM in their homes, and NO ROOM in their lives for Jesus to be born.
Now, we can be upset about that… or we can take it as a challenge. You do realize that we’re beginning to face the same challenges that Jesus faced when He was born? John 1:11 “He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.” People didn’t get all excited about accepting Him THEN, and they’re not going to get excited about accepting Him NOW.
And yet, followers of Christ literally turned the world upside down. People became Christians by the 1000s. And they didn’t even have manger scenes in their yards to proclaim their faith! How could Christians possible have changed the world without Christmas decorations to proclaim that Jesus had been born?
Well, they did that by talking to people about Jesus! They told others WHY He meant so much to them. In the same way, that’s how we can change the world around us… and, if we can use the Christmas story to do that… so much the better. But we’ve got to realize, our culture isn’t going to help us as much as it once did. Just like the early church… it’s all up to us!
So, the first reason (there was no room in the Inn) was – Jesus didn’t fit into their lives! And the 2nd was this: Jesus’ MESSAGE didn’t fit into their thinking.
I could try explaining in this various ways, but the first thing that occurred to me was - Mary was pregnant. And her pregnancy had the taint of illegitimacy. When she showed up in Bethlehem, Joseph was still “betrothed” to her – they weren’t technically man and wife yet. So, many folk believed she either had been sleeping around or Joseph got her pregnant before he married her. Either way… no one wanted her in their home. There was no room because they saw her as a SINFUL woman.
From his birth onward, the question of who his father was everywhere. In those days, if a boy was illegitimate he was often named after the town he came from. Thus, you never hear of Jesus being called “Jesus ben (the son of) Joseph.” But He was almost always referred to as Jesus of Nazareth.
And in the midst of His ministry, His enemies snidely said: "We are not illegitimate children" (John 8:41). IMPLYING that He was.
Now, do you think God knew they’d say that they’d say that? Do you think, when God set this whole thing in motion of having a virgin bear the Christ child that people would accuse Him of being illegitimate. Of course He did. It was part of the Gospel message.
Now think about this: WHO carried Jesus into Bethlehem? (Mary) And if I’m right, Mary was rejected because of the sin people thought they saw in her life. Thus people had no room for Jesus because they had no room for sinners.
But sinners were who Jesus came to save. And sinners were the ones that Jesus used to spread His message. The Gospel was spread by people who were the imperfect and the rejected of this world.
ILLUS: Back in December of 1792, boy named Joseph Mohr born in Salzburg, Austria. He was illegitimate (daddy got his momma pregnant and then left town). Children born out of wedlock were looked down on by the Austrians and they levied a heavy fine on Joseph’s mother. In addition, because of his illegitimacy, he was banned from attending school, learning a trade, or even from holding a job.
But Joseph Mohr loved to sing, and eventually became a priest. One night he wrote a song you may know – and I’d like to sing it with me:
“Silent night, holy night! All is calm, all is bright. Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child. Holy Infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace - sleep in heavenly peace.”
Silent night is one of the most popular Christmas songs ever written. It’s been translated into 200 languages. And God used the once rejected and illegitimate child named Joseph to write a song of praise for the baby Jesus – the baby who also faced rejection and was accused of being illegitimate. (http://www.christianity.com/ChurchHistory/11630322/?utm_source=This%20Week%20in%20Christian%20History%20-%20Christianity.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=12/16/2011/)
My point is, God can use… and will use anyone who’s willing to tell others about Jesus. It doesn’t matter WHO you are, or WHAT you’ve done, or WHERE you’ve been. God can, and He will use you if you let Him.
Now that leads to the 3rd reason I believe people had no room for Jesus. Babies are cute (especially my grandson Benjamin) but they really can’t do anything FOR you. They gurgle and smile and are entertaining, but they don’t DO anything. You need to feed them, burp them and change them… and that’s about it.
When it comes to Jesus, a lot of people don’t have room for Him because they don’t see Him as doing anything for them. There’s a lot of people who won’t become Christians because they don’t think they need Him.
ILLUS: I just talked with Jim Thompson last week (he used to be a member here, and now lives in Florida). He told of a couple he’s been talking to about Jesus down in Florida. He noted that they were “Nice People” and that was a problem… because they didn’t think they needed Jesus. This couple believed God would accept them because they were nice people.
John 1:11 says “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” Why wouldn’t folks “receive Him?” Because they didn’t NEED Him… they had other ways to get into heaven. That’s what the next few verses in John 1 tell us: “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of BLOOD, nor of the WILL OF THE FLESH, nor of the WILL OF MAN, but of God.” John 1:12-13
John’s very clear: Some people thought they could get into heaven because of BLOOD. In those days, if you were born of a Jewish family you were a Jew. You were part of the Old Covenant because of the blood of your ancestors. But John is explaining you can’t do it that way with Christ. The only way you can become a Christian is by accepting Christ.
And John says you can’t get into heaven by the WILL OF THE FLESH. A person can’t decide they’ll will be accepted by God because of how “nice” or “righteous” they are. Most people think like this. They believe that if they do enough good things, God will be impressed and they’ll be allowed to walk right past the pearly gates. Their own “self” righteousness will get them in. In fact, they’ll deserve to be saved and God couldn’t keep them out if He wanted to because they’ve bough their ticket.
Thirdly, John says you can’t get into heaven by the WILL OF MAN. Many churches teach that you can make that choice for your children. The parents have their baby sprinkled, and the child magically becomes a Christians. But John says you can’t do it that way. The will of the parent, or the grandparent, or the spouse can’t get someone else into heaven. It’s all about YOUR personal decision to belong to Christ.
Becoming a Christians is very simple - you have to make a decision. YOU have to believe that Jesus died for your sins (YOU… not someone else). YOU have to accept that your sin would rob you of heaven… so YOU need to repent of your sin. YOU have to confess that Jesus will now be YOUR Lord and Master. And YOU decide to be buried in the waters of baptism and rise up a new creation. YOU… not anybody else.
Now let’s review. There was no room in Bethlehem for Jesus because (1) He didn’t fit into people’s lives. He was inconvenient. (2) His message didn’t fit into people’s thinking - He came for the lost. And (3) they rejected Him because they didn’t think He could do anything for them.
One last thing: There was no room in Bethlehem because God planned it that way. God chose to have Jesus born in a manger in an obscure town named Bethlehem for a reason. It’s a powerful story that still resonates today. You remember the story of that 4 year old innkeeper in the Christmas play? His story is one of many I have in my files. The total unfairness of Mary and Joseph being turned down for a place to stay is so powerful that children rebel against it. Every part of the story still speaks to children and adults to this day… a baby born in a lowly manger. And that’s just the way God intended it.
I have a poem in my files that sums it up perfectly:
“I am so glad He was not born in some rich palace bed. I am so glad to know it was a lowly place, instead. A place where soft-eyed cows and sheep were sheltered and were fed. For to the country-born of earth a stable will ever be a wholesome place, where night comes down with its tranquility. A place of heart's ease and content for all who choose to see, and so I like to think of Him - first opening His eyes in that good elemental place beneath the friendly skies that the men of fields could find Him there, as well as the great and wise.” (Poem by Grace Noel Crowell)
That, of course, is the point. If Jesus had been born in a royal palace, or a nice home, He wouldn’t have been as approachable as a baby in lowly manger. In the manger, the God-child was approachable and accepting. So the question for you this morning is this? Do you have any room for Him in your life?
INVITATION (closed with “Have You Any Room For Jesus?” as the invitation hymn.)
