No one wants to miss Christmas. “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire and Jack Frost nipping at your nose” – who would want to miss such a magical experience?
But how do you get the most out of Christmas – the full experience of Christmas? Yes, you’ll watch your favorite Christmas movies, and you’ll decorate the house with tinsel and lights. Yet, you can do all this and still miss Christmas.
When we turn on the TV, we are told the message of Christmas is when the Christmas Classic Rudolph triumphs over bullying…
… or when George Bailey realizes his life really matters after all,
… and Clark Griswold recognizes that Christmas is really all about family.
In order not to miss Christmas, you will have to know what is the essence of Christmas. To discover the heart of Christmas, we are traveling back to the original stories of the first Christmas.
Before I go any further, let’s pause for a moment and have you take a quick Christmas Quiz. Pull your phones out if you will, please. Let’s see how well you know the Christmas story, shall we?
1. Joseph was from: (A) Nazareth (B) Bethlehem (C) Arimathea (D) Russia
2. Joseph & Mary traveled to Bethlehem by: (A) Camel (B) Donkey (C) Walked (D) Minivan-stopping every hour for a bathroom break (E) We don't know
3. There was no room in the inn because: (A) the cold-hearted innkeeper (B) online reservations were lost
4. Jesus was born in a(n): (A) inn (B) hostel (C) guest room (D) Holiday Inn Express
5. A manger is a(n): (A) feeding trough (B) stable for animals (C) (D) Joanna Gaines' Restored Farmhouse CoffeeTable
Thanks for doing that quiz with us. We will share the results on social media tomorrow. And listen carefully to the message in the coming moments for some answers.
We’re doing this little three-part series entitled The Characters of Christmas in order to see the magic of Christmas in the faces of those who first experience its warmth and joy. To experience the fulness of Christmas, look at the faces and reactions of those who were first involved so many years ago. Having looked at the shepherds near Bethlehem, we turn our attention to the Grinch of Christmas, the Innkeeper. If you want to avoid missing Christmas, pay close attention to the reflection of joy, awe, and wonder of the faces of those who first experienced the magic of the holiday. To prepare you for the upcoming Christmas season, let look at the Grinch of Christmas, the Innkeeper.
1) Don’t Miss Where Christmas Took Place
Look again at verse 7 with me: And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).
1.1 Thomas Jefferson
It was during his term as Vice President to John Adams, it was said that Thomas Jefferson asked for a room at the main hotel in Baltimore. The hotel manager, Mr. Boyden, did not recognize Jefferson as he had no servants with him and was dressed in dirty working clothes. The manager turned Jefferson away. After Jefferson left, someone informed the manager that he had just turned away the Vice President of the United States. The manager was mortified. He sent the hotel servants out into the city to see if they could find Jefferson and offer him as many rooms as he desired. One of the servants finally found Jefferson, who had registered in another hotel. When he gave the offer to Jefferson, the response was, “Tell Boyden that I value his good intentions highly, but if he has no room for a dirty farmer, he shall have none for the vice president.”
A story like this makes us think immediately of Christmas and Jesus’ birth, doesn’t it.
1.2 The Traditional View of the Christmas Story
Generally, the traditional view of the Christmas story goes like this: the local hotel was full in Bethlehem that Christmas night. Joseph and Marry arrive late in the night, and they see the “no vacancy” sign above the inn. The heartless innkeeper wouldn’t allow pregnant Mary to even come inside. All the rooms were full due to the census, and the innkeeper was more worried about profits than a pregnant woman. With no other option, Joseph takes his pregnant wife to an animal stable where the child is born. But we have the Christmas story wrong because we want to include an extra character that wasn’t really there: the mythical innkeeper.
Myth #1: Jesus Was Born in an Inn
1.2 No Motel 6
Inns and hotels did exist in Jesus day, but you probably wouldn’t find a Marriott in the small town of Bethlehem. Bethlehem was not on any major road in Jesus’ day and probably did not have an inn. It was a town that had a real small population of only a few hundred people, and inns existed in cities that attracted a lot of travelers. I doubt there was even a Motel 6 in ancient Bethlehem, much less a Marriott. And if there was no inn, then there was no innkeeper in the original Christmas story.
Here’s why…
1.2.1 The Upper Room
One more time, let’s look at verse 7: “because there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7b).
Some of you are thinking, “Pastor, you’re wrong because the word ‘inn’ is right there in my Bible.” The very same word for “inn” at the end of verse 7 is the very same word in Luke 22:11 where it’s translated this way: “and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples’” (Luke 22:11)? Here the word that we have traditionally translated as “inn” at Jesus’ birth is the word “guest room.” Jesus is referring to the upper room here, and this is certainly no inn. If the very same word means “guest room” later in Luke’s gospel, it will have the same meaning in the beginning. The word translated as “inn” in Luke 2:7 is simply a generic word that means a place to stay.
Plus, when Jesus does talk about an inn later in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, he uses a different Greek word to describe a commercial inn where a man was paid for the use of a room (Luke 10:34-35). Here the Bible uses a totally different Greek word for “inn”: “He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him” (Luke 10:34). If Luke wanted to tell us that the place where Jesus was born was an inn, Luke would have used the word in Luke 10:34.
The English word “inn” is misleading in the Christmas story and moves us off base when we picture the real Christmas story. Verse 7 should really read this way: “because there was no place for them in [the guest room]” (Luke 2:7b). It’s pure fiction to picture a heartless innkeeper who turns Mary and Joseph away.
So if Jesus wasn’t born in an “inn,” where was He born? I’m so glad you asked. This leads us to our second myth of the Christmas story.
Myth #2: Mary & Joseph were Turned Away by Everyone
1.2.2 They Stayed with Family
Joseph and Mary would have stayed with family in Bethlehem: “And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David (Luke 2:4). While Joseph lived in Nazareth, his ancestral home was Bethlehem. Joseph would have had family in the town of Bethlehem. Remember, Joseph is part of King David’s family, and David’s name was the biggest name in Israel’s history; Joseph was in the line of the royal king. Because he was a descendent of King David, many doors in the village were open to him.
You see, unlike our American culture, families in ancient Israel would have insisted on hosting their relatives when they were in town. Since Joseph and Mary were originally from Bethlehem, they would have had distant relatives there to stay with. Hospitality was a big deal in ancient Israel and especially to family. Even if there was an inn, they would have passed it by in order to stay with family – it’s just what you did. They would have gone straight to the house of a relative.
1.2.3 Pregnant Mary Visited Judah Before the Birth
Mary was in the very area of Bethlehem before the birth when she visited her relative, Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-40). The Bible says she went “into the hill country, to a town in Judah…” (Luke 1:39). This trip from Nazareth of this area takes about an hour by car even today on modern highways. It was a considerable trip for Mary to see Elizabeth, but no doubt, she thought it was worth it. They had family in the area that knew them, and they would have wanted them to stay with them. And if the people of Bethlehem turned Joseph and Mary away, the couple would have turned to Mary’s relative Elizabeth, who was nearby.
1.3 Jesus’ Birthplace
So if Jesus wasn’t born in an inn and if Joseph and Mary had stayed with family while she was pregnant, where was He born? Let’s revisit verse 7 again: “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in [the guest room]” (Luke 2:7). Again, Joseph would have taken Mary to stay with their family in Bethlehem. But there was no place in the family’s guest room, just as verse 7 suggests. Perhaps Mary and Joseph stayed in a family room because the guest room was already full. Mary didn’t have the necessary space to have her baby.
Imagine for a minute, every one of Joseph’s family is in town for the census, the house is full of guests and relatives. Mary has to go through the very painful and messy delivery of a baby. With the guest room and main living areas full, Jesus was placed in a manager to sleep, just as Luke describes.
1.3.1 Why a Manger
Archeologists have shown us that poor, peasant families had the manager inside their homes. Why? Because animals were kept inside the homes of the poor at this time. Animals were in a separated room on the first floor in what we would consider a sunken room. Every morning the animals would be let out, and the animals would be returned in the evening so no one would steal them. In this kind of house, we would expect to find this: “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger …” (Luke 2:7a).
Jesus was laid in a “feeding-trough” where animals were normally fed. Later, Jesus’ little body would be moved, and animals would stick their snout in the trough to feed.
1.3.2 The Shepherds Sign
Later, the shepherds were given an important clue on how to identify the correct baby when they came to Bethlehem: “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12). The combination of a newborn baby’s wrappings and the use of the manger for a crib would be a distinctive “sign.” There might have been a couple of babies wrapped in swaddling clothes that night in Bethlehem, but only one was lying in a manger. The manger made the shepherds know that the Christ child would be like them, of little means. He was from THEIR side of the tracks. He wasn’t born in a mansion but in a manger.
1.4 So What?
The story of Jesus’ birth is not the story of a harsh innkeeper. It’s the story of the royal king in the most humble of beginnings.
The first time Christmas came – He came not in strength but in weakness. He came to the poorest of families. You can miss Christmas if you embrace the commercialization of Christmas. Just two years ago, Christmas retail sales surpassed $1 trillion (that’s 12 zeros).
He was anything but a normal child, but He was given the humblest of births. If you’re going to find Christmas, look for Christmas not in the mansions of Westlake but in the manger of Bethlehem.
1) Don’t Miss Where Christmas Took Place
2) Don’t Miss Why Christmas Takes Place
Now you can know all about where Christmas took place, but unless you know why Christmas took place, you’ll miss Christmas. To experience the power of Christmas, you have to understand the why of Christmas. Let me show you.
Christmas is enormously important, and it’s enormously popular. More than 100 Christmas movies were released last year alone.
2.1 Rick Warren’s Survey
Pastor Rick Warren did a survey of his own asking shoppers about what they were celebrating at Christmas time. Listen to the responses he receives.
One person said, “I’m celebrating I made it through another year.” Another person said, “I’m celebrating being home with my family.” Still, others said, “I got a Christmas bonus. My son is home from Iraq. I’m celebrating I finished my shopping. I’m not celebrating anything I’m just trying to survive.”
All these are great, and I would probably enjoy each of those too, but they miss Christmas.
Radio stations play Christmas music 24 hours a day. You can listen to Christmas all day and all night, and yet, you can do all this and still miss the essence of Christmas.
2.2 Gifts
If you are going to have Christmas, you have to have a gift. Let me say that again: If you are going to truly have experience Christmas, you have to receive a gift.
2.2.1 Regifting
How many of you have regifted before? Regifting – we have all done it. Regifting is when you pass on a present that you have received to someone else to save yourself time, money, or effort. I came across a poll that reported 52% of those surveyed admitted to regifting a present. But only very few people get caught regifting. One man regifted a wedding present only to find out later that a $300 check was also included inside the box.
2.2.2 A Child’s Letter
Speaking of gifts, I like what a child wrote his grandmother about her gift. Nobody can be so brutally honest like a child. The letter went like this:
Dear Grandma: Thank you for the Christmas present that you sent to me. The present you sent to me for Christmas was almost as good as the one I really wanted!
If you are going to have Christmas, you have to have a gift.
2.2.3 A Wife’s Dream
A wife excitedly told her husband that she had dreamed that he had bought her a diamond necklace for Christmas! The husband responded to her story by bringing his wife a beautifully wrapped gift. As she eagerly tore open the wrapping to see her diamond necklace, and once she opened the gift, she found a book entitled, 'How to interpret your dreams'!
2.3 Three Qualities to God’s Gift
You can easily miss Christmas if you don’t have this one gift, God’s Christmas gift to you. God’s gift to you has three qualities that make it a “must-have.”
First, it is the most expensive gift you’ll ever receive. It’s priceless. Jesus paid for your gift with His life. Second, it’s the only gift you’ll ever receive that will last forever. Finally, it is an extremely practical gift. It’s a gift you’ll use every day for the rest of your life.
2.4 Missing Christmas
We just cannot miss this Christmas. Not this year when we need so much hope. Imagine a family reunion without the family. Or throwing a surprise party for your brother’s birthday but he’s absent. Or imagine going to see the Cowboys only to find out there’s no football on the field. And that’s exactly what is going on with much of Christmas celebrations. But, if you are going to have Christmas, you have to have a gift.
2.4 If…
Imagine for a moment that the cynics and the skeptics are right: God did not have a Son. There is no Christ, no heaven, and no Christmas. If Jesus were to be completely removed from the equation, Americans could continue to celebrate Christmas with hardly an interruption.
If there were proof Jesus was never born, people would still decorate their houses and workplaces, give and receive presents, and take the day off work. If Jesus had never come to Bethlehem, Americans would go to parties, stand in line with their children to see Santa Claus, and listen to wonderful songs on the radio about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Jack Frost, and world peace.
Again, If you are going to have Christmas, you have to have this gift. If you’re going to maximize Christmas for all its worth, then you have to have God’s gift to you. The gift of His Son.
2.5 God Planned It
Circle back to Jesus and Bethlehem for a moment as I wrap this up. Why was there no place for Jesus at His birth? It was because God planned it that way. Nothing about Jesus is like the kind of king the world expects. He didn’t have the academic credentials. And He didn’t have the social status.
2.5.1 Nazareth
His father and mother raise the young Jesus in Nazareth (Matthew 2:22-23). So it wasn’t just that Jesus was born in a feeding trough where animals fed, but He grew up a Nazarene. Years later, a man named Nathanael says of Jesus, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth” (John 1:46b)? Everyone looked down on this backwater town. But God purposefully arranged it so the Messiah would grow up here. Jesus wasn’t anything like the normal political rulers. He had the wrong credentials. He didn’t come from the right school, and He didn’t have that certain look.
This world says you have to come from a certain place and have certain credentials to be somebody. But Jesus was none of this. He was born in a feed trough and was raised in a backwater town. And God planned that way. And this is the way God moves into our lives.
2.5.2 Why?
It’s not just that God loves underdogs but that He came as One who was weak to save those who admit they are weak. Jesus’ followers consistently asked Him one question again and again: “Jesus, when are you going to take power and save the world?” At the climax of Jesus’ life and when others encouraged Him to declare Himself king, he turned loose all His power to go to the cross. Jesus keeps saying, “You don’t understand. I’m going to lose all my power and die—to save the world.” At the climax of his life, he ascended not a throne but to a cross.
And this is the reason you want the gift of Jesus. He came as our substitute to bear evil, suffering, and death—the consequences for our turning from God.
2.5 O Little Town of Bethlehem
Phillip Brooks was one of America's greatest preachers in the 1800’s. He was often referred to as “the prince of the pulpit” and was a big man standing in at 6’4” and 300 lbs. In 1865, Brooks made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. On Christmas Eve, he rode on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and visited the usual sights in the village. As darkness fell, he stood for a while by the cave where the shepherds saw the angels and the glory of God. He then went to a worship service in what is now known as the Church of the Nativity and worshipped from 10 p.m. at night until 3 a.m. in the morning. He said it was one of the greatest experiences in all of his life. Three years later, in 1868, he was searching for a new Christmas carol for his children to sing. He sits down to write a poem about his powerful experience. He gave a copy of his poem to his organist & Sunday school superintendent, Lewis Redner, and asked him to compose a simple melody that children could easily sing. Redner struggled with this for several days. Finally, on the evening before the program was to be given, he said he awakened in the middle of the night and sat down and wrote the music and the melody. He said until he died, he knew it was a gift from heaven.
We now know that song as “O Little Town of Bethlehem” that song perfectly captures the beauty of Christmas.
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie; above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by; yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light; the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
Then we all know the last stanza:
O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today! We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell; o come to us, abide with us, our lord Immanuel!
Conclusion
Why was the gift of Jesus born in such a humble place? Would it have been fitting for the One who was destined to die naked on the cross to be robed in purple at His birth? Would it have been appropriate for the One who was buried in a borrowed tomb to have been born in Buckingham Palace? This divine King was born not in a mansion but a manger. From the manger forward, this King would have no guards surrounding him to prevent the sick from easily touching Him.
For all of His transcendence, He’s lowly. And He would be all the way to cross.
