The Innkeeper Series

Please feel free to use this however you would like. I have no copyrights. You can put songs in different spots to break it up if you want.

The Innkeeper

based on Matthew 2 & Luke 2

My name is Tobiah. I was an innkeeper in Bethlehem in Judea almost two thousand years ago, a time when the most unusual and important thing happened.

Do you have taxes today? We had lots of taxes in our day. We had taxes we paid to Emperor Caesar Augustus, to King Herod and to Governor Quirinius. It took a lot of taxes to pay for all those Emperors, Kings and Governors. There were a lot of taxes. And every 14 years all the people needed to be counted. All the people who were going to pay taxes every year were counted. The story I’m going to tell you took place during the first 14 year count that took place when Quirinius was Governor of Syria.

Rachel, my wife, and I always looked forward to the 14 year counting. It was good for business. Everyone had to go home to their town of family birth. We lived in Bethlehem in Judea. That was the town of King David. Many people came there to have their name written for taxes. So it was a busy time for us in the Inn. We had so many people come that we were full! I had to turn people away. Some families stayed two or three families to a room! It was a good time for business, very busy! Very much money for us!

One day during this time there came a man who wanted to stay in our Inn. His name was Joseph. And his wife looked like a very young girl and she was VERY pregnant, very pregnant. She was going to have a baby very soon. I was going to send them away. For you remember I had no room. As I started to explain things to them an idea came to me. I don’t know where the idea came from, but I said they could stay in the stable. There were lots of animals there, cows, chickens, goats and many donkeys of all the people staying in the Inn. It was noisy and it smelled. I said there was hay. It was so dusty in there. Joseph looked to Mary and she nodded her head. I took them there. I moved donkeys and gave them a stall. They were so tired. I put some new and extra straw there for them and said, “Maybe tomorrow someone will leave and you can come into our inn.” I felt good that they could have a place for the night. But I felt bad that they were going to live and sleep in the barn. But there was no room in the inn. I had no vacancy.

That night when it was very dark, when Rachel and I were asleep I heard some noise in the stable. The animals were noisier, but I also heard many voices of men, I remembered that the man and women were there and so I got up and went out there. And there were shepherds talking real loud, some shouting, some singing and praising God. They were all around the stall where I had put Joseph and Mary. I went over there and what did I see? I saw Joseph and Mary and a little new born baby, all wrapped up in swaddling cloth. Strips of cloth all wrapped around the baby except the face! There was this little face. What a face! What a beautiful baby! They had wrapped the baby in strips of cloth and laid him down in the manger, the place where I put the straw for the donkeys and cows to eat! There he lay. Joseph looked worried and Mary looked so tired.

I said to the shepherds, “What are you doing here, leave these poor people alone.” They told stories of angels in the sky, bright lights, and how this child was to be the Savior of Israel! I told them, “fine, now the innkeeper tells you to go back to your sheep!” They left. And as they did, Rachel came out of the house/inn to see what was going on.

She saw the baby. She looked at me with a questioning look. I explained to her that I put them here because the inn was full. She looked at me and took her hand and hit me on the chest and said, “Tobi, you dumb ox! Go make a room ready for them in the inn! Right Now!” I tried to explain. She wouldn’t hear of it. She knew the inn was full. She didn’t care. She told me to move somebody quickly! I walked back to the inn. I tried to think. Maybe the couple from Capernaum could move with the family from Alexandria. NO, no. Maybe I could ask the family from Caeserea to leave. No.