Unto Us A Child Is Born Series

I love the questions that Bobby asks. Sometimes they catch me off guard and really make me think. But there is one question that he has asked me recently surrounding the birth of Jesus that gave me a bit of insight into his Persian background and a tangible feel for what the Middle Eastern culture of Jesus’ day might have been like.

Bobby asked “Did God make a mistake? Why would we have his son born into a barn?”

In many ways, Bobby’s question addresses the scandal that surrounds the birth of Christ. And yet it’s that very scandal or offense that brings us hope.

Let’s consider some of the things that people might have considered scandalous in the verse that we read just a few moments ago.

A Scandalous Census (1-4)

The fact that Caesar Augustus called for a census for all the world, or at least all of the world that over which he ruled, indicated that yet again the people of Israel were subjects to a foreign ruler. It was not a king from David’s line that sat on the throne. Caesar was not a godly king, if anything he was a blasphemer - claiming to be a deity himself.

And so, rather than object to the ruler’s command, Joseph, and so many others, willingly complied with the requirements of the census. He and Mary traveled roughly 90 miles from Nazareth in the northern part of the country to Bethlehem, just outside of Jerusalem - in the hill country of Judea.

The situation that could have sparked outrage among the population became the way for God to bring to fulfillment the prophecy spoken by Micah - that from Bethlehem would come a ruler.

But in this narrative we get to witness

A Scandalous Mother (5)

Now, today, with the popularity of cohabitation, it’s not uncommon for people to come to marriages with children. In fact, when Danielle and I were on the cruise, we learned of a couple who got married the day before the cruise departed and yet already had two children. This may seem like a non-traditional sequence of events for us, but for those in Israel in the first century, this would have been scandalous.

God intended for children to be born into the security of a marriage relationship, and yet all of that was put at risk for the Son of God.

Matthew’s gospel tells us that Joseph was a righteous man. I’m sure he was hurt and frustrated by the situation. He wanted to call off the wedding quietly, and yet, prompted by an angel, he remained. They made this journey as an engaged couple She would come to their wedding day with a Son. Joseph would take on the role of step father to the Son of God.

It seems scandalous to us and to them.

But think about this, for those of you who have been affected by divorce or have had to deal with the dynamics of a blended family, Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the other kids in that family can relate. They might not have called it that, but they understood the complexities.

Then of course, while they were there in Bethlehem, because everyone who was of the line of David had to go back to that town, all of the AirBnBs and VRBOs, hotels and motels were full. All of the guest rooms of friends and relatives were filled. There was no room, except for in the place where the animals were kept. And so, our Savior was born into…

A Scandalous Nursery (6-7)

We take great care today to make sure that birthing rooms and nurseries are clean and germ free. If you’ve ever spent anytime around livestock, you know that even a clean barn is full of dust, bugs, critters, dung, and more. We can make our modern representations of the nativity look a bit idealized and even romanticized. I would guess that this was not the most pleasant place to give birth or to nurse. Moms, can you imagine giving birth to your children in this kind a situation?

I think this is a bit of where Bobby’s question really begins to hit home. If Jesus is the son of God, then why wouldn’t He be born in a more dignified place that is consistent with His station? Wouldn’t a palace be much more appropriate?

In many ways, even a palace would be beneath the Son of God.

So if God would condescend to take on flesh like us, why not be born in a way that would serve all of humanity? I would guess Jesus is not the only child throughout history to be born in a barn. But if the son of God could be born in an undignified, unconventional, obscure nursery, then he can truly relate to the lowest of all of us. His royal lineage may have brought him to Bethlehem, but His divine compassion brought him to a manger.