The Real Manger Scene

 

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

 

Many of us, when we think of Jesus’ birth, picture a beautiful star lit sky, a warm stable, with gentle animals standing around.  The baby Jesus lying in sweet smelling soft hay as Mary and Joseph look on.  Perhaps some kind shepherds passing by to pay their respects.  But as we approach Christmas I want us to think together of the reality—what it was really like—some 2000 years ago.  Because Jesus’ birth was not so much marked by warmness, welcome and comfort, as it was by coldness, rejection and poverty.  I want us to see this and then ask why this must be so.

 

The trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem must not have been a pleasant journey.  Mary had to have been late into her pregnancy and the distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem is some 90 miles—a trip of 3-5 days on rough and often muddy roads.  It is quite unlikely that Mary rode on a donkey as we sometimes imagine.  It is never mentioned in Scripture and as we will see Mary and Joseph were quite poor.  So at 7-9 months pregnant Mary makes this difficult journey on foot, on rough roads for 3-5 days.

 

We might also ask why Mary even came.  It was not usually necessary for a woman to come and be registered in a census.  Some have suggested—and I imagine rightly so—that Joseph brought her along to spare her the slander and slurs that what come as this unmarried young woman gave birth to a child.

 

The birth was a lonely birth.  Luke tells us that Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.  In Jewish society at that time most births were attended by mid-wives, who helped in the delivery and initial care of the baby and mother.  It appears that there was no mid-wife.  Mary herself took on what had to be done.

 

The birth was characterized by poverty.  Jesus is laid in a manger—a feeding trough for animals.  Most of us picture them in a stable which may be true.  But if you have spent much time in barns or stables you know that they are dirty, smelly places—not where you would want your newborn to spend their first days.  But they may not have been in a stable at all.  It may have been a cave that served as a shelter for animals or it could very well have been in an open courtyard, where it was quite common to find troughs.

 

When Jesus was 8 days old Mary and Joseph took Him to the temple that He might be circumcised.  While there they also made the offering of purification, but they did not give the usual offering, a lamb and a pigeon, but instead the offering that the poor were allowed to give 2 pigeons (Lev. 12:6-13).

 

The visit of Shepherds would not have been thought of as an honor.  As a class, shepherds were despised.  The nature of their work kept them from following the Jewish ceremonial law.  They lived in an almost perpetual state of uncleanness.  And as one commentator put it “More regrettable was their unfortunate habit of confusing mine with thine as they moved about the country.”  Shepherds were considered so unreliable that they were not allowed to give testimony in the law courts.  It was this “rabble”, whom many considered the lowest of the low who came to pay their respects that night to Jesus and his family.  No Magi from the East—their visit was still 2-3 years away.

 

Why mention all this?  Why is this important for us to see that Jesus’ birth was marked by what the world calls poverty, obscurity and rejection?

 

God could have sent Jesus to be born into a merchant family or into an upstanding family that was well-off, a family of some renown or achievement.  He could have provided him with a nice, warm house and a cozy crib to be welcomed into.  But He did not.  The question is:  why not?

 

I think part of the answer is this:  God is telling us that what this world values means nothing to Him (Luke 16:15).  He is telling us that human achievement and human glory mean nothing to Him. If Jesus was born into worldly prosperity, prestige and power then we might say, “You see, God is impressed by achievers and beautiful houses and possessions.”  But this is not true;  Jesus did not come to magnify our glory but the glory of God.

 

God uses little towns and poor carpenters and dirty stables  and outcast shepherds to magnify His glory and to show that He is not the least bit impressed by or dependent on human glory or greatness or achievement.

 

The apostle Paul puts it like this in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29. "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;   God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,  so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”

 

Do you feel weak this Christmas?  Do you feel insufficient?  Are you down—heavy laden by circumstances or your own sin?  Perhaps you are despised by some family or friends for the sake of Christ?  Excellent.  For it is in a heart like yours that Jesus chooses to dwell.  The greatest treasure in the universe loves to inhabit cracked and chipped jars of clay so that His glory will be seen and proclaimed.

 

The God of this universe is not the least bit impressed by our power or possessions or popularity—nor our cleverness or connections or college degrees.

 

    His delight is not in the strength of the horse,

        nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,

     but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,

        in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Psalm 147:10-11

 

    The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

        a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Psalm 51:17

 

    For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;

       he adorns the humble with salvation.

Psalm 149:4

 

    For the Lord hears the needy

        and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.

Psalm 69:33

 

    He regards the prayer of the destitute

        and does not despise their prayer.

Psalm 102:17

 

Jesus delights in and loves to dwell with those who are not impressed by nor place their hope in human strength, but rather those who are in awe of God and find their hope in Him;  Jesus loves to dwell in those who have a broken and contrite spirit;  Jesus loves to dwell in those who are truly humble.  And Jesus loves to come and dwell with those who are poor and destitute.

 

May we be reminded together of the real manger scene that God’s glory will be magnified this Christmas,

James