1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth 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 2:1-7

Far more than a quaint story, these verses from Luke, chapter two, describe a historical event that occurred in real-time and in a real place. It was a fulfillment of all those ancient prophecies which promised the Seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent and the one who would redeem His people from their sins (Gen. 3:15; Ps. 130:7-8).

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4-5).

It happened in the days of the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus. Quirinius was the governor of Syria.

Though Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth, the Prophet Micah (approximately 700 years before Christ) foretold the birthplace of Messiah to be in Bethlehem: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).

And God, in His divine providence, moved Caesar Augustus to take a census at just the right time, making it necessary for Joseph and his espoused wife who lived in Nazareth (some 90 miles to the north) to be in Bethlehem when the days were fulfilled for Mary to bring forth her firstborn son “because he was of the house and lineage of David.” The genealogies of Joseph in Matthew 1 and of Mary in Luke 3 show that both were of the “house and lineage of David.”

While we often have pictures in our head of Jesus being born on that first night after Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, that’s not what the Scriptures say. Verse six, of Luke 2 says: “So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.” They could have been there a few days, a few weeks or even a month or more — the Bible doesn’t say. But, “while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.”

“And she brought forth her firstborn Son….” While there in the crowded city of Bethlehem — there were many descendants of David who also had to register in Bethlehem (Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, according to 1 Kings 11:1ff.) — Jesus was born.
Mary “brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger.”

The eternal Son of God, the creator of heaven and earth and all things (cf. John 1:1-5,14), humbled Himself and was born a man of lowly birth. Instead of being born in a king’s palace and clothed in royal garments, He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger (a feeding trough).

But God sent His Son into this world not to be exalted here but to live humbly as a man — not to make full use of His divine power and glory but to live humbly like us — that He might take our place under the Law of God and fulfill it for us and that He might bear upon the cross the just punishment for the sins of the entire world.

“Christ Jesus … being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:5-8).

“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” (Heb. 2:14-17).

And much like the night of Jesus’ birth, Jesus is still relegated to the stalls and the mangers of this world. The inn is full and there is no room for the Messiah and Savior of the World. Jesus is crowded out — even crowded out of the celebration of His birth!

“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:10-11).

Therefore, if we wish to find Jesus, we are not likely to find Him in the biggest and best churches and cathedrals of this world. The place to look for and find Him is where God’s humble Means of Grace are in use, where the Word of God is preached in its simple truth and purity and people are confronted with their sins and the judgment of God upon them but also comforted with the Gospel of forgiveness through faith in Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross, where people are joined to Christ and become His covenant people through the waters of Baptism and where believers are comforted in Holy Communion through partaking of the body and blood of the Lamb of God who gave Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Indeed, the day could come when we may need to worship in barns and stables to hear of and learn of the true Christ who came into this world to redeem us because there is no room for God’s people or God’s Christ in the inn. It’s happened before. In the days of the Prussian Union (during the early 1800s), those who held to the Lutheran faith gathered in barns to worship and be served with the Means of Grace.

What’s the point in this message for you and for me?

Though the world was not awaiting the coming of Christ Jesus with open arms, and though God’s own people (the visible church in this world) were too busy to welcome Him, God kept His ancient promises to send the Savior. God’s only-begotten Son took on human flesh and blood and was born a true man of the Virgin Mary that he might pay the price for our sins and redeem us. He came humbly, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, that He might fulfill God’s plan and go to the cross as our sacrifice for sin.

And where do we find Him?

Where the Word of God is preached in its truth and purity and where the Sacraments are administered in accord with Christ’s institution. There we will find and learn of the Christ who died for our sins and redeemed us. There we will be comforted with the forgiveness of sins and eternal life He won for us. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]