The True Story of Christmas: Not So Silent NIght

Welcome to our ancient future story, navigating Scripture through the Eyes of Family, where I share with you biblical stories like a family member would share a story around a dinner table. As children of God, we are a part of God's family and His family story has a lot of history. Each week we will take one story and talk about it the cultural, historical, geographical and sociological impacts. We will be looking at these stories through the perspective of our ancestors, through the lens of ancient times, in hopes of learning more about our family. This is our ancient future story. Welcome back to our ancient future story. I'm Vic and I am so excited to share with you part 3 of the true Christmas story. Last time we talked about Mary and Joseph. They once looked like any ordinary couple, but they would become the parents of the promised Messiah. Today we are going to tell the story of Jesus' birth and the shepherds who proclaimed the good news in a not-so-silent night. So sit back, grab a cup of coffee or something to drink and get ready to dive into part 3 of the story of Christmas. Our story opens with Caesar Augustus making it a creed that all of his kingdoms should be counted in text and to be properly counted. Everyone must go to their hometown of their ancestors. So Joseph packs up himself and Mary and they start making their way toward Bethlehem. Historical fun fact. We often think about Mary and Joseph going alone on this journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, but that's not really the picture of what would have happened. To travel alone was to be like a sitting duck. You would be robbed or killed on this journey. So families would travel together in caravans and since the census was across the entire empire, families from the northern Galilee would travel to Bethlehem or to the surrounding cities would travel together on this journey. While they were in Bethlehem it came time for Mary to deliver the baby, so she gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Historical fun fact the word inn has often been translated in as we would think of today, like a motel somewhere in the middle of nowhere. But this is not the word that Luke uses. Luke uses a word called katamala, which is more like a guest room. So katamala would have been the smaller room off of the main family room where the owners of the home would sleep and then they would have a guest room or katamala for when they had company over. So for us to say there was no room in the inn is to say there was no room in the katamala or in the guest room of the house for them to stay. So instead they offered them the barn. The Mary Joseph went to the barn and Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. In the same region there were shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night and an angel of the Lord appeared to them saying Fear not, for I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be for all people, for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ, the Lord, and you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was, with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, saying glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill and toward men. When the angels went away, the shepherds said one to another Let us go at once to Bethlehem to see this miraculous child who the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste and they found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger, and when they saw it, the shepherds told everyone about the angels, what they had said in the child that were told to come see. All who heard them speak wondered if this was true. Could this child be the Messiah, the one they had been looking for? But Mary treasured all of these things in her heart and as the shepherds left to go back to their fields, they were glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard. It was truly not a silent night, and on the eighth day, mary and Joseph took the baby the temple to be circumcised, and they named him Jesus or Yeshua, just as the angel Gabriel had told them, because he would save his people from their sins. And that is where our story ends, for today Jesus has arrived. Yahweh has written himself into the story of humanity. But our Christmas story doesn't stop there. Come back for part four, when we will discuss the wise men who came to worship this baby king. If you have grew up in church, you probably have heard this story many, many times. And even if you didn't grow up in church, you have heard this story a few times, at least around Christmas time. But there are a few things I think are very interesting and help shape the context of the story. 1. Our story takes place on the road to Bethlehem. Nazareth is about 90 miles from Bethlehem, which means it would have taken roughly four days to get there. When they arrive in Bethlehem, the city is crowded because of the senses. Before we get too much further into this story, let's take a step back and think about Bethlehem. At this point in history, we should be thinking about Bethlehem more like a village than a town or even a city. The people that lived here. There's about 200 to 300 people that live in this village. Every single person, or almost every single person, is family. They are all from the line of David. They have lived in Bethlehem their entire lives. They have gotten married here, they have had kids here. They are deeply, deeply rooted in Bethlehem and this is common practice in this time because they are a very communal society. They're a very communal culture. They do everything as a group. So when Joseph takes Mary, they go to his hometown of Bethlehem and his entire family. Everybody is there His cousins, his extended family, his aunts, his uncles. Everybody is in this town. Everybody is there in this village. So, knowing what we know about the Katamala being inside the house, as another room of the house is a guest room, it makes sense for Joseph to go to his family and be like, hey, can I stay in your house? The Bible doesn't tell us he was turned away, but it's possible because of the senses that all of the rooms were full with people who got there first, or possibly the more the higher status people like the elders and the older brothers and fathers stayed in these rooms in the Katamala in the house. Now the barn is something different and I want to give us a few minutes to talk about it. In Bethlehem, many homes were built on top of caves and they did this so that they could use the cave as a way to protect their livestock. In this culture they don't create generational wealth the same way we do with assets and 401ks. Instead, they have land, livestock and property and that is what they pass down to their kids to make this generational wealth. So they carved into the caves under the house where they could put the livestock at night the sheep, the goats they would keep them there. There would be a manger there for them to eat and drink. Inside this cave. They would be protected from predators or from wandering off. That would harm the animals, and so this is the place it's underneath the house where Mary and Josephly stay in while they are in Bethlehem. Another thing I think is interesting is the census. The Roman census issued by Caesar Augustus is believed to have taken place between 9 BC and 3 BC. This was a huge undertaking. Remember, the Roman Empire spanned continents, so in order to get a census of everyone who lived in the empire would have taken years to complete. Luke tells us about the census occurred during Cornarius. While Cornarius was governor in Syria, he became governor around 8 BC. So it is believed that Mary and Joseph made their trip by between 8 or 6 BC, putting the birth of Christ around 7 BC. Okay, we have seen when Jesus was born. Now let's talk about where he was born, specifically the barn. So, as I mentioned earlier, the catamala, or the guest room, was full, so they gave Mary and Joseph the barn. This was under the house with the animal. It is dark, musty and the least sanitary place to give birth. It was not ideal by any means, but it was in this place, in the middle of the mess, in the middle of the darkness, in the middle of the worst case scenario, that Yahweh enters the world. Another one of the things I think is interesting, and one of my favorite things about this story, is the swaddling clothes. When the angel came to the shepherds and said you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, why did the angels tell the shepherds this? It wasn't just about swaddling an infant. The shepherds in Bethlehem were called Levitical shepherds. Their job was to raise the sheep for sacrifice. But they couldn't just use any sheep or lamb for sacrifice. It had to be a spotless lamb, meaning the lamb had no injuries or wounds. So a good Levitical shepherd, when a lamb was born, would take the lamb, wrap it in Levitical cloth and lay it in a manger to protect it from becoming blemished. And this is exactly what Mary did with Jesus. She wraps him in Levitical cloth, aka swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger. Now you may be asking where Mary got Levitical cloth from. She's married to a carpenter, not a priest. Well, some scholars have suggested that when she went to visit Elizabeth, zechariah gave her the Levitical cloth to wrap the Messiah after birth. So when the angel appeared to the shepherds saying born to you this day is a Savior who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign unto you. You will find the babe wrapped in what Wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. The angel came to the shepherds because God knew that they would be the ones who understood the meaning of a baby wrapped in Levitical cloths and lying in a manger. The shepherds were among the first to know that this baby was the promised Messiah. But more than that, they knew that this baby was God's sacrificial lamb, and I just love that. God told the shepherds. First, the lowest of the low on the social status, those outcasted from society, were among the first to know that God had sent his lamb to save the world. And lastly, we have said multiple times, this was not such a silent night after all. So let's picture this scene not with our 2023 lens, but with the lens of about seven BC. What did this sweet nativity we've come to love really look and sound like? We have a virgin in labor pains with an echoey cave, shepherds coming, singing and shouting. Did anyone get any sleep that night? I guess the song Silent Night was way off. This was not a quiet, peaceful, restful night for anyone in that cave. Go with me here. Mary and Joseph arrive at the cave. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they got there before sundown because they had to make several stops before they finally found someone who would allow them to stay, even though it was just the barn. Mary is likely having contractions now. This is her first pregnancy. She is probably between 10 and 12 years old and she is probably extremely frightened and in a lot of pain. She goes through labor without an epidural and Mary's painful screams are echoing off the cave walls. This is not a silent night. Also, I don't know about you, but I have always pictured this moment as Mary and Joseph alone, isolated from everyone, until the shepherds arrive. But again, this is not the picture of the Bible. We must remember Israel is a hyper-communal culture, meaning if one person is going through something, then the entire community is also going through it. So when Mary starts having contractions and eventually labor, mary is not alone in this moment. Her family, or rather Joseph's family, is surrounding them. They are in the house of Joseph's relatives and the women that are in the house both the owner of the home as well as likely those in the Katsumala or the surrounding community comes to help Mary deliver the baby. This is a joyous communal moment. Yes, it is in the cave, yes, it is less than ideal, but it is still filled with great joy. And if you're like me and you're asking well, what about Joseph? Where was he in all of this? And we have to consider that Joseph was an upstanding Jewish man who cannot come into contact with bodily fluids that would leave him unclean. So it's likely that he stood away from Mary while the other woman helped her deliver the baby and, as Mary screams, give way to a baby's cry, an angel appears two miles away to shepherds keeping watch by night. The shepherds leave their field and race to the cave to see Jesus, wrapped in Levitical cloth and laying in a manger, just as the angel had said, and they started shouting and praising God because the Messiah has come. Now the Bible doesn't tell us if anybody in that cave knew that this baby was Jesus, the Savior of the world, but it is kind of nice to think about this group of people being among the first to know that Yahweh had become man, emmanuel, to live among them. So, as we have discussed throughout this whole series, jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament through covenants, prophecies and the law. So each time we meet together we'll discuss how this story points to Jesus. So our story today obviously is the origin of the story of Jesus human existence on earth. But there are a few pieces of the story that show us who Jesus really is. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem, or bet-la-chem in Hebrew, means house of bread. Jesus will later call himself the bread of life. The Levitical cloth, as we have talked about, wrapped Jesus's body in swaddle and clothes, was used only for sacrificial lambs. Jesus is the sacrificial lamb. Literally, he was born to die for the sins of the world. And lastly, jesus was circumcised on the eighth day, beginning his journey of fulfilling the broken Abrahamic covenant. Jesus has entered the world, but not into a palace, like many thought the Messiah would enter the world. Instead, jesus entered as a baby into a messy, smelly, dark cave among the animals, wrapped in swaddle and clothes, showing the world he was the sacrificial lamb. He entered the world with the purpose to die for the sins of all people. So before we go, I want us to close our time together by reading the scriptures from which our story comes from today, in Luke 2. I hope that as we read and listen to this chapter and all that's being read, that we will embrace all that we have learned and that this passage will be illuminated for you. Let's read In those days, caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Quinerius was governor of Syria and everyone went in their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth to Galilee, to Judea, to the Bethlehem, to the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room available for them and there were shepherds living in the fields nearby keeping watch over their flocks. By night, an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them Do not be afraid, I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people. Today, in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly, a great company of heavenly hosts appeared, with the angel praising God, saying Glory to God in the highest and, on earth, peace to those on whom his favor rests. When the angel had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherd said to one another let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who were lying in a manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told to them about the child. In all who heard it were amazed. So what the shepherd said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all these things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. Thank you for listening to today's episode of our ancient future story. I hope that you really enjoyed it. This episode was written and produced by me. Vic Harmon Music is embarking on an adventure by Evan MacDonald. Please support the show by subscribing and rating us, and if you want more info or want to dive deeper, check out our website at our ancientfuturestorycom. See you next time. Bye.