SCRIPTURE: Luke 2: Verse 7
When the time of the coming of Jesus Christ was at hand, Caesar Augustus, second emperor of Rome, published a decree that the whole Roman Empire, even throughout Judea, Galilee and everyone into his own city where he was born, should be registered or enrolled for the purpose of taxing the people.
Joseph and Mary also went up from Galilee where Joseph lived and worked as a carpenter. He had left his place of birth in Bethlehem and moved to Nazareth to better his social and economic conditions. It was in Nazareth where he met Mary, espoused to her, and where she was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
If there were no enrolment of the people for assessing a tax on them, Joseph and Mary of the house and lineage of David would not have travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the city of David, the place where according to the prophet, Micah, the Messiah was to be born and was born; to redeem mankind from the subjection and bondage of sin, Satan, the law, death, hell, from the wrath to come and from every enemy.
Mary was great with child as she and Joseph journeyed some eight miles to Bethlehem. While they were there waiting to be called and enrolled, Mary’s reckoning was up, the nine months of her going with the child were ended and her full time to bring forth had come and the prophecy of Micah was accomplished.
When Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem, they had no house of their own; they had no relatives or friends to receive them. They were obliged to stay in an inn but there was no room for them because of the multitude who had come from the Roman Empire for the census.
It also revealed their poverty and insignificance that were made of them. If they were rich and of outstanding persons, they would have been regarded as such and a room would have been available to them, especially since Mary was great with child and everyone would have seen the circumstances she was in.
In the fullness of time, the exact and precise time, Mary delivered the child, Jesus, in a manger without the aid of a doctor, midwife or nurse. This occurrence shows the lowliness of the Lord’s birth and in what low status He came into the world, though He was the creator of all things in heaven and on earth, yet He had no room in the inn to lay His head.
It expresses His amazing grace, in that He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor. It was shepherds abiding and watching over their flocks in the fields who were first given notice of the birth of Christ.
The angels told the shepherds fear not, because they had a message of glad tidings of the birth of Christ; of the amazing love of God to mankind manifested in the flesh; goodwill, pardon, joy, peace, happiness to the world. Then there was a glorious celebration of angels and heavenly hosts praising God in confirming the truth of the message to the shepherds.
Like the Shepherds we should be glorifying, praising and thanking God for the Messiah has come.
Merry Christmas/Feliz Navidad.
