Joseph and Mary had endured months of quiet whispers and town gossip. I’m sure that it was almost with a sigh of relief that they prepared for the journey to Bethlehem. The order had come down from Herod, himself, that the entire nation was to return to their cities of origin for the purpose of registration and taxation. While taxation is never a pleasant topic, there didn’t seem to be much leeway in the order to get on the road. Of course we know there was another reason for the journey. It was hundreds of years before that the prophet Micah had predicted that the Messiah would be born there because that is the City of David. It was also predicted that the Messiah had to come from David’s descendants. I’m not sure that Joseph or Mary understood the significance of their return to Bethlehem, or they might have made some extra preparation for the arrival of the baby.

Now the very fact of the census has been one that has been debated over the centuries. The critics have always been quick to point out that there is no evidence that the Roman government even had a census. The criticism lasted right up until the time that a couple of ancient papyrus documents were discovered in Egypt. One of them documented the fact that a census did occur every fourteen years from its origin by Augustus Caesar in 22 or 23 BC. Another papyrus document dated around the same time said, “Because of the approaching census it is necessary that all those residing for any cause away from their homes should at once prepare to return to their own governments in order that they may complete the family registration of the enrollment and that the tilled lands may retain those belonging to them.”

Now given that communication in those days took some time to accomplish, it is easy to understand that this undertaking could take a year or so to accomplish in first century Israel. It is noted that the census that did occur there had a distinct Jewish cast to it. This is easily understandable since Herod would naturally seek to placate his Jewish population while at the same time obey his instructions from Rome. To do that, he would naturally conduct the registration according to Jewish custom. The registration was done by tribes, families or clans, and right down to the house of their fathers.

Since both Joseph and Mary were of the house and lineage of David, they would have been directed to travel south from Nazareth to Bethlehem, a few miles south of Jerusalem. In most accounts of the journey, we see Mary seated on the back of a donkey being led by Joseph. While we don’t have any eye witness accounts of the facts, it is easy to assume that was the way it occurred. Mary, being visibly pregnant, would not have been able to endure a sixty mile hike.

One can only imagine the total bedlam that was Bethlehem at that time. The influx of people had overwhelmed all of the normal places where a traveler would be able to find lodgings for the night. The only room would have been in a small cave, probably just outside of town, that was used to shelter livestock from the weather. Yet even this would have been a welcome place for this tired couple. Remember the purpose of the gospels. They were never intended to be a biography of Jesus’ life. The exact time of the arrival of Jesus is not known. The gospels draw a curtain of privacy over the birth of Jesus. We are awed by the great humility that surrounds the birth of the savior of the world. When you compare His birth with the splendor that Jesus left in heaven a few moments before, the circumstances behind His birth are all the more remarkable.

Day 2 – The Shock of Their Life

A very long time ago, I used to be involved in the Christmas production at our church. One year, we were doing a musical by Jim and Carol Owens called, “The Glory of Christmas.” I was cast as one of three shepherds who did a song that was taken from the time just after the account that Luke gives in chapter 2, verses 8 through 20. We spent hours with a Choreographer rehearsing, not only the words of the song and the harmonies involved, but an intricate set of dance steps. When the lights came on, the three of us were in a frozen position of total terror. I can still remember how difficult it was to maintain that freeze when the audience was roaring with laughter.

I have always thought that that song, “Shepherds Beside Themselves,” to be an accurate portrait of how these men would have reacted to the events of that night. Just imagine yourself gathered around an open fire with the exciting job of keeping a bunch of sheep from killing themselves. This would be just the kind of job that I went to college to find. To be sure, on most nights the job was totally boring, but not on that night. I can only imagine what it would have been like to see the night sky split with the light of myriads of angels stretching from horizon to horizon, all singing in the most marvelous harmonies. Well, at least that’s how I have always imagined the events of that night.

That the Messiah was to born in Bethlehem was a forgone rabbinic conclusion. It was also believed that His birth would be revealed to the world through the Migdal Eder, which is Hebrew for “The Tower of the Flock.” This Migdal Eder was not the keeper of an ordinary flock of sheep. These shepherds all year looked after the sheep that were raised solely for the purpose of being used in temple sacrifice. I have always thought it fitting that the one who would be the final atoning sacrifice for the sins of the entire world should have His birth announced by those He would be putting out of a job.

Luke describes the reaction of these shepherds as total and complete terror. Yet the announcement that these angels came to bring was not one of judgment or punishment, it was one of great joy. It wouldn’t be hard for us to imagine that the principal angel announcing Jesus’ birth would have been the same Gabriel that has announced His arrival previously. His words are simple, yet profound. For centuries Israel had waiting for this evening to come. Every person had been taught by the school of the rabbis all about how life was going to be when Messiah came. Now during this extraordinary evening, these men were given the task of announcing the long awaited event.

It was only natural that the shepherds would want to visit the place where this event had occurred. Luke doesn’t tell us if they had to do a search of all of the mangers surrounding Bethlehem, or they were just directed to the right one by the Holy Spirit. He only says that they found the place and were able to give a first hand account that what the angels had spoken of, actually happened. Leaving this sacred scene, they spread the word, so that all who heard of it were amazed.

At the center of it all, there was Mary. After months of gossip and ridicule, a newborn was sitting in her lap. The promise had now become a reality. The savior of the world was right there doing all of the things that normal babies do. Sitting there exhausted, she could only ponder the path that her life would take from this moment on. She could not know that in a little over three decades from that moment in time, she would be standing at the foot of a cross, watching this tiny, innocent one die.

Day 3 – A Pigeon or a Turtle-Dove

Jesus’ circumcision ceremony must have been without controversy for Luke only takes a single sentence to describe it. That was when He was given the name Gabriel had given Him, Jesus, or Jeshua in Hebrew.

Luke has much more to say about Mary’s purification ritual in Luke 2: 22-38. According to Jewish custom, purification took place at least forty-one days after birth and had to take place in the temple. Since the couple was temporarily still residing in Bethlehem, it wasn’t even a long walk to get to Jerusalem. Purification was developed to deal with the Levitical defilement symbolically associated with the birth process. The burnt offering would mark a complete restoration of Mary’s communion with God.

As Mary entered the Court of Women, she would approach a priest on duty before thirteen trumpet shaped chests that held the day’s offerings. The priest would inform her of the current price of the sacrifice. The money would be used for the purchase of a pigeon or turtle-dove in the case of the poor, a lamb for someone of greater means. Mary would have dropped her money into the third chest, which was the one designated for the poor.

As she waited, a trumpet would sound to signal that the incense was about to be kindled upon the golden altar. Mary would have joined the crowd as they pressed against the wicker fences on either side of the Nicanor Gate leading to the Court of Israel. As she stared through the gate, she could see all of the Levites, face down, prostrate before the Lord. The pigeon would have been already sacrificed. The only thing left would be the prayers of the Levites for her forgiveness that would ascend into heaven borne on the scent of the incense as it rose into the heavens. Now all stain would be removed. Mary could, once more, partake in the sacred offerings.

As they left the temple area, the family was accosted by two individuals, who spent their final days hanging around the temple waiting for the coming of the Messiah. The first we are introduced to is Simeon. The Holy Spirit had told Simeon that he would not depart this planet until he saw the Coming One. This day that promise would be fulfilled. His words of praise come straight out of the Torah. We know these verses as Isaiah 42: 6 and 52: 10.

The second visitor was Anna. Anna has always been a bit of a mystery. That’s because her tribe no longer existed. The tribe of Asher had been part of the Northern nation of Israel that had been carted off and lost during the Assyrian captivity. Anna had been a widow for quite some time and one could find her every day in the temple waiting for the Messiah. In both cases, Simeon and Anna, it was the Holy Spirit who revealed the identity of this little baby. As was true of Elizabeth before them, the identity of God’s son is revealed by God, Himself. The words of praise spoken by these saints of the living God would have been done in whispers as they were standing right in the middle of the City of Herod and the stronghold of Pharisaism.

I have always been grateful that Jesus died on the cross to free us from all of this ceremony. To be sure, the church has developed enough ceremony of its own, but if you had to add what the church has developed to the ceremony that existed in first century Judaism, you would never find time to get around to worshipping God. Praise the Lord that the way has been made clear to worship the Lord without all of the work involved in purifying us so that we could be made worthy to worship. It is the blood of Jesus that now does the job, once and for all mankind. Now we can walk boldly to the throne of Grace, as the Apostle Paul said, and have an audience with the King of Kings.

Day 4 – We Three Kings

I can’t tell you the amount of confusion I went through when I first realized that all I had known about these three kings that were a part of my Christmas tradition was wrong. For most of my life, these kings graced every nativity scene I had ever seen. They were always dressed in rich looking clothes and carrying jeweled chests with the gifts they were giving to the baby Jesus. Then I read Matthew 2: 1-8 and studied some of the ancient writings in order to find out what was really written about these men.

My first misconception was that these men were kings. The Greek word translated Magi is also used in the Septuagint (The Old Testament in Greek), by Philo and by the Jewish historian, Josephus. In each case, Magi describes people who practice magical arts, and refer to the eastern or Chaldean priests-sages of ancient Babylon. The Sacerdal castes of the Mede and Persian Magi were, by Jesus’ birth, spread all over the east. So where these men came from is totally unknown. One thing is certain; they weren’t kings and probably didn’t come in magnificent robes. Perhaps churches need to change the costuming for their next Christmas pageant.

The second thing I notice is that there were not necessarily three of them. Matthew doesn’t give us a number. We assume there were three because that’s how many gifts are given, but the number of them is unknown.

My third error was that they visited the Christ-child on the same night as the shepherds. They arrived months later and went straight to Jerusalem and inquired about the newborn King of the Jews from the current King of the Jews, Herod. As Herod is confronted with the news that there might be another King born, he acted with his usual cunning. You have to remember that Herod had already ordered the execution of three of his own sons for allegedly plotting to overthrow their father. He was not about to let someone else take his spot before he was dead.

There are two things that Herod needs to know in order to protect his legacy. The first involved the location of the birthplace of this child. The second question would be when the Magi first saw the star that drew them to his kingdom. The answer to the first question he gets from the chief priests and scribes. The only answer they could give him was found in Micah 5: 2, that of Bethlehem. The answer to the second question, he ascertained from the Magi. To seal the deal, he makes a deal with the Magi that they should come back to him and report where this new king is located so he could go there and “worship” this new king. Of course, we understand Herod’s kind of worship would involve a sword, but the Magi wouldn’t have known that.

There is no other time of the year when tradition plays such an important part in our lives than Christmas. Take a look at your own life during the holidays. How much of what you do revolves around what has transpired over the years during the Christmas season? We do take great comfort in our traditions because there is a tremendous sense of security that we get from knowing what this time of year will hold. Yet, how many of those traditions revolve around Jesus Christ and what Matthew and Luke say about His arrival? If we had to analyze all that goes on in our lives during the last month of the year, how many of the things that we do glorify Jesus and how many things are just plain fluff? My challenge to you is to take some time out and look at all of the events and feelings that revolve around this time of year. Take a hard look at each of them and ask this question, “Can I picture Jesus, or any of the Apostles, doing this?” Does what I do glorify God, or do I do them just to make myself feel better? The last step is to take each of them to throne of grace and be prepared for God to do a bit of adjusting. Somehow I have a feeling that what you will have left in your tradition’s bag will lead to far more satisfaction and joy that the “stuff” that gets tossed out.

Day 5 – Out of Town Guests

We are right in the middle of looking at a visit that Joseph and Mary had by some mysterious men from the east. While I know how much disruption is caused by visiting relatives, these men were not even related and they walked in unannounced. It was probably a good thing that they brought expensive gifts.

According to Matthew’s in chapter 2 verses 9 through 12, the star that they had seen in the east once more appeared. I assume that to be the case because if they had been following this star all along, why would they make a pit stop in Jerusalem? This light leads them to the house where Joseph and Mary were living at the time in Bethlehem.

The Greek word that Matthew uses here to describe Jesus is properly translated “child.” The word indicates that Jesus was at least six months old when these men arrived.

Matthew describes two elements that make up what happened during the visit by these men. The first was that they paid the humblest of eastern homage to the new king. They bowed down and worshipped Him. It’s hard for some to understand why God would reveal the identity of His son to these Gentiles. We know from past discussions that the identity of Jesus is always revealed through His Holy Spirit, so we can guess that God’s Holy Spirit had once again been at work. We can regard these men as being representatives of the entire Gentile world to welcome God’s son into the world. You see, contrary to Jewish thinking at the time, Messiah was not just a Jewish thing. God’s Messiah would be for the entire human race. All of God’s creation was going to be involved.

The second event that happened during the visit was a presentation of gifts. These gifts are given to us by Matthew as gold, frankincense and myrrh. We can assume that these gifts represented specimens of the products produced by their country. A lot of conjecture has been made over the centuries as to why these gifts and for what were they used. I have read some who have said that the myrrh is a burial ointment and was used at the time of Jesus’ death. To my thinking, it is a little hard for me to believe the substance was kept that long. Also burial is not something a new parent thinks about when living with a newborn. I have always felt that it was these gifts that would have been used to cover the living costs for the family during their short sojourn in Egypt. Now if you really want to be amazed, take a look at Isaiah 60: 6, written hundreds of years before the events of this night.

It was not God’s plan to put His son in jeopardy through these men, so He warned them in a dream not to report back to Herod as they had promised. Notice Herod’s reaction as recorded in Matthew 2: 19-23. It appears that not only had the Magi failed Herod, but his own spy network. That is why he ordered the indiscriminate slaughter of all children in Bethlehem two years old and younger. He wanted to make sure his men got the offending child to ensure Herod had control as to who would rule Israel after him. Of course this act was done to fulfill the prophesies recorded in Jeremiah 31: 15 and Hosea 11: 1. Yet that would not have been much comfort in Bethlehem that day. I have read estimates that approximately twenty children were murdered that day by Herod’s men.

In the second Psalm, David asks this most basic of questions, “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One.” I still run into people who believe that they are somehow wiser than God, stronger than God or more cunning than God. As I read the Bible, it doesn’t take long to understand that the God that is described within its pages is beyond men’s wisdom, strength and cunning. Men are not going to outsmart God. Herod thought he could do it, but in the end, God did exactly what He intended, and nothing this side of heaven was going to prevent it from happening. Perhaps you have the mistaken notion that you can out smart God. First, it can’t be done, and second, it is an extremely dangerous road to travel. Perhaps it might be wise for you to rethink your position?

Day 6 – Passover in the First Century

As we move from Jesus’ infancy into His childhood, little is known except for a brief description Luke gives us of an event that happened when Jesus was twelve. It is found in Luke 2: 41 and goes to the end of the chapter. A lot had happened in those years within the nation of Israel. To be sure, the Romans were still very much in control of the civil functions within the nation. Herod the Great had died shortly after his murder of the children in Bethlehem. For a time, Mary and Joseph resided in far away Egypt in order to protect the child from joining the Bethlehem children in the after life.

The rule of Israel had passed to three of Herod’s sons. Herod Antipas was given rule over Galilee and Perea, Phillip ruled Bashan in the north and Archelaus was given Samaria, Judea and Idumea to the south. Archelaus began his reign by ruthlessly crushing all resistance by the wholesale murder of anyone who dared oppose him. Edersheim describes Archelaus as “far surpassing his father in cruelty, oppression, luxury, the grossest egotism and the lowest sensuality, and that without possessing the talent or the energy of Herod.” His reign was a brief six years, but I’m sure it seemed a lifetime for those who had to endure the man. For his crimes, the emperor removed him from power and banished him to Gaul. In his place there was appointed a series of Roman Procurators sent to try to keep the peace and promote the Roman way of living.

We come now to the spring of 8 or 9 AD, as we have come to calendar it. Coponius, the current Roman Procurator, had already removed Joazar as High Priest. In his place, Coponius had appointed Ananos, the son of Seth. This is the famous Annas of New Testament fame, who will later play in important role in the life and ministry of Jesus. It marked a time of relative peace in the land. The National Party of Zealots had been put down by Herod the Great. While they were still in existence, their influences had waned during this period of time. They would regain power later, but for now, life was calm.

The entire nation was deep into preparing for the journey to Jerusalem for Passover. It was one of the few times Israel as a nation would gather together in one place as it was required that the serious Jew attend the ceremony every year. There were sacrificial animals to acquire, ceremonial cleansing to be done, as well as the normal preparations for a journey of that length. Jews from Galilee would cross underneath the Sea of Galilee into the nation of Decapolis and travel south to around Bethabara where they would once again cross the Jordan River and take the road into Jerusalem. To be sure this lengthened the journey by quite a number of miles, but was necessary in order to avoid becoming unclean by crossing hated Samaria.

Families and whole towns would travel together, both for safety and companionship during the long journey. So if you were among the spectators, you would see vast groups of people and animals clogging the roads during the week. Inns would do great business housing the people during the night. There would be roadside stands all along the way selling sacrificial animals and changing the various kinds of coins in circulation into Jewish Shekels for the necessary offerings. To be sure, it was a most festive of journeys for the average Jew.

In the first century, one always see the Jewish nation as a whole never as individuals. When God created man, he was made to be a social creature. Man needs the interaction of people for a great many reasons. It’s just that people can be a whole lot more effective together than they can ever be individually. That’s the way God made us.