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Throughout my life, one of the classic songs I associate with Christmas has to be Silent Night. Today I'm delighted to share this beautiful carol with you, sung by Michael W. Smith and Little Big Town on his most recent Christmas album . . . I have never heard a more lovely presentation of this song . . . enjoy!And, I thought this would be a great time to share some information with you which I heard last year; we all grow up hearing about Joseph and Mary and their trip to Bethlehem where they found, "no room in the inn". We know how they ended up in the stable where Jesus was born. While this is true, our "facts" may be a bit, "off". At the time they traveled to Bethlehem there were probably no more than a few hundred people in the town as it truly was a "little town". Since it was "little", it is unlikely they even had an "inn" where there was "no room" for them.
As the Bible tells us, Joseph was returning to his home-town for the census, so it is far more likely he found no room in his family's home. Why would his family not welcome him; especially with Mary about to give birth? Because she was pregnant and they were not married; an offense "worthy" of stoning. It is highly likely his family told him to go to the stable/cave and refused to let them in their home.
How do you explain the baby is God's Son to a family who thinks you should have had your fiancee stoned? Do we all have even more respect for Joseph now? Saying, "yes" to God to be the earthly parents of Jesus was no small thing for Joseph and Mary to agree to do!
And, it is very likely the shepherds who were "quaking at the sight" of the angels, were actually the shepherds who cared for the sheep which were destined for the temple's sacrifices. Doesn't this bring greater understanding to why the angels took the news of the Lamb of God Who would die as a sacrifice for us all to the shepherds who cared for the sheep which were sacrificed at the temple?!!
Jesus was born in a stable/cave, grew and lived a sinless life, so we all could be forgiven and know God's great grace and love! Yes, He is the Reason for the Season, and the very Best Gift sent on a "Silent Night" so very long ago, which we could ever receive!
This was a very interesting take on our Savior's conception and birth. But, when I read in one of your paragraphs above about Mary and Joseph not being married, that did not seem right to me; so I googled it. According to GotQuestions.org, they were considered married (contractually) by Jewish law, according to the author. (I could not find any mention of a marriage ceremony in the Bible for Mary and Joseph when I googled though. Here is the website with the information about their marriage: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.gotquestions.org/amp/Joseph-and-Mary.html?client=safari
ReplyDeleteThank you for an interesting article!
Thank you Sarah - Matthew 1:24, 25 does say after the angel appeared to Joseph, he took Mary to be his wife (When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.), so it is more likely his family didn't want them staying in their home because he was not the father of the baby, not because they were not married. Thank you!
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