5. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7. and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
Mary came from the right lineage and she made herself available for the job. She even had the right attitude; she loved God, but she was so young. Some historians have estimated that Mary was only 16 years old. This young mother gave birth to this very special baby who was the Savior of the world.
I do not favor teen marriages. Kids think they understand love and commitment, but don’t have a clue. Mary didn’t have a clue as to what all was going on, still processing this unusual thing going on in her body without ever having a man. I like the way the Bible says it “She pondered all these things in her heart.” (Lk 2:19)
Pondered them in your heart? Mary, preach it from the roof tops. Contact WCCO investigative reporters. Hire an agent to handle the publicity and the gifts. This is God we are talking about in this bundle of swaddling clothes! Don’t ponder it, proclaim it!
Then there's Joseph planned by God to take this virgin to be his wife. He was a humble, honest working carpenter, a blue-collar worker.
Then there was that innkeeper. If God could change the heart of Pharoah and move in the mind of Nebuchadnezzar, couldn’t he have done a small number on the guy who rented out a room. The way God works out circumstances, wouldn’t you really think He would have seen to it there was a room available in advance? Have you been to the testimony services? People tell their stories of how God at the right time provided or them.
Why didn’t God answer the prayer of Mary and Joseph for a suitable place to deliver? (I think they would have prayed. It’s not in the Bible but if you are going to have a baby and no place to go, wouldn’t you have prayed that a place would open?) None did.
I read a story about a little boy who played the Innkeeper in a Christmas pageant. When Mary and Joseph came to the inn, he delivered his line perfectly. "I'm sorry. We have no room in the Inn." But just as the dejected Mary and Joseph turned to leave, the whole audience watched the Innkeeper's lower lip start to tremble and then he cried out, "Wait. Wait. You can have my room. It's not very big but it's better than the barn." Why didn't God choose an Innkeeper like that?
And look at who the angels told first. Shepherds. The Pharisees thought more of the so called "tax collectors and sinners" than they did of shepherds. Why were they the first to know? I know Scripture said, the Messiah would "be born of low estate". Did it have to be a barn with smelly old animals all around to see the delivery?
Our plans do not always turn out as expected, but there are no surprises with the Lord. He knew when the time and place was right. Prophecies were being fulfilled.
Prayer: Lord, let me ponder all this in my heart knowing that Your will was to have this baby born and witnessed not in a palace by kings and queens, but in a "stable" by shepherds. You always have a greater answer to our prayers that we could imagine to ask.
