Amongst the gift giving, the holidays and the family time, the circumstances of the first Christmas are easily romanticized, if not forgotten. The baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the stable and manger surrounded by animals, has become a cutesy depiction of a tradition of Christmases past.
The nativity scenes we see in front of church buildings and acted out in school plays, and even display in our homes, have become so embedded in our imaginations that we cannot conceive anything different. As the story is told, we feel compassion for the young couple left out in the cold because there was no room in the inn. We are drawn to the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, as we imagine the last cattle shed we visited. But, as Ian Paul points out in his article “Not in that poor lowly stable”, [1] commonly held misconceptions of the story are still misconceptions.
Joseph was going back to his hometown. His roots and extended family were there. He was going home. He and his bride would not have been left in the cold. He was not seeking overnight lodging in the local hotel. The inn was the guest room of the common first century Middle Eastern home and Joseph’s family’s was already overflowing due to the return of so many on account of the census. Therefore, Mary delivered her firstborn son in the main room of the house, just steps up from the animals who spent the night in the entrance area (stable) of the house. No wonder they called him “Immanuel . . . God with us” (Matthew 1:23). In the middle of a large Judean family, God had literally arrived in the flesh, and his earthly father called him “Jesus, [as he would] save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:23).
There is a parable for us here. The cutesy version of our traditional nativity scene that is dusted off year by year is not all bad, but it is emblematic of our society’s and perhaps our own personal treatment of the Lord Jesus. We are happy for the cutesy story. We enjoy the long-lasting benefits of Christian ethics and virtue which have shaped our culture. We love the traditions of Christmas. We don’t mind the passing reference to the birth of Jesus, and we like the underdog story of a young couple’s start in life. But we are also fine to leave Jesus out in the cold – with the animals. We don’t need him. We can carry on just fine without him.
But this isn’t how He came. He came to save people from their sins! He came to be with us! Jesus’ arrival on this planet was to make a difference in your life, a difference far deeper than any societal change that has persisted as a result of His teachings. He came to change your life, your heart, by forgiving your sins (Jesus) and then by being present (Immanuel) in your experience.
I trust that this Christmas season will be one where you will allow Jesus access to your heart. That you will no longer be satisfied with the cutesy story that leaves Him out in the cold but will realize the purpose for which He came – to be your ever-present Saviour!