December 14, 2023

Christ is born.

Luke 2:1-7

Sarah Fifer
Thursday's Devo

December 14, 2023

Thursday's Devo

December 14, 2023

Thursday's Devo

December 14, 2023

Thursday's Devo

December 14, 2023

Big Idea

God with us.

Key Verse | Luke 2:6-7

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Luke 2:1-7

The Birth of Jesus Christ

1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when 1 2:2 Or This was the registration before Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, 2 2:5 That is, one legally pledged to be married who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 3 2:7 Or guest room

Footnotes

[1] 2:2 Or This was the registration before
[2] 2:5 That is, one legally pledged to be married
[3] 2:7 Or guest room

S2:244 Luke 2:1-7

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Luke 2:1-7

When I was growing up, every Christmas morning after all the presents were opened and it was time to sit down to breakfast, my mom would hand me the family Bible. It was my "job" to read the Christmas story from Luke 2 to remind us why we celebrate—not the presents, not Santa Claus, not even the time with family—but the baby born in Bethlehem. I don't remember ever not knowing that He was the reason why we celebrate, and for that I'm grateful. 

But as I've gotten older, He's become so much more to me than just a baby in a manger. This story in Luke 2 has come to mean so much more to me, too. What I love about God's Word is that it is living and active (Hebrews 4:12), always teaching us new things about God's character, who He is and all that He has done for us. Every birth is important and exciting, but this baby was different. He was and is the long-awaited Messiah, the Savior of the world, our King of Kings come to earth as a baby. How amazing is that?

What stuck out to me this time were the details about the census. Prophecy tells us that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2); therefore, Joseph and Mary needed to get to Bethlehem. Knowing what it feels like to be nine months pregnant myself, I'm guessing that Mary would not have chosen this trip unless it was required of her. I'm struck by how God uses Caesar Augustus (a Roman, not a Jew) in His plan to fulfill prophecy. He uses a seemingly normal, secular event like a census to get Mary and Joseph where they needed to be. I'm reminded that God is always in control, even of people who do not claim to follow Him. He uses everyday people and seemingly everyday events to fulfill His will and His plan. He did it over 2,000 years ago in a manger in Bethlehem, and He is still doing it today in my life and yours!

This month's memory verse

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.

– Psalm 51:10

Discussion Questions

1. What family traditions did you have in your family of origin or in your family now that remind you of the true meaning of Christmas?

2. What is your relationship to that baby in the manger? Do you just see Him as a baby to celebrate every December, or do you know Him personally?

3. If you do not know Him, will you read these verses to better understand why He came to earth as a baby, what He did for us, and how believing in Him saves us? Read Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8; John 3:16; and 1 John 1:9.

4. If you know Jesus personally, how will you worship Him differently this season and this coming year? How can you move from a saving faith to an abiding faith in Him?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

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Michael Sisson

Re: Lk 2:7 Luke 2:7 (NASB) And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because >>>there was no room for them in the inn.<<< Was there actually an “inn” in the Christmas story, or is there a better translation? “The word translated as ‘inn’ is the word kataluma, which is used elsewhere by Luke and translated as ‘guest chamber’ or ‘upper room’ (Luke 22:11; cf. Mark 14:14). When Luke wants to speak of a paid establishment (i.e., an inn), he uses a different Greek word, pandocheion, as in the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:34). Unfortunately, of the dozens of English translations that I've checked, all translate kataluma as ‘inn’ in Luke 2:7 and not as ‘guest room’ (that includes the recent ESV and NET; apparently they are unwilling to buck tradition in favor of accuracy). “The result of this mistranslation leads to a different understanding of the story. >>>It's not that Joseph and Mary were late to town, but it's that they were rejected by their family. Clearly they had family members in town, as that was the reason they returned to Bethlehem for the census. That there was no room in the guest chamber for a pregnant woman indicates that they chose not to make room for this unwedded mother. The birth of Jesus in a room where animals lived suggests shame and rejection.”<<< — Todd Bolen, “No Room in the Inn” You can read the entire article at Todd Bolen's Bibleplaces blog… http://blog.bibleplaces.com/2006/12/in-typical-christmas-pageant-one-of.html See also “Where Was Jesus Born” by Preston Sprinkle https://theologyintheraw.com/where-was-jesus-born/ SEASONAL BONUS: The last night of Hanukkah begins at sundown this evening. To learn more about the history behind Hanukkah, the New Testament evidence for Yeshua’s (Jesus’) observance of the Feast of Dedication, and the meaning it holds for Christians, please read the brief overview at the following link: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s62/sh/77ed11e2-75f7-711d-13b8-6ee19803b31c/EitpuXFIXzRnBmxmaM473spvMQ2pl6F7mCsdFvtu3d20UPqPOBcuD3E-Sw
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Hugh Stephenson

RESPOND TO TODAY'S PASSAGE Good morning Sarah and good morning to all my JTJ siblings! Here’s my big takeaway from this awesome devo- “I'm reminded that God is always in control, even of people who do not claim to follow Him. He uses everyday people and seemingly everyday events to fulfill His will and His plan. He did it over 2,000 years ago in a manger in Bethlehem, and He is still doing it today in my life and yours!” Ok then. You knew I was going to bring up the speech of Linus in “A Charlie Brown Christmas”? Right? It’s just too good. If you didn’t grow up watching this movie it would be a great tradition to start. The writer, Charles Schultz, was a devoted Christian and had all sorts of messages in his cartoon panels. Linus’s Speech https://youtu.be/OJ8qjdxxzzE?si=gnJNI49AHlJOx1zX About Charles Schultz https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2016/04/the-spirituality-of-snoopy/479664/ https://schulzmuseum.org/about-schulz/schulz-biography/ As far as Luke 2:1-7…It’s easy for me to skim these verses and all of chapter 2. The material is quite familiar and thus easy to skim. What a mistake that is. There is so much here. It just takes some thought and study to draw it out. I rely on the Holy Spirit to guide me. Thomas Constable’s notes and the ESV SB notes help as well. I start with the truth that it was the Roman decree of a census that resulted in the fulfilling for God’s prophecy via Micah of Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem.
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Hugh Stephenson

TC’s overview of chapter 2 D. The birth and early life of Jesus ch. 2 “Luke followed the same pattern of events in telling about Jesus' birth and early life as he did when he narrated those of John. His purpose was to compare and contrast these two important individuals side by side. All of chapter 2 is unique material that appears only in Luke's Gospel.” John knows this as he points to Jesus as the Lamb of God, (John 1:29), and that it is Jesus who is to be understood as the primary figure, (John 3:30). Here is Oswald Chamber’s devo for that verse https://utmost.org/decreasing-for-his-purpose/ “In narrating John's birth, Luke stressed his naming, but in his account of Jesus' birth, he concentrated on its setting.” ————————————————————————————————— Here’s the takeaway line from the entire story! “The greatest miracle in the history of the world, the eternal Son of God being born as a man, happens quietly in a stable in an obscure village in Judea. Luke’s description is restrained, giving only a very few details.” In the Hillsong video below the most powerful line for me is this- “From a throne of endless glory to a cradle in the dirt”. The quotation above & the lyric cited give me a powerful picture of Immanuel, https://www.gotquestions.org/what-does-Immanuel-mean.html .
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Hugh Stephenson

“Luke's brief account of Jesus' birth emphasizes three things: -First, he described the political situation in order to explain why Jesus was born in Bethlehem. This set Jesus' birth in a context of world history and anticipated His worldwide significance. -Second, Luke connected Bethlehem with David in order to show that Jesus qualified as to be the Messiah. -Finally, he presented Jesus' humble beginnings and so introduced the themes of Jesus' identification with the poor and His rejection. Luke paralleled John and Jesus' births as he did the announcements of their births, and he stressed Jesus' superiority again. No one special announced John's birth, but angels proclaimed the birth of Jesus.” ——————————————————————————————————————— From the ESV SB “Luke 1:5–2:52 The Infancy Narrative. The opening (1:8–23) and conclusion (2:21–52) of this section take place in the temple and form literary “bookends,” indicating its unity.” Map: Jesus’ Birth and Flight to Egypt (Luke 2:1–20). https://images.app.goo.gl/5efUDVQqamXfBz5c7 Jesus’ Birth and Flight to Egypt As the time drew near for Jesus to be born, a mandatory Roman registration made it necessary for Joseph to return to his ancestral home of Bethlehem. There Mary gave birth to Jesus, and later, wise men from the East came to worship him. The wise men’s recognition of a new king, however, troubled King Herod and the ruling establishment in Jerusalem, and Herod the Great sought to kill Jesus. Joseph and his family escaped to Egypt and stayed there until Herod died. When they returned to Palestine, they settled in the remote district of Galilee, where Jesus grew up in the village of Nazareth, to avoid the attention of the rulers in Jerusalem. Hillsong’s King of Kings live video. https://youtu.be/dQl4izxPeNU?si=45A82KNK8oW8DDO-
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Greg Jones

This really resonated with me. “I'm struck by how God uses Caesar Augustus (a Roman, not a Jew) in His plan to fulfill prophecy. He uses a seemingly normal, secular event like a census to get Mary and Joseph where they needed to be. I'm reminded that God is always in control, even of people who do not claim to follow Him. He uses everyday people and seemingly everyday events to fulfill His will and His plan. He did it over 2,000 years ago in a manger in Bethlehem, and He is still doing it today in my life and yours!” Concerning Caesar Augustus not only is there the census but there is the gospel of Augustus too. Evangelion is the Greek word that translates into the word gospel in English. The Greek meaning of evangelion was-news that brings great joy. In the Greek it was considered a political proclamation and often heralds would run with the news to deliver it throughout the land. The calendar inscription of Priene reads in part. It seemed good to the Greeks of Asia, in the opinion of the high priest Apollonius of Menophilus Azanitus: “Since Providence, which has ordered all things and is deeply interested in our life, has set in most perfect order by giving us Augustus, whom she filled with virtue that he might benefit humankind, sending him as a savior, both for us and for our descendants, that he might end war and arrange all things, and since he, Caesar, by his appearance (excelled even our anticipations), surpassing all previous benefactors, and not even leaving to posterity any hope of surpassing what he has done, and since the birthday of the god Augustus was the beginning of the good tidings (evangelion) for the world that came by reason of him,” which Asia resolved in Smyrna. The gospel of Caesar Augustus is what we now know as the Pax Romana-the age of peace on earth and good will towards men, your guaranteed salvation, brought to you by the God ordained Caesar Augustus and his holy Roman Empire. Which it was, unless you disagreed, then you had to endure a brutal death. This is the age Jesus is born into. The New Testament Gospels were Jewish political opposition to the Gospel of the Roman Emperor and Emperor cult worship as much as they were spiritual writings. Not that they are not spiritual but to be effective as opposition evangelion they had to be both because what they are opposing is both. Paul addresses the believers in Rome and writes To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 1:7 A mixture of Jews and Gentiles. For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16 “The gospel”, not an exclusive term reserved for four New Testament books to Paul and his readers. Paul is heralding the gospel of Jesus Christ, probably unwritten in any form as he writes, as opposed to the reforms of Augustus and his gospel. The heralds of the Pax Romana “Evangelion” are not ashamed of their gospel either. Their claim is “it is the power of god for salvation”. How would Paul describe these heralds and what they’re preaching? See Romans 1:18-32 The Evangelion that Paul heralds represented in part by Jesus death on a Roman cross will eventually replace the other evangelion that was supported by the power and authority that carried out that crucifixion. That kind of power and authority, and the world it was creating, saw Jesus as just another everyday person and His crucifixion as just another seemingly everyday event 2000 years ago. And the times get worse before they take a turn for the better. Yet, here we are, 2000 years later remembering one birth of one Savior over the birth of another savior. That’s crazy…that’s Divine. Great dive today thank you so much.
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Michael Scaman

The mangers near Jerusalem like in Bethlehem would provide sheep for sacrifice which needed to be unblemished. They put the lambs in swaddling cloths to help keep the sheep from bruises and blemishes. It's possible that's where the swaddling cloths came from. A manger of course is where animals eat, as in the Italian sentence 'manja, manja!' eat! eat! The manger could have been in a cave and another possibility was could have been part of the home. The angels didn't say which manger the baby was in. How many doors and/or mangers did the shepherds have to run around and look in before they found the right one? And what kind of comotion did it lead to as they ran around possibly knocking on doors? Is the baby here? Is the baby here? Jesus was born in Bethlehem which was literally in the shadow of a palace of Herod and I recommend Focus on th Familiy's video from Ray Van Der Laan "In the Shadow of Herod" https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/in-the-shadow-of-herod
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Jason Cromwell

My favorite Christmas Carol has always been and always will be, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." Not only is it a cry of the heart for His First Coming, but also should be the prayer of our hearts for His Second. I always love when Christmas or Christmas Eve (Like this year) falls on a Sunday. There's just something extra special about being in His House and worshipping with fellow believers. Since I'm still single I go home to Celebrate for Christmas. The only difference now is that I take a few hours in the afternoon to read the Bible and have a little Prayer and Worship Service to thank Jesus for His Coming.
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Sue Bohlin

Thanks, Sarah. And Merry Christmas! I've been thinking about how it must have felt to Mary, especially, and Joseph when they were turned away from the guest room in Bethlehem, where bunches of Joseph's family would also have been. Surely she must have thought, "Are you people SERIOUS??! I'm 9 months pregnant and you won't let us stay with you? Come ON!!!" And, being the Yahweh-follower she was, did she turn her face toward heaven and ask, "Are You SERIOUS, Lord??! I mean, I know this is a miracle baby and everything, but You're having me deliver this baby where animals eat??!" The other day I was thrown a curve ball that impacted my plans. I was inconvenienced, but it was nothing compared to the curve ball Mary and Joseph had to deal with. It was a good reminder to react with grace and patience because now, as it was in Luke 2, God is in control
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Amy Lowther

1. My friends and I cook together during the holidays. We discuss everyone’s preferences. We make menus. We shop. We talk about what’s gone on from each person’s perspective throughout the year and ensure everyone is ok. We gather everything and everyone. We cook, and we eat nice meals. It’s nice. 2. The baby in the manger is a gift of the heart and helps me consider what’s going on in life and what I need to do. Celebrating the baby in the manger every Christmas helps give me perspective on celebrating life everyday throughout the year. This helps me in reading passages of the Bible everyday and applying it in daily life. 3. I like the verses presented in this question. They present it is important to be responsible for what I do good or bad. They also present forgiveness can occur if things go wrong to help make things right. 4. I am working a job I did not work last year. It gives me a lot of good opportunities to do good things and to meet good people. Sarah - Thank you for sharing your ideas. I like your Mom’s tradition of having you read the Christmas story at breakfast. I am glad it helped you in knowing the reason for the season. I also like your point that God's Word “is living and active (Hebrews 4:12), always teaching us new things about God's character, who He is and all that He has done for us.” God’s Word helps everyone learn about His character and increase their value of Him.