A Promise to Ponder Volume 3, Issue 33

Luke 2:7 - 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

   Many times people condemn the inn keeper for not finding a room for Mary and Joseph. We must, however, realize that at the time Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem there was a tax that was being taken and everyone was to return to their town of origin. Bethlehem was not a great metropolis by any means. It was only a small town. I live in a small town and if everyone who was born in this town was required to return it would not take long for the town and all the inns to be full and overflowing. The people who came to town first would get the best choices for rooms to stay in while those who came later would only have what was left over, if any rooms were leftover. Why do I make this point, because the same would be true in Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Jesus. Mary and Joseph had to travel slowly because she was pregnant and about to give birth. Anyone who has travelled for any distance with a pregnant woman knows that there are “special” needs that must be met.

   As Mary and Joseph reach the small town of Bethlehem they begin to search for a room. I do not know how many inns there were at the time. My town has three small motels. Bethlehem may have had about the same. What would you do if you saw a VERY pregnant woman and her husband trying to find a room and was unsuccessful? If you or I lived in the town I would hope we would take them in. If we were strangers in the town ourselves and had a room of our own, I would hope we would either make room for them in our room or simply let them have our room. It would not make sense for the inn keeper to kick out someone who has already paid for their room, it would be rude to his guests and it would be bad for business.

   No, we cannot place all the blame on the inn keeper for rejecting a pregnant woman that happened to be pregnant with our Savior. We must put the blame solely on…the WHOLE POPULATION of BETHLEHEM. EVERONE was guilty of letting Jesus be born in a feeding trough for animals, in a stable. Even at His birth Jesus began to fulfill prophesies such as the one proclaimed in Isaiah 53:3 - 3 He is despised and rejected of men…we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Jesus is still looking for a place in our life whether Christian or lost and undone. He says “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20 Now that’s A Promise to Ponder! Please don’t keep Jesus out, let Him in and let Him set on the throne of your life.