The Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 19

FINALLY, BUT WILL THERE BE ROOM?

Luke 2:1-9

Joseph was a young man living in Nazareth, who probably had some big plans of his own.  He must have figured that he would just settle down and start a family, but did he have room for God's plan?  God was going to send His Son to earth in order to take away sin.  We don’t know much about Joseph and Mary, other than Joseph was a righteous man, and they were from Nazareth, but God decided they would be the ones to raise Jesus.

About 9 months after Mary is found to be with child, Caesar Augustus issues a decree, and Joseph and Mary were forced to make a 90-mile trip to Bethlehem in order to be taxed.  Joseph probably knew Mary could have the child at any time, but he trusted that God would take care of everything, and so they left for Bethlehem.  “But thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting.”   Micah 5:2.  I wonder if Joseph knew this was prophesied in the Old Testament, because I can just imagine what he was thinking when he arrived.  You see many people had traveled to Bethlehem, so many, in fact, they wouldn’t find any room in the local inn.  Joseph could have grumbled at God, because the situation did look bad, but he trusted that God would protect them.  God did protect them, and even went ahead and made room for them.  The Scriptures aren’t exactly clear about where they finally stayed for the night, but it appears they were in a stable of some sorts, probably with animals.  It might look like God forgot about them, but He didn’t.  Even though there were no cheering crowds waiting for the arrival of the new King, there were some shepherds in the area, so God sent them to see Jesus.  The shepherds would have found Jesus more easily because they weren’t in a crowded inn. 

God’s timing was, and is, perfect.  Everything happens in order, and there is a reason for everything.  Because Joseph had room in his heart, God was able to bring Jesus into this world exactly the way it was prophesied to be.  God prepared the way for Jesus, in order that we would have eternal life.  Jesus was born in a humble way, so He could lay down His own life, and die on the cross in order to take away our sins.  If we humbly give Him all the room in our lives, then we will be saved.

~ Jason Frantz