Basic HTML Version
Beginnings
11
watched over Joseph and Mary as they journeyed from their home in
Nazareth south to Bethlehem. When the two arrived in Bethlehem,
weary and homeless, they walked the length of the main street, from
the gate of the city to the eastern end of the town, seeking a place to
spend the night. But there was no room for them anywhere! Finally,
in a crude animal shelter, they found a place to lie down, and Mary
gave birth to her son, the Redeemer of the world
Above the hills of Bethlehem an immense throng of angels had
gathered for this moment, and at His birth they began to sing this
great news to the world. Unfortunately, the religious leadership in
Israel, ignoring their destiny, did not share in the celebration
[15]
In the same fields where David once cared for his father’s flocks,
shepherds guarded their sheep through the night. They had been
talking of the promised Savior and praying for His coming. Then
suddenly an angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good
news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town
of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”
Luke
2:10, 11
, NIV. The whole area was lighted up with the brightness of
the angels
When the angels disappeared, the light faded away, and darkness
returned to the hills around Bethlehem. But the brightest picture ever
seen by human eyes remained in the memory of the shepherds. When
they regained their composure, they said, “‘Let’s go to Bethlehem
and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us
about.’ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby,
who was lying in the manger.”
Luke 2:15, 16
, NI
Heaven and earth are no wider apart today than when shepherds
heard the angels’ song. And each of us now, as the shepherds then,
is the object of God’s most intense love and interest
The story of Bethlehem is a fantastic theme. We should marvel
that Jesus exchanged the throne of heaven and the worship of angels
for a manger bed and the company of sheep and goats. Yet this was
only the beginning of the evidence of His great love. It would have
been the ultimate humiliation for Jesus to take Adam’s nature, even
when he stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted human-
ity when the race had been weakened by millennia of sin. Like every
other human baby, He accepted the results of the laws of heredity so
He would be able to share and understand our disappointments and
