Born in a Barn

 Joy to the World, the LORD is come!

Luke 2:6-20

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁶ While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. ⁷ 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.
⁸ In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; ¹¹ for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

¹⁵ When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

The word manger is not one we use these days unless we're referring to a nativity scene.  When you see the word manger, think "feeding trough" - that's what it is.  Imagine, Jesus Christ, our Messiah, was born in a barn!

Have you ever gone on a trip and stopped off and stayed in a hotel that was less than desirable?  One time we stayed in one that was a smoking room and it was not clean.  It made for a very uncomfortable night.  That was nothing, nothing at all, compared to the accommodations of Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus in Bethlehem.  Most nativity scenes look very peaceful, pastoral, clean, and quiet.  I'm not sure, but their arrangements probably weren't that comfortable.


Take our barn, for example.  Walking up on it at night, it looks warm and inviting - and it is, relatively speaking, but if you examine it closely, there are other things about a barn that aren't often considered in our nativity scenes.  Take for instance, light.  We have a light bulb shining brightly.  They wouldn't have had such a luxury and would have likely had an oil burning lamp or two.  It was dark in the stable.


We'll keep the lights on for you!

If you look closely, there are spider-webs in the rafters and walls, meaning that there are spiders, mosquitoes, and flies in the barn.  That hardly makes for a good night's rest.  And we didn't even talk about the rats and mice that inhabit the barn.  You can bet that they were saddened that there was no room IN the inn.


Oh what a tangled web we weave...

These are not proper birthing quarters for a King, are they?  I remember when our kids were born.  The hospitals had birthing suites that were furnished with all the comforts of a nice hotel.  The labor and delivery process was made, (for the father anyway!),  to be a pleasant, comfortable experience.  Not so for Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus.  Immanuel, "God with us", was born in a barn - IN A FEED TROUGH!


Daisy's feed trough filled with hay - a bed for a KING?

 So if there was a feed trough, what else can we learn about the stable where Jesus was born?  There were animals, cattle for one.  In the song "Away in a Manger," part of the lyrics say, "The cattle were lowing..."  What does that mean?  Lowing means the utterances a cow makes - the cattle were moo-ing.  Not a quiet place for a baby to sleep, right?


Maggie Mae in our barn

So we established that the cattle had feed troughs in the barn and were moo-ing, you know what else they were doing?  Yep, they were pooping.  Not exactly a comfortable, quiet, fragrant place for a king to be born.

Poop must be scooped out constantly to keep the barn somewhat clean

I'm sure there were chickens in the stable of the inn, leading to another chorus of cluck, cluck and cock-a-doodle-doos to add to the cattle lowing.

And that leads to the 'calling card' that the chicken leaves behind her. 


Chicken litter

And finally, the stable where Jesus was born was probably drafty.  The walls on our barn don't go all the way to ground level, leaving about a 3 - 4 inch gap that winter winds blow in while we're milking.  Likely, Jesus' stable was breezy.
 

Drafts blow in from the cold night's air

You know what I don't read in the Gospel account of Jesus' birth above?  Complaining.  There was none.  On the other hand, there was an angelic choir singing, rejoicing, praising God.  There were loving parents, Mary and Joseph, looking over their Baby with happiness, there were shepherds who arrived to see their Savior - this Child whose birth had been foretold in Scripture and announced to them by the angels. 

Our conquering King came in humility, and was born in filthy accommodations that would have parents today investigated by Child Protective Services.  Our servant King came grew up and was a servant to those around him.  He felt compassion for the masses and healed them of their sicknesses.   Our suffering King died an excruciating death - the death that criminals are consigned to.  And by his Blood, our Shepherd King leads us to life, if we Believe. 

Mark Lowry sings a wonderful song called, "Mary, did you know?"  You've no doubt heard it.  The lyrics at one point say in reference to Mary, "The Child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you..."  And He has, He has delivered us, if we believe. 


Night lights

As we turn from thinking about the barn, we begin thinking about Belief - Belief in Christ the King, for it is that Belief that provides saving faith.  Jesus came to set the people free from the law of sin and death.  The Greek word for Belief is "Pisteuo" and it means more than a head knowledge.  It means to have confidence in Him - having the conviction and trust that Jesus is who He says He is and you entrust your life to Him.  Do you have that type of Belief? Truly, that is a question of eternal significance.