CHRIST'S BIRTH

The True Story of Christmas

By C. Hart
Middle East Correspondent

CBN.com – NAZARETH For many of us, Christmas is a traditional time, full of memories, celebrated with family, relatives, and close friends. From childhood, we learned one version of the Christmas story, that on December 24^th, Joseph led Mary on a donkey into the town of Bethlehem. She was in labor, and they frantically looked for a place to stay, but there was no room for them in the inn.

That is the picture most of us have in our minds about how Jesus, the Savior of Mankind, entered into the world, born in a stable on a cold and wet winter night under bleak and dreary conditions. But the true Christmas story may not have taken place in quite the same way as most people believe, and a little more background may provide a new perspective on the birth of Jesus.

For unto us a Child was born, unto us a Son was given. And His name was called Yeshua, Jesus, and He was, and still is, the Savior of us all. Luke recorded the circumstances of His birth in the Bible. We know that Joseph, a descendant of King David, had to go to Bethlehem for a census. He traveled there from Nazareth, taking with him his betrothed, Mary, who was pregnant with Gods Son.

In Israel today, there is a site called Nazareth Village which is a recreation of an authentic first century village. It looks similar to the town of Bethlehem during biblical times. CBN News visited this site as part of our journey to give you an idea of what happened during that first Christmas when Jesus was born.

Claire Pfann, assistant dean for Academic Affairs at the University of the Holy Land, says Bethlehem, two thousand years ago, was a town with Jewish roots, and Jesus was born into Jewish tradition.

"Paul, the Apostle, is the first one who gives us this idea in Galatians 4:4. He says, When the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, and born under the law. Jesus was born fully a human and fully within Judaism under the law," Pfann explained.

In the gospel of Luke, Joseph and Mary returned to the place where they had relatives. Family members had already arrived in Bethlehem just in time for the census. Unlike the traditional view where Joseph and Mary could not find a place to stay, in this case, they were welcomed by their Jewish family.

"In Jewish society, you would go first and foremost to your family, and ask for hospitality. Small Jewish villages didnt have hotels, and they didnt have motels, and they hardly had inns," Pfann said.

Patriarchal families lived together sons, grandsons, cousins, and relatives. They would share a meal together, eventually filling up every room in the house.

As the birth pangs began, Joseph and Mary looked around their family home for a place where Mary could give birth. Pfann says the key to understanding Lukes account of Christmas is his use of the Greek word for "Inn."

"And, in the text that we read in the book of Luke, when we translate the word, Inn, were reading a Greek word, Kataluma, and that word Kataluma can mean a guest room, or upper room," she explained.

So, what could they do in this circumstance, to give Mary some privacy so that she could deliver her baby comfortably and securely?

Pfann said, "Well, then we get our next clue from Lukes text. He says, And, she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger because there was no room in the Kataluma, or guest room."

What kind of life would Joseph and Mary have seen when they came to Bethlehem? The customary way of building in those days was to build a courtyard, with rooms attached for family members. The women of the house would sweep the courtyard in anticipation of their visitors arriving. There was a cistern used for drinking water, and a cooking area for meal preparation. Daughters would take weaving lessons from their mother. They wore plain linen tunics, and cloth was woven into simple patterns. Downstairs, the courtyard led to a room in the basement, which was really a cave dug out of soft limestone.

The families would keep large jars of olive oil and wine in the basement. There were stacks of wheat and grain, too. The housewife would grind two pounds of wheat everyday to make bread for her family, and then she would haul it upstairs to the meal area.

The family would bring their prized animals inside for protection and lead them into the basement where they would eat from the feeding trough.

This is the kind of room that Jesus could have been born in, and then wrapped in swaddling clothes, as is written in the gospel of Luke. The animals would have been moved out, and then clean hay laid down. Some of the women who were experienced in delivering babies would have come down here to help Mary.

"Perhaps, her aunts or cousins or mother or mother-in-law actually assist in the child birth," Pfann said. "And, of course, one word about delivering the baby is that, if there are actually women there to deliver Jesus, then Joseph wouldnt have to catch the baby."

As the Christmas story unfolds, we have a true picture of life in the first century, placing Jesus in his historical context. But, what about December 25^th? Was that the actual day that Jesus was born? Or, was December too cold for the shepherds to be out tending their flocks?

"Many people have suggested that perhaps Jesus was born at the Feast of Succot, or Tabernacles, because we think about the prologue, John Chapter 1, in which he said, The Word became flesh, and tabernacled, or dwelt, among us. It would be a very appropriate time for the birth of Jesus," Pfann said.

Jesus was born in a manger, a feeding trough for the animals. Yet as the Bible reveals, He was not born an outcast, but instead as the Jewish Messiah and the Savior of us all. He was born in a town like this one, into a loving, nurturing Jewish family environment. His birth fulfilled Gods covenant promises to His people, Israel.

This is the wonderful work of salvation which God has done, bringing Himself into the world, bringing salvation to all humanity.

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