While
they were there, the day had come for her to give birth. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn. There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.
Luke 2:6-8
Luke 2 [1.] Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant.
Luke 2 [6.] While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn. There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.” Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,
Luke 2 [14.] “Glory to God in the highest,
on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Meaning:
Joseph and Mary had travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem because of the census ordered by Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1-5). Luke describes the birth of the Son of God in very few words, with no drama and no miracle in the telling. The greatest event in history took place quietly, among ordinary people, in the humblest conditions. Then the scene moves to the fields outside the town, where shepherds are working through the night.
- “While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth.”
Luke does not say how long they had been in Bethlehem. Micah had foretold that the ruler of Israel would come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), and the census had brought Mary there just in time.
- “She gave birth to her firstborn son.”
“Firstborn” does not imply that Jesus was an only child, but it does mean that no child had been born to Mary before him. In Israel the firstborn son belonged to God in a special way: “Sanctify to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel” (Exodus 13:2). Luke will soon show Mary and Joseph presenting Jesus to the Lord in obedience to this law (Luke 2:22-24). The word also points to his rank: he is the heir, the one with the rights of the firstborn.
- “She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough”
Wrapping a newborn in strips of cloth was the normal custom, a sign of a mother’s care. The feeding trough, or manger, was where animals ate. Many houses in that region had a lower area where animals were kept at night, sometimes in a cave beneath or beside the living space, and a stone or wooden trough could serve as a cradle. Isaiah once lamented, “The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master’s crib; but Israel doesn’t know” (Isaiah 1:3). The Lord of all was laid in a crib for animals.
- “because there was no room for them in the inn”
The word translated “inn” can mean a guest room in a private house as well as a lodging place for travellers. Bethlehem was crowded because of the census, and the family had to make do with the place where the animals were kept. This detail shows the poverty and lowliness of Jesus’ birth. Paul wrote, “though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Christ “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). Later Jesus would say, “the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). From the beginning, the world made little room for him.
- “There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.”
Shepherds were poor working men, often looked down on. Their work kept them from regular worship and made them ritually unclean in the eyes of the strict. Yet God chose them to be the first to hear the news. Bethlehem was the town of David, who was himself a shepherd boy: “There remains yet the youngest. Behold, he is keeping the sheep” (1 Samuel 16:11). God had promised, “I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David” (Ezekiel 34:23). The Son of David, the Good Shepherd, was born near shepherds keeping watch over their flock (John 10:11). The next moment the angel of the Lord would stand before them (Luke 2:9).
The Significance of Luke 2:6-8
- God came low
The Son of God was not born in a palace but laid in a feeding trough. He came close to the poor and the overlooked. No one is too humble for him to reach, and no one too proud to need him.
- Making room for Christ
There was no room for Jesus in the inn. Every person must decide whether to make room for him in their own life. He still comes humbly, waiting to be received.
Cross-References:
2 Corinthians 8:9: "though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor," the grace of Christ’s birth.
Philippians 2:7: He "emptied himself, taking the form of a servant," the humility of the incarnation.
Isaiah 1:3: "the donkey his master’s crib;" a crib where the Lord was laid.
Ezekiel 34:23: "I will set up one shepherd over them," the promised Shepherd from David’s line.
Conclusion: While Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in cloth and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room in the inn. Nearby, poor shepherds were watching their flocks at night. The Son of God entered the world in poverty and humility, among the lowly, to be the Shepherd and Saviour of his people.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible