Jesus Wasn’t Born in a Stable

Updated: Jan 3

by Josh Stevenson, South Range Christian Church

When do you start hauling Christmas decorations out of your garage? I know some of you were coming up the basement stairs with the second box of tree lights at 6:03 AM, on November 1st. For others, you wait until the calendar flips over to December. We can all agree that decorating for Christmas in October is indecent and immoral. Okay, okay. It’s fine. I guess.

There is one particular ornament I find on display at many homes, no matter what date is on the calendar when you do actually start decorating. I’m not talking about the childhood picture of you wearing a handknit sweater that’s hanging on the tree (always a favourite!) The ornament I have in mind could be hanging on your tree, resting on your piano or side table, or even propped up on the front yard. That’s right, I’m talking about the nativity set!

It’s one of my favourite decorations set out at Christmas time. I enjoy the variety of ones we display at my house, besides seeing the different ones everyone else has collected. It’s fun seeing the creative ways the nativity scene has been styled and taken shape; paintings, glass tree hangings, pop-ups in Christmas cards, and of course the complete Willow Tree collection! One of ours is a wooden set designed for kids to play with. I’d tell you about where to buy it, but I have been strictly warned against paid promotions by my editor.

Whatever form your nativity scene, I’m sure to find a few key figures gathered there. There will quite likely be one or two shepherds, three Magi, possibly an angel, and some combination of ox, sheep and donkey. If some or all of those are missing, then without a doubt there will be a Joseph, a Mary, and a baby Jesus in a manger. And where is this

scene set? In a stable of course!

Now if you are like me, then I know how much you enjoy discovering the true origins of a holiday tradition, or common misconceptions about the real Christmas story. Like how we don’t know how many wisemen there actually were. We just know that they brought the three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. So that makes this the part where I tell you that Jesus wasn’t born in a stable. So here it goes. The truth is that our Savior was born… in a stable? Or at least maybe.

In Chapter 2:1-20 of Luke’s gospel he tells us of the birth of Jesus. Luke 2:4-7,

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. (The New International Version, 2011).

Luke writes two more times of the baby Jesus lying in the manger. A manger is a nice word that means animal feeding trough. The newborn King of Israel, the Messiah, with nothing better that could be offered in its place, was placed in a nasty box that cows, donkeys, sheep and goats ate from. With wood being a limited resource, some even believe the manger was made of mud or clay.

To sum up all we know about the location of our Lord’s birth: 1) It was not in a guest room, as Mary and Joseph had looked for. 2) A manger, a feeding trough, was used as Jesus’ bassinet. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Where there’s a feeding trough, there are barn animals. It’s quite natural then to picture the setting for the nativity scene as a stable.

There were other places a feeding trough, excuse me, a manger, could be found throughout first-century Israel. Such as a cave. In fact several sites have been discovered where barns or inns were built near or over caves that were used as stables. The early church believed that Jesus was born in a cave. Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor, declared one of these caves to be the birthplace of Christ. He built a basilica there, and it’s known today as the Church of the Nativity. So maybe Mary did give birth to her firstborn, and the shepherds worshiped God-in-flesh, in a cave after all.

I have a third option for you to consider though. A typical Jewish home back then had two levels. The top level was built and set up to be used as the family’s living space. That’s where mom, dad and kids would sleep. It was nice and clean. The bottom level was used to keep livestock safe inside at night. So perhaps Jesus was born in a house after all; not in the nice, clean and comfortable section though, but in where it virtually looked little different than a stable.

I’ll give you one more option. Feeding troughs were used anywhere sheep, goats, donkey and cattle were kept and lived. That includes open fields. So perhaps Christ was born and spent His first night on earth under the stars. Sounds kind of pleasant? Well, depending on the weather, this seems like the worst possibility in my opinion.

So what’s my point? In a stable or in a cave, on the dirt floor of a house, or in a field, what does it matter? In some ways nothing. It doesn’t change anything. It’s just a fun thing to talk about and wonder. It really does not matter which one of these was the real location of the nativity.

Here is what is important. Luke tells us three times that Mary placed her newborn son in an animal’s feeding trough. It was all she had for a crib. No matter the precise setting of the nativity scene, the Son of God was born in a dirty and humble place. As it says in 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”

The Son of God gave up the riches of heaven, and God the Father inserted Him into humble circumstances. This seems like a mistake. An oversight by the Father. He should have been born in a palace, or a clean home at the very least. But no. This was all part of the plan. God chose a different way.

Eventually that baby grew older and grew up. He preached of the kingdom of God. One day, as a man, He rode into Jerusalem to be received as its king. Although He could have come in on a horse, like a mighty king or conquering general. He could have claimed Himself the King of the Jews, and had thousands come to His side in loyalty. He chose a different way. He rode into the city gently and humbly on a donkey. A few days later He would lower Himself even more, take on the role of the slave, and wash His disciples’ feet. A few hours later, Jesus would humble Himself again, lowering Himself to the status of criminal. With gentleness and humility, He allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross, and make payment for the sins of the world.

Matthew 20:28, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many .”

Jesus entered the world by humble circumstances. A stable, a cave, a field; it makes little difference. The manger reminds us how the Almighty God chose to enter our world. It was not into a palace, into human comfort, or into glamour. Although He is Lord of all, He chose servanthood and humility.

When we look at the manger it is there to remind us of Jesus’ life. How He lived in gentleness and humility to those seeking God. He elevated the status of the poor, the lowly, the outsider. When the disciples told children not to bother Him, Jesus told them to let the little children come to Him. While the religious and righteous shamed and shunned the sinners, Jesus showed them kindness, honour, and dignity.

The manger is there to remind us of Jesus’ death. I know that death is not where our minds naturally want to go as we stand around the Christmas tree. Yet the manger is there to remind us of Christ’s humble death. That He went to it willingly, humbly, and gently for our sake. Through His death He paid the debt we owed for our sin, He bought us victory over sin and death, and He gained us eternal life. Now Lord Jesus sits and reigns as King, as all authority and power has been given to Him! The manger reminds us that our God humbled Himself, and has dealt gently with us.

Now He calls on us to humble ourselves. First humble ourselves to Him. Call on Jesus as our Lord, God and Savior. Obey Him in all His commands. Then allow the manger humble all of us again. Let’s humble ourselves before one another. Sounds tough? Well that’s because it is. Yet if God could humble Himself to come down to earth and be born in a cave in Bethlehem two thousand years ago, well then, this shouldn’t be too hard for us.

I hope you take time this Christmas to notice the different nativity sets. Enjoy them. Because they’re just fun. But as you enjoy them, remember that God so loved the world that in order to save it, He lowered Himself into a donkey’s feeding trough.

Merry Christmas!