Luke 2:1-7

God used a census to get Jesus to the right place for being born in Bethlehem. Caesar Augustus thought he was just raising tax revenue. God used this choice to place the baby in Bethlehem on his birthday.

Two things in the story that we need to keep in mind:

1. We often see in movies and maybe even assume that Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem just in time for the baby to be born. There are images and scenes in Nativity stories of Mary going into labor just as she reaches the town. The fact is we don't know how long they were in Bethlehem. It is possible it was hours, but it also could easily have been days or even longer before Jesus was born.

2.) There is often a bad guy in most of our Christmas story memories of the inn keeper who couldn't make room for Jesus. When we think of an Inn, we have in mind a place like a motel or hotel. The truth is Bethlehem was a small town and there was not likely an actual Inn as we consider it. There was no room for them in the guest room. They would likely seek the hospitality of a family member. But remember, there was a census happening so many family members traveled back to be counted, so guest rooms likely filled up fast. The guest room, or upper room, had likely filled up quickly with family members.

The place where Jesus was born was likely a portion of the house on the lower level or even a cave that would be either connected or close to the house where animals would come to at night. In this section there would be a manager for the animals. So, this Christmas remember: don't get mad at the Inn keeper for being so rude as to not let the baby have a room because there is no inn keeper in the story.