Adapted form a sermon by Charles Spurgeon
Luke 2:7
And
she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and
laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (KJV)
I would like,
to take you back, in your imaginations, to the town of Bethlehem.
Bethlehem
has a special history.
It was the
city where Jacob buried his beloved Rachel.
It is also
the city where king David was born and raised.
At one point
in David's life, he was trapped by the enemy just outside of Bethlehem. He could see, from his vantage point, the
well of water, where, as a young child he had enjoyed himself so many
times. As he looked there at the well,
he mused within himself how nice it would have been to have a drink from that
well. Two of his men heard David's
musings and risked their own lives to sneak into town and get a glass of water
for their king!
As we walk
through the streets of this city, we can imagine what it must have been like
for young David.
But the scene
is somewhat different for us this evening.
The city is
very busy town right now.
The Caesar,
Augustus, has made a decree that each male return to the city of his heritage
to be counted and taxed.
People from
the known world around have come to Israel, to be taxed in the town of their
family’s heritage.
Many of them
have come to Bethlehem.
Bethlehem is
not a large city. It has its share of tourist type accommodations. But they
were all full for the crowd.
In those
days, it was customary for a town to have a place, called an inn, established
where strangers could sleep for free.
It was
usually not much of anything. Just a box shaped enclosure, with rooms built on
the outside walls, and an even more crude area where the weary traveler could
find shelter for himself and his animal for the night.
There is one
young couple who’ve come to Bethlehem with special circumstances.
Mary, the
wife of Joseph is pregnant, and about to give birth. They would not have attempted this trip
except they were forced by the Caesar's tax registration.
I get the
impression that they are not people of means.
Joseph is a carpenter by trade, in those days, not a very high paying
occupation.
So, Joseph
seeks lodging for he and his wife.
And,
according to the Bible,
There is no
room for them, not even in the inn.
They are
therefore compelled to find for themselves, not lodging, but shelter in the
stall, where the animals were normally kept.
And it was
there, in a stable area, Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ. The One who has become, without a doubt, the
most well known and influential Person to ever walk on this earth.
I want to
draw your attention to the words,
“no room for
them, in the inn.”
Since God is
all powerful, and is able to orchestrate the times and seasons to accomplish
His exact plan.
And since
Jesus Christ is God in human flesh.
God must
have had good reason to allow Christ to be born in such a place.
And that is
the subject I want to address.
Let me make
my first observation this way:
I. THERE WERE REASONS WHY GOD
ALLOWED THE INN TO HAVE NO ROOM FOR JESUS
And I would
like to give you some for consideration:
A. Christ's birth in a stable serves as an invitation for those
who are poor and humble to come to Him.
Those of us
who have never had much, generally find it uncomfortable to go to homes or
places where affluence is seen.
But there
would be nothing to make the poor and humble fell uncomfortable at the manger
where Christ was laid!
The Bible
says
Whosever
will may come to Christ.
And Jesus
said,
All
who come to me I will in no wise cast out!
The fact is,
the humble are MORE welcome to come to Christ, that those who say to themselves
"I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing."
The rich can
hardly get into heaven.
They can get
there, but it is difficult, because they have to forsake their riches and trust
only in Christ!
They must
humble themselves enough to associate with the poor and sinful. To fellowship with those who are used to
hanging around stables!
In fact, I
believe we can go a step further with this when we remember that the stable was
a place where
B. The Beasts Find Feed.
Which speaks
to me of the fact that even the most base and wicked of people can come to
Christ and find salvation and forgiveness.
We need to
remember that one of the accusations the Pharisees made against Christ is that
He associated with Publicans and sinners.
Jesus said
they that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
And that He
had come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Jesus is
more likely to welcome those who have been wicked and vile, but who now see
their need for His salvation than He will ever be to welcome those who come to
Him on their own good merits, hoping to be received because of what they can
offer to the Lord
I think
Christ was born in a manger thirdly to demonstrate that
C. Salvation through Christ is a free gift.
Remember
that the inn of those days was a place built to provide free shelter for the
stranger in town.
The stable
area was even more so.
In those
days, custom demanded that there be a place of free lodging for the traveler.
In the
earliest days, it could have been in anyone's home. If I saw a stranger in town, I would have
felt compelled to invite him to stay at my house.
Later, the
various cities selected one or two homes in town. Whenever they saw a traveler, they would
point him to one of those homes.
In Christ's
day, they would construct a rough shelter for the traveler and his beast.
Finally, someone
realized that there was money to be made in the hospitality field, and began
charging to house the traveler.
But in
Jesus' day, the inn was a gift provided to the stranger by the town’s people.
To me, that
points to verses like
For
by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift
of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph 2:8-9
And
For
the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23
For my
second point tonight I would like to point out to you that,
II. THERE WERE OTHER PLACES
BESIDES THE INN WHICH HAD NO ROOM FOR JESUS.
For instance
A. King Herod had no room
for Jesus.
Although the
story of Herod's learning of the Christ child and killing all the children two
years and younger in Bethlehem, took place after Christ was around 2 years it
still demonstrates to us that Herod had no room for Christ.
And, by the
way, it is apparent that those in political power seldom have room for Christ.
There have
been, in the course of history, an occasional person of royalty who accepted
Christ as Saviour.
But they
have been few and far between.
Even in our
country, those who aspire to politics seldom want much to do with Jesus Christ.
We find one
or two who are honest in their faith, and who seek to serve our country through
politics.
But most
politicians who claim anything to do with Christ, only do so to try to win the
Christian vote.
And many a
good Christian who has gained a political position has found that it is very
tempting to toss aside his faith because of the pressure it causes him in
office!
B. There was no room for Christ among the Jewish Religious
leaders either
I am always
amazed when I think of the fact that Joseph and Mary kept Jesus Christ in
Bethlehem for 2 years, AND NONE OF THE PHARISEES, SADDUCEES, OR RELIGIOUS
DOCTORS OF THE FAITH, ever caught on that He was there.
That is a
fact that can only be explained by saying they knew the stories, but denied He
was Christ.
The same is
true even today.
As amazing
and unbelievable as it may sound, Christ is most unwelcome among most of the
religious groups today.
Jesus would
mess up their plans.
Folks have
gotten used to practicing their faith the way they want.
And Christ
would not be welcome if He were to come and tell them how they are supposed to
worship.
Those who say
"You
can believe anything you want as long as you are sincere." would not
appreciate Jesus coming and telling them
Acts 4:12
Neither
is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved. (KJV)
Those who say,
"I
worship my own way at home, or in nature." would not be happy with Christ
for saying
Hebrews
10:25
Not
forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but
exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (KJV)
Those who want
all
religions to come together and be one would not accept Christ for saying;
2 Corinthians
6:14-17
Be ye
not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with
darkness?
And
what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with
an infidel?
And
what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the
living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I
will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing; and I will receive you,
(KJV)
Those who have
started
their own denominations would be very upset with Christ for saying;
Matthew
16:18
And I
say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (KJV)
And those who have
become
disenchanted with churches and have started religious groups that are not
churches, would not be excited when Jesus told them;
Ephesians
5:25
..... even as Christ also loved the church, and
gave himself for it; (KJV)
You see, if
you are going to worship God, you must worship Him in Spirit AND IN TRUTH.
And Jesus
never was afraid to tell someone when they were not being truthful in worship.
All I have
said so far leads me to this point, which I will put to you in the form of a
question:
III. HAVE YOU ANY ROOM FOR JESUS?
A. Please notice that I did not ask you.
Are you
worthy for Jesus?
You are
not!
None of us
are!
But, a tiny
stable, out back the public inn, was very much worthy for Jesus either, yet He
chose that for His place to enter into this world!
You are not
worthy
But you are
just exactly what the Lord is looking for!
He does not
seek the palaces and fancy homes.
He only
seeks a person who sincerely wants Christ with Him!
B. Don't say. I plan to make room for Him later
Joseph and
Mary could not wait until later for a place for Christ to be born.
It was time,
and they needed that room now.
Christ is
looking for room in your heart. There
may be another opportunity later for you
·
to get right with Jesus,
·
to be saved, or
·
to give Him a more prominent place in your life.
but there
might not be.
Behold, now
is the accepted time. Behold today is the day of salvation.
C. In
Revelation 3:20, Jesus says
Behold,
I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I
will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (KJV)
Have you any
room for Jesus?
He is
knocking right now.
He is
seeking someone who is willing to make room for Him tonight!
Christian,
You can
remember that time in your life when you made room for Christ.
But could it
be that since then, you have stuffed your life with so many other things,
you've almost crowded the lord right out?
Do you have
the kind of room for Jesus you ought to give HIM?
Or
It might be,
you have never let Him in.
It might be
that there has never been a time in your life when YOU asked opened the door of
your heart and asked Jesus Christ to come in;
·
to forgive your sins, and
·
to take you to heaven when you die.
Will you open
that door tonight?
