The Messiah born in a family scandal

Jesus: The Messiah Born in Scandal

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Snapshot

Jesus birth is one of great scandal. Most translations make it sound like they were rejected from a hotel or motel but this is an unlikely reading. In reality, Joseph’s own family rejected him from their guest room and they then stayed in the barn.

Introduction

Walk by different places during the Christmas season and one cannot help but see many different nativity scenes. In these multiple scenes, one will see all kinds of cute little scenes that look peaceful. Not only do many nativity scenes depict a peaceful Jesus sleeping next to animals sound asleep, but there are even little nativity scenes that children can play with. Humans tend to rewrite history and glorify it. This is true in American history as well as Biblical history. Think about a cross and how Christians makes the cross glorious and beautiful when, in its original context, the cross was gruesome, and one would never dream of wearing it around their neck unless it was a nightmare. The retelling of history can be dangerous if it is not accurately depicted. In history, there are wonderful, beautiful events as well as events that some would love to change, ignore, or re-write. This changing of history has been a temptation for societies throughout time. Yet, history should not be depicted differently than it actually occurred as history should be learned from, with its mess and all. Seeing history accurately, is important not to shame those or judge those of the past, but instead to learn from it. One can learn from nativity scene accurately depicted.

Guest Room

Many translations of the Bible say that there is no room in the Inn, and they then find a barn to have the birth of Jesus. In Greek, there is a term that Luke uses for a hotel or inn, which is πανδοχεῖον. πανδοχεῖον is the term used in the parable of the good Samaritan which clearly demonstrates an inn or hotel. Instead of using this word, Luke uses the Greek word κατάλυμα, which is better translated guest room. The one other time Luke uses the term κατάλυμα is when the disciples find a guest room to celebrate the Passover. It is more likely that Luke is referring to their being no room in a guest room. Back then, many people would have a guest room that would house family or travelers.

Jesus Birth: A Scandal

For the census, each family was required to go back to their hometown in which Joseph went to his hometown of Bethlehem. Think about it, if Joseph returned to his hometown and sought a guest room, who would he most likely have asked first? He would have asked his direct relatives, possibly his own mother and father. Think about how the Savior of the universe is then brought into the world. Jesus is born in the family stable because they would not, or could not, make room for Joseph and his betrothed in the guest room. The question becomes why is the guest room already filled? It could be from other relatives or possibly that the parents were embarrassed that Mary was pregnant before Joseph married her. During this time in history, having a baby before marriage was very shameful. It could be that Joseph’s relatives were trying to hide them, or keep them hidden to some extent, from the neighbors and thus hide their shame and family scandal. It would make sense considering most stables were under the house or at the back which means it is harder to see into. At this point, it is conjecture to think they rejected them because of the shameful scandal.

Conclusion

For whatever reason, most likely Joseph’s own family did not make room for him in a guest room but instead, decided to make room for him in their barn or stable. It could be because it is already filled, helped hide the family shame, or they wanted some privacy for delivering a baby. Either way, it is amazing that the God of the universe came into this world in such a humble state. That he was born in the midst of such a scandal as it does seem likely that Joseph was rejected by his own family. God chooses to work in such counter-cultural ways in that he is born humbly and in a manger in the midst of social stigmas. Instead of born in a fancy palace that he deserves, he is instead born in the lowest of places.