make a room for jesus
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MAKE A ROOM FOR JESUSGalatians 4:4
Lindsay, December 3, 2011
Pr. Ruben Dario Sanchez
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 (Luke 2:7 KJV).
The scene portrayed in Luke 2:7is so
familiar that it has become unmistakable.We call it a representation of the birth
of Christ,
Either with statuary
Or in a painting
Or sometimes with actorsportraying Joseph, Mary and
Jesus.
Usually the setting is quite pastoral
with Mary and Joseph watching as Jesus
sleeps in the clean wooden feeding-
trough. Sometimes there is a glowing
light emanating from baby
Jesus.
The straw is fresh
Overhead the stars twinkle inthe sky
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Nearby the cattle and the sheep
rest contentedly and the faithful
donkey (theres almost always adonkey) watches the happy
parents.
And very often the shepherds
and the Wise Men bow before
the Babe in the manger.It is a sweet and beautiful scene.
But the real problem lies in the fact
that this peaceful scene bears little
connection to what really happened that
night in Bethlehem. It wasnt very peaceful
It couldnt have been as clean
Nothing would have been as
beautiful as we make it
appear
And there is no reason to believethat the shepherds and the Wise
Men ever saw Jesus at the same
time.
But the major problem rests in one
fact: The Son of God from heaven comes toearth and is born in a stable because there
was no room in the inn.
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We hear this so often that we take
it for granted, but it does not seem right.
To help us with the fact of Jesusbirth, lets think together about three
questions:
1) Whats wrong with this picture?
2) Why does God allow it?
3)What do we learn from it?From our point of view, Jesus should
not have been born in a stablebut he was.
Surely this was not an accidentbut
a message from God to our hearts.
1) WHATS WRONG WITH THISPICTURE?
The answer is simple:
Jesus doesnt belong there
Hes the Son of God from heaven...
He doesnt deserve to be treated like a
vagabond. He deserves the best the world has to
offer.
He comes from heaven to earth
and ends up in a stable?
How can that be? God could have done better.
Think about it for a moment.
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Suppose we had all power and could
choose the time and place and manner of
our sons birth.Would we choose to have him born
outside, in a stable?
That doesnt make any sense.
Whats going on here?
Why is this happening? Why is there no room in the inn?
Lets begin with Bethlehem.
If you visit Bethlehem today, youll
find that it is a large, Arab town located 8
miles south of Jerusalem.You reach Bethlehem by driving down
a wide paved road from Jerusalem.
The situation is very tense nowadays,
and although it would not be advisable
to walkfrom Jerusalem to Bethlehem, you
could do it easily in an hour or two.
In Jesus day, Bethlehem was a tiny
Jewish town
A small village
One of the least important towns in all
of Judah.
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A few shepherds lived there, some
farmers, a few merchants, and that
was about it.
It was a small Jewish village made
famous only because it was King
Davids hometown.
Emperor Caesar Augustus prompted
by God decreed that a census be taken,so that taxes could be collected throughout
the Empire.
The census required that all Jewish
males go back to their ancestral hometowns
to register.
Since Joseph was descended from
David, he had to return to Bethlehem.
It happened that Mary was in her
final stages of pregnancy when they arrived
in Bethlehem.
I say happened because Godarranged everything so
That the emperor issued the decree at
just the right moment
And in just the right way
So that at just the right time Mary andJoseph arrived in Bethlehem
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So that they were exactly where the
prophet Micah said they would be
when Jesus was born (Micah 5:2). It all seemed to justhappen,but
what seemed to be by chance, was
actually the hand of God moving
through history to accomplish his
purposes. If God ordains it, he willmake a way.
Part of our problem in understanding
this story revolves around the word inn.
We are so immersed in American
culture that we read the text this way:There was no room for them at the
Bethlehem Holiday Inn. Or They couldnt
find a room at the Greater Jerusalem
Ramada Inn. Or the Sheraton. Or the
Hilton.
We tend to think of A nice building near a freeway exit
Three or four stories tall.
With a nice parking lot
A large lobby
A pool and a hot tub Hot showers, cable TV
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And data ports on the phones so we
can surf the Internet.
In those days travel was dirty,difficult and dangerous.
Travelers needed safety and security
from the robbers that could be found on
every highway.
An inn was simply a buildingwhere you could rest safely during the night.
Indoor plumbing was 20 centuries in
the future.
In order to properly understand what
happened, it helps to know that Lukeused two different words forinnwhen
he wrote his gospel.
One word refers to a small building
dedicated to serving travelers.
At one end of the building, people
tied up their horses and donkeys. For a fee, the innkeeper allowed them
to sleep on a rough mattress on the
floor.
This was theinnJesus mentioned
in the Parable of the Good Samaritan(Luke 10: 34).
I have traveled on the old road from
Jericho to Jerusalem, and our bus stopped at
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the Inn of the Good Samaritan,a simple
building located at the traditional site of the
inn that existed in Jesus day. Luke used a different word forinn
inverse 7that basically means a guest
room.
This inn would be even smaller
and simpler than the one inLuke 10. The animals would be kept in a stable
that was often nothing more than a
cave in a hillside to keep the animals
during the night.
It was aninnsuch as this that hadno room for Mary and Joseph and
Jesus on that night in Bethlehem.
And that brings me back to the major
point. From a human point of view,
nothing in this picture looks right.
Jesus deserved better
God could have done better.
So why did it happen like this?
That leads us to the second question.
2) WHY DOES GOD ALLOW IT?
If we believe in the sovereignty ofGod, then I thinkwe must believe that God
did not simply allowhis Son to be born in
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a stable we must believe that God
ordainedit.
Joseph and Mary were compelled (bythe census) to return to Bethlehem.
It seems clear that they arrived just a
few days before she gave birth to Jesus.
The journey itself would have been
difficult and dangerous Traveling slowly because of
Marys advanced pregnancy.
So, they arrived in Bethlehem was
turned away at the inn and the baby
was born in a stable Outdoors, in the cold
With the animals no doubt nearby.
They had no privacy
No sanitation
And very little protection from the
elements.
Why would God send his Son into the
world like this?
Charles Spurgeon offers a number of
answers to this question.
First of all,Christ was born like thisto show his humiliation. Would it have
been fitting that the man who was to die
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naked on the cross should be robed in
purple at his birth?he asks.
The answer is no.All his life he would be not much
more than a peasant.
Second, The poor and the outcasts
knew Jesus was one of them because of the
way he came into the world.Spurgeon says, In the eyes of the
poor, imperial robes excite no affection; a
man in their own garb attracts their
confidence.
Spurgeon notes that the bestcommanders are those who
Have the common touch
Who are not afraid to mingle with the
soldiers on the front lines
Who arent ashamed to get their
hands dirty in the trenches ofwarfare.
When soldiers know that their
commander has walked where they
walk,
They will follow him to the ends ofthe earth.
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The poor of the earth know that in
Jesus, they have a friend who cares
about them.Third, he was born like this in order
that the humble might feel invited to
come to him.
The very manner of his birthwas an
invitation to the rejected
, the abused
, themistreated
, the forgotten
, the overlooked, to
come to him for salvation.
Of him it was said He eat and drink
with publicans and sinners; this man
receive sinners and eat with them.Even as an infant, by being laid in a
manger,
he was set forth as the sinners
friend.
I find this an inspiring thought.
The fact that there was no room in the
inn turns out to be much more than anincidental detail.
Indeed, it is central to who Jesus is.
Is there a hint here of his upcoming
death?
I believe there is.Turned away from the inn and resting
in a feeding-trough, he was already
bearing the only cross a baby can bear
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extreme poverty and the contempt and
indifference of mankind.
In the words of Francis of Assisi,For our sakes he was born a stranger in
an open stable; he lived without a place of
his own wherein to lay his head, subsisting
by the charity of good people; and he died
naked on a cross in the close embrace ofholy poverty.
This baby lying forgotten in an
exposed stable, resting in a feeding-trough,
is Gods appointed signt
o us all.
This is a true Incarnation.God has come to the world in a most
unlikely way.
This is what Philippians 2:7 means
when it says that he made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant, being
made in human likeness.Nothing about the baby Jesus
appeared supernatural.
There were no halos
No angels visible
And no choirs singing. If we had been there, and if we had
no other information
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We would have concluded that this
was just a baby born to a poor young
couple.
Nothing about the outward
circumstances pointed to God.
Yet all of it every part of it every
single, solitary, random detail was
planned by the Father before thefoundation of the world.
To the unseeing eye, nothing looks
less like God
To those who understand, Gods
fingerprints are everywhere.3) WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM
THIS?
If we stand back and consider this one
aspect of the Christmas story, some amazing
truths emerge.
We learn something about God Something about the world.
Something about Jesus
And something about his followers.
First, we learn that God uses adverse
circumstances that make no sense at thetime in order to accomplish his purposes
in the future.
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At first glance the fact that there was
no room at the inn seems like an
insignificant detail in the larger
picture.
But it was no small detail to Mary
and Joseph.
Being turned away at the very moment
when the baby was coming must havebeen devastating.
Giving birth in a stable no doubt
tested their faith to the very limit.
Certainly it would not have made
sense at the time.Mary and Joseph no matter how
devout they were simply could not have
foreseen how this negativeturn of events
would turn about to be part of Gods plan
to bring his Son to the world.
They might have believed it, but they
would not have seen it in advance.
Life is like that we dont know
what is coming around the corner and
many things we endure make no sense at
all. Sometimes they dont make sense for
years to come.
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And sometimes they never make
sense to us.
Last week we heard about a familywere all the family got cancer.
Or not long ago the family traveling to
Oregon that lost 3 children in an accident
In moments like this, rather than try
to explain the mysterious ways of GodOr try to answer unanswerable
questions; we do better to rest on what we
know about God
That He is good and just and merciful,
that his ways are not our ways, That he makes no mistakes
And he does whatever he pleases
(Psalm 115:3).
I take great comfort in the fact that our
God knows what he is doing
And he uses everything that happensto us to accomplish his purposes in us
and through us andfor us.
Nothing is wasted.
That was true for Mary and Joseph.
Nothing is wasted not even beingturned away because there was no room in
the inn.
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Second, we learn also that the world
had no room for Christ, and it has no room
for Christ now.John 1:11 puts it very plainly: He
came to that which was his own, but his
own did not receive him.
Jesus came to his own people
And they wouldnt take him in. He came to the people who should
have known him best
And they wanted nothing to do with
him.
They should have known better. They knew he was coming
God had told them over and over
again many times in many ways.
They had ample warning.
But the rejection of Christ by his own
people was a portent of things to come.
If Mary and Joseph would come to
Lindsay, they would be turned away from
the Super 8 Motel.
And Mary wouldnt have her baby at
Kaweah Delta or Sierra View hospitals.If Jesus were born today, it would
happen in a ramshackle tenement building
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or in a field in the country or in a remote
village.
The world that had no room for himhas no room for him now.
Third, we learn that his humiliation
started early and continued to the very end.
He was born outside.
They wouldnt let Mary and Josephcome inside.
During his ministry he told his
disciples that Foxes have holes and
birds of the air have nests, but the Son
of Man has no place to lay his head(Matthew 8:20).
He owned nothing but the clothes on
his back, and when he was crucified,
the soldiers gambled for his robe.
When he died, they buried him in a
borrowed tomb.
The whole story is quite remarkable
if we think about it.
Its a miracle. But we are
worshiping today a man born in an almost
dumpster.I know thats an exaggeration, but
the point is still true.
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Jesus is more than a man hes the
Son of Godbut hes not less than fully
human either.Our Saviors birth pictured the whole
course of his life.
He was an outsider in every
sense
he came fromoutsidethis earth he was born outsidethe inn
And he diedoutsidethe city walls.
Fourth, we learn that his followers
share in his fate.
We live with him We suffer w
ith him
We die with him
And we reign w
ith him.
What happened to Jesus happens to his
followers sooner or later.
Luke 2:7 reads because there wasno room for them in the inn.
Remember, the innkeeper had no idea
that the Messiah was about to be born.
True enough, there was no room for
Jesus, but neitherfor Mary and Joseph.
Even that detail tells a story.
They are alsooutside the innwhen
Jesus is born.
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That too is a pattern for the future.
Many years later Jesus challenged his
disciples this way: If anyone wouldcome after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross and follow me
(Mark 8:34).
And so we come to the very end of
the story.What great truth lies behind the simple
words of Luke 2:7!!!
Even the tiniest details turn out to
have enormous significance in the
Christmas story.Let me say one final time, the No
Vacancysigns were there for our benefit.
God could have made a room
available.
He could have created a hospital or a
palace in Bethlehem if he had so
desired.
The sequence of events that
unfoldedthe census,
The long journey, no room at the inn,
no crib for a bed, The feeding trough
The swaddling clothes
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All of it was planned by God even
though it all appeared to happen by
chance.God willed there would be no room
in the inn not for the sake of Jesus, but for
our sakes, that we might learn who Jesus is
and why he came.
Because there was no room in the inn,the final call is always individual.
The world has no room for Jesus.
Will we make room for him in our
heart?
The story is told of a little boy whowas chosen to play the innkeeper in the
annual childrens Christmas play at his
church.
When the night came
All the children were in their places
Nervously waiting for the play tobegin.
The girls were dressed as angels
The boys as shepherds and Wise Men.
While the little girls talked and
giggled The boys poked each other with their
shepherds staffs.
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The little boy chosen to play the
innkeeper had only one line.
When Joseph knocked on the door, he
was to open it and tell them there was
no room in the inn.
As the play began, parents and
grandparents wondered how their
children would do that night. Everything proceeded as planned
At last the big moment came for the
innkeeper.
Joseph knocked on the door.
The young boy opened it and sawJoseph and the very pregnant young
girl.
Something about the sight of Mary
touched his heart
and he blurted out the show-stoppinglines, There is no room left in the
inn but you can share my room.
Some people thought the Christmas
play had been ruined.
Others thought it was the best one
ever.
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The little boy told the frustrated
director later: I just couldnt send Jesus
away. I had to find a place for Him.
There was no room for Jesus that night
in Bethlehem.
Will you make room for him in your
heart this year?
When Spurgeon preached on thistext, he made this appeal to his audience:
Even as an infant, by being laid in a
manger, he was set forth as the sinners
friend. Come to him, ye that are weary and
heavy-laden! Come to him, ye that arebroken in spirit, ye who are bowed down in
soul! Come to him, ye that despise
yourselves and are despised of others!
Come to him, publican and harlot! Come
to him, thief and drunkard! In the manger
there he lies, unguarded from your touchand unshielded from your gaze. Bow the
knee, and kiss the Son of God; accept him
as your Savior, for he puts himself into
that manger that you may approach him.
Here is good news for the worst ofsinners.
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Though the whole world may turn
away, we can open our hearts and let him
in.
May God grant to each of us faith to
believe and an open heart to say, Yes, Lord
Jesus, there is room in my heart for you.
Amen.
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