Jesus, Flesh and Blood
God, in the person of Jesus is now flesh and blood. We get to see His birth and early beginning.
Jesus’ life is humble from start to finish. You couldn’t get a humbler bed than a manger. He had some royal visitors early on, but not until after the lowliest of society visited Him. We don’t know a lot about Jesus’ childhood, but Matthew and Luke give us snippets along the way. I’m going to try weaving them into one story. I’m not sure how far we will get in His story this time. We will eventually go through His whole life. For now, let’s start at the beginning of His time on earth; His birth.
Father God, help me tell Your Son’s story. Help me see Him as He enters into the greatest mission ever undertaken. Holy Spirit, show me where to focus and make the story come to life. Lord Jesus, feel free to add Your own voice to this story. To direct it where You want me to go.
♥ ♦ ♥
Mary and Joseph lead a quiet life in Nazareth. Jesus is growing daily inside His ima, Mary. Joseph keeps his family fed with carpentry work. His skills are well known in Nazareth but so is the rumors about Mary. This cuts into his business, but he doesn’t care. He knows that God will take care of them, as Mary is carrying His child.
Cesar Augustas issues a decree that is proclaimed in all the land of Israel. Their Roman rulers want to take a head count. Everyone is to go to their ancestral homes. This will allow an accurate accounting of all the tribes and clans of Israel. And, knowing this will take some time to get organized, the reporting date is set for two months out.
Joseph brings Mary this news the same day he hears it. They discuss it over their evening meal.
“We will have to travel to Bethlehem, the birthplace of King David, as I am of his lineage.”
“When will this be?”
“The date set for everyone to appear and be counted is in two months.”
Mary’s eyes go wide. “Joseph, you realize that it is only two months before the baby is due.”
“I know. Maybe He will be born before we leave. If He isn’t I will find a way to make you as comfortable as possible.” Joseph strokes Mary’s cheek and his eyes make her a solemn promise; “I will protect and care for you forever.”
No more is said about the trip that evening. Mary’s heart is at peace, but Joseph’s mind is churning. As he struggles to fall asleep, bits and pieces of prophecy float up in his spirit.
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2).
Even though Joseph and Mary are married, they do not share a bed. This would be too much of a temptation.
Joseph’s eyes pop open. He looks over at Mary on her bed and the bulge that holds their Lord. He moves over to her side and puts his hand gently on her stomach. He whispers quietly to his Lord. “Is this about You, little one? Are we going to Bethlehem to fulfill a prophecy? If so, then, THAT is where You will make Your entrance. I better get working on making an easy way for Your ima to get you there.”
Joseph returns to his bed. He rests back on his pillow and looks to heaven. With a smile on his face and wonder in his heart he gives his God credit for what has been decreed. “Of all the ways to get us to the place You already prepared.” He is confident that God has this part of His plan well in hand too. Having this settled, Joseph drifts off to sleep.
When morning comes Joseph is the first to rise. He even beat the sun up. He quietly slips from the house and gathers a bouquet of wildflowers for Mary. He is going to share with her what he received last night.
Mary is up preparing breakfast when he returns. She turns when she hears him enter the house.
“Where did you…” She stops when she sees the flowers in his hands. “Oh Joseph, they are beautiful!”
Joseph walks over to her with a smile that rivals the sun and gives her a chaste kiss on the cheek. “I have something I need to share with you” he says as he holds out the flowers for her to take.
Mary’s eyes narrow in confusion. “Is it something that you need to bring me flowers to soften me up first?”
Joseph laughs. “No. I just thought you needed them after our discussion last night. With the long journey looming in our future.”
Mary loves Joseph’s laugh. It is a low rumbling sound. One that she can actually feel in her heart. It always brings a smile to her lips. “That was very thoughtful of you. So, what is it you need to talk to me about?”
Joseph brings Mary to the table where they can sit and talk. “Last night, as I was trying to fall asleep, a prophecy came to me that was written by the prophet Micah. The Lord spoke through him these words: ‘But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.’ I believe these words are about the babe you are carrying. The Lord’s ‘ruler of Israel’ is to be born in Bethlehem.”
Mary’s eyes go wide. “Then, he won’t be born before we leave. He will arrive when we get to Bethlehem.”
“Exactly” Joseph replies.
“Then I will have to travel while I am very near my time” Mary says with eyes full of pain. “It is hard enough getting through my day as it is. I’m worn out by evening.” Tears begin to spill over her lashes. “I’m sorry” she says while quickly wiping them away. “I shouldn’t be complaining. After all, God has given me a precious gift.”
“Even the prophets Moses and Elijah complained from time to time. I think God understands the physical demands being made on your body. I’m certain that He will give you grace to complain; a little”
Joseph’s compassionate eyes and smile do the trick. Mary’s smile returns. She rubs her belly. “You better be good on the trip. And give Your ima strength to make it all the way to Bethlehem.”
“I’m certain He will be as helpful as possible. But something else occurred to me while I was out walking.”
“Uh-oh” Mary says, half teasing.
“This is something we need to seriously think about.”
Mary sits still and gives Joseph her whole attention.
“You know the rumors that have been circulating in Nazareth. People are wondering if our marriage was out of necessity, to cover a sinful matter. They wouldn’t understand about how you are carrying the Son of God. It was hard enough for me to process, if it wasn’t for the vision the Lord gave me.”
Mary’s head nods slightly as she lowers it. “I’m sorry Joseph for the whispers. They don’t do much for either of our reputations.”
Joseph takes Mary’s hand. “I don’t care about the whispers. But when this babe is born only six months after our marriage, those whispers will become shouts. He will not stand a chance of being accepted in our community.”
Mary’s eyes grow moist again. But before the tears begin to fall, Joseph continues.
“Since we have to go to Bethlehem anyway, and the babe will be born there, why not stay on for a while. Once He grows enough, no one will even notice the ‘timeline’. We can even wait to announce His birth until the right time to our friends and family.”
“I don’t know about this. What about the commandment for circumcision and for redemption of the first born?”
“We will STILL follow the Law and its commands for these things, but we will do them as private ceremonies. Just the three of us, and those the Lord chooses to include.”
“Can I have some time to think about it?”
“Take all the time you need. In the meantime, I’m going to get to work on a cart that will make your travels easier, when the time comes.”
Mary smells something burning. She hurries into the kitchen. She forgot all about their breakfast while they were talking. “I’m sorry Joseph. I will have to start over with breakfast. This isn’t fit to give to the dogs.”
It has been two days since the conversation at the table. Mary has pondered all the options and came to the same conclusion that Joseph did. For the child’s sake, they need to leave Nazareth and step away from both their families, for a time. Joseph’s ima is the only one who knows the full story, besides Joseph and Mary.
Mary shares her conclusions with Joseph during breakfast. “Joseph, I think your idea of staying in Bethlehem is wise. I don’t want our Lord’s Son being called illegitimate. Later on in life, when the time is right, He can reveal this Himself; if He chooses to do so.”
“I’m pretty certain someone will have to. Otherwise, the prophecy given by Isaiah would never be know as fulfilled; ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel’ (Isaiah 7:14).”
“This is true. I wonder when it will be revealed.”
“Whenever it is, I will stand witness beside you to its truth.”
“The Lord knew what He was doing when He chose you for His Son’s abba, and my husband” Mary says with love shining out her eyes like beacons in the night.
“And He chose equally as well for the ima of His Son” Joseph smiles back.
The decision is made. Now all they have to do is ready themselves for this next step.
“We cannot make it obvious that we are going for a LONG visit. We can pack clothing, a small amount of food, and my tools. I will find work when we get there and secure a home for us. We have a small amount of savings. That should be enough until we get settled.”
“What will we say to our families if they want to accompany us? Certainly they cannot be present when the babe is born.”
“My ima already knows the truth. If necessary, we can call on her for help with the birth, but surely there is a midwife in the city of Bethlehem.”
“Would having a midwife expose our secret?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not willing to take the chance of not having one. I don’t know the first thing about delivering babies! I’m a carpenter, not a shepherd.”
“You are right” Mary says with a smile. “We will see what the Lord does, when the time comes.”
Joseph constructs a donkey cart with a hidden storage space for the trip to Bethlehem. He will hide his carpentry tools in the storage compartment and places as many thick blankets as he can for Mary to rest upon. Mary will layers their clothing in between the blankets and the small stores they are bringing close to the front where the blankets will hide them.
Two weeks before the appointed date, Mary and Joseph set out for Bethlehem. They have already convinced their families that they need to travel at their own speed because of Mary’s condition. They say that they don’t want to rush anyone in their departure, or slow their journey. Fierce hugs and tearful goodbyes are shared as the two travelers set off alone.
“Be on the lookout for bandits. And join with other travelers at night for safety” Joseph’s abba tells him as he presses a serious looking dagger into Joseph’s hand. It took Joseph agreeing to his instructions and accepting the dagger to keep his abba from accompanying them, no matter how inconvenient.
Mary is grateful for the donkey cart but it is not a smooth ride. She opts to walk as much as possible and ride when her strength is waning. At night, she sleeps in the cart and Joseph sleeps beside it, protecting her from any who would fall upon them. They do manage to find other travelers to camp with on most nights. On the nights they are alone, Joseph reminds Mary that the Lord will not let ANYTHING happen to His Son. And to honor the Lord, they rest on the Sabbath.
“Best to teach our Son about honoring the Lord from the very beginning” Joseph says.
The last night before the appointed day, Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem. They are weary beyond belief. Mary has been experiencing labor pains for the last three hours. She has hidden them from Joseph, not wanting to alarm him. They stop at the first inn they come to.
“I would like to rent a room for my wife and myself” Joseph says to the innkeeper.
“I have nothing available. ALL my rooms and any available floor space is already taken. Try the inn down the road” the man tells Joseph while pointing to another bustling inn.
Joseph and Mary go from inn to inn, receiving the same answer. By now, Mary is no longer able to conceal her discomfort.
“Joseph” she pants. “We have to find somewhere soon! I don’t think this baby is going to wait much longer.”
“There is one more inn to check. I will plead with the man and pay him whatever he asks. We WILL have a place to stay when the moment arrives.”
Joseph knocks with determination on the door of the inn. The innkeeper is weary as he opens the door. Before Joseph can even ask, he says; “We have no rooms.” He starts to shut the door, but Joseph puts his arm out and stops it from closing.
“You don’t understand. My wife is about to give birth. We HAVE to have somewhere to stay!”
The innkeeper looks over at Mary who gives him a small smile wrapped in a grimace. He shakes his head. “I still don’t have any rooms. I’m so full that I can barely walk to the door to turn down new customers. She would have no privacy in such a mob.”
“Please, sir” pleads Joseph. “Anywhere would do, if you know of ANY place we can use.”
The innkeeper brightens. “I have a stable. We could tie the animals outside, as the night is warm, and she could have the stall. At least it would be private.”
“We will take it! How much is it?”
“I’ll not take your money for putting you out in the cold. And I will send my wife out to help your wife, unless you already have a midwife lined up. My wife services the women in this area.”
“We would be most grateful on ALL accounts.”
The innkeeper makes his way back through the bodies lying on his floor and retrieves his wife. “There is a young woman in need. I have given them the stable for their needs. Please attend them.”
Husband and wife emerge from the inn. The husband leads Joseph and Mary to the stable. Joseph and the man quickly relocate the animals and the midwife helps Mary into one of the stalls. She calls out to her husband; “Bring some clean straw in here. I don’t want her giving birth in manure.”
Fresh straw is supplied and the birthing stool is placed where Mary can lean back against a wall. Mary is glad for the rest, and the assistance of an experienced midwife.
The midwife shoos the men away and she looks at Mary. “It’s just the two of us here now. We will get through this together.”
Mary nods and the midwife prepares her for the birth. As she examines her, she notices that Mary still has the evidence of being a virgin intact. “How can this be!” she whispers to herself. She cannot judge the progress of labor because of this barrier to the womb. She quickly puts a hand on Mary’s abdomen to be certain that she is carrying a child and not suffering from some form of strange disease. The child moves against her hand.
“You are one for the history books my girl” she says to Mary.
Mary blushes. “It is the hand of the Lord. Please don’t tell anyone right away.”
The midwife tilts her head to the side in an “Whatever you say” kind of way. She locks eyes with Mary. “I have to make a breach in order for the child to emerge. If I don’t, there will be considerable tearing when it pushes through. There will be a stinging sensation when I do it.”
Mary nods and braces herself. The midwife quickly slices through Mary’s virginity; her hymen. As soon as this barrier is removed, it only takes three more contractions before the baby is brought into the world.
Mary drops her head back against the wall and breathes for a moment before the final products of birth are expelled. The midwife ties the cord and hands Mary her Son.
“He is beautiful and certainly a miracle” the midwife says as Mary begins to nurse Him.
“Keep our secret until the day when someone asks you directly about this day. I don’t know when that will be, but I’m certain it will come. Your witness will be important on that day.”
The midwife smiles and nods. She finishes cleaning up Mary and the birthing area before summoning Joseph. “Your wife and Son await your company. And His birth is nothing less than a miracle” she says with a knowing look at Joseph.
Joseph smiles sheepishly. “I had a feeling that someone would notice. Please keep our sec…”
The midwife holds up her hand to stop him. “Your ‘wife’ already asked this of me and I agreed. No more need be said on the matter.”
“Thank you” Joseph says. “What do we owe you for your services?”
“Not a thing. It was a pleasure to be part of such a miracle.”
Joseph goes to be with Mary and the innkeeper and his wife return to their home. Joseph produces from his robe the swaddling cloths Mary had brought with them in the cart.
“I think you will need this.”
Mary smiles, takes the cloths and begins wrapping the baby. “All we need now is a bed for Him. He has already eaten.
Joseph looks around and sees an empty manger. He wipes it out, puts clean straw in it and brings it over to Mary. “This will have to do, until I can build Him a proper bed.”
“It’s perfect” Mary says as she lays her sleeping infant in the humble manger.
While Mary and Joseph are busy putting their child to sleep, Heaven is rejoicing over Jesus’ birth.
On a hill not too far away, a group of night shepherds are watching over their flock. They are sitting by a fire, talking quietly with one another.
“I HATE my life!” one of them says.
“Why? It’s beautiful out here. We have clean air, fresh water, and one another’s company. What more could we ask for?”
“How about a job where people don’t look down on me with contempt. One with a little respect, where I can sleep like normal people, and where I don’t come home smelling like sheep every day.”
“Well, there is that” says another. “But what would you do instead?”
“That’s the problem. I don’t have a clue, or the training.”
“I would say you have a problem, or an opportunity. Either change your job or your attitude.”
At that moment a bright light appears in the heavens. The shepherds all look up in awe. An angel appears out of the brightness. The shepherds all cower against one another. NOTHING in their lives has ever frightened them like this.
The angel smiles. This is ALWAYS the response of men when he shows up. “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12).
These comforting words didn’t bring the shepherds bounding back to their places around the campfire. They stayed huddled together, marveling at what they were seeing. And that ‘seeing’ wasn’t finished. In seconds, the heavens were FILLED with angels. They all joined together and began singing praises to the Lord.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14).
The shepherds stayed where they were until the heavens received the angels back and the light faded from existence. The shepherds all started speaking like a cork had been pulled from a bottle and their voices poured out of it. After a minute of talking over one another, they all fall silent again. The shepherd who had been doing the complaining speaks first.
“Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us” (Luke 2:15).
Everyone quickly agreed.
“We can’t all go. Someone needs to stay here with the sheep.”
“It’s not going to be me!” the complainer said. “This is the first time something special has happened to a shepherd, and I intend to see what it is.”
“I’ll stay” said the eldest shepherd. “But you better tell me EVERY DETAIL of your adventure!”
The shepherds hurried down to the town of Bethlehem. There were only three stables in the city. They quickly eliminated the first two. “There are no lights within them. If someone this important were inside, there would certainly be lights in the stable.”
They came to the stable where Joseph, Mary, and their Son were staying. As they approached, Joseph rises to protect Mary and the babe.
“Who are you and what do you want” he challenges them.
“We are shepherds from a nearby hill. While we were tending our sheep, an angel appeared above us and told us; ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’”
“That’s not all” another from the group added. “After the announcement, the whole heavens were filled with angels singing praises to the Lord.”
“So, we decided to come and find this child. Is He here with you?”
Joseph smiles. “Indeed He is. If you are quiet, you can come and see Him. His ima just got him to sleep.”
The shepherds quietly walk into the stable behind Joseph. Joseph smiles and quietly calls out to Mary; “We have visitors. Apparently, God didn’t want to hold this secret to Himself.”
Mary smiles as the shepherds approach. She heard their tale as they spoke to Joseph. She will cherish these words the rest of her life.
They all gaze down at the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, asleep in the manger.
“A humble beginning for a babe that angels sing about. And it is EXACTLY as the angel said it would be.” They all look on for a few moments, offering nothing else.
Finally, the spell is broken and they look at one another. Excitement bubbles in their eyes. Joseph sees it building and quickly ushers them out. “We have to be quiet” he explains.
The shepherds talk excitedly amongst themselves. “We need to go and tell everyone what we have seen here today, and all that the angels shared with us!”
“We have to go and tell Daniel first. He is still with the sheep.”
As they make their way back towards the hills, they tell everyone they meet about all they have seen and heard. By the time they rejoin their lone companion on the hill, Daniel, they have told the story at least fifty times. They share EVERY detail with Daniel, as promised; right down to the color and length of the baby’s hair.
Daniel nudges the shepherd who was complaining earlier. “Are you glad to be a shepherd now?”
“I AM. For the first time in a LONG time. I’m proud to be a shepherd and to have witnessed all that took place this night.”
(to be continued)
I’m going to stop here for now. I don’t want to run things too long and keep your ‘reading a book’ instead of a blog post.
The last time I went through this story, I was given the ‘why remain in Bethlehem’ idea about giving Jesus’ birth less for tongues to wag about. I hadn’t thought about them preparing for an extended stay though. I like how the Spirit keeps building the story in my heart and bringing out details that escaped my notice the MANY times I have read this story before.
Father God, THANK YOU for sharing Your stories with me. You gave me something special for a later ‘reveal’ that blew me out of the water! Remind me of it again when the time comes. For now, let me just say; Happy Birthday Jesus!
(No. It’s not Christmas, but I can celebrate my Savior’s birth any time I want. This year, it happens to be early October.)
