Did You Know? . . .
Mary - more than likely - was walking to Bethlehem along with Joseph, not riding a donkey. They were too poor.
The distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem was about 75 miles.
It would have taken them about a week.
The “stable” wasn’t a stable, but rather a cave.
This cave had a “feeding trough” for animals in it. Jesus was laid in this manger.
This symbolically reinforced his description as the Bread of Life.” He is our spiritual food. Bethlehem means, “house of bread .”
Shepherds’ Field is known as the spot where the sacrificial lambs were born and raised. This is in Bethlehem, 6 miles outside Jerusalem, where they were sacrificed.
Why did the angels appear to these specific shepherds?
The shepherds in this area were different because they were Levitical shepherds. Their job was to take care of these Passover lambs. They knew the ritual.
In the caves, after a lamb is born, it’s wrapped in clothes. This is to protect it from getting hurt. These lambs were raised specifically to be sacrificed and had to be free from spots or blemishes. Baby lambs are clumsy, and doing this protects them.
The swaddling clothes that baby Jesus was wrapped in were significant because these were the strips of cloth used to wrap the sacrificial lambs.
A manger is not made of wood. It was a carved-out stone area right in the wall of the cave.
Only the shepherds saw him when he was first born. The wise men came months later, up to two years later. They were traveling from the moment they first saw the new star in the sky.
The wise men from the East weren’t royalty - they were advisors to royalty, much like their contemporary Daniel. The wise men were from Persia, specifically Babylon, where Daniel was from. More than likely, they had read prophecies from Daniel about a new king to be born.
Scholars believe that Daniel may have become the head of the magi.
Even decades after Daniel’s death, they believed the prophecy about a new world leader.
They were wealthy and influential men. They were an elite group of interpreters of dreams and astrologers.
The magi were a combination of scientists, politicians, and religious leaders.
They were traveling with a huge entourage and went about 1000 miles.
This would have taken them two years, making Jesus a toddler.
They would have gotten Herod’s attention.
When entering Jerusalem, they were asking about the new king.
