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Dec. 15, 2020
Birth of Jesus (3D Jesus Part 2)
After a lifetime of Christmas pageants and nativity scenes we have grown numb to the amazing story of the birth of Jesus. Here the setting of that amazing event and understand better what may have really been taking place and why these particular shepherds were given the sign of a babe in a feeding trough wrapped in swaddling cloths to look for.
3D Jesus Series Summary: Join Susan Michael for the 3D Jesus Series and take a journey to the first century world of Jesus where His life and ministry come alive. God was at work for thousands of years setting the stage for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus. Hear the story, visualize the events, and understand the purpose of Jesus’ mission and why He must return.
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Transcript
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Welcome to Out of Zion with Susan Michael, an exploration of the Bible and the land of
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Israel.
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From ancient biblical sites to the story behind the stories, join Susan on a journey through
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the most exciting book on the planet.
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Hit the subscribe button for future episodes, which will deepen your faith and bring the
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Bible to life.
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And now, here's our host, Susan Michael.
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Well, hey there, and welcome back.
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This is the 3D Jesus Part 2.
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Today we're going to talk about His birth.
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Now I know we've all heard the story many, many times over, but I think I'm going to
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share some things today that you may have not thought of before or heard before, so stick
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with me.
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Last week we talked about how God used this 400 year period in between the Old Testament
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and the New to continue setting the stage for the birth of the Messiah.
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This is so important for us to understand, because Jesus was not like a Greek god of
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mythology that all of a sudden just appeared and was fighting some cosmic battle and performed
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miracles and claimed to have been God and claimed to have died on our behalf.
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It almost sounds surreal, but when we began to understand how God had been setting the
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stage for really over 2,000, 3,000 years since the creation of the earth and the fall of
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man, He had been setting the stage for this day that we're going to talk about today.
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So Jesus didn't appear just out of anywhere or out of nowhere.
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He came to a stage that had been fully set and fully prepared for His arrival.
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So let's talk about that arrival today.
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Today we're going to address two questions which you may have thought or you may not
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have thought.
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The first is, why was Jesus born in Bethlehem?
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Most of you are saying, well, because the prophet said he would.
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I understand.
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But why did the prophets say Bethlehem?
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Let's look at that.
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And another very, very interesting point we want to talk about is why did angels appear
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to shepherds?
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Ever thought about that?
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So let's get started.
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First I want to begin here with Luke chapter 2.
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We've heard it so many times, but please set aside the nativity scenes at church with all
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the children and the animals and set all that aside.
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Let's listen to this story with adult ears and listening for the history and the cultural
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context so that we can understand the story behind the story, that we can understand what
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was really taking place here.
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So in Luke chapter 2 it begins with this famous verse, and it came to pass in those days that
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a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
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This census first took place while Corineus was governing Syria.
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So all went to be registered in his town.
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So let's talk first of all, when did this take place?
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What year was Jesus born?
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Do we know?
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Well, historians have a little bit of a problem with this verse.
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They don't know that Caesar Augustus called for the world to be registered.
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And they do know that there was a census under Corineus when he was governor of Syria, but
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it was 10 years after Jesus.
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So we have a situation here where either we just haven't uncovered the documentation
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that proves that this took place when it did, or secondly, we may have a translation issue.
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And some translators have recognized that this sentence could be translated, that this
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was the first census before that one when Corineus was governor 10 years later.
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So we don't know, but most historians agree that Jesus was born around 5 or 6 BC.
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And the main reason we know that isn't because of when the census was, but because we know
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he was born while Herod the Great was still alive, and Herod the Great died somewhere
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between 4 and 1 BC.
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That's before Christ.
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So that means Jesus was born before Herod died.
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Now another question here is not just about the date, which year was Jesus born, but what
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time of year do we know is he really born on December the 25th?
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Of course, we celebrate Christmas on December 25th, not because that was really the date,
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but because the Roman emperor Constantine, when he was attempting to convert the pagan
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Roman empire into a Christian one, he took the winter solstice holiday, which was a pagan
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holiday with much debauchery and much drinking, and he turned it into the birthday of Jesus.
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Now maybe the church wanted him to do that so that the Christians would have something
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to do while the pagans were all out celebrating, or maybe he did it just to Christianize that
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pagan holiday.
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We don't know if the church was already celebrating the birth of Jesus around that time, but that's
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why we celebrate on December 25th.
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Now I have read very convincing arguments for why Jesus could have very well been born
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around December 25th.
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I've read other arguments that say absolutely not he could not have been born in that time.
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He was probably born a few months earlier in the fall during or around the Feast of
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Tabernacles.
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And then I've heard very convincing arguments that he actually may have been born around
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Passover.
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And the way people arrive at these dates is because the story alludes to certain things
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taking place that would affect what time of year it was in terms of where were the sheep,
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were the fields in wheat at the time, or were the fields being used for the lambs and the
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sheep.
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That determines what time of year.
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So the whole idea of the star that the wise men followed, when did that take place?
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And backdating that.
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And so there's different theories.
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The bottom line is we really don't know for sure.
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It seems that at that time people didn't make a big deal about birth dates.
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And so we do not know the date that Jesus was born.
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Let's go on with our story now.
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The verse goes on to say that Joseph also went up from Galilee.
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So we were talking about the registration and people returning to their own city.
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So it says Joseph also went up from the Galilee.
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Remember he and Mary were in Nazareth in the Galilee of the Gentiles up north.
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So they came out of the city of Nazareth into Judea to the city of David, which is called
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Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.
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To be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
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So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
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And she brought forth her firstborn son, wrapping him in swaddling clothes and laid
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him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.
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Now let's go back and look at some of these elements here.
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The Roman senses.
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There's really no proof that a Roman senses required people to return to their city of
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origin.
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So what was going on here?
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Well, it could be that Herod the Great, because he was Jewish, carried out the Roman senses
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in kind of a Jewish way and you go back to your ancestral homeland for your lineage.
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Or it could be, and maybe a little bit more likely, this is proven that under Roman senses,
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if you had, if you owned property in a place, you had to return to the property that you
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owned to be registered.
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So it seems that perhaps Joseph had maybe inherited some land in Bethlehem that he was
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the legal owner of and he needed to return there.
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But the verse says that it was because he was of the lineage of David, not because he
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owned property.
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And if that's the case, Mary was also of the lineage of David.
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So maybe both of them really did have to return to Bethlehem and be registered.
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We don't know.
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One interesting point is that in our 21st century individualistic minds, and of course,
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because of so many Christmas cards and nativity scenes, we kind of picture Mary and Joseph
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all by themselves.
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She's pregnant on the donkey and Joseph is walking alone beside her and they make this
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long trip from the Galilee to Bethlehem.
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And she's great with child.
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Now more than likely they weren't alone because it could be that many from the village who
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were of the lineage of David had to also return to Bethlehem.
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And it's also just very probable that because the society was a very family-oriented society,
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it was a group society, they would have never gone alone.
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There would have been a caravan of others with them.
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And that would explain why when they got to Bethlehem that the guest chamber was full.
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But we'll get to that in a minute.
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So now why to the city of David to Bethlehem?
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Well that is where King David was born.
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So it is known as the city of David.
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And this is why the prophet Micah had predicted or prophesied that the Messiah would be of
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the lineage of David and would be born in Bethlehem in David's city.
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So for this reason, first century Jews fully expected the Messiah to be born in Bethlehem.
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So let's continue on with our verses here.
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Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over
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their flock by night.
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And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around
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them when they were greatly afraid.
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Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great
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joy which will be to all people, for there is born to you this day in the city of David
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a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
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And this will be assigned to you, you speaking to the shepherds, you will find a babe wrapped
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in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.
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And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying,
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Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace goodwill towards men.
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And it was when the angels had gone away from them into heaven that the shepherds said to
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one another, Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass which
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the Lord has made known to us.
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And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.
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And when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning
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this child and all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the
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shepherds.
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But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
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Then the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they
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had heard and seen as it was told to them.
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Now let's back up a few very, very interesting details.
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It says here that there was no room in the inn.
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Now that kind of sounds like a motel, that there was no more rooms in the motel, but
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that's not what the word here means.
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The word that has been translated in is actually in Greek, it's kataluma, and it means a guest
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room.
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So homes in that time, it was very common to have a guest room.
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Why?
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Well, this was a Middle Eastern society.
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It's all about hospitality.
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It's about bringing in others and providing hospitality for them because it was not a
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commercialized society like we have today full of hotels and motels.
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And so homes had a guest chamber and that's what was called a kataluma.
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Now as I said, if many were coming home to Bethlehem to be registered, then the guest
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room in this family home was already full.
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The next thing we want to talk about is the shepherds.
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Now why do you think that the angels sang to the shepherds or appeared to the shepherds?
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Now there's been many a sermon about this and have talked about how the shepherds were
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the lowly and uneducated of society and looked down upon.
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And isn't this wonderful that the Savior who has come for all men, that the angels proclaimed
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it to the lowly shepherds?
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And while that is true, I think that there's more to the story.
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But to understand it, let's back up.
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So the famous prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem is found in Micah, Micah
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5, 2.
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And in Micah 5, 2 it says, O ye of Ephrata, Bethlehem.
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Because what would be born of you is the Messiah.
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And I'm not finding the exact scripture at the moment.
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We'll put it up on the screen.
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And this is the famous prophecy about Bethlehem.
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I want to back up.
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And a few verses earlier in chapter 4, verse 8, it says this.
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And you, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come,
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even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
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Now you're saying, what does this mean?
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This is saying that to you, the watchtower over the flock.
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In Hebrew, this is migdal edair, the watchtower over the flock.
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And the shepherds would build a stone watchtower so that they could climb up in this tower
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and they could see over their flocks and they could watch over them.
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So the tower of the flock, the migdal edair, the stronghold, that's another word, a tower.
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Anytime you can go up high and see the enemy, which in this case is the wild animals, it
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was called a strong tower.
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So it's saying the strong tower, to you will come the former dominion.
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What's a dominion?
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But it's the reign of a king.
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It's a king will come to you.
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The former king shall come the kingdom of Jerusalem, the daughter of Jerusalem.
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So many interpret this as another part of the prophecy that to this area outside of Bethlehem,
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where the shepherds watched over their sheep, that the king would come.
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Now we know from Jewish writings of the time, what I would call Jewish tradition, which
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was an oral tradition and eventually put down in writing, that migdal edair was found between
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Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
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Now Bethlehem and Jerusalem are only about five miles apart.
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And I remember when I was a student there in Jerusalem, our school was on the, it wasn't
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on the southern edge, but it was in the southern part of Jerusalem.
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And so that means we were only about five miles away from Bethlehem.
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And you know how kids are, students are, they're full of energy and they come up with these
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fun ideas of ways to go out and spend their energy.
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And so we decided on Christmas Eve to walk to Bethlehem.
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Now when you're in Israel, Christmas Eve, Christmas day is just like any other day of
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the year.
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It's a full working day because it's, it's not a national holiday for the Jewish people.
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And so we decided, let's walk to Bethlehem and we'll see the celebrations in Bethlehem,
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at Bethlehem, at the manger square on Christmas Eve.
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And so we walked the five miles.
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It wasn't the most exciting Christmas of my life, but it's one of those things I can
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always say that I walked to Bethlehem for Christmas and I did.
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So we would have walked right by many fields.
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And it's in that area that this famous watchtower, M'gdal Adair, was located.
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And the Jewish writings and tradition tells us that it was in this area where the lambs
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were raised to be sacrificed in the temple.
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Now the historian Josephus tells us that just on the day of Passover alone at the time of
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Jesus there would have been 256,000 lambs sacrificed in one day.
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And so this was a huge industry raising the lambs to be sacrificed at the temple.
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And it took place in this area, M'gdal Adair, between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
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So here is a prophecy that this area, which would, I think, include the industry of the
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lambs and the shepherds, that the king was going to come to them.
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Now these shepherds, because they were raising the lambs for the temple sacrifice, these
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were not everyday shepherds.
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These were not your lowly, uneducated shepherds.
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They probably had the status of a priest because they were responsible for the lambs to be
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birthed just right and raised just right that they would qualify for the temple.
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So they were a part of the temple process or routine or practices.
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And that wouldn't be entrusted to just anyone.
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So these were very special shepherds of a high level and highly respected.
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And so they were known throughout the temple.
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They were in and out of there all the time bringing the lambs that they had raised and
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probably attesting that they were raised correctly.
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And then every lamb is examined before it is sacrificed and it cannot have a blemish.
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And this is why when these priestly shepherds birthed the lambs, they were very, very careful.
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And so there were, as you can imagine, something like the birth of a lamb.
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It doesn't just happen anywhere.
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So they had caves that they would take the lambs in and the birthing would take place
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in these caves.
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And they would take the baby lamb and they would wrap him in swaddling cloth so that the
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baby lamb wouldn't fling around and flop or fall and hurt itself.
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Because if that lamb is blemished or injured, it doesn't qualify for the sacrifice.
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So this was very important that the birthing area was sterile and that everything had to
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be done just right so that that lamb qualified to be birthed.
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Now these shepherds knew exactly what the angels were talking about when the angels
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said you're going to find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a feeding trough.
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Yes, the word for manger actually means the trough.
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It's the feeding trough for the animals.
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That's how we really know that Joseph and Mary were in an area where there were animals.
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And so the baby is laying in the feeding trough.
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Now let's back up and think about this for a minute.
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So Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem.
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There's a lot of people arriving for the registration and to the family home that they go to.
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The guest chamber is already full.
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Here's Mary pregnant, ready to give birth.
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And so she's not going to be in the one room where the family lived.
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Most homes had three rooms.
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They had the one main room where the family lived and they ate and they slept.
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And that's where they lived.
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That was their living quarters.
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And then they would have a second room off to the side that was a guest chamber.
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It was full.
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So then at the entrance of the home, maybe at a lower level, there was an area where
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they brought the animals in at night or could bring the animals in at night.
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Or if they were a part of this industry, they may have brought the lambs in there for birthing.
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So it was an area where there were animals attached to the home, a part of it, but also
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separate from the actual living quarters.
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And so these shepherds somehow knew where to go to find this babe lying in the feeding
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trough.
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Very interesting.
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I want to just say here that there were two kinds of homes.
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There was a freestanding home of stone that would have been part of a city.
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But there were other homes that were built in caves.
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And Israel, in this area of Israel, it's the hill country.
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It's limestone hills.
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There's a lot of caves.
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And so a lot of caves were made into homes.
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And they had the living quarter and they had a guest room in the back.
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And in the front, they had the area that they brought the animals in.
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We don't know from the scripture if this home was a cave home or not, but it seems that
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it was.
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Why?
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Because it may have been a little bit outside of the city where the lambs were.
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And that's how the shepherds knew where to find the baby.
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Secondly, it is a tradition.
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Our church fathers for several hundred years said that Jesus was born in a cave.
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And it just so happens when you go to Bethlehem that the church of the nativity, which is
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built over where they believe Jesus was born, it's built over a cave.
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So it's very, very highly likely that Jesus was born in a home that was in a cave and
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that the animal part of that cave was often used for birthing the lambs that were sacrificed
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in the temple.
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So Jesus, the lamb of God slain before the foundations of the world, was born in a cave
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where lambs were born to be sacrificed in the temple.
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Wow.
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Now another little inkling we have here is that the relatives of Joseph, of the lineage
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of David, may very well have been involved in shepherding.
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We don't know, but King David himself was originally a shepherd.
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So I would say that his descendants had a very high regard for shepherding.
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And so they may very well have been a part of this industry.
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It's all highly probable, but of course the Bible doesn't tell us this.
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These are very interesting facts we can get from knowing the culture and the setting and
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what was going on around the story that we read every December in our churches.
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One last note is about the swaddling claws.
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As I said, they did wrap the baby lamb in swaddling claws so that they wouldn't damage
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themselves or cause a blemish.
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There was another more common use of swaddling claws that we need to mention.
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And that is that a swaddling cloth was actually a burial cloth.
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It was the long cloth that was wrapped around the body before it was buried.
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And it was common that religious Jews, if they were traveling far away from home, would
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actually take their burial cloth with them.
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They'd wrap it around their waist and use it as like a belt or a sash.
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But that was because if anything terrible happened and they were to die on the road
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or away from home, that they could be buried right away because burial takes place without
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embalming.
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Burial took place by sundown on the same day.
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And so they traveled with a swaddling cloth, their burial cloth.
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So it is very likely that Joseph or Mary may have wrapped Jesus in their own burial
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cloth.
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And that has its own profound significance that this was a baby that was born to die
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and as a baby was wrapped in a burial cloth.
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Now, we don't know these things, but very highly likely and brings just loads and loads
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of meaning to the story.
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I want to say that as we go through this series together, the 3D Jesus, my goal is to make
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Jesus come alive to you.
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That he's not mythology.
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These are not made up stories about surreal things and miracles and like, ah, you know,
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do you really believe that?
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Once you begin to learn the story behind the story, you understand what Jesus was doing,
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who he was, what he signified, and what it's really all about.
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And I want Jesus to come alive to you like he never has before.
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And learning these stories, the cultural setting of how the others around him were seeing these
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things is going to make a big difference for you.
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So now before we end today, let me just do a real quick review.
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Jesus was not born to just any family in the lineage of David, but to a family that was
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living up in the Galilee, resettling the Galilee, and had named their town, perhaps even their
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family clan name.
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After the famous prophecy of Isaiah that a branch was going to shoot out of the root
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of Jesse, that the kingdom of David, that the descendancy of David was going to continue.
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And because of a Roman census, this young woman and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem to
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be registered there.
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And as a result, they were there in the city of David, where the prophet Micah had prophesied
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that the Messiah would be born.
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And because of the unusual circumstances of being born in an area for the animals, feeding
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troughs and swaddling claws, it seems highly likely that the rest of Micah's prophecy
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also came true, that it was to the Migdal Edair, to the watchtire over the flock, that
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the Lamb of God was born, destined to die on our behalf in the temple as a sacrifice.
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Now my friends, you cannot make this story up.
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And what a magnificent God we have, that He has weaved together an amazing tale like
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this, from Babylon to Galilee to Bethlehem to the shepherds to the priests in the temple,
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and it goes on and on and on.
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If He can weave a tapestry such as that, He can certainly see after the death of the
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shepherds and after the details in your life and in mine.
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This is the God we serve, and this is the Jesus that came to earth to bring it all home
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to us.
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So come back next time.
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We're going to talk about the childhood of Jesus and some things that once again we don't
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read in our Bible, but would have been a part of His life as a Jewish child.
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So we'll see you back.
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And until then, God bless.
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Welcome to Out of Zion with Susan Michael, an exploration of the Bible and the land of
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Israel.
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From ancient biblical sites to the story behind the stories, join Susan on a journey through
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00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:15,640
the most exciting book on the planet.
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Hit the subscribe button for future episodes, which will deepen your faith and bring the
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Bible to life.
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And now, here's our host, Susan Michael.
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Well, hey there, and welcome back.
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This is the 3D Jesus Part 2.
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Today we're going to talk about His birth.
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Now I know we've all heard the story many, many times over, but I think I'm going to
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share some things today that you may have not thought of before or heard before, so stick
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with me.
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Last week we talked about how God used this 400 year period in between the Old Testament
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and the New to continue setting the stage for the birth of the Messiah.
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This is so important for us to understand, because Jesus was not like a Greek god of
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mythology that all of a sudden just appeared and was fighting some cosmic battle and performed
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miracles and claimed to have been God and claimed to have died on our behalf.
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It almost sounds surreal, but when we began to understand how God had been setting the
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stage for really over 2,000, 3,000 years since the creation of the earth and the fall of
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man, He had been setting the stage for this day that we're going to talk about today.
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So Jesus didn't appear just out of anywhere or out of nowhere.
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He came to a stage that had been fully set and fully prepared for His arrival.
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So let's talk about that arrival today.
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Today we're going to address two questions which you may have thought or you may not
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have thought.
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The first is, why was Jesus born in Bethlehem?
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Most of you are saying, well, because the prophet said he would.
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I understand.
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But why did the prophets say Bethlehem?
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Let's look at that.
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And another very, very interesting point we want to talk about is why did angels appear
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to shepherds?
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Ever thought about that?
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So let's get started.
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First I want to begin here with Luke chapter 2.
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We've heard it so many times, but please set aside the nativity scenes at church with all
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the children and the animals and set all that aside.
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Let's listen to this story with adult ears and listening for the history and the cultural
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context so that we can understand the story behind the story, that we can understand what
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was really taking place here.
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So in Luke chapter 2 it begins with this famous verse, and it came to pass in those days that
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a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
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This census first took place while Corineus was governing Syria.
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So all went to be registered in his town.
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So let's talk first of all, when did this take place?
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What year was Jesus born?
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Do we know?
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Well, historians have a little bit of a problem with this verse.
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They don't know that Caesar Augustus called for the world to be registered.
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And they do know that there was a census under Corineus when he was governor of Syria, but
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it was 10 years after Jesus.
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So we have a situation here where either we just haven't uncovered the documentation
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that proves that this took place when it did, or secondly, we may have a translation issue.
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And some translators have recognized that this sentence could be translated, that this
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was the first census before that one when Corineus was governor 10 years later.
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So we don't know, but most historians agree that Jesus was born around 5 or 6 BC.
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And the main reason we know that isn't because of when the census was, but because we know
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he was born while Herod the Great was still alive, and Herod the Great died somewhere
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between 4 and 1 BC.
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That's before Christ.
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So that means Jesus was born before Herod died.
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Now another question here is not just about the date, which year was Jesus born, but what
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time of year do we know is he really born on December the 25th?
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Of course, we celebrate Christmas on December 25th, not because that was really the date,
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but because the Roman emperor Constantine, when he was attempting to convert the pagan
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Roman empire into a Christian one, he took the winter solstice holiday, which was a pagan
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holiday with much debauchery and much drinking, and he turned it into the birthday of Jesus.
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Now maybe the church wanted him to do that so that the Christians would have something
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to do while the pagans were all out celebrating, or maybe he did it just to Christianize that
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pagan holiday.
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We don't know if the church was already celebrating the birth of Jesus around that time, but that's
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why we celebrate on December 25th.
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Now I have read very convincing arguments for why Jesus could have very well been born
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around December 25th.
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I've read other arguments that say absolutely not he could not have been born in that time.
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He was probably born a few months earlier in the fall during or around the Feast of
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Tabernacles.
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And then I've heard very convincing arguments that he actually may have been born around
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Passover.
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And the way people arrive at these dates is because the story alludes to certain things
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taking place that would affect what time of year it was in terms of where were the sheep,
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were the fields in wheat at the time, or were the fields being used for the lambs and the
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sheep.
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That determines what time of year.
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So the whole idea of the star that the wise men followed, when did that take place?
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And backdating that.
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And so there's different theories.
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The bottom line is we really don't know for sure.
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It seems that at that time people didn't make a big deal about birth dates.
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And so we do not know the date that Jesus was born.
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Let's go on with our story now.
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The verse goes on to say that Joseph also went up from Galilee.
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So we were talking about the registration and people returning to their own city.
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So it says Joseph also went up from the Galilee.
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Remember he and Mary were in Nazareth in the Galilee of the Gentiles up north.
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So they came out of the city of Nazareth into Judea to the city of David, which is called
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Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.
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To be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
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So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
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And she brought forth her firstborn son, wrapping him in swaddling clothes and laid
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him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.
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Now let's go back and look at some of these elements here.
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The Roman senses.
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There's really no proof that a Roman senses required people to return to their city of
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origin.
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So what was going on here?
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Well, it could be that Herod the Great, because he was Jewish, carried out the Roman senses
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in kind of a Jewish way and you go back to your ancestral homeland for your lineage.
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Or it could be, and maybe a little bit more likely, this is proven that under Roman senses,
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if you had, if you owned property in a place, you had to return to the property that you
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owned to be registered.
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So it seems that perhaps Joseph had maybe inherited some land in Bethlehem that he was
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the legal owner of and he needed to return there.
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But the verse says that it was because he was of the lineage of David, not because he
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owned property.
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And if that's the case, Mary was also of the lineage of David.
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So maybe both of them really did have to return to Bethlehem and be registered.
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We don't know.
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One interesting point is that in our 21st century individualistic minds, and of course,
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because of so many Christmas cards and nativity scenes, we kind of picture Mary and Joseph
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all by themselves.
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She's pregnant on the donkey and Joseph is walking alone beside her and they make this
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long trip from the Galilee to Bethlehem.
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And she's great with child.
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Now more than likely they weren't alone because it could be that many from the village who
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were of the lineage of David had to also return to Bethlehem.
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And it's also just very probable that because the society was a very family-oriented society,
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it was a group society, they would have never gone alone.
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There would have been a caravan of others with them.
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And that would explain why when they got to Bethlehem that the guest chamber was full.
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But we'll get to that in a minute.
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So now why to the city of David to Bethlehem?
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Well that is where King David was born.
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So it is known as the city of David.
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And this is why the prophet Micah had predicted or prophesied that the Messiah would be of
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the lineage of David and would be born in Bethlehem in David's city.
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So for this reason, first century Jews fully expected the Messiah to be born in Bethlehem.
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So let's continue on with our verses here.
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Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over
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their flock by night.
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And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around
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them when they were greatly afraid.
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Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great
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joy which will be to all people, for there is born to you this day in the city of David
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a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
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And this will be assigned to you, you speaking to the shepherds, you will find a babe wrapped
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in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.
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And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying,
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Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace goodwill towards men.
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And it was when the angels had gone away from them into heaven that the shepherds said to
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one another, Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass which
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the Lord has made known to us.
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And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.
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And when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning
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this child and all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the
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shepherds.
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But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
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Then the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they
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had heard and seen as it was told to them.
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Now let's back up a few very, very interesting details.
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It says here that there was no room in the inn.
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Now that kind of sounds like a motel, that there was no more rooms in the motel, but
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that's not what the word here means.
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The word that has been translated in is actually in Greek, it's kataluma, and it means a guest
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room.
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So homes in that time, it was very common to have a guest room.
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Why?
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Well, this was a Middle Eastern society.
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It's all about hospitality.
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It's about bringing in others and providing hospitality for them because it was not a
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commercialized society like we have today full of hotels and motels.
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And so homes had a guest chamber and that's what was called a kataluma.
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Now as I said, if many were coming home to Bethlehem to be registered, then the guest
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room in this family home was already full.
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The next thing we want to talk about is the shepherds.
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Now why do you think that the angels sang to the shepherds or appeared to the shepherds?
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Now there's been many a sermon about this and have talked about how the shepherds were
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the lowly and uneducated of society and looked down upon.
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And isn't this wonderful that the Savior who has come for all men, that the angels proclaimed
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it to the lowly shepherds?
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And while that is true, I think that there's more to the story.
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But to understand it, let's back up.
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So the famous prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem is found in Micah, Micah
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5, 2.
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And in Micah 5, 2 it says, O ye of Ephrata, Bethlehem.
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Because what would be born of you is the Messiah.
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And I'm not finding the exact scripture at the moment.
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We'll put it up on the screen.
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And this is the famous prophecy about Bethlehem.
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I want to back up.
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And a few verses earlier in chapter 4, verse 8, it says this.
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And you, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come,
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even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
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Now you're saying, what does this mean?
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This is saying that to you, the watchtower over the flock.
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In Hebrew, this is migdal edair, the watchtower over the flock.
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And the shepherds would build a stone watchtower so that they could climb up in this tower
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and they could see over their flocks and they could watch over them.
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So the tower of the flock, the migdal edair, the stronghold, that's another word, a tower.
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Anytime you can go up high and see the enemy, which in this case is the wild animals, it
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was called a strong tower.
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So it's saying the strong tower, to you will come the former dominion.
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What's a dominion?
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But it's the reign of a king.
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It's a king will come to you.
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The former king shall come the kingdom of Jerusalem, the daughter of Jerusalem.
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So many interpret this as another part of the prophecy that to this area outside of Bethlehem,
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where the shepherds watched over their sheep, that the king would come.
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Now we know from Jewish writings of the time, what I would call Jewish tradition, which
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was an oral tradition and eventually put down in writing, that migdal edair was found between
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Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
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Now Bethlehem and Jerusalem are only about five miles apart.
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And I remember when I was a student there in Jerusalem, our school was on the, it wasn't
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on the southern edge, but it was in the southern part of Jerusalem.
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And so that means we were only about five miles away from Bethlehem.
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And you know how kids are, students are, they're full of energy and they come up with these
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fun ideas of ways to go out and spend their energy.
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And so we decided on Christmas Eve to walk to Bethlehem.
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Now when you're in Israel, Christmas Eve, Christmas day is just like any other day of
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the year.
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It's a full working day because it's, it's not a national holiday for the Jewish people.
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And so we decided, let's walk to Bethlehem and we'll see the celebrations in Bethlehem,
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at Bethlehem, at the manger square on Christmas Eve.
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And so we walked the five miles.
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It wasn't the most exciting Christmas of my life, but it's one of those things I can
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always say that I walked to Bethlehem for Christmas and I did.
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So we would have walked right by many fields.
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And it's in that area that this famous watchtower, M'gdal Adair, was located.
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And the Jewish writings and tradition tells us that it was in this area where the lambs
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were raised to be sacrificed in the temple.
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Now the historian Josephus tells us that just on the day of Passover alone at the time of
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Jesus there would have been 256,000 lambs sacrificed in one day.
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And so this was a huge industry raising the lambs to be sacrificed at the temple.
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And it took place in this area, M'gdal Adair, between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
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So here is a prophecy that this area, which would, I think, include the industry of the
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lambs and the shepherds, that the king was going to come to them.
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Now these shepherds, because they were raising the lambs for the temple sacrifice, these
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were not everyday shepherds.
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These were not your lowly, uneducated shepherds.
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They probably had the status of a priest because they were responsible for the lambs to be
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birthed just right and raised just right that they would qualify for the temple.
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So they were a part of the temple process or routine or practices.
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And that wouldn't be entrusted to just anyone.
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So these were very special shepherds of a high level and highly respected.
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And so they were known throughout the temple.
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They were in and out of there all the time bringing the lambs that they had raised and
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probably attesting that they were raised correctly.
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And then every lamb is examined before it is sacrificed and it cannot have a blemish.
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And this is why when these priestly shepherds birthed the lambs, they were very, very careful.
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And so there were, as you can imagine, something like the birth of a lamb.
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It doesn't just happen anywhere.
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So they had caves that they would take the lambs in and the birthing would take place
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in these caves.
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And they would take the baby lamb and they would wrap him in swaddling cloth so that the
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baby lamb wouldn't fling around and flop or fall and hurt itself.
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Because if that lamb is blemished or injured, it doesn't qualify for the sacrifice.
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So this was very important that the birthing area was sterile and that everything had to
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be done just right so that that lamb qualified to be birthed.
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Now these shepherds knew exactly what the angels were talking about when the angels
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said you're going to find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a feeding trough.
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Yes, the word for manger actually means the trough.
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It's the feeding trough for the animals.
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That's how we really know that Joseph and Mary were in an area where there were animals.
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And so the baby is laying in the feeding trough.
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Now let's back up and think about this for a minute.
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So Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem.
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There's a lot of people arriving for the registration and to the family home that they go to.
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The guest chamber is already full.
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Here's Mary pregnant, ready to give birth.
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And so she's not going to be in the one room where the family lived.
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Most homes had three rooms.
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They had the one main room where the family lived and they ate and they slept.
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And that's where they lived.
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That was their living quarters.
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And then they would have a second room off to the side that was a guest chamber.
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It was full.
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So then at the entrance of the home, maybe at a lower level, there was an area where
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they brought the animals in at night or could bring the animals in at night.
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Or if they were a part of this industry, they may have brought the lambs in there for birthing.
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So it was an area where there were animals attached to the home, a part of it, but also
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separate from the actual living quarters.
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And so these shepherds somehow knew where to go to find this babe lying in the feeding
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trough.
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Very interesting.
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I want to just say here that there were two kinds of homes.
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There was a freestanding home of stone that would have been part of a city.
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But there were other homes that were built in caves.
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And Israel, in this area of Israel, it's the hill country.
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It's limestone hills.
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There's a lot of caves.
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And so a lot of caves were made into homes.
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And they had the living quarter and they had a guest room in the back.
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And in the front, they had the area that they brought the animals in.
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We don't know from the scripture if this home was a cave home or not, but it seems that
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it was.
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Why?
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Because it may have been a little bit outside of the city where the lambs were.
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And that's how the shepherds knew where to find the baby.
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Secondly, it is a tradition.
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Our church fathers for several hundred years said that Jesus was born in a cave.
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And it just so happens when you go to Bethlehem that the church of the nativity, which is
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built over where they believe Jesus was born, it's built over a cave.
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So it's very, very highly likely that Jesus was born in a home that was in a cave and
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that the animal part of that cave was often used for birthing the lambs that were sacrificed
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in the temple.
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So Jesus, the lamb of God slain before the foundations of the world, was born in a cave
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where lambs were born to be sacrificed in the temple.
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Wow.
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Now another little inkling we have here is that the relatives of Joseph, of the lineage
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of David, may very well have been involved in shepherding.
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We don't know, but King David himself was originally a shepherd.
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So I would say that his descendants had a very high regard for shepherding.
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And so they may very well have been a part of this industry.
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It's all highly probable, but of course the Bible doesn't tell us this.
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These are very interesting facts we can get from knowing the culture and the setting and
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what was going on around the story that we read every December in our churches.
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One last note is about the swaddling claws.
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As I said, they did wrap the baby lamb in swaddling claws so that they wouldn't damage
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themselves or cause a blemish.
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There was another more common use of swaddling claws that we need to mention.
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And that is that a swaddling cloth was actually a burial cloth.
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It was the long cloth that was wrapped around the body before it was buried.
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And it was common that religious Jews, if they were traveling far away from home, would
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actually take their burial cloth with them.
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They'd wrap it around their waist and use it as like a belt or a sash.
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But that was because if anything terrible happened and they were to die on the road
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or away from home, that they could be buried right away because burial takes place without
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embalming.
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Burial took place by sundown on the same day.
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And so they traveled with a swaddling cloth, their burial cloth.
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So it is very likely that Joseph or Mary may have wrapped Jesus in their own burial
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cloth.
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And that has its own profound significance that this was a baby that was born to die
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and as a baby was wrapped in a burial cloth.
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Now, we don't know these things, but very highly likely and brings just loads and loads
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of meaning to the story.
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I want to say that as we go through this series together, the 3D Jesus, my goal is to make
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Jesus come alive to you.
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That he's not mythology.
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These are not made up stories about surreal things and miracles and like, ah, you know,
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do you really believe that?
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Once you begin to learn the story behind the story, you understand what Jesus was doing,
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who he was, what he signified, and what it's really all about.
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And I want Jesus to come alive to you like he never has before.
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And learning these stories, the cultural setting of how the others around him were seeing these
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things is going to make a big difference for you.
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So now before we end today, let me just do a real quick review.
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Jesus was not born to just any family in the lineage of David, but to a family that was
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living up in the Galilee, resettling the Galilee, and had named their town, perhaps even their
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family clan name.
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After the famous prophecy of Isaiah that a branch was going to shoot out of the root
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of Jesse, that the kingdom of David, that the descendancy of David was going to continue.
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And because of a Roman census, this young woman and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem to
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be registered there.
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And as a result, they were there in the city of David, where the prophet Micah had prophesied
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that the Messiah would be born.
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And because of the unusual circumstances of being born in an area for the animals, feeding
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troughs and swaddling claws, it seems highly likely that the rest of Micah's prophecy
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also came true, that it was to the Migdal Edair, to the watchtire over the flock, that
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the Lamb of God was born, destined to die on our behalf in the temple as a sacrifice.
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Now my friends, you cannot make this story up.
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And what a magnificent God we have, that He has weaved together an amazing tale like
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this, from Babylon to Galilee to Bethlehem to the shepherds to the priests in the temple,
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and it goes on and on and on.
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If He can weave a tapestry such as that, He can certainly see after the death of the
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shepherds and after the details in your life and in mine.
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This is the God we serve, and this is the Jesus that came to earth to bring it all home
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to us.
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So come back next time.
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We're going to talk about the childhood of Jesus and some things that once again we don't
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read in our Bible, but would have been a part of His life as a Jewish child.
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So we'll see you back.
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And until then, God bless.
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