Section 11
Praise of the angels and witness of the shepherds
Fields near Bethlehem
Luke 2:8-20
8In the same region there were shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all the people. 11For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14“Glory to God in the highest,and peace on earth,good will among men.” 15When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17After seeing him, they made widely known what they had been told about the child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Notes
Jesus’ Birth
Mary and Joseph had returned to Bethlehem to register for the Roman tax because it was the homeland of their families, traced back to David of the tribe of Judah. Although they had settled in Galilee, their tribal roots remained in Bethlehem. Recent research has suggested that a group of Judeans had returned from Babylon about 100 B.C., establishing such towns as Nazareth, following the Maccabean reclamation of that region. With many relatives living in Bethlehem, it would have been unthinkable for Mary and Joseph to seek a public inn, if indeed one existed there. In that small village, family members would not have expected or accepted such a rejection of their hospitality especially in view of the imminent birth of a firstborn child.
When Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem, they found the guest room in a family member’s home already occupied, perhaps by other relatives who had returned to their ancestral town to register for the census. Arrangements were then made for Mary to give birth to Jesus in another part of the house, presumably the “family room.” Luke probably mentioned this detail to account for the availability of the manger when the shepherds arrived, rather than to suggest inadequacy in the conditions of Jesus’ birth.
Some misconceptions concerning the circumstances of His birth result from a mistranslation of kataluma that means “guest room,” not “inn.” They also reflect a Western rather than a Middle Eastern understanding of the cultural factors involved. When he referred to the inn where the Samaritan brought the wounded Jewish traveler, Luke used this term pandocheion (Luke 10:34).