Daily Bread 2011 - Luke 2
Daily Bread 2011 – Monday, March 7th, 2011 Luke 2
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
What Does This Mean?
Again we see Luke’s penchant for historical detail, as he cites the Syrian ruler, Quirinius, and also Caesar Augustus, who was the Roman Emperor at the time. And these facts check out with history. We also again see the fulfillment of the prophecy from Micah 5:2 that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, which means “house of bread”.
We also see that this King of Kings was born in the lineage of King David as prophesied. King David was the ruler of Israel, whose capital was Bethlehem in the heyday of Israel. While so many of the details line up with what we would expect, what is unlikely, or at the very least ironic is that there was no room for this King of Kings to be born. So when the Son of God was born, he was wrapped in cloths because there was no guest room available.
What Does This Mean For Us?
It is hard to imagine the profound nature of this event. Can you imagine that the Son of God, the one who was there when Creation happened, didn’t have a place to be born? Jesus, the King of Kings, was homeless! This was the first taste of the kind of reception he would get from the very world he created and will one day rule over.
While it is easy to judge the people who had so little room for the Son of God, how often do we do the same thing? How often do we fail to make room for Jesus in our lives? Importantly is there a room for him in our hearts. There was a short pamphlet put out about twenty or thirty years ago called, “My Heart, Christ’s Home” by Robert Boyd Munger, a Presbyterian Minister. See the link below.
http://robbiegrier.com/My_Heart__Christ_s_Home.html
It is a classic metaphor written on the subject of Christ being part of our every room in our home. As we allow Jesus into the rooms of our lives, He can truly be the Lord and we will experience the freedom of a life surrendered to Him.
Jesus, we thank you for Your invitation to come into our hearts and make a home there. Help us to make room in our lives for Your Presence, Your Word and Your very Spirit. Amen.
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
What Does This Mean?
Again we see Luke’s penchant for historical detail, as he cites the Syrian ruler, Quirinius, and also Caesar Augustus, who was the Roman Emperor at the time. And these facts check out with history. We also again see the fulfillment of the prophecy from Micah 5:2 that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, which means “house of bread”.
We also see that this King of Kings was born in the lineage of King David as prophesied. King David was the ruler of Israel, whose capital was Bethlehem in the heyday of Israel. While so many of the details line up with what we would expect, what is unlikely, or at the very least ironic is that there was no room for this King of Kings to be born. So when the Son of God was born, he was wrapped in cloths because there was no guest room available.
What Does This Mean For Us?
It is hard to imagine the profound nature of this event. Can you imagine that the Son of God, the one who was there when Creation happened, didn’t have a place to be born? Jesus, the King of Kings, was homeless! This was the first taste of the kind of reception he would get from the very world he created and will one day rule over.
While it is easy to judge the people who had so little room for the Son of God, how often do we do the same thing? How often do we fail to make room for Jesus in our lives? Importantly is there a room for him in our hearts. There was a short pamphlet put out about twenty or thirty years ago called, “My Heart, Christ’s Home” by Robert Boyd Munger, a Presbyterian Minister. See the link below.
http://robbiegrier.com/My_Heart__Christ_s_Home.html
It is a classic metaphor written on the subject of Christ being part of our every room in our home. As we allow Jesus into the rooms of our lives, He can truly be the Lord and we will experience the freedom of a life surrendered to Him.
Jesus, we thank you for Your invitation to come into our hearts and make a home there. Help us to make room in our lives for Your Presence, Your Word and Your very Spirit. Amen.
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