Luke 2:7

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. AND SHE BROUGHT FORTH HER FIRST-BORN SON (SEE THE NOTE AT ), AND WRAPPED HIM IN SWADDLING CLOTHES, AND LAID HIM - that is, the mother herself did so. Had she then none to assist her in such circumstances? All we can say is, it would seem so. IN A MANGER - or crib, in which was placed the horses' food, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ROOM FOR THEM IN THE INN - a square erection, open inside, where travelers put up, and whose back parts were used as stables. The ancient tradition, that our Lord was born in a grotto or cave, is quite consistent with this, the country being rocky. In Mary's condition the Journey would be a slow one, and before they arrived...

7._Because there was no room for them in the inn _We see here not only the great poverty of Joseph, but the cruel tyranny which admitted of no excuse, but compelled Joseph to bring his wife along with him, at an inconvenient season, when she was near the time of her delivery. Indeed, it is probable that those who were the descendants of the royal family were treated more harshly and disdainfully than the rest. Joseph was not so devoid of feeling as to have no concern about his wife’s delivery. He would gladly have avoided this necessity: but, as that is impossible, he is forced to yield, (131) and commends himself to God. We see, at the same time, what sort of beginning the life of the Son of God had, and in what cradle (132) he was placed. Such was his condition at his birth, because he had taken upon him our flesh for this purpose, that he might, “empty himself” ...

1-7 The fulness of time was now come, when God would send forth his Son, made of a woman, and made under the law. The circumstances of his birth were very mean. Christ was born at an inn; he came into the world to sojourn here for awhile, as at an inn, and to teach us to do likewise. We are become by sin like an outcast infant, helpless and forlorn; and such a one was Christ. He well knew how unwilling we are to be meanly lodged, clothed, or fed; how we desire to have our children decorated and indulged; how apt the poor are to envy the rich, and how prone the rich to disdain the poor. But when we by faith view the Son of God being made man and lying in a manger, our vanity, ambition, and envy are checked. We cannot, with this object rightly before us, seek great things for ourselves or our children....

Verse Luke 2:7. _LAID HIM IN A MANGER_] Wetstein has shown, from a multitude of instances, that φατνη means not merely the _manger_, but the whole _stable_, and this I think is its proper meaning in this place. The Latins use _praesepe_, a manger, in the same sense. So Virgil, AEn. vii. p. 275. _Stabant ter centum nitidi in praesepibus altis._ "Three hundred sleek horses stood in lofty stables." Many have thought that this was a full proof of the _meanness_ and _poverty_ of the holy family, that they were _obliged_ to take up their lodging in a _stable_; but such people overlook the _reason_ given by the inspired penman, _because there was no room for them_ _in the inn_. As multitudes were going now to be enrolled, all the lodgings in the inn had been occupied _before_ Joseph and Mary

HER FIRST-BORN SON - Whether Mary had any other children or not has been a matter of controversy. The obvious meaning of the Bible is that she had; and if this be the case, the word “firstborn” is here to be taken in its common signification. SWADDLING CLOTHES - When a child among the Hebrews was born, it was washed in water, rubbed in salt, and then wrapped in swaddling clothes; that is, not garments regularly made, as with us, but bands or blankets that confined the limbs closely, Ezekiel 16:4. There was nothing special in the manner in which the infant Jesus was treated. LAID HIM IN A MANGER - The word rendered “inn” in this verse means simply a place of halting, a lodging-place; in modern terms, a khan or caravanserai (Robinson’s “Biblical Research in Palestine,” iii. 431)

EXPOSITION LUKE 2:1 _The Redeemer's birth_. LUKE 2:1 THERE WENT OUT A DECREE FROM CAESAR AUGUSTUS, THAT ALL THE WORLD SHOULD BE TAXED; more accurately, _that there should be a registration_, etc.; that is, with a view to the assessment of a tax. On the historical note of St. Luke in this passage much discussion has arisen, not, however, of much real practical interest to the ordinary devout reader. We will glance very briefly at the main criticism of this and the following verse. Respecting this general registration it is alleged (1) no historian of the time mentions such a decree of Augustus. (2) Supposing Augustus had issued such an edict, Herod, in his kingdom of Judaea, would

AND SHE BROUGHT FORTH HER FIRSTBORN SON,.... At Bethlehem, as was predicted; and the Jews themselves own, that the Messiah is already born, and born at Bethlehem. They have a tradition, that an Arabian should say to a Jew k "Lo! the king Messiah is born; he said to him, what is his name? Menachem: he asked him, what is his father's name? he replied to him, Hezekiah; he said unto him, from whence is he? he answered, from the palace of the king of Bethlehem.'' Which is elsewhere l reported, with some little variation; the Arabian said to the Jew, "the Redeemer of the Jews is born; he said unto him, what is his name? he replied, Menachem is his name: and what is his father's name? he answered, Hezekiah: he said unto him, and where do they dwell? he replied, in Birath Arba, in Bethlehem.'' And the Jewish chronologer affirms m, that "Jesus the Nazarene, was born at Bethlehem Judah, a "pa...

We WILL now read the story of our Saviour's birth as it is recorded in the Gospel according to Luke. Luke 2:1. _And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the City of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child._ Little did any idea enter into Caesar's head that he was accomplishing the purpose of God by bringing Mary to Bethlehem, at that particular time, so that her child might be born there. But God can accomplish the purpose of his providence, and of his grace, in any way that he plea

CHAPTER 2 _ 1. The Birth of Christ at Bethlehem (Luke 2:1)_ 2. The Glad Tidings Announced to the Shepherds. (Luke 2:8) 3. The Circumcision and Presentation (Luke 2:21) 4. Simeon and His Prophecy (Luke 2:25) 5. Anna the Prophetess (Luke 2:36) 6. In Nazareth (Luke 2:39) 7. In the Temple (Luke 2:41) 8. The Increase ...

THE BIRTH OF JESUS. Lk. only. In obedi ence to a decree of the Emperor Augustus, ordering a general census (the first, during the Syrian governor ship of Quirinius), every man went to his own city. Thus Joseph, being of Davidic lineage, journeys from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and with him Mary his betrothed (according to the Syr. Sin. his wife), though far advanced in pregnancy. At Bethlehem her son is born, in a stable, for Joseph had been unable to find a better abode. (The word for inn may denote either a khan or a lodging-place in Luke 22:11 it is translated guest chamber.) Thus Jesus is connected with the shepherd David. Shepherds in the district are startled by seeing an angel and the Shekinah radiance, but are reassured and told that Messiah has been born in the village, where they will find him in a stable. A choir of angels appears and sings of glory to God and peace among men. The...