At this time of year we start to see nativity sets appearing all over the place which feature particular characters – but were they really there? This week the BBC have been featuring  changes in school nativity plays, and we have found that the story has been changed, so that rather than simply casting Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wise men and a donkey, there are parts for aliens, punk fairies, Elvis Presley, footballers, a lobster and a drunken spaceman.

Was Elvis there? No, he was ‘Crying in the Chapel’ or at least checked into ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ (which incidentally is down at the bottom of Lonely Street).

Are we letting the nativity become a myth, a fairy story? So who was at the stable?

The Facts

Luke 2:1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. 2 This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town.

4 And Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, 5 to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 Then she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him snugly in cloth and laid Him in a feeding trough—because there was no room for them at the inn.

8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Don't be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: 11 today a Saviour, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. 12 This will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a feeding trough."

13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favours! 

15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."

16 They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the feeding trough. 17 After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard, just as they had been told.

Joseph and Mary travelled to Bethlehem because they were descended from David and had to register there. The distance was probably no more than 20 miles, but there were no modern roads and hills may have had to be skirted to get there. So in the rough countryside it was a long 20 miles and with a heavily pregnant woman, there would have been many breaks and the journey tough.

The Jews were known for their hospitality and for there to have been no room for them anywhere must have meant that the town was overflowing with people.

It was a stable wasn’t it?

If their families came from the area, surely family would have put them up? For some reason, presumably the census, all rooms were full. The word translated ‘inn’ here is not the same word as in the story of the Good Samaritan meaning a lodging place open to the public, but this is simply a guest room. So it may mean that they went to the house of family and the guest room was full.

Bearing in mind that Jesus was put into an animal feeding trough, this could either have been in another room or lean-to that normally housed animals, or it could have been the downstairs of the house where in many poorer homes, animals and family slept with maybe just a low wall separating them. Whichever way you look at it there was no room left for guests and so they slept where the animals were kept.

Fitting the characters in the room

We know Joseph, Mary and Jesus were there. We also know about the donkey don’t we? Except nowhere in the Bible does it say that Joseph walked to Bethlehem whilst Mary road on a donkey! We have filled that blank in with what seemed appropriate to us! Perhaps Mary walked all the way! Perhaps there was indeed a donkey, but we must be careful not to make assumptions!

So the shepherds came didn’t they?

Luke 2:15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."16 They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the feeding trough

Well at least they made a flying visit! We know they didn’t stop long but they definitely saw Jesus and publicised His birth. So a few shepherd characters are still OK in our nativity set. They brought a lamb as a present didn’t they? Well, again, the Bible makes no mention of it! So maybe we are best to leave the lamb out this year.

We three kings…

Matt 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem, 2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." …7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared….16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the male children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men.

We know the three kings came to the stable from the orient don’t we?

We three kings of orient are

One in a taxi, one in a car

One on a scooter blowing his hooter

Smoking a big cigar

Firstly the Bible doesn’t say that they came from the orient, but from the east. We may have historically thought of the east as China, but we are talking about East of Israel, and most historians and theologians agree that these visitors were from the general area of Iran, or Babylon. These men were from the line of wise men of which Daniel had been a part centuries before. Of course that means they weren’t kings either – a word that was slipped into the KJV because it was presented to King James. They were Maji- magicians or wise men (not illusionists!). They were of course very important and very rich people, but not kings.

Lastly nowhere in the Bible does it tell us how many of them there were! We know they brought three gifts, but we don’t know how many people brought them. Also we don’t know they were particularly short either (wee three kings?)  So bearing in mind they weren’t kings and there weren’t necessarily three of them, were they there?

Well, if you were in temporary accommodation for a census how long would you stay there?

The visitors from the East “saw his star in the east” and set off for Jerusalem before going to Bethlehem. The star may not have indicated the exact moment of his birth, but Herod seemed to think it was important.

Matt 1:7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared

Possibly a journey of about 500 miles ahead of them, they had to get the ‘team’ ready and set off, facing a great journey. How long were Joseph and Mary in the outbuilding? One night, two, a week, or two?

Herod killed all the boy babies under two years of age – one of his great savage acts. So does it mean the star had appeared a year ago and Herod was adding time to be sure? This is hard to say, but it is very unlikely they found Jesus in the out-building.  Matthew 2 starts with these words:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem

This was after Jesus had been born – sometime after, and certainly not the night of His birth.

Summary

So we are left with Jesus, Joseph and Mary in our nativity scene and a few shepherds. If we stretch it a bit there is a lamb and a donkey. At another time before they left Bethlehem there were a few Maji as well – but they didn’t come to the stable or out-building!

Bovered?

Does it matter? Well, in one sense it doesn’t – who cares if we add a few animals. The Maji definitely visited Him, but not at the same time as the shepherds or when he was new born.
What matters is that we tell the story faithfully and as accurately as we can, so that we do not confuse the issues and make ‘stars’ out of the donkey or the ‘kings’ when the real star of Christmas is always Jesus.

If we embroider this story too much then like all others it loses its meaning, and we never want to lose the meaning of Christmas! It is all about incarnation, God becoming man, always with the cross in sight.

No matter what the primary schools say, Elvis wasn’t there, aliens didn’t visit and superman wasn’t there either.

But God became flesh and moved into our neighbourhood.

God was there.

Someone greater than Jonah was there, someone greater than Solomon was there, and someone greater than Superman, first son of Krypton was there too!