Luke 2:1-7 focus is on the “local conditions” of when “Heaven came down” or the birth of Christ. And is often the case the “Global conditions” almost always impact the “local conditions”. Here we recognized that Mary was 9 months pregnant and forced to travel some 80 miles but as she herself had said in response to Gabriel’s words in 1:38 as she prayed “Let it be according to your word”.
This young couple had Micah 5:2 to encourage them that what Caesar had decreed God had ordained 650 years earlier as we read his words, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose going forth are from old, from everlasting.” Such assurance of God’s plan is followed by verses 4-5 as we remember “And He shall stand and feed His flock in the strength of the Lord. In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; and they shall abide, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth; and this One shall be peace.”
With millions of people forced to comply with the command of a man who called himself a god we are reminded that the True God was moving millions in order to move these two to fulfill His promise to all of humanity! To Bethlehem which names means, “House of Bread” the perfect place for Jesus who would refer to Himself in John 6:35 as the “Bread of Life” to be born. We also noted that upon their arrival there was no room for them!
Jesus was born outside, and this couple was alone as we are told that “SHE brought forth her firstborn Son…laid Him in a manger”. There was no place for Jesus, at His birth and during His ministry Jesus would say in Luke 9:58 that “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
The truth is that throughout Jesus earthly life from birth to His death the only place humanity ever had room for Him was the cross and a rented tomb.