The Journey ~ From Nazareth to Bethlehem

For the past three weeks we have been looking at the unusual journey that brought Mary and Joseph together and eventually led them to Bethlehem and what I have appreciated is a new perspective on an old and familiar story. For example, a few weeks ago we heard how Joseph may not have been from Nazareth where Mary lived but from Bethlehem which was about 80 miles away. Arranged marriages over long distances were not uncommon in those days so it’s possible that Joseph was from Bethlehem because as we heard today, that is where they travel at the time of the census when people were called to return to their hometowns. If Joseph was from Bethlehem, he most likely heard that Mary was pregnant while she was visiting with her cousin Elizabeth who lived in Ein Karem, which was a small town just a few miles from Bethlehem.


Last week we heard that Mary spent the first 3 months of her pregnancy with her cousin Elizabeth and then we assume Mary and Joseph travelled back to Nazareth where they quickly got married and waited for Mary to give birth. Now the custom in those days was for a young couple to return to the groom’s home where a room would be set aside or built onto the house for the newlyweds to live until they saved enough money to move out on their own, but because Mary was pregnant we assume they planned to stay in Nazareth at least until the baby was born so that Mary’s family could help her at the time of the delivery. While that may have been their plan, that plan changed when a Roman Centurion arrived with the news that the Emperor Augustus had called for a census which meant that all men had to return to their hometowns to be counted. Joseph, being from Bethlehem, now had to return home so he and Mary were forced to take the long and difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

Before we look at the actual road that Mary and Joseph would have travelled, let’s stop and consider the census for a moment. In those days a census was called for one reason, to levy taxes. By including this detail in the story, Luke is making a point of reminding those who are reading this that when Jesus was born God’s people were living in an occupied land. The people of Israel were not free – they were being ruled over by Rome and the people hated that and they longed for the day when they would be free. In fact, the Jewish people were looking forward to the day when the Messiah would come and it was this Messiah that the angel said would be born to Mary, look at Luke 1:32-33.

This is the kind of Messiah the people were looking for, someone who would sit on the throne of David and overthrow the Roman government so the people could be free. While Jesus didn’t come to be that kind of Messiah, he did set people free from bondage – from the spiritual bondage of sin and death. So today when we hear about the Emperor Augustus and Quirinius the governor of Syria it reminds us that at times we also live in bondage and look for a Messiah to set us free. The apostle Paul talks about the bondage we live in, in the bondage of sin, in Romans 7:15, 19-20.

It is the power of sin which compels us to do those things we know we shouldn’t do and it is the power of sin which keeps us from doing what we know God wants us to do. This is the bondage and oppression that Jesus was born to take away. When we accept Christ and allow the power of God’s Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we begin to experience freedom from this kind of sin and bondage and we begin to experience the joy of new life. This freedom and new life is available to all of us today if we are willing to accept the power of God and allow God’s spirit to work in us. One of the carols we sang today said, cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today. Freedom and life can be born in us by simply accepting Jesus as our Savior and allowing God to begin to develop new life within us. That’s a spiritual journey that can begin today by simply asking Jesus to be born in us, it won’t mean everything will suddenly be perfect and easy – it wasn’t easy for Mary and Joseph, but when invite Christ into our lives we begin a journey where we will experience the fullness of life.

For Mary and Joseph, their journey took them to Bethlehem and there are two roads they could have taken. 

 The road on the eastern side of the Jordan River would have been the easiest road to take. Literally, it was an easy road to travel because it was flat and followed the river which meant there would be food and water, and this road also passed through areas that were much more acceptable and friendly to the Jewish people, but this road was longer so it would have taken Mary and Joseph more time to get to Bethlehem which meant they ran the risk of having their child along the way.

The other road, which lies to the west of the Jordan River, ran through a much more difficult terrain. There were sections of this road that went through the mountains and it was very dry and having enough water was always a concern on trips in those days, so the physical journey would be difficult for anyone, let alone a woman 9 months pregnant. The western road also travelled through Samaria which was considered an unclean land by the Jewish people. The Samaritans were despised by the Jews and because many Jews considered the Samaritans ritually impure and unclean, the region was often avoided by many faithful Jews, but this road would have been the fastest way to Bethlehem and so most scholars believe that this was the road travelled by Mary and Joseph.

What is interesting about this road through Samaria is that it is called the Way of the Patriarchs because it is in this region that much of the history of the Old Testament took place. For example, this was the land where Abraham was shown the land God was going to give him and his descendants forever. It was in this land that Joseph was buried and it was here that Joshua set up the Ark of the Covenant. This was also the road that Israel would have travelled when they were led away into captivity, travelling from Jerusalem to the land of Babylon in the northeast, and this would have been the road God’s people would travelled when they returned to their homeland to rebuild the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. This road was rich with history and in many ways it was a road God was very familiar with because he had travelled it with his people for generations. How interesting to think that now God was going to travel this road in the flesh, in the womb of Mary.

Mary and Joseph’s decision to take this road to Bethlehem also reveals something to us about their heart and character. Because they were travelling through Samaria, Mary and Joseph must have been ok interacting with people that others considered unclean and impure. When we consider the life of Jesus and remember all the times he reached out to those others considered unclean, we begin to see just how his heart and life were shaped by his earthly parents.

As an adult, Jesus would travel through Samaria and not just pass through like other Jews would, but actually stop and engage in ministry. In fact, a well that Mary and Joseph would have stopped at for the night was the same well where Jesus stopped and asked a Samaritan woman to draw him some water. Jesus shocked his followers by not just reaching out to speak to Samaritans but he offered them forgiveness and salvation. While this was shocking to many people in Jesus day, it makes sense that Jesus might be like this when we think about his parents. They were compassionate people who also may have been willing to reach out and embrace people who were different than they were.

All of this makes us stop and ask ourselves if our own hearts are open to all people? Do we really believe that God’s love and forgiveness is available to everyone regardless of who they are and what they have done in life? Do we believe that God’s grace is deep enough to forgive and wide enough to receive everyone? We have been wrestling with this very issue in our community recently as we have had to come face to face with the reality of child abuse. We have had to ask ourselves if we believe that God’s grace is for all people, even those who are accused or found guilty of crimes. This doesn’t mean there isn’t justice for criminals and consequences for sin, but is God’s grace big enough to forgive everyone? May and Joseph were willing to open themselves to everyone, to all people – the angels told the shepherds on the night that Jesus was born that a savior had come for all the people - Jesus offered God’s grace and life to all people – will we offer God’s grace and love to all people?

So we believe that Mary and Joseph travelled through Samaria and arrived in Bethlehem where it says in Luke 2 that Jesus was born and laid in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. So now we come the question many of you have been thinking about for the last couple of weeks, if Joseph was from Bethlehem, then why did Mary and Joseph have to go to an Inn instead of to Joseph’s home? That’s a great question and one possible answer is that maybe they did go to Joseph’s home.

If we look at Luke 2:7 it just says that they laid Jesus in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Now the word inn here is the Greek word kataluma and the only other place this word is used in the Bible is in Luke 22 where Jesus tells his disciples to prepare the Passover meal in the kataluma or the guest room of a home. Luke 22 translates kataluma as guestroom and if we read Luke 2 that way, it changes the whole tone of the passage. She wrapped him cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the guest room. Another reason we might want to read it this way is because in the story of the good Samaritan when Jesus talks about an actual Inn, Luke uses a different word, so if Luke wanted us to see this as an actual Inn, then he might have used a different word. So if we read Luke 2 and see it as a guest room that was full, we would assume the guest room was in Joseph’s home and it would make sense that the guest room was full because the census would have brought everyone home.

But, you may ask, why wouldn’t the family have given the guest room to Mary and Joseph since she was pregnant and in such need? Another good question; according to Jewish law, when a woman gave birth – because of the blood involved in the process of childbirth – the woman and all that she touched and all that the blood came into contact with would be considered unclean for a period of time which meant that if Mary had given birth in the guest room, the room would have been off limits to the entire family and most homes didn’t have more than one guest room, which meant that most of Joseph’s family would have been displaced, so it makes more sense to send Mary and Joseph to the stable to give birth and not disrupt the entire family.

Now while we may think this stable would not have been a good place to have a child, in many ways it was ideal. Stables were often built onto the back or side of the house which means that they were protected from both the weather and wild beasts, and the location could have been close to Joseph’s family, which means that they would have been there to help if and when needed.

I have to say that this new way of looking at the story was a challenge for me; after all, when I was in 5th grade I played the part of the Innkeeper who turned Mary and Joseph away, but did you notice that there is no innkeeper in Luke? While this new perspective might change your image of what took place on the night Jesus was born and while it might change how we write and present Christmas pageants, here’s what I like about it. It comforts me to know that Jesus didn’t enter the world in a strange location all alone, but in the stable of Joseph’s family. Think about it, if the feeding trough was made of wood, maybe it was something Joseph built with his father when he was a child. The stable would have been a familiar place for Joseph, maybe a place of happy memories, and his family would have been close by so in the city of Bethlehem there may not have been a better place for Jesus to be born – God provided what was best.

I think that is what encourages me the most when I look at the stable from this perspective, maybe Mary and Joseph weren’t as alone as we picture them on that night. It encourages me to know that God provided a good place for Mary and Joseph to deliver their child because that tells me that when we are in need, God will provide. If you are on a long difficult journey and if like Mary and Joseph you are asking God why things are so hard and why things aren’t turning out the way you thought they should and if you asking why God’s will is so hard to see, then I hope you will take home this one important lesson from Mary and Joseph – God will provide. God provided for Mary and Joseph all along their journey to Bethlehem and God provided for them in Bethlehem and God was going to continue to provide for them in the future because their journey wasn’t over. God never abandon them, and God does not and will not abandon us.

As faithful Jews, Mary and Joseph would have known their scripture and I wonder if the words of the prophet Isaiah rang in their hearts and minds as they travelled the road to Bethlehem or faced an uncertain future in a stable:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name and you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

On our journey today, I hope we will hear this promise of God? God loves us so much that He will not only be with us, but in love and grace and in power – He will provide.


Next Steps:
Jesus came to “cast out our sin” and set us free. What sin do you need to confess to God so that God’s forgiveness and grace and set you free? Confess that sin to God this week and allow God’s grace to bring you the gift of freedom and true life.

By travelling through Samaria on their way to Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph remind us that the gift of Jesus and God’s salvation and grace is for all people. What person (or groups of people) do you struggle to love? How can you reach out to them in love in the coming year?

The stable (or cave) where Jesus was born may have been attached to Joseph’s home and the Inn that was full may have been the guest room in Joseph’s family home, so when you see Nativity scenes this week thank God that He sent Jesus to your home and to touch the hearts and lives of your family.

Invite someone who is “hungry for God” to worship with you this Christmas Eve at 4:00, 7:00 or 9:30 PM.

The Journey ~ Mary's Visit to Elizabeth

Today as we continue to explore the journey of Mary and Joseph that led them to the manger of Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus, we are going to turn our focus to a part of the story which is often overlooked. There are no Elizabeth and Zechariah’s in our manger scenes or Christmas pageants so we don’t often remember the vital role they played in Mary and Joseph’s journey, but in many ways it was this visit of Mary to see Elizabeth that played a key role in Mary and Joseph making it Bethlehem together at all.


What we know about Elizabeth comes from Luke 1. We know that she is the wife of Zechariah who as a descendent of Aaron which meant that at some point in time Zechariah would serve as a priest in the Temple. We also know that Elizabeth was barren and, as it says in Luke, they were both well along in years. It is when the angel Gabriel visits Mary that we find out that Elizabeth is a relative of Mary, we assume a cousin, and it is Gabriel who tells us that while Elizabeth is both beyond child bearing years and thought to be barren and unable to have children she was, in fact, currently in her sixth month of pregnancy -Luke 1:36-37.

Now this may be the first time that Mary is hearing about her cousin’s pregnancy because if we go back to Luke 1:24 it says that after Elizabeth became pregnant she went into seclusion for five months and if you remember the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, when Zechariah was told by God that his wife was pregnant he didn’t believe God so God made him unable to speak until the child was born. So the reality is that the news about Elizabeth being pregnant in her old age may not have spread throughout their small town let alone travelled to Elizabeth’s family living in Nazareth.

So not only does the angel tell Mary that God has chosen her to be the mother of the Messiah and that her child is to be conceived in a miraculous way, but that her cousin Elizabeth is also pregnant. Now one of the reasons the angel shares this news about Elizabeth with Mary is to help her understand that God is able to bring forth a child in impossible situations. If God can have Elizabeth, an old and barren woman conceive a child, then God can have a young virgin do the same thing. In other words, nothing is impossible with God. So Gabriel uses Elizabeth as an example of what the power of God can do to help assure Mary that God can bring forth a child in her. As soon as Mary receives this news she rushes off to visit Elizabeth and the question we ask ourselves is – why?

It could be that Mary wanted to help her cousin in the final weeks of her pregnancy and act as a midwife or helper at the time of the birth, but I think more than that Mary rushes off to see Elizabeth to make sure that what the angel said was true. If Mary goes and finds Elizabeth 6 months pregnant then she knows that what the angel said is true and she knows that God can bring about children in miraculous ways. A pregnant Elizabeth gives Mary the assurance that what is going to take place in her is from God. Mary may also have gone to see Elizabeth because if what the angel said is true, then of all the people Mary knows, Elizabeth would be the one to understand what Mary was going through. If nothing else, at least Elizabeth would believe her story about the angel and finding herself pregnant.

Now tradition tells us that the name of the Judean village where Elizabeth and Zechariah lived was Ein Karem and as we heard last week it was just a few miles from Bethlehem which were both a short distance from Jerusalem. While close to Bethlehem and the town where Joseph may have lived, Ein Karem was 80 miles from Nazareth and the journey for Mary to get there would have taken 9 or 10 days. Most likely, Mary would have joined up with other travelers who were making their way to Jerusalem because Mary would not have travelled that distance and that difficult and at times dangerous road alone.

Can you imagine what that journey must have been like for Mary? At this point she doesn’t know if Elizabeth is pregnant or for that matter if she is pregnant, after all it has only been a few days since the angel’s visit. Why had God chosen her? What was Joseph going to say if all of this was true? Would he still marry her? What would the rest of her family say? Who was going to believe her? All of these questions, doubts and fears must have been swirling in Mary’s mind as she makes her journey and all along the way she has no one to talk to. What a long and lonely road that must have been. When Mary finally arrives at Elizabeth’s home and calls out to her cousin it says that when Elizabeth heard her voice the child in her womb leaped for joy and then filled with the Holy Spirit Elizabeth immediately says to Mary, Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. So in an instant Mary not only sees that Elizabeth is pregnant, so what the angels said is true, but Elizabeth’s greeting also confirms that not only is Mary pregnant but that her child is indeed holy and blessed. Elizabeth goes on to actually call Mary’s son Lord, (Elizabeth is the first person in all the scriptures and in all the world to call Jesus Lord) which again confirms for Mary that what the angel said is true and that the child she carries is the son of God.

When we stop and think about it, this entire scene is amazing. Elizabeth doesn’t know Mary is coming and she certainly doesn’t know Mary is pregnant but as soon as Elizabeth hears Mary’s voice something profound happens deep within her. Not only does her child leap for joy because he recognizes the child Mary is carrying, but Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit which helps her understand that Mary is pregnant and that the child she is carrying is the long awaited Messiah. And all of this happens for one important reason, to help assure Mary that what the angel said is true. You see God doesn’t give us a message or purpose and plan and then not work to confirm it in different ways. While God wants us to walk in faith, it isn’t always blind faith; God loves us enough to work through others and through the power of the Holy Spirit to help confirm his purpose for our lives.

There was a point in my life when I needed some guidance and prayed for God to give me that clear direction. In a dream God gave me that direction and as I shared this story with a group this week they asked me, how did you know it was God’s voice? The answer is that God didn’t just speak and then walk away. God used his word to help confirm that message and then as I stepped out in faith to follow God’s plan – God guided me every step of the way. God opened doors that needed to be opened and God sent people into my life and like Elizabeth, they helped confirm God’s plan.

While we often by-pass this story of Mary visiting her cousin and just jump to Mary and Joseph travelling to Bethlehem, I’m not sure that trip to Bethlehem would have taken place if Mary had not first visited Elizabeth. This visit gives Mary the confirmation she needed to keep going and maybe this visit helped Joseph as well (we’ll look at that in a moment). Elizabeth not only provides assurance that what the angel said is true, but she also provided inspiration and support for Mary. Elizabeth becomes a mentor for Mary who not only helps her understand that what is taking place in her is from God, but that it was also a blessing. Three times Elizabeth uses the word blessed, twice to talk about Mary and once to talk about Mary’s child and all of this had to have been an encouragement to Mary. So many times when we are faced with difficult situations we feel like Mary on the road to Ein Karem, we feel lost and alone and we think that there is no one who can possibly understand what we are going through, but the truth is that God always provides someone for us to turn to in times of need. If we will open our eyes, and maybe the eyes of our heart, we will find mentors and friends who are right here to support us and pray for us when we need it.

In every church I have served God has provided people who have been there to give support, encouragement and inspiration when it was needed. It Altoona it was a wonderfully faithful couple, Gene and Jackie Ross, who supported me during times of conflict and change when many others were pretty unsure about my leadership and ideas. Jackie was one of the leaders in the church and she faithfully stood with me at all times and supported what she saw God doing in me and through me. In Lewisburg there was a retired minister named Luke Brinker who served as a mentor and prayer warrior for me and he always made sure I knew he was behind me when I needed support or strength. Jackie and Luke were my Elizabeths; they were the people who with a word could encourage me when I was filled with doubt or fear.

We all need an Elizabeth in our lives and I believe God provides them if we will open our eyes and our hearts to those around us. I want to encourage you to think about the Elizabeth that God has provided for you today. Who is the man or woman that God has placed in your life that will support you and encourage you and maybe help show you what it means to walk with God? God has provided these people for us, but we do have to work to build the relationship with them. Think about Mary, God provided her someone for support, but she had to work to deepen that relationship. Mary had to make the long journey to visit Elizabeth, but it was definitely worth it.

We all need an Elizabeth in our lives but we also all need a Mary. No matter who we are we need to be looking for people who need some support and encouragement because God has placed people in our lives that need guidance and direction and He is asking us to step up and help them. Are we willing to reach out and mentor others? It takes time to build relationships where trust and love can flow in such a way that others are built up and in the midst of our busy world it may not seem like it is worthwhile taking that time, but when we look at Mary and Elizabeth we realize it is. Because of Elizabeth, God’s plan of salvation was accomplished and today God wants to use us to help bring about his plan in our lives in and in the lives of others.

Mary needed this time of encouragement, but you know, I think Joseph did as well. Last week we saw that if Joseph was from Bethlehem, which was just a few miles from where Zechariah and Elizabeth lived, then it makes perfect sense that Joseph would have travelled to Ein Karm to see Mary while she was there and that may have been where he learned about Mary’s unexpected pregnancy. Now while the angel gave Joseph the assurance that Mary’s story was true and that the child she carried was from God, think about what seeing a pregnant Elizabeth must have done to help Joseph come to terms with the situation. Seeing the miracle of birth in Elizabeth may have been the encouragement and assurance that Joseph needed to know that Mary’s child was indeed from God. This visit to Elizabeth was not just encouragement to Mary but it was important to Joseph as well and it may have been Elizabeth and Zechariah who helped Joseph get to that place where he felt comfortable taking Mary as his wife which in turn helped complete God’s plan for bringing Jesus into this world.

Again, while we often overlook this story because we don’t see Elizabeth or Zechariah in our Nativity scenes, they are vital to the journey of Mary and Joseph because they help confirm the message of the angel and their situation offers both Mary and Joseph the support, encouragement and inspiration they need. If you need support, encouragement and inspiration today – God has provided it for you and at the same time God wants to use you to support, encourage and inspire others. My hope is that as we make our way through this season we won’t get too busy to see the Eliabeth’s and Mary’s God has placed in our lives because these relationships will not only be ones of support and encouragement for us, they may the relationships that will help us both discover and then live out God’s plan and purpose for our lives.


Next Steps:
1. Who is your Elizabeth? Identify that older person who serves as your mentor and guide and take the time to deepen that relationship. Tell them you appreciate their wisdom and support.

2. Who is your Mary? Identify the younger person you are encouraging and investing yourself in. Make sure you carve out the time to deepen that relationship and share with them the blessing and joy they bring you.

3. Read Mary’s Magnificat found in Luke 1:46-55 (read it in several different translations). What does this song of praise tell us about the character of Mary? The character of the God who chose Mary? The work Jesus would do?

4. Part of Mary’s Magnificat says that God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. Help fill the hungry this season by donating time, food or supplies to the Christmas dinner.

The Journey ~ Joseph of Bethlehem

When we think about the story of Jesus birth, there are certain assumptions we make about how all they events took place. For example, we assume that both Mary and Joseph were from Nazareth and that after they each heard from the angel about Mary’s unexpected pregnancy they quickly got married and then at the time of the census travelled to Bethlehem where Jesus was born and laid in a manger. But with a closer reading of Matthew’s gospel we see that Nazareth is not mentioned at all until chapter 2 which is several years after Jesus has been born. According to Matthew, itis only after Mary and Joseph have had the visit of the wisemen, which could have been several years after Jesus was born, and after they had travelled to Egypt that we find them finally settling down in the village of Nazareth. What Matthew seems to assume is that Joseph was not from Nazareth but from Bethlehem, so let’s explore that possibility for a moment.


The first question that comes to mind if Joseph is from Bethlehem and Mary from Nazareth is how they came to be engaged if the towns they lived in were so far apart. The simple answer to that is that most marriages in those days were arranged by the family and these arranged marriages often involved people from different villages or towns, so while Mary was from Nazareth, Joseph could very easily have been from Bethlehem.

The second question that comes up is how did Joseph hear about Mary’s unexpected pregnancy if they lived in different villages? Again the answer is pretty simple. In Luke’s story it says after Mary’s visit from the angel she travelled to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was also expecting a child (Luke 1:39) and Mary stayed with Elizabeth for 3 months (Luke 1:56). Now the Judean town where Elizabeth and Zechariah lived was called Ein Karem which just happens to be 4 miles from Bethlehem. So while Mary was visiting with Elizabeth it would have made perfect sense for Joseph to visit her and during one of those visits to hear the news of this unexpected child. You can almost picture Joseph walking home to Bethlehem disillusioned and disappointed after hearing that his fiancé is pregnant and he knows that he is not the father. While Mary said the child was from God, Joseph simply does not believe her. When it says that Joseph decided to dismiss Mary quietly and not expose her to public disgrace it is because Joseph doesn’t believe Mary’s story about the child being from God. If Joseph had believed Mary he would have taken her immediately as his wife, but he doesn’t do that. Joseph doesn’t believe Mary’s story about the angel and the baby, which only leaves one possibility – Mary had been unfaithful.

Being unfaithful during an engagement was just as bad as being unfaithful in marriage because an engagement was a legally binding contract. Mary and Joseph were already legally united, all that was left was the wedding ceremony and then the honeymoon. Since they already had this legal arrangement, with Mary breaking that covenant and being pregnant and Joseph knowing that he is not the father, he has every right to make Mary suffer the consequences of her unfaithfulness and publically shame and disgrace her, but it says that Joseph was righteous and didn’t want to do that. It’s interesting how Matthew is interpreting righteous here. His righteousness is not for the law or for the pursuit of justice but for compassion and mercy. That says something about Joseph and it says something about the God who chose Joseph. By choosing Joseph as the earthly father of Jesus who will guide his life, God is choosing a man who is more concerned about mercy than the law and let’s be clear, God chose Joseph as much as God chose Mary.

Think about it, Joseph could have continued on with his plan to dismiss Mary quietly and wash his hands of the whole situation. Joseph could have stepped away and had no involvement in the life of the child that Mary was carrying – but God intervenes and changes Joseph’s plan so that he becomes the earthly father of Jesus. By sending the angel to Joseph God is now choosing Joseph to be the father of the Jesus and God chose Joseph because he was a man who was righteous not about law and justice but love and mercy. That was the kind of man God wanted shaping the heart and mind of Jesus because that is what lies at the heart of God. The righteousness of God is not seen in his pursuit of justice but mercy, but love and grace. God’s righteousness offered forgiveness to the sinner and grace to the world through the life of Jesus.

So God chose Joseph and if he was from Bethlehem than God is also choosing Bethlehem. Like Nazareth, Bethlehem was a small town not far from the larger city of Jerusalem. The population of Bethlehem was perhaps 500-1,000 people and while it was small like Nazareth, unlike Nazareth, it was very well known. Bethlehem was the village where King David came from and according to the prophet Micah it was the place where the Messiah would be born (Micah 5:2). While Bethlehem was going to be the birthplace of the future king, at this point in time it was a working class town that was home to both shepherds and farmers. While the shepherds of Bethlehem are well known because they were the ones who were worshipped Jesus in the manger, the farmers in this area also play a significant role in the larger life of Jesus. The farmers in this area grew wheat and barley which were sold to the bakers in Bethlehem who were known throughout the region for producing bread which helped feed the people of Jerusalem and it was this grain which helped Bethlehem get its name because Bethlehem means, house of bread. Again, I don’t think it is a coincidence that from a city that was known for producing bread came one who not only provided bread for those who were hungry but who also said, I am the bread of life. That God choose to find the father of Jesus in Bethlehem not only fulfilled the prophecy that Jesus would come from the house of David and the town of Bethlehem, but it shows us once again that God loves to choose the humble, meek and hard working people of the world to accomplish his will.

While not much is known about Joseph’s life we do know that he was a simple carpenter. The word carpenter that is used to describe Joseph is the word tekton which means builder and usually refers to someone who built things out of stone or wood and teckton is part of our word architect. But Joseph was not an arch-tekton or master builder, he was just a tekton, a simple builder or wood-worker who helped provide doors and roofs for the people of Bethlehem and for the larger city of Jerusalem.

So Joseph was a simple hard working man who as we have already seen, had a very human reaction to the news of Mary’s unexpected pregnancy. Let’s go back to that reaction for a moment. Joseph has just learned that Mary is pregnant and he knows beyond any doubt that he is not the father. This has to be the lowest moment of Joseph’s life. No matter what he does he will face shame and ridicule because people will talk and make up their own minds about what really happened. If he dismisses Mary, people will think that he was cheated on, and if he takes her as his wife and do the math when the baby arrives, they will assume that he didn’t wait for the wedding to consummate the marriage. There is no easy way of the situation and Joseph is disillusioned, disappointed, and maybe even a little bit angry at Mary and at God, and yet think about this, in the midst of the lowest moment in his life – what is God doing? As Joseph is wrestling with the mess of his life, God is at work in Mary bringing about the child who will save Joseph and all the world from the mess of sin. Not only is God working to save Joseph, but God is also working to include Joseph in this grand plan. While Joseph is struggling with his situation, God is at work sending an angel to Joseph so that he can be part of God’s plan. When we step back and look at this moment in Joseph’s life we see that in his moment of great disappointment, pain, frustration and doubt - God was still at work bringing about salvation and purpose. Can we see that today in our own lives?

In the midst of great disappointment or disillusionment when our lives haven’t turned out the way we wanted them to or thought they should, can we stop and see that God is still at work to bring about our salvation? And can we see that God is working to help us see the plan and purpose he has for our lives? While Joseph is wrestling with his doubts and fears – God was preparing Gabriel for another mission and issuing another invitation. Even when we can’t see it, God is working to bring us life and the fullness of life is there for us if we will just keep walking with God.

Think what Joseph’s life would have been like if he had walked away from Mary. He would never have been blessed to hold Jesus in his arms. He would never have worshipped with the shepherds and wisemen, he would never have experience the thrill of working with God to bring salvation to the world and that was the mission God gave Joseph. Look again at what the angel said to Joseph. Take Mary as your wife – which also means take the child she carries as your son and name him Jesus for he will save people from their sin. Joseph has a part in God’s plan to bring salvation to the world and if he walks away – he misses the adventure and the blessing of working with God.

Sometimes it is tempting for us to walk away from God when we are disappointed with life, but think of what we will miss out on if we do that. God wants to use us to help bring love and joy and salvation to the world. God wants to work in us and through us and with us to accomplish his purpose and plan and there is nothing more satisfying than the experience of working with God. We may not see the world change as we walk with God, but neither did Joseph or Mary or for that matter Jesus. They didn’t see the world transformed by their faithfulness, but they did see lives changed. One at a time they saw lives changed. Joseph saw the lives of Shepherds and Wisemen changed when they came to worship Jesus and so can we. By offering the compassion and mercy of God to those around us, we can change thir lives. By reaching out to love and forgive we can change lives. When we share with others that the God of the universe cares for them and loves them - we can change lives. Like Joseph, God wants to change lives through us and he can if we will simply keep walking with Him.

Joseph kept walking with God. He walked back to Mary and together they walked to Nazareth, Mary’s hometown where there was a wedding. Then Joseph walked with Mary to Bethlehem where their child, God’s Son, was born. And then Joseph kept walking with God and was used by God to help protect Jesus as an infant shape his heart and life as a child and we know that Joseph shaped Jesus heart and life. Think about the righteousness we see in Jesus. It wasn’t zeal for the law but for love and it wasn’t a call for justice but for mercy. Jesus learned what true righteousness was all about from both his fathers – God and Joseph and all of that happened because in the midst of his disappointment and disillusionment in life – God was still at work in Joseph and Joseph kept walking with God. Today, no matter what we are going through – God is still at work in us so let’s keep walking with him.

Next Steps:
What disappointment have you experienced that you need to ask God to help you through? What will it mean for you to walk with God through this time and not away from God? List three ways you can continue to walk with God:

Through Joseph’s disappointment, God was still at work, how is God at work in your life? Identify three specific ways you see God working in your life and use this list to help you see the purpose and plan God has for you:

Identify one person who is going through a difficult time and offer them words of hope. Be the voice of an angel (God’s messenger) and remind them that God is still at work and has a plan for their lives.

Continue reading the journey of Mary and Joseph found in Luke 1 and 2 and Matthew 1 and 2, as well as the prophecy about Bethlehem found in Micah 5:2-5a. What do these passages tell us about the character of Mary, Joseph and the coming Messiah as well as the heart and character of God?

The Journey ~ Mary of Nazareth

For the next four weeks we are going to take a journey into one of the most familiar stories we know, the story of Jesus’ birth. It’s a story most of us have heard all our lives and while all the major characters are familiar to us: Mary, Joseph, shepherds, Wiseman and angels, there are probably some details that we have never stopped to think about. One of the problems with any familiar story is that sometimes when we hear it we forget to really listen and so can we miss out on some of the deeper truths. My hope and prayer is that during our Advent journey we will hear together new details about this story that will open our eyes, minds and hearts so that we will not only see the richness of this journey but that we will see the power and love of God in some new ways.


Every journey begins with a single step and the first step in the Christmas story is found in Luke 1:26. Now we have heard this so many times that it may not strike us as being out of the ordinary or even very significant, but that God sent an angel to Nazareth, for the people who first read Luke’s gospel this would have been startling because at this point in time Nazareth was not well known at all. The village of Nazareth is not mentioned in any of the official secular history recorded by the historian Josephus, and even in the Jewish writings, Nazareth is not mentioned at all. The town of Nazareth is not once mentioned in the Old Testament and it is not mentioned at all in the expanded Jewish writings known as the Talmud. Nazareth is a totally obscure and insignificant place with maybe a population of 400 people.

While Nazareth was not well known it was the suburb, if you could even call it that, of the much larger and well known city called Sepphoris. Sepphoris was known as the ornament of Galilee and it was the city that Herod Antipas chose as his capital in 4BC. At the time of Jesus’ birth, Sepphoris was an affluent and prosperous city that boasted a population of over 36,000 people. Sepphoris was not only the capital but it was known for the luxury villas that people built on the hillsides and many of those villas had beautiful mosaic floors. (show picture) So Sepphoris was well known and important – Nazareth was obscure. Sepphoris was wealthy and prosperous, Nazareth was poor and struggling. Sepphoris was the home of rulers, leaders and the wealthy businessmen of the day, Nazareth was the home of farmers, servants and the laborers who installed the mosaic floors. If God was going to choose a woman to be the mother of the Messiah and he was looking at this area, most people would have thought that Sepphoris would have been the place God would look. So that an angel went to Nazareth would have been surprising.

While Sepphoris held all the money and artistic beauty of the area, Nazareth did have one important feature that made it vital to the larger community – it had a spring that provided water for the surrounding area. Being such a dry region, villages usually developed around springs of water and it is believed that this is how Nazareth became a village in the fist place. Why that spring is important is because there are some who believe that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary at the spring when she went to draw water. Drawing water would have been Mary’s job as a young girl and so much of her time would have been spent at the spring and so the Orthodox Christian Church believes that Gabriel appeared to Mary and spoke to her not at her home but at the spring.

I have to say that I found this fascinating because I always pictured this story in Luke taking place in Mary’s home, in a simple bedroom during the middle of the night. Again, some stories are so familiar that we don’t really listen to them, but if we go back and look at Luke 1, nowhere in the story do we hear that Mary was at home or that it was at night when the angel appeared so this encounter could very well could have taken place at the spring early in the morning or in the evening when Mary went to draw water. But let’s push this idea a little further.

The Orthodox Christian Church also believes that while Gabriel was an angel - he appeared to Mary not as a heavenly being with wings and radiant light, but as a man who simply walked up to Mary and began a conversation. When we read the account in Luke1, this again makes some sense. Nowhere does it say that Mary was terrified by the sudden presence of a heavenly being like the shepherd were, so Gabriel could very easily have been a messenger in human form who simply walks up to Mary and brings her this message from God. This makes a lot of sense because that is often how angels appeared to people in the Old Testament.

In Genesis 18 there is the story of 3 visitors who simply walk up to Abraham and Sarah and give them the message that even though they are well beyond child bearing age, they will indeed give birth to a child just like God had promised. It is clear from the story that these men were considered angels or messengers of God but they aren’t heavenly beings, they are simply men who come with this message that a promised son will be born to a woman who physically shouldn’t be able to give birth. Sound familiar? This story of the angel Gabriel visiting Mary to tell her that she is going to have a son even though that seems physically impossible since she is a virgin is actually very similar to the story of the angels visiting Abraham and Sarah.

When we think about how God sent angels in the Old Testament, we begin to see how this visit of Gabriel to Mary may not have taken place in Mary’s home at night, but at a spring during the day and how appropriate for the announcement of the Messiah coming into this world to take place at a spring because just like a spring provided life to the larger community, the Messiah was coming to bring life to the world and Jesus himself said that he was the living water and that those who drank it would never thirst again. I don’t know about you, but I find it exciting to see this story in a different light and if the first step of the journey is different than what we thought, then maybe the entire journey will hold new insights and more surprises for us.

That the journey begins in Nazareth is also significant because the word Nazareth comes from word netzer which means a shoot or branch, and for Israel that word brought hope. After the nation of Israel was destroyed and the people carried away into captivity in 722 BC, the prophet Isaiah began to talk about a ruler who would one day come and unite God’s people and lead them into freedom. Isaiah said that this ruler would come from the line of David but his exact words were that he would be a netzer or a shoot or branch rising up from the stump of Jesse. Look at Isaiah 11:1-3. Jesse was the father of David, so a netzer from the stump of Jesse meant that this ruler, or Messiah, was going to be an ancestor of David. For generations the people of Israel found hope in this netzer and the word itself brought them hope so while the village of Nazareth might have been an insignificant town in the shadow of Sepphoris, the name brought people hope.

Knowing that the name Nazareth refers to the hope people placed in the coming of the Messiah and knowing there was a spring of water that would reflect the living water the Messiah would bring both lead us to think that maybe this is why God chose Nazareth to begin this journey, but asking ourselves why God chose Nazareth is the wrong question. The more important question is what does the choice of Nazareth tell us about God? That the journey of Jesus begins in a obscure and insignificant town tells us that God looks for the meek and humble to fulfill his purpose. God could have sent his messenger just a few miles away to the important and powerful city of Sepphoris, but he didn’t. God made a conscious choice to send the angel to Nazareth and this tells us that God is willing to choose the humble to accomplish his work. God doesn’t always look for the rich and powerful (although he will use them as he uses all people) but God delights in choosing the least likely person and the most obscure places to do his work because then we know that the work and the power really belongs to God.

This is good news for us to hear as we begin our Advent journey because while we may feel like we don’t have anything important to offer God, God’s choice of Nazareth shows us that God delights in using the simple and ordinary. God loves taking our simple and ordinary lives and doing something extraordinary with them. Jesus took simple fisherman and used their lives to change our world and God can use our lives for something significant if we will allow him to and Luke 1 shows us that Mary was willing to do this.

Mary was a simple humble girl. Being from Nazareth we believe she was poor, uneducated and probably a servant for one of the wealthy families in Sepphoris. Mary may have only been 13 or 14 years old when the angel visited her because that was the age that young girls got engaged and we hear from Luke 1 that Mary was engaged to a man named Joseph. While we don’t know much about Mary, what we do know is that she found favor with God. Now this doesn’t mean that Mary is God’s favorite or that he likes her more than any of the other young girls on the planet, favor means grace and so a favored one was one whom God fills with his grace and grace is the undeserved power, love and kindness of God.

Now unlike the Roman Catholic Church which views Mary as being born without sin, the protestant church believes that Mary was just an ordinary girl whom God filled with his grace. While she was humble and faithful and willing for God to move in her life, Mary didn’t deserve or earn God’s love and kindness it was an act of grace or God’s favor. So it’s God’s grace that stands at the center of the Christmas story because it was God’s grace that chose Mary and Joseph, and it was God’s grace that filled Mary and brought forth a child. The Christmas story is all about God’s grace and the central force and power of Jesus’ life was God’s grace. It was God’s grace that reached out to tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners. It was God’s grace that took sinful ordinary fisherman and made them disciples and transformational leaders in the world. The work of God in and through Jesus is all about grace and that grace has power for those who are willing to receive it and Mary was willing to receive it.

Look at Luke 1:38. This is Mary’s response to God’s grace, she simply says Yes, but Mary said yes knowing that it would begin a journey in her own heart and life that would not be easy. For Mary to be pregnant before she was married meant that she could be stoned. Even if that didn’t happen, she certainly must have thought Joseph would dismiss her in disgrace. I’m sure Mary wanted to ask Gabriel, what about Joseph? Will you go and make sure he knows everything that is going on here? She may have wanted to ask that, but she doesn’t. There is no mention of Joseph or the problems Mary might encounter during the journey to come. None of that is mentioned and it might be because Mary somehow knew that God’s grace was sufficient for her. What an act of faith and strength and courage we see in this young girl.

Just as God’s choice of Nazareth reveals something about the character of God, so does God’s choice of Mary; by choosing Mary, we see that God’s passion is for those who are humble and simple and those who are willing to walk with Him one step at a time. God desire is to fill us with his grace so that we can do more than we ever thought possible or imagined and I believe this grace is working everyday of our lives to do just that. John Wesley talks about prevenient grace, which is the grace of God at work at all times and in all places and it is a grace that draws us closer to God even before we say yes. God’s grace fills us so that we can hear God’s message for us and begin to understand God’s will for our lives. God’s grace is also what gives us the courage and strength to finally say yes to God and follow His plan - like Mary.

So we begin our advent journey today at the very same place Mary began her journey (and I don’t mean in a small town next to a big spring of fresh water, although when you stop and think about it, the similarities between Nazareth and Bellefonte are quite striking), we begin like Mary, with some uncertainty about where the next step will take us. We begin like Mary – wrestling with how God’s grace will accomplish in our lives all that God wants to accomplish. We begin like Mary - trusting in God’s grace to help us say these simple words, Here I am, the servant of the Lord, let it be with him and in me and through me according to you word.


Next Steps
Begin an Advent Journey of listening daily to the messages of God.
• Read through the new Faith Church Advent Devotion, the Upper Room or the Daily Bread.
• Read Luke 1 with fresh eyes and an open heart.

Reflect on the work wants to do in you and through you. What will it mean for you to say, let it be with me according to your will.

Give thanks for a God who not only chooses Nazareth and chooses Mary but chooses us as well.