Nativity Facts

Categories: Jesus' Birth

• Mary and Joseph took an 80 mile walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
  • Look at a map where you live and figure out how far 80 miles would be from your home. How long might it take you to walk it, ride a bike, or drive in a car?
• They didn't have a Motel 6 or a Ramada Inn in Bethlehem. The word "inn" probably meant the upstairs of the house. Since so many people were in town for the census, the upstairs of homes were filled with family and friends. Animals were kept downstairs to help keep the home warm. Mary and Joseph were probably in the stable under the upstairs.
• The manger was the feed box for larger animals. New born lambs were often placed in the manger to keep them warm on cold nights. Jesus was the Lamb of God.
• The custom in those days was to have friends and family stand outside your house and wait to hear if the baby was a boy or girl. If it was a girl, everyone left quietly. If the family had a boy, they would sing to the new child. Jesus didn't miss out on this activity. Who sang for Jesus?
• The angel of the Lord spoke to the shepherds first. Why do you think shepherds were the first ones to see the baby Jesus? [Hint: Lamb of God]
• How many wise men visited Jesus? We don't know. People assume three, because of the three gifts they brought. There is reason to believe there may have been as many as a few dozen wise men accompanied by guards and servants. The group was so large that it frightened King Herod. *
• What about those baby gifts? Weren't they a bit strange? Those gifts were so expensive that they might have been sold to help pay for Mary, Joseph and Jesus' escape to Egypt. Symbolically, the Gold represents royalty and Jesus was King of the Jews; the Frankincense, was incense used in the Temple to express gratitude; and the Myrrh was a perfume that was later used on Jesus after taking him off the cross.*