If You Know, You Know

The Bible gives few details surrounding the actual birth of Jesus. Matthew writes about Joseph taking Mary as his wife, but skips from there until after Jesus has arrived. He writes of the Magi, but indicates that whole story takes place after Jesus’s birth.

Luke tells the reasons why Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem, and that there was no guest room available for them. When the baby was born, Mary wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger.

Many assume Mary wrapped Jesus tightly in cloth because that was probably the custom at the time. The manger was a small feeding trough, likely filled with fresh straw. It might have looked like a modern baby bed in size. It isn’t known whether they were staying in a cave or a barn-like room.

Luke 2:8-20 tells the story of the shepherds, angels, and the shepherds’ trip to Bethlehem to see the child who had just been born that day. Some speculate the shepherds were awake because it was lambing season in the spring, while others guess the shepherds were in charge of the sacrificial lambs owned by the Temple and priests. Most see a parallel of the birth of Jesus taking place in the city of David, who was famously a shepherd himself.