Christmas Story Fallacies, Part 3

Sorry it has taken so long to get to part 3 - it has been a busy few weeks - that business can be the source of another post.

So since it is Christmas Eve, this is the last one I will get to, so let's make it a doozy.

Fallacy #3: The modern day nativity scene

Where to begin.

Our modern day nativity's usually look something like this: A stable scene with baby Jesus in a wooden trough filled with hay. The star is above the barn, and the shepherds are present along with the wise men and their gifts. And of course Mary and Joseph are there next to Jesus.

Now we have already dealt with the wise men situation - they are not present when Jesus is a baby. They were added due to flannelgraph and marketing conspiracies (okay, I'm just kidding but who really knows).

This is what the Bible text says, "And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7 (NASB)

As I researched some information about Christ's birth, where He was born, and what the manger looked like, the only thing I think I know for sure is that our present nativity scenes are not accurate. What is accurate - it is hard to say for sure.

Let's make these observations:

• Mangers during this time were probably not made of wood, but carved out of stone.
• The Bible never mentions a barn/stable.
• The Bible never mentions an innkeeper - I have heard before that this innkeeper had a stable out back for the animals of the people staying in the inn, and so he put up Mary and Joseph there.

Some Biblical scholars say that the word "inn" actually is referring to a guest room in a house. So with this thinking, Mary would have had the baby in a home in the main gathering area because there was no room in the guest room for them. And since there were mangers in these main gathering rooms (because the livestock stayed in the house at night), she placed the baby in a manger.

That thinking basically takes our little "Western minded nativity" (like the picture I included) and throws it right out the barn window.

Others I have read would say that this manger would have been in a tower in the city. This tower would be used by shepherds to watch their flock. In the bottom level of the tower was a place where sheep would give birth. When these sheep gave birth, the priestly shepherds would wrap them in swaddling cloths and lie them in a manger. The reason for this was to keep them from having defect since these sheep born in Bethlehem were used for the sacrifice in the temple in Jerusalem about 5 miles away. So when the angels told the shepherds where to find the baby, they knew right where to go.

I am not positive about either of these examples, but I am pretty confident our modern nativities are Biblically inaccurate in a few ways. Now, my purpose in these fallacies is not to be the religious Christmas grinch, but rather to remind us to examine the Biblical text and understand that an undertanding of the culture and lifestyle of the time will give us a different view than trying to impose our culture and lifestyle on the Bible.

These fallacies do not take away from this most important truth: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, humbled Himself and took on human flesh. He became a human and was born as a baby. He did this so that He could pay the price for sin that no other human could pay. He grew to be a man and died on the cross to pay for our (mine and your) sin because He loved us. He rose from the grave on the 3rd day, defeating death. He made it possible through His death and resurrection for every human being to be reconciled to God through faith in His finished work. He was the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world.

"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved..." Acts 16:31 (NASB).

Christmas Story Fallacies, Part 2

I mentioned at the end of Part 1, that the next thing I would deal with would concern the nativity and the wise men.

Fallacy #2: The wise men visited BABY Jesus.

There is no doubt that these wise men or magi from the east did visit Jesus. But based on the nativities we see, these wise men visited Jesus when He was a baby. Many of them imply that the wise men were there with the shepherds when Jesus was born. This is not what the Bible tells us.

Back to Matthew 2:1, "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea...behold magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem..." (NASB).

In Matthew 2:11 we read that the magi entered the house. This was not where Jesus was born. It is obvious that since His birth, Joseph and Mary had found a place to live in Bethlehem. In addition in the Matthew 2 passage, Jesus is referred to as the Child. This Greek word for child is different from the Greek word that would have been used for a newborn infant.

So how old was Jesus when the wise men visited? We can't say for sure, but he wasn't a baby and he was under the age of 2. How do we know that? Well, later in Matthew 2 we read about Herod's plot to kill Jesus. In order to make sure he killed him, Herod ordered that all the children 2 years old and under be killed (v.16). Where did Herod get this number? In v.7, we read that Herod met with the magi to find out when they saw the star? It seems that Herod was using this as a time when Christ would have been born. So from that information, Herod decided to kill all boys 2 and under. I would think that Herod would have added a little bit of time to make sure that he killed Jesus. I mean what if they were off a day or two and Jesus was 2 years and 2 days; Herod wouldn't have wanted to miss killing this one called the king of the Jews. (v.2).

So I would say that at this time Jesus was probably between 1.5-2 years old. Somewhere in there. Also, consider that the magi traveled from the east; not a short journey.

So why do all the nativities include wise men? I don't know. Maybe some of you know why. I haven't researched that. Maybe they want to sell more pieces. Maybe someone got confused early on and it just stuck. Maybe they were trying to put all of the visitors to Jesus together. Maybe it was a flannelgraph conspiracy (I don't hate flannelgraph, I just think it is interesting how much flannelgraphs can shape the minds of young children and confuse them if they are not accurate). But none the less, the nativities of the wise men visiting baby Jesus with the shepherds are not Biblically accurate.

So what do you do with the wise men in your nativity? That is for you to decide. My wife sets them up on the other side of the room as if they are traveling for their visit. Maybe you have other suggestions.

Christmas Story Fallacies, Part 1

Recently at our training for our Birthday Parties for Jesus coming up this month we were reminded that we must be careful to look at God's Word for truth and not necessarily what someone else tells us.

Taking that thought, I want to expose some common misconceptions concerning the Christmas story. When we look at God's Word we will see that what we have often been told is not actually exactly what is the truth. So I may try to devote several posts to this topic over the next few days.

Fallacy #1: There were ONLY 3 wise men

Well, we probably have all seen or heard that there were 3 wise men that visited Jesus. Not necessarily. I mean there could have been 3; in fact there probably were 3, but not necessarily just 3.

We find the account of the wise men visiting Jesus only the gospel of Matthew. Matthew 2:1 says, "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying," (NASB)

Notice that the text does not say 3 wise men. So where do we get 3? Well, it is true that 3 gifts are mentioned. Matthew 2:11 - "...and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh." (NASB). So usually when pictures or flannelgraphs are made, there is a different person holding each gift. So 3 gifts and therefore 3 wise men.

So while I can't dogmatically say there weren't only 3 wise men or magi; we also can't dogmatically say that there were. But that is what we are often led to believe. Even the song that starts, "We 3 kings of Orient are" implies 3 wise men. Most all of the nativities that are made include 3 wise men.

I'll end there and let you know that the next fallacy will also include the wise men and the common nativity scenes seen each Christmas.

The most important question...what does God's Word say!