Was Jesus Really Born in the Back Stable of an Inn?

It's finally December, and it's that time again. It's time to celebrate Christmas! For Christians this time is a special occasion of remembering and honoring when Jesus stepped down from heaven and put on flesh to dwell among His creation. We also celebrate the reason for His coming which was to ultimately die and pay the debt of sin that He knew we could never pay. That truly is something to sing and shout about!

Thinking about Christmas and remembering back to the stories from the Gospels of that first Christmas morn, have you ever wondered what it really was like that "Silent Night, Holy Night" as we like to call it? Did it really look like all the Christmas dramas and musicals that many church's (including my own) are putting on this time of year? Was it really the typical inn (or motel as we think of) that was full and unable to house Mary and Joseph? Were they actually placed in a stable that was probably behind the inn out in some field? Did Joseph (who was not actually Mary's husband yet) have to practically fend for himself in helping Mary deliver the baby? Was December 25th really the day when Jesus was born? As a child and most of my teenage years I never really thought about these questions. In fact, I remember reading the Christmas story from Luke as kid with my family and all the musicals and dramas made perfect sense to me.

Well, I'd like to share a little about what that Christmas morn might have looked like from a historical standpoint. As most people know, our dating system is set up with BC (standing for Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini which is latin for "in the year of our Lord"). This form of dating was a Christian invention and did not officially catch on in Europe until the era of Pope Gregory XIII in the late 1500s. Most Christmas dramas and musicals today state that the birth of Jesus occurred in 1 AD; however, that's probably not the case. Most New Testamant scholars and historians would agree that the birth of Jesus on the earth probably took place between 6-4 BC (remember BC counts down whereas AD counts up), with most leaning towards 6BC. According to Josephus, a great historian during the ancient times, accounts that Herod the Great probably would have died in what we know as 4 BC. That being the case, we know that shortly before his death Herod ordered the slaughter of all the babies in Bethlehem that were two years old and younger, which would give proof to the fact that Jesus was most likely born between 6-4 BC. [p. 188]

You're probably asking, well what about the actual date? Was it really December 25th? Well, most people have probably heard by now that December the 25th was a pagan holiday in the Western Roman Empire where they worshiped Sol Invictus ("the unconquerable sun"). When emperor Constantine had a Christian experience he wanted to make Christianity the religion of the empire so he did away with the holiday to Sol Invictus and instead changed it to celebrating the birth of Jesus. There really is no historical evidence that it really took place in the winter. In fact, in Luke's gospel, he mentions that shepherds would have watched their flocks at night (2:8). This activity was primarily done during the springtime when lambs were born, so perhaps Jesus was actually born in the spring. [p. 188]

Now that we know more confidently when the birth of Jesus occurred, what about the rest of the story? What about the inn? Would Mary and Joseph actually tried to get a room in the inn? The answer to the last question is most likely, no. I'm not trying to start a fight here, but they probably weren't looking in the inn when they came to Bethlehem. One reason is the fact that inns in that day were not a place that good Jewish people would have wanted to be in. According to historical evidence and tradition, inns were typically a place that crooks, Roman government officials, and prostitutes would have been found. I highly doubt that Joseph and Mary would have looked there to take themselves and their unborn child. Another reason Joseph and Mary probably would not have gone to an inn is because they probably would have made arrangements to stay with family. Think about this for a second, try to hear me out. Joseph and Mary were going back to Bethlehem because of the census. Bethlehem is the town that Joseph and Mary both came from, so more than likely they had family there. They also knew that the town would be full during this time, so they probably made arrangements to stay with their family. In the ancient times, and even today, family is priority and important. I'm sure their family was probably the only place that Mary and Joseph would have ever thought about going to in this occasion. I know, I know, you're wondering about Luke 2:7 that clearly states that Mary "wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in the manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." Ah, HA! you think I'm about to eat my words. Well, actually I'm not. The greek word used for "inn" in that verse is kataluma and elsewhere in the New Testament where this word is used it is typically translated "guest room." Yes, words can have more than one definition. There are many English words that have several totally different definitions, and Greek words are the same way as well. The fact is that most homes in ancient Palestine would usually have one to two rooms that were built off the ground. The ground floor would have served as a place where a few livestock would have been placed. As the verse could read, Mary put Jesus in the manger (feeding trough) because there was no room in the guest room. There were most likely several families trying to stay together in one house during this time of census. [p. 206]

Therefore, this leads to the other question, was Joseph really left to fend for himself in helping Mary deliver the baby? The answer to that question is probably not. Although my wife and I have never had children, my wife is a labor and delivery nurse and she gets to experience having children all day long. As most people know, and from the gross stories I've been told by my wife, child birthing is neither a clean or easy process. I highly doubt that if Joseph and Mary were staying at the home of a family member, he would have been the only one there that was capable of helping Mary. In fact, with all of the Jewish laws on being clean and unclean, I even doubt that Joseph would have even wanted much part in the actual birthing process at all.

I imagine this may rock the very center of your normal Christmas beliefs, but the same meaning is still there. No, Jesus probably wasn't born on December 25th 1 AD, but He was still born of a virgin woman. No, Mary and Joseph probably weren't turned away from some innkeeper without anymore rooms available to give out, but Jesus was still born in a lowly Jewish household just like any other typical person. No matter how the actual Christmas morning would have looked like, the story is still the same. Jesus Christ came down from Heaven and dwelt among us.

May we never forget the true reason we celebrate the Christmas holidays.

All citations are from the book Jesus and the Gospels by Craig L. Blomberg, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1997, pp 415.