Is there room in your heart for Jesus? This question comes to bear during the Christmas season with the ‘no room in the inn’ saga of Mary and Joseph. Verlyn Verrugge wrote along these lines with the following. “There was pain in Bethlehem on Christmas night. There was rejection in Bethlehem. We today stand by the manger and marvel and rejoice at the Child born to Mary in a barn. ‘Joy to the world, the Lord has come,’ we sing. But on that first Christmas night, there were no doubt tears in the eyes of Joseph and Mary. Nobody in their family circle would help them. Nobody cared. The only ones who did come to the manger to witness the child were the lowly night-watch shepherds, directed there by God himself, while the prim and proper—yes, and self-righteous—relatives were right upstairs, missing the most awesome birth in the history of the human race. How incredibly sad!”¹

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What Is the Meaning of the Star in the Christmas Story?

 

[Tweet “She gave birth to her firstborn son… laid him in a manger… b/c there was no room for them in the inn.”]

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You can view a basic transcript of this podcast at the bottom of this section.

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Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put into operation.
This week’s call is:

The busyness of life demands that we focus our priorities so that it could never be said of us that we had no room for Jesus.

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Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week’s question is:

Question: Would you consider posting your favorite Christmas tradition in the comments section below? Your input, the knowledge of God which you have inside of you, is valuable to others. Please consider openly sharing what the Lord has done in your life.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 40 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 35 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Podcast Notes

The Christmas Story from Luke’s Perspective

Luke 3:1–6 (ESV) — 1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

• Luke says that all flesh shall see God’s salvation.
• All flesh did see God’s salvation with the birth of Jesus, but it was anything but an easy affair.

Luke 2:7 (ESV) — 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

• Jesus was born like any other child in nakedness.
• He died the same way, with Roman soldiers gambling for His clothes.
• But, not only was Jesus naked in birth, but He was also naked from the standpoint of defense.
• A king in transit has typically a mass of armed men, soldiers skilled in the art of protection.
• But no such legion, human or angelic, accompanied the tiny savior in the manger.
• Yes, angels were heralding His birth, but these angels weren’t the warrior type.
• They didn’t have swords drawn to guard the Messiah as their weapon of choice.
• Instead, they had trumpets.
• When Herod was looking for the child, what was the line of defense?
• It was the Word of Knowledge that came to Joseph in a dream telling the new parents to flee to Egypt with their newborn.
• I came across a great story in a commentary on one of the parables of Jesus.
• It speaks to this idea of a defenseless king.

The Defenseless King

• In the concluding decades of the last century, the late Hussein bin Talal was King of Jordan.
  • Many unforgettable stories circulate orally around the Middle East about the king.
  • Ken Bailey states that he first heard the following account in Lebanon, and two decades later was able to confirm it from a high-ranking American intelligence officer who was serving in Jordan at the time the incident took place. The story is as follows:

One night in the early 1980s, the king was informed by his security police that a group of about seventy-five Jordanian army officers were at that very moment meeting in a nearby barracks plotting a military overthrow of the kingdom. The security officers requested permission to surround the barracks and arrest the plotters. After a somber pause, the king refused and said, “Bring me a small helicopter.” A helicopter was brought. The king climbed in with the pilot, and he, himself, flew to the barracks and landed on its flat roof. The king told the pilot, “If you hear gunshots, fly away at once without me.” Unarmed, the king then walked down two flights of stairs and suddenly appeared in the room where the plotters were meeting and quietly said to them: Gentlemen, it has come to my attention that you are meeting here tonight to finalize your plans to overthrow the government, take over the country and install a military dictator. If you do this, the army will break apart, and the country will be plunged into civil war. Tens of thousands of innocent people will die. There is no need for this. Here I am! Kill me and proceed. That way, only one man will die.

After a moment of stunned silence, the rebels, as one, rushed forward to kiss the king’s hand and feet and pledge loyalty to him for life. King Hussein opted for total vulnerability. He acted nobly, and by so doing, he fanned into flame the dying embers of the rebels’ sense of honor.²

• King Hussein went into harm’s way unarmed.
• Jesus did the same to preserve life, your life.
• The question is, ‘Do you have room in your heart for Him?’
• Apparently, there was no room for Jesus per Luke’s account — no room in the inn is what the scripture states.
• This fact continued to be the theme as Matthew relates to us some further details about the Christmas story.

The Christmas Story from Matthew’s Perspective

Matthew 2:1–6 (ESV) — 1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

• Here’s another telling point about this epic saga and ‘no room for Jesus.’
• Everyone knew where the location of the birthplace of the Messiah, Bethlehem of Judea.
• When I say everyone, the scribes knew it.
• The chief priests were in the know; they chimed in.
• After Herod’s inquiry, he knew it.

Matthew 2:7–12 (ESV) — 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

• So, everyone knew about the King, but no one went to see the King except the wise men.
• Maybe that’s what made them real ‘wise men?’
• What do you think?
• And, what about the rest of the crowd?
• Maybe the non-respondents like the chief priests, and scribes were too busy watching reruns of NCIS.
• It seems that they didn’t have room in their schedule for Him.
• With that thought, here’s the illustration of the day.

A No Room in the Inn Illustration

• Wally was big for his age–seven years old. Everyone wondered what role the teacher would give him in the annual Christmas play. Especially because he was also a slow learner. Perhaps he could pull the curtain. To everyone’s surprise, the teacher gave Wally the role of the innkeeper. The boy, of course, was delighted. After all, all he had to learn was one line: “There is no room in the inn.” He had that down in no time.
• Then came the night for the program. The parents took their places. Every seat in the auditorium was filled. The children entered singing, “Oh come all ye faithful.” The lights dimmed. A hush moved over the audience. The curtain opened on Scene One. Mary and Joseph entered the stage and walked up to the inn. “Please, sir, My wife is not well. Could we have a room for the night? Wally was ready for his line. He had rehearsed it all night. He began, There is.and he hesitated. He started over again. There is…and again his mind went completely blank. Everyone was embarrassed for him, but poor Wally just didn’t know what to do. Joseph thought he would improvise and started walking away toward the stable on stage left, Seeing him walking away Wally in desperation called out ”Look, there’s plenty of room at my house, just come on home with me.”
• Again, the question is, do you have room for Jesus?

No Room for Jesus in the Economic World

• The economic world of the first century saw coins minted with the Roman Emperors image and verbiage declaring him to be the Son of God.

In Antioch coins depicted Augustus as the incarnate Zeus or “worship-worthy Son of God,” and altars were erected in his honor. Augustus encouraged the cult as a unifying element in his diverse empire and as a type of patriotism.³

• The hypocritical religious crowd tried to tempt Jesus one day with such a coin.

Luke 20:19 (NKJV) — 19 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people—for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

• This parable that got under the skin of the scribes and Pharisees was the Parable of the Vineyard Owner in Luke 20:9.
• Jesus taught this parable while He was teaching the people in the Temple.
• Listen to it.

Luke 20:1 (NKJV) — 1 Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him

• So, Jesus gives forth this parable, and the hypocritical religious bunch goes ballistic.
• And so, they try to trap Him in His words.

Luke 20:19–26 (NKJV) — 20 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor. 21 Then they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: 22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 23 But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do you test Me? 24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They answered and said, “Caesar’s.” 25 And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

• Jesus asked them to show him the coin, knowing what was inscribed on it.
• So, get the picture.
• They offer up the fake son of God coin, while the real Son of God is standing right there.
• In effect, Jesus said, show me the fake Son of God coin and when you do, go and give it back to him.
• Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar and to God, what belongs to Him.
• But, here’s the other point don’t miss it.
• When Jesus asked for the coin, the double-dealing religious crowd had the coin on them.
• They had it in their possession.
• Jesus asked for it, and they gave it to Him.
• How come they had that coin on them?
• They were in the Temple.
• It was a sacred place.
• No one was allowed to have Gentile money in the Temple.
• Let alone a coin that labeled the hated Roman Emperor god.
• Talk about two-faced.
• So you see, there was room for Roman coin, Roman money in the Temple that declared a ruler as God, but there wasn’t room for Jesus, the real Son of God.
• What is Christmas about?
• Christmas is based on an exchange of gifts: the gift of God to man-his Son; and the gift of man to God-when we first give ourselves to God.
• We give gifts to one another because God gave the greatest gift – His Son.
• Yes, those gifts we give cost money.
• Yet, people focus on earthly gifts instead of the greatest gift from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Dickens and Giving

I have always thought of Christmas time when it has come round – as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of in the long calendar of the year when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore – though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God, bless it! ⁴

• So, there was no room for Jesus in the economic world.

No Room for Jesus in the Racial World

• The Bible says that he came to His own, and His own wouldn’t even receive Him – John 1:11.
• One day He tried to pass through the region of Samaria.
• Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem from the region of Galilee.
• To get there, you have to cut straight through Samaria because it lay right in between Galilee and Judea.
• Jews were so prejudiced against Samaritans that some would go entirely out of the way, cross over the Jordan River and head south down the east side of the river and then cross back over once they had cleared Samaria and on into Judea.
• That trip took twice as long.
• So, here’s Jesus trying to head to Jerusalem, and here’s the record of that attempt.

Luke 9:51–54 (NKJV) — 51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.

• Did you hear that they did not receive Him?
• There was no room for Jesus in that Samaritan village.
• Now, one day Jesus did end up in Samaria to see a woman who had had five husbands and was living with number six.
• This woman had three strikes against her.
  • She was living in sin – strike one.
  • She was a Samaritan – strike two.
  • She was a woman – strike three.
• What did the disciples expect Jesus to do?
  • He came to His own; they didn’t receive Him – strike one.
  • He went to the Samaritans; they didn’t receive Him – strike two.
  • He goes to talk to a woman, and His disciples said basically, you can’t do that – strike three.
• There seems to have been no room for Jesus in this racially charged environment.

No Room for Jesus in Church

• Jesus went to the synagogue one day and stood up to preach.

Luke 4:17–19 (NKJV) — 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

• Jesus sat down; everything was good.
• But then, Jesus continued preaching.
• He said to that synagogue going crowd.

Luke 4:23–27 (NKJV) — 23 He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’ ” 24 Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; 26 but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

• When Jesus got to Naaman the Syrian, there was no room for Jesus in that church.
• They threw Him out of that church.
• And not only did they want to throw Him out of church, but they also wanted to throw Him off the cliff.
• In other words, “if you talk about Gentiles coming to God, there is no room for you on the planet” – that’s what the hypocrites said.
• “You are not even fit to live.”
• But here is the first message of Christmas.
• Jesus’ coming is the final and unanswerable proof that God cares about everybody!
  • Jew or Gentile
  • Rich or poor
  • Black or white
  • Man or woman
  • Adult or child

There was a grandfather who found his grandson jumping up and down in his playpen, crying at the top of his voice. When Johnnie saw his grandfather, he reached up his little chubby hands and said, “Out, Gramps, out.” It was only natural for the grandfather to reach down to lift him out of his predicament, but as he did, the mother of the child stepped up and said: “No, Johnnie, you are being punished–so you must stay in.” The grandfather was at a loss to know what to do. The child’s tears and chubby hands reached deep into his heart. But the mother’s firmness in correcting her son must not be taken lightly. But love found a way. The grandfather could not take the grandson out of the playpen, so he climbed in with him. Beloved that is what our Lord Jesus Christ did for us at the cross (or at Christmas). In leaving heaven for earth, He climbed in with us. The Bible says, “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. God got in the playpen with us!

• That’s the second message of Christmas.
• In a world that had no room for Jesus, He, by His death, burial, and resurrection, made room for you.

John 14:2 (NKJV) — 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

• God grant you this Christmas season, the light in Christmas, which is faith; the warmth of Christmas, which is love; the radiance of Christmas, which is purity; the righteousness of Christmas, which is justice; the belief in Christmas, which is truth; the all of Christmas, which is Christ.⁵

Why Doing the Word of God Is The Ticket to Success

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