Sunday December 20, 2020
When The Inn Is Full
Why wasn’t there room in the inn? We know God had this event planned since Adam sinned…even before the fall. Scripture tells us it happened in the fullness of time, meaning everything was fully ripe. God is a detailed and practical God. He knew Jesus needed to be born in Bethlehem so He inspired the census so Joseph and Mary had to go there. Why didn’t He arrange to have an open room at the inn?
Sometimes God’s perfect plan is messy. But it struck me when I read it this time…Mary and Joseph were right in the center of God’s will and plan and yet there was no room for them in the inn. We like it when all the pieces fit perfectly. Sometimes that happens. This is a good thing. It helps us increase our faith and it also helps us keep from putting God in a box.
You may ask the question, where is He wanted? Who wants Him? Where is there room for the Son of God? It is not uncommon for believers to have room for everything in their lives except Christ and His kingdom. Are you willing to open your heart to allow the Son of God to come in? Jesus wants room! Have you room for Him? Remember the words of Jesus to the church in Laodicea:
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me (Rev.3:20).
Let me show you where Jesus was welcomed. Jesus always stayed in the home of someone eager to hear His message.
- He stayed with Simon Peter and his family in Capernaum (Mk.1.29-34);
- with Zacchaeus the tax collector in Jericho (Lk.19.5);
- with Levi the customs officer in Bethsaida (Mk.2.14-15);
- at the home of a secret follower in Tyre (Mk.7.24);
- and with Simon the Leper (Mk.14.3)
- and Mary and Martha at Bethany (Jn.12.1-2)
Who didn’t have room for the Lord? Following Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He entered Decapolis and found two demon-possessed men. In His encounter with the demons, He allowed them to enter into a herd of pigs. Once the town learned of this event, Luke says,
Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they pleaded with Him to leave their region” (Luke 8:28-37).
Luke tells about Jesus’ return to Galilee and His teaching in the synagogues and the people praising Him. Then He went specifically to Nazareth where He had been brought up. On one occasion, He read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah on the Sabbath day. This visiting of the synagogues was not an occasional visit, but Luke informs his reader that this was the custom of Jesus. After the reading of Isaiah 61:1-2, Jesus informed His listeners: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” This encounter resulted in a conversation that degenerated into a showdown between the people and Jesus. In fact, this episode caused the people to drive Him out of town with a desire to throw Him down the cliff. Again, one can almost hear the phrase, “no room for them in the inn.” The undertone to this phrase almost staggers the imagination. (Lk.4:14-29)
On one occasion, shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus bemoans the rejection of Jerusalem:
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” (Matt.23:37).
Israel had “no room” for Jesus.
Perhaps most importantly, the Greek word most Bibles render “inn” (kataluma) doesn’t mean what we think in modern English. Tradition has obscured the true meaning here. Instead of “inn,” the word actually means “guest room.” In fact, you’ll find the same exact word used just that way in Luke 22:11 and Mark 14:14.
Let’s not just give Him our “room’s” and make room for Him…let’s seek Him! Amen. (See WORD WISDOM for a deeper study of seek)
