In a Stable?

One of the great ironies about those who want to get back to the ‘true meaning of Christmas’ is that they usually are firm believers in the myths of Christmas. No, I’m not talking about Santa, nine reindeer and a sleigh full of toys. No need to look at obvious fantasy to find a myth, just look at any ‘nativity scene.’
The bible never says Jesus was born in a stable. In fact, an in-depth bible study, complete with understanding Matthew’s and Luke’s stories through the eyes of a first century Jewish Christian, will show you the fallacy of the stable myth.
When the angels told the shepherds that they would find the babe in a manger, they weren’t telling them to look for a barn, they were telling them to look for a peasant’s home. See, peasants’ homes in Judea had mangers in the entryway which was a little lower than the main living area. Almost everyone had at least a few sheep and goats. Most nights, they would bring their sheep and goats into that front entryway. In the morning, the town’s shepherds would gather up all the sheep and take them out to the field.
Bethlehem was a very small town. Those shepherds probably knew everyone in town. They knew who was pregnant, so they didn’t have much trouble finding the right house.
The purpose of that story was to show that the Messiah was a peasant, not a king. It was only the beginning of the ways he would be unforeseen even though he was long expected. That’s part of the true meaning of Christmas – our God is found in unexpected places.
The true meaning of Christmas isn’t about a mean innkeeper and finding room for Jesus in your heart. The inn is another myth of the Christmas story.