So They Came, So They Found

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

So we read in Luke 2:16 that the shepherds ("they") who had resolved to go to Bethlehem hustled there ("came with haste") to find Mary, and Joseph, and the babe (in our English, baby) lying in a manger. Did you notice that "the babe" Jesus "lying in a manger" is not named at all in the Gospel account of the story we call the Nativity? Jewish babies, at least male ones, at that time did not get their names until they were circumcised the eighth day after they were born. I have used Jesus' Name in this study because we know who He is, but until the mark of being consecrated unto God that circumcision is which dates all the way back to Abraham, who in Genesis 17 is told to circumcise himself as a sign of the covenant of God with him and all of his descendants, He is not named.

The shepherds knew they needed to get to Beth-lehem as fast as they could, even with the town likely not far away ... after all, Joseph and Mary (and Jesus) were only there to be counted in the Roman census, see verses one through five. Exactly how long it took to count Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger there along with the rest of the people hastily assembled in town we are not told, but it is a safe bet there was a rush of people to get out and get back home too after they had been counted and satisfied the Roman census-takers. Probably more of a rush, in all fairness. But Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger certainly needed a rest after Mary had given birth and it makes the most sense that this is when the shepherds arrived, when the baby was sleeping.

After all, Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger have a nearly six mile (nine kilometer) trip to make to Jerusalem to have Jesus circumcised the eighth day after He was born. It makes sense to rest up for that! Did someone -- someone other than an angel -- tell the shepherds who may have surprised a lot of people coming into the city at night where they would find a family in a manger? Again, we are not told, and it likely does not matter. But a woman, and a man, and a babe lying in a manger were likely not a common sight in a place known for sheltering animals so someone might have commented on it and helped the shepherds along hoping they would go away quickly -- remember, shepherds were not highly regarded by city folk. That did not matter right then. Now.