Baby Born In A Barn

Baby Born in a Barn

Bible Blast: Read Luke 2:1-7

She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. Luke 2:7

A census is a way of collecting information about a group of people. Maybe you remember the census of 2010 when your mom or dad filled out the paperwork that reported how many people lived in your home, who they were, and how old they were. The government likes to know how many people it is responsible to protect.

Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem from their small town because of a census. Emperor Augustus called for it. This big count of the people gave him an idea of how his people were doing. The census required men to go back to the city they were born in and take their families with them, so Joseph took Mary and headed to Bethlehem. (It was a much bigger deal then than it is today!) It was during their stay in Bethlehem that Mary gave birth to Jesus, but it sure wasn’t a birth for a king!

Because the city was packed with visitors from the census, Mary and Joseph couldn’t find an inn or hotel to stay in. The available accommodations were all full of guests. Poor Mary! She was exhausted from the trip, and her body was starting to tell her, “It’s time for this baby to come!” If you’ve ever been around women during those last days of pregnancy, you might know just how uncomfortable they can be. As a woman’s body begins to press the baby out, she can feel the muscles in her stomach tightening and loosening. That can feel like bad cramps in the back and belly. It’s not a great time for a woman to be without a bed and some comfy pillows!

Joseph managed to find room in a barn of some sort, and that’s where Jesus was born. Mary wrapped him up and laid him down in his first crib, an animal’s feed bin. It sure wasn’t very luxurious. There’s a good chance that aside from Mary’s and Joseph’s voices, the first noises the infant Jesus heard were the animal sounds of cows, sheep, chickens, and goats.

How perfect is that? The first sounds Jesus heard were the sounds of the animals his heavenly Father had created.

Girl Gab: Talk this out with your mom. Why do you think God arranged for his Son to be born in a barn? If you are able to, visit a barn nearby. While you’re there, notice everything you can. Close your eyes. What do you hear? What do you smell? What’s the sound under your feet as you walk? Is it breezy or cozy? Are there birds in the rafters? What’s the barn used for? What would be some of the cool things about being born in a barn? What would be difficult?