On The Road - Mary, Traveling

Luke 2:1-7

As we discovered a few days ago with the innkeeper’s wife, there are things we take as fact regarding Jesus’ birth that aren’t in the Bible. Often during those nativity plays, Joseph and Mary, who is close to giving birth, show up at the inn-that-has-no-room with a donkey. Guess what. There’s no donkey in the biblical Christmas story.

In reality, there could have been a donkey. It was a common beast of burden in that place and time. Some three decades later, Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on one. And it’s a fair assumption that Joseph would try his best to make sure the nine-months-pregnant Mary wouldn’t have to walk across the country.

Yet it’s also likely that the couple journeyed in a caravan with other travelers. There would certainly be many others moving from place to place for the census—perhaps even some relatives. In this case, there might have been a wagon or cart for Mary to ride in, at least part of the way. And donkeys.

It was a trip of eighty to one hundred miles, depending on the route taken. There was a good road that followed the mountain range through the center of Israel, but it led through Samaria, which could be dangerous for Jewish travelers. Another route hooked west toward the sea, and another hugged the eastern side of the Jordan River. Able-bodied travelers and caravans routinely went twenty miles a day, so it was a four- or five-day trip. With a pregnant woman, it might have taken a week.

Whatever the details, it’s safe to assume that the trip was physically uncomfortable and difficult for Mary. Pregnancy is hard enough when you’re sitting still! It’s easy to imagine that at times during the trip she thought she wouldn’t be able to endure.

How do you deal with pain and discomfort? Have you had times you thought you just couldn’t get through—physical illness or injury, or perhaps emotional loss? When you’re in the middle of such pain, it’s hard to see the light ahead.

Mary had a promise that kept her going. God was alive within her. In a different way, the same could be said of us.

Because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.

Luke 2:4-5