Today we will have the testimony of the Innkeeper. He is here with us, and he will share his experience about that wonderful day when Jesus was born. You can read about the story in Luke 2:1-7.
Here is the innkeeper:
“Hi everybody! Please excuse me but I do not have a lot of time to talk to you, as you can see, we are very busy here. And as you can see, we do not have any more room.
Oh, you want to know about Jesus’ birth. OK I remember that. It was a crazy time for all of us in Bethlehem. As you should know in Bethlehem there was no Inn, in a commercial sense. Normally people like me would build an extra room in his house and receive guests there.
With some money we would build more rooms and them we could make some money, because that area was very busy during the religious festivals that happened in Jerusalem during the year.
At that time, we had a special event going on, the census. Everybody had to register in his or her hometown. That event brought many people to town. It was my chance to make some extra money. My house was full of people. We had people in the extra rooms that I built, we had people in our bedroom, and we had people in our living room.
I remember a couple, she was pregnant, and his name was Joseph. I felt bad but I could not receive them in my house, and I offered the stable. The stable was a cave where the animals could have some protection during the winter. I also had carved a manger in the inner part of the cave so the animals could be fed. The weather was warm, so we put the animals outside and let the couple stay inside the stable.
They were good people, very simply. They did not have a lot of money, so the stable was perfect for them and for me.
I heard when the baby was born. I saw the commotion of ladies going there to help them.
At that night I heard some shepherds coming and making a lot of noise, about that baby. They were talking about Angels that announced that this child would be the Messiah, the Lord and the Savior. I tried to quiet them down, but it was impossible, they were very excited.
After that people began to come to see the baby and his family.
Maybe you want to know why I did not go there to see what was going on, or, why I did not make room for them in my house.
Let me share with you my reasons for having Jesus so close to my house and yet, outside of it.
I was very busy! I did not have time to go there and check it out. There were so many things going on in Bethlehem with people coming from all over the country. Some of them family members, some of them important people that I did not have time to take care of Joseph, Mary and the Baby. My schedule was very busy. I had many things to do.
At the same time, I was glad that I could help in some way because they were using my stable. That gave me the feeling that I was doing something good for them, even if I did not have time for them.
There is another reason for not taking care of them in a better way. I could not afford to lose money. They did not have a lot of money. To have a room in Bethlehem during that time was very expensive. To accommodate them I would lose money. As you all know business comes first. Making money was my first priority during that time, and nothing would take me from that goal, even the birth of the Son of God.
But the main reason for not paying attention to that baby and his family was, I did not believe that the Son of David, the Lord and the Savior could be born from a humble family in a stable. I just could not believe in that.
If I believed, things would be different. I would rearrange my schedule to find time to go there and spend time with Him. I would move people around or I would move around to accommodate them in my house to be close to him.
It was my lack of faith that determined my attitude toward him.
For me he was only the son of a poor family that was born in my stable.”
Maybe Christmas season is one of the fewest times that you go to church to worship Jesus. Probably you, like the inn owner, do not have time or are working too much to make some money. Or maybe you just cannot believe that He is the Savior, the Lord and the Son of God. Because if you knew and believed that He is the Son of God, the Savior and the Lord, you would give your life, your time, and your money to Him.
Maybe you, like the inn owner will keep Jesus close to your house but not inside. You are going to do something good for him but not the most important thing, that it is to give your whole life to Him.
My friend, do not miss the opportunity.
Have a blessed week,
Pastor Lucas