In last week’s Part 1 edition, we were ‘re-introduced’ to Mary, the most uniquely blessed woman in human history, and found her to be quite different from
how she’s often depicted in our Christmas pageants. The real Mary (whose name in Aramaic, the language spoken by Joseph and Mary, and eventually, by Jesus as well, was actually Maryam), wasn’t like the images portrayed hundreds of years later by imaginative Renaissance artists – and the same is true of the journey she undertook with Joseph. It certainly wasn’t like those pictures on our current-day Christmas cards. In light of that, for today’s session, we’re once again leaving the fanciful and fictional images behind. We’ll consider what it was really like for them as they departed from Nazareth and made their way to Bethlehem, the hometown of Joseph’s family. They didn’t have smart watches and electronic gadgets to measure their activities in those days, but rest assured, their trip racked up a lot more steps than we may have been led to think.
AS we begin Part 2 of our Revisiting the Christmas Story series, we could say quite literally that America’s Christmas season is ‘trucking along’ because everywhere we look, there are Amazon trucks, FedEx trucks, UPS trucks, Post Office trucks, and other delivery trucks. They’re seen on every highway, byway, and backwoods country road, and they’re on their way to unload boxes and bags filled with things that will, in many cases, be an unexpected Christmas surprise. And speaking of Christmas surprises, the Living God certainly led the way in delivering surprises as He prepared the way for that first Christmas.
God got the ball rolling when He sent His angel to the Temple to interrupt the aged priest, Zechariah, as he offered incense and delivered the incredible news that he and his barren wife, Elizabeth, were about to have a divinely-anointed son (Luke 1:5-25). Then, as we saw last week, Gabriel was dispatched to drop in on a young Jewish girl named Mary with an announcement that would only come once in human history (Luke 1:26-33). But God wasn’t yet done with delivering angelic surprises. Joseph had his own jaw dropping moments and unexpected course corrections as well (Matthew 1:18-25), but the life-changing surprises God had in store for them were just beginning.
No Travel Plan Included ~
For instance, the interactions that God’s angelic messengers had with either Mary or Joseph didn’t include the news that they’d soon need to make a packing list. A decree from Rome would demand that they leave their home, and undertake a long and potentially dangerous journey. But learning that they’d be going to Bethlehem might have brought a sense of relief felt by Joseph. First, that was because of the place the little town holds in the life of the patriarch Jacob, who was renamed Israel. But beyond that, Bethlehem was also the hometown of Israel’s greatest king, David – and because they were descendants of David, it was also the hometown of Joseph’s family. But Joseph and Mary’s presence would ensure that something more eternally and gloriously unforgettable about Bethlehem would soon be happening there.
Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem is reminiscent of another time thousands of years earlier when a pregnant woman close to God’s heart was traveling that same road. That story took place shortly after Jacob’s incredible meeting with God when the covenant He made with Abraham and Isaac was renewed and when Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. After that, Jacob, now “Israel”, along with his pregnant wife, Rachel, continued their homeward journey. As they approached Bethlehem, Rachel’s time came, and delivering her son didn’t end with joy as they had hoped. I described the event like this in Balancing Bethlehem, a blog I wrote a number of years ago:
“It must have been heartbreaking for Jacob to watch — Rachel’s infant son struggling to breathe his first breaths as his beloved Rachel fought to breathe those that would soon be her last. As her life ebbed away in sacrifice for his, Rachel called her baby boy, Ben-oni — “son of my sorrow”. Wracked with grief as he looked at the little face that had brought so much pain with it, Jacob saw that beyond the suffering, there was promise. In his infant son’s eyes, he saw life and strength and hope, and he called his name, Benjamin — “son of my right hand”. Heartache and hope joined hands in the shadow of that little village. Pain and promise weren’t enemies that night. They clung to each other, sharing the tears that love inevitably demands, and embracing the promise they accomplish together.”
No one but God knew then that in that same obscure little village, perhaps not far from the place where the son of Rachel’s sorrow became the son of Jacob’s right hand, pain and promise were destined to hold hands again. Now, thousands of years later, we still feel the power of that moment.
No Afterthought ~
So, Bethlehem was not an afterthought God inserted because a Roman ruler wanted a tax 
increase, but quite the opposite. Bethlehem was a special part of His plan from the beginning, and He used Caesar to get Mary and Joseph there to fulfill a promise He made. Through the prophet, Micah, God unveiled that Bethlehem would be the place where He would deliver the greatest gift the world would ever receive. Micah declared …
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting. (Micah 5:2 NKJV)
Given the traditional images we’ve seen all our lives, several things need to be addressed. To begin, their journey would not have been one of those “grab your overnight bag and go” kinds of trips. Covering the 94 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem would have represented at least a four to five-day trek over difficult terrain. And once there, they may not have known how long they might have to stay, making it hard to know how much to try to take with them. Complicating everything was the fact that they were poor, and their resources were very limited. The potential cost could have seemed overwhelming to them.
Traditional images of the trip depict Mary and Joseph trudging along the road alone, with Joseph leading a little donkey carrying Mary. She looks like she could give birth at almost any moment. BUT the lens of cultural reality allows us to upgrade our sad emotions.
“Not” a Lonely Journey ~
No sane person or couple would have undertaken a trip like that alone. The dangers from potential robbers, predators, and accidents were too great. People in that day traveled in
groups; the larger the better. That enabled them, especially in the strong communal culture of the time, to share resources and provide protection and assistance. Joseph and Mary would likely not have been the only people in the Nazareth area going to Bethlehem to be registered, and it’s likely that family members were among those traveling with them, as well. Either way, there’s virtually no likelihood that Mary and Joseph were traveling alone.
Another problem is that our relative wealth and extravagance makes it hard for us to relate to what being poor meant for them. We get a glimpse of that when Mary had to offer the required sacrifice for ritual cleansing after the birth of Jesus. A lamb was the preferred offering, but they could afford only a couple of doves, the cheapest sacrifice allowed. If they couldn’t even afford a lamb for such an important sacrifice, there’s no way they could have owned a donkey. Like most travelers in that day, Mary may have walked the entire way, but if she got to ride a donkey at all, it almost certainly would have belonged to someone else traveling with them.
Another part of the picture that has no reasonable or verifiable accuracy is the stage of Mary’s pregnancy and their arrival in Bethlehem. They’re constantly depicted as arriving alone and exhausted, late at night, and with Mary about to go into labor. They desperately pound on the door of the “Bethlehem Motel 6” until eventually the gruff, crude, heartless night manager opens the door and says something like, “Sorry Dude – the ‘No vacancy’ sign means what it says.”
No Biblical Roots ~
That tale was not derived from the actual biblical narrative or the prevailing social and cultural realities of the time. The story that has become an entrenched tradition has its roots
in a spurious, non-biblical, pseudepigraphical account concocted by an anonymous writer somewhere around 400 AD who claimed to be the biblical author, James. The biblical text offers no indication of how far along Mary’s pregnancy was when they made the journey or how long they had already been in Bethlehem when her time did come. The Scripture simply says that Joseph went to Bethlehem …
…to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that ‘while’ they were there [staying in Bethlehem], the days were completed for her to be delivered. (Luke 2:5–6 NKJV)
As we move forward in our series, we’ll learn next week that the Greek term translated “inn” in this specific instance was not a place for travelers to lodge at all. We’ll see that the situation that actually awaited them in Bethlehem makes the miraculous story even more glorious.
More lessons remain to be learned in our journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem with Mary and Joseph. I hope you’ll feel free to join the conversation and post some of your own insights and questions you may have in the Comments section below. A few that came to mind for me follow here:
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- Obedience can be challenging – and sometimes painful. But when we say “Yes” to God, there is no obstacle He cannot overcome in order to fulfill His plan for our lives.
- The tough roads ahead are better traveled in groups. The Church that Jesus designed was intended to promote sharing resources, protecting one another, and reaching out to help those who trip and fall along the way.
- God doesn’t show up just in moments of the miraculous. He’s with us on the road that leads to them.
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As we continue next week with Part 3 in ‘Revisiting’ the Christmas Story series, we hope you’ll join us again as we do just that … ‘Revisit’ the “Little Town of Bethlehem”.
“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to Tweet & Share from the pull quotes below. Each quote links directly back to this article through Twitter.
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- A lamb was the preferred sacrificial offering, but Mary and Joseph could afford only a couple of doves, the cheapest sacrifice allowed. If they couldn’t afford a lamb for such an important sacrifice, there’s no way they could have owned a donkey. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- Traditional images of the trip depict Mary and Joseph trudging along the road alone, with Joseph leading a little donkey carrying Mary. She looks like she could give birth at almost any moment. BUT the lens of cultural reality allows us to upgrade our sad emotions. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- Lesson learned: The tough roads ahead are better traveled in groups. The Church Jesus designed was intended to promote sharing resources, protecting one another, and reaching out to help those who who trip and fall along the way. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
Check out Ron’s book, “Right Side Up Thinking in an Upside Down World ~ Looking at the World through the Lens of Biblical Truth” The Kindle e-version is just $1.99. No Kindle device is needed. E-book readers are included on most computers, tablets, and smartphones. If you don’t have one, the free Kindle app can be easily downloaded directly from the Amazon site on almost any device.
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© 2025 Gallagher’s Pen, Ronald L. Gallagher, Ed.S. All rights reserved.
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Gallagher's Pen ~ 
I knew that there was no way Mary and Joseph traveled alone, Ron, especially because of the culture of the time. And I’ll bet she had lots of help when Jesus was finally delivered. Still, the story is so important as it shows both Mary’s and Joseph’s obedience to God’s will, completely trusting in Him and His promises. That’s an example we should all follow. Looking forward to Part 3! Blessings!
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Thank you, Martha, and you’re so right about the importance of highlighting their obedience. So often, it all comes down to that for us, doesn’t it. Saying that we “believe” is easy, but when that belief must be expressed by actively doing some of the difficult things God calls us to do, it doesn’t seem so easy. But just as it was with Mary and Joseph, there was joy waiting at the end of their journey that would reach far beyond the two of them. We don’t always see the impact that our obedience has, but I’m convinced that whenever we faithfully carry out what God has called us to do, there is beneficial effect for His Kingdom and blessing for others that we won’t see until Jesus returns or until we’re home with Him. Once again, your encouraging comments have added to our Christmas joy and we hope that God will do the same for you and Danny and the family.
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