Christmas Eve - 4000 Years of Labor Pains

by Jon Buck

“While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.”

- Luke 2:6

Everyone who has had a baby naturally knows just how unknown the exact moment of birth will be. Labor isn’t something that can be timed. Suddenly (and often at the most inopportune times) contractions start, the water breaks, and baby is on its way. Birth is such a massive life changing event, and yet there really isn’t a way to plan for it.

The same must have felt true for Joseph and Mary two thousand years ago, as they traveled to be registered in Bethlehem. The young couple knew that Mary was going to give birth—they just didn’t know when. They traveled the 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem on foot, likely in constant anticipation that the baby could be born at anytime.

In fact, even the language of Luke 2:6 is passive (‘the days were completed’) rather than active. But the completion of the days, and the specifics of God’s plan were anything but passive. He was in perfect control of this circumstance, and the details of the Savior’s birth were planned from eternity.

The labor waited until they arrived in Bethlehem because it had to wait in order to fulfill prophecy. The prophet Micah had predicted that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem (5:2), and that promise would be kept without fail.

But the birth of the Messiah was timed by more than just location. The Old Testament is filled with promises of a coming Messiah, from Genesis 3:15, all the way through the prophets and the history of Israel. Thousands of years and hundreds of promises, generations of those who were aware of God’s purpose—all had come together for this moment in history as this young couple made their way to Bethlehem.

In many ways, that night represented 4000 years of labor pains. All history had piled up to this one point, filled with hopes, dreams, and expectations, and the times were completed and the baby was born. God kept all His promises, and sent His Son into the world in the fullness of the time (Gal 4:4).

What can we learn from this?

That God is faithful to His promises. Perhaps you find yourself with the young couple in the labor pains of the night, without knowing what will come in the near future. Perhaps the fears of the future, and the doubts of what will come have kept you in doubt of God’s goodness. But no matter what comes, we have this certainty—that God is good, and that He will fulfill His purposes.

If He has the power to bring all the events together to bring His Son into the world, He has the power to keep your faith intact, no matter what the future holds. So trust His goodness, His sovereignty, and particularly His timing this year!