The story of the birth of Christ, as many have heard it, includes Joseph’s and the expectant Mary’s struggle to find a place to stay in Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus in a stable, and the adoration of the Magi and the shepherds.

However, if we read the accounts of the Nativity in Matthew and Luke, we must reconsider some details.

Of course, the Fathers of the Church and the iconographers used some elements and, through poetic license, emphasized certain theological truths. Yet, everything we read and sing does not necessarily portray what truly happened.

Matthew’s account is brief and concise, while Luke provides more detail.

Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be registered according to the decree of the Roman Emperor.

Luke’s narrative suggests that Joseph and Mary had already been in Bethlehem for some time when the moment of birth arrived. The common impression that Mary went into labor immediately upon arriving and that they desperately searched for lodging cannot be sustained from Luke’s account.

Moreover, many people think that Joseph and Mary went to the cave because there was no room in the inn and no one wanted to host them. Yet Luke does not say this. He simply states that Mary gave birth and laid the baby in a manger—meaning the place where animals were kept—because there was no suitable place for them at the lodging.

The Greek word katalyma (κατάλυμα) means a temporary place of residence or hospitality. It can refer to an inn but also to a house. In either case, Joseph and Mary were not left on the street. Let us not forget that Bethlehem was also home to their relatives and family friends. Did all of them abandon the pregnant Mary outdoors? Certainly not. Luke tells us only that there was no suitable place for childbirth in the lodging, whether it was an inn or a home. Remember that during the census Bethlehem was crowded with visitors. Naturally, homes were filled with people. How could a woman give birth in a room full of others? For that reason, they decided that Mary should go to the stable—likely a cave-like area—where there was quiet, privacy, and warmth.

The stable (the cave) might have been the ground floor of a house, as was customary at the time, or the stable of an inn. The evangelists make no reference to animals being present there.

Furthermore, the Magi did not arrive at the cave at the time of Jesus’ birth. This occurred several days or even months later. Matthew refers to a house and calls Jesus a child (not an infant), which indicates that the visit of the Magi took place some time after the birth.

Matthew does not mention the number of Magi. We assume there were three because of the three gifts the evangelist lists. The word “Magi” (from the ancient Persian magush) originally referred to members of a priestly caste among the Medes. The Magi were a group of priests and wise men who served the religion of Zoroaster. They performed religious rituals and divination, offering sacrifices and interpreting celestial phenomena and dreams. After the unification of Persia under Cyrus the Great (6th century BC), this class gained significant influence and was employed by the Achaemenid kings as advisors and astrologers. By the 1st century AD, when Matthew was writing, the term “Magus” generally referred to a wise man of the East—someone skilled in astronomy, philosophy, and divination. Church Fathers such as John Chrysostom and Jerome maintained that the Magi were not random astrologers but men with some knowledge of Jewish prophecy.

Finally, it is noteworthy that the sign given by the angel to the shepherds to recognize the infant Jesus was that he would be wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. Most of the Church Fathers (such as Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Cyril of Alexandria) emphasize that this sign was not some wondrous light or supernatural event, but Christ’s humility. The Messiah was not found in palaces but in a manger—the simplest and humblest of settings. The “swaddled infant” highlights that God truly became human, embracing human weakness and poverty. Moreover, the manger symbolizes the Holy Eucharist. Just as the manger provides food for animals, so Christ would become spiritual nourishment through His body and blood for all humanity. The swaddling cloths also prefigure His future sacrifice.

Bonus: The midwife who appears in icons of the Nativity does not appear in the narratives of Matthew or Luke. References to two midwives can be found in the Protoevangelium of James and the Apocryphal Gospel of Matthew. Joseph went to find them, but when they arrived at the cave, Mary had already given birth.

+ Metropolitan Nektarios of Hong Kong and South East Asia