B (9:12)

None of.

A (9:13)

This is to say that Christmas isn't special or sacred, but it does mean your annoying know it all friend can pipe down and have another eggnog. And while they do, let's get back to the business at hand, which is, as it happens, the supposed stable incident. Bethlehem, where there's 100% occupancy in all the guesthouses. Where does that bit of the story come from and how much of it is in the Gospels? Well, for this bit of the Nativity we have to turn to Luke. As we heard last time, Luke's take on Jesus is what I've called the social Worker Saviour narrative. While Matthew is all about Christ as the promised Messiah and King. For Luke, Christ's ministry was all about care for the downtrodden. So Luke's Nativity, which is the one I'll mostly be drawing on today, is all about emphasising Jesus dirt poor origins. Matthew is Mr. Once in Royal David's city, Luke is definitely more away in a manger. Now, Luke tells us that Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem for this Roman census, but his account of the actual birth is terse, almost to the point of neglect. When they get to Bethlehem, Luke says Mary brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn, which is cool but pretty light on detail. And even the detail Luke does give is open to interpretation. For example, there might not even have been an inn. The famous Nativity passage I just quoted comes from the King James Bible, the classic English translation of the Bible written back in 1611. The KJB is a doozy of a book other than the collected works of Shakespeare, there's probably no other source of so many English phrases. If you've ever seen eye to eye with someone or or escaped by the skin of your teeth, or resolved to eat, drink and be merry, you're quoting this book. It's the KJB that gives us no room at the inn. Now, such a famous turn of phrase that it's become idiomatic English for fully booked or just full. But if you look at more modern English translations of the Bible, the phrase no room at the inn is very often rendered differently. Let's take the sexily named New Revised Standard Version, updated edition, translated in 2021 and updated in 2025. This one says she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger because there was no place in the guest room. The guest room is definitely not as evocative as the inn, but it's now reckoned to be a better translation of the Greek term katalima, which means a private lodging rather than a public house. Quite why the translators didn't go with Airbnb, I don't know. Anyway, let's put all this textual quibbling aside and agree that Luke says Bethlehem was fully booked. He doesn't mention a stable. In fact, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is built over a grotto or cave. He does mention swaddling cloths, which feels plausible. People still swaddle newborns today on the assumption that being wrapped up nice and tight is supposed to be more comforting for young babies and helps them sleep. But of course, let's bear this in mind in telling us about the swaddling cloths, quite a niche detail for an otherwise hazy account. Luke is probably trying to foreshadow the end of his story, where the crucified Christ will be wrapped in his grave clothes before he's committed to his tomb. But so far as details of the classic nativity scene are concerned, that's all we have. There's a manger, a baby Jesus, a Mary and Joseph, but no ox, a and no ass, and not even definitely a stable. That being said, it's from Luke that we do get some of the most famous characters from the Nativity, because outside Bethlehem, in the fields where livestock graze, a group of shepherds are minding their own business. So far as they're concerned, it's just another evening watching their flocks. But they're about to get the shock of their lives. When I was a little boy in.

D (14:11)

The Middle Ages, I loved window shopping at the market. The sharp clink of the blacksmith making the day's most fashionable armour plates. But the next week, the stall disappeared.

A (14:21)

I was devastated.

D (14:22)

If only I had a magic portal to help me retrace my steps. Thankfully, Shopify does just that. If you've ever found yourself scrolling an online store with that purple shop button glowing in the corner or that's Shopify. It's an online commerce platform that makes buying and selling super easy. Shopify gives everyone that extra push to make that final purchase with one magic button. It saves all of those last minute details like payment and shipping information, so you don't have to plug them in every time. So if you want fewer people abandoning your cart, give Shopify a try. Sign up for your pound one per month trial and start selling today at shopify.co.uk thisishistory Go to shopify.co.uk thisISHistory that's shopify.co.uk thisIShistory.

E (15:13)

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A (15:45)

Darkness has fallen over the fields outside Bethlehem and the shepherds watching their flocks try to keep their eyes and Ears open. The night shift can drag a bit, but you don't want to fall asleep. The hills of Judea are roamed by predators who like nothing better than a cheeky chomp on a lamb donna. Wolves and bears prowl the hillsides. Lions live in the caves and they have a particularly bad reputation in this region. Back in the day when the great King David was a shepherd, he spent his childhood fighting lions. They used to nab his father's lambs and if he couldn't scare them off by hurling stones with his sling, he'd have to chase after them, smack them on the head and rescue the sheep from their mouths. If the lion tried to get spicy, David would have to, in his words, catch it by the jaw, strike it down and kill it. So being a shepherd out here is no joke. You never know what the night is going to bring. On this night, the shepherds are watching the sheep and passing small talk and listening out for roars and howls, when suddenly there's a blinding flash of light. And before they know what's going on, an angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. Arguably, angels need to learn how to make a more low key entrance because just like Mary before them, these shepherds are scared out of their wits. But the angel tells them to relax, do not be afraid. For see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people, it says. What's that now? Well, here's where Luke gets kind of Matthew y for a moment. The angel tells the shepherds what the good news is to you. Is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is the Messiah, the Lord. If they want to go and check this out, they need to get down to Bethlehem pronto. The angel tells them this will be a sign for you. You will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a mountain. At which point we're back to being Luki again. Because what greater juxtaposition could there be than the future saviour, messiah and lord lying wrapped up in little bands of cloth in an animal trough? It's standing everything these shepherds know about the way the world works on its head. Kings aren't supposed to be born into poverty and announced to Animal World workers. They're clients of the Roman Empire, whose ultimate boss, the first emperor Augustus, is currently engaged in cladding every building of the imperial capital in marble. And yet, at the same time, this is clearly providential because as they know, the greatest king in the history of the Jewish people, that's David was a shepherd on these very same hills, fighting lions on the daily so mad and scary as it is, this doesn't seem totally insane. And in case the shepherds need it any more convincing, the angel lays on a light show for them. A whole bunch of heavenly beings appear, blazing in the night sky, and they strike up a song. Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth, peace to those who leave favors. It's like being in the sphere at Vegas. But then, just as suddenly as they appeared, the angels are gone. The shepherds take counsel with each other and agree they're not hallucinating. If what the angel and his flash mob just told them was true, they have to see it for themselves. Luke doesn't say how many shepherds are out there in the fields. He doesn't mention whether they leave anyone out there to look after the sheep, or whether they decide that the angelic pyrotechnics have probably scared the wits out of the lions, bears and wolves and they can risk leaving the flock for a bit. He just tells us that when the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us. And so the first witnesses to this miraculous birth set out from the fields and make their way down to Bethlehem to take their place in a scene that will one day become an iconic tableau of a world religion.

F (20:46)

Jason Disney asked me to do this podcast thing. I need some advice.

B (20:49)

You've got to have banger guests Walker.

F (20:52)

And Leah, Daniel Deamer, Tim Simons, Adam Coveland.

A (20:55)

You're the one asking the questions. How have they better answer?

E (20:59)

I don't know anything epic this season is just make a quest.

F (21:05)

I'm Arian Samadry. Welcome to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians official podcast, Available wherever you get your podcasts and watch season two of Percy Jackson streaming now on Disney and Hulu. Learn more@disneyplus.com whatson.

A (21:20)

Mary rocks the baby Jesus in her arms and gently comforts him. He's only a few hours old, and at that tender age, there are only a few things babies need. They feed, they burp, and they sleep. It's Mary's first go as the mother of God, but for now she's keeping it simple. She's got him wrapped up nice and cozy in his swaddling cloths. As he finally settles down to sleep, she lays him gently in the manger. To be fair, it isn't much to look at. They'll definitely need to go to the Nazareth branch of IKEA when they get home so that Joseph can put his famous carpentry skills to good use assembling a proper crib. For now though, it'll do. In fact, Mary could use a nap herself. The long walk to Bethlehem plus the strain of the birthday has taken it right out of her. No chance, as anyone who's had a baby will probably know once word gets out that you've popped that front doorbell, doesn't stop going for weeks. Everyone and his granny will be coming by, dropping in with flowers and baby grows and wanting a cuddle and a coochie, coochie coo. True to form, Mary's baby has just settled down when through the streets of Bethlehem comes a gaggle of grubby looking dudes with crooks in their hands and expressions of wide eyed amazement on their faces from the faint odor of sheep pellets that wafts around them. Mary's gonna guess that these lads are shepherds. When they spot the manger, they confirm it. They have a whole story, in fact. Angels in the sky, a song of some sort. Yeah, it tracks. And it seems that what they see in the manger matches what the angel told them. Because no sooner have the shepherds taken a look at the baby, they're running round the streets telling everyone they meet what's happened. As Luke puts it, when they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child. And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. As indeed you would be. But of course, as ever, Luke's giving us, the readers of the Gospel, a coded message. Just as he's told us, Jesus is in swaddling cloths, preempting the grave clothes he'll wear during the Passion. So the shepherds spreading good news are foreshadowing something else. Luke himself is an evangelist, someone who's made it his life's mission to tell others about what happened to Christ in Jerusalem. That's why he's writing his gospel. And it's why he weaves into his gospel a bit of symbolic proto evangelism. The very first people outside the holy family to clap eyes on Jesus are humble shepherds. On one level, as we've heard, they're there to remind us that Jesus ancestor, King David, also started life as a poor shepherd in Bethlehem. But on another, they're there to preempt the apostles, disciples and evangelists who buy into Christ's ministry, embody the virtues of poverty and humility and go out and tell the world the good news. What's more, according to Luke, they're very welcome visitors. When Mary realizes they're going out into Bethlehem singing her baby's praises, she treasured their words and pondered them in her heart. Even better, the shepherds don't hang around the manger expecting Mary to make them cups of tea. Once they've had a squidge of the baby and spread the happy tidings, they hurry away back to the fields, glorifying and praising God for all all they'd heard and seen, just as it had been told them. Good idea. The lions are only going to go hungry for so long. So where does that leave us? Well, so far as our Nativity goes, we've had a virgin pregnancy, a long trip to Bethlehem, no room at the inn, a manger and some swaddling cloths. Shepherds and more heavenly hosts than you can shake a halo at. There are, though, three people missing to make this scene complete. Or rather four, because somewhere to the east of Bethlehem, a strange star has risen. A bunch of well dressed eggheads known as Magi. Wise men or kings, think they know what it means, and they're now on their way bearing gifts that are frankly a bit better than big smiles and the waft of sheep droppings. Which is great. But what's not great is that closer at hand, there's another king who's heard of the goings on in Bethlehem and he doesn't like the sound of it one bit. His name is Herod the Great and he could be about to put the kibosh on Christianity for good. That's for next time when we reach our miniseries finale of this Is History, a nativity to die for.

B (26:59)

Sa.

A (27:25)

Well, there he is. I can see Luke's baby Jesus sleeping soundly in the manger as I speak. In next week's episode, some strange men are going to pay him a visit, carrying some very famous gifts. So, to my dear royal favourites, that's prompted our resident Nativity expert, Helen Bond, to ask, what is the strangest present you've ever given a baby? Or the strangest present you've ever heard of someone else giving to a baby? Visit patreon.com thisishistory to continue that discussion.

G (28:01)

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