That and terms like it are laced thru out all the narrative...
If that which you claim is accurate, there is nothing that stands out about the birth of Jesus...It wasn't remarkable at all...It's not even worth mentioning in the scriptures...
One of the signs that the shepherds were given to find Jesus, if they hadn't noticed the neon sign was that he was lying in a manger...So we know regardless of your story that a newborn baby lying in a manger was very remarkable...
And God found it necessary for us to know that the guestroom of the relative of Joseph was full so they put Mary in the main bedroom??? C'mon...you can do better than that...
I don't buy your story...Laying in a manger and being wrapped in swaddling clothes with eye witnesses were the signs given to the World that Jesus was the fulfillment of the OT prophecies...
If Jesus was born in a house full of people, there would have been no need for outside witnesses...In fact, who would believe such a common occurrance???
'Jesus was born in a crowded house in the suburbs of Bethlehem...Therefore, believe'...Ya, right...
Exactly.
Words like seems, doubtful, probably.
Sure it is. It certainly wasn't an honor to have to stay with the animals and to sleep in a manger. But it was better than the alternative...to be outside.
One of the signs that the shepherds were given to find Jesus, if they hadn't noticed the neon sign was that he was lying in a manger...So we know regardless of your story that a newborn baby lying in a manger was very remarkable..
Yup and as the story points out part of the wonder was that the shepherds were told that that the baby to be born was the messiah...the future king...and he wasn't going to be born in a setting of the rich and powerful but in the house of a peasant family. That alone would have been a shock to many..
If Jesus was born in a house full of people, there would have been no need for outside witnesses...In fact, who would believe such a common occurrence???
I'm not sure if the role of the shepherds were to be merely witnesses. Their role seemed to be one more of spreading the news. I did a quick study and there are some who believe that shepherds in the time of Christ were kind of like dog walkers...a poor family might not have many sheep so a shepherd would take the sheep from many families out to the field to take to tend them. Because of this they would be dealing with many diverse peoples...just speculating then that they would be in a position to tell many people. And of course the other thing is that they it was appropriate for shepherds to come tend the lamb of God.