Hot enough for you? Maybe I can cool things down by talking about Christmas.

Remember this verse in the Christmas story: “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7)? I love it. I’ve done Christmas sermons from the point of view of the innkeeper. Despite the use of the word “inn” in numerous Bibles, it is a bad translation of the Greek word kataluma. A better translation might be “guest room.”

Like most pastors who learned Greek, I’ve known about the translation problem for a long time. It was only recently, however, that I actually investigated the word kataluma in my gigantic, ten-volume Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. The root of the word means laying down one’s burdens. Makes sense. The guest room would be a place for the guest to lay down your burdens and rest.

It’s interesting because the word kataluma appears one other place at Luke 22:11 where it refers to the room where Jesus holds the last supper. That puts an interesting twist on the two stories. There was no place for Jesus to lay down his burdens until he shared his last supper with his disciples. His teaching and ministry with them has ended. Now he is ready for final act of his earthly life–the cross from which he declares “It is accomplished” at the moment of his death.

Isn’t it strange where studying one word of Scripture can take you?

Read Luke 2:1-7 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne