A simple birth

Here's Darrell Bock, commenting on the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:6.

“The birth of Jesus is told with simplicity. … The birth itself is told briefly without any details as to why the couple stays in the stable. There is no account of a search for a place, an idea that erroneously leaves an impression that the couple find the last place in town. There is no speculation about a harsh innkeeper who cannot provide a room. Neither is there a suggestion that the parents are too poor. Rather, Mary’s time comes; so she bears the child in a stable, wraps him up, and places him in what probably is an empty feed trough (2:7).” (Baker Exegetical Commentary, page 206)

And, apart from the "stable", this is an excellent summary:

“The simple birth of Jesus Christ is somewhat paradoxical, since the Messiah is born in a room normally reserved for animals. From such humble beginnings will emerge the ‘rising morning sun from on high’ (1:79). Jesus Christ has the right heritage: he is born of pious Davidic parents in the city that the OT promised would be the birthplace of a ruler. The ‘chance’ of a census had made it happen. Rome was an unconscious agent in God’s work. The profane degree of a census had yielded a divine event. A stable was the Messiah’s first throne room.” (Page 209)

Happy Christmas!