Room for Jesus was written to provide for children an account of the birth of Jesus that is consistent with the Bible, archaeology and cultural practices of the day. For too long, children’s books have told the story from the perspective of well-meaning, but misguided, Children’s Christmas Pageants.

Many of these pageants portray the story of the birth of Jesus featuring an “innkeeper” who told Joseph and Mary there was “no room in the inn.” This perpetuated a misunderstanding of the Greek word kataluma in Luke 2:7, translated “inn” in the KJV and most English versions of the Bible. But numerous scholarly works have shown that kataluma does not mean “inn.” This word instead refers to the "guest room" in one’s house. (The LSB and the newest version of the NIV correctly translate this word.) This was a room many Israelites would have had in their home, consistent with the biblical command to show hospitality to travelers.

Furthermore, there are Greek words for “inn” and “innkeeper” that Luke knew and did NOT use in the birth narrative. We know Luke knew them because he used both of these words in his account of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:34-35. The word for “inn” in v. 34 is pandocheion, the word Luke would have used in Luke 2:7 if he wanted to communicate that Joseph and Mary came to an inn and found it full. The word for “innkeeper” in v. 35 ispandocheus. Neither of these words are used in Luke's record of the birth of Jesus. Instead, Luke uses the word kataluma to refer to the "guest room" of the house in which they were staying. kataluma is also the word Luke uses in Luke 22:11 recording how Jesus told his disciples to find a “guest room” for the Passover meal.  

In concert with this textual data is the far-fetched idea that Middle Eastern hospitality would have allowed a pregnant woman to deliver her baby all alone in a stable while visiting in her husband’s hometown with relatives all around. This long-assumed part of the story is unfathomable and completely inconsistent with the cultural practices of the day as recounted in the Bible and contemporary texts.

Most of the best commentaries and scholarly articles on this topic explode the myth of the fabled “innkeeper” and dispel the notion that there was “no room in the inn” so that Jesus had to be born in a stable. Instead, they reveal a story that is much more consistent with the original language and cultural practices of the time: that because the guestroom in the house they were staying was full, a family made room for Jesus in their main living room. This room would have had a feeding trough, called a manger, along the floor where the animals could easily feed when they would be brought in from the cold. While most of the world would reject Jesus (John 1:10), the simple, peasant folk of Bethlehem assuredly welcomed his parents into their home!

If you’d like to pursue this further, there are numerous articles and books which explore this use of kataluma in the Lukan birth narrative. These include Kenneth Bailey’s book Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, Joel Green’s commentary on Luke in the New International Commentary on the New Testament, and Ben Witherington’s article “Birth of Jesus” in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels.

It is time we correct this all-important message in the hearts and minds of our children (and the adults reading the story to them!) May we all make room for Jesus!