Luke 2:6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And in speaking of the greatness of the event of Christmas Day, let us observe further one peculiarity of its outward circumstances that conveys to us a special lesson concerning greatness of all kinds. This decisive world-historical birthday took place in a small inn of a small village of a small province of a small nation. It was the greatest of events on the smallest of scales. There are some who think that all events and characters are to be measured by the magnitude of the stage on which they appear; there are some who are perplexed by the thought that this globe, on which the history of man is enacted, is now known to be a mere speck in the universe: there are some who are startled on learning for the first time that the heathen world far outnumbers the Christian, and that the famous Indian teacher, Buddha, counts myriads more worshippers than Christ. But the moment we go below the surface we find that the truth conveyed to us by the birth of the world's Redeemer in the little village of Bethlehem is the likeness of a principle which ramifies far and wide. It was once said to me by a distinguished American, "The truth which needs especially to be impressed upon us Americans is that bigness is not greatness." It was a truth which a well-known English philosopher had already impressed upon his American audience with a courage which they were honest enough to appreciate. The fact is that the great nations of the world have almost always been amongst the smallest in size. Europe is diminutive compared with any of the other continents, and yet Europe is certainly the seat and centre of the world's history. Athens in its greatest days was as nothing compared with Babylon and Nineveh, and yet Athens was the eye of the world's civilization. Palestine was not nearly half the size even of our own little island, and yet Palestine is the cradle of the world's religion. (Dean Stanley.) Parallel Verses KJV: And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.WEB: It happened, while they were there, that the day had come that she should give birth. |
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