A CHILD is Born

Unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you, you shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.  

Luke 2:10-11

For 400 yrs God had not spoken to the nation of Israel or anyone else as far as we know. Then the silence is broken and in Luke 1 we have the record that the angel of the Lord appeared to Zacharias as he stood there on the right side of the altar of incense, telling him that Elizabeth would bear him a son. And then the angel Gabriel is sent from God unto a city of Nazareth, to a virgin, with the message that she would bring forth a Son, and thou shall call His Name JESUS. Then in Luke 2 we have an account of the birth of Jesus and what the angel said to the shepherds, Luk 2:10-11.

It is wonderful to see a little baby come into the world, and that is the way God entered the world. He could have entered—as He will when He comes to earth the second time—in power and great glory. Instead, He came in the weakest way possible, as a baby. There should have been more than just a few shepherds and angels to welcome Him—all of creation should have been there. We cannot fathom it out in our minds when we  think of the Creator and Sustainer of the universe entering human history not to a hero's welcome, but as a little Babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Yet this is the truth of the Incarnation.

How would the shepherds recognize Him? The angels gave them a twofold sign. First the Baby would be wrapped in swaddling cloths. They had probably seen babies in swaddling cloths before. But the angels had just announced that this Baby was the Lord. No one had ever seen the Lord as a little Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths. The second part of the sign was that He would be lying in a manger. It is doubtful that the shepherds had ever seen a baby in such an unlikely place. This indignity was reserved for the Lord of life and glory when He came into our world.

This Baby was the Saviour, who is Christ the Lord! Here we have some theology in miniature. First, He is a Saviour, which is expressed in His name, Jesus. Then He is Christ, the Anointed of God, the Messiah of Israel. Finally, He is the Lord, God manifest in the flesh. He was One of the Godhead.  Here in Bethlehem is where the Christmas story begins, and without the incarnation, Calvary and the Garden tomb are meaningless unless He is Who He claimed to be, unless He is "God manifest in flesh".

Note His Poverty – laid in a manger. They brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord and offered there a pair of turtledoves, or 2 young pigeons, and by this offering “His poverty” is emphasised. No soft bed, no beautiful room, but coming into this world  He was laid in a manger.  When He left this world He was laid in a tomb, the gift of a rich man. His cradle was a manger, His death bed was a wooden cross, and His grave was the gift of a rich man.