The Message of Jesus Birth

The Message of Jesus Birth

             “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields,                  

keeping watch over their flock by night.”  Luke 2:8

Almost everyone knows the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, Savior of the world.  We know how and why Jesus and Mary traveled to Bethlehem and how Jesus was born in either a stable or a cave.  We know it was a place where animals stayed because the Baby Jesus was placed in a manger.  While it’s a wonderful story regarding the birth of our Savior, there is far more to it than that.

If you really want to think deeper on this, imagine being in a place where animals stayed.  The smell was surely heavy with animal dung.  I’m sure fresh hay was put in an empty manger and no doubt covered with some kind of covering, and this newborn was wrapped in swaddling clothes.  It must have been cold and probably all they had to cover themselves for warmth, was a cloak.  I often wondered if someone from the village came to help deliver Jesus or did inexperienced Joseph help Mary to deliver the Child.  It was surely a traumatic event in the life of a teenage girl and a man who knew he had not fathered this baby. 

Mary and Joseph must have tried to settle down for the night when they heard a commotion outside the entrance.  They must have been frightened, because robbery was a common thing in those days, although this young couple certainly had nothing of value.  There must have been some conversation between Joseph and the shepherds before they entered the place where baby Jesus lay. Perhaps the shepherds told them what happened out on the hillside.  The shepherds were excited as they related the event that brought them to see the Baby. 

 “Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger. Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”   Luke 2:9-14 

 

There is no mention of the shepherds seeing a star; apparently the star did not appear the night Jesus was born and we hear nothing about its appearance until we read about the wise men, whose story will be told next week.

 

The one thing they did was to see the Babe themselves and everything was just as the angel had told them.  They told everyone they saw about the angelic visit and the baby that was born.  When they returned to the fields, they were praising and glorifying God.  This is what really happened the night Jesus was born.  Movies, books, pictures and Christmas cards give a different story of a stable; shepherds and wise men all kneeling around baby Jesus and a big star shining down on the stable.  It makes a lovely picture, although not a true one. 

Let’s look into the Old Testament at the prophecies that were fulfilled when Jesus was born.  Isaiah 7:14 tells that Jesus mother will be a virgin, Micah 5:2 says the Jesus would be born in Bethlehem; Genesis 49:10 tells us that he would come from the tribe of Judah.  Prophecy also tells of his life, death by crucifixion, resurrection and ascension into heaven. These things were foretold hundreds of years before Jesus birth.  These are just a few of many prophecies in the Bible that came true with the birth of Jesus.

Now, let us go deeper into the Message of Jesus Birth.  The message is this:  God sent his son, Jesus to save the world and set sinners free!  John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”   This is the message of the birth of Jesus Christ. 

There is no other way to be in heaven when you die, except to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and confess our sins, asking Him to forgive us.  The Bible says we must be “born again” and that means that after we invite Jesus into our spiritual heart, we change the way we lived in the past.  We put aside the worldly things that have kept us in place of discontent and unhappiness and turn to trusting in the Lord who gives us joy and strength.  You can receive this new life right now by asking Jesus to come into your life and heart.  This is the best Christmas gift you’ll ever have and it lasts for eternity.

Merry Christmas