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.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment