Christmas is a magical season, and it is an amazing season. It is magical because of the sweet intimate moments you get to share with loved ones; it is amazing due to the fact that a little Child born over two thousand years ago, in a non-media age (no Instagram, no video cameras, and no Tik-Tok, etc.) could still be trending today—and trending at a level that makes Shohei Ohtani (the Dodgers’ new player) look like a no-name celebrity. This Child never held a political position and never was a professional athlete. So what was it about that little Baby, wrapped in simple cloth, lying in an animal’s feeding trough that made Him so renowned?
The answer is found in the good news delivered to shepherds while they kept watch over their flock at night. The God-illuminated angel declared, “I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
There are four truths about this message that demand our meditation as we gaze at the manger scene this Christmas season. The first truth is that this Baby was Israel's long-awaited Messiah. This news should have woken up all of Israel, because this was the headline that they were all awaiting. Every Jew knew the hope of their fathers was to be found in the promises given through their prophets that their Messiah would come from the descendants of David and sit on David’s throne as Israel’s everlasting King (2 Sam 7), and He would rule over all the nations, bringing vengeance against those who have rebelled against His Sovereign rule and mistreated Israel. He would bring peace to Israel (here are a few of those Messianic promises from just one prophet: Isaiah 2:1-22; 4:1-6; 7:13-14; 9:1-7; 11:1-9; 24:1–27; 25:1-27:13; 40:1-11; 42:1-13; 52:13-53:12; 63:1-6; 65:17-25; 66:5-24).
This was the hope of Israel, especially at this time when they were being heavily oppressed by the Romans. And as Jesus’ life unfolded, this is exactly who Jesus claimed and proved to be, which is evidenced by the fact that the cross on which He died proclaimed “King of the Jews.” This announcement was exciting and unbelievable news: Israel’s God-promised Messiah has come, just as God had promised.
The second truth is that this Baby is mankind’s Savior. This truth would have been part of Israel’s expectations for their Messiah. But the full understanding could have never been understood by the greatest of Israel’s Bible scholars. This salvation was not just military deliverance. In a far greater way, it involved eternally salvific sin deliverance. As prophesied by Isaiah, God would send His suffering servant to become a guilt offering for the sins of humanity (Isa 53:10). He would be poured out to death and numbered with sinners as a transgressor, so that He might bear upon Himself the penalty for the sin of those who put their faith in Him (Isa 53:12) and thus save humanity from the just penalty of their own transgressions (Isa 53:5-6). Putting this truth into New Testament language, God would send forth His Son, who knew no sin, to become sin on our behalf, that we might be declared by God to be righteous as a result of the work of Christ done on our behalf (2 Cor 5:21).
It is for this reason, in Matthew’s gospel, an angel of the Lord comes to Joseph and declares to him “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife…she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” This is why John the Baptist describes Jesus as “The lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). So this proclamation about this Baby being a Savior had far more meaning than these shepherds could have imagined. They had no concept that this spotless baby would 32 years later lay His life down, as a lamb, as a sin offering for the whole world. But this was precisely who this Child proved to be as the Savior.
The third truth is that this Baby, Israel’s Messiah and Savior, is the Lord himself. Now this truth, if comprehended, is the most astonishing. The Baby was the Lord! Notice: the angel of the Lord (of God, Luke 2:9), who shone forth the glory of the Lord (of God, Luke 2:9), is here as a Baby “the Lord” (God, Luke 2:11). This word “Lord” (kurios), used three times, literally means, “owner, king, or sovereign.” This word “Lord” is the name used for God (“YHWH”) in the Old Testament. In essence the angel is declaring the fact that the God of glory for whom the angel is a servant, has been born. It is for this reason that Matthew says that Jesus should be called “Immanuel…God with us" (1:23). This truth is validated by John’s gospel when John introduces Jesus as the one who was from the beginning with God and who was God (John 1:1), the creator of all things (John 1:3; Col 1:16), and the one through whom humanity was able to behold the glory of God (John 1:14, 18).
Jesus’ life affirmed that He is God in the flesh. After all, how was Jesus able to forgive sin, control the storms, multiply food, command demons, and raise from the dead? Or why was Jesus to receive worship from angels, people, and demons (especially when all Israel knew that they were to worship God exclusively)? Or how was Jesus to fulfill His claims to have lived before John the Baptist, Abraham, and before all things? Or how could Jesus’ claims be true that to know Him is to know God, to see Him is to see God, to believe in Him is to believe in God, to hate Him is to hate God, to honor Him is to honor God, and to receive Him is to receive God (John 5:23; 12:44-45, 14:1, 9, 23; Mark 9:37)? Thus, this angel was declaring what Jesus lived out. The angel was declaring that Jesus is the Lord—God coming to earth as Israel’s Savior and Messiah.
The fourth and final truth is that the Messiah, Savior, and Lord was present, he was wrapped in cloths, and was lying in an animal’s feeding trough. How? Why? Inconceivable! According to the angel, this lowly and disgraceful birthplace was the birthplace of the Lord of heaven and earth. It was here that Israel’s Messiah and Savior could be found. Clearly, this place was an inappropriate place for a king to be born or for any child to be born. Luke points out that humanity was so sinful that they selfishly did not even make room for a child to be born, and thus this special Child had to be born in the humble location of a stable.
But despite Jesus’ lowly birth and humble form, all humanity must never forget who was born on that Christmas morning and why we celebrate this glorious holiday. And it should be no wonder as to how a little Baby born 2000 years ago in a non-media world could impact all of civilization. After all, that little Baby was the Lord in human flesh, Israel’s Messiah, and the Savior of the world! Our prayer this Christmas is that all who are friends of SOS will worship this Baby, rejoice in His person, and proclaim this good news to all the people.
On behalf of all of us at SOS, Merry Christmas!
