3. Jesus nestled in a manger, wrapped in cloths. Luke 2:12
As we know, Jesus became flesh and was born in the Bethlehem manger. He was aware, as He dwelt in Heaven with God, that this would come about. He could have negotiated a much more flamboyant entry into this world. There could have been fine silk cloths, golden furnishings, and elegant perfumed oils from exotic lands awaiting his birth. Royalty and servants could have been summoned to assist in His delivery. Instead, alone except the livestock and Joseph, his mother Mary wrapped him in simple cotton cloths.
It was the custom in those days to bind an infant’s body with a length of cloth in a manner that secured the arms and legs from movement. No more than the child’s eyes would be visible, as this covering was meant to ensure that the arms and legs would grow straight. Salt and oils were rubbed into the skin to prevent infection. The resulting package of a child looked very much like an Egyptian mummy.
I can’t help but look at Jesus’ humble arrival and think of his equally humble departure. We read in Matthew 27 how Joseph Arimathea and Nicodemus negotiated access to Jesus’ body from Pilate. With perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes and linen wrappings they prepared his body for burial.
Just as Jesus was wrapped with cloths as an infant, so he was wrapped that way for departure. Only at death, the wrappings of this earth could not contain Him. On the third day, He slipped from those threads, leaving them lying on the cold stone bed. It was Simon Peter who went into the tomb and noticed the linen wrappings lying there.
Jesus left Heaven to be born in a meager manger. He nestled into that manger, content, warm, and in the perfect will of God, the Father. He carried the burden of the cross in that still perfect will. He left the trappings of the world behind. He came. He loved. He died. He rose. He returned to sit at the right hand of God, the Father.
4. Jesus welcomed shepherds in Bethlehem. Luke 2:16
Shepherds were considered to be second class citizens. They smelled bad from weeks of nights and days away. They were ritually unclean. They seldom sacrificed at temple to become so. Their work was tedious and held no respect. Yet it was unto shepherds that God chose to send His angelic announcement.
With the appearance of Gabriel, so too came God’s Shekina glory and a host of angels. All came from Heaven just to sing the praises of Jesus’ birth. They sang, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” Luke 2:13
So why did God send this proclamation, via the voice of angels, to lowly shepherds tending flocks in Bethlehem? Perhaps it was to honor the memory of young David who played his harp while shepherding flocks in this same countryside. Maybe it was a foreshadowing of the parallels Jesus would draw between Himself and the Good Shepherd. Could it be that God was showing the shepherds, whose job it was to protect the “perfect unblemished lambs”, that here, before them, was the Lamb of God who would shed His blood in full atonement for sins?
Jesus, welcomed these shepherds to His birthday. Cast out from the rest of the world, He drew them near. Un-kept and unclean, He saw no flaws. As the voice of the shepherd is known to his sheep, Jesus beckoned them, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Whatever His divine purpose, the Lord chose to have the shepherds witnesses the birth of Jesus. When they left, they “went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angels had told them.” Luke 2:20.
We’re also told that “Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.” Did Mary know that one day her son would be the sacrificial lamb? Was she prepared as she looked upon his innocence for the chastisement that would come upon him? We only know that as she observed these events, so too did she cherish them in her heart. A mother’s heart. A mother who “had found favor with God.” Luke 1:29
The mother of Jesus, who welcomed shepherds. Jesus did this for you and me.
5. Jesus, at eight days old, at the temple in Jerusalem, took the name of Yeshua, which means ‘savior’. Luke 2:21
Levitical law commanded that the first born son be presented to the Lord on his eighth day. Leviticus 12:8 and Exodus 22:29. At this time, Jesus was named the “name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.”
In Hebrew, his name would be Yeshua, translated Joseph. We say it “Jesus” as a form of the Greek translation. No matter how we now say his name, He is Jesus, the Messiah. Isaiah 9:6 “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince 0f Peace.”
Here are some other scriptures that unfold the power of the name of Jesus:
Matthew 28:18 “Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
John 16: 24 “Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.”
Acts 2:21 “But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Philippians 2:9 “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
James 5:14 “Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.”
On the thirtieth day, Mary and Joseph came to the temple for purification and to redeem their son. The price, because they were poor, was 5 sheckels or “a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons.” One dove paid the price of Mary’s purification, the other, her son’s redemption. Luke 2:24
On the eighth day, Jesus was named our salvation. On the thirtieth day, he was redeemed for one dove. Somewhere around his twelve thousandth day, he redeemed you and me. Hebrews 9:12, “With his own blood – not the blood of goats and calves – he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.”
Jesus, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince 0f Peace, that Jesus did this for you and me!
