The Message of the Cross (11) Jesus Laid in a Manger
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March 29, 2020 |
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 “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” (Luke 2:11-12).
Jesus was in the form of God, and He is the Master of all things in the universe, the “King of kings,” and the “Lord of lords” (Philippians 2:6; Revelation 19:16). But why did He have to come to the earth in flesh, be laid in a manger, and live in poverty?
1. The Reason Jesus was Born in a Stable and Laid in a Manger
In Luke 2 there is a scene in which the Virgin Mary and her husband, Joseph, went to Bethlehem to register for the census and it was there that Mary gave birth to Jesus.
Many people had crowded into Bethlehem and filled the inn there. Mary had no choice but to give birth to Jesus in a stable. For there was no adequate place to lay Jesus who was wrapped in swaddling cloth, Mary placed the baby Jesus in a manger. It was in accordance with God’s providence.
Ecclesiastes 3:18 tells us, “I said to myself concerning the sons of men, ‘God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts.’” Some may wonder why the Bible says we are ‘but beasts’ and think such a comparison is odd. It is the wickedness of man, however, that often places him below the rank of beasts.
In order to satisfy material greed, man does not hesitate to argue, sue, or even kill even his own family members. In the beginning, God created man in His good and holy image. However since the first man Adam sinned, all his descendants became sinners and their spirits died. They eventually lost the sense of the duty of man and they’ve committed all kinds of sins in satisfying their worldly desires and greed.
Jesus tells us in John 6:51, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” Here, “eating of the living bread that came down out of heaven” refers to making bread of God’s Word in the heart.
Just as life is sustained through the consumption of food, the spirit is sustained through the consumption of spiritual bread. This is why Jesus?God’s Word?came to this world in flesh and made Himself the bread of life for all mankind. Only when we eat the bread of life given by Jesus can we recover the image of God we have lost. In order to reveal this providence to us God had Jesus laid in a manger.
How, then, can we be set free from the life of beasts and perform the duty as man? Ecclesiastes 12:13 tells us, “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” Performing the duty of men is keeping God’s commandments. So, it is to do the things the Bible tells us to do, not do the things the Bible tells us not to do, keep the things the Bible tells us to keep, and abstain from the things the Bible tells us to abstain from.
God does not intend to make our lives difficult. In their love, parents teach their children the basic obligations of man by telling them things like, “Study!” or “Wash up!” By the same token, God teaches and tells His children a variety of things so that they may perform the duty as man and lead blessed lives. It is the great love of God who desires all men to be saved and enter Heaven.
2. The Reason Jesus Lived in Poverty
Matthew 8:20 says, “Jesus said to him, ‘The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’” Even though He proclaimed the gospel and healed countless sick people, Jesus did not have a designated place for rest. Despite the myriad of miracles He performed during His ministry, why did Jesus live in poverty?
As 2 Corinthians 8:9 tells us, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich,” Jesus lived in poverty to give us the blessing of prosperity.
When Adam lived in the Garden of Eden, everything was in abundance and he did not need to toil. After he sinned, however, man and all things on earth together were cursed. Adam could only sustain his life through toil and by the sweat of his brow (Genesis 3:17). Since all people became poor as a result of the first man Adam’s sin, Jesus Himself lived in poverty in order to redeem mankind from their poverty.
Some say that it is wrong to ask God for material blessings, but many examples of His promises to give us blessings are found in the Bible. We also see that such fathers of faith as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph feared God and obeyed His Word, so they lived lives in abundance and prosperity. In the grace of our Lord who has redeemed us from poverty, we ought to be able to receive blessing. Of course, we should not ask for blessings out of greed but so that our wealth may be used to reveal God’s glory through such good deeds as providing relief to those in need, supporting mission work, and giving special offerings for the construction of a sanctuary.
God wants to give to His children whatever they ask Him by faith (Matthew 7:11), but not everyone who prays to Him saying, “God, bless me!” will receive His blessings. For instance, as 3 John 1:2 reminds us, “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers,” in order for us to be prosperous in all respects, our souls must first prosper. Saying that “soul prospers” here refers to the recovery of God’s image we had lost by living by His Word.
Deuteronomy 28:2 also tells us, “All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God.” Even if one lives by God’s Word, he must sow by faith in order to receive God’s blessings. Even an individual of great faith will reap bountifully only if he has sown bountifully. If he has sown sparingly, he will only reap sparingly (2 Corinthians 9:6). The kind of blessings God gives you is in a ‘good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.’ They will be poured into your lap, ‘more than twofold’ and, as much as your soul prospers, He pays you back thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.
“Sowing bountifully” does not only refer to the amount or quantity of one’s sowing. God is interested in the kind of heart, love, and faith with which one sows and He accepts the scent of each person’s heart. When Jesus saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins into the treasury, He commended the woman because, despite her poverty, the widow put in all that she had to live on. God is pleased with the fragrance of such a heart and devotion.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I hope you will realize the love and providence in God having sent His Son Jesus, laid Him in the manger, and left Him to live in poverty. I pray in the name of the Lord that by doing so you will accept Jesus Christ, perform the duty as a man, and glorify God who will answer you and save you.
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