Series on "The Message of the Cross" - (11)
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 13102 |
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June 19, 2006 |
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 Jesus Laid in a Manger
"Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth … And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:1-7).
Jesus is the essence of God, the Master of all things in the universe, the "King of kings," and the "Lord of lords" (Philippians 2:6; Revelation 19:16).
Even though He was inexplicably magnified, Jesus came to this world in flesh and lived in poverty in order to redeem all men from their sins. For what reasons, then, was Jesus the Son of God born in a barn and laid in a manger? Why did He have to suffer from poverty during His life on the earth?
1.The Reason Jesus was Born in a Barn and Laid in a Manger
In Luke 2 is a scene in which the Virgin Mary and her husband Joseph went to Bethlehem to register for the census and Mary gave birth to Jesus.
As many people had crowded Bethlehem and filled the inn there, however, Mary was forced to give birth to Jesus in a stable. For there was no adequate place to lay Jesus wrapped in cloths, Mary placed Baby Jesus in a manger. According to God's providence, Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger.
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 ponder, "Why does the Bible say we are 'but beasts'?" and think such a comparison is odd. Wickedness of man, however, often places him below the rank of beasts.
Man, who is supposed to be the lord of all things, wages war to satisfy his greed and kills countless people in the process. In order to satisfy his material greed, man does not hesitate to argue, sue, or even kill his parents, children, or siblings.
In the beginning, God created man in His good and holy image. Since Adam the first man sinned, all his descendants became sinners and their spirits died. And they have eventually lost the good image of God within them, thereby becoming no different from animals. As the heart of mankind became gradually tainted with sin and evil, they have come to commit and live in all kinds of sin in accordance with worldly desires and their greed.
If we are to enter heaven, we must recover our place and duty as man. Jesus came into this world and was laid in a manger so that He would redeem mankind who had become no different from animals and give them salvation.
Jesus tells us in John 6:51, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." Here, "eating of the living bread that came down from heaven" refers to making bread of God's Word in the heart. Just as one can sustain his life through the consumption of food, his spirit can carry on through the consumption of spiritual bread. This is why Jesus ? God's Word ? came to this world in flesh (John 1:14) and made Himself the bread of life for all mankind.
Only through Jesus can we recover our place and duty as man and the image of God we have lost. In order to inform us of this fact, God laid Jesus in a manger. How, then, can we be set free from the life of beasts and obtain true life?
Ecclesiastes 12:13 NIV tells us, "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Performing the whole duty of men is keeping God's commandments. So, recovering our place and duty as man 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 and reject the things the Bible tells us to abstain from and reject.
Many believers complain, "How are we to keep all of God's commandments? It's too difficult to be Christian." However, 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 recover their place and duty as man and lead blessed lives.
In His love, God tells us to "abstain from" and "reject" certain things to prevent us from becoming subject to trials and sufferings, and He tells us to "do" certain things so that any of us can receive His blessings and answers to our problems and obtain salvation so that we may live in the everlasting heaven.
2.The Reason Jesus Lived in Poverty
As Jesus tells us in Matthew 8:20, "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 the countless sick, 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, 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 were cursed together so that the ground produced thorns and thistles, and Adam could only sustain his life through toil and by the sweat of his face. For all people became poor as a curse of the first man Adam's sinning, 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 found in the Bible are many of His promises for blessings to give us prosperity. We also see that such fathers of faith as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Daniel feared God and obeyed His Word, so they lived lives of abundance and prosperity.
In the grace of our Lord who has redeemed us from poverty, we ought to be able to receive the blessing of prosperity. 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, "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 our recovery of God's image we have lost by living by His Word. Deuteronomy 28:2 also tells us, "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you will 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. As 2 Corinthians 9:6 tells us, "He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully," even an individual with great faith will reap bountifully only when he has sown bountifully; if he has sown sparingly, he will only reap sparingly.
The kind of blessings God gives you is in "good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap," more than twofold, and as much as your soul prospers, He pays you back thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. Keep in mind that God sometimes allows you to reap only after considerable time has passed and in such times, He always blesses you all the more greatly at the most appropriate time.
"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, saying, "This poor widow put in more than all [of them]" because, despite her poverty, the widow "put in all that she had to live on."
If you keep in mind that God accepts the scent of our heart, no one can say, "I have nothing to sow because I am poor." Of course, if you have sown with money, it does not mean He always pays you back financially. A true blessing is the prosperity of your soul. Cornelius, who even as a Gentile "feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people" received the blessing of his whole family's salvation. Tabitha (also known as Dorcas), who "was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity, which she continually did," received the blessing of revival after death.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the lives of so many people today are no different from those of beasts. In order to lead them onto the path of salvation and blessing, God sent Jesus into this world, placed Him in a manger, and had Him live in poverty.
By fathoming God's providence and Jesus' love, may each of you give glory to God with His blessings both in spirit and in flesh by recovering your place and duty as man, in the name of Our Lord I pray!
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