The preparations for the arrival of a new baby to a home are very interesting.
The room to be the nursery is painted and wall paper put up or some design, then sanitized. A new bed (crib) often arrives and is assembled. Hand sanitizers appear. Dipe wipes and baby toys are waiting for the arrival of the new life. When they arrive hospitals are squeaky clean and secure.
Christ Jesus was laid in a manger- no crib for a bed. This had great significance as did everything Jesus did and said when He was here on earth. The manger speaks of Christ.
1. The Manger Shows His Humility.
He is the Son of God. -Luke 1.35
He is the Son of Man. -Luke 1.31
The way He came into the world and the way He went out, the manger and the cross show His humility.
The manger was prophetic of how He would live. Matthew 8.20
"Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head. " Following Him means we have a loose hold on this world's goods.
It was indicative of how He would be treated. Isaiah 53.3 "He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of Sorrows, and familiar with suffering."
The manger shows us how we should follow His Life of humility.
Philippians 2.5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, in very nature God,
made Himself nothing-v.6
He humbled Himself-v.8
Became obedient to death- even death on a cross!
2. The Manger Shows His Concern for the Poor.
Jesus was born in a stable. He had the poorest of births.
Great commanders have won the affection of their troops by sharing their hardships and roughing it with them.
When Jesus began His ministry He read from Isaiah 61.1
The Spirit of the LORD is upon me because He has anointed me to preach the Good News to the poor. He began His ministry by this proclamation.
Mark 12.43 ... this poor widow... put more into the treasury than all the others... out of her poverty she put everything - all she had to live on.
Mark 14.7 The poor you will always have with you and you can help them anytime you want.
The Church, the Body of Christ, around the world is the greatest relief organization. The continents are full of places where professional people left a career here is the States and journeyed and lived and worked in a humble setting to serve humanity in the Name of Jesus Christ. A church here on Long Island, where my friend Kevin Henesy pastors, served 8,600 meals this past Thanksgiving. History is full of "silent heroes" - people who went to places in Christ's Name to give. (II Corinthians 8.9, 9.15)
3. The Manger Was in an Inn- Free to All.
Jeremiah 9.2 Oh that I had, in the desert, a lodging place for travelers. Travelers would find water, a stable, and a place to sleep. Some like in the account in Luke 10.34 took him to an inn were paying inns, or least some of their services were charged for. Others like our state run rest stops were free. The Romans had erected these all throughout the empire. Many around Jerusalem to accommodate the crowds at the feasts. Jesus was likely born in shepherd's cave. Freely give as you have freely received.
4. The Human Heart is Like the Manger.
Untidy, dirty. Christ will go where He is welcome. Where Meek souls will received Him still the dear Christ enters in.
The cradle for Christ was the manger
Open the heart to Christ and it becomes holy. The King of kings laid among the animals- outside in a feeding trough. It speaks of Christ and those who follow Him today. The Creator of all laid in a manger at His Birth, the birth by which universally all time is measured. The birth by which God provided the Sacrifice for our sins.
Greatness in His Kingdom is being a servant just like our King!
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