Don't Be A Stranger to the Manger
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger…. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. Luke 2:7-12, 15-16 (KJV)
Our God is a very strategic God. We might think it random that Jesus was born in a cave used for housing sheep and that it was random that the first men to see Him were shepherds, but it was not random at all. Jesus was born and wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger, a feeding trough for sheep. The swaddling clothes were actually strips of cloth used to protect the limbs of newborn lambs. Why were these lambs treated like this? It was because these were no ordinary sheep housed in this cave. They were lambs that had to be without spot or blemish, so once they were born, they were protected from accidentally harning themselves by wrapping them in strips of cloth. They were the lambs who would eventually become temple sacrifices. As a matter of fact, many scholars believe, these were the ones raised to be Passover sacrifices.
Pause and reflect on that a moment. The lambs were wrapped in swaddling clothes and they were placed in a manger immediately after they were born. So was Jesus. God was introducing His son to the world as the ultimate Passover Lamb. But, wait, there’s more.
Who were these shepherds to whom the angel of the Lord appeared? Were they just ordinary keepers of sheep that happened to be in the right place at the right time? No, these shepherds were special. They were the ones assigned to watch over and tend the sheep that would be sacrificed. They were actually part of the Levitical priesthood that had the responsibility for the Passover lambs. These were what you might call shepherd-priests. Think of it! The same men who watched over the temple flock watched over Jesus that night. God’s message could not be any clearer. “Here is the Lamb that will take away the sins of the world.”
And these shepherds came to the trough and they revered and honored the Baby lying there. The feeding trough became a throne for the King of kings. What an amazing sequence of events!
Some two thousand years later we still read the account of the Baby born in Bethlehem. But do we really consider this miraculous, yet strategic, event and think about how amazing our God really is? In your mind, I encourage you to place yourself as a shepherd at the manger. Really look at the newborn baby wrapped up like a little lamb. Think about the fact that you are looking into the very face of the One who made you. Our problem is that we’ve lost the wonder of Christmas. We’ve reduced it to a baby and a few random shepherds in a stable. In reality, it was the second most significant event in all of human history. I encourage you to come and worship at the throne of the King- come to the manger. And come every day, not just at Christmas. Don’t be a stranger to the manger.
