Born To Die
Many of us go through the
Christmas season spouting out cute little phrases like, “Jesus is the reason
for the season!” But how often do we reflect on the awesomeness and
magnificence of Christ’s birth? We tend to easily brush off the significance of
the virgin birth—not only that it happened, but even more amazingly that it was
prophesied to happen hundreds of years before it came to pass. As we reflect on
the account of Jesus’ birth this year, can we pause and be amazed at the wonder
of God’s sovereignty, purpose, and plan in the birth of our Savior?
Put simply, God’s sovereignty
means that He is in control of every big and little event in life. His
sovereignty is magnified in the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth. The Old Testament book of Micah foretold that
the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. God in His amazing sovereignty and
foreknowledge decreed the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, to order a census. In
God’s providence, this census pulled Joseph and Mary out of Galilee, landing
them in Bethlehem just in time for the birth of the Messiah. No coincidence, by
any means. It would also be no
coincidence that this census made Bethlehem such a busy town that it provided
no room in any inn for Mary to stay. God perfects each detail and we will see
why having no room in an inn was so significant.
With no vacancies for travelers
in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to the baby Jesus in a stable. Next, in the Book
of Luke we are told of angels who visited shepherds in a nearby field
announcing the birth of Jesus. Why shepherds in a field? Was this random? Of
course not; we know nothing God ordains is random! If we back up to the Old Testament, we see
that the coming Messiah was described to be like a lamb being led to the
slaughter (Jeremiah 11:19; Isaiah 53:7) and whose sufferings and sacrifice
would provide redemption for Israel. Law
observing Jews were familiar with sacrificing lambs to God in the Temple.
Bethlehem was nearby Jerusalem, and many of the sheep used in the temple
sacrifices would have come from these very shepherds who saw the angelic hosts
announcing Christ’s arrival. These sheep were born to die for the sins of the
people; Jesus was born to die for us as a complete and perfect sacrifice. The
shepherds raised lambs for sacrifice in the Temple, but now they were seeing
angels above announcing the birth of THE Lamb of God.
An interesting note about the
angelic hosts who were praising God above the heads of these shepherds is seen
in ancient tradition. Often when a firstborn son was born it was cause for
great celebration in Israel. The firstborn son would be the heir and would
assure the continuation of the family. Fathers who could afford to do so would
often hire musicians to parade down the streets singing and dancing in celebration
announcing the birth of their son. It sounds like God’s announcement was the
biggest one to date.
A significant verse that I
believe is easily overlooked in Luke is when an angel declares this: “And this
will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,
lying in a manger.” The sign: swaddling
clothes and a manger.
I think it is significant to
note that we aren’t told the baby would be simply wrapped in a blanket, but in
swaddling clothes. Swaddling clothes were long strips of material very similar
to what a deceased person would be wrapped in for burial during this time. In
fact, it is said that during long travels (which back then all trips were long),
each person would take long strips of material and wrap it multiple times
around their waste as the bottom layer of clothing. Due to the fact that many of these long
journeys would end in the death of some of the individuals, these long strips
of material would then be used to wrap the deceased traveler from head to toe
so they could complete their journey. It is very possible that the baby Jesus
was wrapped in Joseph’s death cloth. Could
it be that the sign for the shepherds wasn’t that they’d find a baby wrapped in
a blanket, but that they’d find a baby prepared for death? Again, like the
sacrificial lambs previously mentioned, we see Jesus was born to die.
The swaddling clothes were a
sign to the shepherds. The other sign was the manger, or trough. If Bethlehem
had not been so overcrowded as a result of the census, Joseph and Mary would
not have ended up in a barn where they would place the baby Jesus in a manger.
This had to happen, because it was the sign God had given. God’s sovereignty
again illustrated!
After Jesus’ birth (after Mary
and Jesus were no longer in a stable, but settled in a house), the wise men
from the East followed the star that God used to direct them to Jesus. We are told in the Book of Matthew that they
brought gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
As we can guess from the previous details that hold so much
significance, these gifts were very significant, as well. The value of the
gifts implied great honor and status; they were gifts fit for a king. That
should be no surprise to us knowing that Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of
Lords (Revelation 19:16). But each gift was even more significant. Gold
represents kingship, frankincense represents priestly royalty (Hebrews 4), and
myrrh was used for embalming—again foretelling us the significance of how Jesus was born to die.
So what can we glean from these
incredible insights from God’s Word? First—God’s sovereignty. His providential
plan has purpose and is perfect. He told the shepherds it would be a sign to
them to find a baby in swaddling clothes and in a manger. God worked every
detail in accordance with His will to place Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem and in a stable. What if Mary, like many
of us, had been dissatisfied with the not-so-ideal circumstances God had
provided her with? What if she had told Joseph, “No, I will NOT travel to
Bethlehem this late in my pregnancy! Are you crazy?!” Or, “you want me to have
my baby where? In a barn?!? No way!” How often do we argue with God about the
circumstances He has placed us in, when in our finite minds we do not realize
that He has us exactly where He wants us. We tend to sweat the small stuff and forget
that from God’s perspective—every detail is meaningful and unraveling in
accordance with His perfect will, regardless of whether it looks the way we
think it should.
The second insight is even more
significant: Jesus was born to die.
How often do we consider that? If you are like me, it is easier to think about
how Jesus lived to be an example of a pure and sinless life. While His life is
a great example for us to emulate, His life had a greater purpose. Jesus was
the perfect lamb who was born to be led to the slaughter where He would take on
our punishment of sin and impute His righteousness on us. So what does that mean of us? Think of it this
way—Jesus came from the spiritual realm and experienced a physical birth so
that we could die to our physical self and be born spiritually. In John 3:3
Jesus tells us, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God
unless they are born again.” Jesus died so we could be born—spiritually. Sin
made us dead in our transgressions (Ephesians 2:5), but Jesus was born to die so we could live. What a magnificent
thing! If you have never come to the point in your life when you have been born
again by dying to yourself and your desires, turning from your sin, and
following Jesus, then the Christmas story won’t have much significance to you.
The fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger for the
providential purpose of dying will have no impact unless you have come to the
Cross and been born into new life. Don’t let the nativity story casually pass
you by this season. Stand back in awe of our Sovereign God and if you haven’t
done so already, turn to follow the One who was born to die so you could live.
