"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." Luke 2:7 (Read Luke 2:1-20)
Far more than a quaint story, these verses from Luke, chapter two, describe a historical event which occurred in a real time and at a real place. It happened in the days of the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus. Cyrenius was the governor of Syria.
Though Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth, the ancient prophet foretold the birthplace of Messiah to be Bethlehem (Micah 5:2); and God, in his divine providence, moved Caesar Augustus to take a census at just the right time, making it necessary for Joseph and his espoused wife to be in Bethlehem when the days were fulfilled for Mary to bring forth her firstborn son.
When Messiah Jesus was born and laid in a manger, an angel announced his birth to shepherds living in a field nearby and keeping watch over their flock by night. The heavenly messenger brought them good tidings of great joy for all people; for that very day in Bethlehem, the city of David, a Savior was born, the Messiah, the LORD himself in human flesh (Luke 2:10-11).
And, as the angel choir said in its hymn of praise, this child brought about peace between God and man, and God's good will toward sinful man. How could this be? Christ Jesus satisfied the righteous demands of God's holy law for all of us, and he suffered and died and paid in full the just punishment for the sins of the world that God might have mercy upon us and graciously forgive our sins when we look to His Son in faith for pardon and peace!
Having heard these things, the shepherds were not content to go back to their work of guarding the flock; they went to see the things of which the angel had told them. And, they found it just as the angel had said. They found Mary and Joseph and, with them, the baby lying in a manger.
Nor did the shepherds keep the good news to themselves; they told everyone -- they made known abroad -- what the angel had told them concerning this child born in Bethlehem. Mary herself treasured up the words of the shepherds concerning her son and pondered them in her heart.
When the Shepherds returned to their flock, they were glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard, which was just as the angel had told them. They were rejoicing in God's gift of a Savior who would redeem them and give them a place in God's eternal kingdom.
Of course, these events in history have great significance for each and every one of us today. God's own Son was born in Bethlehem on that historic day. His birth is good tidings of great joy to us as well, for he is the long-promised Messiah, the LORD God himself; and he went to the cross for the sins of the world -- for the sins of each of us -- and he rose again in victory that each and every one of us might have forgiveness for all our sins and life eternal through faith in Him!
O dearest Jesus, we thank you for coming into this world a true man -- that babe born in Bethlehem -- and going to the cross to redeem us and make us Your own. Move us to take the time to see, to worship and to spread abroad the good news of Your salvation. Amen.
[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible]
Editorial on 12/20/2017