To say that Christmas is a special time is a monumental understatement. The angelic announcement, the purpose of the birth, the stable, the birth of the baby, the virgin birth, the magi’s gifts, the star in the East, born to die, etc. are all in and of themselves amazing as each has incredibly deep meanings! There are many more important events tied to the birth of the baby boy however space in this commentary is limited! When we begin to put these separate events into a single event, it is staggering the picture that God painted!
The night the baby boy was born on earth came at the end of the day in Heaven when the Father told the Son, “it’s time”. The angelic announcement to the shepherds was one of joy and excitement. It must have been a time in Heaven of mixed emotions. Jesus was leaving His heavenly realm to ‘come’ to earth.
It is amazing that this baby boy was born to die. We often struggle with the question, “Why was I born?” With the baby boy Jesus, there was no struggle. The baby boy understood why He – who had existed since the beginning – was born in the flesh. I often wonder about the conversation that God and Jesus must have had that day as both knew what was to come. There must have been an excitement that was – at the same time – somber and purposeful.
We romanticize the birth place. Nativity scenes displayed in our houses and in public places have the stable, the manger, baby boy, his mother, his father, the magi, the shepherds, and the animals, but we don’t really “see” the meaning why this baby boy – the Messiah – was born in such a place as this. A stable is a place that smells bad, is dirty, and in Biblical times, dark and damp – quite unlike modern stables of our time. A truly amazing thing but do we get it?
This birth of this baby born in Bethlehem - ‘the one’ foretold and prophesied about for centuries before – brought so many questions. Why would the God of the Universe choose to come into this world as a tiny, defenseless, baby boy? Who would worship a baby? The birth of the baby boy in itself is extraordinary! Jesus did not ‘come into being’ that night. Jesus was with God in the beginning! So, why was He “born”? This baby boy was born so that God was truly united with mankind. Jesus’ life did not begin that night; His birth was an event in God’s overall plan!
Mary, the virgin mother of the baby boy, was no one you would think God would choose to bear His son! She was probably 13 or 14 years old – as was the normal age for marrying and bearing children in those times – but she came from a poor family – she was hardly ‘royalty’. Our world today glosses over the virgin birth. Much like Mary asked the angel, “How can this be? I am a virgin?” Without the virgin birth, the baby boy could not have been fully God and fully man. Without the virgin birth, Jesus could not have been born ‘holy’.
The magi from faraway lands, traveled many miles to worship this baby boy. These magi recognized the baby as the Messiah when the baby boy’s own Jewish nation did not. How appropriate were the magi’s gifts: Gold was a gift for a king; frankincense was a gift for deity; and myrrh was a spice used to anoint a body for burial. Did the magi know these things as they knelt before the baby boy?
The magi were astrologers. The star in the East led them to the baby boy. Many theories exist on what this ‘star’ actually was. Some believe it was not the star of the baby boy but it was an alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars! I believe that God created the star of the East specifically for His son! What an event that must have been! The astrologers knew that this star was special as they literally traveled thousands of miles following this star to Bethlehem!
Christmas is a time we celebrate the birth of this baby boy. It is my prayer that we all reflect more deeply on why this Christmas event came to be and to fully understand why Jesus was born a baby instead of just descending from Heaven and carrying out His three-year ministry. What a wonderful time! What a wonderful picture of God’s love! What a great way for God to show mankind that He loves us, understands what we go through on earth, and that we all – like Jesus – have a reason for our existence! Won’t you reflect on the birth of the baby boy and the purpose for your own birth? God has a plan for us all. We need to emulate Mary when she said to the angel of the Lord, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. May everything you have said come true.”
Papa Joe Mac's Commentary:
To say that Christmas is a special time is a monumental understatement. The angelic announcement, the purpose of the birth, the stable, the birth of the baby, the virgin birth, the magi’s gifts, the star in the East, born to die, etc. are all in and of themselves amazing as each has incredibly deep meanings! There are many more important events tied to the birth of the baby boy however space in this commentary is limited! When we begin to put these separate events into a single event, it is staggering the picture that God painted!
The night the baby boy was born on earth came at the end of the day in Heaven when the Father told the Son, “it’s time”. The angelic announcement to the shepherds was one of joy and excitement. It must have been a time in Heaven of mixed emotions. Jesus was leaving His heavenly realm to ‘come’ to earth.
It is amazing that this baby boy was born to die. We often struggle with the question, “Why was I born?” With the baby boy Jesus, there was no struggle. The baby boy understood why He – who had existed since the beginning – was born in the flesh. I often wonder about the conversation that God and Jesus must have had that day as both knew what was to come. There must have been an excitement that was – at the same time – somber and purposeful.
We romanticize the birth place. Nativity scenes displayed in our houses and in public places have the stable, the manger, baby boy, his mother, his father, the magi, the shepherds, and the animals, but we don’t really “see” the meaning why this baby boy – the Messiah – was born in such a place as this. A stable is a place that smells bad, is dirty, and in Biblical times, dark and damp – quite unlike modern stables of our time. A truly amazing thing but do we get it?
This birth of this baby born in Bethlehem - ‘the one’ foretold and prophesied about for centuries before – brought so many questions. Why would the God of the Universe choose to come into this world as a tiny, defenseless, baby boy? Who would worship a baby? The birth of the baby boy in itself is extraordinary! Jesus did not ‘come into being’ that night. Jesus was with God in the beginning! So, why was He “born”? This baby boy was born so that God was truly united with mankind. Jesus’ life did not begin that night; His birth was an event in God’s overall plan!
Mary, the virgin mother of the baby boy, was no one you would think God would choose to bear His son! She was probably 13 or 14 years old – as was the normal age for marrying and bearing children in those times – but she came from a poor family – she was hardly ‘royalty’. Our world today glosses over the virgin birth. Much like Mary asked the angel, “How can this be? I am a virgin?” Without the virgin birth, the baby boy could not have been fully God and fully man. Without the virgin birth, Jesus could not have been born ‘holy’.
The magi from faraway lands, traveled many miles to worship this baby boy. These magi recognized the baby as the Messiah when the baby boy’s own Jewish nation did not. How appropriate were the magi’s gifts: Gold was a gift for a king; frankincense was a gift for deity; and myrrh was a spice used to anoint a body for burial. Did the magi know these things as they knelt before the baby boy?
The magi were astrologers. The star in the East led them to the baby boy. Many theories exist on what this ‘star’ actually was. Some believe it was not the star of the baby boy but it was an alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars! I believe that God created the star of the East specifically for His son! What an event that must have been! The astrologers knew that this star was special as they literally traveled thousands of miles following this star to Bethlehem!
Christmas is a time we celebrate the birth of this baby boy. It is my prayer that we all reflect more deeply on why this Christmas event came to be and to fully understand why Jesus was born a baby instead of just descending from Heaven and carrying out His three-year ministry. What a wonderful time! What a wonderful picture of God’s love! What a great way for God to show mankind that He loves us, understands what we go through on earth, and that we all – like Jesus – have a reason for our existence! Won’t you reflect on the birth of the baby boy and the purpose for your own birth? God has a plan for us all. We need to emulate Mary when she said to the angel of the Lord, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. May everything you have said come true.”