How long will Jesus be a baby?
It seems that for many, Jesus remains in the manger. Being trapped in a thematic tone, it’s difficult for us to see the greater picture. The Christmas season is so consuming. With all of its dinners and parties, we have a tough time looking past the nativity scenes.
A survey of modern preferences reveals that most Americans prefer the birth of Jesus over His death. When it comes to Easter, the greater majority seeks to bypass His death and talk exclusively about His resurrection. One surveyor wrote, “the gory details of the death of Jesus Christ is not family friendly. His birth is simply a safer subject for the whole family.” Therefore, based on the mindset of our age, keeping Jesus in a manger is more pleasant than wading through the wrenching details of the Cross. Thus, Jesus seems to be trapped in a crib, wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Christmas is part of the American culture, of this we can confirm. As Amazon sales heat up, the reason for His birth grows cold. The truth is this: Jesus came to die for you. He came to take upon His physical, human frame the sins of the world. All who ever lived and would live, owe a debt they can not pay. For the wages of sin is death. Jesus only spent a small fraction of His life in a crib. In time, He will trade those swaddling clothes for a garment of scarlet. He will leave the comfort of Mary’s arms and embrace a wooden beam.
His birth is critical to our lives because He was Emmanuel, God with us. If you need to know how far He came, then you need to figure out the distance between deity to dust. The Great I AM wrapped Himself in flesh so that He could be the sacrifice for the world. In those early moments, the baby did not look like a sacrifice. He looked like an innocent child. When He was born, the celebration of magi; attending shepherds; and that heavenly choir clouded the thought that He was but a lamb in waiting. Christmas is the remembrance of 1 Tim 3:16 “God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
Therefore, while we rejoice at His coming, we must remember that the Gift was the Sacrifice and the manger was a momentary scene. Something more significant and awesome lay ahead for this King. Steve Richardson revealed it in one of his many lyrical thoughts. He wrote, “had there been no empty manger, there would be no empty tomb.”
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole