I've always known the story of Jesus' birth, but it wasn't till I was saved that I truly understood the significance. Each time I read the story in Luke, something different stands out for me.
Just the other day I found myself having a conversation with a dear friend of mine where I told her, "Sometimes I feel like an outcast among others when it comes to my faith in the Lord. It's so hard at times."
Her response..."Well of course we are, isn't that awesome!"
Awesome?
I've pondered our conversation a lot lately.
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” Luke 1:34
As I read Mary's response, I put myself in her shoes. I began to think about how I may have responded. First, um...I'm suppose to be getting married. What am I suppose to tell Joseph, surely he'll never believe I'm a virgin! He'll never want to marry me!
Finally, what will people be thinking? Saying?
Surely, I will be an outcast.
But Mary responded, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."
Luke 1:38
Awesome
I can't recall where, but I recently read, "those that have found favor with God should not give way to disquieting, distrustful fears."
Mary chose God.
She chose faith.
Mary and Joseph are traveling back to Bethlehem to register.
So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:6-7
Here is a man, with his very pregnant wife unable to find a place to stay. I understand accommodations may have been scarce, as many were returning to their home town to register. What I find difficult to understand is why no one, for one night, could spare a room to a pregnant woman. Mary had no home, no bed. Instead, Joseph gathers hay in the stable; a bed where Mary delivers her first child in a barn. A barn!
I have five children, and I promise you, it's excruciating pain. I remember being stuck behind a train and having to take a detour in route to deliver my fourth child. I was in pain and panic, I did not want to deliver in the back of my car. I'm pretty sure I was yelling in pain at my husband to hurry. My son was delivered shortly after I arrived at the hospital. There was some yelling involved as the nurse told me not to push as the doctor wasn't there yet. Um...impossible...the baby is coming now! The doctor was late.
Mary has no woman there to assist her in her delivery. It's just her and Joseph. She must have been scared. I'm sure Joseph must have been in a bit of a panic as well. She let an out an agonizing cry right before Jesus entered this world. And then....
Her babies first cry. He was born to a woman, one whom no one would take in...an outcast.
God planned it this way. Why?
Because He found favor in her.
Because God became man to experience life as we do...an outcast.
Matthew Henry commentary states: "We were become by sin like an outcast infant, helpless and forlorn; and such a one Christ was.
Just like last year, I worked Christmas Eve in the NICU. One by one, parents arrive to see, hold, smell, and simply marvel over their child. Even if you don't have children, there is just something about a babies cry and purity that makes people smile and get a warm feeling inside. More often than not, tears are shed at their child's birth.
The Son of God lets out His first cry. Think about the similarities...Picture Mary curled on her side, baby Jesus in her arms, tears of joy stream down her face. Joseph kneeling by her side in awe over what just transpired. He too sheds tears. Mary gently places Him in a manger. Suddenly, where they are, what their circumstances are, doesn't matter.
Surely, if one were to look upon this child, he would utter "this cannot be the Son of God."
But He is!
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. John 1:10-11
The Lord came, and no one recognized Him.
The Lord came, and His people rejected Him.
The Son of God comes to us in the image of the unlikely...A child not of royalty, but one of poverty, wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.
Jesus started and lived His life as an outcast, all because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Jesus lived His life suffering rejection, humiliation, pain, and temptation just as we do, but sinless. The purpose of His life...to give me...give you...the gift of eternal life.
As the babe lay in the manger, in fields nearby, an angel appears to the shepherds. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:10-14
The shepherds go to Bethlehem to see this babe. After they saw Jesus, they spread the word about what the angel had told them about this Child. Many were amazed by what the shepherds said. What was said about Mary stood out for me...
But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19
I can't help but wonder, Mary knows Jesus is the Son of God, but does she grasp the full meaning of His purpose?
What is the meaning of the Christmas? For many, this time of year can be depressing. Loss of jobs, loss of homes, memories of loved one's lost. The pressure of trying to find the perfect gift for others. We become so focus on what we don't have, we lose sight of of what we do have...the most precious gift of all...A SAVIOR!
Jesus was born with a purpose, to die that we may have life. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2Corintians 5:21
As Christians we can't look at the birth of Jesus and not look at the cross.
His birth, life, death on the cross, and resurrection portrays...
Suffering and healing. Jesus' suffering for our healing. His death on the cross, His separation from God the Father...such anguish for one man to bear. It's by His wounds we are healed!
Rejection and triumph. How many betrayed and rejected Jesus? In His human nature, He surely felt rejected by God the Father. He begged God to take this cup from Him...yet, "not my will, but yours be done." Luke 22:42. An empty tomb...triumph...VICTORY!
Pastor Pete Wilson, in a recent post said: "Part of the Christmas message is God telling his people, 'You can’t predict me. I’ll show up anytime and anywhere. I’ll show up in the midst of the most unlikely circumstances and through the most unlikely people.'
Why? Because I’m God and you’re not."
Mary was willing to suffer difficulty in her marriage, to be ostracized by society, because "For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name." Luke 1:49
Suddenly, feeling like an outcast isn't so bad, because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.
Awesome!
May you all be richly blessed this Christmas...Christ the Savior is born!
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