The Birth

Luke 2:1-16
In our day and time if you participate in the census you have to complete forms – you’ve got to fill out this form and fill out that one; sometimes people even come to your house to ask you questions for the census.
 
Just before the birth of Jesus, when the decree went out for a census Mary and Joseph had to travel.  They had to go to Bethlehem to be censused or to be taxed.  The trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem was about 65 miles, and you can imagine what it may have been like.  Because Cesar Augustus ordered it, a man and his wife traveled 65 miles on a donkey.  When they got there it was time for her to deliver and she gave birth to her firstborn son.
 
That was one of the loneliest periods in their lives; they were forced to go to this city and all the hotels were full.  The innkeeper offered a stable for a birthing room.  But even in this barn Mary and Joseph took special care, wrapped the child in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger.   
 
About that time an announcement was made - the angel of God came to the shepherds that were on the hillside keeping watch over their flocks.  The angel came and announced the birth of the Christ child.
 
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Luke 2:10-12

“…..lying in a manger”. That was a sign for the shepherds - being shepherds, they knew where the manger was.  They knew that the manger was not at Herod’s palace.  They knew that the manger was not at Joe Bob’s house around the corner.  This was a sign, and by this sign the shepherds knew exactly where to go.  They knew a manger was a trough, so they knew where to go.
 
We celebrate Christmas because of Jesus’ birth.   All the Christmas presents in the world would mean nothing without the presence of Jesus Christ.  I thank God that He looked down over 42 generations and sent us a Savior in the form of a baby.  He could have allowed Jesus to come at the age of 30 years old and started his 3 year ministry, but He wanted him to come as a baby so we could identify with him.
 
It’s just like this story I heard:
There was this old man sitting by the fire. This old man looked out the window and saw some birds skipping around on the ice.  He noticed they were cold so he went out and tried to get them and bring them to the fire.
 
He tried to pick them up but couldn’t catch them.  Every time he went out the birds would skip a little further.  As the man went back and stood by the fire he looked around - he had a big pillow full of duck feathers and he had a rain coat with a hood on it.   
 
He took the duck feathers and glued them on the rain coat with the hood on it to make himself look like the birds.  As he went out with this on he was able to catch and pick up the little birds and bring them in.
 
That’s what God did.  He wanted to send us a Savior that would look like us, that would talk like us, a Savior that we could relate to – someone that we would identify with.  He could have sent us an angel but he knew we needed a savior. 
 
We thank God that He sent us a Savior, Jesus Christ.
~J.T.