Savior of life born in a stable
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Scripture reading
Scripture reading
Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
“This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
As soon as Adam and Eve fell in the garden, God promised salvation through the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15).
Today, on Christmas day, we celebrate and give thanks to God for sending His Son to us in spirit and flesh. But where should the Son of God stay? If a president of another country comes to stay in Singapore, what kind of place would he receive for accommodation? The very best. What about God the Son? Was there really no room at all in Bethlehem, that they needed to birth Jesus in a stable?
The sign was that Jesus would be wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger. A manger was a place where animals lived; a dirty place unsuitable for giving birth. It was smelly. And that stable is the epitome of the sinful world into which Jesus was born.
Man in his pomp, yet without understanding,
Is like the beasts that perish.
What about our hearts today? Is my heart a stable, or a temple? We were like stables which housed beasts. But because He was born into my heart, it has become a temple of God.
Many of us think that we need to be ready and clean before we receive Jesus. But the truth is that we need salvation from our sin, and only Jesus can save us. Only the blood of Jesus can wash us clean from sin.
The stable is a place where God gave His eternal love and life
The stable is a place where God gave His eternal love and life
A manger was a trough which animals used to eat out of. Jesus’ birth in a manger represents how He came to feed the beasts with the bread of life. Jesus did not mind coming into the dirty manger, and He does not mind coming into your unclean heart today, if you let Him in.
What significance can you find in the stable?
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Without Jesus being born into the stable, we could burn in hell for our sin. The stable is where God brought us eternal life. We were like an open grave, full of death within. But Jesus came into our hearts and changed it into a place of life. Just like Lazarus’ tomb, which was a place of death. But Jesus turned it into a place of resurrection and life.
Our heart pumps blood. But does our spiritual heart pump life or death? When we speak, do we pump life out? Jesus is being born into the cave of death, to change it into a place of life. Jesus did not come to be treated well, but to change our hearts into places of life.
The stable is the beginning point of salvation
The stable is the beginning point of salvation
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
Without Jesus coming to us, we would not be able to understand God. Jesus explained the invisible God.
The stable is where God’s power and authority of the Word is given through the Holy Spirit
The stable is where God’s power and authority of the Word is given through the Holy Spirit
Nobody knew that the Messiah was born in a stable that day, except those who were led by the Holy Spirit.
The power and authority of God that could move the whole universe was focused on that stable at the time of Jesus’ birth. When Jesus is in our hearts, that power and authority focuses on us.
The stable is where the origin of history began
The stable is where the origin of history began
BC and AD are marked by the birth of Jesus Christ.
What about our lives? Are we spiritually living in BC, or AD?
The stable is where eternal freedom was declared
The stable is where eternal freedom was declared
Conclusion: The stable was a sign
Conclusion: The stable was a sign
A sign directs our attention to something else.
Luke says that the stable was a sign.
“This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Jesus’ birth points to His resurrection. We can juxtapose the narratives in Luke to understand what’s going on.
Mary and Joseph appear in both nativity and resurrection narratives.
Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man
Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.
Virgin womb and virgin tomb.
Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain.
Wrapped in swaddling clothes like a mummy.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain.
Angels come from heaven announcing the good news.
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
“He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,
The shepherds are given the sign of the swaddling bands and rock-hewn manger.
“This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus’ birth foreshadows Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The stable was the beginning point of salvation because Jesus came to die for us. It was a place where beasts lived.
The serpent was cursed to eat dust, but that dust represents fallen mankind.
The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”
But Jesus came according to Gen. 3:15 to save us and crush the head of the serpent.