The Christmas Lamb

My uncle used to live in Biloxi and I remember driving south to go see him, and I remember that one thing that I always looked forward to seeing as I headed to visit he and my cousin Michele was the sign outside of Collins, MS.

Collins, Home of TV’s Major Dad Gerald McRaney.

Major Dad was a show about a hard-nosed Marine who marries a reporter who he falls for while she’s doing a story on him and agrees to help her raise her three daughters. I thought it was so cool that the guy from Simon & Simon and Major Dad was from this small town in Mississippi. Even today, when I drive through the town I smile when I see the sign.

I remember the town because of who was born there.

In our text

The Baby Would be Born in Bethlehem

Bethlehem is a town, at the time of Jesus the size of Pelahatchie with roughly 1000 residents. It’s claim to fame, like Collins was that King David, the first ruler of Israel was born there. This small farming community was the hometown of royalty. But God promised that David wouldn’t be the only King from Bethlehem.

The prophesy stated that the promised king would come from Bethlehem not Jerusalem.

This is significant not only because it’s the hometown of David, but also because of the significance of Bethlehem.

Bethlehem was significant because of the sheep that were born there. The lambs born and raised in Bethlehem were used for the temple sacrifices, according to rabbinic writings. The hills around Bethlehem were home to the hundreds of lambs used in ritual worship at the Temple.

The daily Temple sacrifice required two unblemished sheep from Bethlehem. One sacrificed in the morning and one in the evening as a continual sacrifice before the Eternal. One year old lambs were also needed during Passover and other festivals.

For this reason the shepherds in charge of these special lambs were from the tribe of Levi. They were Levitical shepherds (shepherd-priests). Their job was to raise animals that were healthy and without blemish and pure enough for the temple sacrifices as stated in the book of Leviticus.

Every firstborn male lamb from the area around Bethlehem was considered holy, set aside for sacrifice in Jerusalem. Generations of hereditary shepherds tended the sacred flocks.

Once the lambs were of age, the shepherds would take them to Jerusalem for the temple sacrifices. It was important that the lambs that were to be sacrificed did not have any blemishes (broken legs, or injuries). After the lamb was born it was wrapped in swaddling cloths (strips of cloth were taken from priests’ old clothes) to keep it protected without spot or blemish (the Scripture requirement for a perfect lamb), and then this lamb would be laid in a manger until it had calmed down and to protect it from being trampled.

This is why in John 1, when Jesus appeared we find John the Baptist proclaiming:'

John 1:29 ESV

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

The Baby Would Be A Good Shepherd

Not only that, the King is a good shepherd.

John 10:11–17 ESV

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

As our shepherd, Jesus comes to care for us.

Notice the text

Micah 5:4 ESV

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

The good shepherd shepherds us into a secure dwelling place a place of peace and comfort. Jesus is the good shepherd.

Jesus uses the picture of a shepherd because in the days of Jesus the image of a shepherd would have been well known. Shepherds had to spend their lives with their sheep.

During the day, shepherds and shepherdesses guarded the sheep.  In the later afternoon, however, the women returned to their homes and the shepherds returned the sheep to the sheepfold and guarded the sheep that were in the sheepfold. These village sheepfolds or pens were stone wall enclosures with thorny briars along top and outer edges.  In the event the sheepfold did not have a gate, or if it were broken, then the good shepherd would sleep across the open entrance and thereby protect his flock with his life.  An uncommitted shepherd might attempt to scare away a predator, but would not risk his life for the sheep. A good shepherd would risk his life for his sheep.

This is what Jesus does for us. First he is the sheep who dies for our sins, but he is also a good king, a shepherd who lays down his life for us.

This is the story of Bethlehem. The story of a king who comes to shepherd his people. Do you know this king?