Title: God in the Manger
Contents
*** God in the manger / Luke 2:1-7, John 6:48-58
** Introductory words
Luke 2:1-7
“1 At that time, Caesar Augustus sent down his spirit and said, “Register all under the heavens.” 2 This registration was first done when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. 3 All the people returned to their hometowns to register. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee toward Judea, from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, a family of David, 5 to the town of David called Bethlehem. it had been 6 And while I was there, the day for childbirth was fulfilled, 7 and I gave birth to my firstborn son, wrapped him in cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for him in the office.”
John 6:48-58
“48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness and they died; 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that no one can eat it and die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. The bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. 52 Therefore the Jews quarreled with one another, saying, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' 53 Jesus said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, life is in you. there is no 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, and it is not like that of the ancestors who ate and died; whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
The text begins with the decree issued by Caesar (Julius Caesar, B.C100?-B.C44), the Roman dictator and the first emperor of the empire.
According to the census documents conducted in Rome from AD 20 to AD 270, Rome conducted a census every 14 years. The purpose of the census was twofold. The first is to impose military service obligations, and the second is to collect taxes. Because Jews were exempt from military service, the census at the time Jesus was born was for the purpose of taxation.
Joseph, a descendant of David, and his betrothed Mary also went to Bethlehem, their hometown, to register. Around this time, Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit and the day of her birth was approaching. When Joseph and Mary arrived at their hometown, all the inns were already full and they couldn't find a room. Perhaps it was because the mother made the trip longer than others and arrived late. There were signs of childbirth, so the place I got in a hurry was a shabby stable. At least I could get away from the night dew and the cold wind, so I undressed there. Immediately after undressing, Mary gave birth to a baby, and she laid the baby on a linen cloth in the manger next to her.
The manger of the stable, this was the first place where God, the Sovereign who created the whole world, took the form of a human and came into the world. The Messiah the Jews had been waiting for had come, but people did not know it. God made the wise men who were studying the stars in the distant East, who were studying the stars, equipped with respect for the birth of a king. And the shepherds who were tending their sheep in the fields of Bethlehem received and worshiped the Messiah.
The greatest thing in the world is starting so poorly. He who is the ruler of the whole world, who comes as the world's Savior, came into the world in wretched indifference and humbleness. God, the King of kings, who should come in the welcome of the dignitaries and the congratulations of all the people, has humbled himself in this way. The Lord humbly lived and worked in such a low position not only in his birth, but also in the environment in which he was raised and during his three years of public life. Not only that, the Lord's death was so low that it was the worst misery. This is the God we serve as Lord. And yet, isn't it so inconsistent that we only wish for the good and only for comfort and pleasure? But why did the Lord have to come like this?
This didn't happen by accident. This work was prepared from the very time when God the Creator created the world. In other words, He adjusted all the circumstances of the world, such as the relationship between nations and peoples, the political environment, the cultural environment, and the religious environment, to the purpose of God. This expression is recorded in Galatians 4:4. “When the time was fulfilled, God sent his Son, of a woman, born under the law,” he said. “The time is fulfilled” means “the appointed time has come.” Then for what purpose did God do this?
1. It is to reveal the identity of Jesus who was born.
The Gospel of Matthew introduces special people who visited to celebrate the birth of Jesus. They were ‘wise men from the East’. The writer Matthew takes this fact very seriously. It also introduces the origins of visitors and their status.
Their place of departure was ‘a certain land located east of Jerusalem’. I don't know exactly which country it is. Only when they see that they are deeply acquainted with the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah, at least they know that they have fellowship with the Jews. And their position was called 'Doctors'. This word was applied to Daniel, who was exalted as a master of Babylonian applause and magician, and was mainly used to refer to Medena, Persia, and Babylonian priests.
Putting these points together, they would be astrologers because they said they saw the stars and knew the birth of the king, and in terms of their knowledge of the Messiah, they would be people who had a lot of fellowship with the Jews. From this point of view, he must have been a high-ranking person with extensive knowledge in astronomy and astrology from Babylon, where most of the Jews lived.
The gifts they brought were “gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” These gifts are gifts to the king. The reason that God announced the birth of the Messiah to them and made them worship is to testify that Jesus, who was born, is the King. God made Jesus write ‘King of the Jews’ on the plate where the guilt was written not only at the birth of Jesus but also at the time of his crucifixion.
There were other visitors. They were shepherds tending sheep in the fields of Bethlehem. Why did you invite them? It is said that the sheep raised in Bethlehem at that time were specially raised to be used as sacrifices in the Jerusalem temple. The sheep to be sacrificed must be without blemish, and they were raised in Bethlehem, near the temple in Jerusalem. In order to reveal Jesus as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of mankind, God made the shepherds who were raising sheep for sacrifice announcing the birth of the Messiah and making them worship. That is, Jesus was the Lamb as the sin offering for mankind.
2. It is to atone for people's sins.
Matthew 1:18 says, “This was the birth of Jesus Christ. His mother, Mary, had been betrothed to Joseph, and before they lived together, it was found that she was pregnant with the Holy Spirit.” He says that the path of Jesus' incarnation is the birth through a virgin through the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:26-38 records the birth process in more detail.
Why would you go through such a complicated process that people would doubt? This is the most important reason why God had to become a man. In a word, to be a sin offering, one must have no sin. All people since Adam were born under sin. That is, we are born with ‘original sin’. That's why Romans 3:10 says, "As it is written, There is none righteous, not even one." And the following verse 23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Therefore, anyone who is born through the common union of man and woman in the world is not entitled to take the place of the sins of others. This is Acts 4:12. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” These are words that testify that the people of the world cannot become the Messiah. Ultimately, in order to become a sinless person, it was necessary to be born through a virgin body that did not inherit original sin. This is the will of God's love to atone for people's sins.
3. To reveal that it is the food of life that saves people.
Now let's look at the purpose of God's coming as a human and lying in the manger of the stable. In Luke verse 7, he said, “Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him in cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for him in the office.” In verse 12, the angels said to the shepherds, “You go, and the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. and this will be a sign to you.” That is, Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger as a special sign that he was the Messiah sent by God.
Of course, it was a sign that shepherds could easily find, but it is a sign with a deeper meaning than that. Let's find out why. First, Genesis 6:3. “My spirit will not be with men forever, says the Lord, for they are made flesh. But their days will be one hundred and twenty years.” These are the words of God just before ‘Noah’s Flood’ when he saw the wickedness of the world and groaned. After man left God, God said, “Man became flesh.” The body here is called basar ( rc;B; , flesh), which means ‘body’ without a spirit, ‘flesh’. In a word, human beings have become like beasts without a spirit.
Jesus came to the ‘stable’, the house of the beast, because people turned away from God and became beasts. That Jesus was laid in a manger, which was the feeding trough of the beast. Now let's look at the Gospel of John. Verses 48 and 51. 48 I am the bread of life. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. The bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. What does this mean? Genesis 6:3, Luke 2:7, 12, and John 6:48-58 make a very clear meaning.
God said that people who sinned and left God became ‘beasts’. And in order to redeem mankind like the beast, Jesus was born in the ‘stable’, the house of the beasts, and laid down in the ‘manger’, the feeder for the animals. Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven, and if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” In other words, Jesus is the food of life that gives life to those whose spirit is dead because their relationship with God is cut off because of sin. So man can have life only in Jesus.
Do you now understand the background and purpose of Jesus' birth? God's love sent Jesus with such meticulous consideration for mankind. Then what kind of people should we be? As we thank the Lord for His love, let us also examine our love for the Lord. And to show this love to others, let's prepare and communicate the Lord's return. So let's build a blessed life in which the coming of the Lord is never in vain, leading many people to the path of life.