Luke 2:1-7 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

In order to please God, we are told, we are to become like a little child. Jesus said:

Matthew 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

You cannot be saved unless you put off yourself, and become like a little child. The Bible says:

Mark 10:15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

The Bible tells us that in the Millennial Kingdom, the 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth, that

Isaiah 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

There is no blessing unless you become as a little child before God. You must lay down your self sufficiency, and come to His open arms, trusting in Him. The importance of being a little child is seen in the birth of Christ Jesus in a Manger in Bethlehem.

In order to be saved, you must become as a little child.
In order to save us, God had to become as a little Child.

God Chose The Messiah’s Birthplace

Around 700 years before Christ was born, God spoke to a Prophet named Micah and foretold the birth of the Savior:

Micah 5:2 (ESV) But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

The Ruler of Israel, the Messiah, would come forth from little Bethlehem. This Ruler’s “whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days (Everlasting)”. The Messiah would be from eternity, from God Himself. When Herod asked the Chief Priests and Scribes where Messiah would come from,

Matthew 2:5-6 (NKJV) … they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

A Baby would be born in Bethlehem of Judea. But He would be no ordinary Baby. The Prophet Daniel wrote some 500 years before Christ came:

Daniel 7:14 (NKJV) Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.

The scope of the Messiah’s power would be that “all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him”. He will one day rule the world. But

Before He could save the world or rule the world, Christ must first become a Baby in Bethlehem.

Our God controls all things. The Bible says in:

Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.

Just as a river winds to and fro, it’s course was ultimately charted by God. In the same way the heart of man – even if he is a King – is in the hands of God. God controls the heart! As Mary of Nazareth grew closer to her due date, God turned the heart of the King to issue a decree:

Luke 2:1-5 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary…

Caesar Augustus decreed that everyone return to their home town, so that a census could be taken, and a tax enacted on every person. Why couldn’t Mary stay in Nazareth near her family while Joseph made the trip? This was a difficult 80 mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Why not just stay home?

The genealogies of Christ are found in Matthew 1:2-16 and Luke 3:23-38. The two genealogies are different, as the one in Matthew traces Jesus’ lineage through His stepfather Joseph whereas the genealogy in Luke traces Jesus’ lineage through His mother Mary. One article I found noted:

“The lineage of Joseph and the lineage of Mary match with the same names from Abraham to David. Joseph and Mary were distant cousins. They each fulfilled the prophecy that the messiah would descend from the house and lineage of King David. Jesus’ legal title to the throne of King David was through Joseph, but his blood title to the throne was through Mary.”

BOTH Joseph and Mary were related by birth to King David, which required that BOTH return to Bethlehem. God moved the heart of Caesar to call for this taxing, that the prophecy of Christ’s birth be fulfilled in Bethlehem.

The Virgin Birth Makes Christ The “Only Begotten” Of God

Luke 2:5-7 … with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son

I want you to notice that Verse 7 states, “she brought forth HER firstborn son”. It does not say “THEIR firstborn Son” but “HER firstborn Son”. This was not her and Joseph’s son, but the Son of God given to her by the very power of God. This is the fulfillment of God’s promise to the Serpent, that old Devil:

Genesis 3:15 (AP) … the SEED OF THE WOMAN shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel …

as well as the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV) “the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel”. This is uniquely Mary’s Son. God became Man – perfect and sinless Man – through the virgin Mary. It is, as the Scripture said:

Matthew 1:18 … When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

God became a little Child. God the Son became “begotten”, taking on flesh as we all do. And yet – within that baby – is all the infinite power of God. The Scripture says:

Colossians 2:9 For in [Christ] dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead. Jesus Christ is pure God, fully God, wholly God, with all the power and magnitude of God. But in Him is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Jesus is fully God in fully perfect Human form. He is fully God and fully Man. Eternal God would inhabit humanity, first of all, through the virgin birth. Why would God the Son do this? Why was this Baby from this virgin in this manger?

To save us from our sins.

Jesus did not consent to be born as a little Baby just so we could go to Heaven. Jesus consented to be born into His creation to save us from our sins. This is what Gabriel told Joseph:

Matthew 1:21 {Mary} will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

The name “Jesus” means “Jehovah is salvation”. Humanity needs a Savior, One Who will save us from ourselves. Think of the most righteous men of the Old Testament. Think of Abraham, the man called “The Friend of God” (2 Chronicles 20:7; James 2:23). Abraham did many things of faith, and so impressed God that God considered him a “friend”. Yet Abraham went in to Hagar, and produced Ishmael rather than wait on the promise of God.

Or Noah, a faithful preacher of righteousness. He preached and waited many years while building an Ark to God’s specifications. When he got off the Ark, Noah got drunken and indecently exposed himself.

Or Moses, who faithfully led Israel for 40 years. Then one day he disobeyed God, struck the rock that was Christ, and lost his blessing into the Promised Land.

Or King David, a man after God’s own heart. David stood in front of Goliath and killed him with a stone from a sling and the devil’s own ax. And yet as King, David doubted God and numbered Israel, for which He was punished. David took Uriah’s wife, and had Uriah murdered.

I could go on and on. The story of Scripture is that we as humans constantly fall short of the glory of God. We may walk with God – but we really need God to come to us. This is why God became a little child, why God the Son took upon Himself humanity. The Scripture says:

Philippians 2:7-8 (Jesus) … took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8) And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Made of the Holy Spirit in the vessel of Mary’s womb, God became “the form of a servant”. Why was He born to a Carpenter’s household? Carpenters are builders. They take raw materials, and put them together into a beautiful finished product. My Dad was an upholsterer, and people often brought him couches and chairs to renew, recondition, and repair. When Daddy did so, it was like it was brand new. Jesus does the same thing with people. He was born into this world to take the broken, the weak, the least and the lesser than and make us into sons of God.

Jesus is more than just a name. Christmas is more than just a holiday. Because Jehovah agreed to become that little baby, He became as Romans 8:29 tells us “the FIRSTBORN among MANY BRETHREN”. Jesus came to bring us into God’s family. If you have received Him as Lord and Savior, God is your Father, the Spirit your Companion, and Jesus your Elder Brother and Lord.

That Baby in the Manger had a purpose, and that is to call us to a life of purpose. The Bible says that because of Christ you are …

Romans 8:29 … predestinated [you] to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

You are to be like Christ, to live like Christ, to speak like Christ, to represent Christ. This is not something you yourself can do, but something that God will accomplish in you as you seek His face. At the appointed time Mary brought forth Christ, not because of anything she did, but because of what God did in her.

The Way Of Christ Is Obedience And Humility

Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Many this Christmas will be focused more on the Christmas Tree and what’s under it, than on the Christ wrapped in swaddling clothes. That is so very sad. “swaddling clothes” are strips of cloth that were wrapped around babies to protect them from their environment. The clothes kept them from flailing their arms about where they might be hurt. They also kept the bugs and the sun off of the baby’s skin.

Mary laid Jesus in a “manger”, the Greek phatnē, which means “a crib or a stall, an eating place for animals”. In smaller towns like Bethlehem and Nazareth, many homes had lower levels where animals were kept at night. The humans slept in the upper rooms. Yet there was a reason for this. Jesus was born into the lowest of places, so He could be available for the least of people. The first visitors to the little Messiah were shepherds in the fields around Bethlehem. One commentary notes:

“God’s own Son made His appearance on earth in the lowliest of circumstances. This humble birth conveys an amazing message to creation: the transcendent God condescended to come to us. Instead of coming to earth as a pampered, privileged ruler, Jesus was born in meekness, as one of us. He is approachable, accessible, available—no palace gates bar the way to Him; no ring of guards prevents our approach. The King of kings came humbly, and His first bed was a manger.”

The manger was a borrowed crib, a place where creatures fed. Jesus would often use the symbolic language of eating to describe faith in Him. Jesus told those who followed Him:

John 6:54-56 (NKJV) Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

Later in His ministry, just before His death, Jesus would tell His disciples:

Matthew 26:26-27 (NKJV) … Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

That Baby lying in a temporary bed, a food trough, is the Savior of the world. If you intimately make Him a part of your life, He saves you from your sins and gives you entrance into Heaven. Jesus is wrapped in swaddling clothes, because this is what every parent did with their children. He was born into this world as you and I are. God told the Shepherds watching their flocks at night:

Luke 2:10-12 Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

The Shepherds would see the ordinary (a Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes) in an abnormal place (lying in a manger). Jesus Christ is the Bread of Heaven, the Manna that gives us life. He is the “Savior, which is Christ the Lord”. The Messiah would come, as Micah prophesied:

Micah 5:4-5 (NKJV) And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth; 5 And this One shall be peace.

Jesus Christ is our PEACE. He is the fulfillment of God’s promise to us all. The reason we celebrate Christmas is to recognize that only Jesus will meet our needs for peace. As another source states:

“who is there among us that doesn’t feel the need for peace? This babe, this Shepherd, Who has come forth from God to mankind, is the only source of lasting, eternal peace for the soul. As it is written, “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:13-14) …and speaking of God’s purposes in Christ, “and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His Cross” (Colossians 2:20)”

God became a little Child to save us. We must become little children to be saved. Oh, that God would lead you to believe on Him this very day. Only then will God bless you all richly this Christmas. Amen and Amen!