As we all know, this is the day that Christianity recognizes the birth of Christ. Sadly, from there, the day, and many of the celebrations, fall apart. By that I mean, much of the world celebrates Christmas while rejecting Jesus. Look at Japan for example. And much of SECULAR Christianity looks at the birth of “Jesus,” while rejecting the Son of God. Then NOMINAL Christianity fills their celebrations with superstitions, traditions and utter paganism. We hear from various quarters that Christmas is all about love, or family, or giving or making yearly sales quotas. And in the process the incarnation of the Son of God falls into a septic system filled with dozens of other superstitious incarnations.
Various world religions and pseudo-religions are filled with stories about miraculous births. And the more the birth of Christ is secularized and fantasized, the less impact He has upon our lost world. What makes the birth of Christ different from what the Greeks said about Perseus, the son of Zeus and the virgin named Danae? Many Romans were convinced that Jupiter was the son of Saturn and came to earth in a shower of gold. The Macedonians eventually fabled that Alexander was begotten by a serpent. And some of the Romans said the same thing about Augustus, the reigning Caesar when Jesus was born. Some Hindu traditions say that Krishna was the son of a virgin name Davaki. And the Roman Catholics while talking about the miraculous conception of Jesus, also say that Mary was miraculously conceived herself. These and dozens of other fanciful fables, when mixed with actual Biblical truths about the birth of Christ, dilute the opportunity share the gospel with the unsaved world. It can be easily seen that the god of this world, Satan, has his fist firmly around the modern celebration of Christmas.
As Christians of a different variety, you and I are obligated to take our doctrines and our faith out of the Bible. And as I said on Wednesday, we must understand the words of the Bible as literally as possible. Yes, there are a lot of missing details, but they don’t give us reason to throw ourselves into the waves of wild speculation. Our theology must not be established on what all the Christmas cards might say.
One of the major differences between the birth of Christ and the superstitions of false world religions is the modesty and simplicity of Christ’s coming – the actual incarnation of the Son of God. For example, why was Jesus born a stable boy and not a king, or a triumphant world conqueror? Why was He was first cradled in a manger and not in a gold-covered bassinet? Why were there animals present, when a doctor or a midwife might been more appropriate? The answers, to me, are obvious. In the midst of all the ungodliness of the season they need to be reiterated.
First, the Lord Jesus was born in a stable because He had to be born somewhere.
That is not as stupid a statement as some people might think. It was absolutely necessary that our Saviour identify and become one with the human sinners He intended to save. As taught by the Apostles, Christ could not meet our need if He had just appeared, like some visiting angel. He had to become one of us – a man, yet without sin. His identification with us was essential.
I realize we sometimes say things like: “It is by the grace of God that I am alive today.” “I could have been killed in that accident; I might have died with that bout of the flu.” It is only in the will of God that we live and move and have our being. We ought to be 10,000 times more thankful for life than we are, because every breath, every bite, every heart-beat, every antibody in our blood exist only because God permits it, God wills it, God commands it. Furthermore, have you ever meditated upon the fact that you did not even have to be born? You did not have to be born, but how different it was for the Lord Jesus – His birth was essential.
Perhaps your parents deliberately decided to bring you into the world. Perhaps you were a delightful accident, while your parents hoped to wait before becoming parents. There are tens of thousands of children born every year who are not wanted and who are hated from the moment of their conception. And there are thousands of children who are murdered every year, preventing their births. You did not have to be born. But you were born and some of you have been born again by the wonderful grace of Jesus.
But as I have said, there was no choice, Christ Jesus had to be born, and, He had to be born somewhere. In the counsels of eternity, when God “decided” to save sinful man, there was no choice but to have the Son of God become incarnate through the virgin birth. When the decision was made to redeem the Lord’s fallen creation, there was no choice but that the Second Person of the Trinity would take upon himself human flesh. That was because the only way salvation could be accomplished was through the substitution of a perfect human being for you and me, who are sinful human beings. Jesus had be born in order to be our Saviour, and thus he had to be born somewhere.
It is so sad to see so many put the cart before the horse, or perhaps I should say they have put the cradle before the cross. Satan has gotten us so befuddled that we are constantly confusing good things with better things. The God of this world hath blinded mens minds lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine upon us. For example: some people confuse standing in awe before a manger above bowing in repentance before the holy God. They confuse loving God with trusting Christ as Saviour. To them concocting a goodly amount of affection for a baby is the means to saving their souls. Some people, being caught in sin, confuse their embarrassment with repentance. Some people equate loving their family & buying gifts, supporting worthy charities, with worshiping Christ.
Why is it that so many picture the birth of Christ, with the completion of redemption? Why is it that so many think that the baby in the manger is the Savior of the World? That helpless infant cuddled to his mothers breast was not Saviour any more than baby born on February 12, 1809 outside Hodgenville, Kentucky was 16th president of the United States. Jesus’ birth was but one small step toward the deliverance of the sinner. Methinks the world celebrates that birth a bit too much.
Why was Jesus born in a stable? Because of the cruelty and sinfulness of the world.
“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out decree from Caesar Augustus that all world should taxed.” Was that taxation made for the establishment of hospitals throughout the Roman empire? Was it to build water purification plants; was it for education? That taxation was in order to satisfy the greed of those who were already wealthy and powerful. It was for Augustus, and for the paying of his armies so that he could become an even greater emperor. And as a result, a poor man and his expectant wife had to make an arduous and troublesome journey into Judah to be registered and taxed. Out of greed, Mary had to risk her life and the life of her baby to travel to Bethlehem. And that was why Jesus was born in a stable.
When Joseph and his exhausted wife arrived at their destination, they couldn’t find proper accommodations. It is sometimes argued that it was not uncommon for people to stay in such a place as a stable. I’m not sure if that was true or not. But the laws of chivalry and hospitality demand that consideration be made for a woman in her condition. Were there no hearts touched by the fact that they had come so far? Was there no sympathetic woman in town who had ever had a difficult pregnancy herself, who might have at least invited this pair of strangers to bed down in her warm kitchen? If you saw a pregnant woman squatting beside her car trying to lift a spare tire into place would your conscience let you drive past without helping? If you had two coats, but your neighbor had none, would you let him freeze? If you saw a small fire start at the rear of your neighbors house, wouldn’t you try to put it out? Perhaps you would be of help, but the majority of the people of this world would not. This is a wicked, uncaring place, despite all the Christmas hype to the contrary.
Christ Jesus came to this unholy place to correct just some of these sorts of wicked deeds. These are reasons why He was born in that stable.
And it was to show the extent to which the Lord would go for us.
Paul once wrote: “God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” There is no doubt about the fact that when the Saviour died that cruel death of the cross, there could be no greater demonstration or proof of God’s love for us. But in the incarnation of the Son of God, we do see a hint of that love. “When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the alsw, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
Changing gears just a little, let me ask: Out of all the creatures in the animal kingdom what is the most vile and despicable that you can imagine? Perhaps it is some merciless predator or a blood-stained scavenger. Maybe you picture a slithery, disgusting and dangerous reptile. How about an insect of some sort like a dung beetle or a cockroach. I doubt that it would be appropriate to ask, but how might the Lord Himself answer that question?
As you imagine the very worst creature in your little world, I’d like you to go a step beyond and imagine that before you became what you are now in Christ, you were first one of those vile creatures. Let’s say that before you grew up and went to school, you were first a slug. In order to become the butterfly you are in Christ, you were first a despicably ugly caterpillar. Would you willingly become a cockroach in order to later become something better? Would you willingly become a slug in order to save other slugs from their slugness? Please understand that when Jesus became man, he became something filthy and disgusting in the sight of the holy God – worse in Divine eyes than any creature your eyes have ever seen. The relationship between you and a slug, does not begin to depict the difference between God and sinners. Granted Christ did not become a sinner, but he wore the flesh of the sinner; He was tempted like a sinner, and died like a sinner. Jesus was born in a stable with rats, bugs and slugs to show us the extent to which He would go for us.
There is a story about a little boy whose father went off to war and died. As the little boy grew, all he knew of his father was a picture mother kept. Several times he said, “I wish that my father could step out of that picture and be my father again.” There in that humble maternity ward, God stepped out of the Old Testament picture frame and became God in our midst. Jesus was given the Old Testament title “Immanuel” because His became “God with us.” “Jesus” is another name because it means “Jehovah the Saviour.” God said to us on the day of Christ’s birth, “This is how much I love you.” This is the extent to which I will go to begin the journey toward your redemption.
Why was Jesus born in a stable? To illustrate how easy it is for us approach Him.
Again I stress that the baby in that manger was not, at the time, our Saviour. He became the Saviour when he hung on the cross and poured out His blood as an offering for our sins. But that One born in the stable was same one who eventually went willingly to the cross.
There are millions of Christmas cards, some of which depict an artist’s idea of the birth of Christ. On the internet I have seen dozens of modern artists’ renditions of the events around that birth. Some of them were really quite interesting and thought provoking. One that I saw was a group of really ragged looking shepherds looking for the babe. They were dirty and disgusting-looking. They looked like homeless people of today. But they did have angelic invitations to visit and see Mary and the Baby. And then there were the animals. Even the littlest child can picture some donkeys and cattle in that stable, whether true or not.
When Judy brought our children, Kraig and Jackie, into the world, there was a rule at the hospital that only immediate family could see the mother and newborn. Basically, it meant that only the father could actually visit the mother and their child. In effort to protect the health of everyone, no friends, in-laws or co-workers could come into the room with the baby. No dirty shepherds and certainly no billy-goats or mares could be there.
But Jesus wasn’t born in a hospital or a plush room in some royal palace. His nursery wasn’t even a secret cave or grotto high in the mountains overlooking Bethlehem. He was born in a way, and in a place, that was more accessible than a hotel room. As the sun arose, there were likely people coming and going to tend animals and start to work.
I have read that there was some graffiti found on a wall in certain far eastern Seminary. It said, “Jesus said, ‘Whom do you say that I am?’” It went on, “You are the eschatalogical manifestation of the ground of our being, the kerygma (ku-rig-ma) in which we find the ultimate meaning of our interpersonal relationships.” And on the next line were the words, “Jesus said, What?” There is no theological confusion about the openness to the One born in a stable.
And the openness to Christ hasn’t changed since that day. If there is any sinner, who has come to the end of himself… If there is a sinner, who realizes and admits that he cannot hope to be as holy as the Lord demands… If there is any sinner, who by the conviction of the Holy Spirit has reached the conclusion that he needs the righteousness and the salvation of the Saviour, then the Lord Jesus opens His arms for that sinner. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.”
Christmas is not the end, culmination, or the highlight of Biblical Christianity. It comes somewhere in the middle. The really important highlight is the Christ’s death on the cross. It doesn’t matter whether or not you have come to the stable and met the boy who was there. What matters is if you have met the crucified Saviour in humble repentance and faith? What kind of Christian are you? Have you been born again, or are you just watching Jesus’ birth?