The Sign
Luke 2:10-12 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid. I have some very good news for you-news that will make everyone happy. Today your Saviour was born in David’s town. He is Christ, the Lord. This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in pieces of cloth and lying in a feeding box.”.
I know, I know, it’s the day after Christmas. You probably ate too much and today, well, it’s a day of recovery. But let’s not brush by Christmas just yet. Perhaps the Christmas tree is still up in your living room. The leftover turkey is waiting for you in your fridge. Let’s just dwell in Christmas for a moment longer.
So, God was having a baby. That’s what Christmas is all about. God’s His Father and Mary is His mother.
So, if you were God and you wanted to announce the birth of your Son to the world, the most significant event in all of human history to this point … what sign would you have given people? What shingle would you have hung out to declare His coming. How would you have told them that – He’s here, He’s the one you’ve been waiting for. He’s the Messiah who’s come to set you free?
Me? I’m immediately thinking a castle, a bunch of soldiers guarding Him, a fanfare of trumpets, a press release, interviews and footage on CNN, a social media frenzy. I mean, you’d want to let the world know; you’d want to hang a massive, flashing neon sign over that stable declaring “He’s here. He is the One.”
So what sign did God in fact give to the shepherds? Shepherds mind you, blue collar workers out in the field. Not the religious establishment back in Jerusalem, but simple, manual labourers. What sign did God hang out to declare the coming of the Creator of the universe and the Saviour of the world?
The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid. I have some very good news for you-news that will make everyone happy. Today your Saviour was born in David’s town. He is Christ, the Lord. This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in pieces of cloth and lying in a feeding box.”. (Luke 2:10-12)
Great! Fantastic! You’ll find an unremarkable looking newborn wrapped in rags, lying on some hay in a dirty feeding trough out in a smelly stable. That’s what the angels, in effect, told the shepherds. Now, we might find that line about a baby lying in a manger all too familiar after all those Christmas pantomimes we’ve watched.
But just stop and think about it. As signs go … it was extraordinary
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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