We are probably familiar with the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. The Bible says that when the time had come, Mary “brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger”. (Luke 2:6–7) But have we ever wondered why the angel told the shepherds that the Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger was a “sign”?
Like most of us I grew up seeing Christmas cards of Jesus “asleep on the hay” in a wooden manger. Wooden legs in the shape of a large X with the bed a wooded-sided V. Is it possible Jesus’ manger was wooden? I think so. Is it likely? I think not.
Wood as a commodity for things like mangers, tables, etc. was rare in Galilee. The word teknon used for Joseph’s and Jesus’ occupation in Matthew 13:35 and Mark 6:3 is a matter of debate. (We get our word “technical” from this term.) Were these men “carpenters” or “stone masons”? Because the greater Nazareth area is not a forested area, but has many stone quarries, it is most likely Joseph and Jesus worked with stone, not with wood.
Stone mangers, troughs to feed animals, were common in Israel in the 1st century. When Mary wrapped her newborn son in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, he was in a solid, secure structure - a stone manger !
But why was that a sign? Because if we have seen the empty tomb of Jesus at a place called The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, we would have noticed that the place where His body was laid, inside a tomb hewn out of rock, resembles a stone trough. The Bible says that after Jesus’ crucifixion and death, Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’ body, wrapped it in linen and laid it in a tomb hewn out of a rock. (Mark 15:43–46)
Yea! There is the similarities, right? Wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger, baby Jesus would one day be wrapped in linen and laid in a tomb. That was the sign the angel was referring to. It pointed to Jesus’ death.
Jesus was the only child in all of humanity born to die. Once I realize that, I realize how much God loves me. Yahweh gave up His Son for that one purpose, and that His Son willingly came for that one purpose — to die for your sins and mine.
I can never imagine living a life knowing that I am just qualifying myself to die on the cross to save the world! How about you? And that was the life that Jesus lived. He lived to die, so that we might live and enjoy life abundantly today!
Quoted from Joseph Prince's daily devotion.
