Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith in Jesus Christ. Please remember that Jesus Christ is not dead. He is alive forevermore, and we need to always see Jesus as He is. Jesus, is not lying in a manger, hanging on a cross, nor buried in a tomb. He was crucified and died, but on the third day, God raised him from the dead. He walked again for 40-days on earth and showed Himself alive with many infallible proofs, for he came preaching and teaching things pertaining to the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3) On Jesus’ last day on earth, His disciples saw Him as He was taken up into the heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
It is vital for Christians to understand that when Jesus ascended into the heavens He was not alone, but while we were yet in sin, God quickened us together, raised us up together, and made us all sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We are all in God in Christ—in love, righteousness, and peace! (Ephesians 2: 4-7)
Every place noted in scripture where Jesus traveled, He left a message for those who follow Him to learn from and apply to their lives, so they could have heaven’s peace and share it with others. (Matt. 11:28-29) The very first message that Jesus left for us to learn was at the manger, where He was laid by Mary. The message from the manger is this: “HUMBLE YOURSELVES UNTO GOD, AND BECOME LIKE SERVANTS TO ALL MEN, SO THAT YOU MAY BRING ALL MEN TO GOD TO RECEIVE THE PEACE OF HEAVEN.”
To fully appreciate the manger, we must understand where Jesus Christ came from. At John 16: 28, Jesus said that He came from out of His father, into the world. (John 16: 28) Before the world began, Jesus was in the Father God, and God in Him. They enjoyed Oneness in all the honor, glory and splendor of God—which is beyond human imagination and comprehension. It was Jesus, the Word, who created all things in heaven, earth and beneath, both seen and unseen. All things were made by Him and for Him. (Col.1:16) Everything made consist of Jesus and without Jesus nothing exists!
At the command of God, Jesus was sent forth to save the world from sin, and reconcile it to God—so that all men might receive the peace of heaven. So, in obedience to God, Jesus came out from God, and the palatial pavilions of Planet Heaven to earth, and was immaculately conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. In the fullness of time, in the city of David called Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus, wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger. (Luke 2:4-7) The manger was in a cold stable used to feed slobbering animals food scraps. Get the picture: Jesus the Creator of “All Things”, came from out of God, took on flesh and was born in a manger used as a baby cradle. How humble a beginning!
Moreover, God sent an angel to announce the birth of Christ first to shepherds who were watching their flocks by night. (Luke 2:8) Shepherds were considered people of very low esteem and regard in society. The angel announced the good news for all people the Savior, Christ, the Lord had been born in Bethlehem. The angel gave the Shepherds a sign by which they could find the baby Jesus, saying they would find the Him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. The true sign was the manger, as all babies were wrapped in swaddling clothes. The shepherds went quickly to Bethlehem and found the baby Jesus lying in the manger. (Luke 2:16) The shepherds—those who were among the outcast in Jewish society—were the first to see and worship the Savior of the world.
Consistent with the manger scene, throughout the life and ministry of Jesus, we see His humility and willingness to lower Himself to serve all people and lift them up to God to receive peace from heaven. Several scriptures give witness to this truth:
*As a 12-year old boy, Jesus was found by Mary and Joseph, sitting exchanging questions and answers with the doctors related to the law of Moses, and the people were amazed at His understanding and answers. (Luke 2: 46-47)
*Jesus, lowered Himself and was baptized by John the Baptist, thereafter the Holy Ghost descended on Him, and God was pleased saying, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:13-17)
*After being led by the Holy Ghost into the wilderness and tempted by the devil for 40-days, Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit. The testimony of Jesus’ ministry was that God anointed Him with the Holy Ghost and he went about serving all people with good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. (Matt. 4:1-2 & Acts 10:38)
*Jesus sat down and dined with those considered the worst sinners in town so that they might repent, be saved, and follow Him. (Mark 2:15-17)
*To heal a blind man from his birth, Jesus spat on the ground, bent down and made clay. Stood-up again and anointed the man’s eyes with the clay. He told him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The man did so and instantly received his sight.
*Jesus taught the disciples how to have relationship with Him—by becoming the servant to his brother—illustrated with Jesus lowering Himself and washing the feet of the disciples, including Judas who would betray Him. (John 13:1-17)
*During the Lord’s passion, in agony and despair, He knelled and prayed three times in the Garden of Gethsemane in full surrender of His will to God’s. He knelled and was brutally beaten and received 39 lashes for the healing of all people. He freely laid down His life for the sins of the world. (Mark 14:32-50, I Peter 2:24, and John 10:17-18)
*Jesus descended into hell to defeat the devil, hell, and the grave. Jesus preached the gospel to the Old Testament saints held captive by the devil and led all of captivity to heaven, and seated us all in Himself at the right hand of God. (Ephesians 4:8-10)
In Phil. 2:4-9, the Apostle Paul echoes the message of the manger. Paul admonishes us to have the same mindset as Jesus—to know that while we have been made equal to God, we are to take on the form of a servant and serve every person with the goodness of God. Though seated with Christ, Jesus commands us to lower ourselves and love as He loved us. In this time of great need in our country and the world, we must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and those in prison in society. (John 13:34 & Matt. 25: 31-40)