Morning By Morning #360

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

Let us go down to Bethlehem today with the wondering shepherds and adoring Magi, and let us see Him “who has been born king of the Jews” (Matt. 2:2). By faith we may lay claim to Him and may sing, “To us a child is born, to us a son is given” (Isa. 9:6). Jesus is Jehovah incarnate, our Lord and our God, yet is also our brother and friend.

Therefore, let us adore and admire Him, but first, let us remember His miraculous conception. It was an event unheard of before and unparalleled since—that a “virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son.” The first promise of His coming mentioned the offspring of the woman, not the offspring of the man. (See Gen. 3:15.) Since it was the woman who led the way into sin that lost paradise for mankind, it was she, and she alone, who would usher in the One to regain that paradise once lost. Although our Savior was truly man, when it came to His human nature He was “the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24). Let us reverently bow before the holy Child whose innocence restores for mankind his ancient, former glory, and let us pray that “Christ [may be] formed in [us]” (Gal. 4:19)—“the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).

Next let us remember His humble parentage. His mother has been described simply as “the virgin”—not a princess, or a prophetess, or the matriarch of a large estate. It’s true that the blood of kings ran in her veins, that her mind was strong, and that she was well taught, for she sang one of the sweetest songs of praise ever sung. Yet consider her humble state, how poor was the man to whom she was engaged, and how miserable the accommodations provided for the newborn King!

“‘They will call him Immanuel’—which means, ‘God with us’” (Matt. 1:23). “God with us”—in our nature, in our sorrow, in our life’s work, in our punishment, and in our death. “God with us” now— or actually we with Him—in His resurrection, ascension, triumph, and the splendor of His second coming.

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

Our present-day view of the nativity has been shaped more by tradition than fact. To this day in the Middle East the typical sheepfold is a cave with only one doorway. The shepherd puts his sheep in the cave for the night and then lies across the doorway, literally protecting his sheep with his life. This is why Jesus said, “I am the gate for the sheep…Whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture…I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:7, 9, 11).

The typical manger was not what we see in modern nativity displays, but was a basin hewn from a large rock. The shepherd places the grain for the animals in one and water in another. What a humble, but appropriate, place for the Son of God to be placed after His birth, for He would later say, “I am the bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:41), and “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37).

What a beautiful picture of a beautiful Savior—“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).