Laid in a Manger

We cannot but be struck by the lowliness of Christ's birth, even though our Christmas celebrations have acquired a cheap glory of lights and pretty colors and tinsel.

His mother Mary described the poverty and low estate that was hers. Jesus was laid in a manger, because his parents were poor and had no support structure to lean upon in the town of Joseph's family. The witnesses chosen of God, the shepherds, were men poor and lowly in society. Mary and Joseph were too poor to bring the proper offering when they present Jesus to the Lord at the temple. The message of the angels, that Jesus is the annointed savior of His people, was incongruous with the lowliness of His birth.

But Jesus' step-father Joseph had another sort of lowliness - that of an overthrown, once-proud, once-glorious family of the house of King David! Joseph should have been king of Israel, but now he was unknown and unimportant, and the birth of Jesus went unnoticed and unacclaimed by the nation. Now he was reduced to following orders to go to Bethlehem and register to be taxed by the Roman occupiers.

Joseph's family was lowly because of judgment for the rebellion of the House of David against God. In fact, Joseph's line was cut off by God from ever serving as king again.

This lowliness of Christ's birth had been foretold: he would be born as from a dried up root, a sprout off the stump of a dead cut-down tree. Indeed, Mary's line from David was not through Solomon, but rather his younger brother Nathan.

Christ's lowliness was necessary as a precursor to His rejection by the nation and His humiliation at Calvary. Had He been high born, the Lamb's Sacrifice would have been derailed!