A HUMBLE KING
Opening Prayer
Lord, thank You for being born like the rest of us.
Read LUKE 2:1–14
The Birth of Jesus
2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Footnotes:
a Luke 2:2 Or This census took place before
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“A great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests’” (13,14). If you were a shepherd who saw the newborn baby Jesus, the Savior, what would you have said?
Think Further
Here is a story so familiar that most of us can recite it by heart. We heard it during our childhood, and the nativity scene remains with us. Perhaps we even have wooden figures of the manger, Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus, and the shepherds that we put on display as part of our Christmas decorations. To this we add all the romanticism of the ox and the donkey adoring the baby.
We don’t know exactly what the birthplace of Jesus looked like. Nonetheless, the setting of Jesus’ entry into this world was, by all human standards, humble and ordinary. It certainly was not the palatial luxury that the Magi must have expected. The angel of the Lord announced to the shepherds: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger” (11,12).
The regalia of the Son of God lies in the whole history of God’s activity in the Old Testament and forward into eternity. His coming announces the great reversal that his life and teaching will continue to demonstrate.
Apply
Praise God that he so loved the world that he gave his only Son to live and die for us. Praise God that “Light has come into the world” (John 3:19).
Closing prayer
Lord, Your people continue to be amazed at Your humility and magnanimity in the method You chose to enter this world.
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