I was bored and bothered. That Christmas Eve I read the Nativity story in Luke 2 to our two daughters again just as I had for years. I reasoned there must be more to it than that. God’s Word shouldn’t be dull because its depths can never be plumbed. So, instead of sugar plums dancing in my head, I was awakened in the middle of the night with a spiritual challenge, “Read the story as if it were the first time.”
By Doug Vaughn
So, I noticed the passage twice mentions “This shall be a sign unto you. You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12, NKJV). Why would God repeat Himself as though He was pointing out their significance? How were swaddling cloths and a baby lying in a manger signs from God?
As I researched the scriptures and the biblical background I discovered that our culture has concealed the truth and deceived us away from a key revelation about Christmas. Mangers were not little wooden boxes with crossed legs on the ends, and Jesus was not born in a barn. The numerous caves around Bethlehem provided convenient overhead to serve as stables. And consequently, mangers were ledges carved out from the rock walls of the cave at a level from which the animals could eat.[1]
Our current Nativity scenes depict a baby in a loincloth or pampers, which distract us away from the deeper mystery of what the shepherds saw that night.
Swaddling clothes were bands of cloth tightly wrapped around a baby’s entire body except the face to keep it warm, give it a sense of security with the familiar feeling from the womb, and protect its internal organs. Swaddling for newborn infants is still practiced today here and in the Mideast.[2]
So, how were these signs divine? Envision a baby whose body is entirely wrapped in strips of cloths like a mummy lying on a rocky ledge in a cave. A revealing question is When did Jesus’ body have a similar appearance?
After His death on the cross, his body was wrapped up in strips of clothes like a mummy and buried in a new-hewn cave-like tomb carved out of rock. The scene of his birth foreshadowed the scene of his death. A true of circle of life. Who else but God the Father could have orchestrated such a perfect depiction of the scenes of His Son’s birth and burial 33 ½ years apart? But, even more impressive is the significance of the signs of his birth. The swaddling clothes and the manger show the purpose of Christ’s coming. Jesus was a baby who was born to die.
This is the true reason why we celebrate Christmas – Jesus came to die as the only perfect sacrifice for our sins. It is by trusting in his death, not his birth, that we are saved.
To this fellow who really has not enjoyed Christmas, the Lord gave a great gift early that Christmas morning to reveal the deeper meaning of the signs and cryptic connections of Christmas.
[1] Life Application Bible, Bible Explorer version 2.0, Luke 2:12.
[2] Ibid.
Photo: Bronners 38. Wikimedia 2.0.