The Birth of a King

I like the Christmas story. A virgin birth from a simple teenager. A baby in a manger. Angels singing. Shepherds visiting. Wise men traveling from afar. We know the story, but it’s easy to forget what was really happening.

God was becoming a human being in the form of an infant. Yes. The God of all heaven and earth was born as a fragile, bone and flesh human being. I am amazed when I put the stories of Scripture together. This baby grows into a boy who wants to worship at His Father’s house when He is twelve. Then He’s a grown man setting about a ministry. But let’s not forget that even as He took on the limitations of a baby, a boy, and a grown man, He is God, the Almighty.

As a man in His thirties, He had a powerful ministry, although localized in a relatively small area. He gathered men to follow Him. He did miracles (see, He is the Almighty God) from healing the sick to creating food where there was none, to raising people from the dead. He preached and interpreted the Holy Scriptures in new ways. He challenged the status quo and the leaders of the religious groups in the area. He challenged the civil authorities by His actions and words. He embraced children, the brokenhearted, the outcasts of society.

And, because He was a man, He ate, slept, walked about, and prayed. He was fully God yet He needed His heavenly Father’s support and strength to carry out His purposes on the earth. And, what was that purpose? Good news. He was to become people’s guide into eternity, into a relationship with the heavenly Father.

He became the ceremonial sacrifice for all of us. Don’t forget . . . He started as that baby in a manger. Fully God. Fully man. Able to do exceedingly beyond our wildest imaginations. In order to do that He submitted to be the lamb slain as a sin offering according to the traditions and dictates of the Old Testament. And throughout His life He knew what He was expected to suffer, and He kept on the path to that destruction. For our sake. Because He wanted to develop a relationship with the people. The Jewish people. The Romans. The Samaritans. The non-Jewish gentiles. The outcast. The sick. The rich. The poor. Religious leaders. The spiritually bankrupt. All of them and all of us.

How did He do it? This baby in a manger? He was crucified on a tree, publically humiliated. Condemned by the people He came to save. He died upon that tree and was buried in a tomb meant for another man. But that’s not the end of this baby’s story. As He had said He would, He rose from the dead and left an empty tomb for inspection by all. He met with His followers in His resurrected body. In fact, He was seen by many people. Eventually, He rose through the air into the heavens and joined the Father God in all His glory. All so that we also might conquer death and be in a relationship with God.

That’s also not the end of the story. This baby, as a man, said He would come again. This time He will not come quietly as a baby. He will come in glory and power. He will terrify those who doubt His existence and love those who are His. He will be recognized by all people from every place around the globe. Every, I said every, creature will bow before Him. We will all give an account for our lives in His court. Some will be made happy by  His pronouncement and some will endure eternal torment based upon whether or not a person loves Him. All of Him, from the baby in a manger to the man on the cross to the glorious King who will return. Are you ready to celebrate this baby in a manger with all the glory He deserves. Don’t forget the bigger picture this Christmas.