a portrait

of

jesus

A PORTRAIT OF JESUS -

Humble Beginnings

Mary “wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”  Luke 1:7

Jesus was not born to a queen, but to an unwed teenage girl. He was not born in a palace, nor on a bed with clean sheets and a roaring fire to keep him warm. Jesus was not even born in an Inn, as there was no room for Him even there. No, the King of kings was born in a dirty, smelly barn, surrounded by sheep, cattle and the donkey that had brought Mary to this place. Flies swarmed the manure and mice scurried along the walls. Jesus was not wrapped in royal robes befitting a king, but in strips of rags, the only thing Mary had to keep Him warm. He was not placed in a cradle on a comfy mattress surrounded by satin and silk, but in a feeding trough on top of straw. Surely, this was not what one would expect for the King of all kings. God’s ways are so foreign to ours!

And who would witness the birth of God’s Beloved, Only Begotten Son? Who would announce to the world that this long awaited King had arrived? Once again, God does the unexpected. He sends His angels to declare this spectacular event, not to the wealthy, the noble, the renown of this world, but to ordinary shepherds, peasants really, considered the lowest of the low on the earth. No occupation was lowlier than a shepherd’s in those days. Like the newborn king, they too, had no place to lay their heads save with their sheep.

Why? Why would God do such a thing? Max Lucado says it best, “God chose ordinary parents and ordinary shepherds, an ordinary stable and an ordinary manger because it is through the ordinary that His power and majesty can best be seen.” Yes, it was through Jesus’ humble beginning we witness God’s extraordinary Love and the lengths He would go to bring salvation to all mankind.

Eight days later, we see Mary and Joseph in the temple for the circumcision of their new babe; Simeon takes Jesus in his arms and praises God. He now can die in peace because he has seen the Messiah! Simeon prophesied a sword would one day pierce Mary’s heart and Jesus’ side. God’s Son would die, thus securing our salvation. Had He come as royalty, the world would not have been delivered. How we praise God for His amazing plan and the extraordinary Gift of Jesus. D. Mathewson