A King in a Feeding Trough
The silence ended in the temple, with an angel beside an old priest, and in the sixth month the same angel was sent to Nazareth (Luke 1:26). God could have sent His Son to a palace. Instead the King of the Jews was born to a poor young couple far from home and laid in a feeding trough, and the first people told were shepherds working the night shift.
Nothing about that night was an accident. God had been promising it since Eden. Every detail, from the town to the family line to the Roman decree that moved a carpenter south, came together at the time He had chosen (see Between the Testaments). For the doctrine of who this child is, read The Incarnation. Here we walk through what happened, and we watch for three things.
- God keeps His promises. He always has, and the birth of Jesus is the proof. Every promise of God waits on this child.
- God comes near. The child's name is Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us (Matthew 1:23). He is not a God who keeps His distance.
- He came to die. The angel said he shall save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). The story of the manger only makes sense in the light of the cross.
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). That is why the angels sang.
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For Deeper Study
- The Words and Works of Jesus ChristAmazon J. Dwight PentecostA dispensational study of the whole life of Christ, following the Gospels in order. A good companion for this course.
- The Life and Times of Jesus the MessiahAmazon Alfred EdersheimA classic by a Jewish believer and scholar, rich on the customs behind the Gospels. Read it for its background.
- Chronological Aspects of the Life of ChristAmazon Harold W. HoehnerA Dallas Seminary scholar works carefully through the dates of Christ's birth and ministry, including the census of Luke 2.
- The Virgin Birth of ChristAmazon J. Gresham MachenPresbyterian. The thorough 1930 defense of the virgin birth against liberal denial.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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Between the Testaments
In the four hundred years between Malachi and John the Baptist no prophet spoke, yet God ruled the empires as Daniel foretold, kept His people and His Word, and prepared the world for the coming of His Son.
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