The Birth of Christ

Luke the only Gentile writer in the Bible gives us more details about the birth of Christ than Matthew. Luke contrasts one who is the self-proclaimed Savior of the world and one who is the real Savior. Caesar thought of himself as a man who had become a god. Mary’s baby, however, was the true God who had become a man. 

Augustus thought he was the great one, but God had his eye on an obscure place called Bethlehem because he was ready to unwrap his gift for the entire world. The prophet Micah had foretold the place. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel” (Micah 5:2).

Joseph and Mary were not pawns of Caesar but servants of the Most High God. The order for each man to return to his hometown was all about money, but in God’s economy, it was about getting Joseph and Mary in the right place at the right time. A journey of nearly a hundred miles in the winter, either walking or on a borrowed donkey, would have been difficult but incredibly demanding when you are nine months pregnant. The pace had to be slow, and the stress of the baby coming early never left Mary’s mind. There was the exhaustion of the trip, and now the labor pains have intensified.

Luke writes: “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,  and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:6-7). Mary and Joseph may have been two insignificant people in an obscure village, but they knew something big was happening. Both had experienced visits from a powerful angel. Both knew this baby had no earthly father. Both knew God’s hand was leading them on their journey. Both knew they were to name the child Jesus. Both knew he would be great and that one day, he would save his people from their sins. They may have been poor and uneducated without influence, but God had chosen them for some remarkable roles.

God used Caesar’s greed to cause Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem at an inopportune time, but God was behind it. This was to be the moment that God became man. The doctrine of the incarnation is the belief that the Son of God became a real man - not just someone who appeared to be a man. Jesus was fully God even when he was a baby lying in the manger, But he voluntarily laid aside the use of his divine attributes. He submitted himself to the will of his father. Though sinless, he had a real human body, mind, and emotions. This means he was complete with inherent human weaknesses, and It also means he experienced human temptation.

He was a real baby, a real boy, and then a real man. He had to learn to crawl, to walk, to talk. He had to learn how to be a carpenter. What was so different about Jesus was that he did it all sinlessly.