WHY WOULD JESUS THE MESSIAH COME AS A HUMBLE BABY?
__________________________________________________
Christmastime is a season of celebration… a time to remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The Christmas story unfolds His humble beginnings. Born into a poor family in the lowly town of Bethlehem, He is the tiny Child wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.
Yet this Child is the long-awaited Messiah, the Anointed One… King of Kings and Lord of Lords at His birth. He is the Son of the Most High, divine in nature. “In Him all the fullness of the Deity dwells” (Colossians 2:9). He is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15). Jesus is “the radiance of God’s glory” (Hebrews 1:3).
This Holy Babe is the pre-existent and eternal One, the One who declares… “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 21:6). He is the Living Word, the Word of Life. The apostle John shares… “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Jesus is Lord of all creation. “All things were created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16).
This Christ Child is the Word who “became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14). He is fully God yet fully Man at His birth. He is the Son of God, the Son of Man, who… “being in very nature God… made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:6-7). Jesus is God incarnate.
Why would this heavenly King come to earth as a humble baby? …this Almighty One who “upholds the universe by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3)? To answer this question, we need to delve into Scripture and unveil some messianic prophecies…
“The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” – Isaiah 7:14
† Prophecy: The Messiah will be born of God
The angel Gabriel brings the news to Mary of the Child she will bear. “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). Jesus is born uniquely divine and human… a miracle at birth. God’s “one and only Son” (John 3:16) will be called Immanuel ,“God with us”.
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land… He will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.” – Jeremiah 23:5-6
† Prophecy: The Messiah will be a descendant of David
Jesus is the Messiah, the promised seed from the line of King David. Without a physical birth, He could not be part of David’s lineage. His genealogy in the Book of Matthew is traced back to Abraham and the tribe of Judah. It is promised that “the scepter will not depart from Judah” (Genesis 49:10). Jesus is “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” (Revelation 5:5). He is the shoot that will “spring up from the stem of Jesse”, (David’s father), upon whom “the Spirit of the Lord will rest” (Isaiah 11:1-2).
“He will reign on the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore.” – Isaiah 9:7
† Prophecy: The Messiah will be King of an eternal kingdom
Jesus is the rightful heir by birth to the throne of David. The name Son of David describes both His messiahship and His royal lineage. Luke tells of God giving Him “the throne of His father David” whose “kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:32-33). Daniel prophesies… “His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14).
“You, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.” – Micah 5:2
† Prophecy: The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem
Bethlehem, the City of David, is King David’s hometown. Mary and Joseph travel there for a census, being of David’s ancestral lineage. This small town rises to prominence when… “the time came for her Child to be born” (Luke 2:6). Magi come from the east seeking to worship the Messiah… “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2). They follow the Christmas Star to Bethlehem where they find the Holy Babe… and offer Him gifts that befit a King.
“My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.” – Isaiah 53:11
† Prophecy: The Messiah will be without sin
Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He is the Righteous One, the Holy One, who is born, lives the human journey, is tempted and challenged in every way yet is without sin. He is the perfect sacrificial Lamb to carry out God’s plan of redemption. God… “made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Only Jesus could be the substitutionary sacrifice that saves humanity.
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulders. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6
† Prophecy: The Messiah will be eternally sovereign
The angel Gabriel tells Mary that her Son… “will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32). He will reign in glory over an everlasting kingdom with justice and righteousness, wisdom and authority, power and dominion. “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:7). Only by stepping into human history could Jesus fulfill all prophecy and become the Savior of mankind for eternity. This Christmas, let us pause in wonder and adoration of this Holy Babe.
† Eternal Takeaway: Jesus came as a humble baby to fulfill prophecy †
