Words by Al Blanton | Image by Ryan McGill
My wife is a Christmas-aholic. Every year, her obsession with all things Christmas seems to grow. Right now, our house looks like the town of Dahlonega, Georgia, in December. Beautiful garland is draped on the mantle, the dining room table is neatly set with Christmas china, nativities are scattered throughout the house, two new inflatables (gingerbread man and angel) are standing guard in front of our house, personalized stockings are hung with care, and fully ornamented Christmas trees in various sizes sit in corners of rooms.
And did you know she’s also incredible at establishing Christmas traditions in our family?
Every night during the Advent season, the kids gather as she reads a story from a book entitled The King is Coming! A set of wooden blocks with artwork depicting each story has been placed on the mantle, and our kids get to “turn the block” each night to discover the image and move another “star block” to the next day. We also have a small manger on the living room bookcase, and every time the kids do something kind, they get to put some hay in the manger. We decorate gingerbread houses, select ornaments for the kids representing the past year of their life, have breakfast casserole on Christmas morning, and much, much more.
I can’t say it’s a bad thing. In fact, her adoration of Christmas is one of the things I really love about her.
But it’s not the material things about Christmas she’s truly celebrating. I think she wants to make the birth of Jesus special. I think it’s her way of throwing a massive, month-long birthday party for the Savior of the World.
If you haven’t heard already, a little over two thousand years ago, the most incredible thing happened. God, the creator of the universe, sent his only begotten son into the world to be born in a feeding trough for animals in a small, uninspiring village called Bethlehem. Instead of being arrayed with the finest of garb in the finest royal palace, the baby entered our world in a smelly barn because there was no vacancy in the Motel 6 of the era. Here, we see that even though the story of Jesus’ life on earth is just beginning, it is already saturated with remarkable humility and modesty.
But one other thing marks this supernatural event: adoration.
Shepherds, wise men, angels, and stars are on the move to celebrate this glorious arrival. Luke writes that after witnessing the appearance of a heavenly host of angels, the shepherds “came in a hurry” to see the Christ child. Perhaps it’s appropriate at this time to inquire whether we have done the same, or if we languish and complain during the Christmas season. Does Christmas seem to sneak up on us every year, or is the entire season filled with wonder and amazement? Is celebrating the birth of Jesus at the forefront of our minds, or is it an afterthought? And after Thanksgiving, are we hurrying to Jesus like we hurry to Black Friday specials? Oof.
Then Luke says, “All who heard it were amazed about the things which were told them by the shepherds.”
I’m no Doogie Howser, but even I can deduce from this passage that the shepherds did not relay some boring, pedestrian story. Not only were the shepherds amazed, but all who heard it were amazed!
Luke concludes his section on the shepherds: “And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.” (Luke 2:20 NASB). That’s adoration, folks.
Now, let’s look at the wise men for a moment—the “magi.” After seeing the star parked over the spot where the anointed child was to be found, they “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” (Matthew 2:10 NASB) I don’t know about you, but it seems they were pretty excited about it. They adored what was happening and presented their treasures to him. They fell down and worshipped. They celebrated like their team had just won the Super Bowl, for indeed, this was a victory—not only for them, but the entire human race.
Not everyone was so thrilled. Forasmuch wonder, adoration, and humility as was evident at the time, there was also great dread, fear, and plotting. King Herod was the primary antagonist in the story, the little infant so troubling him that he devised a wicked plan to kill him. After dispatching the magi, Herold told them to report back to him because he, too, wanted to worship the newborn. This, of course, cloaked his barbarous intent.
Though Herod’s plot loomed, God protected the innocent baby by dispatching his team to warn Joseph and the wise men. After all, He knew the significance of his son’s birth to the story of humankind, to the triumph of good over evil. “Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.” (Matthew 2:13 NASB).
By the time Herod got wind that the magi would not return, Jesus had grown as an infant. Bible commentator Matthew Henry writes, “It is probable that the blessed Jesus was at this time not a year old; yet Herod took in all the infants under two years old, that he might be sure not to miss of his prey.” This bloodthirsty ruler, now swinging with a wide augur in his wrath, wanted to make sure the child didn’t survive.
We must, then, conclude that this was no ordinary baby. This baby mattered in the course of human existence. This baby held the key for the shackles of sin and death and would rule forever. This baby would live a righteous and blameless life and offer sacrificial atonement for sinners on the cross of Calvary.
Indeed, the greatest gift ever given was when God pierced a chaotic, broken, violent, sin-ravaged world and set an innocent child down in a manger. His gift wrapping? Swaddling clothes. The price tag? Ultimately, his life.
This scene in Bethlehem is the ultimate portrait of rescue and should inspire all of us to reverence and adulation.
Do we still adore Him? Does the joy of the Advent season fill you with hope?
And do we exclaim, “Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning”? WL
