Dear Church Family – 

“This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).  We have all heard this scripture every Christmas from as far back as we can remember.  I never questioned it.  I mean, what else would a baby be wrapped in; and for that matter, why even mention it?  Then I heard something on the Christian radio station and had to check it out.  This is so fascinating!  We know there were shepherds in the Bible, but did you know there were special, trained shepherds, from priestly families (Levites), who raised sacrificial lambs for the Temple in Jerusalem?  If you recall, when making an offering (for the Temple, for Passover, etc.), or atoning for sins, it couldn’t be just any lamb; it had to be an unblemished one; spotless and without injury.  These certain shepherds, raised the sheep ensuring they met strict requirements for ritual purity and perfection.  To keep them clean and free from injury, as they were born, they couldn’t touch the ground, so they would be caught, and then swaddled in cloths and often placed in a manger to keep them safe and unharmed.  The Bible says Jesus is the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and “that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” ((1 Peter 1:18-19).  So when the angel appeared to these shepherds who were watching their flocks by night, they knew what to look for and recognized Jesus as the promised Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice for sins, fulfilling Old Testament prophecy. 

If Jesus was born in a palace with fancy fabrics to wrap Him in, it wouldn’t mean the same.  A lamb wouldn’t be in a palace, but in a stable, in a manger.  When we accept Him into our hearts, our lowly manger, He comes to make us new and redeem us, which is what Christmas is all about.  Merry Christmas one and all.  May the Lamb of God be present in your heart and home every day!