Manger

In ancient Palestine, many houses had a lower level that was divided, one side being the family sleeping area, the other being the pen for the animals. The animals may have added a certain aromatic element but they also provided warmth. A manger—a feeding trough—would have been a normal and necessary piece of equipment where animals were kept.

Was the manger where Jesus lay made of stone? Or was it made of wood? We don’t know. Was the manger filled with hay or straw? Surely Joseph cleaned out any remains of what the animals had been feeding on and replaced it with something soft and fresh. But we don’t know. A manger would have been big enough to hold an infant, and that was Jesus’ first cradle (Luke 2:7).

It must have been unusual to put a newborn baby in a manger, because that was one of the signs the angel gave to the shepherds for finding the Christ Child (v. 12). Evidently the shepherds knew the places in Bethlehem that would have a manger, and they found Joseph, Mary, and Jesus without difficulty (v. 16).

The manger tells us of the poverty of Jesus. Joseph and Mary couldn’t buy their way into nicer quarters (if they had been available). They had just the necessities as they began family life, but what they had was enough.

The manger also reminds us of the humility of Jesus. He was the King of Glory who left heaven’s throne to be enthroned in a feeding trough. Surely the Son of God deserved better than this! But He did not demand it. He is God stooping to identify with sinful humanity, coming as one of the lowest of the low. The big theological word for this is “condescension.” It is best expressed in Philippians 2:6–7: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being found in appearance as a man.”

 See: Bethlehem, Immanuel, Inn, Shepherds

Mary

There is an appropriate mystery to the virginal conception. We are told that the Holy Spirit “overshadowed” Mary, causing her womb to conceive and the Son of God to take on flesh. The Spirit’s overshadowing was the process that enabled Mary to conceive while ensuring that the Child would be holy (Luke 1:35).

While we cannot precisely know all the reasons God chose Mary to be the mother of the Christ Child, the Gospel narratives give us important insights.

Gabriel was sent to a virgin (vv. 26–27), implying that Mary was sexually pure, and we assume that she pursued purity of mind and soul as well as body. When she understood Gabriel’s message, she asked how the conception would happen, because she was a virgin. Mary clearly affirmed her sexual purity.

A Person God Could Choose

Mary did not claim to be sinless, however. In her great song of worship, the Magnificat (vv. 46–55), she refers to God as “my Savior” (v. 47), thereby acknowledging that she was a sinner in need of God’s salvation. While she gave a human body and nature to the Lord Jesus, her sin nature was not passed on by virtue of the Spirit’s overshadowing. God chooses and uses persons who are pure.

Mary demonstrated a great reverence for God. When Gabriel appeared, she did not seem stunned by the reality of angelic beings. Rather, she seems to have been trying to figure out why God would send an angel to her. In the Magnificat she called God “the Lord,” “God my Savior,” and “the Mighty One,” then celebrated God’s holiness, mercy, power, and promise keeping. In verse 50 she quotes Psalm 103:17, referring to those who “fear him.” Mary was one of those in Israel who truly feared God. She honored, respected, and worshiped Him and Him alone. Because of her reverence for God, she embraced the will of God, calling herself “the Lord’s servant” (Luke 1:38). Her reverence for God made her a joyful woman. God chooses and uses persons who fear Him.

Her firm grasp of Scripture, and its grip on her, set Mary apart from most others. Her character, her worldview, her understanding of history and future events were all shaped by God’s Word. Again, the Magnificat reveals what was in Mary’s heart and mind. Her song is shaped by Hannah’s words of praise to God in 1 Samuel 2. It draws from a number of psalms and the book of Job and ends by referring to God’s promises to Abraham in Genesis 17. Mary had paid attention to the Scriptures, she had internalized them, and she had obeyed them. When God chose her to bring the Messiah into the world, her response is expressed in biblical phrases, images, and references. She believed God’s Word was true, and she saw her own experience as fulfillment of divine promises. God chooses and uses persons who love and live His Word.

Because Mary reverenced God and because she honored His Word, she had a submissive spirit. She listened to Gabriel’s message, raised her honest question, listened carefully to Gabriel’s response, and then said, “I am the Lord’s servant” (Luke 1:38). Surely Mary had more questions to ask, especially about how her pregnancy would affect her relationships to Joseph, her family, and the Nazareth community. Others might have chosen to argue or demand assurances. Not Mary. Her life was lived for God, under God’s Word, and she unhesitatingly agreed to serve God’s purpose. God chooses and uses persons with a submissive spirit.

A Person of Faith

Mary’s faith in God is expressed in how she allowed God to convince Joseph of the truth of her condition. In Matthew’s Gospel (1:18–25) we learn that Joseph and Mary were engaged prior to her becoming pregnant and that Joseph knew he wasn’t the father. It is also clear that Joseph loved Mary and agonized over divorcing her (engagement among the Jews at that time imposed the exclusiveness of marriage on the couple with none of the privileges). Through an angel’s message in a dream, God directed Joseph to the right decision.

It seems equally clear that Mary loved Joseph (they eventually had a rather large family; see Mark 6:3). Mary’s faith in God kept her faithful to Joseph when he wasn’t sure what to do. Together Mary and Joseph had to face their families and the wagging tongues in Nazareth when her pregnancy became obvious. They knew the truth—but who would believe them? So Joseph and Mary absorbed the gossip and looks and unkind treatment that came their way. For God’s sake, and the truth’s sake, they were faithful under pressure.

Mary and Joseph had faith that Caesar’s decree, which required them to travel to Bethlehem, was God’s plan. They trusted God when Mary’s labor started, when Jesus was born, when shepherds came, when Magi arrived, and when they had to leave for Egypt. They trusted God when He told them to return to the land of Israel. Over time, they built a good marriage and raised their family. God chooses and uses persons who are faithful.

Maturity is a word that accurately describes Mary, although she was likely not much older than sixteen. Her awareness of God, her confidence in Scripture, her understanding of relationships, and her courage despite opposition reveal a woman with deep roots ready to face realistically life’s joys and sorrows. She had an amazing capacity to adjust to God’s directives and life’s changing circumstances.

A Loving Mother and Disciple

Mary was a good mother. From the account of Jesus in the temple at age twelve (Luke 2:41–51), we know that Joseph and Mary raised Jesus to keep the Law and know the Scriptures. They taught Him to think and to ask good questions and to obey His parents. Jesus learned Joseph’s craft and evidently supported the family after Joseph died (since Jesus was known as “the carpenter”—Mark 6:3; if Joseph were still alive, he would have been “the carpenter”).

Mary endured the pain of seeing her Son suffer and die on the cross. Simeon predicted that a sword would pierce Mary’s soul because of Jesus (Luke 2:35). It did, and Mary did not flinch.

Mary is a model disciple. She must have asked herself, Who is this? as she watched and listened to Jesus as He grew up. Her internal quest to understand what it meant for the Word to become flesh must have been intense. As Jesus’ mother, she knew who He was: God’s Son in human form.

Mary’s last recorded words in Scripture are, “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5). Our final glimpse of Mary in Scripture is in Acts 1, where she is one of the believers gathered for prayer in the upper room (1:14). She was saved by faith in the child she had carried in her womb, whom she had raised, whom she saw die, and who she knew was risen from the dead.

 See: Faith, Immanuel, Jesus, Joseph, Joy, Overshadow, Questions, Simeon, Songs, Tears, Virgin Birth

Messiah

The Hebrew word mashiah means “anointed one.” The Greek equivalent is christos and gives us the word “Christ,” which is used more than five hundred times in the New Testament. Whenever we say “Jesus Christ,” we are saying “Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Anointed One.”

The Messiah is the Redeemer for whom the Jewish nation had been waiting and through whom they expected to be freed from their enemies and brought into the promised kingdom. Even today, in many Hebrew prayer books, the Thirteen Articles of Faith conclude with: “I believe with a perfect heart that the Messiah will come; and although his coming be delayed, I will still wait patiently for his speedy appearance” (see Ps. 2:1–2; Dan. 9:25–26; Matt. 22:41–46; Acts 4:23–30).

The title Messiah reveals several important truths about Jesus.

His Person: Jesus Is God

To call Jesus “the Christ” or “the Son of David” is to call Him “Son of God.” Matthew’s Gospel opens with, “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David” (1:1); and Mark calls Him “Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (1:1). At the close of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus calls Himself “the Christ” and states that the Old Testament Scriptures teach about Him (24:26, 46). John wrote his Gospel so that people might believe “that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” and have “life in his name” (John 20:31). The people in Jerusalem lauded Him as “the Son of David” (Matt. 20:30; 21:9, 15). Andrew and John confessed that Jesus was the Christ (John 1:40–41), as did Peter (Matt. 16:13–16) and Martha (John 11:27).

During our Lord’s earthly ministry, the main question was, “Is this Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah, the Christ?” and it was asked by leaders and common people alike. The religious leaders asked Him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly” (10:24). The rabbis applied 456 Old Testament passages to the Messiah, and Jesus Himself said, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me” (5:46). In his sermon at Pentecost, Peter told the crowd that Jesus was “both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36; and see 5:42; 10:36). This was also Paul’s message (9:22).

His Offices

Under the Jewish economy, to be anointed was to be set apart for God’s exclusive use. The anointing was reserved for the sanctuary of God (Exod. 30:26–30; 40:9–11), the priests who served there (29:21; Lev. 8:30), the prophets of God (1 Kings 19:16), and the kings (1 Sam. 9:16; 16:3; 24:7–11). The special oil used was a symbol of the Holy Spirit of God.

The human body of Jesus was a temple (John 2:18–22), for “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Col. 2:9). The Father gave the Spirit to Him “without limit” (John 3:34). While ministering here on earth, Jesus was a prophet who spoke forth the Word of God (see Deut. 18:18). Today Jesus ministers in the heavenly sanctuary as the King-Priest “in the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 7:17; Ps. 110:4; see Hebrews 7–8), and when He returns, He will establish His kingdom and reign as “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:16). He is the anointed Prophet, Priest, and King.

His Power

For His sermon in the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth, Jesus read this text: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18–19, quoted from Isa. 61:1–2). When our Lord lived on earth, all that He did was directed by the Father and empowered by the Holy Spirit, whom the Father gave to Jesus “without limit” (John 3:34; Acts 4:27). “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power,” said Peter, “and he went around doing good and healing” (10:38).

While ministering on earth, Jesus lived and served just as we His followers must live and serve today: directed by the Word of God, energized by the Holy Spirit, and depending wholly on prayer. He did not use His divine attributes independent of the Father. If we hope to succeed in life and service, no matter what God has called us to do, we must follow that example: prayer, the Word, and the Holy Spirit’s power (6:4 and 1:8).

Each member of God’s family has the gift of the Holy Spirit and gifts from the Spirit to be used for service (1 Cor. 12:1–11; Eph. 4:1–16). The Spirit has anointed us (2 Cor. 1:21) and the Spirit teaches us the truth so that we can understand the Word and detect the lies of the enemy (1 John 2:20, 27; 4:1–6). We may ask God for wisdom, and He will give it to us (James 1:5). Our privilege is to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25) and depend on His power as He fills us and enables us to glorify Christ. By God’s grace, we possess the anointing. Don’t leave home without Him in control.

 See: Immanuel, Jesus, Nazarene