You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Luke 2:12

It felt like we’d been waiting forever for news that our pregnant neighbor had welcomed her first baby. When a sign declaring “It’s a Girl!” finally appeared on their front lawn, we celebrated the birth of their daughter and texted friends who might not have seen the outdoor display.

There’s great excitement awaiting the arrival of a baby. Before Jesus’ birth, the Jewish people hadn’t just been waiting a few months, they’d longed for the birth of the Messiah, Israel’s expected rescuer, for generations. I imagine that over the years faithful Jews wondered if during their lifetime they would see the fulfillment of this promise.

One night the long-anticipated news was displayed in the heavens when an angel appeared to shepherds in Bethlehem announcing that the Messiah had finally been born. He told them, “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12). After the shepherds saw Jesus, they praised God and “spread the word” (v. 17) about the baby.

God wanted the shepherds to know that the long-awaited baby had arrived so they could tell others about Jesus’ birth. We still celebrate His birth because His life provides rescue from the brokenness of the world to anyone who believes. We no longer have to wait to know peace and experience joy, which is good news worth announcing!

How do you think the shepherds felt hearing the news that Christ was born? How might you share the good news of Jesus’ birth?

Dear Jesus, I want everyone to know that Your birth is good news.

Zephaniah 1-3; Revelation 16

Luke’s record of Jesus’ birth includes several paradoxes: people—humble, nightshift-shepherds (2:8); place—Bethlehem “the town of David” (v. 11; see also Micah 5:2); and setting—a cloth-wrapped child “lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12). At first, these seem to be an incongruent mismatch with the coming of one hailed as “a Savior . . . the Messiah, the Lord” (v. 11). Yet, as we soberly reflect on this Christmas Day, pondering turns to praise of the God who “chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; . . . the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27).

Arthur Jackson