Sermon Central
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Lesson 3: The Manger
Contributed by Elmer Towns on Jan 27, 2010 (message contributor)
Summary: God could have chosen for Jesus to be born at a relatives, near the temple, or at the home of the rich. However, He choose for Jesus to be born in a stable.
A. INTRODUCTION: WHY DID GOD CHOOSE A MANGER?
1. God could have chosen for Jesus to be born at relatives, near the Temple, the home of the rich. “In the fullness of time God sent” (Gal. 4:4). “All things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28). God had a purpose.
Not What God Could Do, But What He Did Do
* Jesus could have been born:
* To a wealthy family.
* Among loving relatives.
* At home.
* We don’t choose where we are born, but God chooses. God chose a manger. Why?
2. The manger was a sign so shepherds knew they had the right baby. “This shall be a sign . . . lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).
3. A sign that God does big things in a small way.
a. Abraham chosen out of many.
b. Israel smallest of nations.
c. Gideon whittled down his army to 300.
d. Little David killed a giant.
e. “God has chosen the weak things to confound . . . the mighty” (I Cor. 1:27).
4. A sign of identification with the poor and powerless; that God has come to you. God didn’t align with the rich.
5. A sign to the outcast and mundane. Jesus was helpless and homeless, so he understands.
6. A sign that God was fulfilling past predictions.
a. Virgin (Isa. 7:14).
b. Born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
c. Jesus was given a physical body. “A body you have prepared for me” (Heb. 10:5).
7. A sign of things to come.
a. Jesus was wrapped with swaddling clothes (swaths) at birth.
b. Jesus was wrapped with swaths in burial (John 19:40).
8. A sign of attraction. In a manger scene, all eyes are fixed on the one occupied in the manger.
9. A sign to test our faith, i.e., Emmanuel. “God with us.” Will you believe Jesus was born as a little baby and slept in a feed trough?
B. WHAT THE MANGER DID NOT DO
1. It didn’t prevent bad things from happening. “Herod . . . slew all the children that were in Bethlehem” (Matt. 2:16).
2. It didn’t eliminate suffering. “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning” (Matt. 2:18).
3. It didn’t eradicate evil. “The son of God was born to destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8).
C. WHAT DID WE SEE IN THE MANGER?
The Bible says Jesus was born through the miracle of the virgin birth. “God became flesh” (John 1:14). Jesus didn’t instantly appear as angels, but He was born, and grew into manhood (Luke 2:40, 52). How did this birth happen?
1. “Jesus emptied Himself” (Phil. 2:7). The King James Version uses the phrase, “He made Himself of no reputation.” The Greek word Kenosis means to empty or give up.
2. Can Christ give up part of His deity and remain God? No.
3. Can Christ give up His divine self-consciousness? No.
To rob God of any attributes would be to rob God of deity.
D. WHAT DID CHRIST GIVE UP?
1. Christ veiled His glory. He prayed to get it back. “Glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was” (John 17:5).
a. Christ didn’t “shine” on earth. The most glorious thing was that He became flesh. “The word (Jesus) was made flesh and dwelt (tabernacle) among us, and we beheld His glory” (John 1:14).
b. The tabernacle was where the Shekinah Glory cloud dwelt.
2. Christ submitted to the limitations of humanity.
a. Jesus had to grow as we grow. “The child grew and waxed strong” (Luke 2:40).
b. Jesus had to do the physical things we do. He got hungry (Matt. 4:20. Tired and thirsty (John 4:6). He had to sleep (Mark 4:38).
3. Christ surrendered the independent voluntary use of His comparative attributes.
a. Omnipotence. He did His miracles by the Holy Spirit (Luke 2:1, 14, 18). He did miracles in the power of the Father, and Holy Spirit.
b. Omniscience. He didn’t know all things (Mark 5:20, Matt. 24:36). He knew all He had to know.
c. Omnipresence. He limited Himself to be at one place, at one time (John 3:13). He knew everything outside of Himself that He needed to know (John 2:25). (I say in Believe and Live that the veil was pulled back in every chapter of John to reveal His deity).
E. LEARNING FROM THE SYMBOLS
1. Learning direction from the star.
2. Learning faithfulness from the shepherds.
3. Learning witnessing from the angels.
4. Learning worship from the wisemen.
5. Learning humility from the manger.
*For extensive study of the Kenosis, see Theology for Today by Elmer Towns, Harcourt and Brace, pg. 191-196.
