Majesty In A Manger

I. So, what had they seen? They had seen MAJESTY IN THE MANGER!

1. Luke chapter 2 tells us about the shepherds seeing the baby Jesus, but Hebrews chapter 1 tells us about who the baby in the manger was.

2. Over 150 years ago, William Chatterton Dix penned the words to the classic hymn, “What Child is this, who laid to rest on Mary’s lap is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping? This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing; Haste, haste, to bring Him laud, the Babe, the son of Mary.”

3. William Dix asks the same question that the shepherds must have been asking, and that multitudes have been asking since then: What Child is This?

4. Using Hebrews 1:1-3 allow me to explain the truth about the child in the manger.

What Child is This? The Baby in the Manger is the HEIR of All Things

A. The baby in the manger is both the son of Mary and the Son of God.

1. He had no human father. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

2. As the son of Mary, he was heir to very little, but as the Son of God he is heir of all things, because God owns all things.

3. In Psalm 2:6-9 God says of his Son, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill. I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me, ‘you are my Son; today I have become your father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

4. In Psalm 89:27, The Father says of Jesus, “I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.”

5. Being the “firstborn” does not mean that Christ is not eternal, rather it speaks of his legal right as the Son of God to be the heir of all things.

B. But the good news for us is that he will not keep his inheritance to himself, he promises to share it with us!

1. Listen to Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, the we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

2. Yes, Jesus is the heir of all things and we are joint heirs with him. Praise the Lord!

Second, What Child is This? The Baby in the Manger is the CREATOR of All Things.

A. Hebrews 1:2 says that it was through Jesus that God made the universe.

1. Over and over the Bible teaches that it was Jesus, the Son of God who framed the world.

2. John 1:3 says, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

3. Look at Colossians 1:16, “For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”

B. It is interesting to note that our text from Hebrews says that Jesus made the universe.

1. The word used that the NIV translated as universe is aions which corresponds to the English word eons or ages.

2. See, Jesus not only created the physical realm that we can see, but he also created time, space, energy and matter.