Wrapped
Pt. 2 - In Humility
I. Introduction
There is usually very little attention paid to the wrappings. Even if great time and effort is made to make sure each corner is tucked and folded perfectly. Even if the bow is picked to match exactly. Even if every seam is exact. Most of the time all the attention is paid to the content. However, over the next few weeks and during this Christmas season I want us to reconsider what the content was wrapped in.
Matthew 2:1-6
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory— this was during Herod’s kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.” When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified—and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well. Herod lost no time. He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?” They told him, “Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly: It’s you, Bethlehem, in Judah’s land, no longer bringing up the rear. From you will come the leader who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel.”
Luke 2:7
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped Him in strips of cloth and set Him down in a manger, since there was no room for them in the inn.
I. In Humility
I've already said we push past wrappings and run to the contents. We are trying to draw attention to and spend some time considering the wrappings. So last, week we said one of the most profound statements regarding Jesus is that "The Word became flesh!" He was wrapped in skin. Now I want to stop and recognize that Jesus was not only wrapped in skin or humanity but, He was also and significantly wrapped in humility.
Why wasn't Jesus birthed or wrapped in Jerusalem (the capital)? Why wasn't He deposited in Caesarea? Herod had built a city we would like. After walking through a dry and barren land you crest the hill and come to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and sprawling before you is a city like Myrtle Beach. He had a fresh water swimming pool built into the sea by piping fresh water 4 miles. Theater, arena, shops, and a man made harbor that would hold 300 ships. Why not wrap Jesus there? Those cities were fit for a king. Those cities were worthy of a savior. Why not position the King of Kings in New York rather than in Bridge Creek? Instead . . . God wraps Jesus in humility. He wraps Him in Bethlehem and in swaddling clothes. Let me stop and examine the wrappings just a moment before I make application for us.
Herod asks for information regarding Jesus' birth location. The priests reflect on prophecy that says Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem? A humble setting. No palace. No satin sheets. A cave or stable. A nondescript community positioned outside the walls of Jerusalem. Overlooked. Underestimated. In fact, the prophecy references that Jesus' birth forces Bethlehem to move up from the rear and lead. So, He is born into a town that was used to being last or the least.
I want you to get this . . . On the tenth day of the first month of the year (five days before Passover), every family was required to choose a lamb for Passover, per the instructions given by God to Moses in Exodus 12. Jewish historians record that the lambs were brought from the fields of Bethlehem to the south up to Jerusalem and through the Northeast gate of the city by the pool of Bethesda, called the “Sheep Gate." Josephus says 250,000 lambs were offered in sacrifice of Passover. He says so many sheep were offered that the priests would pour the blood and water over the Eastern wall of Jerusalem and it would flow like a river down the Kidron Valley (by the way you can see the Eastern wall from Garden of Gethsamene - get that visual in mind as Jesus watched the blood of 250,000 lambs being poured over wall He is in garden wrestling with the call to be The Lamb!) The sheep of Bethlehem were owned by the Sadducees, only these sheep were allowed to be sacrificed on Passover – for the purpose of filling their own bank accounts (this is why Jesus went postal on them for deceitfully using the system to get rich). Jesus and His disciples began the trip into Jerusalem on a donkey at Bethphage. Bethphage is to the east of Jerusalem, and the road travels over the Mount of Olives and He arrives in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday by riding through the Sheep Gate. See the symbolism and the purposeful work of God. Jesus, The Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, born in Bethlehem where the lambs were raised and prepared for Passover sacrifice arrives on the day of sacrifice via the sheep gate. He was making a statement.
Then Luke adds in 2:12 that it will be a sign to the shepherds that they will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. Remember the sheep born in Bethlehem were born for sacrifice. The shepherds would wrap the newborn lambs in swaddling clothes to protect the body of the lambs which would be offered as sacrifice at the Temple just four miles away in Jerusalem. They were wrapped in strips of cloth to keep the new lambs without spot or blemish, they would be laid in a manger until they had calmed down. A bruised or broken bone would disqualify it. God in flesh wrapped in cloth strips. Laid in a hay filled manger. No silver spoon. No special onesie. Common setting for an uncommon birth.
Jesus was wrapped in humility!
A couple of thoughts:
Where you come from doesn't keep God from getting you to where He needs you to be.
Even in nondescript, unlikely, overlooked and less than ideal settings God can find you and you can find your purpose. Your environment was not accident. It wasn't incidental that your family wasn't perfect. It wasn't an accident that others couldn't find you when they were handing out the awards. It wasn't a coincidence that He placed you in an situation or a social status from which no one expects you to rise to the top. Jesus shows us that you can be birthed in a backstreet setting and He can get you to Main Street. Jesus was a backstreet boy! Don't allow your environment to dictate your destiny. Your life may have been wrapped in humble beginnings but quit whining about it and realize He simply and strategically positioned you in humility so that He would get the glory. If our Father births us in humility and we faithfully follow in spite of that, then He can trust us with promotion and prominence. Jesus' wrappings show us that . . .
Humility is the wrapping that produces greatness.
Jesus, from humble beginnings impacts history. We like that story because it is so unexpected. However, when God births us into humble surroundings we fight it. However, Paul teaches us this in Ephesians that humility is essential so that we don't boast. It is grace by which we have saved through faith and this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast. If we had not been wrapped in humility, then we would not only take the credit but we would also sabotage our own greatness. How?
We know that God hates pride. In fact, He hates it so much that He let's us know that pride comes before a fall. So, if pride comes before fall then isn't it logical that the more humble a person is the higher a person can go?
We approach a Christmas which has become so comparison driven until we judge our Christmas by whether our gifts, our tree, our family is better than those next door. Against that backdrop I ask you this question . . . Are you wrapped in humility?
Why is it essential for us to be wrapped in humility? I remind you what I told you last week. Jesus is wrapped up in our humanity. And simply put pride is a mismatched wrapping. It distracts from the gift. We mis-represent Jesus when we are wrapped in pride. Jesus shows us that the way to share love is to wrap it in humility.
So, let me get very practical. Are you . . .
Too proud to point?
Are you pointing to Him or to you? What you buy. What you celebrate. Who does it point to? Jesus says if you have seen me you have also seen the Father. My works and My words point to the Father. Who are you pointing to?
Too proud to plow?
Won't serve. Won't work. Won't stay committed. Won't keep at it when it gets hard. Humility will cause you to stay at it. Jesus said, "I came to serve not to be served!" He says this even though the service wasn't easy, wasn't received, wasn't recognized, and wasn't accepted. Too many of us serve for recognition and appreciation rather than serving because we are humble enough to recognize that we have been served so we serve. We simply follow the example of the servant savior we pattern our life after. We are wrapped in service because He was wrapped in service. And more days than not serving is more like plowing than it is playing. Pride will get you to walk away from the plow.
Too proud to partner?
Pride causes us to think we can make it alone. Just need me and Jesus. Not even Jesus just needed Jesus. He called disciples to spend time with . . . to do life with. Pride produces walls. Pride causes us hold people at arm's length because we know the truth about us. It is a facade. It is fake. We don't want to let anyone get to close. However, humility produces reliance on each other. Humility helps us to embrace that I am incomplete without you.
Are you wrapped in humility? Jesus is wrapped up in your humanity but can people see Him in your humility? Do they see it in your pointing, plowing, partnering?
Let's allow the Father to clothe us or wrap us in humility for this season.
