The Unwanted Gift

His Birth and His Family – Luke 1:35; 2:7, 24

Just like any unwanted gift, it comes in the most unusual way possible. God definitely chose an odd way to bring the Savior of the world down to us. Listen to what the angel in Luke 1 tells Mary about the child she will bear. “But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” Am I the only one who doesn’t really get why God would send Jesus as a defenseless and helpless little baby? He would be totally dependent upon his parents for a huge portion of his life. Herod the Great even killed all the young boys in the area of Bethlehem so that he could get rid of Jesus. It’s possible that Jesus could have died as an infant. God chose to allow Godly and responsible parents to raise and protect him however. Now, I can’t help but think that soon enough I too will be responsible for a little child who will need my attention, affection, and protection. I think I understand why Jesus came as a baby now; he had to be human in every single way. His packaging may not have been what everyone expected but he had his reasons.

Beyond the obscurity of him just being born, the manner and place where he was born would be considered humiliating and degrading. He was born in a hay barn with animals. Actually to be more specific, he was born and then laid in a horse trough with some hay to make it softer. What a wonderful way for the Savior of the world to be born? How many of you would like to give birth in a place with no equipment, no real help (what can husbands do ya know?), no trained medical staff, etc. Mary had a couple horses, maybe some pigs, and a frantic husband to help her deliver the Savior of the world into the world. Unlike the thinking of many, Jesus was not born in a rich and noble household with midwives surrounding him. He wasn’t born with great anticipation by the majority of people and no one swooned after him except his mother and father. Again we find God’s choice of packaging to be odd and unexceptional by worldly standards.

His birth was definitely an odd one and so what his family or so the people would have thought. Joseph and Mary were good Jewish people who loved God and did their best for Him. However, they were nothing exceptional on the outside. They were normal Jews. He was a carpenter which meant he didn’t have much money. Luke 2:24 tells us that when they went to the temple to dedicate Jesus Christ and present Him to the priests, they brought along the sacrifice required of them. They made the lowest sacrifice possible. God had made a way for the poor to sacrifice if they did not have the rams or bulls needed. They were allowed to give up just a pair of doves or two young pigeons. His parents were extremely poor. Honestly, I am not sure that many married couples start out as anything better than poor. Can you remember when you first married and what little you had and did? I know that Amy and I had our first Christmas with almost nothing to give each other but it was still a happy one because we had each other. The people wanted a conquering ruler to come and save them but instead God packaged Jesus as a little baby, born in a barn, and place him in the hands of poor but God-fearing people.