Advent: December 15th
After hearing the praises of angels and receiving the good news of the Savior, the shepherds immediately go and find Mary and Joseph with the baby lying in a manger.
“And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:12
There is great significance that Jesus would be found in a manger. A manger is the same thing as a feeding trough for the animals. Mangers at this time were made from clay mixed with straw or from stones held together with mud.
Sometimes they were carved in natural outcroppings of rock, but the manger would’ve been there with the animals in the stable(obviously).
There is a beautiful picture that can only be seen and understood through an understanding of the atonement process and sacrificial systems of the time.
Established after the Jewish people came out of Egypt was the Passover sacrifice and celebration. In Egypt, God told all of the Israelites to sacrifice a perfect lamb and to put the blood over the door posts of their houses, so that when God’s final judgment on Egypt came, Israel would be spared. The firstborn sons of all people and animals perished that night unless there had been a lamb sacrificed and the blood placed. For those families who obeyed the first born son was spared.
For most of Jewish history afterwards, the people of God celebrated the Passover. Each family on the 10th day of the first month would choose an unblemished and perfect lamb, one year old, to sacrifice. This lamb would be brought into their home on the 10th day and sacrificed on the 14th day. The blood of this lamb would be seen as substitutionary, atoning for the sins of the household.
There would be an amazing amount of lambs sacrificed on this day. For many weeks and months leading up to the Passover, lambs were chosen and set aside specifically for sacrifices. They had to be the best there could be with no blemish on them. Just as any kind of goods can be broken or marred in transit, these lambs were much the same way. So they were treated with great care throughout their lives to ensure that there were no cuts or bruises or blemishes. These lambs would have been wrapped in a blanket and placed in the manger because of its protective barrier. This also signified to others that this lamb was one that was chosen specifically for sacrifices. So, everyone knew to treat it with care.
I told you that Easter and Christmas were inseparable and here again it’s hard to view one without the other.
These shepherds would have known the significance of this, but it’s hard to say if they could have made the connection.
Though we know John the Baptist most certainly did when he said, “Behold, the lamb who takes away the sins of the world.” John 1:29, 36
God provided a perfect passover lamb without blemish, His son, to pay for the penalty of our sin.
If you are interested in other verses, that have to do with Christ being our Passover Lamb here are a few:
“Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” 1 Peter 1:18-19
“Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: ‘Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth.’ “ Acts: 8:32
“Abraham said, ‘God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.’ So they went both of them together.” Genesis 22:8
“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” Isaiah 53:7
“And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” Revelation 5:6
Jesus is our passover Lamb, the perfect Lamb who has died in our place and brought peace to our hearts. If you are Christ’s this Christmas season you are truly blessed, for God sees believers through the sacrifice and work of His son. If you are God’s child then God’s pleasure rests on you not for what you have done but because of what Jesus has done on your behalf. Jesus is our source of peace with God and others.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill among men.” Luke 2:14
