We should be thankful that we have a day set aside to commemorate the Lord’s birth. It is not important that the traditional date is probably not the correct day, or that Christian chronology is erroneous by four years, making our Lord’s birth about 4 B.C. And we need not be overly concerned with the customs and practices which accompany the celebration of the day, many of them of pagan origin, unless, of course, they have become a hindrance to our contemplation of the real meaning of the day, which is a distinct possibility.
The rush of the Christmas season can divert our attention from the reliable historical facts related to our Lord’s birth which are so meaningful to Christian faith. The present hustle and bustle are the counterpart of the activity in Bethlehem which crowded Jesus out of the inn. Is there not danger now that the tempo of the season may crowd Jesus out of our hearts? May we not thereby unwittingly place wrong emphasis on the day for our children?
A balanced celebration of the day will include serious contemplation of the meaning of the captivating story of the Saviour’s birth at Bethlehem. So let us exclude any preoccupation with the tinsel connected with the season and try to understand the significance of this important event. The birth at Bethlehem was not a chance occurrence. Paul says “when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman.” (Galatians 4:4). This implies that the birth of Jesus was part of God’s plan for which He was making preparation in previous ages.
When we recall that Jesus was also the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8), we can see how far back in previous ages the plan was laid. Fifteen centuries before He was born Moses wrote of the virgin birth and of victory over sin, saying that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). Seven centuries before His birth Isaiah records the sign to the house of David that a virgin would conceive and bear a Son named Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14), meaning “God with us”. Balaam prophesied of Jesus as follows: ” I shall see him but not now I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel . . . Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion . . .” (Numbers 24: 17-19). So we learn from the prophet that a ruler out of Israel shall exercise dominion and wield a sceptre in royal majesty. This is no strange prediction concerning the Star of Jacob, for the Bible is full of prophecy about the coming Messiah to redeem Israel and bring joy to all people through His rule on David’s throne in Jerusalem. When the fulness of time came, we get a glimpse here and there of Providence working with and through men and women, and sometimes against them if necessary.
It must have been a sore trial of faith for Mary in Nazareth to ponder how her royal Son was going to be born in Bethlehem according to Micah’s prophecy. But the emperor of Rome issued his edict that all the world should be enrolled for taxation, and the Jewish custom of traveling to the place of birth to be registered required Joseph and Mary to journey to Bethlehem, the place of their birth. It seems almost like a lapse of Providence, humanly speaking, that the birth of such an illustrious Son should occur without better accommodation than a stable for shelter and a manger for a cradle. But herein lies the solemn wonder of God’s ways, and we must not inquire why, and must not criticize. May it not be that His humble birth in such circumstances only foreshadows and illustrates his later life when He did not have a place to lay His head? Moreover, may we not view the indifference of the people in crowded Bethlehem that night as foreshadowing the rejection of their Saviour? John says, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (1:11).
But if the people were indifferent, the angels were not. They arranged a celebration for the new-born King that overshadowed all the pomp and grandeur oi Rome. In the country nearby where shepherds were watching their flock by night, an angel of the Lord appeared in that same dazzling glory that made Moses fear and quake at Sinai, and which filled Solomon’s temple at its dedication. To the fearful shepherds the angel said: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2: 10-14). The angels departed as quickly as they came, and the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem to find the Saviour and tell the good news.
The people of Bethlehem wondered about the message from the shepherds, and Mary pondered it in her heart. The shepherds returned to their flock, and then we read that Jesus was circumcised the eighth day, and probably about forty days after His birth Joseph and Mary took him to the temple in Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord and redeem Him from temple service by a payment. It was on this occasion that Simeon and Anna, the prophetess, rejoiced over the child and recognized Him as the Messiah.
He was probably a year old when the wise men from the East arrived at Jerusalem, saying: “Where is he that is born King of the Jews: For we have seen his star in the East and are come to worship him” (Matthew 2:1,2). The threat of another king troubled Herod who wore his uneasy crown by craftiness and political intrigue. He was a sinister character who would commit any crime to hold his crown. Because of jealousy and fear he murdered two of his sons and his favorite wife. Now he would nip this new threat in the bud. So he called a meeting of the chief priests and scribes and demanded of them where Christ should be born. The answer was easy to those who knew their Bibles. Out of Bethlehem shall come a Governor that shall rule my people Israel” (Luke 2:6). That was all Herod needed to know to lay his wicked plan. He called the wise men privately and told them to go to Bethlehem and search diligently for the young child and tell him so he, too, could go and worship Him.
The wise men went to Bethlehem, unaware of Herod’s duplicity, and on the way the star they had seen before appeared again and came to rest over a house. Inside they found the young child and His mother Mary. They fell down and worshipped Him and then opened their treasures and honored Him with gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. God warned them in a dream not to return to Herod, so they returned to their own land another way. And then God warned Joseph in a dream to take the young child and His mother and flee to Egypt to escape Herod’s sword. Herod was furious because his plan miscarried, and he vented his rage by destroying the male children of Bethlehem under two years old. These are the highlights of the story of the Saviour’s birth, the joy and the tragedy. Now what can we learn from it? Is it too fanciful to suggest that the star in the East, which the wise men called His star, becomes a fitting symbol of the leading character in the Divine drama? Not only did an ancious prophet foretell that the Star of Jacob would be the ruler of Israel, but the Lord Jesus Himself declares in his last message: “I am the bright and morning Star’ (Revelation 22:16).
Three questions about the star will help us to become personally involved in the story: 1. Have we seen the Star? 2. What does the Star mean to us? 3. Are we following the Star? Not everyone has seen the Star. The wise men from the east were astrologers. Their interest was in the heavens. Consequently, they were looking up. Are we looking up? Are we, as the Bible tells us to do, setting our affections on things above? James says: -Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, in whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turnings” (James 1:17). All wise men get their wisdom from above. And James asks: Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him by a right life show his conduct to be guided by a wise gentleness. But if in your hearts you have bitter envy and rivalry, do not speak boastfully and falsely, in defiance of the truth. That is not the wisdom which comes down from above: it belongs to earth, to the unspiritual nature . . . The wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, courteous, compliant, full of compassion and kind actions, free from vacillation and insincerity” (3:13-17).
The Star of Jacob exhibited all of these good traits in his life on earth. Have we seen the Star? We will, if we look up to the Source of all wisdom. But if we look down, we see only a distorted image in a muddy puddle. And that is what many of Jesus’ contemporaries saw: a man of uncertain parentage, who once was seen talking to a woman of loose morals; a man who liked to company with sinners and dishonest tax collectors; a glutton and a wine bibber; a Man who worked on the Sabbath. A very hypercritical judgment of the sinless Son of God, is it not? Why was it recorded for our learning if it wasn’t to teach us to expect men to obscure the brilliance of the Star with earthly perversions that exalt man and dethrone God? We need to look up with the wisdom of the wise men if we are to see clearly the Star that leads to Jerusalem.
And what does the star mean to us as individuals? To King Herod, the appearance of the star was a threat to his own crown. He didn’t understand that the cross faced the new-born infant before the crown. Herod can be thought of as a type of all individuals who misinterpret the meaning of the Star in their lives and reject the divine call to repentance as an affront to their rights. Some reject the Star for more palatable reasons than Herod did: comfort, worldly fame, pride of possessions, pride of intellect, worldly entanglements, unfortunate marriages, popular acclaim and complex combinations of any of these reasons. While some reasons may be more deceptive than others, if they lead to rejection of the Star, one reason is as lethal as another. For rejection leads to perdition.
And then there were the priests and lawyers with whom Herod conferred. They were self-satisfied and too busy to go to Bethlehem to see the new-born King. We have the counterpart today, men with vested interests in established religion, satisfied with tradition and with no desire to see the real truth of the Book they claim to accept. Of such the apostle writes, “having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof” (2nd Timothy 3:5). But to the shepherds on that momentous night, the coming of a Saviour was a cause for joy and gladness. They were favored with a heavenly view, and when they had seen the young child and spread the good news, they returned to their work, praising and glorifying God. They represent the class that welcomes Jesus into their lives.
He will not be an intruder in our lives if we don’t want Him. He will not open our door without knocking, and he will not come in unless we open the door ourselves. Unless we open the door and let Him in, we shall never know what the Star of Bethlehem means to us. But to those wise enough to let Him into their hearts, He is treasured as the most precious Gift they have. For He is the guiding Star to eternal life. He is the coming Ruler in the age to come, born to be a King who will transform this world of tears into the Paradise of God. Peace on earth, good will among men will then be realized. We have need to nurture these convictions that the Bright and Morning Star is the final answer to all our yearnings.
But unless we follow the Star, our journey will not have a happy ending. We need to nurture our faith. The wise men needed faith for their journey. They saw His star in the East and discerned its meaning through some experience that brought conviction of faith. Their faith motivated them to start on a long journey. And the star didn’t reappear until they were leaving Jerusalem for Bethlehem, when it guided them to the very house of the new-born King. Our experience is like that. There are many things that a disciple wonders about while on the journey. But the important thing is that he should start out to follow the Star. Jesus has some good advice about this. He says: If anyone is willing to do God’s will, he shall know about the teaching, whether it is from God or originates with me” (John 7:17). In effect, Jesus is saying that unless we start out on the journey to follow Him we will never know the full conviction of faith. Are we actively following the Star, or are we armchair enthusiasts? We must follow the Star to reach the place where we will learn the answers to anxious questions.
To summarize these meditations on the Saviour’s birth, let us remember that if we look up well see the Star. If we look down, well See only a mud-stained reflection in the roadside puddle. We may ask ourselves, how do we react after we have received our impression of the Star? Are we like Herod sitting on a throne of our own which claims our allegiance? Are we like the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, so self-satisfied with our traditional heritage of religion that we have no desire to get better acquainted with the Saviour? Are we like Bethlehem’s shepherds, eager to go and proclaim the good news to others?
Their message is still relevant to our days: “Unto you is born . . . a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). And He will save us if we respond wholeheartedly to His invitation.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One