By Doug Redford
Many of our Christmas carols picture the beauty and innocence of Jesus as a baby. The first verse of “Away in a Manger” tells how “the little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head.” The first verse of “Silent Night” describes the infant Jesus as “tender and mild” and sleeping in “heavenly peace.” All of that changed when Jesus reached manhood. That sweet head was pierced with a crown of thorns. It was forcibly laid down on a Roman cross, and the once-tender hands and feet were pierced by nails.
In the second verse of “Away in a Manger,” we sing the words, “The cattle are lowing, the poor baby wakes, but little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.”
Whether or not the infant Jesus did in fact cry, we know that the adult Jesus did cry as the cross drew near. He wept as he looked over the city of Jerusalem after what we call his triumphal entry into the city (Luke 19:41-44). Hebrews 5:7 says that Jesus “offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death.” But Jesus didn’t come to be saved from death; he came to save us from death. He died so we could live. Thus was fulfilled the angelic message given to Joseph, who was wondering how to handle the delicate situation of Mary’s pregnancy. The special child to whom Mary would give birth will “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
It is often said that “Jesus is the reason for the season,” and that is true. It is also true that we are a crucial part of that reason. We, sinful human beings, are why Jesus’ “sweet head” was eventually crowned with thorns and why his hands and feet were pierced by nails.
Christmas offers us a time to remember Jesus’ unique entrance into our world by means of the virgin birth. Communion offers us a time to remember what happened beyond the manger. The birth was just the “opening” of God’s great gift to humanity. The real giving came at the cross, where Jesus offered himself as the once-for-all sacrifice to deliver us from the bondage of sin. His death was the means to a “heavenly peace” that allows us to sleep, awaken, and live each day as forgiven people.
Doug Redford has served in the preaching ministry, as an editor of adult Sunday school curriculum, and as a Bible college professor. Now retired, he continues to write and speak as opportunities come.
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