In those days a decree went out from Caesar
Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration
when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to
his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth,
to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of
the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who
was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and
laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:1-7 ESV).
In Philippians 2 we read how Jesus
“humbled himself.” Not only does Jesus humble himself by taking on our human
flesh, but his very birth takes place in humble circumstances.
Joseph and Mary had to travel to
Bethlehem, his family’s hometown, to register for a census that was required by
the Roman government. And when they arrived, there were no guest rooms
available, so Joseph and Mary could not find a place to stay. They had to take
shelter in a stable, and that’s where Mary gave birth to Jesus. So she wrapped
him in cloths and placed him in the animals’ feed trough, a manger.
The humility of Jesus’ birth is deeply
significant. We would not expect the King of all nations to be born in such
meager circumstances. Yet Jesus was born in a stable. This shows us that no
matter how poor, dirty, weak, or insignificant we might think we are, Jesus
came to save us all. Jesus, the King of kings, humbled himself and took on our
flesh. And his humility and love for us were on full display from the moment he
was born to the moment he gave up his life to save us from our sin. This is the
essence of the incredible grace God has shown toward us. What a gift!
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