Luke the physician wrote how Mary delivered her firstborn son and afterward, “there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 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 Savior, which is Christ the Lord”, and in chapter two and verse twelve of his book Luke shares how the angel said, “you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes” where we read:
And this shall be a sign unto you;
You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
The verse reads, “And this shall be a sign unto you;” Luke began with the words, “and this shall be a sign” or “and the following words will be a token, mark, miracle or wonder” “unto you” which means “to you shepherds”. Luke shared how the angel began to share about a “token or wonder” the shepherds would discover.
The verse continues, “You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” Luke added the words, “you shall find the babe” which means “the shepherds would discover, learn and recognized that the baby was” “wrapped in swaddling clothes” or “swathed in strips of cloth”, “lying in a manger” which means “laid back or reclining within a trough made for fodder”. Luke shared how the angel told the shepherds they would discover Mary's “baby” “swathed” in strips of cloth and reclining in a “feeding trough” made for animals.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn of the “sign” given to the shepherds by the angel. They were to “find” the Messiah and Christ because He would be “wrapped” in strips of cloth while being laid back in a “manger” or “feeding trough”. This must have been an unusual “token” in order for the shepherds to “find” the One of whom the angel spoke, but it was God's way to bring His Son into the world. God went well beyond conventional methods as Jesus was “born in a barn, wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough”. God's way is always perfect, and as He brought His Son into the world and revealed His birth to lowly shepherds, we understand that He desires to “save” all people regardless of their station in life. Those who receive His Son Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord” shall not only find that God is “forgiving” of sins, but also that He desires to live with them for all eternity.
Next time Luke shares how, “suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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