Look Deeper

I love the Bible because the more you read, and the more you learn about the history and customs of the time in which it was written, the more meaning it has and the more amazing it becomes. Take the birth of Jesus for example. John the Baptist introduced Jesus as "The Lamb of God". Revelation extensively refers to Jesus as the "Lamb". Why a lamb?
Well, lambs were significant because they were offered as a daily sacrafice in the temple, back in and before Jesus' time. Jewish doctors say that the morning daily sacrifice made atonement for the iniquities done in the night; and the evening sacrifice made atonement for the iniquities that were by day. There were many animals used in sacrifice. Leviticus tells us that the lamb was used for "common" people.
Then, there's the lamb sacrificed in the days of Moses. The Egyptian Pharoah wouldn't let the Isrealite slaves go, so God sent a "series of unfortunate events" to convince him. He was stubborn and really didn't want to lose his million plus labor force, so the events got increasingly bad until the final event culminated in an Angel of Death killing off the first born sons in all the homes in Egypt -- unless -- the blood of a lamb was spread on the door posts of the home.
So, we know that lambs were sacrificed. The title "Lamb of God" tells us that this was a sacrifice from God. But let's go deeper, or maybe more superficial but something easily overlooked. Lambs had to be perfect to be offered in sacrifice. No bug bites, no bruises, no cuts or birth defects could be allowed. Have you ever been on a ranch and seen lambs or calves running around? Perfect animals are hard to come by. Nothing's changed since the time of Christ in that respect. Perfect animals had to be "cultivated". If you had one born without defect, you had to take very good care to keep it from being defected by everyday living! This was big business for some.
Pregnant ewe's were watched closely. When the time came for them to deliver, they were brought into the stable if possible to keep them out of the elements. The shepherd was the first to be there when the lamb was born. He'd check it for birth defects, blemishes, etc. When a lamb was born without defect, it was wrapped in cloths kept in the stable, known as "swaddling cloths" to keep it from injuring itself.
Luke 2:7 says, "And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in swaddling cloths". Those cloths Jesus was wrapped in were the same ones used to wrap perfect lambs destined to become a sacrifice in the temple.
Where was Jesus born? The rest of Luke 2:7 says
Mary "laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."
Jesus was born in a stable. Hmmm - bad luck in not finding a motel or God's plan to underline his point?
Who was the first to hear of Jesus' birth? You got it -- the shepherds.
Luke 2:8 "And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
Shepherds were the first to find out about a promised and longed-for King, because that King was destined to be God's sacrificial lamb.
If there's any doubt that Jesus' purpose in coming to earth was to be the ultimate sacrifice for common people, the picture and references to Jesus as the Lamb of God certainly dispells that doubt. Make no mistake, however, that Jesus had a choice in His ultimate destiny, unlike that of a lamb. Jesus chose to carry out His Father's will, even knowing what that was. God protected him, too. Jesus was the one person who could totally destroy Satan and his plans for this world. You can bet Jesus was the biggest target of Satan's attacks of anyone in the world at any time in our history.
We, too, have a choice. God's got a plan for us, just as he did for Jesus. Our choice is whether or not to walk in faith, trusting God to keep us safe, to give us strength when we need it and to fulfill His plan for us, no matter what that may be. Christmas offers us a time to look deeper at the birth of the Christ. It's not just a birthday celebration, but a celebration to commemorate God's extended hand to bring us home.