A Raggedy Christmas
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When our Lord visited the earth, He didn't come in on a 1000-horsepower jet-fueled celestial chariot for everyone to see. He didn't topple the world's greatest empire with heaven's version of the seal team six. And He did not sit down upon His rightful throne, at the right hand of God, to reign. At least not at first. He came initially to the warm, quiet darkness of a poor virgin's womb, just as He promised (Gen. 3:15).
In so doing, our Lord submitted to the same human gestation that He joyfully designed. He was fed from the same umbilical cord He artfully invented. And He became dependent upon the mother He wove together in his grandmother's womb. The artist indeed painted Himself into His own masterpiece.
Upon His birth, the King of all glory wasn't welcomed with festivals. There was no pomp and circumstance or celebrations and feasting befitting His majesty. No heralds were sent out from Bethlehem that evening as was typical. There were no government holidays or observances sanctioned from the capital city. Just the humble cry of a newborn babe wrapped in common, ordinary, rags. But why?
Here, we must lift our gaze above the Hallmark card nativity scenes we are all so accustomed to seeing so that we can see the point of what was happening. Jesus wasn't draped with a warm, cuddly, baby blanket his mother got at Target. He was not swallowed up in a plush baggy onesie because auntie Elizabeth bought him the wrong size. Instead, he was bound with tight strips of linen, making him look more like a miniature mummy than a precious moments model. But again, we have to ask ourselves, why?
At that time, such a tight and restrictive binding was used to simulate a mother's womb. A newborn child had recently spent more than 9 months cramped in an ever-tightening uterus. So, bindings like this would have made the baby most comfortable, especially as he adapted to a wide-open world. But for Jesus, the symbolism is far more profound and gets right at the heart of the Gospel. Let us explore.
First, we know from Scripture that the angels directed a group of herdsmen to go and find the child. He also told them to view these linen rags, wrapped around the body of Christ, as a great sign unto them, convincing them of who He is and what He had come to do. It says in Luke 2
"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. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will 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. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." - Luke 2:8-14
The rags upon Jesus' body were a sign meant to be looked at, noticed, and pondered in such a way that they would come to believe these three specific truths.
He was born for their good news.
He was born for the world's great joy.
He was born to be Savior, Christ, and Lord.
BORN FOR THEIR GOOD NEWS
When the Shepherds viewed those shabby rags, it was meant to be a sign unto them. It was to be a good message. A joyful message. It was a definitive statement from God that communicated eternally good news to His people. But there is more for us to consider here.
The word used in the text by the angelic fleet is the Greek word εὐαγγελίζω, which is where we get our verb "to evangelize" or, more accurately, "to proclaim the Gospel." In those days, that word did not have a religious connotation. Instead, it was purely political. At that time, a "gospel" message was a good news report about a victory in battle, a call to celebrate an emperor's birthday, or a declaration that a new child had been born into the royal family. When these good news events occurred, singing heralds would be sent throughout the empire to alert the people so they could celebrate together.
But, just because something was good news in Rome did not necessarily make it good news worth celebrating in Judah. We get that point fairly clearly when thinking about our nation's capital, which signs all kinds of horrific things into law and then calls upon the people to herald their abominations. More often than not, the things a capital city celebrates are either irrelevant or downright disgusting to the masses. That was true back then. It is also true today.
So, when the angels alerted the shepherds of God's good news, it wasn't an irrelevant Gospel that happened far away in the halls of power. It was a sign to them! It was a relevant sign that was occurring in the next town over. A sign that a better King than Caesar had been born from their own people. A warrior who was born in the royal city of David to reinvigorate the line of the kings. A savior born to reclaim the dying world and to redeem all that had been lost. A King who would set up His throne in their backyard and establish His undying Kingdom forever.
The good news that these rags symbolized is that God had brought His Kingdom and His King down low enough to be a blessing to His people. You cannot get much lower than first-century animal stalls and a poor baby wrapped in rags in Bethlehem's shabby manger for the beginning of your burgeoning world empire. But it was in the humility of it all where good news indeed was found. By going to the lowest region, born in the most humble of situations, Christ can be a relevant savior to all His people. He went to where we are to save us from who we are, which is very good news!
BORN FOR THE WORLD'S GREAT JOY
When the shepherds saw the shabby rags wrapped around the newborn King, they were to have great joy, a commodity in short supply in the shepherding industry. Shepherd's worked long, grueling hours, tended nature's dumbest animals and was constantly on guard for animal and human attackers.
Because these men were shepherds in Bethlehem, a suburb of Jerusalem, they were responsible for the lambs purchased and sacrificed at the temple. Men and women would travel from all over Israel, and even from the remotest regions of the Roman empire, to offer animals at the Jerusalem temple. Yet, because travel was perilous and expensive in those days, and because their animals may become sick or injured along the way, most bought their sacrificial animals at the temple when they arrived. This allowed them to remain in good standing according to the law of God without any unnecessary risks. It was a tremendous blessing unless you were a shepherd.
To be a shepherd meant you lived alongside the animals. You slept with them. You stepped in countless mounds of sheep dung while caring for them. And according to the law, this would have put you in a perpetual state of uncleanliness. This meant you would be able to raise the animals that were sacrificed for other people's sins. But you were rendered too filthy and unclean to enter the temple gates and sacrifice an animal for your sins.
But as those shepherds saw the rags on this tiny baby King, they were pointed to the hope that they would soon have exceeding joy! Their uncleanness would soon be healed, because He would take their stripes! After a lifetime of raising other people’s sacrifices, He would be the once and for all sacrifice made for them! This, of course, made them exceedingly joyful! (Luke 2:20)
BORN TO BE SAVIOR, CHRIST, & LORD
While no one would have thought to look for an infant messiah, the angels told them to pay attention to His rags. They were not the clothes of kings. They were not the luxurious robes of the elite. These common rags, though not much to look at, would become the greatest sign they’d ever seen. A sign that He would be their savior, Christ, and Lord.
He is the Savior because He would save His people from their sins. He would stand in their place as the perfect man and spotless sacrifice.
He is the Christ, the anointed one, who would sit on the throne of His father David and reign forever. The one who came with a Kingly mission and would not stop until it had been accomplished.
He is the Lord, not just a man who could stand in their place, but the one true God who can take away their sins! He is the maker of heaven and earth! He is the savior who condescended by taking on human flesh. He is the eternal logos who endlessly dwelt in the presence of the Spirit and the Father. He was born into His creation to bring a relationship with God back to sinful men.
And this has become relevant to you and I, not simply by His meager birth, but most importantly because of His death, which is where the rags come in!
BORN TO DIE
You may be wondering, why did the angel make such a big deal about the swaddling clothes? Why did that become a sign? Perhaps it is because our Lord was not only bound with linen strips in His birth, but also in His death (John 19:39-40). Perhaps it was the same angels heralding Him in swaddling cloths to shepherds, that now later beside a folded pile of linen in an empty tomb! (John 20:11-12) His birth rags were a sign of who He would become. His grave clothes are a sign of who He will forever be!
He was born to die.
He died so that we might live.
We live to live for Him!
BORN FOR US
The Christmas rags remind us that God has shown His greatest love in the most ignoble birth. In that, He can empathize with us He too was brought down low. He left the splendor of heaven to recline in a feeding trough made for pigs. Why? So that we would never wonder if God was too busy to notice us, too high and lofty to care for us, or too concerned with other matters to reach you. He proved His love for us when He left the highest places in heaven to dwell in the lowest parts of earth.
This Christmas, remember why Jesus came. If you are feeling unloved and overlooked, look to those infant rags and be reminded of the love that caused Him to leave heaven seeking you. If you feel weighed down by guilt and sin, then look unto the grave clothes, those humble strips that wrapped His body, and remember that in His death, He took your place. If you feel bound by life, overwhelmed by sin, inundated with circumstances, captivated by toxic emotions, or enslaved to anything else, then look dear one to that heaping pile of rags left in an empty tomb and remember that Christ has set you free!
You can experience that freedom this season. But you must look to Him!
