her hopes and promises. Great was the heritage of Israel (Romans 9:4, 5), but it all centered in the coming Messiah of David’s line (Luke 1:32,34,54,55). The golden age of the Greeks and the Romans was in the past; that of the Jew was in the future. By type, prophecy, symbol, and promise the Jew was encouraged to look to the future. The pagan and heathen world had its glory behind it. Tacitus said: “What torments us is not the tempfest, but the nausea.” Pliny said: “ Give me needed consolation great and strong of which I have never heard or read; all that I have heard or read comes back to my memory, but my sorrow is too great.” Seneca wrote: “ No man is able to clear himself; let some one give him a hand.” In the midst of this welter of disappointment and despair in the ancient world, Israel cherished, at least the godly in her midst, the promises of the woman’s Seed (Genesis 3:15), of Shiloah of Judah’s tribe (Genesis 49:10), of the Star out of Jacob (Numbers 24:17), of the Prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-18), of the King from the family of David (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6, 7), of the Priest like Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4), and of the Ruler from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). The hour the Messiah was bom was the most crucial and critical moment of all Israel’s history. Would she accept the One for whom she had so long waited? Or would she reject Him? The answer is well known and marks the calamity of her entire national life. See John 1:11 and Luke 19:41-44. Finally, the birth of Bethlehem’s Babe must be con sidered in ITS MEANING FOR THE WORLD Distraught and forlorn and hopeless, the world was now provided with a Saviour. He came to seek and redeem those who were lost. He meant to minister and to give His life a ransom for many. Compare Luke 2:11; 19:10; Mark 10:45; John 3:16, 17. Having ransomed sinners from the slave market of sin, He intended to give them all needed shepherd care for the pilgrimage of this life (Hebrews 13:20,21; 1 Peter 2:25). And more, He has made provision of a sure hope for the eternal ages to come (Hebrews 6:19; Colossians 3:4). Wonderful beyond all comprehension was the truth that there had been bom a Saviour for all the world. The incident has been told of a woman in India who had learned that she was a sinner, and that God is holy and cannot pass sin by. She often said, “I need some great prince to stand between my soul and God.” After a while she heard that the Bible contained the account of a Saviour who had died for sinners. So she asked a Pundit, a Hindu teacher, to read the Bible to her. He began at the first chapter of Matthew, and as he read the names in the genealogy of Christ, the woman thought, “What a won derful Prince this Jesus must be to have such a long line of ancestors.” And when the Pundit read, “Thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins,” the woman exclaimed, “Ah, this is the Prince I want! This is the Prince I want! The Prince who is also a Saviour!” As believers we sing: “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see. Hail the Incarnate Deity! Pleased as man, with men to dwell, Jesus, our Immanuel!” To unbelievers we must continue to impress the truth that “ Though Christ a thousand times
herds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken unto them.” The birth of the Child Jesus in a small town of a small country has changed the history of the world. This can be readily seen in the changed calendar. Nations count time, not from the creation of the world nor the founding of their country nor some great event in their country nor some great event in their national history, but from the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. It is not usual to dwell at length on the birth of great men, but with Christ it is oi vast importance, because He has exerted the greatest influ ence upon the world. It has been pointed out that He is the Revealer of the highest type of humanity, the Re deemer of the lowest type of humanity, the Restorer of lost order where He is followed, and the Ruler of the greatest empire in the world. The birth of Christ is vitally related to all He is and has done’. When the Lord Jesus Christ is accepted as the virgin bom Saviour, it is not diffi cult to understand the works of Christ, His claims, His death, or His resurrection. The significance of the birth of the Saviour has never been fully plumbed, but we may profitably study the lofty theme along several lines. First of all, this birth should be viewed in ITS MEANING FOR GOD Whatever the life and birth of Christ have meant to the world, they had first importance to God the Father and God the Son. For the Father the birth of the Babe in Bethlehem meant the highest means of self-revelation. See John 1:1,14; 1:8; 14:7-9. Only Christ could fully tell forth the Father. Before Christ was bom men did not understand the nature and heart of God as they did later. Christ revealed the Father. The Fourth Gospel is full of this truth. He who is the Saviour, who came in apparent weakness and helplessness, revealed the love of God, the heart of compassion in God, and His infinite lovingkind ness. Christ’s birth was God’s means of self-glorification. This was the highest means to bring about the glory of God. Compare Luke 2:13,14; John 11:40. In man self- glorification is sinful, because he is a sinner and not worthy in himself of glory. God alone is worthy of glory and must receive it (Isaiah 42:8; Daniel 5:23). When Christ was bom in Bethlehem it meant God had brought about the agency for infinite sacrificial giving. John 3:16 tells it in simple but profound terms. In creation God gave the product of the earth for our bodies. In redemption He gave His only begotten Son for our souls. This was made possible through His incarnation. The birth of Christ meant to God the Son the method of His self-humiliation. See Philippians 2:5-8. The One who had all power came in weakness, humiliation, and deprivation. There was no compulsion here other than that of love. It is known that earthly thrones are generally built with steps leading up to them. The remarkable thing about the throne of the eternal kingdom is that the steps are all down to it. Christ went to the limit in self-humilia tion, bom a babe in a manger in Bethlehem. The incarnation of the Son of God signified His utter submission to the will of the Father. Just as the burnt offering ascended wholly to heaven, He gave Himself always without reservation to the will of God. He did always the things that pleased the Father. Compare Luke 22:42; John 6:38; 8:29; Hebrews 10:5-9. In the second place, the birth of the Saviour had ITS MEANING FOR ISRAEL For the people of the covenants and the promises the birth of the Son of David meant the consummation of all
In Bethlehem be bom, If He’s not bom in thee, Thy heart is still forlorn.”
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DECEMBER, 1959
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