The Nativity- Hidden in Full View

The Nativity- Hidden in Full View

(Pro 25:2) It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.


It will be forever a marvel that the God who created the universe would stoop to such a lowly place in his condescension. Jesus, the Messiah, the most royal prince who ever drew breath was laid in a manger at birth. He was wrapped lovingly by Mary in swaddling cloths- shreds of material to protect him from the cold night. There was no room at the Inn. Of course the census which occasioned the trip to Bethlehem for Joseph and Mary helped make the lack of room understandable. But we wonder why were there no relatives to bring inside the poor carpenter and the very pregnant Mary. Were people so calloused to her condition? We struggle to understand this behavior on a purely human level, that anyone so vulnerable would be left in the cold.

One consideration is that all of Joseph's relatives were absent through death. Perhaps he was an orphan. Or maybe his relatives were scandalized by Mary's pregnancy. Either they believed that Joseph and Mary were intimate during their betrothal, or Joseph as the proverbial "schlemiel" took her as a wife with another's child. That idea too would be scandalous. If they heard from Joseph the explanation offered by the angel Gabriel, would they have believed the report? In our society people would not blink at such an arrangement, but in the first century and even now in many cultures of the world this little family would be shunned and unwelcomed. Self-respecting folk would keep their distance. Why would Father God invite such misunderstanding? Why would the Lord of Glory be wrapped in ignominy?

There is much conjecture as to the "stable" that sheltered the "first family". Was it a cave, out in the fields as some believe, or was it a shed attached to the Inn like a porch where the guests' animals were tied up and fed? Our humanity, especially in hindsight, recoils that a child would be born in such raw conditions. At Christmastime we all are especially sensitive to others felt needs and we are deeply moved with compassion for those in distress. But in Bethlehem our promised Messiah came hidden as it were- a smuggled secret from the Kingdom of Heaven, frail and vulnerable.

He was placed in a manger- a feeding trough for beasts- as the bread of life to transform our beastliness. In Bethlehem “the house of bread" he voluntarily gave up His Godly prerogatives to become food for us that we might live. We might not find room for God, but He makes room to search us out, and bring us into eternal life. All religions represent a search for God, but Christianity alone displays God's search for us. God the Father hid the Messiah in the simple birth village of the shepherd boy David, not the triumphal City of David at Mt. Zion. Despising the shame, Jesus was ushered in- in the signature way of our God- Hidden in full view. Simple shepherds were told by an angel and sung to by a heavenly host of His nativity, but only a few kings (magi) were wise enough to pay tribute. Rome was at its zenith in terms of the breadth of its empire, but the King of Kings and Lord of Lords was brought forth as God's hidden wisdom in the midst of mankind's crowning arrogance. (Mat 11:25- At that time Jesus said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.)

Now let us consider how it is when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. He searched us out and we received Him, just like Mary who humbly uttered to the angel (Luk 1:38) "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." Her faith received the seed of Christ in humble submission to the will of God. She birthed the incarnate Son of God; we also are born anew in the likeness of Christ, hidden with Him until the Day of His revealing. (Col 3:3-4)

Our beginnings in Christ are hidden, wrapped in ignominy just like he was. The work of God and the Holy Spirit is evidenced by those who can "see", but we are nothing but simple fishermen, tax collectors, former prostitutes, some who are educated et.al, transformed by a power that doesn't show off, but demonstrates the utter wisdom of God. The Scripture says not to despise small beginnings. Our frailty, our poverty, our shame and weakness are but temporary conditions as role modeled for us by our older brother Jesus. Our glorious destiny in Christ is beyond our imagination. 1Co 2:9 But as it is written, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard," nor has it entered into the heart of man, "the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

We need to learn like Mary the mother of Jesus of Nazareth, the value of patient endurance while pondering the imponderables of God's promises. She was afflicted like no other mother, living through the horror of His crucifixion knowing that by His death the world would be saved. From birth through death she witnessed all the fury of Satan thrown at her son, and through His resurrection and ascension all the magnificence of God's unfailing promises. May we rejoice like she did through all the trials and hardships we endure. For here lies our hope-Phi 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Brethren let our hearts sing His praise this Christmas season as we rejoice in this wonderful hope of glory- Christ in us!

Hiding in Thee, hiding in Thee,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,”
I’m hiding in Thee.

Ken Peters 12/2005