Who was in the manger on Christmas morning? Who is this baby of whom we sing about and celebrate? Jesus is not just a cute baby in a manger. He is Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:24). This means that the hand that gripped Mary’s finger from the manger was the same hand of which we are told, “In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land” (Psalm 95:4-5). The eyes that sparkled from the manger are the eyes of God that “are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). The voice that cried from the manger is the same voice that sustains “all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3). This is the baby in the manger, but there is more…
The hands of this baby are the same hands that had nails driven through them to hold him on the cross where he paid the price for our sins. The eyes of this baby are the same eyes that looked down from the cross at the crowd that gathered to watch him die. The voice of this baby in the manger is the same voice that cried out from the cross, “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing!” and then cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” as our sins – your sins and mine – were put on him. He died on the cross for our sins. This is the baby in the manger, but there is more…
Those eyes, that voice, and those hands rose from the dead! The baby in the manger conquered sin and death and promises eternal life to all who believe! This is the baby who is in the manger. This is GOD WITH US! One day that baby stood before his followers, after he had risen from the dead, and he sent you and me on a mission to go and tell the whole world about this baby in the manger. Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, left us with these words: “And surely I am with you always!” The baby in the manger, Jesus Christ, is still “God with us”, and this makes all the difference in the world.
photo by Flickr user blahmni