Luke 2:12, 15-17, 20 – Impossible, Improbable, but True
12And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. 15So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 20Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
Seasonal Blessing
‘Tis the season to believe God’s word and give Him the glory.
Behind the Words
The words “wrapped in swaddling cloths” are translated from a single verb, sparganoō, meaning “to swath” or “to swaddle.” Now, that wasn’t much help, was it? Sparganoō, is from the noun sparganon which refers to “a swath, or strip, of cloth.” Long strips of cloth were used in those days to snugly wrap a new born child to keep the infant warm and to provide security. So this part of the verse could have been translated, “You will find the infant swaddled, lying in a manger.”
The word translated “manger” is phatnē, from pateomai, meaning “to eat.” It refers to the crib, or manger, in which hay was placed in for animals to eat, thus keeping it clean and dry. Not the place we would think of putting a newborn baby, and certainly not the Son of God!
Meaning Explained
As mentioned in the explanation of the previous verses, the annunciation of the birth of the Messiah was made to shepherds, not to the rich, to the religious leaders, or to the civil rulers. It was made to shepherds. And, after receiving the message from the angels, the shepherds did not waste any time finding Jesus, Joseph, and Mary. One has to wonder how many stables they had to look in before they found one with people in it. Once they discovered it, they found the One proclaimed by the angels to be the Messiah, the Savior, the King of the Jews.
To most Jews, who were expecting the arrival of their Messiah, the notion of Him being laid in a feeding trough would have convinced then that the angels didn’t know what they were talking about. That just wouldn’t have made sense. God doesn’t work that way. So they probably would have reasoned away the angelic message because it didn’t fit their own image of God. The shepherds, on the other hand, simply took the message at face value and assumed that it must be true.
And once they had acted in faith and had searched to see whether these things were true, they found Him. Then they proclaimed the message widely; they told everyone who would listen, they praised God, and gave Him the glory.
Application
Some messages in the Bible seem impossible or at least improbable, yet we must accept them on faith. How can God possibly be one God, but be three persons? It’s impossible, but it’s what the Bible proclaims. How can salvation be all God’s doing and none of our own. That’s improbable, but it’s what the Word proclaims. Instead of questioning the truth, let’s praise God for it as the shepherds did, and give Him the glory. Someday we’ll understand!
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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