Laid in a Manger--Nailed to a Cross
Jesus was born with the shadow of the cross upon Him. His birth was announced by the angel who said, “There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). As significant as His birth was, it was in His death that the power to procure our salvation (i.e., His blood) was operative. Paul wrote, “. . . While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved . . .” (Romans 5:8-9). In the shadow of the cross, he learned to walk; He learned to talk; and He learned to work.
Once, in the city of London, a little girl was lost. She was in tears, because she could not tell the police her address. They named several landmarks, but none of them helped her recognize her home. Then someone mentioned the cross and the great stone across the road. Her tears ceased. She dried her eyes and said, “Yes, take me to the cross!”
TAKE ME TO THE CROSS! The way of the cross leads home. To find home we must go to the cross. It is good to go to Bethlehem but, to reach home, we must go to Calvary. One of the dangers in the season of the year known as Christmas is that many go to Bethlehem but never make it to Calvary.
Near the Cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day,
With its shadow o’er me!
(Fanny J. Crosby)
Several hundred years ago on the southern coast of China, on a hill overlooking a harbor, Portuguese settlers built a large cathedral for worship. Sometime afterwards the cathedral was destroyed by a typhoon. For years, the cathedral remained in ruins with no part of it standing except a high front wall. High atop this wall was a huge bronze cross. In 1825, Sir John Bowring saw the cross atop the wall on the distant hill. The cross, as a focal point, so impressed Bowring that he was motivated to write the following familiar words (Osbeck 121).
In the cross of Christ I glory,
Tow’ring O’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.
(John Bowring)
When the angel of the Lord announced the birth of Jesus “there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest’ . . .” (Luke 2:14). The glory of God was revealed in that manger in Bethlehem. However, it was manifested even greater in Calvary’s cross. All we have, and all we shall have, was bought for us by the blood of the Son of God. “God forbid that I should glory except in the cross” (Galatians 6:14).
Joseph and Mary brought “the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law” (Luke 2:27; cf. Leviticus 12:1-6). There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon who was eagerly awaiting the day when he could see the Messiah (cf. Luke 2:25-26). When Simeon saw the baby “he took him up in his arms and blessed God” (Luke 2:28-32. He said to Mary, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against” (Luke 2:34).
This prophecy announced by Simeon is marvelously linked to the cross of Christ. Jesus would be like a stone over which some would trip, fall, and perish, but by which others would be enabled to rise and be saved (cf. Romans 11:9ff; 1 Peter 2:6-8). Those who imagine themselves to be strong and high, who rely on their own merit and power, will come to a woeful undoing, because they do not realize their need for the cross, and they do not take refuge in the Christ. Those who bend low at the foot of the cross, and obey the gospel, will be raised up with the hope of eternal life (cf. Romans 6:1-11, 23).
Just as Simeon had predicted, when the nails penetrated Jesus’ flesh and the spear pierced His side, a sword pierced His mother’s soul (cf. Luke 2:35). But a door opened, which is wide enough to let a guilty world go out into the sunshine of satisfied divine justice and into the light of the countenance of God (1 John 2:1-2).
Paul wrote, “Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15, KJV). The word translated unspeakable (inexpressible, RSV; indescribable, NKJ) is from the Greek word anekdiegeto. How fitting that this word appears only once in the Greek New Testament. The gift of God’s only Son is a one-of-a-kind gift. The cross of Christ stands uniquely on the shores of time drawing the inhabitants of human history to its unfathomable properties.
As one unnamed writer eloquently stated:
The history of human guilt culminates in the cross. The purposes of divine love are made intelligible at the cross. The rays of glory emanating from Christ are focused in the cross. The fingers of prophecy point to the cross. The mysteries of prophecy are unraveled at the cross. The great problem of human redemption is solved at the cross. The serpent’s head is bruised at the cross. The foundation of salvation is unsealed at the cross. The streams of civilization AND all the great events of the gospel yield in importance to the cross. The transfiguration foreshadowed the cross. The resurrection was the complement of the cross. Pentecost was the fruit of the cross. Bethlehem and Nazareth, Galilee, and Jerusalem, Tabor and Olivet, gleam only in the light of the cross. All the great doctrines of grace revolve around the cross. Earthly glory fades at the cross. Intellect is sanctified at the cross. Sin dies at the cross. Slave chains are snapped at the cross. Sin dies at the cross. Slave chains are snapped at the cross. The bitters of life are sweetened at the cross. The shadows of death are dispelled at the cross. The heaven of the redeemed is built at the cross. Hallelujah for the cross. (qtd. in Lee 28).
Charles C. Pugh III
Executive Director
Works Cited:
Lee, R. G. Grapes from Gospel Vines. Nashville: Broadman, 1976.
Osbeck, Kenneth W. 101 Hymn Stories. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1982.