Vol. 30, No. 11 -- December 2010
CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE DEAF
9545 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910
CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE DEAF
9545 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910
"She wrapped him in cloths..."
In Dr. Luke's familiar Christmas story, he wrote, "she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." (Luke 2.7 NCV)
Then later, in his report of the death and burial of Christ, Luke wrote, "There was a good and religious man named Joseph who was a member of the council. But he had not agreed to the other leaders' plans and actions against Jesus. He was from the town of Arimathea and was waiting for the kingdom of God to come. Joseph went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. He took the body down from the cross, wrapped it in cloth, and put it in a tomb that was cut out of a wall of rock. This tomb had never been used before." (Luke 23.50-53)
One cloth was a small baby-wrap that kept Jesus warm in the manger on Christmas day. The other was the larger shroud which tightly wrapped His cold dead body in the tomb on Good Friday afternoon.
Christians understand well the connection between Christmas and Good Friday. Without Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, Christmas would have no meaning. However, too often, when we celebrate Christmas, we forget about Good Friday. We see baby Jesus in the manger, but not a beaten and bloody Jesus on the cross. And then months later, when we focus on Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, we forget about the Christ child. Those two holiday seasons are so different, the contrast seems harsh. Yet all through the Christmas story we see hints of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.
(1) The angel told Joseph of Nazareth (Mary's fiancé), "You will name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." (Matthew 1.21) How did Jesus save us from our sins? By His death on the cross.
(2) Luke notes the cloths that first wrapped baby Jesus in the manger and then wrapped His body in the tomb.
(3) When Jesus was one month old, the old prophet Simeon held Him in his arms as he told Mary, "God has chosen this child to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel. He will be a sign from God that many people will not accept so that the thoughts of many will be made known. And the things that will happen will make your heart sad, too." (Luke 2.34-35) I wonder if Mary remembered this prophecy thirty-three years later while she stood under the cross, confused, watching her firstborn son die. Then, three days later, everything began to make sense for Mary, when Jesus rose again from the dead.
(4) We see another connection between Christmas and Good Friday when the Wise Men gave their three gifts to baby Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Myrrh was the ointment that Joseph of Arimathia and Nicodemus used on Jesus' body in the tomb. (John 19.39)
(5) Remember that the Wise Men came to worship "the King of the Jews" (Matthew 2:2). What was Jesus' "crime" that Pontius Pilate later posted on the cross? "Jesus of Nazareth -- King of the Jews" (John 19:19).
Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter all tell the story of God's love.
His love sent Christ to earth.
His love put Christ on the cross.
His love brought Christ up from the grave.
His love will one day call us home with Him.
~~Pastor Ron