No doubt about it, the world needed salvation. From Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God, the world suffered under the curse and consequences of the fall. Hatred and conflict dominated human relationships. Unspeakable misery and despair, brought on by sin, dominated the soul of man. The line in O Holy Night, says “Long lay the world in sin and error pining”. Men were guilty sinners and under judgment, without hope and without God in the world. The whole human race was lost and condemned, with no way out.

So what would God do? What would the God who created the world, and the mountains, and the oceans, and the stars in the heavens, - what would this God do to save the world? He would send a baby. He would come as a baby. In an amazing display of love and condescension, God came down to live with us. John puts it: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He did not show up as a mighty warrior or superhero. He did not come with a supernatural display of power and glory. He came as the most helpless of all beings, a human baby.

We could call this the weakness of the Christmas story. We see the apparent weakness of God’s plan to save the world. God chose to become weak. He chose to become small. He chose to act in a small way. He sent a baby. And that weakness is really what causes the marvel and wonder of Christmas.

Spurgeon wrote about this paradox of Jesus coming in such weakness. He was...

Infinite and an infant Eternal, yet born of a woman Almighty, yet hanging on a woman’s breast Supporting the universe, yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms. King of angels, yet the reputed son of Joseph Heir of all things, yet the carpenter’s despised son.

The Christmas carol, “What Child is this” asks two really profound questions...

What child is this, who, laid to rest, On Mary's lap is sleeping?

Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,

While shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King,

Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:

Haste, haste to bring Him laud, The babe, the son of Mary.

But...

Why lies He in such mean estate, Where ox and donkeys are feeding? ( The second question is “Why is the Christ, the King lying here in a place like this!?” - The word mean means poor, shabby) Before we answer that we need to see that….

God’s plan was that this weakness, be magnified in every aspect of his coming. He could not be born in a prominent place to prominent people. He could not be born in to wealth or privilege. Everything about his entrance into the world was planned by God to display this weakness.

He must be born an obscure place: But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me to be ruler in Israel. Micah 5:2. The city of Rome was the center of the world - why not save the world from there? Jerusalem would have been a good choice too. But Bethlehem was like nowhere.

His birth must take place to a simple teenage girl. Luke tells us, “God sent the angel Gabriel … to a virgin.. and the virgin’s name was Mary.” … “The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, … You will be with child and give birth and you are to give him the name Jesus”. Jesus, Savior, the Son of the Most High, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who will reign eternally, would be born to an unknown, timid, young virgin. That looks weak to the world. Even the virgin birth is the kind of miracle that is so unseen, so silent, that it becomes a part of the weakness, something the world scoffs at.

His birth must take place in the most lowly of surroundings. Luke says, “Mary gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn”. They did not have a room, like normal people, so Jesus was born in a stable or some kind of place where animals were kept! And his mother laid him in a food trough where the cattle and other animals were fed. That manger was his first bed.

His coming as a child showed weakness; the rest of his life and his death showed the same. He never traveled far from home. Many nights he did not have a place to call home or lay his head. He was despised and rejected by his own people. His brothers thought him crazy. He held no position or office or title among men. He lived to be only 33 years old. And his life ended in a shameful and humiliating crucifixion on a cross. Again the plans of God to save the world appeared weak – how could Jesus of Nazareth save the world when he seemed unable to save himself?

Why did God chose to disclose himself to us in a form that appears so shockingly weak? Why was our Savior and Lord, born in such a place? Why did God come to live with us and look so weak doing it?

4 Reasons

First: Because he is God and he can do things the way he wants. And even if we cannot FULLY explain why he did things this way, we CAN see that God is totally willing to do things that look weak, foolish, ignorant or ridiculous to human beings! And it doesn’t bother him one bit - He is not concerned about pleasing or impressing people. He is not thinking “Oh we better not do that, or people won’t think that’s very cool!”. Or people won’t be impressed!” Not only is he willing to work this way but he chooses to do so.

There have been times in my Christian walk when I did not like all the talk about Jesus as a baby at Christmas, because I wanted only to think of him as a grown up Savior and coming King. It seemed to me sort of childish or unmanly to think of Jesus as a baby. AND THERE IS MORE TO THE STORY THAN JESUS IN THE MANGER! He is the risen Lord, and coming mighty king. Yet God had the story of salvation START with his entrance into the world through Mary’s womb. God chose for him to come in weakness. And we need to embrace that and marvel at that.

Second: He wanted to establish faith alone as the means of receiving salvation. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1. “God was pleased through the foolishness of the cross to save those who believe”. Paul called the cross “the weakness of God”. YET only those willing to believe this apparent weakness of God, will be saved. You can’t be saved by doing yoga, by getting a PhD, or even by being a very nice person. God circumvented human methods, human wisdom so that our salvation should be by faith alone in Jesus Christ.

If you understood all the knowledge in all the universities in all the world, it would not move you one inch closer to God. But if you believe in Jesus Christ, coming as a human baby, living a perfect life, then dying for your sins on a cross, you immediately know God as your father and you have NEW LIFE born within you, in his name. The weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. The foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom!

In a similar way, only those who believe in “the weakness” of Jesus Christ, as a baby, born of a virgin, can be saved! Luke tells us about an old man named Simeon, who was around when Jesus was born. Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for the Gentiles and for the glory of your people Israel.” In the smallness and helplessness of baby, Simeon saw the salvation of God. And that’s the way God wants it. Only those who see salvation in the helpless Baby Jesus, will be saved. I hope you don’t ONLY see a nativity scene and think that’s quaint or sentimental. I hope that BY FAITH you see salvation come to you.

Third: It is a safeguard to keep those who are proud of heart out of the kingdom. Jesus said, “I thank you Father that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to babes”. -Matthew 11:25. Christ coming as a babe wrapped in cloths lying in a manger does not appeal to human pride and intellectualism. They are not talking about the wisdom of this event on our college campuses. He came in a way that would make us abandon our pride, our self-sufficiency if we would partake of his salvation. Those who want some big impressive outward sign will miss salvation. Those who want some great impressive intellectual answer will miss salvation. Only those who humbly come and believe like little children will be saved.

Fourth: God works this way to assure us that our weakness does not disqualify us for God’s love and favor. At least part of the reason Christ was born in an obscure place among obscure and ordinary people, was to show his desire to reach the lowliest among us his love and salvation. He is not put off or ashamed to work with people like us!

He chose fishermen, tax collectors, laborers, uneducated for his disciples. The reality that we are ordinary, common, unspectacular, poor, or small and insignificant does not remove us from being a part of God’s plan. In fact, it says he chose us because of those things. God has chosen the foolish, the weak the despised, ...so that no man may boast before God.

So let us embrace the weakness of the Christmas story, the weakness of the manger scene, the weakness of Jesus as a baby. Let us not be ashamed of the virgin birth, or singing Silent night, or Away in a Manger. Because God in his weakness chose to save us through coming to live with us as a baby.

So let’s go back to the question in the song, “Why lies He in such mean estate, Where ox and donkeys are feeding?” (The song does not really answer the question directly but it shows us exactly what our response should be…)

Good Christians, fear, for sinners here

The silent Word is pleading. 

Nails, spears shall pierce him through, the cross he bore for me, for you.

Hail, hail the Word made flesh,

the Babe, the Son of Mary.

So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh,

Come, peasant, king, to own him.

The King of kings salvation brings,

Let loving hearts enthrone him.

Raise, raise a song on high,

The virgin sings her lullaby Joy, joy for Christ is born,

The babe, the Son of Mary.

This, this is Christ the King,

Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:

Haste, haste to bring Him laud,

The babe, the son of Mary.

The babe the son of Mary, the Word made flesh, is lying in a place where ox and donkeys are feeding. Here is the apparent weakness of God.. Yet the King of Kings salvation brings! Our response is to come and worship him, love him and enthrone him as Lord in our hearts… Let’s do that today.