~Phil "Uncle Phil" Robertson~
It didn't seem like a exciting story at all. A poor child born into a poor family without even a hospital or decent shelter to cover him. In fact, this poor lad was born in a barn. This wasn't some disadvantaged kid born into a third world country. No, in time He would make His mark upon a world which by all rights should have been in awe of His birth. There would be no fanfare upon His birth. However, it was the birth of this child which the scriptures had predicted would change the world. Indeed, the greatest gift we will ever receive came to us in the most humble of ways possible. However, this was exactly how it needed to come to pass. My mother had a saying which she would tell me whenever I felt as if I didn't measure up to others. Whenever I felt like I was a small fish in a big pond. In these moments she would smile and tell her youngest son."Scotty...all that glitters is definately not gold." In the years that followed, I would often come across a few of those who had looked down upon me and see that they themselves felt inferior as I once had. All that glitters is not gold. That baby born in a barn definately didn't fit the bill of a king born into a royal family, but this Son of Joseph and Mary was more important than anyone could ever imagine. Sure, His birth had been foretold for generations, it still passed without much notice. Local shepherds would not have known of His coming had the angels not proclaimed His birth that night. So, how could such a important event pass without much notice? Simple, it had to. This was the plan all along. How great is the story where a baby born in a manger ultimately is the very savior of us all? That, my friends, is the greatest story ever told.
20But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.21“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 1: 20 - 21 NKJV
The baby Jesus was far from noticeable to those of His time. Born out of wedlock (or so the local rumors claimed) the Son of a local carpenter and a (seemingly) disgraced mother. By all accounts, this boy came into the world with more than enough strikes against Him. He may have seemed destined to be anything from a recluse to a lowly carpenter like His father. This leads to one of the big issues which I have with the scriptures. That is, our lack of understanding of the growth of the young Jesus into manhood. This used to drive me nuts because it would certainly help explain a lot of who Jesus was as a person. However, are we really left in the dark about Jesus' upbringing? We are told in Luke 2 that as Jesus grew that He grew "in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." If we want to know about Jesus' younger years we need simply look at the lives of other normal jewish children of His time. THIS is where we will find the story of the growth of the boy Jesus. We will see Jesus for who He was, a young man. How often would He play in the shop of His father? What was that day like when Joseph finally decided that it was time for his son to learn His fathers trade? One of the many films of the story of Jesus which I enjoyed was Young Messiah. It is in this movie where I saw the human Jesus for the first time. Yes, it is hollywoods version of the life of Christ, but for the first time, we see the young Jesus. How is it that we can think that the boy Jesus never played, laughed and at times worried His own parents? I mean, this is what all children do right? To my understanding, Jesus was a normal child of His time. Despite His own lineage, He grew up without much fanfare. Yet it is this humble child who would ultimately become the crowning of our heavenly Fathers love and grace. Sure, God could have chosen anyone to bear our sin burdens upon that cross, but His was the perfect chioce. A baby born in a stable to a poor father and a (seemingly) shamed mother for bearing her child out of wedlock. Would such a child ever have a chance? Perhaps...all that glitters is not gold.
52And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Luke 2: 52 NKJV
~Scott~
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