12/22/2022
It is three days before Christmas, and as the birthday of Jesus approaches and we are preparing to celebrate it around the world, let’s think back on Jesus, and Mary. Today He was most likely turning in the womb and being prepared for birth, while Mary’s body was reconfiguring itself for childbirth. As we contemplate these things let’s ask ourselves a question that begs for an answer… did Jesus realize in the womb that He was about to begin a life of troubled that would lead to our redemption, and being freed from death? Did He see the suffering, the whip, the spit, and the thorns, that awaited Him? Could he hear the crowd jeering, the ring of the hammer striking the nails, and feel the darkness of our sin that He was about to take upon Himself?
“On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.”
Psalm 22:10-11 ESV
Such a mix of emotion childbirth is; even for us today it is the defining moment when a baby’s life and death are separated by a single breath, and our hopes for this new life either begin to be realized, or dashed. This is a time too when a mother’s life hangs in the balance, and she is held suffering in the arms of God, a time when, just as He promised, the pain of childbirth bears down upon her in full.
“To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.””
Genesis 3:16 ESV
But what of Jesus, was He aware in the womb? Was the fact that John the Baptist leapt in Elisabeth’s womb any indication that our Lord already knew what His life would be? If John knew Him in the womb, and again as Jesus approached to be baptized, wouldn’t Jesus have known always?
“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29 ESV
So all those years ago, on this wonderful and miraculous day of anticipation, an innocent and perfect Son of God was preparing to be born, and to begin a lifelong journey to complete the will of His Father. All that was of man, and all that was of God, was held fast in this tiny body, and the future of all mankind was nestled in the womb of Mary.
“In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
John 1:4 ESV
Join me today in anticipation of the coming birthday celebration of Jesus Christ, and know that from the foundation of the world, and from within the womb of Mary, He was in full accord with His Father’s will. He was perfect, and without blemish; the blameless sacrifice provided not by us, but for this purpose by God… the Lamb of God that was caught not in a bush, but in the thorns of His crown.
“So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!””
John 19:5 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for loving us so much that you would send your only begotten Son to die for us, and serve as our perfect sacrifice. Thank you for this, the New Covenant, that you have established with us. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who foreknew our fall from grace, and provided for our redemption from the very foundation of the earth, and through the mystery of the womb. Praised be your name for every drop of blood shed for us by Jesus, even in His prayers. Merciful are you that you would reestablish the power of your grace in our lives through Him. Great are you who can enter the world of man through a single cell, a tiny fetus, and become the encapsulation of every hope, and dream, of creation. Amazing are you who can place all of eternity in the body of a single child, and bring Him forth from the womb of one woman.
Father, Wash us in the precious blood of your Son Jesus so that we will be cleansed of our sin, and free from the sting of death. Transform us, and release us from the chains of our inherited sin so that we will be pleasing to you, and made worthy of eternity in your presence. Glory be to you in the highest… our God who was, and is, and is to come!
“knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
1 Peter 1:18-21 ESV
Rich Forbes