Chapter 1 —Beginnings
Christ, the heavenly merchantman seeking goodly
pearls, saw in lost humanity the pearl of price. In man, defiled and ruined by sin, He saw the possibilities of redemption. 1 {CSA 4.1}
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise:
When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph,
before they came together, she was found with child
of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being
a just man, and not willing to make her a public
example, was minded to put her away privily.
But while he thought on these things, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David,
fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that
which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt
call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people
from their sins. {CSA 4.2}
Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet,
saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and
shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as
the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took
unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had
brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his
name JESUS. Matthew 1:18-25. {CSA 4.3}
And there were in the same country shepherds
abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock
by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came
upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone
round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for,
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. For unto you is born
this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is
Christ The Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you;
Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,
lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with
the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising
God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good will toward men.
{CSA 4.4}
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone
away from them into heaven, the shepherds
said one to another, Let us now go even unto
Bethlehem, and see this thing which is
come to pass, which the Lord hath made known
unto us. And they came with haste, and found
Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in
a manger. And when they had seen it, they
made known abroad the
5
saying which was told them concerning this
child. And all they that heard it wondered at
those things which were told them by the
shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and
pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds
returned, glorifying and praising God for all
the things that they had heard and seen, as it
was told unto them.
Luke 2:8-20. {CSA 4.5}
The Saviour’s coming was foretold in Eden.
When Adam and Eve first heard the promise, they
looked for its speedy fulfillment. They joyfully
welcomed their first-born son, hoping that he
might be the Deliverer. But the fulfillment of the
promise tarried. Those who first received it died
without the sight. From the days of Enoch
the promise was repeated through patriarchs
and prophets, keeping alive the hope of His
appearing, and yet He came not. The prophecy
of Daniel revealed the time of His advent, but
not all rightly interpreted the message. Century
after century passed away; the voices of
the prophets ceased. The hand of the oppressor
was heavy upon Israel, and many were ready
to exclaim, “The days are prolonged, and
every vision faileth.”
Ezekiel 12:22. {CSA 5.1}
But like the stars in the vast circuit of their
appointed path, God’s purposes know no haste
and no delay. Through the symbols of the great
darkness and the smoking furnace, God had
revealed to Abraham the bondage of Israel in
Egypt, and had declared that the time of their
sojourning should be four hundred years.
“Afterward,” He said, “shall they come out
with great substance.” Genesis 15:14. Against
that word, all the power of Pharaoh’s proud
empire battled in vain. On “the self-same day”
appointed in the divine promise, “it came to pass,
that all the hosts of the Lord went out from
the land of Egypt.” Exodus 12:41. So in heaven’s
council the hour for the coming of Christ
had been determined. When the great clock
of time pointed to that hour, Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
{CSA 5.2}
The King of glory stooped low to take humanity.
Rude and forbidding were His earthly surroundings.
His glory was veiled, that the majesty of His
outward form might not become an object of
attraction. He shunned all outward display.
Riches, worldly honor, and human greatness can
never save a soul from death; Jesus purposed
that no attraction of an earthly nature should call
men to His side. Only the beauty of heavenly
truth must draw those who would follow Him.
The character of the Messiah had long been
foretold in prophecy, and He desired men to
accept Him upon the testimony of
The Word of God.
{CSA 5.3}
The angels had wondered at the glorious
plan of redemption. They watched to see how
the people of God would receive His Son,
clothed in the garb of humanity.
{CSA 5.4}
Angels attend Joseph and Mary as they journey
from their home in Nazareth to the city of David.
The decree of imperial Rome for the enrollment
of the peoples of her vast dominion has extended
to the dwellers among the hills of Galilee. As in
old time Cyrus was called to the throne of
the world’s empire that he might set free the
captives of the Lord, so Caesar Augustus is
made the agent for the fulfillment of God’s
purpose in bringing the mother of Jesus to
Bethlehem. She is of the lineage of David, and
the Son of David must be born in David’s city.
Out of Bethlehem, said the prophet, “shall He
come forth . . . that is to be ruler in Israel;
whose goings forth have been from of old,
from the days of eternity.” Micah 5:2, margin.
But in the city of their royal line, Joseph and
Mary are unrecognized and unhonored. Weary
and homeless, they traverse the entire length
of the narrow street, from the gate of the city
to the eastern extremity of the town, vainly
seeking a resting place for the night. There is
no room for them at the crowded inn. In a
rude building where the beasts are sheltered,
they at last find refuge, and here the
Redeemer of the world is born.
{CSA 5.5}
Above the hills of Bethlehem are gathered an
innumerable throng of angels. They wait the
signal to declare the glad news to the world.
Had the leaders in Israel been true to their trust,
they might have shared the joy of heralding
the birth of Jesus. But now they are passed by.
{CSA 6.1}
In the fields where the boy David had led
his flock, shepherds were still keeping watch
by night. Through the silent hours they talked
together of the promised Saviour, and prayed
for the coming of the King to David’s throne.
“And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,
and the glory of the Lord shone round about
them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel
said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring
you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to
all people. For unto you is born this day in
the city of David a Saviour, which is
Christ the Lord.”
{CSA 6.2}
At these words, visions of glory fill the minds
of the listening shepherds. The Deliverer has
come to Israel! Power, exaltation, triumph, are associated with His coming. But the angel must
prepare them to recognize their Saviour in
poverty and humiliation. “This shall be a sign
unto you,” he says; “Ye shall find the babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
”{CSA 6.3}
The heavenly messenger had quieted their fears.
He had told them how to find Jesus. With tender
regard for their human weakness, he had given
them time to become accustomed to the divine
radiance. Then the joy and glory could no
longer be hidden. The whole plain was
lighted up with the bright shining of
the hosts of God. Earth was hushed, and
heaven stooped to listen to the song,—
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, good will toward men.”
{CSA 6.4}
As the angels disappeared, the light faded away,
and the shadows of night once more fell on
the hills of Bethlehem. But the brightest picture
ever beheld by human eyes remained in the
memory of the shepherds. “And it came to pass,
as the angels were gone away from them into
heaven, the shepherds said one to another,
Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see
this thing which is come to pass, which The Lord
hath made known unto us. And they came
with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and
the babe lying in a manger.”
{CSA 6.5}
Heaven and earth are no wider apart today
than when shepherds listened to the angels’
song. Humanity is still as much the object
of heaven’s solicitude as when common men
of common occupations met angels at noonday,
and talked with the heavenly messengers
in the vineyards and the fields. To us in
the common walks of life, heaven may be
very near. Angels from the courts above will
attend the steps of those who come and go
at God’s command.
{CSA 6.6}
The story of Bethlehem is an exhaust-less theme.
In it is hidden “the depth of the riches both of
the wisdom and knowledge of God.”
Romans 11:33. We marvel at the Saviour’s
sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven
for the manger, and the companionship of
adoring angels for the beasts of the stall.
Human pride and self-sufficiency stand
rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but
the beginning of His wonderful condescension.
It would have been an almost infinite humiliation
for the Son of God to take man’s nature, even
when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden.
But Jesus accepted humanity when the race
had been weakened by four thousand years of sin.
Like every child of Adam He accepted the results
of the working of the great law of heredity.
What these results were is shown in the history
of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a
heredity to share our sorrows and temptations,
and to give us the example of a sinless life.
{CSA 6.7}