The Rarely Told Story of the Manger Where Jesus Was Born: What Really Happened There?

It is possible that last night or today you received a message like the one I wrote, saying “Merry Christmas.” It is also possible that some of us replied, “Together as one.”

But do you know what Christmas reminds us of? I believe your heart immediately answers, “Yes, it reminds us of the birth of Jesus.” Indeed, Christmas reminds us of the birth of Jesus—but what spiritual work did God accomplish through the birth of Jesus?

Let us pause for a moment, sit quietly, and put on spiritual lenses so that we may look more deeply and broadly at the work God accomplished on that day, in three parts: human work, the revelation of the Child, and the mission God entrusted to the witnesses.

Part One: Human Work

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.” (Luke 2:8).

Before the angels appeared to the shepherds (Luke 2:9), they were simply doing their work—taking care of their flock. They were not expecting anything beyond caring for the sheep, although they may have anticipated the possibility of facing a wild animal and fighting it off to prevent it from taking one of the sheep under their care.

This is a picture of how, before Jesus is revealed to us, we are occupied with our human work. Although the work we were doing—and that some are still doing today—was or is good, it was not able to bring us salvation. Yet God was preparing to bring “good news of great joy that will be for all people” (Luke 2:10).

Part Two: The Revelation of the Child

“This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12).

When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they told them that a child named Jesus had been born and that He would be King (Luke 2:11). However, they also gave them the following signs:

• You will find a baby: The child being spoken of is Jesus.
• Wrapped in clothes: The clothes represent the Holy Scriptures.
• Lying in a manger: A manger is a tool used to crush or process certain produce. For example, when bananas are placed in a manger and crushed, they produce juice. In other words, a manger is a tool used to transform one thing into another.
• Cattle: Although cattle possess some level of intelligence, science generally states that they lack higher understanding (Proverbs 30:2).

Had you ever reflected on these signs that accompanied the birth of the child?

Let us now view them through the lens of spiritual work. The sign that Christ has been born within us is this: we human beings who lacked understanding (like cattle) enter the manger and are crushed; then we encounter the Holy Scriptures (the clothes), we read them (unwrap them), and afterward we see nothing else but the Child—Jesus.

This is the work God accomplished then and continues to accomplish today: we who did not know God are like cattle; we pass through the manger, which represents the crushing of our old nature so that it is removed from us, and we become spiritual beings. We then read the Holy Scriptures—symbolized by the clothes—and within those Scriptures we find only the Child, who is Jesus.

Part Three: The Work God Entrusted to the Witnesses

After the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” They went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in a manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child (Luke 2:15–17).

Once God had confirmed His work, it was no longer necessary for Him to instruct the shepherds on what to say about what He had done. They themselves proclaimed it, going out to speak about that work just as it had been revealed to them (Luke 2:17).

Indeed, when God has completed the work of transforming us (the work of crushing or refining our nature) and we become spiritual beings, we are called to the mission of testifying to what the Lord God has done within us.

Conclusion

Although many of us clearly know that Christmas reminds us of the birth of Jesus, I chose to write this message under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, to remind the Church that the true sign that Jesus has been born within us is that we read the Holy Scriptures, are transformed by them, and ultimately come to see Jesus.