The Gift of Sacrifice
In Jerusalem there is a gate. (Well, many actually, but this one is special.) It has several names: the Lions Gate, St Stephens Gate…and the Sheep Gate. While the location today may not be precisely the same, the gate held special significance in the days of the Temple. It was through this gate that the lambs and sheep were led for sacrifice.
Not far away, a mere five miles or so to the southwest, lay the quiet town of Bethlehem. 'Beit Lechem' in Hebrew, "the house of bread" literally translated. David's hometown. And the birthplace of the Savior. In the fields nearby, shepherds tended their flocks. But these weren't any old shepherds with just any old sheep in any old field.
These shepherds tended the sheep used for temple sacrifice, particularly the Passover lambs. They were considered priestly-shepherds, caring for the lambs whose blood would be spilled to atone for the sins of the nation.
One spring evening,* they were quietly keeping watch over their flock by night. It was nothing unusual, just an average duty this time of year for a shepherd properly tending the young lambs recently born. In the stillness they watched. And then, without notice, their world was abruptly interrupted. The cimmerian sky was lit ablaze by celestial light and the tranquil evening suddenly exploded with angelic voices. From the heavens trumpeted a profound proclamation, "I bring you good news of great joy which shall be for all people, for today in the city of David there is born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!"
What news! What joy! And to shepherds. In a field. Watching their flocks….
The angel continued, "And this shall be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manager."
Swaddling clothes. A sign. To shepherds.
No word in scripture is wasted; every one has meaning. The angel gave these shepherds a sign. This wasn't just any old baby wrapped in any old cloth resting in any old place.
These shepherds knew swaddling clothes, for they themselves used them. On the Passover lambs. Those tender baby lambs tend to flail and topple about and can easily wound themselves. But a Passover lamb must be spotless; without defect or blemish. And so the shepherds swaddled them in cloths to protect them, to keep them pure and perfect.
In haste, they left to find this tender treasure. They discovered him, just as the angel said. The Bread of Heaven lying in a manger. The Lamb of God snuggly swaddled.
Did the shepherds truly understand this moment in time? This great and glorious mystery before them? Did Mary and Joseph grasp the scene unfolding before their eyes?
Only years later, as Yeshua hung on the cross, would the picture be completed. Broken, bleeding and suffering, he cried out, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" Aramaic for "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
Forsaken. A fair translation, but this loses the imagery found in the language. The Hebrew root 'sebach' means, "to hand over." It's a term used in sacrifice, as in when one hands over the sacrificial lamb to be slaughtered. A better translation would be, "My God, my God, why have you handed me over?" To my persecutors. To my enemies. To those who slay me.
In a moment that must have seemed to last for eternity, the Father placed His own son in the hands of humanity for the greatest sacrifice in history.
In that manger, so very many years earlier, it's unlikely Joseph, Mary and their humble shepherd guests truly comprehended the revelation of God's plan before them. Yet it's not completely lost. In this wondrous moment of celebration, the Father didn't send a mighty king to worship the Christ-child. No wise men yet bearing costly gifts. Only simple shepherds.
Shepherds who understood sacrifice. Simple men who identified with holding something so precious and pure in their arms only to hand it over to the slayers.
Scripture does not include their conversation. It doesn't record all that transpired between these men and Yeshua's parents. I dare not conjecture too much but I suspect there may have been a moment when Mary caught the eye of one of these simple shepherds and recognition passed between them. The Savior of the world. The Lamb of God. Born to die. The Gift of Sacrifice.
The Word says Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. May we also be reminded this wonderful Christmas season to ponder all these things in our hearts. In the midst of gifts and decorations and parties and goodies may we not lose sight of the meaning of Yeshua's birth. May we, like Him, consider our lives not something to be gained, but to be given.
*While many celebrate Christ's birth on December 25, it is more likely He was born sometime around April or during another biblical feast. There are many reasons for this but that for another time.
Michelle Lynn Nipp
I believe God wrote a wondrous story – His story – to capture the hearts and minds of all His creation. My passion is sharing this story! Through word studies, bible teaching and other resources, I want to see you experience the absolute awesomeness and wonder of history’s greatest story, the Bible.