The Lamb of God

“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.” – Luke 2:10-11

Have you ever wondered how the shepherds knew where to go look for the newborn Jesus? Bethlehem was not a small city, and it was overcrowded with visitors responding to the census, yet in all the hubbub, the shepherds knew exactly where to go simply based on the angel’s statement, “And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12). A manger is merely a manufactured trough, often hewn out of stone and usually filled with water or feed for the animals. It would be a common fixture in and around Bethlehem, which again raises the question of how did the shepherds know to which one to go?

Just on the outskirts of Bethlehem is an area known as the “shepherds’ field.” This was a special field manned by special shepherds, sometimes referred to as Levitical shepherds, to care for special sheep, designated to be raised and eventually sacrificed in the temple of God in Jerusalem. These animals had to be carefully tended to as sacrificial animals had to be “without spot or blemish” (Deuteronomy 15:21) in order to be acceptable for use in the temple. In order to keep watch on the sheep, there was a stone structure, or tower, where a shepherd could keep watch over the entire field, while others were on the ground tending the flocks. This tower was known as the Migdal Eder, or the “tower of the flock.”

The Migdal Eder also served another purpose. On the ground level, the tower had a safe haven for ewes to give birth to their lambs. Here the priestly shepherds could protect the ewes during the birthing process and once born, they would wrap the little lambs in “swaddling clothes” to keep them from injuring themselves during the perinatal period, thus keeping them “without spot or blemish.”

When the angels announced to the shepherds that they would find Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, the shepherds knew exactly where to go… the Migdal Eder. This was place described by Micah centuries earlier, and this prophecy was most likely well known to these shepherds. “And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem” (Micah 4:8).

It was here in the Migdal Eder where God’s ultimate sacrificial Lamb would be born. In Bethlehem’s sacred fields, set aside for the sheep that were to be sacrificed to God in His holy temple, His perfect Lamb, Jesus, our perfect sacrifice for sin, first came into the world. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger, fulfilling God’s promise to send us a Saviour. It was to this place that the shepherds “… came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger” (Luke 2:16) exactly as the angel had said.

There are no coincidences in the Bible. The fact that Jesus was born in the place specified for the sacrificial lambs, and that He was referred to by John as “the Lamb of God” shows the divine execution of God’s plan and how it aligns perfectly with the Scriptures. Jesus was born to be the Saviour of the world, the perfect Lamb of God who would one day sacrifice His life upon an old rugged cross that we might have the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life in heaven with Him.

Your only Son, no sin to hide
But You have sent Him from Your side
To walk upon this guilty sod
And to become the Lamb of God
Your gift of love they crucified
They laughed and scorned Him as He died
The humble King they named a fraud
And sacrificed the Lamb of God
 
Oh, Lamb of God
Sweet Lamb of God
I love the holy Lamb of God
Oh, wash me in His precious blood
My Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God

(from “Lamb of God” by Twyla Paris)

“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”  – John 1:29

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The real gift of Christmas is Jesus.