Throughout the world at Christmas, we will see nativities displayed. Some will be ceramic figures on a table in a house. Other larger examples of nativity will be displayed on front lawns that are lit up. Still other live nativities will be held in front of churches with Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, the angels, some animals, shepherds and the wise men.
Now we know from scripture that this picture, while simpler, is not historically accurate. The shepherds showed up while Jesus was still in a manger according to Luke 2:16. The wise men visited Jesus when Mary and Joseph were living in a house according to Matthew 2:11.
Still the thought of the two groups previously mentioned speaks to whom Jesus came to redeem. The shepherds represent the poor whom Jesus came to save. Many of them were of Jewish decent. The wise men represent the rich and the rest of the world. They represent secular people who came to worship the one they had identified through reading the scripture and following the star to the Messiah.
These two groups were illustrated to me through two different encounters that I recently experienced. The first encounter I had with a young man who came to the US for a conference at one of our churches. He made me think of the shepherds. I found out through our conversation that he was from a city in the northern part of Israel. Before October 7, 2023 his town’s population was 35,000. Today, due to the war there are only 1,000 living in the city. The Christian church plant where he was on staff had been remodeled for worship in 2023, but it had not been used for that purpose. It was being used to cook meals for the Israeli troops who have been stationed in that area. He shared with me that over 100 missiles had been shot at his city. As I thought about the young man and his church, I was encouraged that they were still a light to the Jewish people of Israel and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The second encounter was with the “wise men” or a couple from the east that I met while grilling hamburgers at one of our BSM’s. This sweet couple flew from their home country to the USA to work on post graduate degrees. They came from the East to study and yet God meant it as an opportunity for them to hear about Jesus. I must confess in the past that my thoughts of Iran were not the best but the more I interacted with them on that day the more I became convinced that Jesus came to earth for them as well. Truly God had brought them to America to hear from followers of Christ how to experience a personal relationship with Jesus.
As I reflect upon those two encounters and the nativity, I am reminded of the fact that Jesus came for all people. God’s desire is that all the world would experience the gospel in their lives and be transformed. As you and I approach Christmas this year may we not forget that the transforming power of the gospel can literally change the world.
Merry Christmas