“… And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and 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 among those with whom he is pleased!”
…Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
Luke 2:12-14, 19 ESV
The angel told the shepherds the sign for recognizing the Savior… a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths… lying in a manger… a sign which gave great glory to God as highlighted by the heavenly chorus…
Mary pondered…
What did she make of this sign from God…? a newborn baby tucked in a feed trough… the Savior…? a glory to God…?
Circumstances most humble… and inconvenient… brought on not by their own choice… but by government officials…
For His praise… honor… and distinction… God Most High… orchestrated events for the sign of the Savior to be very lowly…
Did Mary wonder what kind of God this is…? who is glorified in this way…?
She and her husband… most humble… both in means and reputation… at least since the pregnancy…
I wonder if all the gossip effected Joseph’s business as a carpenter… could it be there was no room in the inn because he couldn’t pay the inflated price…? brought on by short supply and big demand…?
What does it say about this God Most High…? who sets His Son up in a family who couldn’t afford the price of a lamb for His presentation at the temple…? doves offered instead as the law allows…?
It’s not the grand entrance the world expects of its kings… Where’s the glory…? the pomp…? the majesty…?
Oh… for one brief moment it came from heavenly hosts… a supernatural birth announcement… given to… shepherds…?! those considered lowliest… in the social strata of the day…
Who is this God of great glory…?
He is a God who empties Himself… of power… majesty… honor… to enter the world which rebelled against His Word and broke all the good He made… so He could set it right… redeem what was stolen by the enemy we didn’t recognize…
Because the world doesn’t recognize the enemy… it doesn’t recognize the King…
He came to His own, and His own did not receive him.
John 1:11 NKJV
Who is this God Most High…?
Mary pondered… but rest assured… this one highly favored by Him… pondered in peace…
“…on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!”
Do you recognize the glory of the Most High…? in the humble…? the mundane…? the places you find yourself most vulnerable…?
He’s there… it’s where He shows up… among the poor… the needy…
But most importantly… do you know His peace…? which reflects His favor…?
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.
Micah 5:2-5 ESV
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