Discover the hidden meaning behind Jesus' birth. This isn't just a sweet Christmas story - it's a carefully designed message showing how God planned to rescue people from the very first moments of Jesus' life.
00:00 Jesus’ Birth
1:05 Bethlehem
3:30 Migdal Edar – place of preparation of Passover lambs
6:21 The Shepherds See Jesus
6:51 Jesus, The Lamb of God
7:21 Prophecy Fulfilled
8:29 Activation – Prayer
The Emperor of Rome demanded a census. Joseph and Mary journeyed from Nazareth to Bethlehem because Joseph had to register at his place of birth. They traveled over 70 miles of rough roads through hilly country. Mary had her baby in Bethlehem. In a stable because many people traveled for the census and there were no rooms available.
Shepherds were watching sheep in the fields nearby.
“Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared in radiant splendor before them, lighting up the field with the blazing glory of God, and the shepherds were terrified! But the angel reassured them, saying, “Don’t be afraid, for I have come to bring you good news, the most joyous news the world has ever heard! And it is for everyone everywhere! For today in Bethlehem a rescuer was born for you. He is the Lord Yahweh, the Messiah. You will recognize him by this miraculous sign: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in the feeding trough!”
Then all at once in the night sky, a vast number of glorious angels appeared, the very armies of heaven! And they all praised God, singing:
“Glory to God in the highest realms of heaven!
For there is peace and a good hope given to the sons of men.”
Luke 2:9-14 TPT
Then the angels were gone.
Amazing news! The Messiah, the Savior, has been born. The Shepherds excitedly decided to go see him.
But what is the sign the angel told them?
Luke 2:12 TPT
“You will recognize him by this miraculous sign: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in the feeding trough!”
A baby wrapped in strips of cloths and lying in a feeding trough is a miraculous sign? What would that mean to the shepherds? Why would that be a sign to them, and us, that Jesus really was the Messiah they had been waiting for over 2 thousand years?
On the outskirts of Bethlehem was Migdal Edar (which means “the watchtower of the flock.”). It was used as a lookout and place of safety from enemies in times past.
But now it is the place where the flocks that produced the Passover lambs are kept. One lamb was needed for each family for Passover. Passover was the annual celebration of God delivering Israel from slavery in Egypt. Pharoah refused to let Israel go. So God said:
Exodus 12:12-13 EASY Translation
“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.”
God accepted the blood of a spotless lamb to take the place of the sins of the people of Israel that night. God told the Israelites to do this every year, as a celebration of Passover.
These lambs had to be perfect, without blemish (a blemish symbolized sin).
The Passion Translation explains in a note to Luke 2:12.
The shepherds that night were possibly near Bethlehem at Migdal Edar, “the [watch] tower of the flock.” …. It was at the lower floor of the watchtower that the birthing of the Passover lambs would take place. Selected ewes that were about to give birth would be brought there. After the birth of the lambs, the priestly shepherds would wrap the lambs in cloth and lay them in a manger lined with soft hay to prevent them from hurting themselves, for Passover lambs must be unblemished with no bruise or broken bone.”
It is possible the shepherds who prepared the lambs for Passover (at Migdal Edar) were the ones to whom the angel revealed that Jesus, the Savior, had been born.
But even if the shepherds weren’t from Migdal Edar, they were local shepherds and would know about the process the sacrificial lambs went through when they were born.
Jesus was treated as sacrificial lambs for Passover were treated.
But who among them could guess that, 33 years later, during Passover, Jesus would be crucified. Thus fulfilling many prophetic scriptures.
Isaiah prophesied this:
Isaiah 53:7 NLT
He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
Later John the Baptist when he first saw Jesus said “Look the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29.
Through the circumstances of Jesus birth, God was announcing that His sacrifice for your sins and mine had come into the world as a newborn baby. Jesus was unblemished (sin free). He would freely give his life as a sacrifice, the once for all time sacrifice to pay for the sins of the world, past, present, and future.