The Dirty Stinky Manger

I remember when my first was born. They put her into this sterilized bassinet on top of a white gauze pad. The nurses wore sterilized gloves to touch her and hold her. Everything around my baby was pristine and sterilized. She came out pink and tiny with a little bald head. (I have an affinity for little bald babies). My baby was born in a pristine, sterilized hospital room with extra doctors standing at the wait, because she had pooped in utero.

It’s Christmas time. Time to reflect upon the reason for the season. And that reason, of course, is Jesus Christ. Christmas is our celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth. So significant was His birth that much of the whole world celebrates Him two thousand years later. We celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The birth of the great I Am, come to this earth to be born as a baby. To grow up in this world for the sole purpose of sacrificing Himself for the sins of the whole world.

The Bible is rich with symbolism. The whole Old Testament is full of symbolism of Jesus Christ. It is often said that the Old Testament is Jesus Christ concealed, and the New Testament is Jesus Christ revealed. God loves symbolism to point to His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus’ birth is no exception.

Look where He was born. It was not a sterilized hospital like my daughter. It wasn’t a home like most births were back then. It wasn’t even a hotel room. No, Jesus was born in a barn where they kept the animals. Dirty, stinky farm animals surrounded Jesus Christ when He was born. The hospital where my daughter was born would have had a conniption fit if some lady’s little dog would have escaped her purse and dared to strut the hospital’s labor and delivery ward. It would have been pandemonium.

Jesus was surrounded by barn yard animals. Imagine the smell. Imagine the filth. No sterilized pads to place the baby on. No nurses with sterilized gloves. When Jesus is born He is placed in a manger. I often have a romantic view of what a manger is. I think of beautiful Christmas cards or Nativity scenes in which baby Jesus lies in a nice wooden manger.

A manger isn’t a cute little wooden bed to lay babies in. A manger is a feeding trough. A place to put the hay for the cows and donkeys to eat from. A place where the animals stand over and slobber down on the hay they devour. It is a useful tool to keep animals fed and happy. It wasn’t a new manger. It was well used by many an animal to eat from.

People often say the birth place of Jesus was so humble as He was humble. And yes, that’s true, but I think there is a bigger picture here.

Why a feeding trough? After Jesus was born He is placed in a feeding trough? Jesus is placed in a manger that normally feeds barn animals. I believe this is more symbolism God is using. Think of communion. When we take communion the Bible says:

“and when He had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘Take eat, this is My body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me,’ 1 Corinthians 11:24

Jesus was placed in a manger to show that He is born for us to spiritually feast upon. His body was going to be the sacrifice for our sins. Just like the food that was placed in the manger the animals needed to live off of. Jesus body was to be the body sacrificed for us that we may be made to live.

Wow! Right from the get go, we are given a picture of who Jesus Christ was and what His purpose was. He told us,

“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

Jesus wasn’t laid in a pristine bassinet, he was laid in a feeding trough, “I am the bread of life.” He was laid in that manger, helpless, unable to fight back, unable to defend Himself in any way, because we are the farm animals who need Him to live.

As we go through this beautiful Christmas season, remember Jesus Christ. Remember that He was placed in a feeding trough for you. God had His purpose for Him, He was to be the bread of Life, the Savior of the World. Take eat, this is MY body.