What Child Is This?

It’s not unusual to see nativity scenes this time of year in front of churches and homes. There are nativity scenes with real people and real animals, fancy scenes adorned with gold and illuminated brightly, and rustic scenes that are simple but effective. While there are different kinds of nativity scenes, most have the same central characters. Let’s take a moment to think about some of the people depicted in the nativity scene and some people that weren’t present, but important to understanding who Christ is at Christmas and throughout the year.

In Mark 8:27-29 we read a conversation between Jesus and His apostle Peter. Jesus asks Peter, “Who do people say I am?” Peter’s response is, “The Christ.” I always thought that Christ was simply another name for Jesus, but it's so much more than a name. It is a title. Christ (Greek) or Messiah (Hebrew) means “anointed one”.

What does it mean to be anointed? In the Old Testament, there were jobs that were so special, so critical to the service of God, that God Himself chose the person He wanted to fulfill that lifetime position. Once chosen, that person went through a ceremony that included anointing that person by pouring oil on their forehead. There were three anointed positions in the Old Testament: prophets, priests and kings.

In Luke 1:5-15 we find the story of a priest and his wife who gave birth to a prophet. You don’t usually see Zechariah and Elizabeth depicted in a nativity scene, but they are important to understanding Christ. Zechariah and Elizabeth are both descendants of Aaron, or the line of priests. A priest is someone who performed animal sacrifice to God in order to cover the sins of the Israelites. Priests were mediators for a holy, sinless God and the deeply flawed, sinful humanity.

Zechariah. The priest, and his wife Elizabeth produced John the Baptist, the prophet (see Luke 1:76) who would make way for Christ. A prophet, by definition, is someone chosen by God to speak on His behalf, but since John isn’t depicted in our nativity scene, let’s look at another group of men who spoke of the good news. We find them in a field tending to their sheep when an angel appears to them telling them of the Christ (Luke 2:8-20). Why would God choose to reveal His only Son to a group of people that others looked down on? Maybe because He knew they would spread the good news of Jesus’ birth as shepherds of men, but maybe He knew they had time for Him when the religious crowd did not.

The third group of anointed people are the kings. Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, was a descendant of King David and Jesus was from the house and line of David. A king was in charge of the entire government and all government officials answered to him. During the time of Christ’s birth, the King, Herod, was wicked and tried to have Jesus killed.

Now that we’ve learned a little about three anointed positions, let's look at two important places. Where does our nativity scene take place? In Bethlehem where Jesus is born. Bethlehem, the City of King David. Bethlehem, which means “the house of bread” is the birthplace of Jesus, the Bread of Life (John 6:35). Jesus is born in Bethlehem, but He is raised in Nazareth, which means “shoot” or “branch”. Jeremiah 23:5 reads, “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up to David a righteous branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.”

The Branch that is raised up from King David’s line is Jesus, the CHrist, the Messiah, the Anointed One. How is Jesus the Anointed One? He fulfills all three roles: priest, prophet, and King. Hebrews 4:15,16 reads, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Christ as our priest, our mediator can do so much more than a human priest who sacrifices animals to cover the sins of the people. The blood of Christ, our priest forgives our sins, releasing us from the shame of sin (Hebrews 9:11-14).

In the Old Testament, prophets would begin their message to the people from God with the phrase, “Thus says the Lord.” Because Jesus is God He can, naturally, speak for God and say to the people, “I say to you…”

This brings us to Christ’s most important role, our King. Isaiah 9:6,7 reads, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Price of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

If you look closely at our nativity scene, you will see yourself. As Christians, we are to be like John, speaking about Christ to those around us. We should be like the shepherds and angels saying, “Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.” (Luke 1:14).

Nativity scenes are put out at Christmas to remember the birth of our Savior, but the scene should never end there. What began in a manger ends in an empty tomb. He came to earth as a baby and reigns on high as our King!

Written by Heather Moore