The Christmas Carols: Past, Present, & Future HopeSample

Day 18

Away in a Manger

Read: Isaiah 53:2; Luke 2:12; Hebrews 4:15-16

After Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph placed Him in a manger, which is a feeding trough for livestock. This reality is sung about in “Away in a Manger” and feels commonplace to us since the Christmas story is so familiar. However, have you ever wondered WHY God had Jesus placed in a manger on that first Christmas day?

While the repurposed manger certainly symbolized the humility of Jesus, Luke 2:12 gives the specific reason for the trough: “And this will be a sign for you, you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloth and lying in the manger.” These words, spoken by the angels to the shepherds, indicate that the manger crib was the sign to let the shepherds know which baby was Jesus. In other words, there were other babies in Bethlehem that night, but only one could be found wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger - Jesus!

Since all Jewish mothers wrapped infants in cloths, it was the manger that highlighted Jesus’ identity as the Son of God. The manger was a spotlight. The shepherds would go house to house until they found the baby in the feeding trough. When they found THAT child, they would worship Him.

It is significant that the BED Jesus lay in was the distinguishing factor as to His identity. This lets us know that He otherwise LOOKED like a normal baby. He was not glowing in holiness or preaching in perfect Aramaic. In fact, he was probably crying, despite what the lyrics of “Away in a Manger” suggest. Everything about Jesus looked normal, so the angels could not identify Jesus to the shepherds through His physical appearance; they needed to describe His bed.

This simple point reminds us that the Son of God truly did become the fully human Son of Man. Hebrews 4:15-16 confirms this. Therefore, Jesus knows what it means to live a normal human life. He did so in every way . . . except that He did not sin. Thus, He can help us and forgive us as we deal with the sin in our own lives.

As we sing “Away in a Manger” this Christmas season, be reminded that Jesus’ bed (not His body) revealed His uniqueness that first Christmas night. He knows normal, and so He can help normal people like you and me.

Away in a Manger

Away in a manger
No crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus
Laid down His sweet head.
The stars in the sky
Looked down where He lay.
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing.
The Baby awakes.
The little Lord Jesus
No crying He makes.
I love Thee, Lord Jesus
Look down from the sky,
And stay by my cradle,
Till morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus.
I ask Thee to stay,
Close by me forever
And love me I pray.
Bless all the dear children
In Thy tender care,
And fit us for heaven,
To live with Thee there.