Last week I wrote about the many details of Christmas that show up again at Easter:exceptional humiliation, special announcements, fulfilled prophecies, and odd details about how He was clothed and where He was laid. Is there a point to these little similarities? I think so. It seems to me that these details are hints that we ought to see the birth of Christ in light of the death of Christ.The romantic details of Bethlehem foreshadow the horrific details of Golgotha. To put it more directly, we miss the point of Christ’s birth if we don’t recognize the point of His death.
Actually,you don’t have to interpret the details to know that Christmas points directly to the cross. For example, the angels told the shepherds that the one born in Bethlehem was “a Savior,” implying His purpose to atone for our sin. Simeon’s prophecy also foreshadowed the crucifixion when he warned Mary: “…a sword will pierce through your own soul also.” Clearly, Christ’s birth cannot be separated from His death.
Isn’t it interesting, though, that these details have directly opposite effects on some people? Some of the same people who love the humiliation of His birth scoff at the humiliation of His death. Some who warm to the angels’announcement of a Savior scoff at Pilate’s placard of a King. They find the baby’s linen wrappings romantic but find the burial shroud repulsive.
What about you? The manger and angel choir and linen cloths are meant to forge an unbreakable link between Christ’s birth and His death. Do you rejoice at His birth but scoff at His death? Or do you worship at His birth precisely because it points you to His death? How do the details define you?