Christmas Story: John the Baptist said of Jesus, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29 Every detail of the birth of Jesus was a brilliantly placed piece of the prophetic puzzle. The fact that Jesus fulfilled even the smallest details of the ancient Law and the Prophets is a stunning part of his miraculous Birth. God had a plan for the shepherds of Bethlehem: they were not randomly chosen. The birth of the firstborn lambs was very significant, especially in Bethlehem, where the Jews raised thousands of firstborn lambs for the temple sacrifices. Not only did the local shepherds care for the lambs, but it was also their job to certify the firstborns and set them apart for temple use. Each of those chosen lambs was a foretelling of the future Atonement that would eventually be provided by God through the promised Messiah. So, on the night of Christ’s birth, God sent those specially-certified shepherds to a stable, in order to observe Mary’s firstborn son. The significance of all this would not be known until much later, but there’s no doubt those shepherds had the most exciting night of their life! As John the Baptist predicted in the Bible verse above, Jesus Christ became the final sacrifice of Atonement: eliminating the need for any more blood offerings. The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities... For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Christ, and through Christ to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Colossians 1:15-20
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