The Greatest Christmas Song – Why was the Baby there?
O Come All Ye Faithful may contain a lot of theology, but it’s almost purely for the purpose of worship. You might say, it doesn’t explain a lot. But we do get some important hints in the next verse. (By the way, if you’ve missed the previous posts – introduction, the reveal, and then verse 1, verse 2, and verses 3-5.)
We would embrace Thee, with love and awe;
Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly?
Why was the Baby in the manger? (Remember – He’s not there now! But we are looking at the story in the Scripture, and worshipping as we go.) The answer: “For us sinners.”
There are few moments that communicate the tender love of God so well as the moment when Mary laid Jesus into the animal feeding trough. It was the best place – I’m sure she made sure the hay was clean, and that Jesus was well wrapped. It was a place where He would be warm.
But – it was not a palace. It was not a crib. It was the only place available. Mary and Joseph were very poor.
“Very God”, as verse 2 says – became so vulnerable and weak and – human!
Paul wrote this:
…when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Galatians 4:4-7
He came to “redeem” us – to buy us back – from under the judgement of God. And so we ourselves become beloved sons and daughters of God, with the Spirit within us.
Some people complain when worship songs focus on the fact that Jesus died out of love for us – because that was not the only reason. He died in obedience to the Father. He died to bring glory to God. Yes, we can focus too much on ourselves in some of our worship.
But love was a reason why He came. The Father, Son and Spirit together were in agreement to save us. Yes, it was to bring glory to God. But it is also a great demonstration of His love.
And so we sing Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly? John said it well –
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:9-10
Paul wrote:
For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
And in Romans:
…hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:5
Did you notice it? We see in those three texts the love of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. But in a special way, the Son “explains” God to us. As John wrote:
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
John 1:18
So we do look at the Baby in the manger in love, and awe. What love! Is there any greater love we could focus on this Christmas?