“And the angel of the Lord said to the shepherds, ‘You will find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger’” - (Luke 2:12). The swaddling clothes were more than a simple comfort, but a wrap given to protect the perfect, ceremonial, sacrificial lambs from blemish. They were then laid in the manger, safe from the hooves of barn animals, and safe from insects that seek to infest the wooly coat and feed on their skin. They were wrapped, protected, and set apart for an important purpose.
Baby Jesus was the “Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world.” The place of His birth wasn’t accidental or coincidental, but magnificently Providential. Why the swaddling clothes for Him? Why not His mother’s coat or shawl? It represented a moment in history that the whole earth had groaned in waiting for… The Perfect Lamb of God had come! Not to reign as a triumphant conqueror, but to die for our sins, as our Sacrificial Lamb. The sin was ours, not His…The death sentence was ours, not His… But He came willingly to be our Spotless Substitute. There’s never been a Greater Gift!
Thirty three years later, as planned, He died the cruelest of deaths for our sins on the cross. The death penalty was paid in full, never to have to be repeated. “Taking Jesus’ body they wrapped it with spices and strips of linen...” - (John 19:40). These grave clothes binding the body of our Lord, were drenched in His perfect blood. What a dismal scene! Where was the Victory? The Glory? But little did the forces of evil know, death itself had just been given a death blow! The gates of Heaven were now open to all who would repent of their sins and receive His gift on the cross. Everything had changed! Death could not hold Him… the grave could not keep Him… the clothes could not bind Him… Victory had come!
Our Perfect Lamb rose from the grave, leaving his grave clothes behind. The part that wrapped His head was folded and left neatly by itself away from the body linens (John 20:7). In Jewish times, a folded cloth or napkin (rather than a tossed napkin), meant that the person using them would be back-that they weren’t finished dinner yet, so as to not finalize the meal yet. It was just as symbolic as the swaddling clothes for the lambs. He would return!
And now He reigns robed in full Glory, soon to return for His bride. Only God can transform a sacrificial cloth, to a death shroud, to an eternal Royal Garment. And because He wore it for us, we, too, “shall be clothed in bridal garments white as snow” - (Revelation 19:8). “May all praise and glory and power be His, for He alone is worthy to be praised.”
Comments