Behold the Lamb

One of my favorite things about Advent is finding seemingly serendipitous connections between the Old Testament and the Nativity story. Today’s reflection is no exception. Except it might not all be true. . .

Being a librarian, I know the value to going back to the original source. For most of what we learn about Christ’s birth, that comes from the pages of Scripture. Some things are historical and backed up by archeology. But this story is hard to pin down. A little bit from the extra-Biblical Mishnah, some from messianic rabbis and theological writers, but most passed along on blogs like this one.

Regardless, it is a fascinating thing to consider, so I will share it:

In the fields of Bethlehem, there were shepherds keeping watch over their flocks—we know this from Luke chapter 2. But what if they weren’t ordinary shepherds. Many believe that the nearness to Jerusalem means the sheep kept in this region were meant for high holiday sacrifices at the temple, most specifically Passover. Temple-appointed shepherds, if you will.

There are no recorded laws about the shepherds keeping sheep for the sacrifice, only what the lambs were to look like: without blemish or spots. Whether of not priests had assigned the shepherds to that Bethlehem field, I have no doubt that at least some of these lambs made their way to Jerusalem for sacrifice.

But here’s the most interesting part: Some believe that to keep the blemishless lambs clean, the shepherds would wrap them in “swaddling clothes,” maybe even leftovers from used priestly garments, and to keep from injury, they would lay them in a manger.

When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they say,

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10b-12)

Not very specific directions. One part of this story sheds light on that. Many believe the “Tower of the Flock” from Micah 4:8 is Migdal Edar, a specific structure for birthing and determining the lambs for sacrifice on the outskirts of Bethlehem. With the information that the baby would be “wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger,” there was only one place matching that description, and the shepherds would have known where that was.

Again, these will likely remain just theories, so take them with a grain of salt. But, they are super fascinating to think about and help point us to what we do know. Scripture is full of parallels between Jesus and the sacrificial lamb. Indeed, “the story of the lamb” as Tim Keller put it in his 2002 sermon by the same name, is a Bible-long story. He says, “At the very center of Biblical faith is the bloody death of an innocent victim.” God cannot forgive without payment—someone had to bear the price.

During the Exodus, God tells Moses He is sending a massive destructive force (death) against the Egyptian firstborn sons, and the only way the Israelites could protect themselves was with the blood of a lamb, spread across the doorposts of their houses. The lamb paid the price, on behalf of the Hebrew sons. But this was not the last chapter. As incredible as this Passover lamb was, they needed a deeper one, for a more radical and long-lasting salvation.

Fast forward to the Last Supper, where Jesus essentially tells His disciples, “I am the Lamb.” Keller imagines Jesus’ actions and words during the Passover meal to say, “My death will be the central event to which all of the history of God’s relationship with the world has been moving.”

Hannah Brencher concludes her essay on this very topic with this: “He [God] doesn’t pick random locations. . . He picked the breeding grounds for Passover lambs to be the birthing grounds for the lamb of God-- blood poured out for all of us.”

Bethlehem was chosen for a reason. The image of shepherds and sheep throughout Scripture were chosen for a reason. Regardless of theorized details in this story, we can confidently join John the Baptist and say, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

Sacrifice of Incarnation

I have read more awe-inspiring and deeply meaningful blog posts this Advent season than ever before. Maybe there are more writers writing relevant words for the publications peppering my newsfeed and RSS feeds. Maybe I’m more attuned to the sacred words that rise above the fluff of political and social bravado. Maybe this Advent is just more significant, juxtaposed with the current events of our fallen world.

I wish I could share all their words with you. My web browser currently has more than thirty tabs open. Most of them are articles I am waiting to read. Half of them don’t pertain to Advent, yet with Advent on my mind, every passage of Scripture and spiritual phrase relates, somehow. This is one reason why I treasure Advent so much. It is a season which colors all of our fears, loves, sorrows, and reflections—in the light of Him who came. Meek and mild. Humble and lowly. Yet full of life, and strength, and Light!

Advent makes us remember that the Jesus we read about throughout the rest of the year, is the same Jesus who became Immanuel, God with us. While the power of the cross is what our Christian faith is based on, I often feel more awed by the power of the incarnation. One of my favorite bloggers, Vaneetha Rendall Risner, is a woman whose physical and emotional suffering has produced beautiful fruit through her writing. In her recent post about the Incarnation, she writes,

“The incarnation is an incomprehensible sacrifice for us. God entered our world, giving up all that he had before, to limit himself so that we might have eternal life. The sacrifice he made for us was not just at the cross; it began at the incarnation when God laid aside all his glory and took on human form, with all its limitations, and was born as a baby in a stable in Bethlehem.”

Risner has a powerful story, which she has just made into a book, entitled The Scars that Have Shaped Me. It is high on my to-read list. As many of you know, I spent this past Fall writing about suffering, pain, and loneliness. While I am far from done, I am so thankful for this season of Advent, because it has turned my inwardly-focused reflections outwards. Advent is a time when we can be honest and vulnerable  with God, because He shows us His humility and the messiness of the world in the story of the Incarnation. When all the emotions of the holiday season cause us to become weighed down and overwhelmed, Advent is a safe place to dialogue about the vast topics of death, racism, loneliness, singleness, rejection, fear, displacement, and war. The beautiful part: this is not just about our words, but our actions and reactions. Love came down and took human form so that He might show us the way. He has shown us the way. Walk in it.