And the angel said to them (the shepherds), “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 2:10-12)We all know the story of Jesus’ birth. What’s remarkable, however, is what the angel tells the shepherds about the Messiah’s arrival: “And this will be a sign to you.” If you are a shepherd, you probably expect this sign will be pretty impressive.

If this is a royal child you might expect the angel to say, “You’ll recognize the baby because you will find him wrapped in silk and lying in a golden crib; surrounded by servants and living in a magnificent palace because that’s how Kings come into in this world.

But the angel doesn’t say anything remotely close to that. The angel says, “You’ll find this baby, this King, born in a stable, wrapped in rags, laid in a feeding trough.” Meaning what? Meaning, this will be a sign to you; it will be a clue, a tip-off that Jesus is no ordinary king.

The King of the universe, makes an incision in time and slips into the stream of human history in a little bundle, wrapped in obscurity, poverty and humility, because this is the mark of the Savior. In other words, it signifies to us the kind of Messiah he is. See you on Sunday.