When we think of swaddling clothes, as mentioned in the story of Luke 2, we generally think of white blankets wrapped around the infant baby Jesus. We see these simple bands of cloth as a sign of humility and poverty. However, it is probable that our image of these strips of cloth is actually very wrong.
First, it will be helpful to understand what we do know from the scriptures about swaddling. In Ezekiel 16:4 we learn of the practice of swaddling when the Lord compares Israel to an illegitimate child who has not been properly cared for or swaddled because they had rejected the Lord. It reads, “And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.” From this we learn that washing, salting and swaddling was actually a sign of being properly cared for.
We can safely assume that Jesus at his birth would also have been washed and salted. In ancient Jewish culture, salt was a sign of a covenant and was used during sacrifices at the temple. Being salted at birth was a sign or symbol that Jesus was not only part of the covenant, but was literally the reason for the covenant.
From other ancient traditions about swaddling we also learn that swaddling was done with specific bands that were embroidered by the bride during the year between betrothal and the marriage feast. The cloth would have been around five to six yards long and four to five inches wide and would be embroidered with signs of the family tribe. Because Joseph was of the tribe of David through Judah, the swaddling bands of Jesus may have included depictions of the lion of Judah or of the stem of Jesse.
Swaddling bands with a lion of Judah
According to some scholars these bands were then used during the marriage feast, being wrapped around the hands of the bride and groom symbolizing the tying together, or unification of the two through the swaddling bands. These same bands would then be used to wrap their child at birth, perhaps symbolizing that the child is wrapped and in essence protected by the very same covenants that wrapped the newlywed couple on their wedding night.
Swaddling bands wrapped around the hands for the marriage ceremony
The fact that Jesus was wrapped, more than anything, was a sign that he was not an illegitimate child of God, but instead had not only been claimed by God the Father, but by Joseph, who in essence was adopting Jesus into his royal lineage of David.
How profound is the fact that Jesus, the very creator and giver of the Gospel covenant, was washed, salted, and wrapped to symbolize the very covenant He, as Jehovah, had given to the ancient prophets of old.
The story of the birth of John the Baptist begins with the visit of Marry to Elizabeth while they are both pregnant (see Luke 1:39-80). Elizabeth immediately recognizes that Mary will be the mother of the Savior, of the Messiah.
Mary then praises the Lord for this wonderful blessing that she will have. This prayer is known today by the title of the Magnificat (the first word in the Latin). It is interesting that the blessing or praise that Mary recites is very similar to the praise that Hannah recites after her son Samuel is born. If you will remember, Hannah was barren and unable to have children. When she came to the Tabernacle to pray unto the Lord, she was promised that she would be able to have a child. Once her son Samuel was born, she came again to the Tabernacle and praised God. The prayer that she offers is very similar to that of Mary's. Notice that she begins with almost the exact same phrasing as does Mary. “And Hannah prayed and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation” (1 Samuel 2:1) Mary proclaims, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:46-47)
Mary stays with Elizabeth for about three months. However, for some reason she leaves before the birth of John the Baptist (see Luke 2:55-56). John is then born, circumcised, and on the eighth day is named. The family all gathers around and rejoices, which interestingly enough is unlike the story of Mary who will have no family or friends around her. In fact, the only people that will gather around her are complete strangers. As the family declares that the name should be Zacharias, the name of his father, Zacharias immediately asks for writing tablet. This tablet most likely was a wax tablet that you would impress or engrave with a stylist. The first thing that comes out of his mouth is a pronouncing of a blessing; a blessing not only on his own child but a blessing on all of Israel.
Recreated wax tablet, similar to what Zacharias may have used
It is interesting that Zacharias now has the chance to pronounce the blessing that he never was able to pronounce on the day he saw the angel Gabriel. A blessing that truly will bless all people because through his son, John the Baptist, the era of the Messiah will be ushered in. And as Jesus proclaimed, John truly was the greatest prophet ever to live.
Joseph is one of my favorite characters of the nativity story. I think it's because he not only shows an incredible amount of obedience to the Lord, but more importantly, he shows a great level of kindness and forgiveness to those around him.
Joseph was a carpenter or craftsman most likely of stone, not of wood as is often depicted in art work. According to Matthew, Joseph actually lived in Bethlehem, not in Nazareth as the Lukan account records. According to Jewish custom we also know that Joseph was most likely quite young. In fact, he was probably only about seventeen to twenty years old when he was engaged to Mary. We also know that Joseph knew the law and the scriptures, and more importantly, he not only knew how to obey them, but he knew how to use the law to bless the lives of those around him.
To better understand the story of Joseph it will help to have a historical setting for the marriage process during the time of Christ. There were three parts of the Jewish marriage: first, there was the betrothal, then there was a waiting period, and then there was the actual wedding feast.
During the betrothal, the groom and the bride would actually exchanged wedding vows, very similar to what we would have in a modern day wedding. During this time, they were literally considered man and wife. During the next phase, the waiting period, the groom would prepare a home, and the family would prepare for the enormous wedding feast that would occur. The third phase was the actual wedding feast. On this night, the groom would go to the bride's home, followed by a huge procession of lights and torches and lamps. There he would take his bride back to his home, or to his parent’s home, and the feast would begin! The feast would be huge and could last up to seven days long, which would help you understand why they needed a year to prepare. At the end of the night, the bride and the groom would consummate their marriage. However, up to this point they were still were considered husband and wife. So if the wife at any point during the betrothal process was found to be pregnant, according to the law, the husband had to divorce her.
Now naturally there are two ways for a woman to become pregnant. First, she would break her vows that she had made by committing adultery, and second she would be raped, which would mean she would still be innocent.
If the husband found out that his bride was pregnant he had two options. He first could bring her to court, where there would be witnesses and a judge who would try to determine whether she was guilty or not of committing adultery, and second the groom could divorce his bride privately. Now this does not mean that it would be private in the fact that nobody would know about it, everybody would still know about it! Nazareth was a very small town and everybody would know about what was going on. By divorcing Mary privately, Joseph not only saved Mary from humiliation (by not having to be brought before a public court), but more importantly he saved her life because of the fact that accusations were never brought against her, meaning that nobody could accuse her of being guilty of committing adultery (the penalty being death).
As we study the life of Joseph, we learn several valuable things about who he was and about his character. First, we learn that even though it was an arranged marriage, Joseph really loved Mary. The fact the he decided to divorce her privately shows that he cared more about Mary then about being vindicated for something that had been done wrong to him.
Second, everybody knew the story Joseph and Mary. Everybody knew what had happened, or at least what the townspeople would accuse them of. By taking Mary as his wife, Joseph shows that he was willing to do whatever it took and to deal with whatever would come in the future because he knew what the Lord had commanded and he loved Mary.
Third, it shows how much he cared for Jesus Christ. The fact that he actually names Jesus as the Matthew account records (see Matthew 2:25), shows that he not only was willing to take Mary in, but he was actually taking Jesus in as his own adopted son (in essence he was taking in an illegitimate child). By naming Jesus, Joseph literally is legally adopting him into his own line, which is the reason that Jesus Christ can be called the son of David, just as Joseph was the son of David.
Last, we learn that Joseph immediately acted. In the scriptures, it reads “Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife” (Matthew 1:24). In other words, Joseph was quick to act and did exactly as the angel told him the very next day. From this, it would seem that there was no wedding feast that actually occurred, dashing all the hopes and dreams that Mary and Joseph may have had. The huge feast, the lights, the torches, the music all would have been cancelled and forgone because of the fact that Jesus would be born to Mary. And yet this does not discourage Joseph to the least degree. He knows what is right and he acts.
It is often said that Mary was chosen by the Lord because of her faithfulness and her devotion to the Lord, which is absolutely true, and I would say it is just as true that the Lord chose Joseph to be the adopted father of the Savior because he knew and understood the character of Joseph.
Luke begins his Nativity narrative with the annunciation of the angel Gabriel to Mary and Zacharias. It seems to be very clear that Luke was purposefully trying to place these two stories next to each other so you could see a difference between not only these two individuals, Mary and Zacharias, but also between these stories, both the birth of John the Baptist, and the birth of Jesus Christ. Though John's birth is miraculous, he is born of natural means, while Jesus’ birth is unnatural and impossible (though with God, nothing is impossible).
The story begins by telling of the angel who comes to both Mary and Zacharias and telling of the foretold child (see Luke 1:11 and 1:28). Both accounts mention the circumcising and naming of the child (see Luke 1:59 and 2:21). Both accounts tell of family, friends, and others who are amazed at the events of the birth of these two individuals (see Luke 1:58 and 2:18). It also speaks that both children "grew and waxed strong in the spirit" (see Luke 1:80 and 2:40). However, there is one difference here, it mentions that Jesus was "filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him." Now this is not to mean that John the Baptist did not have the grace of God or wisdom, but it again shows that Luke is trying to contrast a prophet, who is great, with the Messiah, the Son of God.
Interestingly enough, the story that Luke begins with, begins in the temple. Of the six stories in Luke 1 and 2, half of them happen in the temple, showing the emphasis that Luke puts upon the temple within his writings (both the gospel of Luke and Acts).
The first annunciation by Gabriel comes to Zacharias. Zacharias was a descendant of Aaron, and of the course of Abia. During the reign of King David there were so many priests, so many descendants of Aaron that King David decided to divide them up into twenty-four courses, so Abia was one of these twenty-four courses. Each of these courses throughout the year would serve one week twice throughout the year, meaning that Zacharias would only have the chance to be in the temple and actually serve for two weeks during the entire year.
Again, because there were so many priests, each of the specific assignments were drawn by lot. The greatest assignment was to burn the incense before the veil of the temple. This incense was significant because it represented the prayers of the righteous ascending to heaven before the veil of the temple, and it was the closest place that Zacharias would ever come to the Holy of Holies. It is significant that one of the spices that was used within the incense is actually frankincense, thus tying the gift given to Christ from the wise men to the temple ritual.
Priests burning incense on the altar (image from Temple Institute)
Once the priest had entered in the temple on that morning and had burned the incense, he then would exit the temple and pronounce a blessing on the people. Of course, Zacharias would never be able to pronounce this blessing because he had been made unable to speak by the angel Gabriel.
Again, it seems that one of the things that Luke is trying to do is put these two stories right next to each other, purposefully trying to show us and teach us how we should act when we receive inspiration or a revelation from God. The angel Gabriel appears to both Mary and Zacharias (see Luke 1:11 and 1:28). Both are told to fear not, and that they would be blessed with a child (see Luke 1:13 and 1:30-31). Both Zacharias and Mary ask for a sign or for understanding (see Luke 1:18 and 1:34). The angel then gives both of them a sign; in the case of Zacharias he is made dumb and possibly even deaf (see Luke 1:20), and Mary is given the sign that she will see Elizabeth with child even though Elizabeth had been claimed to be barren (see Luke 1:36).
So what is the difference? How is it that one is cursed and one is blessed? One of the differences seems to be in one simple word. In Zacharias’s account, it reads, “and Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years” (Luke 1:18). Yet, Mary says, “then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34). Zacharias is seeking for a sign to know if the angel is really speaking of the truth, while Mary believes, yet is only asking how it will actually happen.
One of the other things that differentiate this story is how Mary also responds: “and Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38). Mary not only believed, and was only asking for clarification of how it would happen, but she immediately said “I will do as you would have me do.” You have to realize the consequences of this decision. She would be mocked and scorned for years possibly her whole life; people thinking that she had committed adultery when she really was innocent. And yet she humbly and quickly accepted the will of God. This is a powerful testimony up who Mary was. It is no wonder of why God choose Mary to be the mother of His own Son!
On Monday night I had the chance to go see a Live Nativity in Bluffdale, Utah. I heard about it last year, and thought it would just be one of those simple sets with maybe 10 people dressed up in costume. So of course, I did not bring my camera. Let's just say I regretted that decision when I actually saw the amazing work everyone did. Camels, donkeys, sheep, llamas (which are not exactly biblical, but still really cool!), chickens roaming the streets, a ram, and that was just the animals. Then you had street vendors, a poor beggar asking for money, a carpenter's shop, a loomer, potter, and of course Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. And then the sets! They were amazing! It felt like you had stepped back in time and were wandering the streets of Bethlehem. When I found out they were doing it again this year, I decided I had to bring my camera. Here is the finished work. Enjoy and Merry Christmas to everyone! And if you are in Utah, go see it!
