Monday, December 19, 2022

What's That Manger?



What is That Manger?


37) On that last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38) He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. 39) But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, who those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39 (NKJV)

This morning, while looking at one of the creches my wife displays this time of year, I considered the babe in the manger. Let me tell you what I think I know.

The accommodation for Mary and Joseph was a stable, as in a cave or protected overhang of rock. In it, cattle were fed and watered because there wasn’t a field for them to pasture with a stream running through it. Think downtown Bethlehem.

The manger we’ve come to know now, wasn't a wooden structure then, but rather a carved out stone object. Think about what that scene looked like. Hay strewed about. Cattle standing and chewing their cud while others lie content in their surroundings. But where was their water supply?

Consider what it would mean if an impervious-to-water stone manager was used to water the cattle, rather than to feed them.

Jesus, the Living Water, gets displayed to all who visit by the most fundamental visual of Christ. From shepherds to Wise Men, poor to rich, all who see Him learn from His very first parable. Come to me and drink.

This brings new revelation to me of how John 7:37-39 brings into focus the ministry of Jesus Christ from His birth.

1 comment:

  1. Hi 5 your Own mirror image as made like Him, and then Hi5 all those you see,every day of your life ( a realization worthy of His second commandment, and the clue to How his will be done on earth as in heaven)!.. bless us, all, Lord John

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