Who Is the Baby in the Manger?

Many years ago now, I was in a meeting where a lady stood and gave a stirring testimony. She recounted how she had grown up in a Jewish home, and she remembered looking at the Christmas display in the court square and seeing the baby in the manger. She asked her mother, “Who is the baby in the manger?” Her devout Jewish mother replied, “Don’t say his name!” She remembered that this happened each year at Christmas time, and she said she always wondered, Who is the baby in the manger, and what will happen if I say His name? She went on to tell about how she was saved as a young adult, and how she found out Who that baby was and just what would happen if she said His name. I was certainly happy to hear of her conversion, but I have never forgotten the question that flooded her mind as a young girl. “Who is the baby in the manger, and what will happen if I say His name?”

As Christians, we believe by faith that Jesus was Who He claimed to be—the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God. And yet as we study the Bible closely, we find amazing and compelling proofs that Jesus was and is indeed the Savior of the world.

First, we must remember God’s promise to Abraham, “In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). The Messiah must be a descendant of Abraham; therefore, He must be an Israelite. This promise was given about 2,000 years before Christ was born.

Not only did the Messiah have to be one of Abraham’s descendants, but He also had to be of the tribe of Judah. “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Genesis 49:10). Shiloh means “tranquil” or “peaceful.” Isaiah calls Him the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Christ had to be a member of the tribe of Judah.

The Messiah must be a descendant of David. God sent the prophet Nathan to King David with this promise about his posterity, “I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore” (1Chronicles 17:14). David was an Israelite of the tribe of Judah. The promised Christ would be one of his descendants in line for the throne.

The long-awaited Messiah had to be born in the city of Bethlehem. “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).

When we to put all of these requirements together, we begin to realize that very few people could have possibly been the Messiah. When we study the genealogies in Matthew As Christians, we believe by faith that Jesus was Who He claimed to be—the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God.1 and Luke 3, we find that Jesus Christ certainly met every one of these criteria.

The Christ, the Son of God, had to be born of a virgin. “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The name Immanuel means “God with us.” The Savior had to be virgin-born. In Matthew we learn the story of how he was indeed born of a virgin named Mary.

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. (Matthew 1:20-25)

No one but Jesus could possibly have been the Messiah. The miracle of the virgin birth proves His origin, and sets Him apart from all others. While the virgin birth is the most powerful proof that Christ is God, many people still want to dismiss it as a myth. But even the scoffers would have to admit that there is amazing accuracy in the prophecy in Daniel that foretells the time of the Messiah’s death.

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (Daniel 9:25-26)

Careful study of this passage reveals the prophesied time of the Messiah’s death. The commandment to rebuild Jerusalem was given by Artaxerxes in 445 B.C. In prophecy, the term weeks often refers to weeks of years. Sixty-nine weeks of years would be 483 years. Our calendar has 365 days in a year, but the prophetical calendar only has 360 days in a year. Thus, the 483 years convert to 476 years, and this puts the Messiah’s death at approximately 31 A.D., which is when Christ was crucified.

There are many other prophecies concerning the Messiah that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Who is the Baby in the manger? You must decide, but what you choose to believe determines your destiny. The most wonderful thing about Christmas is not shopping, gift-giving or even family gatherings. Jesus Christ came into this world to die on a cross and pay for the sin of mankind so that we could be reconciled to God. Who is the Baby in the manger? He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior of the world!