“Jesus, The King On A Manger Throne”
Introduction:
What is my mindset going into this season? Selfishness or selflessness? The lyrics to this song may help bring us into focus…
“You could have stepped into creation
With fire for all to see
Brought every tribe and nation to their knees
Arriving with the host of heaven
In royal robe and crown
The rulers of the earth all bowing down
But You chose meekness over majesty
Wrapped Your power in humanity
Glory be to You alone
King who reigns from a manger throne
My life, my praise, everything I own
To Jesus the King on a manger throne” – Manger Throne
What a beautiful description of the love, meekness and humility shown in the birth of our Savior. God’s love for humanity is consistently shown by His desire to be WITH humanity.
We are called to be a servant to others…because Jesus came as a servant. We are called to serve with meekness and humility…because Jesus came in meekness and humility. Lowly, in a ‘manger throne’.
Devotional:
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us).
-Matthew 1:22-23 ESV
Immanuel. God WITH us. This was always God’s intention…to dwell with man. Even when we turned away, God made a way to be with us, to make his dwelling among us.
We see this framework laid from the beginning…back in Eden. Adam and Eve lived in the presence of God. When they rebelled, they were cast from Eden…but we see that God was not done with man. Out of the iron furnace of Egypt, God creates a nation…
God desires to dwell with His newly rescued nation, so He instructs them to build a tabernacle. If we carefully read through the many details of the Tabernacle and its furnishings…we may notice some familiar themes. Justin Taylor (PhD, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) puts this very succinctly in one of his blog posts from The Gospel Coalition, citing Douglas Stuart’s Exodus commentary:
“The other symbolic dimension is Eden. The tabernacle, like the garden of Eden, is where God dwells, and various details of the tabernacle suggest it is a mini-Eden. These parallels include the east-facing entrance guarded by cherubim, the gold, the tree of life (lampstand)… Thus God’s dwelling in the tabernacle was a step toward the restoration of paradise, which is to be completed in the new heaven and earth (Revelation 21-22).
And as the storyline of redemptive history progresses, we see that Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of these shadows:”
This is fascinating, particularly considering how John describes how Jesus comes to earth in his gospel…
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son[d] from the Father, full of grace and truth.“ -John 1:14 ESV
The Greek verb translated into English as ‘dwelt’ is skénoó which is defined as: To dwell, to tabernacle, to pitch a tent.
So John’s word usage could also literally read “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us”. He ‘pitched his tent’ among us! This is Immanuel (God with us).
John returns to this same line of thought as he describes the new heaven and new earth in Revelation…
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place[a] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,[b] and God himself will be with them as their God.” -Revelation 21:1-3 ESV
Again, John uses the same word choice in verse 3 that is translated into English as ‘dwelling place’. He uses the noun form, skéné…defined: Tent, Tabernacle, Dwelling
“Behold the Tabernacle of God is with man…”
Immanuel – God with us. With us common men…
“You could have marched in all Your glory
Into the heart of Rome
Showed them splendor like they’d never known
But You wrote a better story
In humble Bethlehem
Creator in the arms of common men” -Manger Throne
What is our response to all of this?
-Eden, Tabernacle, Jesus…and ultimately the new heavens and new earth. God desires to dwell with us and he took the form of a lowly servant, born in a manger. May we take on the same humility, meekness and love toward others.
-This season…be a servant. Find someone who is in need and give directly to that person what they need.
-May we not only provide for the physical needs of others, but may we be WITH others. Providing for a physical need is wonderful, necessary and can change a life…but just being present with someone who feels alone or hopeless can equally change a life.
We have the opportunity, privilege and responsibility to reflect the love of Jesus. May we do it with all the joy, meekness and humility of the Savior who we imitate.
Glory be to You alone
King who reigns from a manger throne
My life, my praise, everything I own
To Jesus the King on a manger throne” – Manger Throne
Sean Wagner