1. It is amazing when you consider that our Lord Jesus Christ, Lord of lords and King of kings, was born in a lowly stable.
2. He entered the world, not in a comfortable crib with clean sheets and warm blankets, but in manger, a trough used to feed horses and cattle (Luke 2:7).
3. Our Lord did not enter this world in a beautiful mansion or palace but in a dirty cave, surrounded by smelly animals.
4. One of my favorite Christmas carols was written by Martin Luther:

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head;
The stars in the sky looked down where He lay –
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes;
I love Thee, Lord Jesus! Look down from the sky,
And stay by my cradle, till morning is nigh.

5. I would like to preach today on "Why Was Our Lord Born in a Manger?"

1. IT SHOWED THE WORLD’S ATTITUDE TOWARD HIM

1. After nearly 2,000 years, the world’s attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ has not changed – they still reject Him, they still ignore Him, they still refuse Him, and they still hate Him.
2. Our Lord aid to His disciples: "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you" (John 15:18).
3. This world has never been a friend of grace. Politicians carefully guard their words, but it obvious that they hate our Lord. This is nothing new – King Herod did not welcome the news of our Lord’s birth.
4. Under the false pretense of pretended worship, he instructed the wise men to return with information of our Lord’s whereabouts. When they failed to return to Herod, being warned by God not to, Herod showed his true colors and had all the male babies under two years of age murdered (Matt.2:1-18).
5. It was not just the political leaders like Herod that were opposed to our Lord, also, the religious leaders did not receive Him.
6. Even though they were able to cite the prophetic Scripture which foretold our Lord’s birth in Bethlehem, they did not make any effort to go and worship Him (Matt.2:3-6).
7. Thirty years later, our Lord presented Himself as the Messiah and in hateful envy the chief priests delivered Him to the Romans to be murdered (cf. Mark 15:9-15).
8. In the Bible envy is closely associated with murder (cf. Rom.1:29). Herod wanted our Lord murdered because He did not want any competition (Matt.2:1-3). When he heard the report that there was a new king – a "King of the Jews" (Matt.2:2), he became full of envy.
9. And then later on we read that the religious leaders had our Lord crucified because of envy.
10. People who are envious not only destroy others, but they wind up destroying themselves also. In ancient Greece, they erected a huge statue for one of the generals. Another general was very envious and his jealousy and envy grew into a seething hatred. One night, he decided that he would go down and knock this huge statue off its pedestal. It took him a long time because it was so heavy but gradually he managed to move it an inch. He kept at it until it finally came toppling over, and it crushed him to death.
11. It was not just the politicians, and it was not just the religious hypocrites – the people in general did not want the Lord Jesus Christ. It was they who shouted out: "Crucify Him" (Mark 15:13,14).
12. It was the mob that shouted out: "We have no king but Caesar" (John 19:15).
13. Things have not changed much since then. If our Lord was to walk into the average church today, he would be unnoticed, unappreciated, and unwelcome.
14. The vast majority of those who claim to be Christian do not want anything to do with God, or His Book, or His church. If you think I am exaggerating, compare how many people went to the mall today with how many went to church. Stand in front of a store and try giving out tracts. Most people will knock you over!
15. So one reason our Lord was born in a manger was to show the world’s attitude toward Him.

2. IT DEMONSTRATED HIS UTTER HUMILIATION

1. The second reason our Lord was born in a manger was to demonstrate His utter humility. As the sovereign God who created this universe, He could have been born in a beautiful golden cradle with satin sheets and countless servants to attend Him at His birth.
2. He could have been born in the most elegant mansion on the swankiest boulevard in the Roman Empire. Instead He chose to be born in a borrowed old manger (cf. II Cor.8:9).
3. A British missionary to Tibet, named Geoffrey T. Bull, was held captive by the Chinese communists for three years. After his release, he wrote a book about his experiences called When Iron Gates Yield (Moody Press). In the book, he tells of an experience he had one December 24^th. After a long tiring day climbing up and down a mountain pass with heavy winds blowing, his captors brought him to a small house in the late afternoon. A Tibetan landlord had swept out an upstairs room for him. After a meal, when it was already dark, he was ordered to go downstairs to give hay to the horses. He had to climb down a notched tree trunk to the lower floor which was used as a stable. It was pitch black. The missionary described his feelings this way:

"My boots squelched in the manure and straw on the floor and the fetid smell of the animals was nauseating. I felt my way amongst the mules and horses, expecting to be kicked any moment. What a place, I thought. Then as I continued to grope my way in the darkness towards the grey it suddenly flashed into my mind. `What’s today?’ I thought for a moment. In the travelling, the days had become a little muddled in my mind. Then it came to me. `It’s Christmas Eve.’ I stood suddenly still in that oriental manger. To think that my Saviour was born in a place like this. To think that He came all the way from heaven to some wretched eastern stable, and what is more, to think that He came for me. How men beautify the cross and the crib, as if to hide the fact that at birth we resigned Him to the stench of beasts and at death exposed Him to the shame of rogues. God forgive us. I returned to the warm clean room, which I enjoyed even as a prisoner, and bowed to thankfulness and worship."

4. Military heroes, distinguished foreign visitors, even baseball players are given ticker-tape parades down Broadway.
5. When the pope visits a country, there is much pomp and pageantry. He drives around in his pope-mobile, waving to the throngs of people who have come out to see him.
6. The rich and famous, and the worldly and the elite all stay in the best hotels, in beautiful suites and penthouses. But our Lord did not desire such a fancy welcome. Later, He would say: "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head" (Matt.8:20).
7. When our President and other famous politicians come to town, the newspapers put on the front pages big articles to notify people of their arrival. Radio and television announcers also proclaim the big news. But our Lord was not welcomed with this kind of fanfare.
8. Angels did alert a few lowly shepherds, but most people were unaware of our Lord’s arrival. If our Lord wished, trumpets could have blasted from Dan to Beer-sheba. Jerusalem could have been turned upside with the news of His birth.
9. Instead of just one star shining prominently, hundreds of luminaries could have put on a breath-taking performance, criss-crossing and shooting across the sky like a magnificent fireworks display.
10. But our Lord was born in a manger to demonstrate His utter humility.

3. IT EXHIBITED HIS ACCESSIBILITY

1. Some people are not very accessible. Try calling the mayor or the governor on the phone and see if they pick up. You will have to go through many secretaries and aides.
2. Most important leaders are secluded in inner offices, separated by many walls and other offices, and protected by security guards, bodyguards, or policemen.
3. But at His birth and throughout His earthly ministry, our Lord was readily accessible. The shepherds did not have to flash identification cards to get in to the stable to see Him. Later on, when the wise men visited Him in Bethlehem, they did not have to sit in a waiting room until their credentials were approved by some secret servicemen.
4. Today the Lord Jesus Christ is immediately accessible to all who wish His forgiveness and assistance. No mediator is necessary to bring us to Him.
5. Evangelist Bob Jones was talking one time to a RC lady and trying to win her to Christ. He said: "We had a hard time getting to Jesus. The priest was in the way. The virgin Mary had blocked traffic, and all the saints stood in the door, but I think she climbed over altars and beyond priestly robes and saints, and somehow or other, I think she got to Jesus."
6. Thank God, our Lord is still accessible to all who call upon Him.

1. A drunkard was out drinking one night and awoke the next morning in a strange place. Eventually he realized that he had stumbled into a barn and fell asleep in a dirty, wet manger.
2. As he listened to the noise of the cows and the other animals, he felt ashamed of himself. He realized that he was messing up his life by his drinking.
3. Then he heard church bells ringing. Suddenly it dawned on him that it was Christmas morning. He began to think about the birth of our Lord in a manger, and said to himself: "Maybe the reason our Lord slept in a manger was so He could help a fellow like me – a fellow too low for anyone else to help."
4. So he crawled out of the manger, knelt down and asked the Lord to save him. The story goes that as he prayed for God’s forgiveness, the bells were playing, "Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head…"