Humility of Christ in His Birth

The Nativity

Once in royal David’s city

Stood a lowly cattle shed,

Where a mother laid her baby

In a manger for his bed:

Mary was that mother mild,

Jesus Christ her little child. 

He came down to earth from heaven,

Who is God and Lord of all,

And his shelter was a stable,

And his cradle was a stall;

With the poor, and mean, and lowly,

Lived on earth our Savior holy. 

(From "Once in Royal David's City" LDS Hymn 205) 

On a cool April evening two centuries ago, a child was born. Born to a virgin, Mary, this child didn't have a birth like most. Luke recounts, "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn," (Luke 2:7). No, His birth was not like others--it was far more humble. Months before, the child's mother received a visitation from an angel, bearing news of what this child would become: "And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end," (Luke 1:31-33). More than six centuries prior, the great prophet Isaiah saw in vision the condescension of the very Jehovah whom he worshipped: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace," (Isaiah 9:6).

So, the "Son of the Highest," "the mighty God," the very "Prince of Peace," the Savior of mankind...

...was born in a stable.

Athos M Amorim, former member of the Quorum of the Seventy said, "From the moment of His birth, the Savior taught humility through His actions. The great Creator of all things condescended to be born into the humblest of circumstances. He entered mortality in a shelter for animals and was laid in a manger, a crib that was also used for the feeding of animals. His first visitors were humble shepherds..." This child also received visitation from wise men from the east, who bore gifts. If you thought you had disappointing Christmas presents as a kid, Jesus got fragrances (I guess gold's not that bad, is it?). Of course it's not a competition--its just the reality. Jesus, "once of humble birth," is the very embodiment of humility.

A couple more scriptures, transcribed from the mouths of prophets, highlight the gravity of this humble birth:

"And behold he cometh, according to the words of the angel, in six hundred years from the time my father left Jerusalem. And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they spite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his longsuffering towards the children of men," (1 Nephi 19:8-9)

"And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us--That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness," (D&C 76:40-41).

Despite the manner in which He was born, the Christ-child came with a mission. He came with divine endowment and an inspired potential. This child would grow, and He would come to fully realize that potential. It was He who said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world," (John 16:33). What a message to us, that despite the manner in which we come into this world, or the condition, we may overcome. We may, because He did.

Jesus was perfect spiritually during his earthly ministry, but He was not perfect physically. I'm sure He had physical imperfections that He wasn't so proud of as a child (See Isaiah 53:2). I'm sure children made fun of Him. I'm sure He felt at times that He wished He didn't have to have the physical weaknesses He had. I think sometimes we fail to realize that Jesus was human. He had to go through the same physical pains we had to, and I think in a sense more so. Obviously in the end He would feel all of the pains we do. I'm sure when He was younger He got sick-- maybe He too had Swine Flu, Typhoid Fever or a stomach ulcer or two. I'm sure He got called names by the children around him. I'm sure He had some insecurities and anxieties. But the thing is, He wasn't born in a hospital. He was born in a stable and laid in a trough for a bed. The King of kings, the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, the very Son of God was born in humbler conditions than we can fathom in our time of modern medicine and scientific breakthroughs. He knows humility. He is humility. He knows how to succor us when we feel inadequate. Of all the people who would know that you can overcome, it'd be Him. He was born amongst cattle and grew to become a prophet and ultimately the Savior of all mankind. He calls on us to come to Him not out of some selfish desire for more followers like many of us on Instagram or Twitter. No, He calls on us humbly because he knows all of us can overcome our weaknesses by doing so, just as He did.

John records the following episode during Christ's ministry: "And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him," (John 9:1-3). When the Pharisees interrogated the healed man, trying to trip him up in his words in some way or another, he said, "I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again?...Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes," (John 9:27,30). Despite his tender testimony, the man was cast out from among them. Christ heard of it, and lovingly went to him.

He asked him, "Dost thou believe on the Son of God?"

"He answered and said, Who is he, Lord that I might believe on him?

"And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.

"And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him," (John 9:35-38). 

I know many people who have been born with physical, mental, or emotional shortcomings. I have friends who have sudden uncontrollable panic attacks; I have known people born without ears, or with other serious deformations; I have worked extensively with children and adults with mental disabilities like autism, Asberger's Syndrome, Down's Syndrome, and others. I'm sure many of those people, or their loved ones, have questioned the Lord, crying, "Why?? Why must I suffer this? Why did my life have to be so affected? 

"What did I do to deserve this?"

My message to you today, is that as you cry, that same Being cries right along with you. "Wonderful, Councellor,...the Prince of Prince," "the Son of the living God:" He wants you to know that you have done nothing wrong. If you will but turn to Him, humbling yourself, He will hold you in his arms and say, "Peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes," (D&C 121:7-8). If you ever question whether or not He loves you, please, get down on your knees and open up your heart to Him. He will let you feel of that love. That I can promise you in His Holy Name. 

In these bustling busy days that are leading us up to Christmas Day, I would invite you all to take those moments to ponder on the humility of Christ, even as He was born in a stable and laid in a manger, and what that means to you personally as you go about your daily lives. He was born so humble, and was the greatest of all. We can at least overcome our petty shortcomings if we can just turn to Him.

And our eyes at last shall see him,

Through his own redeeming love;

For that child so dear and gentle

Is our Lord in heav’n above,

And he leads his children on

To the place where he is gone.

(From "Once in Royal David's City" LDS Hymn 205)