What Child Is This? :: By Joe Hawkins

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles

What Child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?

The opening question is the question of the ages: Who is this Child? The world saw a fragile newborn, but heaven knew that the Ancient of Days had stepped into time. The Creator now rested in the arms of His creation. Angels filled the skies because prophecy was being fulfilled; shepherds hurried because hope had finally arrived.

In a time when truth is constantly questioned and the identity of Christ is distorted or dismissed, this carol draws us back to the heart of the gospel. This Child—resting in humility and wrapped in humanity—is the promised Messiah. The One who spoke galaxies into existence now sleeps beneath the stars He made.

He came quietly, but nothing about His arrival was ordinary. Heaven knew. Hell trembled. Creation held its breath. This Child was—and is—the Savior of the world.

Chorus

This, this is Christ, the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary!

The chorus moves from question to proclamation. The mystery becomes a declaration: This is Christ, the King. Heaven and earth testify in unison. Humble shepherds—representing the lowly and forgotten—stand alongside angels, the mighty host of heaven. Both are witnesses to the same truth: the Child in the manger is the Sovereign King.

This is not just poetic language; it is prophetic reality. The One cradled in Mary’s arms is the very One who will one day rule the nations with a rod of iron. The manger is the beginning of the mission that will culminate in a throne.

Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear: for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading. [Chorus]

The scene is jarring: the King of Glory lying in a place meant for animals. The One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills chose a feeding trough for His first resting place. His humility was not an accident of circumstance but a deliberate act of divine condescension. He entered the world not in splendor, but in poverty, identifying with the lowly, the broken, the forgotten.

Here, the “silent Word” pleads—not with noise or spectacle, but through the quiet power of His presence. The infant in the manger is the same eternal Word who spoke creation into being. Now that Word cries out without speaking, declaring through His humility that He has come for sinners. His very posture in the manger becomes a message: He did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

The world often misses Him because it expects royalty wrapped in gold, not God wrapped in swaddling cloth. But those who look with the eyes of faith can see the profound truth: the Savior has stepped into our brokenness to lift us out of it.

So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king to own Him.
The King of kings salvation brings;
Let loving hearts enthrone Him. [Chorus]

The gifts of the magi—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—tell a story the world didn’t yet understand. Gold acknowledges His kingship, frankincense His divinity, and myrrh His coming sacrifice. From the very beginning, Jesus was recognized not merely as a gifted teacher but as the King of kings, the One worthy of worship from both peasant and prince.

The call to “own Him” is an invitation to surrender. No one approaches this Child from a distance; every heart must decide what to do with Him. Whether dressed in royal robes or in the garments of common labor, every person stands on equal ground before the manger. Christ came for all—yet only those who enthrone Him in their hearts truly know Him.

The final line is a declaration of His mission: “The King of kings salvation brings.” His crown at His first coming was not one of gold but of humility, yet salvation flowed from it. And when He returns, the world will see the fullness of His glory—the Child of Bethlehem revealed as the reigning Lord of all.

What Child is This – W. Chatterton Dix

***

Weekly Podcasts: Prophecy Recon ⚔️ Joe Hawkins – YouTube

The Day After Christmas :: By Dale V. Nobbman

Published on: by RR10 Category:Dale V. Nobbman, General Articles

Have you ever wondered what Joseph, Mary, and Jesus did the day after the birth of Jesus in    the stable manger?  Perhaps it was not much different than what most of us do today.  What do we do?  Well, if possible, we sleep in and then lounge about, eating, napping, and generally resting up after a stressful time leading up to the day of Christmas.  But if needed, we possibly entertain a few more people, just as Joseph and Mary did.  Sound familiar?

Joseph and the pregnant Mary had just completed an arduous 90-mile trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem, which likely took Joseph and Mary 7 to 10 days to complete, considering Mary’s condition and the rough terrain.  They arrived at Bethlehem in Judea late on the day Mary would give birth to our Savior, Jesus.  Does this sound familiar: arriving at your destination late in the evening after a long drive, and you just feel exhausted?  And if you do not make advance plans or reservations for accommodation, you are likely faced with no vacancies at motels or hotels, which are all booked up in your city or town of destination.

Such was the case with Joseph and Mary.  No phones or any other forms of quick electronic communication back then.  Joseph and Mary arrived late in Bethlehem, when the town was overcrowded with other travelers who were there for the Roman census.  They had to scramble to find a place quickly where Mary could deliver her baby.  But God the Father was in control of the situation and provided a humble manger where Mary could give birth to the Son of God, because there was “no room in the inn” (Luke 2:7).

It was there in the manger where Mary delivered the Christ child, an event that had been prophesied in the Bible hundreds of years in advance.  So, all went just as planned for Jesus Christ to arrive in human form in humble circumstances.  No sooner had Jesus been born than the Holy Family was visited by local shepherds, who had been informed of the birth of the Messiah by an angel while attending their flocks in the nearby fields.  The shepherds came that evening to pay homage to the newborn King.

Just as we are exhausted after entertaining family and friends into the wee hours of the day after Christmas, I reckon Joseph and Mary felt similar exhaustion and wanted to get some sleep after attending to the needs of their newborn child.  The couple most likely tried to sleep in a little bit, if that was at all possible amid the hubbub and noises of the animals in the manger.  I reckon Joseph then set out the day after Christmas to find suitable accommodation for them.

I used Bible scripture to plug in what the couple did in the days, weeks, and up to two years following the birth of Jesus Christ, while they lived in Bethlehem, for us to conclude the couple’s Bethlehem experience.  During this two-year period, Joseph probably worked at his occupation as a carpenter.

Eight days after the birth of Jesus, the Christ child was circumcised (Luke 2:21). Then, 40 days after His birth, Jesus was presented at the Temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:22). Approximately two years after Jesus’ birth, Joseph, Mary and Jesus, were living in a house in Bethlehem when the Magi from the East arrived to worship Him and give Him gifts, after following a star to Bethlehem to see the prophesized King of the Jews (Matthew 2:1-13). After this, an angel warned Joseph to flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt.  That ended the family’s stay in Bethlehem.