I like this essay I found that was written by Earl Palmer, so I thought I would pass it along.

“The religious and political leaders who were in power at the time misread the events of Jesus’ birth. When a woman is to have a baby, she goes to the best hospital she and her husband can afford. They find the best doctors and highly trained specialists. They get the best that money can buy. And they do this not because they feel strong, but because they feel weak.

When God’s Son was born, He was born in a stable under very austere and unsanitary conditions. It happened this way not because God was poor, but because God was sure of himself.

The leaders misread the signs. The baby born in the stable is not a sign of a weak and ineffectual king. But it is a sign of a majesty who is secure and knows who He is. It’s a sign of love. The leaders of that time didn’t know anything about that. And so they missed it.”

I think Earl Palmer has some pretty good insight; insight that was lacking in those who missed the importance of the appearance of Jesus and the significance of the manner in which he arrived.

Let us be sure to take some time to reflect on what the Scripture says about the birth of Jesus. Let us meditate deeply on the meaning of his birth, his life and his death and resurrection. May we all have a deep appreciation for what Christmas really means!

“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.—John 1:11-12.