December 09, 2023: Swaddling - The Clothing of Lambs

"And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." (Luke 2:12, ESV)
 
Swaddling clothes comes from a Greek word that refers to long strips of cloth used to wrap wounds, infants, and newborn lambs in the winter. I am sure Mary, being a great mom-to-be, brought swaddling clothes on her trip to Bethlehem. I am also quite sure the shepherds of that day also had swaddling in the caves where they kept their sheep and lambs at night.

Mary would have wrapped baby Jesus up in swaddling clothes to keep him warm and to comfort Him. She would have wrapped the Lamb of God in swaddling! The wrapping of Jesus in swaddling in the Bethlehem cave is a prophetic shadow pointing to the purpose of His coming: the Lamb of God born to take away the sin of the world! John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God. (Jn 1:29). First Peter 1:19 also calls Jesus "a lamb without spot or blemish." Revelation 5:12 states, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" And John later writes of Jesus in Revelation 13:8, "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

It was truly a sign for the shepherds to find the Lamb of God wrapped in swaddling. This little Lamb would take away the sin of the world.