“（她）用布包起来，放在马槽里…” - 路 2:7

“马槽歌”是一首深受信众喜爱的诗歌，似乎是一首摇篮曲。实际上，许多孩子在年幼的时候就学会了这首诗歌。它以清晰又简洁的方式讲述了基督诞生的故事，并显明耶稣出生时的情形是何等卑微。

在腓立比书第2章，我们读到耶稣如何“自己卑微”。祂不仅藉着披戴我们的肉体来降卑自己，而且祂的出生地也在卑微之处。

约瑟和马利亚不得不前往他的家乡伯利恒，按照罗马政府的人口普查所要求的进行登记。他们到达伯利恒时，没有客栈空房，所以约瑟和马利亚找不到地方住宿。他们只得在一个马厩里暂避，马利亚就是在那里生下了耶稣。于是她用布包着祂，把祂放在饲养牲畜的食槽，一个马槽里。

耶稣出生时的卑微是非常重要的情节。我们不会想到万王之王会出生在如此卑微的境遇中。然而，耶稣却是出生在一个马厩里。这向我们表明，无论我们觉得自己多么贫穷、肮脏、软弱或微不足道，耶稣都是甘心来拯救我们每个人的。

耶稣，万王之王，祂降卑自己，取了我们的肉身。而祂的谦卑和对我们的爱，从祂出生的那一刻起，直到祂为救我们脱离罪而舍弃自己的生命，都充份显明出来。

祷告

感谢你，耶稣，感谢你显明你的爱，为我们的缘故降卑自己，使我们能够得救。阿们。

路加福音 2:4-7

4约瑟也从加利利的拿撒勒城上犹太去，到了大卫的城，名叫伯利恒，因他本是大卫一族一家的人，
5要和他所聘之妻马利亚一同报名上册。那时马利亚的身孕已经重了。
6他们在那里的时候，马利亚的产期到了，
7就生了头胎的儿子，用布包起来，放在马槽里，因为客店里没有地方。

Away In A Manger

"She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger. . . ." - Luke 2:7

"Away in a Manger" is a beloved song that seems like a lullaby. In fact, many children learn this song at a very young age. It tells the story of the birth of Christ in a clear and simple way, and it shares how the situation of Jesus’ birth was very humble.

In Philippians 2 we read how Jesus "humbled himself." Not only does Jesus humble himself by taking on our human flesh, but his very birth takes place in humble circumstances.

Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem, his family’s hometown, to register for a census that was required by the Roman government. And when they arrived, there were no guest rooms available, so Joseph and Mary could not find a place to stay. They had to take shelter in a stable, and that’s where Mary gave birth to Jesus. So she wrapped him in cloths and placed him in the animals’ feed trough, a manger.

The humility of Jesus’ birth is deeply significant. We would not expect the King of all nations to be born in such meager circumstances. Yet Jesus was born in a stable. This shows us that no matter how poor, dirty, weak, or insignificant we might think we are, Jesus came to save us all.

Jesus, the King of kings, humbled himself and took on our flesh. And his humility and love for us were on full display from the moment he was born to the moment he gave up his life to save us from our sin.

Prayer

Thank you, Jesus, for showing your love and humbling yourself for our sake so that we can be saved. Amen.