Editorial: Jesus Was Born to Die

Editorial by Rick Remmers, president, Chesapeake Conference

No one knows for sure, but it is estimated that there are four babies born every second. That amounts to about 133 million babies born each year. Collectively it represents an incredible number of baby photos, proud grandparents and, of course, lots of diapers. The year-by-year accumulation brings us to the Earth’s population of 7.13 billion. But, for all of the fawning over cute babies, there is one birth that stands out above the rest.
Jesus was born with a special mission—to die in our place. Even in His birth story we see indicators of what will happen at His death. The parallels are striking:

• A Roman ruler’s decree sent Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem and another Roman decree sent Him to Golgotha. Joseph was His protector at birth and another Joseph, from Arimethea, provided for His burial.
• Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the town of David, and died in Jerusalem, the capital chosen by David. Mary was, of course, present at His birth and also at His death. He was born at the proper time and died at the prophesied time.
• He was wrapped in swaddling clothes at birth and in burial clothes at death. His birth took place in a stable thought by some to be a cave. He was buried in a tomb, carved out of stone to make a cave.
• As a baby, Jesus was placed in a manger, which was likely a slab of stone. In death, He rested on a stone bench in the tomb. There was no room for Him in Bethlehem, and, at His death, there was no room for Him in Israel.

Jesus was born to die so that we could experience a rebirth and live forever. That is worth celebrating!