_His Humble Origin_.
Everything associated with the advent of Jesus seems to have been
specially ordered to mark His humiliation. It is true that Mary, His
mother, was of the lineage of King David, but her relationship with the
royal house was a very distant one, and the family had fallen upon sad
times. The Romans were masters in the land, and a stranger sat upon the
throne of Israel. Mary, therefore, was but a poor village maiden; Joseph,
her betrothed husband, was a carpenter--an ordinary working man.
Bethlehem, the place of the Saviour's birth, was a tiny straggling
village, which, though not the least, was certainly one of the least of
the villages of Judea. And Nazareth, where He grew from infancy to
childhood, and from youth to manhood, was another little hamlet among the
hilly country to the north of Jerusalem, and was held in low repute by the
people of those days.
The occupation chosen for the early life of Jesus was a humble one. He
learned the trade of a joiner, and worked with Joseph at the carpenter's
bench. His associates and friends were of the village community, and He
"whose Name is above every name" passed to and fro and in and out among
the cottage homes of the poor--as one of themselves. Probably none but His
mother had, in these early years, any true idea of the mysterious promise
which had been given concerning Him.
What a contrast it all presents to the years of stress and storm and of
victory which were to follow, and to the supreme influence His teaching
and example were to exert in the world!
Is there not something here for us? Do not the lowly origin and simple
country habits and humble tastes of some of our comrades make them
hesitate on the threshold of great efforts, when they ought to leap
forward in the strength of their God? Let them remember their Master, and
take courage. Let them call to mind the unfashionable, uneducated,
uncultivated surroundings of Nazareth. Let them bear in mind the
carpenter's shed, the rough country work, the bare equipment of the
village home, the humble service of the family life. Let them, above all,
remember the plain and gentle mother, and the meek and lowly One Himself,
and in this remembrance let them go forward.
To be of lowly origin, or of a mean occupation; to come out of poverty and
want; to be looked down upon by the rich or the powerful ones of earth; to
be treated as of no consequence by governments and rulers, and yet to go
on doing and daring, suffering and conquering for God and right; what is
all this but the fulfilment of Paul's words, "And base things of the
world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things
which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should
glory in His presence"? Nay, what is it all but to tread in the very steps
that the Master trod?