Jesus, a 33-year-old baby?

An old Finnish Christmas carol repeats: “Christmas, Christmas has arrived, a gracious feast!” Yes, indeed it has. Century after century, the Christian world pauses to celebrate the little baby Jesus, largely because it is tradition. But what is it that many forget? Jesus himself? He is left - and stays - in the manger.

Now, as we are living in the season of celebrating Jesus’ birth, it is good to give a thought or two to an essential truth: Jesus Christ did not remain a baby in the manger. The Old Testament contains numerous prophecies and predictions about Jesus (depending on how they are counted, as many as around 300!). The New Testament, in turn, tells what happened during the approximately 33 years that Jesus lived and ministered on earth. He was not a 33-year-old “baby”!

Jesus was born as a human being, but like every human being, He also grew into adulthood.

Jesus was born in a “stable” most likely only in medieval art. A more probable setting was a cave used as shelter for animals near residential buildings. Yet He was laid in a manger (Luke 2:7, NIV). The manger itself was not a cradle made especially for a child, but an animal feeding trough.

The manger speaks of God’s love for humanity, of His desire to come down to the human “level” and into our midst as a true human being (and true God). What is essential is that the Bible does not leave Jesus there—in the manger.

And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. (Luke 2:40, NIV)

Jesus grew (Luke 2:40); He lived through all the stages of human life. He lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and fulfilled the Father’s will to the very end (John 19:30). On the third day He rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:4). The tomb was left empty—and history was changed.

The resurrection was not merely a beautiful image of some kind of “genie rising up,” but a real act of God that shattered the power of sin and death.

And now? Jesus is no longer in the manger, nor is He in the tomb. He has been exalted and reigns. All authority has been given to Him in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). He is the King of kings, before whom every knee will one day bow (Philippians 2:9–11):

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11, NIV)

Therefore, Christmas is not just a story about a baby. It is a message about the living Lord, the King, who came down from the glory of heaven for you and for me—so that we might truly LIVE already here and now.

Why is baby Jesus acceptable to the world, but not King Jesus?

I received a fitting answer to this from our pastor one Sunday. The reason is that a baby is a threat to no one, but an adult King, a Ruler, is. For that would mean that if this King Jesus were to take authority in a person’s life, that person would likely have to give up much of what he or she has previously considered pleasurable and conducive to a “good life.” (Of course, this is not actually true, but it is a common perception among non-believers.)

I do not know whether Jesus would have needed to be born into the world if Adam and Eve had "behaved” at the beginning of time. Yet He was born—and He also grew, died, rose again, and reigns forever. He is the true Way to heaven; without Him, and apart from Him, no one can enter. I am so happy that I get to be a part of Him, of His body, the Church. That means I am in the safest hands in the world!