Swaddling Clothes

Being “great with child” (Luke 2.5), Mary would have made preparations for the soon to be birth of her child. Do you really think that she would not have been prepared? The swaddling process included cutting the umbilical cord, cleaning up the baby, washing His body with salty water and wrapping Him snugly so that He would feel safe.

In Ezekiel 16.4 we learn of the practice of swaddling when the Lord compares Israel to an illegitimate child who has not been properly cared for or swaddled because they had rejected the Lord. It reads, “And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.” From this we learn that washing, salting and swaddling was actually a sign of being properly cared for.

We can safely assume that Jesus at his birth would also have been washed and salted. In ancient Jewish culture, salt was a sign of a covenant and was used during sacrifices at the temple. Being salted at birth was a sign or symbol that Jesus was not only part of the covenant, but was literally the reason for the covenant.

In another writing, we looked at the manger. The Greek word which translates “manger” is used only four times in the Bible and only by Dr. Luke. In considering the birth of Jesus Christ, he would be interested in the conditions of this holy birth. And, the fact that Mary placed the newborn baby in a feeding tough would certainly garner his attention.

I find it a bit amazing that in the birthing process there is no mention of Joseph. It seems that Mary was without attendants since Dr. Luke reports that she gave birth to the child, wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger. Luke 2.7 reports that “she” did all of the work in bearing and tending to Jesus. We know that Mary was blessed and highly favored (Luke 1.28, 30) – that God had specifically chosen her and that God had prepared both she and Joseph (Matthew 1.20) by angel proclamation.

Implied within this narrative of Luke 2.7 is the assumption that when Jesus was born, Mary cleaned Him up and prepared Him as a midwife would have done. This all speaks of our Savior’s humanity. Never having given up His deity, Jesus came to the earth by means of a physical birth in order to identify with His creation and save us from our sins. (Matthew 1.21)

The Apostles’ Creed states: “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.”

As the only begotten Son of God (John 3.16), Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost. (Luke 19.10) If you have never met Him, He is looking for you.

Copyright © 2022 Dr. John H. Hill, All rights reserved.