What Child is This?

Babies are such amazing creatures. Babies of any species. Kittens, puppies, ducks, pygmy goats. But when it comes to babies, the human species creates the best.

Those tiny fingernails and downy hair. Soft as velvet cheeks. Little mouths that beg for a bottle or their mother’s breast. A tiny fist raised in anger when the meal is late. The cooing of happiness just before sleep wins.

I remember sitting next to my son’s cradle and just staring at his beauty. Thanking God over and over for giving me such an amazing gift. Praying for his future. Asking for special protection for my boy — to keep him from harm and the hurts of human life. For wisdom to raise him to be the man God intended him to be.

Imagine how incredulous Mary and Joseph must have felt to be holding the baby who was the promised Messiah. The same features as any other Jewish baby, yet a destiny that had been foretold for hundreds of years. And it was their assignment to protect him. To care for him. To help him grow into the man God intended him to be.

The same mission every responsible parent undertakes. Yet the assignment of the earthly parents of Jesus would carry an even greater weight. The sorrow to come. The unexplainable irony that his ultimate death would signal eternal life for all who believed.

What child was this tiny boy, born in Bethlehem and worshipped by shepherds? What a Savior he would become.

William Chatterton Dix must have wondered about this child as he wrote a poem in 1865, titled The Manger Throne. Based on the prophecy of Isaiah 9:6-7, we recognize the words as lyrics from Handel’s Messiah. “For unto us a child is born . . . Wonderful . . . Counselor . . . the Prince of Peace . . . .”

In 1871, John Stainer composed the carol Greensleeves and combined Dix’s poem with his melody. The result became known as both Greensleeves and What Child is This. Written in A Minor, the haunting tune hints at the destiny of the child Jesus, the mystery of his birth, and the glory of his coming kingdom.

How can we appreciate this carol and respond? By listening to this historic song with the wonder of worship.

©2024 RJ Thesman – All Rights Reserved

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Start your new year with a Bible study based on the biblical concept of trust. It’s All About Trust: How to Grow Your Trust in God.