“We Didn’t Know Who You Were”

Luke 2:7 – “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”

When Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were married in 1947, many of the streets and parks of London were crowded with people, including royalty from all over the world. King Faisal II, the 12-year-old monarch from Iraq, wore no token of his position and was more interested in the beautiful horses in the procession than the lovely princess. When he pushed his way through the line of policemen to get a better view of the prancing steeds, he was handled somewhat roughly by one of the officers.
The next day the newspapers apologized, saying in essence, “King Faisal, we didn’t know who you were!’

When Jesus was born into the world, few people knew that He was the King of kings. Some shepherds visited Him in a dirty stable, but the important people of His day were unaware of His birth.

Most of His life was spend in obscurity in Nazareth. Then for three years He engaged in an active ministry, living as an itinerant Preacher with 12 apostles selected from among the lower classes. Finally He was betrayed by one of these men, rejected by the multitude, falsely accused by the Jewish religious leaders, and crucified as a criminal. The familiar spiritual is right when it declares, “Sweet little Holy Child, we didn’t know who You was.”

After Jesus arose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, the apostle Peter told the people who had called for Christ’s death, “…brethren, I know that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers” (Acts 3:17).

Let us who know Him personally make sure that He reigns in our hearts every day and in every situation.