Crying baby Jesus

I was provoked by a Christmas carol this morning. Away in a Manger’ was playing on the bus as I came to work:

The cattle are lowing

the Baby awakes

but little Lord Jesus

no crying He makes.

With three children of my own, I marvel that any baby could wake and not cry. Did Jesus cry, was He a perfect baby?

The answer has to be, yes’, and no.’ He was a perfect human so yes, He was a perfect baby in that there was no taint of sin in Him. Even babies can be willful and cantankerous, obviously Jesus would not have been such from sinfulness. Yet He became weak as we are (Philippians 2:7-8), so He was still utterly dependent upon Mary to provide all His needs, He needed to let her know when He needed to be fed or a nappy changed (whatever they used in those days). Also, as an adult we know that Jesus wept (John 11:35), so I think it reasonable to assume that He did in fact cry as a baby just as we ourselves did and our children do.

Jesus felt every temptation I feel (Hebrews 4:15), every weakness I feel, every reason to disobey, yet He did not sin, he learned obedience (Hebrews 5:8). He calls me to follow Him.

Up next Rend the heavens Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence— as when fire kindles brushwood and the Hit with a plank