Hidden Gems in the Christmas Story: No Caste System!

by David Chadwick

We are taking two weeks to look at hidden gems in the Christmas story. Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” I want to help you search out some of the wonders and often overlooked parts of this Christmas story.

I believe that with each hidden gem that we seek out, we gain a new appreciation for the wonder of this season.

Did you know that when the early church was formed, everyone was considered equal? Jesus made a point to demolish the systems of man that made a relationship with God inaccessible and a hierarchy of partiality that had previously existed in religious structures.

With Jesus’s death and resurrection, male, female, Jew, Greek, slave, free - all became one in Jesus (Galatians 3:28). Because of Jesus, there is no caste system in the church! Or in heaven.

But this idea really began in the Christmas story.

Note who some of the first visitors were to the manger. Shepherds. People who, in the world’s eyes in that day, were at the bottom rung of society. Low caste and class. Excluded. Marginalized. Yet there they were: Front and center in the Christmas narrative. Some of the first to worship and adore Jesus.

Jesus made us all equal in him. Rich and poor. Great and small. Grand and lowly. Shepherds and wise men. Servants and kings. The ground at the foot of the cross is level. And this message began at the cradle.

Take a look around. Even unbelievers find themselves sensitive and tender this time of year.

Maybe some of these hidden gems will give you ways to converse with all those around you—especially ones who may be a bit more open than usual to the profound message of Jesus Christ.