The birth of a child is something that never ceases to amaze me. When I stared at each of my newly born children, I was awestruck that I was looking at someone who did not even exist nine months earlier, and at an eternal soul that would live forever. As amazing as new human life is, though, it happens all the time. In fact, there are about 360,000 births per day in our world today.

Newborn children are amazing, yet they have always been a common occurrence. Countless babies were born long before Mary gave birth to Jesus, but this birth was different. This was the only birth where a multitude of angels appeared in order to announce it. For the first time wealthy dignitaries from Babylon were directed to come and worship this Child. This must have been in William C. Dix’s mind when he wrote the popular and well-loved Christmas carol “What Child is This” in 1865.

Mr. Dix was a successful insurance salesman and manager in Glasgow, Scotland. When he was only 29 years old, he contracted a serious illness that forced him to remain bedridden for a very long time. During those dark days, he sunk into a deep depression. One day he cried out to God in a way he never had before. Later he wrote that it was then that God “met Him in a new and real way.”

Out of that difficult experience he wrote many beautiful Christian hymns including “What Child is This?” The first stanza begins by imagining the bewilderment that the shepherds and wise men must have felt as they gazed at an ordinary looking newborn baby who drew the attention of heaven itself. By the way, don’t be fooled by pictures of the baby Jesus with a halo over his head. The Messiah “… has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him” (Isaiah 53:2).

That is why the first verse begins with these unforgettable questions.

What child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?

The Jews knew that the Messiah would come some day, but they did not expect Him to come as a helpless looking baby.

Then the chorus excitedly rings the answer to those questions:

This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,

[praise] The babe, the son of Mary.

Then the second verse asks why the Messiah had to be born near dirty farm animals.

Why lies He in such mean [shabby] estate,
Where ox and donkeys are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.

William Dix then answers the questions by pointing ahead to Calvary.

Nails, spears shall pierce him through,
the cross he bore for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
the Babe, the Son of Mary.

The carol ends with an exuberant call for all of us to give worship and praise to Jesus.

So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king, to own him.
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone him.

This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary.

There is no question whether or not Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Jesus is the only virgin-born baby. He is the only one who healed thousands of sick people who came to Him. Most importantly, Jesus also raised Himself from the dead exactly as He predicted He would. Only God can do that. Jesus has proven that He is the all-powerful Creator who came to earth and paid the penalty for our sin (see Colossians 1:15-17).

The unanswered question that remains for many today is this: “What will you do with this Jesus?” Read God’s Word for yourself, examine the record of Jesus’s life, and turn from your own sin. Instead of trusting in yourself, trust what Jesus has done to save you. This is the only way to have an actual relationship with the One who made us. “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

I am praying that many this Christmas season will find Jesus as their Savior. Perhaps you will be one of them. Merry Christmas!