Translation
And this will be the sign
Go to footnote numberfor you; you will find
a baby wrapped in strips of cloth
Go to footnote numberand laying in a manger.”
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
And this will be the sign that confirms all this for you; you will be able to find the one I am speaking of,
he is a newborn,
and he is suffering rejection just like you have.”
Footnotes
1
God chooses when to give us a sign, which can serve either as a heads-up, a warning, or as a confirmation. In this case it was a confirmation of what the angel was saying, a way for them to test its veracity.
2: “strips of cloth”
This part was not hard to believe for it was the common practice among most of the population. However, it served the purpose of indicating to the shepherds that the baby was a newborn. They were not looking for a man, or a boy, or even a toddler, only for a newborn baby. In a small town like Bethlehem, this narrowed the search considerably.
3: “in a manger"
This was the part that was not normal. We do not find any other child’s birth described in the Bible with such humble surroundings. In fact I have never heard of another child being born at any time in history, whose parents considered a feeding trough for animals the best option for a crib. It meant that the pregnant woman had not been given any special care during her delivery; and it was most likely something the shepherds understood right away as a sign of rejection. They understood rejection, and while they did not expect the Messiah to experience rejection, they now had a connection to this savior who had come to this world in such a tiny package.
This also meant that they could go to town and look for this baby and find Him; all they had to do was search all the stables in the town. This was something they could easily do, and if someone questioned them, they could say they were looking for a lost sheep, and people would leave them alone.