Dear Friends:

She gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for him in the inn (Lk 2:7).

Away in a manger,

No crib for His bed,

The little Lord Jesus

Lay down His sweet head

The stars in the heavens,

Looked down where He lay,

The little Lord Jesus

Asleep on the hay.

–traditional carol

In the spray-drenched darkness, with a gale howling with demonic voices, waves crashing over the rails, and his disciples panicking and desperate, Jesus slept. It is the only incident of his sleeping recorded in the Gospels (Mt 8;18,23-27; Mk 4:35-41; Lk 8:26-39).

There are only two other mentions of him even lying down–in the manger of Bethlehem after his birth and in the garden tomb after his death (Lk 2:7; Jn 19:42). Both the manger and the tomb were borrowed. Prickly, dusty hay and a cold stone slab could not be considered “beds” in any conventional sense. Someone else lay him in them.

Is there anything to be made of these things? Is this kind of trivia fit only to be shared with tourists at Holy Land shrines and to provide fodder for strained Advent devotionals?

A friend of mine tells me that she thinks that Jesus didn’t need sleep. Such a conclusion denies the humanity of Jesus. Despite the silence of Scripture regarding the years of his childhood and adolescence, we know that Jesus grew during those periods (Lk 2:52). Sleep is essential to growth and it is fair to surmise that he had a bed in his Nazareth home during those years.

Jesus tired with physical exercise (Jn 4:6). He knew hunger. (Matt 4:2; Mk 11:12). Scripture tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way as we are (Heb 4:15). Temptation takes its opportunity when we are hungry, angry, lonely or tired. Sleep is a gift of God intended to prevent overwork and anxiety (Ps 127:2).

There really is not much to say about someone sleeping beyond the fact of their slumber. To tell a caller that someone is “asleep,” is to signal that they have been taken out of action for the moment. Since the Gospels are the account of Jesus’ actions, it is not surprising that they don’t mention his sleeping, except for the one time when peaceful rest defied the violence of the storm.

Road-weary travelers share a common longing: “I want to go home and sleep in my own bed.” This signifies the comfort and safety of familiar surroundings and a place where we find rest no matter what else is going on. Clement Clarke Moore caught this idea in his poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas:

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap . . . .

A secure place to sleep is so important to us because we are never more physically vulnerable than when we are sleeping. David gave words to a supreme trust when he wrote–

I will both lie down and sleep in peace;

for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.

Ps 4:8

Jesus offered a standing invitation to that peaceful rest, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28).  Yet, he warned a disciple who told him,”I will follow you wherever you go” that “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Lk 9:57-58).

What do we make of this paradox that Jesus invites us to rest, but says that we’ll have no place to do so if we accept the invitation? It’s the same point as to be found in the lack of mention of his earthly sleeping arrangements–Jesus did not come to stay and he does not intend that we stay here either.

Jesus left his own home, the golden warmth of fellowship with the Father and the Holy Spirit, a place without darkness, to enter into our cramped, dark and doubtful existence. He did this to convey that we belong with the Father instead of making our beds and lying in them in this world.

When he speaks to our hearts, “Come, follow me,” he is calling us out of the compromises that we’ve made for comfort and leading us away from the stasis of our complacency. “I go to prepare a place for you,” he said telling us that our place is not here but in his Father’s house where there is room enough for everyone. It is his sole mission to get us from here to there.

Under the mercy of Christ,

Kent

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Please note that the content and viewpoints of Mr. Hansen are his own and are not necessarily those of the C.S. Lewis Foundation. We have not edited his writing in any substantial way and have permission from him to post his content.

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Kent Hansen is a Christian attorney, author and speaker. He practices corporate law and is the managing attorney of the firm of Clayson, Mann, Yaeger & Hansen in Corona, California. Kent also serves as the general counsel of Loma Linda University and Medical Center in Loma Linda, California.

Finding God’s grace revealed in the ordinary experiences of life, spiritual renewal in Christ and prayer are Kent’s passions. He has written two books, Grace at 30,000 Feet and Other Unexpected Places published by Review & Herald in 2002 and Cleansing Fire, Healing Streams: Experiencing God’s Love Through Prayer, published by Pacific Press in spring 2007. Many of his stories and essays about God’s encompassing love have been published in magazines and journals. Kent is often found on the hiking trails of the southern California mountains, following major league baseball, playing the piano or writing his weekly email devotional, “A Word of Grace for Your Monday” that is read by men and women from Alaska to Zimbabwe.

Kent and his beloved Patricia are enjoying their 31st year of marriage. They are the proud parents of Andrew, a college student.