Born with no dignity

An important reminder at the time of tinsel and over-consumption as to the nature of the one whose birthday we celebrate on 25th December:

He entered the world with no dignity. 

He would have been known as a mamzer, a child whose parents were not married. All languages have a word for mamzer, and all of them are ugly. His cradle was a feeding trough. His nursery mates had four legs. He was wrapped in rags. He was born in a cave, targeted for death, raised on the run. 

He would die with even less dignity: convicted, beaten, bleeding, abandoned, naked, shamed. He had no status. Dignity on the level of a king is the last word you would associate with Jesus.

John Ortberg (2012), Who Is This Man?