In Luke’s account of the Nativity story, two verses indicate that the newborn Savior would be “wrapped in swaddling clothes”:
- “And [Mary] brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes” (Luke 2:7).
- “And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).
More than a description of an “ordinary diaper and receiving blanket,” this clothing detail suggests several profound truths about Jesus Christ’s birth and identity.
A Deeper Reason Why Christ Was Wrapped in Swaddling Clothes
“Swaddling clothes” refer to long bands of cloth used to wrap infants. Throughout history, these clothing bands have been used to comfort and calm babies. For example, at the time of Christ’s birth, swaddling was a traditional custom and symbol of maternal care in Israelite culture.
But more than a common practice, the detail that Christ was wrapped in swaddling clothes suggests a deeper implication about His predestined role as both God and man.
The Old Testament can help us understand even deeper what this symbolism may represent. As Brigham Young University scholar John W. Welch explains:
“In Ezekiel 16:4, the Lord speaks to Israel about the abandoned and desperate condition in which He had found his people, saying, ‘And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee, though wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.’ In that allegorical description, the baby was cast out into an open field, unwanted and exposed, and the lack of salting (for drying and cleansing) and swaddling was a sure sign that the baby had been legally abandoned and could be claimed.”
In this sense, the clothing detail from Luke 2 symbolizes that Christ has been claimed by his mortal parents: Mary and Joseph.
“Thus, when Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling bands, this sends recognizable signals to all in their culture that this baby, who has come down as a creation of God, is wanted, owned, embraced, and is being fully cared for,” Welch suggests.
Swaddling Clothes as a Covenantal Symbol
Based on Jewish customs, scholars have proposed that Christ’s swaddling clothes may have included royal colors and markings—such as a lion, lamb, or the tree of life—to represent His lineage through the house of David and the tribe of Judah.1 As President Nelson once shared:
“Instead of … ‘wrapped in swaddling clothes’ in the English text, only one word is needed in the Greek New Testament. That word is sparganoo, which means to envelop a newborn child with special cloth, strips of which were passed from side to side. The cloth would probably bear unique family identification. That procedure was especially applicable to the birth of a firstborn son.”
According to the Church’s historical and cultural background guide to Savior of the World, a Jewish betrothal custom involved brides embroidering bands of cloth for their weddings. These swaddling bands would be wrapped around the couple’s clasped hands during the ceremony, symbolizing their marriage union. Later, the fabric would become swaddling bands for their children, suggesting covenantal belonging.
Regardless of whether Christ’s swaddling bands included distinct family markings, the inclusion of swaddling clothes in Luke 2 ultimately reminds us that He was born “according to the flesh” and embraced and claimed as the Savior of the world. As Welch writes:
“Most of all, these bands signal the helpless state of the newborn infant, within the bounds and conditions of earthly mortality. … Being wrapped in swaddling clothes, even as an eternal heir apparent, symbolizes—and perhaps does so more than any other accoutrement of life—one’s entrance into full humanity. Indeed, that the Lord Jehovah would become flesh as a helpless child and was swaddled like any other infant is an exquisite manifestation of his unfathomable condescension (see John 1:14; Philippians 2:7; 1 Nephi 11:16–20).
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Note
1. While this detail is plausible and can support our understanding of Christ’s divine heritage, Welch notes that this “idea, however endearing, goes well beyond anything we can say or know for sure” based on current evidence.
