Christmas Day 2015

Well, thus far this morning we have been singing and reading about the birth of a very special child. We've heard about his birth being announced by the angel Gabriel to Mary. How the angel said that this son to be born would be great, would be called the son of the highest. And how Mary wondered how this could be since she had never been with a man. And the angel explained that she would conceive miraculously by the power of God. Then we read the account of Jesus' birth. We saw how all things came to pass exactly as the angel had said. And how Mary did indeed bring forth a son, yet it was not in the comfort of her own home, But while she and Joseph were far from home in Bethlehem, actually staying in a stable among the animals because there was no room for them in the inn. And amazingly, this child prophesied to be the great king, was first laid not in a bed or a crib, but in a manger that is an animal's feeding trough. We saw how this amazing thing was proclaimed also to shepherds by a whole multitude of angels and how those shepherds come to Bethlehem and they see all things exactly as the angels had said. And we did not read about this today, but we could have read further and heard about what happened a few days later when Joseph and Mary took the young child to the temple. And when they arrived, there was an old man named Simeon, a prophet, who with joy and excitement rushes over to them and takes the child in his arms. praising God for his salvation and saying of this child that he is a light to bring revelation to all peoples of the earth, that he is the glory of God's own people. And likewise, there was an old woman named Anna, a prophetess. And she sees the child and immediately begins praising and thanking God and telling all people that he is the one who will bring redemption for Israel. And also, we didn't read about this part of the story, but sometime after that, at Joseph and Mary's house, these three men, sometimes we call them wise men. Actually, we don't know if there were three. We just know they brought three gifts. So some number of wise men bringing three gifts. Show up at their house. And these are learned men from the east. Sometimes we call them kings. They weren't kings in that sense, but very high ranking, important, learned men from from far away in the Orient. And they arrive and they bring these great gifts to Joseph and Mary, who are poor. And they're bringing these gifts for Jesus, saying, we saw the star in the sky that told us that the king of the Jews had been born, and we followed the star to you. And here we are. And then we fast forwarded about 30 years. And we read this child speaking of himself as a man, saying, I am the good shepherd. I am the king who is the good shepherd. And this morning, especially for those of you who are among us who are maybe less familiar with the Bible, that some of these things may be new to you. I want to take a few minutes to do my very best to explain what do all these things mean? Why is a virgin conceiving? Why are so many people from poor shepherds to mighty kings, to angels, to prophets waiting for and searching for this child? Why are they rejoicing at his birth? And why are we as Christians celebrating this birth 2000 years later today? And to make sense of all that, I think there are really two great questions that we must answer. Number one. Who is he? Who is this child? And number two, What was he born to do? What was his mission? What was he here for? And to answer these two questions, I'd like to look together at Matthew chapter 1, verses 18 through 25. That can be found on page 807 of your Pew Bible. And previously we read about Jesus' birth being announced to Mary. This is the account of Jesus' birth being announced to Joseph, the man to whom Mary was engaged. So Matthew chapter 1 beginning in verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, Before they had come together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, Son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which is translated God with us. Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn son. And he called his name Jesus. So we read here that Joseph finds out his wife is pregnant, although she's actually not his wife yet because they're only betrothed or engaged. And we don't know what Mary had said about the previous encounter she had had with the angel Gabriel. We don't know how or if she had tried to explain that to Joseph, but whatever the case, I think Joseph, like perhaps any of us, was concluding the only rational, logical conclusion that we might expect, which is Mary had been unfaithful. Now we know that he is, the Bible says he was a just man. He still cared for her. And he could have at this time perhaps even, he could have made a public example, had her publicly shamed or possibly even stoned to death for unfaithfulness. But he doesn't want to do that. But at the same time he is thinking, I really can't take this woman to be my wife if she can't be honest, if she's unfaithful. So as he's wrestling with this, he seems resolved to say the best solution is just to quietly, secretly break off the engagement. And then the angel intervenes and explains, Joseph, no, your wife has not been unfaithful, but the child that she is bearing is a special child. And this is of God. And therefore you are to take her to be your wife. And so Joseph, we read at the end of the story, obeys and he does as the angel said. But what I want to do is focus in especially at verses 21 through 23 to consider what the angel says and then what Matthew, the writer of this book, comments in regard to that. Because this answers both of the questions that we asked just a moment ago. Who is he? And what was he born to do? So first, who is he? Well, look at verse 21. The angel says, and she will bring forth a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Now, the name Jesus is very important here. God himself chose that name and the name Jesus in Hebrew means God saves. It's what the name means. And so let's look at what the angel said. You shall call his name Jesus. That is, you shall call his name God saves, for he will save his people from their sins. You notice right away he's he's saying his name is God saves, and yet he is the one who's going to save his people from their sins. The implication, of course, is that this child is not an ordinary man, this child is God. And look at verse 22 and 23, where Matthew then supplies all this was done that it might be fulfilled what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet saying, behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated God with us. His name is Jesus, that is God saves because he will save. And his name and more the sense of a title, what he will be referred to as Emmanuel, which means God with us. He will be called the son who is God living with us. So why, then, are kings traveling from afar searching for this child to worship him? Because he's God. Why would angels announce his birth with such joy? Because he's God. Why would prophets rejoice and take him in their arms? Because he's God. And why would he be born of a virgin? Because he's not from human origin, but from heaven. We as Christians believe that there is one God who is eternal and infinite and uncreated, who in the beginning created all things by his word and now sustains all things by his power. And we believe that this one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons in one essence, and that God the Son became man. being born of the Virgin Mary, without in any way compromising or losing his deity, such that the person Jesus is both fully God and fully man. So that little child laying in a feeding trough was also the very God who spoke all things into existence. That little child, weak and small, was at the very same time Almighty God upholding the entire universe by His sovereign power. Now perhaps this seems incredible to you. Perhaps this seems like foolishness. It does seem unthinkable that God would become man. Can God even do a thing like that? Now, if God is all powerful, we could say, well, of course he could if he wanted to. But why would God want to do that? Why would God ever become man? And this will never make sense unless we can answer our second question. What was this child born to do? What was he born to do? Now, as we think about that question, let's look first at verse 22. And notice what Matthew says in reflection to all this. He says, so all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet. And one of the things this should indicate to us is that God has a plan. A plan that he had already revealed through prophets and a plan according to which Jesus was born. You see, it's really hard to understand why Jesus would be born if we don't understand the background. And it's important for us to realize that the Bible doesn't start with the birth of Jesus. This isn't the beginning of this story. In fact, this is the moment of rising tension just before the climax of this story. And so it's important to pause for a minute and go back to where does the story begin? And the story begins and the Bible begins with creation. The Bible begins by saying that in the beginning, God created the world and he made it good. He created man and woman. And in fact, God himself would walk with them. In the garden, he had made for them in the cool of the day. He made them to enjoy everlasting life and to serve him with joy and gladness forever. Without any sin, no evil, no pain or sickness and no death. But the Bible says that the first man and the first woman rebelled against God. That they rejected God's command and refused to obey him. Rather than praising and thanking God for his goodness, they believed the lie that God was withholding something good from them. And so they left God to seek it for themselves. And as a result, God left them. No longer could they have fellowship with God and walk with him and talk with him. No longer could they enjoy all the sweetness of his goodness and life. Rather, this blessed world of life became a cursed world of death. See, God left us. And our world has been characterized by wars, sickness, grief, loneliness, sorrow, tragedy, deceit, and all kinds of evil ever since. Our world has become a place in which no one truly treats others as we would have others treat us. And most bitterly, our world has become a place of universal death. The Bible says that this is the kind of world that you and I have been born into. Not a world where all is well, but a world where much is radically wrong. Not a world where we are right with God, but a world in which we are terribly separated from Him. And yet the Bible says that God has a plan. And if you were to read through the Old Testament, we don't have time today, but you would see that as God reveals this plan to us through his prophets, the plan is not about how we can return to God, but about how he is going to return or come to us. And I want to point out very briefly that if we were to think about Christianity in contrast with every other religion that I know of. Every religion says there's some problem. And every religion basically says these are the things that we need to do to get to God. But according to the Bible, there is no way for us to get to God. God has looked down and has seen that we are unable, that we cannot get to him. And yet, according to his plan, he is going to come to us. His plan is about his love and his grace and his mercy and what he is going to do in coming to us. And one of the places where this plan is talked about is by the prophet Isaiah, who's the prophet that Matthew quotes right here. And Isaiah had said this was about 700 years before Jesus was even born. Isaiah already was saying, behold, God is giving us a sign of what he's going to do and when he does it. And this is the sign. Behold, the virgin shall be with child. and bear a son and they shall call his name Immanuel. God with us. Already Isaiah was promising this and we could read a little bit further in Isaiah and Matthew doesn't record this, but it's there in Chapter 9. Isaiah goes on and he talks about this child and this son and he says for unto us a child is born unto us a son is given. And the government will be upon his shoulder. That is, he will be a great king. And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. A child called Everlasting Father, a child to be born that will be called Mighty God. What Isaiah is saying is God himself is coming. And so when Jesus was born, those who knew the prophecies and who knew something about God's plan were all anxiously and eagerly looking on. They're saying, what will he do? How will God save us? What is going to happen? God is drawing near. Now, many expected the boy Jesus to grow into a man who would seize political power and reign as a truly righteous king over all the earth. That would seem like a logical thing to expect if God would come as king. But that isn't what happened. Rather, Jesus was a man who lived a very quiet life for the first 30 years. He amazed all with his wisdom and integrity. But he didn't draw a great deal of public attention. But then at the age of about 30. For three years, he began a public ministry. Which he traveled about preaching and teaching. And he became widely known for his powerful preaching. His kindness and his grace. And for working many incredible miracles that no one had ever seen before. And he didn't do them for show, but in love for those in need of healing. And there was building expectation, what is going to happen? But then rather suddenly, after three years, he was sentenced to death and executed by the Roman government, crucified as a criminal. Though even the judge himself was convinced he was innocent. Now, what do we make of that? Did God's plan fail? How could the one promised to save us die? We need to come back to our question. What was he born to do? We've established he was born according to God's plan to come to us. But what was he born to do? Well, look again at verse 21. The angel has told us. The angel said, and she will bring forth a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. You see, the reason that we were separated from God in the first place was sin. God is holy, we are unholy. God is pure, we are filthy. God is righteous, we are unrighteous. God is light, we are darkness. And for God to draw near to us as sinners would be like the sun drawing near to a piece of straw. It would consume us and we would be destroyed. Before his awesome holiness. The only way that we as sinful people can be reconciled to God is if our sin is forgiven and washed away by the penalty of our sin being paid. That is what Jesus was born to do. to save his people from their sins by paying the penalty that our sins deserve. And when Jesus died on the cross, Jesus took the sins of his people on his own back. He himself, as the perfect man, the God man, paid the price for sin. by suffering and dying under the wrath of God so that his people might be saved from sin. And then, because he paid the price in full, death could not hold him. And on the third day, he rose from the dead and now sits exalted in heaven. So Jesus is God incarnate. God become man. And Jesus was born according to God's own plan to come down and save his people from their sins. And this is what Christmas is all about. This is why we are celebrating. But the final thing I want to leave you with. Is what does this mean for you and me? If this is true, how does it affect my life? Well, the Bible also tells us God's plan for what is yet to come. And the Bible says that one day Jesus will return to earth, not in weakness, but in power and great glory. And then all people, living or dead, will be raised to stand before him, and he will judge us all. And those who are perfectly righteous will be welcome to live in his new kingdom here on earth forever and ever rejoicing and enjoying his goodness and righteousness. But those who have sinned and rebelled against him will be cast out into the lake of fire. Where they will suffer the just penalty of their sins forever. Now, as I've said already, none of us is righteous. Every single one of us would be condemned because of our sins. But as I said before, the reason Jesus came was to save his people from their sins. And some will hear this news about Jesus's birth, death and resurrection. And sadly, it will do them no good. They will hear and simply continue to live their lives as they were before. But Jesus' people are those people who hear this news about Jesus' birth, His death and resurrection and respond. Jesus' people hear these words and believe and come to Him. and receive Him and trust Him and treasure Him. Realizing that in Him and in Him alone their sins can be washed away and they can be reconciled to God. And these people who are united to Jesus by faith will stand before Him on that final day and not be judged according to their own sins. Rather, Jesus will declare, I paid for your sins. You are righteous in my sight. Please come and enjoy my kingdom. And these people rejoice because we know that our salvation was not accomplished by any good deeds that we have done, but given as a free gift by the infinite grace and mercy of God. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the gift of your son. Thank you that you did plan. To save us. May Christ was born. To indeed save his people from their sins. No, Father, we pray for those who have not received this salvation. Lord, we pray that even now on this Christmas Day, as there is so much said about giving and receiving, we pray, Lord. May you open their hearts to receive your gift. To come to Christ. To treasure him, to realize that in him and in him alone, their sins can be washed away. We ask this in his name and for his glory. Amen.