Three Christmas Questions
December 2006
Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph,
before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy
Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to
disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had
considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as
your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy
Spirit. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He
will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to
fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold, the
virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His
name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” And Joseph awoke
from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took
Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son;
and he called His name Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25
Most of us are familiar with the events
that surrounded the birth of our Lord. Even those who never attend
church or read the Bible would probably be able to give you a couple of
the basic elements of the Christmas story, including the virgin birth,
Mary and Joseph, animals, the full inn, Bethlehem, shepherds, and the
angelic announcement.
Other things are associated with the Christmas
story (although happening some time later) including the star in the
east, the visit of the Magi, the giving of the gifts, and Herod’s order
to slaughter all the male children two years old and younger.
For believers, all of these details only serve
to set the stage for the element of the Christmas story that is of real
significance.
What was it really all about? Was it just Magi
and a baby born in a manger? Let’s focus on Matthew 1:21 and
answer three questions.
“She will bear a Son; and you
shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their
sins.” Matthew 1:21
Who was the Baby?
Who was this Person that was born in Bethlehem
two thousand years ago? Who was this Person who so influenced history
that we date all events as they relate to His birth? Who was that Baby
in a manger?
First, Scripture teaches that Jesus Christ is a
man. He was born as any other man. He had a mother. He came into the
world as a baby. He lived, grew developed and learned. (Luke 2:52)
Matthew tells us in his narrative that He was a
man Who was given the name of “Jesus.” That is a very human name. It
is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua which means “Savior” or “God
saves.” So although “Jesus” is the name of His humanity, even that name
suggests more than mere humanity. The angel said to Joseph that this One
named Jesus would “save His people from their sins.”
He is a man, but not just a man. The text
indicates that He is far more than a mere a man. It is important that we
don’t forget about Jesus’ humanity. He was not a spirit, an illusion, or
a phantom. But it is also essential that we don’t forget that this One
being born as a man is none other than God Himself!
A couple of things from the text indicate this.
First, we have that vital piece of information that Jesus was born of a
virgin. Mary had had no relations with a man and yet she was pregnant.
This is why Joseph was considering breaking off his betrothal.
The angel had to inform Joseph that this baby
was not conceived as a result of human relations or some intimacy with a
man. Rather, Mary’s pregnancy was the result of a divine act. It was a
miraculous conception.
Second, the angel told Joseph that the Baby
conceived in her was of the Holy Spirit. This was no ordinary baby, He
was the Holy One of Israel, conceived of the Holy Spirit.
This birth was foretold by the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 7:14 - Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:
Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call
His name Immanuel.
Then, in case we are prone to miss the import
of such a statement, Matthew goes through the trouble of translating for
us the name “Immanuel” which means “God with us.”
Who is this Baby? He is God with us.
Human? Yes. Completely. Full humanity in
perfection – without sin. But also, Immanuel, which is “God with us.”
It is important that you and I understand who
Jesus Christ is. People are prone to call Him a good teacher, a good
philosopher or a religious leader. He has been called a revolutionary,
a martyr, and a zealot. He has been labeled as one who simply was ahead
of his time religiously and ethically.
But in all these assessments of Christ and His
influence upon humanity, there is one common element. They all make Him
out to be nothing more than an ordinary man. These evaluations of Christ
will grant that He had an extraordinary vision, extraordinary abilities,
and was an extraordinary communicator, but, they say, He was just an
ordinary man.
One thing that nearly every skeptic and
unbeliever will assent to is that He was a good person who did good
things. But I have to disagree with the skeptic at this point. He was
not good. . . if He was not God.
That is to say, if Jesus Christ was not and is
not God in human flesh, then He was not good. Why would I say such a
thing? Because, He claimed to be God in human flesh.
For me to assert that Jesus Christ was God in
human flesh is not for me to say something of Him that He never said.
It is not for me to elevate Him beyond Who He claimed to be. He claimed
equality with the Father. He worked on the Sabbath and claimed to be
Lord of the Sabbath. He took upon Himself the prerogative of forgiving
sins, something only God can do. He claimed the authority of God
Himself. He claimed to have the nature of God. He accepted worship as
God, claimed the prerogatives of Deity and used divine titles and names
for Himself.
Jesus’ testimony of Himself is that He is God
in human flesh. He claimed to be the I AM – Jehovah of the Old
Testament who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and He claimed to
exist before Abraham.
Now follow some simple thinking with me for a
moment. Jesus was a man who claimed to be God. If He was not, then
there exists only two possibilities.
First, Jesus was not God and knew it, yet
claimed to be God. He even performed miraculous signs in an attempt to
convince others that His claims were true. If He was not God and knew
it, yet claimed that title for Himself, He was a liar. In which case,
He was not good.
Second, Jesus was not God, but thought He was
and therefore He claimed to be God. Now, if Jesus was not God, but
thought He was, He was not a liar but a lunatic. He was delusional. We
have special padded rooms for people who think things like that! If
this is the case, then Jesus was a self deceived lunatic, in which case,
you cannot say He was good, can you?
So Jesus Christ is either a liar, a lunatic, or
He is Who He says He is - Lord.1
He is Who He claimed to be, the Alpha and the
Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Creator, Redeemer, the God of
Israel, the Great “I AM,” Immanuel, God with us.
Who was that Baby? He was none other than the
only true God - God the Son - equal with the Father, second person of
the Holy Trinity who came in human flesh. He was the sinless Son of God
who became the God-Man.
Why was He born?
This question was answered by the angel in what
he said to Joseph. “You shall name Him Jesus for He will save His people
from their sins.”
He was not born to be a revolutionary or a
rebel. He was not born just to teach and do good things. His purpose
for coming was “to save His people from their sins.”
He lived to die. Jesus said of Himself that
He “came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) Jesus said
that He did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as
a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). He knew that He had come to pay
the price for the sins of all those that will believe on Him for
salvation. He came to shed His blood, to give His life, to die. All of
His life was a preparation for His offering of Himself upon the cross as
a payment for sin.
You have to look at what Jesus said of Himself.
He claimed to be God in human flesh who came to earth to take the
penalty of sin upon Himself.
Does it disturb you that I should talk about
the death of Christ, His blood, and the cross at Christmas? Well, that
is why there is a Christmas. That is why He came. That is what
Christmas is all about. It is not about world peace. It is not about a
warm fuzzy feeling, family, presents, and eggnog. It is about a Man who
was born to die. His birth was all for His death.
He is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins
of the world.
How can I know Him?
One of the saddest things about the Christmas
season is that millions will celebrate the birthday of a Person they
don’t even know. I don’t know about you, but I see it as a pointless
expense of my energies and ambitions to take a day of my year to spend
celebrating the birth of a Person I have never met and do not know. I
don’t even take a full day off and spend a lot of energy celebrating my
own birthday!
Are you going to set aside an entire day of
your life to celebrate the birth of a Person you have never met or
known? Do you know Christ? Have you ever met Him? You must ask
yourself that question. There may be some of you reading this who
have come to Kootenai Community Church for a long time, but have never
placed your faith in Christ for salvation.
The most important question you can ask right
now is, “How can I know Him?” I’ll give you the answer: by faith.
The Scriptures invite all to come to the
Savior. You cannot know God apart from Christ. Jesus claimed that no
one can come to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6)
Before you can know the Savior, you have to
understand why you need one. You need a Savior because you are a
sinner. You have rebelled against God. You have sinned against a holy
God who demands holiness of you. You will stand before Him and He will
demand righteousness to enter heaven. You have none. We are
unrighteous, unholy. We cannot see the Kingdom of God without a new
birth and the giving of new life which is a work of the Spirit of God.
We have sinned, and as sinners we deserve to be
separated from God for eternity as punishment for our sin. We deserve
God’s wrath and without Christ, we are under His wrath. Sin is so
hideous and serious because it is an affront to a Holy God. Those who
reject Christ will perish. There is a hell, there is a place of
punishment for those who do not obey the gospel.
That is the bad news. But there is good news!
The good news is that “God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have
everlasting life” (John 3:16). There is a price for our sin that
needs to be paid. That price has been paid in Christ. Christ died in
the place of sinners. That salvation is offered to you. The
righteousness that God demands of you to enter heaven has been provided
for you in Christ.
You must believe on Him. You must trust in
Him. Acknowledge your sin and your need for a Savior. Believe on
Christ today. If you are not trusting in Christ for salvation, then you
are trusting in something else.
Maybe you have put your faith in your own good
deeds to save you. You are trusting that God will let you into heaven
as a result of seeing your goodness. If you believe that, you don’t
understand the gravity of your sin. We can do no good of which God can
accept because we are sinners who deserve His wrath.
There is only one object of faith by which we
are saved and that is faith in the Savior who came to die. Trust Him
for salvation. Trust Him to take your sin. Trust in the One who came to
save His people from their sins.
The Word of God declares that there is only one
Sacrifice for sin, and He is all you need. You must cast yourself upon
the mercy and grace of Christ who died in your place.
That Baby in the manger was the sinless Son of
God who lived a sinless life, kept God’s perfect holy law on your
behalf, then gave His life as an atonement for sin. He died, He was
buried and He rose again the third day. He offers you life, forgiveness
and salvation. If you don’t know Him, turn to Him today, or face Him as
your Judge for eternity!
Do you know Him? I beg you on behalf of Christ
to be reconciled to God by the cross, in Christ.
Without Wax -
Jim Osman
Pastor/Teacher
Footnotes:
1. C.S. Lewis was the first to
develop the Liar, Lunatic, Lord dilemma. I read it in his book Mere
Christianity.
|
