The two most intellectually astute years for children are age four and age seventeen. At four they know all of the questions, and at seventeen they know all of the answers. (Source: Pulpit Helps, June, 2008)
What questions do you have about Christmas? There are three questions about Christmas to which every person must know the answer.
1. Who is this baby Jesus?
Matthew 1:23 says He is Emmanuel. This name means “God with us.”
God loves you so much – He didn’t send a substitute
God loves you so much – He didn’t leave you on your own
God loves you so much – He sacrificed Himself for you
Maria Dyer was born in 1837 on the mission field in China where her parents were pioneer missionaries. Both her parents died when Maria was a little girl, and she was sent back to England to be raised by an uncle. The loss of her parents, however, did not deter her young heart from the importance of sharing the gospel. At age sixteen she, along with her sister, returned to China to work in a girl’s school as a missionary herself. Five years later, she married Hudson Taylor, a man well-known today for his life of ministry, faith, and sacrifice.
Hudson and Maria’s work was often criticized—even by other Christians. At one point Maria wrote, “As to the harsh judgings of the world, or the more painful misunderstandings of Christian brethren, I generally feel that the best plan is to go on with our work and leave God to vindicate our cause.” Of their nine children, only four survived to adulthood. Maria herself died of cholera when she was just forty-three. But she believed the cause was worthy of the sacrifice. On her grave marker these words were inscribed: “For her to live was Christ, and to die was gain.”
In a day when many are self-absorbed and care more about what they can get rather than what they can give, we need a renewal of sacrificial love. It was God’s love for us that sent Jesus into the world to die for our sins, and it is that kind of giving love that our world needs so greatly today. When we love God as we should, our interests fade as we magnify Him. (Source: The Jubilee Story of the China Inland Mission, Marshall Broomhall)
This baby Jesus is a great expression of God’s sacrificial love for you and me! He offers His perfect love as the most precious gift of all time…but we must accept the gift God offers to us.
2. Who knew about Jesus?
Isaiah Knew -- Isaiah 7:14
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Micah Knew -- Micah 5:2
“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
The Shepherds -- Luke 2:15
“And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.”
Joseph Knew -- Matthew 1:20
“But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”
Elizabeth Knew -- Luke 1:41-44
Mary Knew -- Luke 1:30-35, 38, 45
Prophets 700 years earlier knew of the baby Jesus…those close to Mary (Elizabeth & Joseph) knew who Jesus was…the Shepherds believed God told them who the baby Jesus was…and Mary herself believed who Jesus was – the Savior of the World! Do you personally know Jesus as the Savior of the world?!
3. What Difference Does It Make for ME?
Matthew 1:21-22. Tom Brady, quarterback who led the New England Patriots to victory in three Super Bowls, told 60 Minutes, “What do I have out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, ‘Hey man, this is what is.’ I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, it’s got to be more than this. I mean this isn’t, this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be.”
“What’s the answer,” asked interviewer Steve Kroft.
“I wish I knew,” Brady replied. “I wish I knew.” Source: CBSNews.com, 11/6/05
What difference does the baby Jesus make for me today?!
Matthew 1:21. This is personal. Very personal. Jesus came to save me! We didn’t know we needed saving, but He knew we did. We thought we could save ourselves, but we discovered only He could truly save us. We wanted more from life, but He knew we would only find everything in Him.
Matthew 1:22. Jesus came to prove truth. Jesus’ birth happened just like God said it would. He was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. He was born in a humble stable and laid in a manger. He was named Jesus and three decades later He was “wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities” — just like the prophet Isaiah foretold hundreds of years earlier (Is. 53:3-7)!
God’s Word is truth! Everything in God’s Word is true. Creation, heaven, hell, redemption, and everything else is true!
The Bible is the beautiful account of God revealing Himself to His creation. As we draw this post to a close, consider 6 ways God has revealed Himself in the Christmas story:
Humble- born in a stable found lying in a manger
Vulnerable – came to earth as a baby
Pure- conceived of the Holy Spirit
Truth- came just as He said He would
Savior- take away the sins of the world
Divine- called Emmanuel
This is who your God, your Savior, is.
In a survey, nearly a third of those questioned stated, that of all the persons mentioned in the Christmas story, they identified the most with the shepherds. The shepherds were average, ordinary people and were invited to see the birth of the King of kings! Source: Unknown
You and I are invited to come to the King of kings, Jesus, and accept His gift of salvation! We must know the baby Jesus as our Savior.
The baptism service we had this morning illustrates this truth. The baptism candidate will be immersed under the water and then brought back up out of the water. The believer gets baptized not only because God commands it, but also because it illustrates the work God has done in the believer’s heart. At the time of baptism, the believer is declaring Jesus died for me (going under the water), Jesus was buried (remaining under the water), and Jesus rose again from the grave (coming out of the water). This was all made possible because of what we celebrate this month! Jesus, the Messiah, was born! Praise God for our holy, loving Savior!