Graduate 102: Advent, Day 25 (Christmas Day)

The Birth of Jesus
John 1:1-18; Luke 2:1-40; Matthew 2:1-23

We finally come to the end of this series and the culmination of all this preparation. We saw how God created the world as a home for people to dwell in and share in His work; but the first man and woman rebelled against God and humanity has been rebelling against God ever since. We saw the serious consequences that follow from disobedience—in terms of judgment and punishment as well as in the brokenness and pain that have become endemic to our world. We saw the beginning of God’s unfolding plan of redemption: he established a people and nation in the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To them he revealed His model for a thriving and abundant human life. But they could not maintain that model and standard; in fact, they regularly turned from God in various attempts to resolve their problems and needs by other ways and means. And the natural result of turning away from God continued to be persisting brokenness and pain and hurt and dissatisfaction and unfulfilled needs. Time and time again God would call His people back to Himself, and time and time again they would turn from Him. But the prophets spoke of One who would permanently establish God’s rule among the people’s of the world. That One would be the hope and salvation of mankind.

In John 1 we learn that that savior, that messiah, is none other than the Son of God, Himself; the very One who created the world and everything in it has entered it in order to redeem it. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (v. 14) This is the “good news” that the angel proclaimed to the shepherds and to which they also responded with the words, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” (Luke 2:14) We see from the very outset that the message truly is for all peoples, inasmuch as it is first delivered to the ears of lowly shepherds. “This narrative would have challenged the values of many religious people, who despised shepherds; shepherds’ work kept them from participation in the religious activities of their communities.” (194, IVP Bible Background Commentary of the New Testament) Since they strayed outside of the religious norms of the Jewish people, the shepherds are the last people that anyone who is anyone would expect to receive an important prophetic utterance or angelic invitation. Notice, here, the irony and the contrast; it is the religious leaders, who even know where the child is to be born, (Matthew 2:4-6) who neglect to seek out the very Messiah for whom they have been hoping and waiting. Instead, lowly shepherds and pagan astrologers are among the first to adore Him. Luke names two other individuals who recognize the infant Messiah by the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit: Simeon (just another man from Jerusalem) and Anna (who, while a prophetess, would have been taken much less seriously than a male prophet in the Jewish tradition).

The challenge is written all over these passages: What will you do with this infant who is born in a manger, reared in poverty, and raised in obscurity? Will you ignore or discount Him as the religious leaders did? Will you attempt to kill Him or otherwise do away with Him as Herod did? Will you fall on your knees before Him in adoration and worship? Will you share with others the good news of God’s salvation—the hope of humanity?

Again, John says of Him: “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not known Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of the blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (1:10-13)

Will you receive Him? Perhaps you recognize the brokenness of this world. So many people are desperately struggling just to get by. Most of us grasp, intuitively, that something is terribly wrong with our world. The people of the first century certainly recognized it; and we can still recognize it today. A few, in the first century, recognized that Jesus held the answer and solution—that He was the answer and solution; the question is: Do you recognize that today?

Of course, the birth of Jesus Christ is just the beginning. At the age of thirty he gathers a group of followers and proceeds to turn the world on its head. He preaches a message of hope that is nothing short of life-transforming for those who will receive it and embrace it. He opens the door for men and women to enter into relationship with God and participate in His work and live the full, abundant life that God intended from the very beginning for humanity. His message is so effective that it rouses the jealousy and anger of those whose livelihoods have come to depend upon the brokenness of humanity. Jesus is betrayed, falsely accused, condemned, and crucified; but even death cannot master Him. The power that imbued Jesus, the power that He proclaimed and preached and granted to His followers, the power of God Himself—how could death ever hope to conquer it. Jesus rises from the dead and ascends to the right hand of the Father where He sits today; but by the Holy Spirit, He is made present with us still. And the power and life that He offered to His disciples is available to us today—to those who will accept and follow and submit.

This is what we celebrate at Christmas—hope, salvation, life, power, joy, peace, deliverance, redemption. Most of the world missed it; only a few recognized it—that this infant born in a stable, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger was the Son of God come to deliver us. How will you respond?

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God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.