Jesus Is the True Miracle of Christmas

 

The Story of Christmas has been told for over 2000 years. It is an unchanging story. It is a story of the birth of a child, a son that would change the course of the world; that would make the children of men shout for joy; change stoney hearts into hearts soft as flesh; that would promise peace on earth and good will to all men. The story of Christmas begins with…

 

I. A BIRTH FORETOLD

 

                In ancient times, before the joining of all twelve tribes known in our day as Israel, there existed hostility between them. Tribal hostility still exists in places like Iraq and Afghanistan where families and clans live much as they have for thousands of years. The Biblical 12 Tribes had only one thing in common with one another and that was the belief in the One True God, Yahweh.

 

                Essentially, there were two tribal kingdoms; Judah, the Southern Kingdom  and Israel, the Northern Kingdom.

 

                 Ahaz was king of the Southern two Tribes: Judah and Benjamin. His capital was Jerusalem. His kingdom was under imminent danger from the Northern Tribes: Israel,  Reuben, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulon, and Ephraim.

 

                Judah was the smaller of the tribes with only Benjamin, the smallest of all, as an ally. The Tribe of Israel was the larger of the two with the remaining ten tribes. Israel outnumbered Judah by 20 to 1.

 

                Israel, potential invader of Judah, with his allies including, gathered his armies and prepared to attack Judah.

 

                Ahaz “trembled” according to the Bible before this prospect. Israel threatened to “vex” Judah and destroy him and set up their king in Jerusalem.

 

                God intervened and said to Ahaz, through His prophet: “Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.” Isaiah 7:11

 

                In an ignorant act of false spirituality Ahaz refused to “impose” on God and ask anything. To this, because of Ahaz’s disobedience, The prophet  said, “ Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?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.” Isaiah 7:13-14

 

 

II. A BIRTH IS PROMISED

                700 years had come and gone and there had been no reports of such a birth. The prophesy was hidden in the Book of Isaiah and generally unnoticed. Then, Paul records an amazing event: Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law. How the birth came about…

 

A. God sent  a message to young virgin named Mary: Luke 1:26-33And in the sixth month [of Elizabeth, soon to give birth to John the Baptist] the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary : for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

 

1. Mary’s Wonderment: Luke 1:34-37 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

 

                Mary’s wonderment was not a lack of faith. She simply wondered at the message and asks questions that were perfectly in order: How shall this be? I know not a  man?

 

1. Mary was discrete Luke 2:19But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

 

1. Mary was comforted Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
2.  Mary was convinced: Luke 1:38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

 

B. Joseph’ Dilemma —  Matthew 1:18-19 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph , before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

 

1. Joseph and Mary were not yet married. They had not yet “come together” as would be expected of a married couple. In fact a married couple who would not “come together” was considered by the community to be cursed. The idea of marriage between a man and a woman was to enjoy one another and “replenish the earth.”

     2. Joseph was a just, kind, and righteous man. Deuteronomy 24:1-2When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.

 Jewish law further stipulated that in a public divorce the transgression of the wife was also made public. Though David under Jewish Law, had the right to publicly break off the engagement, he chose not to do so. He loved Mary and did not want to bring her to open disgrace. He decided to annul the proposed marriage without divulging the transgression.

 

C. Joseph’s Dream: 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.

 

Matthew 1:24-25Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

 

D. The Angel’s Announcement to the Shepherds

Luke 2:8-18 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 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. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

 

III. A CHILD IS BORN

Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

 

A. The child is born and a son given – John 3:16 – a gift of love

1. His Father has given Him absolute rule over His kingdom to vindicate it from centuries of misrule by disobedient men who instead of ruling righteously, ruled in defiance of God.
2. He is Wonderful Counsellor, Isaiah 11:2-5 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
3. The mighty God,Psalms 24:8-10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.
4. The everlasting Father, He is One with the Father [John 10:30“I and the Father are One]. He is the Father of all ages to come [Hebrews 2:5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we spea]..
5. The Prince of Peace. As the child born unto us; as the Son given to us, He is at this moment our peace [Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us].

As The child born; The Son Given, he carries upon Himself:

• Eternal Dignity:  As the eternal Son of God unending dignity is ascribed to Him. He is “on high,” The heaven is His throne; the earth, His footstool. He alone is to be worshipped above all other gods. He alone sits at the right hand of the Majesty on High. He alone will judge men and angels. He is to be worshipped as God for He is God.
• Eternal Sovereignty:  As the Son of God He is given complete authority over heaven and earth and all that is in them. His will be done in all matters under heaven and in the earth. His purposes will never be thwarted.  Jesus Christ did not “become” sovereign at birth. He was as in the beginning sovereign; He is now as he was in the beginning, sovereign; He will always be as He was in the beginning, as He is now, Sovereign!

We may trust in this child, this Son of God because of His:

• Eternal Integrity:  His eternal integrity [morality, honesty, lacking no good thing, trustworthy] is such that His Life, nature, and character is perfect in all ways and will never change from what He has always been, what He was, and what He is. Purer than pure and altogether lovely in all His attributes.

IV. A SON IS GIVEN

This wonderful gift is ours, wrapped in an infants garments, born in a cattle’s food trough with the odor of the animal permeating the place this was the chosen place for the child Jesus to be born. He is the gift of God to us. He has freed us from the bondage of the demands of the Law as a means of merit; from sin, the fear of death, and the grave, and from the bondage of our own sinfulness.

To us a Child of hope is born,
To us a Son is giv’n,
Him shall the tribes of earth obey,
Him all the hosts of Heav’n.

His Name shall be the Prince of Peace,
Forevermore adorned,
The Wonderful, the Counselor,
The great and mighty Lord.

His pow’r, increasing, still shall spread,
His reign no end shall know,
Justice shall guard His throne above,
And peace abound below.

To us a Child of hope is born,
To us a Son is giv’n,
The Wonderful, the Counselor,
The mighty Lord of Heav’n.

        This wonderful Child; this wonderful Son has been given to save His people from their sins. He is the “Gift of God unto salvation to all that shall believe.” He is born that His people would have life in abundance. He is born to free His people from their sins. Have you received this wonderful child; this begotten Son of God; this Beloved Son of God? “He that believeth on Him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life. He is the gift of God, will you receive it? You may do so today. Acknowledge Him as your Lord and Savior…it was for us, His people He came to save.  The Child of Wonder; This Son given; This Jesus Christ  is THE CHRISTMAS STORY.