Part 3/5
Read: Matthew 1:21, Isaiah 35:1-10
Christmas is a season that we are reminded of the story of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. It’s a familiar story and, perhaps, familiarity has caused us to grow disenchanted by the whole affair. We are much more likely to get excited about the entailments of Christmas, like getting together with family and friends, exchanging gifts, decorating, partying, and eating. In many ways, the celebration of Jesus has become more important than Jesus Himself.
I don’t intend to be a “Scrooge” and make everyone feel guilty for wanting to have a little fun, but I hope to take some time to remind everyone what Christmas is all about so that we are once again inspired by the miracle of Jesus’ birth and overwhelmed with gratitude and praise for the gift of a savior.
GOD SAVES!
We have been looking at the story of Jesus’ incarnation in the Gospel of Matthew. Joseph has just found out that the woman He is betrothed to is going to have a baby. He doesn’t know what is going on, but he does know one thing, that baby is not his. As a righteous man, Joseph knows what is required by the law, but as a gracious man he chooses to put Mary away quietly. That is when an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and announces that Mary is going to give birth to the Son of God.
Notice what the angel said, “She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus for He will save His people…” Throughout the Bible names are significant. Jesus, unequivocally, is the name with the most significance. It means, “God Saves.” This is a profound announcement. As a faithful Jew, Joseph would have been waiting longingly for the coming Messiah, the Christ. But to be told that he was going to be the adoptive father of the savior? That must have been overwhelming.
SAVED FROM WHAT?
Notice, again, the full verse, “She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” This latter part must have astonished Joseph. He would have likely had some expectations about the Messiah. We don’t know exactly what Joseph thought, he never actually speaks and we never hear anything about him after Jesus’ early childhood, but we do know what most people thought of Jesus when they perceived Him as the Messiah. They saw Him as a man, someone who would bring liberation, peace, and restoration of their political and economic situation. Even Jesus’ own siblings and mother had certain expectations on what Jesus was supposed to do. But Jesus did not fit the mold of how He was received.
Certainly, no one was looking for the Messiah to save people from their sins. Because, despite all of the challenges that the people faced in their day, their own personal sins seemed small in comparison.
A STRANGE WAY TO SAVE THE WORLD
In many ways, we struggle with what to make of Jesus in our lives as well. Not only are the exciting elements of Christmas more attractive than sitting down and contemplating the theological implications of the incarnation, but the problems we are facing seem greater and more pressing than the issue of our sin.
Like the people in Jesus’ day, we have our own ideas about what Jesus should do to save the world. Perhaps you struggle with these questions as well.
Why doesn’t God just create a utopia where we can all just have an easy life and not be distracted by the daily struggle of survival? If I didn’t have to work so much, I would certainly have more time for God. But Jesus already tried that. Adam and Eve lived in a sinless and perfect world, but they sinned. I like to think that I would have done better than my namesake, but I know myself and I don’t like following orders, especially orders where the explanation requires blind obedience. I would want to know why I couldn’t eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It would eat at me so much that I am sure I’d eventually succumb and take the fruit.
Why doesn’t God just judge the bad people and bless the good people? He did that too. He punished the Egyptians and rescued the People of Israel from slavery. But it didn’t take very long for the Israelites to start complaining and say that they wanted to go back to Egypt. If God only punished the people who deserved it, we would all have to suffer the wrath of God, because we have all sinned. An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.
Why doesn’t God just come back and take control over the world as the rightful king? He’s going to do that. But if you read Revelation, it doesn’t have a happy outcome for most people. The nations will not bow the knee and they will go to war with God. It will be so bloody and violent that it will make the other world wars look like skirmishes between allies.
The way that Jesus came into the world seems so outside of the realm of possibilities, yet, in His infinite wisdom and grace, He has chosen a plan that will save people from the greatest problem in the world, sin, and bring many to love and worship God.
Jesus was born of a family of low status, he came as a baby and submitted Himself to the full human experience with all of its limitations. He suffered in every point that we are tempted, and yet was without sin. And in the end, He died the death that we deserved to die and bore the weight of God’s wrath and the punishment for our sins. God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have had an eternity to come up with a plan that would save mankind, deal with their sins, and capture our hearts and devotion. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane the night that He was betrayed, He prayed to the Father and asked one last time if there was any other way, but there is no other way. It is not the way that either of us would have chosen or even imagined, but it is the only way that can actually work.
JESUS IS SAVING THE WORLD…THROUGH US
As Christians, we know this and rejoice in our salvation if we have tasted and seen that God is good. But it is still difficult for us to submit to God’s plan. We want to join Him on the council of the Godhead and insert our own ideas on how the world should work. But Jesus demonstrates the upside down nature of how He changes the world. It is the only way that truly makes a difference.
Jesus is still changing the world in the same humble way that He has always worked. He has called the Church to be a city that is set on a hill, to rescue the lost from slavery to sin. He has told us to be salt. If we are complaining about how bad the world has gotten, it’s self-incriminating. He has called us to be light, so that the world will hear and see the gospel. We are sinners who have found grace in God. This is a message of hope in a world of darkness. We have been called to go into all of the world and make disciples. Then, when others see our good works, they can join with us in giving glory to our Father in heaven. This is how Jesus is changing the world. This is the true meaning of Christmas.
Adam Miller is the president and host of Songtime Radio and serves as the pastor of South Chatham Community Church. This article is a condensed version of one of his sermons.