Theme: WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT
Text: Luke 2: 8-14
Introduction
A. Greetings: It’s our thanksgiving and Christmas celebration today. So let us greet one another: “Merry Christmas and Happy Thanksgiving.”
B. A heated discussion occurred during our pastoral and theological upgrading seminar regarding the celebration of Christmas. Some argued that true believers are not supposed to celebrate Christmas. The major reason given by the anti-Christmas group was: Christmas is paganism. But what these people failed to see is the reason why true believers celebrate Christmas. They were concerned only with the “when” Jesus was born and the “how” Christmas was celebrated by non-believers. Well, there is truth in saying that Christmas celebration is associated with some pagan practices, and many people do it not in faith. Therefore, true believers are supposed to let the unbelieving world see the right way of celebrating the birth of the Savior. We can never tell them the truth by abstaining ourselves from the celebration.
C. What is Christmas all about? Why are we celebrating Christmas? If you don’t know the reason, the purpose, and the focus of Christmas, your celebration will have no meaning. It will be a lifeless Christmas.
D. For sure, God wants us to know His reasons why He had His only begotten Son born into this world. On the night Jesus was born, the angels of God delivered a glorious message to the shepherds to make clear what Christmas is all about. Christmas is all about God sending His Son to earth. It was not man’s idea; it was God’s idea. Christmas wasn’t man’s initiative, it was God’s initiative. Christmas came about because of God.
Today, I want us to think about the reasons why God did what He did at Christmas. I hope what we learn today will help us to have a conscientious and significant celebration this Christmas.
Certainly, coming to this world of corruption is not a joke to both God the Father and the Son. Christmas is not a funny story –especially in heaven. It was the time when the Son of God left His glorious throne in heaven and lived in this sin-stricken world. It was the time when God the Father made the greatest sacrifice of giving up His Beloved Son to save men from sin. Paul rightly said that in Christ we receive the “unspeakable gift of God.”
The word unspeakable in that verse is used to describe the value of what God has given us through His Son. It means, “immeasurable, infinite, or unfathomable.” Why such gift of infinite value? Why were we given with the unspeakable gift of heaven?
I. CHRISTMAS OCCURRED BECAUSE OF GOD’S DESIRE
The shepherds in our passage were so privileged to be the first group of people who had received the Good News of the Savior’s birth. Why the shepherds? Why not the religious people or the political people in Israel? Because they represent the majority of people in the world. Meaning, the birth of the Messiah was not for the few selected people only, but as the angel said: “A Good News that will be to all the people.”
The Birth of Jesus is Good News for each of us! Indeed it is! Notice that the angel not only reported the glorious event of Jesus’ birth, but also conveyed God’s divine desire for each of us in light of the Savior’s birth. Christmas came about because of God’s desire to:
1. Embrace us with His love.
This world is filled with people who feel lonely, empty, unloved, hopeless, broken, and tired. A renowned person once said: “It’s mysterious to be known so universally and yet be so personally lonely.” People do get lonely. We feel lonely inside because sin had estranged us from the presence of God. Sin caused emptiness within every human’s heart that only God with His love can fill. The Father sent His Son to fill our heart with His love. He is desirously passionate to fill the emptiness of our heart.
We know John 3: 16 so well. I believed most of us have memorized this verse. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” This is the most wonderful verse in the Bible. And take note: it comes right from the lips of our Savior.
Speaking of God’s love, the apostle Paul tells us that “God demonstrated His great love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” St. Augustine says, “God loves each one of us, as if there were only one of us.”
Wow! That is what Christmas is all about. It’s about the great love of God for us. It’s not about the presents we receive, the foods we partake, the parties, or the celebrations. Those are just props made by us. Christmas is God sending His Son to embrace us with His love through Him.”
2. Encourage us with His Peace.
The shepherds were terrified when they saw the angel and the glory of the Lord shone around them. All of them were stunned with the sudden and unexpected appearance of an angel. “Terrified” means “was extremely afraid.” By the way, these shepherds were just acting normally. Normal people do have fears, apprehensions, and worries. People are afraid of the unknown, the unexpected, and the uncontrollable.
Now look at this: the angel told them, “Don’t be afraid. Listen carefully…Today, your Savior is born.” Notice that the angel did not say: “Don’t be afraid because I’m an angel.” “Your Savior is born” is the basis of the angel’s encouragement to the fearful shepherds.
Did you see the point here? Christmas bears the message of peace. The Savior is here, not just in the world, but in our heart as well. And there is perfect peace because His presence means salvation, freedom, protection, and provision.
3. Enrich us with His Joy.
The angel said: “I proclaim to you good news that brings great joy to all the people.” Any good news may bring joy, but the good news of the Messiah’s coming to earth brings great joy.
Just the news of the Messiah’s coming is enough to give great joy because the One coming is the Savior and the Source of joy. So we sing “Joy to the world the Lord has come.” Or better “The Lord has come joy is in the world.”
The world is full of darkness, sin, burdens, uncertainties, and discontentment. People are unhappy, lonely, and unsatisfied. While in heaven there is light, righteousness, and perfect joy. The Savior came to bring what heaven has. Christmas tells us that God wants us to experience heaven while we’re here on earth. He wants to enrich our lives with His joy, His light, and His righteousness so He came in the Person of His Son. Our Lord says, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (Jn.10: 10KJV).
In a large stone cathedral in Europe, there was a very large, magnificent pipe organ. One Saturday afternoon, a visitor came in and asked the custodian to see it. The custodian was hesitant but gave in upon the insistence of the stranger. When the man saw the magnificent pipe organ, he asked the custodian that he would sit on the bench and play the organ. The custodian refused. But the man pleaded earnestly until the custodian relented and allowed the man to play but only with few notes.
Overjoyed, the stranger pulled out some stops and began to play. Suddenly the cathedral was filled with the most beautiful music the custodian had ever heard in all his years in that place. The music seemed to transport him heavenward. In what seemed all too short a time, the dowdy stranger stopped playing and slid off the organ bench and started down the stairway. "Wait!" cried the custodian. "That was the most beautiful music I have ever heard in the cathedral. Who are you?”
The stranger turned for just a moment as he replied, "Mendelssohn." The man was none other than Felix Mendelssohn, one of the greatest organists and composers of the 19th century!
The custodian was alone now in that great stone edifice, the beautiful organ music still ringing in his ears. "Just think," he said softly, "I almost kept the master from playing his music in my cathedral!"
Each one of us has the opportunity to have a personal relationship with the Master of the universe, the Savior of the world, the Joy of heaven, Jesus Christ. Let’s just Him allow to "play His music" and let Him be the Master of our lives!
II. CHRISTMAS OCCURRED BY GOD’S DESIGN
I said in our introduction that Christmas is God’s initiative, idea, and design. In sending His Son to earth, it was God’s design that Christ would:
1. Fulfill the Scriptures.
The angel said that the Savior is born in the “town of David.” This is a direct reference to the Old Testament prophecy regarding the place where the Messiah would be born. The passage referred to by the angel is Micah 5. 2. This prophecy was one of the 300 fulfilled prophecies about the Incarnation of Jesus. By making allusion to this prophecy, the angel tried to convey the truth that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises of God and the epitome of God’s faithfulness. As if the angel here is saying that God is proving His faithfulness to His Word once and for all through the birth of His Son. And yes it is. Jesus is God’s Word and the expression of God’s will. Therefore everything that God says in His Word, all His promises, will be fulfilled and be expressed in and through Christ His Son.
Now what does it mean to the shepherds, to us, to me? It means that if I have the Savior in my heart then I am certain about God’s promises in His Word. Every day will be full of hope and assurance, joy and expectation.
2. Provide our Salvation.
If an angel appears to you this morning, what need would you like to tell him? Money? House? Life-partner? Great opportunities? Maybe one of these. But I tell you, angel knows best.
The angel announcing the birth of Jesus says: “Your Savior is born.” He emphasized the “our” greatest. You see, if our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
Christmas is designed for our redemption. Yesterday in his sermon, Ptr. Antonio said: “The purpose of the manger is the cross.”
On a breezy summer afternoon, a young dad and his daughter took a stroll up into the mountains to enjoy a bit of time together. Walking down a dusty trail, a rattlesnake was startled and plunged his fangs into the little girl’s leg. She shrieked in terror and the snake slithered into the tall grass. Instinctively, the dad grabbed the girl’s leg and surveyed the wound.
Miles from medical help, he knew that swift action was needed. Pulling a sharp knife from his pocket, he quickly slit across the fang wounds on her leg, bent down, and sucked the poison from her leg and spit it on the ground. He then picked her up and headed for the nearest medical help. Exhausted and frightened, he slumped into a chair in the emergency vehicle and began to feel dizzy.
A doctor checked the dad and was soon to learn that the poison from the snake had made its way into an open sore in the man’s mouth and infiltrated his blood stream. The dad died – the daughter lived.
That is what Jesus did for us. He died so that we might live. His death on the cross paid the price for our sins. "The One Who lives eternally came to die, so we, who are dying eternally, might come to live." The first Christmas solved our problem of iniquity and settled our eternity. This truth is a call to celebrate Jesus and declare His great love toward us with truly grateful heart.
3. Rule as Sovereign.
The shepherds would have been overwhelmingly amazed at the truths the angel had revealed to them. They would have been amazed at the truth of God’s love, peace, joy, faithfulness, assurance and salvation. But the angel was not finished yet. He had one more thing to convey, one more truth to reveal which is of great importance. The angel said that the Savior who is born in the city of David is “Christ the Lord.”
The Savior who is born is also the Sovereign Lord of the whole universe. It means that His coming to earth, becoming a human being did not diminish His divine identity, authority, and nature. Jesus is always the Lord of all from eternity to eternity. The Incarnation does not conceal the glory of the Lord of Glory. If many people did not see His glory when Jesus was with them, it is because their eyes were so blinded with pride and their hearts darkened with sin.
Jesus is both the Christ and the Lord. But you see, many love a savior but not a master. Many love to celebrate His birth but not willing to submit to His lordship. Many believe and love Jesus as Savior but never subjected themselves to His authority.
As we celebrate His birth we should not forget that He is our Lord.
As I said in my first message in this series, Christmas, the celebration of Jesus’ birth, is an everyday calling to be committed to Christ our Lord.
