The Savior Series

CHARACTERS AT THE CRADLE

THE SAVIOR

Luke 2:7

And she gave birth to her first born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

What child is this that He should have His own special star in the heavens? What child is this that kings from the east should search for Him and fall down before Him in worship? What child is this that His birth should prompt shepherds to leave their flocks in the fields in order to search for Him? What child is this that angels from the realm of glory should announce His birth? What child is this that, even after two thousand years, people should celebrate His birth? This morning I want to give some answers to this question.

I. HE IS THE CREATOR OF THE WORLD.

When Mark wrote his gospel, he went back only as far as John the Baptist. When Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels, they went back as far as the womb of Mary. But when John wrote his gospel, he went all the way back to creation. He wrote: 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2The same was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1 3).

In Col. 1:16 17 Paul writes, 16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

What child is this? This child is the creator and sustainer of the whole universe. The angels who announced His birth were created by Him and for Him. The star that guided the magi was created by Him and for Him. And it isn’t gravity that holds the universe together, it is He. It is in Him that all things hold together. What does this mean? For one thing, it means that there isn’t one second in any person’s life, from the birth to the grave, when he doesn’t need Jesus Christ.

II. HE IS THE COUNTENANCE OF GOD.

One day Philip said to Jesus, Lord, show us the Father. Jesus responded, He who has seen Me has seen the Father (John 14:8 9). Hebrews 1:3 says He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature. Paul tells us in Phil. 2:6 that before Jesus came to earth and took on the form of man, He existed in the form of God. He changed forms when He came to earth, but the essence of His being never changed. This is a clear statement of the deity of Christ.

Jesus Christ is God. He is God the Son, of God the Father, whose body was created in Mary’s womb by God the Holy Spirit. Now, let me ask you something. Can you ever be right with God without being right with Jesus Christ? No. Because Jesus Christ is God. This was what Paul discovered on the Damascus Road, that the one thing missing in his relationship with God was the person of Jesus Christ. What child is this? He is the countenance of God.

III. HE IS THE CROWN OF HUMANITY.

In Phil. 2:7 8 Paul says that Jesus was made in the likeness of men and that he was found in appearance as a man. In 1 Tim. 2:5 Paul refers to Him as the man Christ Jesus. Jesus’ favorite term for Himself was Son of Man (Matt. 8:20). Jesus was not only God of very God, He was man of very man. He was a perfect man, and the only perfect man who ever lived. Adam was created innocent but, because of sin, was never perfected. Jesus only is the epitome of what God intended for our humanity. He is the only One about whom the Father ever said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matt. 3:17).

What does this mean for us? It means that Jesus is the only One Who can make our humanity acceptable to God. Isaiah wrote that all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment (64:6). In Rom. 7:18 Paul said, For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. The best fifteen seconds of our humanity isn’t good enough to be acceptable to God.

But listen when you invite Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior, His perfection in you is reckoned by God as the acceptability of your humanity. Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). In Gal. 2:20 Paul wrote, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. What child is this? He is the crown of humanity, the One who gives our humanity acceptability before God.