Why Christmas Came

Creation

Adam and Eve - Sinless -Walking with God in the Garden

Sin enters the world - Problem arises - God is Righteous and Holy Sin cannot reside in his presence.

Separation between God and Man

God deals with the serpent

3:15  I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Foreshadowing of Christ in that his seed will come from a woman and will ultimately put Satan down.

God deals with the Fall of Man

Gen3 God makes some changes.

English Standard Version (Chapter 3)

20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Covers their Sin - First concept of Blood sacrifice used as a covering of sin. A foreshadowing of sacrifice.

The world grows increasingly Godless

Flood -

Ark - is a foreshadowing of Salvation

Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ge 6:14.

in “pitch” - the Hebrew word for Atonement - “Kippur”

Abraham - God’s Covenant with him.

12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ge 12:1–3.

Blessed in what way? The Plan begins to be revealed.

Gal. 3:7

7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ga 3:7–9.

It’s not until Exodus 29-30 do we see the practice of Blood sacrifice for sins initiated.

Tabernacle is built to go with the Israelites as they wander in the desert for 40 years.

Instructions were given for the “sin” sacrifice.

English Standard Version Chapter 30

10 Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.”

Goats or Bulls - Process explained.

They would practice this until 586 bc. When Babylon sacs Jerusalem and destroys temple.

During this time God’s people would come near to God and then wander away from him. There were warnings though from many prohets.

Isaiah around 700 bc would tell them someone special would come:

English Standard Version Chapter 7

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Immanuel - “God with us”

100 years later - the prophet Jeremiah would state:

English Standard Version Chapter 23

5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’

This King would be born of the lineage of David.

He goes on to tell us in Chapter 31 that their will be a loss of children’s lives when he comes.

English Standard Version (Chapter 31)

15  Thus says the LORD:“A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping.Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”

The prophet Micah even tells the people where this King would be born.

2  But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mic 5:2.

A small little obscure town would be the birthplace of one who would change everything.

The book of Hebrews tells us that what the Levitical priests were doing in the temple was not sufficient and ultimately not even happening after the temple was destroyed.23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

10 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Sin is our problem.

Romans 6:23 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 6:22–23.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Heb 9:23–10:4.

English Standard Version Chapter 10

11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.