Christmas 2022- Christmas Day

The Christmas Story according to Luke, 2

Luke(Chapter 2) And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.The Shepherds and the Angels 8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and 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 among those with whom he is pleased!”15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child

The subtle message of the gift wrapping of the Child, Jesus. Swaddling cloths. The strips of linon

Luke 2:12 tells us that when the angels appeared to the shepherds at night, the sign identifying the infant Jesus as the Messiah was that He would be wrapped in baby clothes – sparganoo. Historical records reveal what was significant about these clothes. It was common in ancient times to not put what we would call diapers on the baby. Often very young children would be allowed to walk about without under garments..[10, 11] Most often it was the more affluent who had the resources to afford undergarments for their children.  Since Mary and Joseph were on travel journeying the town of Joseph’s ancestors at the time of Jesus’ birth, it is possible that people of means gave Mary some clothes for Jesus. What is really significant is that Jesus was also in a manger – an animal feeding trough. The baby Jesus lying in an animal trough and ironically wrapped in clothes fitting for the wealthy would be an incredible sign to the shepherds.

It is remarkable that water, salt, oil, and linen were all likely present at the birth of Christ. Each of these items points to ancient sacrifice and temple worship. Water was used both for the purification of the priests and for washing the sacrifices. Salt, as mentioned, was added to all sacrifices, symbolizing “the lasting nature of the covenant.” [4] Olive oil was used in some sacrificial offerings such as for the grain offering, for the anointing of priests, and for lighting the menorah in the temple. White linen was used to clothe and dress the priests.

In addition, the Savior laying in a feeding manger may have been a type and shadow for how we each must symbolically partake of His sacrificed flesh and blood. How appropriate that the true Lamb of God, the infinite and eternal sacrifice, was salted, anointed, wrapped in cloth, and laid in a manger symbolically pointing to his sacrifice, of which if we partake, we will have eternal life! These mangers were of various sizes and generally were about six to eight inches deep. The scriptures tell us that once the shepherds found the infant lying in a manger, they knew, because of the uniqueness of the situation, that they had found the promised Messiah.

Conclusion: Jesus was wrapped in cloths, lying in the manger, as a sign that He was special and that He was the King of kings. The significance of his royalty should never be diminished (Rev. 19:16).

Paul’s Declaration of Christ:

Chapter 1. 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing.

(Chapter 1. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Christmas is a Reminder of Our Hope Received-

This is the simple and easy part of the Christmas story for the believer in Christ. We know the depth of the story. This is Paul’s experience that is written in the book of Colossians. Who is Christ— to Paul, more than a child in the manger.

He is the invisible God

He is Firstborn of all Creation

He is the Head of the Church, the body of believers, (those who believe in the resurrection of the dead) Others preceded Jesus in rising from the dead. Lazarus is one example (John 11:38–44). Jesus is first in rank. Others were raised only to die again. Jesus was the first person to rise, never to die again. He is the first person to conquer death, and all other resurrections are based on his

He is the firstborn from the dead! NLT: first in everything. The NLT preserves the ambiguity of the Greek, which can mean “first in every respect” or “first among all things.” The latter fits well with Christ’s supremacy over the various principalities and powers. “Jesus has supremacy over all things because all of God’s fullness resides in Jesus: He is the full embodiment of God’s attributes and saving grace. Through Jesus, God is able to reconcile to himself all things. Reconciliation is the removal of hostility and the restoring of friendly relations to parties who have been at war.”

He is the embodiment of the fullness of God!

Anders, Max. 1999. Galatians-Colossians. Vol. 8. Holman New Testament Commentary. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.Anders, Max. 1999. Galatians-Colossians. Vol. 8. Holman New Testament Commentary. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.Hoehner, Harold W., Philip W. Comfort, and Peter H. Davids. 2008. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, Philemon. Vol. 16. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

Christmas is a Reminder of Loving those we love-

we give gifts to folks we love and care for… family, neighbors etc. This is the human connection. This is the easy expression.

Christmas is a Reminder to Love Those who Do Not Love Us. And this is to be daily.

Jesus said, 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:46

Luke Chapter 6. 32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

Giving to the Needy-Poor: Give to those who cannot repay you…

Paul spoke of this in the letter to the Romans. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

REFLECTION SONG: Messiah, Francesca Battistelli