Jesus is the Heart of Christmas

Let me begin this morning by saying Merry Christmas to everyone that is here. We have finally made it. This entire year ends with a celebration of the one that came to bring hope, love, joy and peace to our earth. He came here to save us. Jesus is truly at the heart of Christmas.

If you have your bibles this morning and you want to follow along with me, I am reading from Matthew chapter one.

Matthew 1:18–25 NIV

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

In order for us to fully understand what was going on here we have to understand the traditions of an ancient Jewish marriage.

First, the two families would agree to the union and negotiate the betrothal. Next, a public announcement would be made and the couple was “pledged.” Though the couple was not officially married, their relationship could be broken only through death or divorce. Sexual relations were not yet permitted. This second step lasted for a year. During that time, the couple would live separately, with their parents. This waiting period would demonstrate the bride’s purity. If she were found to be pregnant during that time, the marriage could be annulled. So, you can see how Mary being pregnant could cause a problem.

Because Mary and Joseph were pledged to be married, they had not yet had sexual relations, but while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Mary was pledged and pregnant, and Joseph knew that the child was not his own.

Mary’s apparent unfaithfulness carried a severe social stigma. According to Jewish civil law, Joseph had the right to divorce her. The law also explained that the penalty for unchastity was death by stoning, although this was rarely carried out at this time.

Removing any doubt of Mary’s purity, Matthew explained that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. During Old Testament times, the Spirit acted on God’s initiative. Thus, the divine initiative in Jesus’ conception was made clear.

It took an angel speaking to Joseph in a dream to convince him that Mary’s pregnancy was not a reason to call off their wedding. Rather, Mary’s pregnancy was something that was divine and would change the world forever. There are two things that Matthew points out in this passage that reveals the heart of God for us and the heart of Christmas for the world.

1. The Arrival of Jesus was to Save People from Their Sins.

The world makes Christmas about so many other things, but its true meaning falls squarely on God’s dealing with our greatest limiting factor. Sin is any way that we miss the intention God had for the world when he created it. Greed, gossip, unfaithfulness, hatred, racism, et. all fall short of the glory of God. All of us have been subject to sin’s evil influence and have felt the effects of sin’s rule and reign. God’s heart of compassion moved His to send Jesus as the way of rescue for the world.

2. The Arrival of Jesus was so God could be with us.

Jesus was given the name Immanuel which means God with Us. This was a revolutionary thought at the time of Christ’s birth. Every culture surrounding Bethlehem saw their gods as angry deities who punished and corrected their subjects from afar. But this God so loved his broken creation that he wanted to come near. He became one of us, with flesh and blood, to mourn when we mourn, hurt when we hurt, and weep when we weep. God identifies with us so that we are given the opportunity to identify with Him.

We needed Jesus. We need Jesus. Someone once said it this way:

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.

A savior is one who eliminates any barrier between us and God. A savior welcomes us into a safe place alongside a God who loves us.

This love of God is spoken of in a passage that is a bit of an unconventional Christmas narrative. The book of John gives us a new perspective of what took place in Bethlehem on that Christmas night.

John 3:16 NIV

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Because of God’s great love for us, he sent Jesus; but often we forget, Jesus agreed to come. God sent Him, but Jesus came. When Jesus came, he so clearly lived with an unwavering commitment to his purpose. In other places, he says himself that he came to “seek and save the lost.”

Jesus Left His Home to Show Us the Way Home

Jesus gave up the splendors of heaven to walk in the brokenness of earth. Jesus laid aside his divinity to put on humanity. He did it all for one reason and that was to make a way for us to return home to God.

Have you ever gotten lost before? I don’t know how many times we’ve gone on a trip and miss our turn only to go in a direction that we never meant to go in. At least now we have GPS to tell us where to go. We don’t get lost near as often.

John says the key to finding our way back home is belief in Jesus. When we believe in Him, we save ourselves from perishing or being lost forever, and we are given a new life that will last into eternity in our true home that is heaven. The Greek word for believe is pisteuo, which means “to be persuaded by someone or have a confidence in someone.” A belief in Jesus is more than an intellectual exercise. Belief in Christ is to be so persuaded and confident that our lives are transformed, and our words, actions, and thoughts become dictated by our faith, hope and trust in Him. This is a work of the Spirit of God and not something we can do on our own. This is why Jesus came to rescue us. He does the work when we submit to Him.

Belief in Christ Allows us to Live Today as Well as for Eternity.

At the heart of Christmas is Jesus’ invitation to join Him and experience the full life that is available through Him. The mission began thousands of years ago in a small Bethlehem town but continues on to this very day. Of all the gifts you could possibly receive and give over the next day or two, this gift is by far the most valuable because it can save your soul.

Think about something for a moment. The time is sometime around 2 or 3 BC. Satan is thinking that he has done good. God has been silent for 400 years. But what he doesn’t realize is that Jesus will organize a rebellion. The empire of sin will fall. Jesus, a baby born in a manger with no pomp and circumstance. There is no parade only the silence of the night. It is like that powerless infant turns his face to ours and makes what, in that obscure stable, seems like a crazy, impossible demand: “Join me.”

And that is what He is asking you today. Will you join Jesus in His work in the world of rescuing all of creation? Will you trust Him with your life and unapologetically believe in Him? God so loved the world that he sent Jesus in the form of a vulnerable baby to begin a powerful movement that is still active today. What began in an unassuming cradle led tragically to a Roman cross, but it ended victoriously with an empty tomb.

So, this morning I invite you to pray this believer’s prayer with me to receive the gift of God in Christ.

Dear Jesus, for too long I have wondered lost in my life.

I know that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself.

No longer will I ignore your invitation to join you.

By faith, I gratefully receive your gift of salvation.

I am ready to trust you as my Lord and Savior.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth.

I believe you are the son of God

Who died on the cross for my sins

And rose from the dead on the third day.

Thank you for bearing my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life.

I believer your words are true.

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, and be my Savior.

Amen.