Arrival: The King is Born
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Arrival
A Christmas Sermon
This birth was no accident. It was planned. It was hoped for. It was promised. And for good reason.
Prayer: “Jesus, may we welcome you this Christmas just like you have welcomed us. You meet us, no matter where we are or what shape we’re in with mercy, grace, and love. Let us be a people overwhelmed by the meaning of your son’s arrival. Overwhelmed by your love and offer of salvation.”
Scripture: Deuteronomy 7:6-9, Matthew 1, Luke 2
(All scripture is taken from the NIV unless otherwise noted)
Introduction
Over the past several weeks churches all around the world have been celebrating the season of Advent, including ours. Traditionally, this is a time of hopeful expectation as we remember the birth of Christ on Christmas morning. As you may remember, the word Advent means arrival. And today is the day we’ve been so eagerly waiting for… The culmination of the Advent season. Today is the day we remember and rejoice that Jesus did in fact arrive, just as promised.
We’ve all probably heard messages about Christmas. We’ve probably all read the historical accounts at the beginning of Matthew and Luke.
And it sometimes seems that we look at these passages about once per year....and then the year flies by…and things happen...
And for some of you, I’d also bet that many of you have had a long year since last Christmas.
You’re ready to put this one behind you and move on from the pain, suffering, and disappointment you’ve felt over the past twelve months.
Some of you are just ready for it to be here already…you’ve waited, you love the season, you love the focus.
Chances are good today that for one reason or another, all of us need to hear the Christmas story, again.
We need to hear how God kept his promise.
How all the prophecies about a coming savior are true.
We need to know that our God is a God who answers the prayers of His people and that the birth of Jesus wasn’t just some blip on the proverbial radar screen.
We need to remember, again, “God SO LOVED the world that He gave his one and only son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” We need the Christmas story, don't we?
We need it over and over again, year after year. Lucky for us, today is the day we’ve been so eagerly waiting for.
Today is the day we remember and rejoice that Jesus did in fact arrive, just as promised.
How many of you here have ever made a promise? And conversely, how many of you have ever broken a promise? Depending on who you’re talking to, promises are a big deal.
What are the 3 worst mistakes in business 1. Over-promising
2. Under-delivering
For as broken as our culture is in some areas, we still seem to understand the gravity of making and keeping promises. We know, on some level, that it’s important to keep your word, to do what you said you were going to do, and to come through.
And we also know…that as humans there is a huge need between each other for grace and forgiveness and humility when we fall short.
As much as we expect this from one another, we really expect God — The creator and sustainer of the universe — to be a trustworthy promise maker and keeper.
Christmas is a time we collectively remember that God did in fact come through on one of the greatest promises ever when He gave His Son to us. And to be sure…God keeps His promises…and His promises have everything to do with grace and forgiveness and humble service.
Promise
The promise of Jesus begins all the way back in the Old Testament where we learn that God is in fact faithful to His people and His word.
In the book of Deuteronomy God is reminding his people of what He did in Egypt. He reminds them that ....look, see I told you that I would be there for you. I promised to get you out of Egypt…and I did. I gave an oath. And something else He tells them ..he says in a very special way....He says, you are my people. My promise to always be with you.
It was because of this promise that He brought the Israelites out of Egypt and “redeemed them from the land of slavery.” This is all a beautiful foreshadowing of how Jesus will come to our rescue later, as the savior of all mankind.
Here’s how God continues this promise.
Read Deuteronomy 7:9
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
God is faithful to keep his promises.
We now know that God did in fact keep His promise, Jesus was born, and He has set us free from the curse of sin and death. It’s all because of Jesus, or as the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:20
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
Christmas is a day when we remember the promise of a savior. When God says, Yes, I am answering the promise. And we can say…Amen…it is so.
Prophecy - Jesus tells his followers and others who are listening…that He is the answer to all of the promises they know from God’s word.
Matthew 5:17
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
We can see, through the birth accounts in both the Gospel of Matthew and Luke, that the birth of Jesus fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies about the promised Messiah. Here are a few that stand out;
1. Christ would be born of a virgin AND He would be called Immanuel.
This prophecy comes from Isaiah 7:14
Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”
(read Matthew 1:22-23) The name Immanuel means God with us, which is precisely what Jesus came to do and be. He lived WITH US, died WITH US, rose again WITH US, and He’s building His church to this very day, WITH US. He truly is…Immanuel.
Story of Buddhist reading the Gospel.
This prophecy comes from Micah 5:2
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Luke 2:4 (CSB)
Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David...
This is where things get exciting. This Luke passage mentions that Joseph, who ends up being Jesus’ earthly Father, was part of King David’s line. And if you turn back to the birth account in Matthew chapter 1 you’ll find a detailed genealogy of Christ, leading all the way back to Abraham that goes specifically through King David. (cf. Matthew 1:1-16) This genealogy helps tie in these words we read from Micah 5:2 who says, “(Jesus’) origins are from of old, from ancient times.” And this is why the prophet Zecharaiah sings these words in Luke 1:68-70
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
It all comes together in Christ!
I know this is a lot of information…but this is God’s plan. Not haphazard.
A few weeks ago we read the passage in Isaiah…where Isaiah prophesied that God would send a child…
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom
Christ wasn’t the kind of conquering King that many were hoping for, but He was and is the king and savior we needed. He wasn’t only the prophetic promise fulfilled, He’s also a divine answer to prayer.
Not just for the Israelites two thousand years ago, but for us today as well.
Prayer
Have you ever prayed for something for a really long time?
Can you imagine praying for the same thing your entire life, only to pass that prayer onto your children in hopes that they may see it fulfilled in their lifetimes?
This was also the reality that the Israelites lived in for hundreds of years, as they waited for their coming King. A promised messiah, talked about by the prophets.
What we celebrate today is the answer to God’s promises and their prayers.
Christmas is a reminder that God does in fact answer prayer.
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered.
This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.
So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town.
Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David,
to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant.
While they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock.
Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:
Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:
Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!
When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger.
After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child,
and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.
Conclusion
As we wrap up our time today and get onto whatever else may be planned (Christmas Eve or Christmas Day), I want to leave you with this…
After learning that she would be giving birth to the Messiah, Mary went to visit her relative, Elizabeth. The two women had a brief exchange and Elizabeth proclaimed, “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises...
We are blessed by knowing that God fulfills and keeps His promises
The arrival of Jesus is a reminder that God keeps His promises. He hears our prayers. This reality overwhelmed Mary two thousand years ago and I pray it would overwhelm us today as well. No matter what you’ve been praying for, hoping for, or waiting for… God hears and sees. He knows what you need this Christmas and He knows that more than anything else what we all need most is Jesus.
God gave His son so that we might live.
Jesus has arrived.
Let’s pray together.