Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

The Greatest Miracle

C.S Lewis

Wrote Mere Christianity, Chronicles of Narnia, and many other wonderful novels

Was an atheist who set out to disprove the existence of God but only proved it. He then became one of the greatest apologists of our time

Nicknamed “The Apostle to the Skeptic”

“The greatest Miracle to Christians is the incarnation of Christ”

Today we are going to discuss the birth and incarnation of Christ

We are going to do this by breaking down and studying one key verse:

Matthew 1:21 ESV

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

“She will bear a son” (Part 1)

Who is this She?

This “She” is Mary. Now who exactly is Mary?

Mother of Jesus (According to Matt 1)

She was a descendent of David and Abraham

Lots of people who we would consider “bad characters” in the lineage of Jesus if you read it in chapter 1 of Matthew

We have at least two prostitutes in Christ’s lineage: Tamar and Rahab (Their stories Gen 38, and Joshua 2)

King David was a sinful man who murdered a man so he could sleep with the man’s wife

I believe God used these sinful and broken people to accomplish his purpose to show and teach us that he can use anyone from any background or situation to accomplish his purpose. This also teaches us that God will redeem anyone from any background or situation.

A seemingly normal girl who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, nothing really special about her

Many girls were betrothed to men who were older than them who had jobs and professions.

“Will Bear a Son”

There was one catch though—she was pregnant (or became pregnant before she was married to Joseph). Now typically this would seem to be disastrous because the obvious reason she was pregnant before she was married was because she commited adultery. However, we learn from scripture that this pregnancy was not from an act of sin but of an act God!

Luke 1:26–38 ESV

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Now the story of this miraculous birth is a great one and we are going to look at how scripture tells it because scripture tells the story better than I ever will be able to.

Luke 2:1–7 ESV

1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 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.

Two Kings

We see here a short tale of two kings: One is the king of Rome the heir of Julius Caesar, who is given the name Augustus which means “magnificent one”. The Jews that this name was blasphemous because they knew that a title of such respect could only be reserved for God.

Romans viewed their emperor as a “god”

The Romans viewed their rulers as gods. This man would was ruling the largest empire on earth at the time, so one could see why a pagan nation would give him the title of god.

The king in a manger

The roman king is nothing compared to the king that is here in this manger. The Roman king may currently sit on a throne where he perceives that he is ruling on the thrown of the largest empire ever known, but this child is far greater than he. This child is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The sovereign, the benevolent, the one who men fear to face. He is the ruler of all. This child seems helpless but he has a thousand legions of angles at his beck and call!

and you shall call his name Jesus (Part 2)

Matthew 1:21 ESV

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

The name “Jesus”, also translated as “Joshua”, means “Yahweh is salvation”

Notice it means “Yahweh is salvation”. It is not Yahweh brings salvation or gives salvation but is salvation.

Here we see that God is our only way to redemption. He has bent to bring us great salvation. Sending his one and only son to Earth to become a servant who would save his people.

Philippians 2:5–11 ESV

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Christ humbled himself by coming down as a man but he is indeed exalted

The Christmas narrative in Luke 2 emphasizes this aspect of the incarnation

Luke 2:8–14 ESV

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!”

The intersection of Heaven and Earth

Verse 9: In the KJV it says they were “sore afraid”

Verses 13-14 is a display of what I believe heaven will be like. This is one of those special times in scripture where we get to to see a glimpse of heaven.

When we get to heaven, we will be praising the Lord all the time!

When the Shepherds witnessed this great event they acted on it

Luke 2:15–20 ESV

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. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

The shepherds were told of this great miracle that has occured and they acted on it. (they first went to see the Christ, then they left proclaiming what they have seen)

Do you act on the knowledge of God that has been bestowed to you?

For he will save his people from their sins (part 3)

Matthew 1:21 ESV

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

The Gospel

This is the Gospel—Christ saves his people from their sins!

1 Corinthians 15:1–4 ESV

1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

The incarnation did not purchase us salvation but the obedience of Christ in his life, death, and resurrection did.

When we think of Christmas I want all of you to remember and celebrate the incarnation of God becoming flesh but do not forget the act that brought us salvation that would occur 33 years later.

We read from the scriptures in Isaiah not only the foretelling of this child in Isaiah 9 but we see the atonement that would be achieved by this savior that the world rejected.

He bore our sins

Isaiah 53:4–7 ESV

4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

This infant would one day go to the cross in in full obedience to the Father and love for us. he would take the full punishment for our sins. He stood in our place even though we deserve death.

The Will of God to Crush Him

Isaiah 53:10–12 ESV

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

We see in verse 10 that it was the will of the Father to crush his son severely.

This infant who we know he loves and has loved for all eternity, the one who the angels are worshipping will be crushed severely as a perfect sin offering.

Do not forget the Gospel—but take this time to celebrate the incarnation of our great and perfect savior, Jesus Christ.

Christmas isn’t about lights, trees, and presents. It’s not even about family coming together for Holiday cheer. This is the time of year where we celebrate the greatest miracle ever—the incarnation of Jesus Christ. We celebrate the incarnation because this is the beginning of what would bring us salvation from our sins.

“And that Charley Brown is what Christmas is all about”