The Arrival of Christmas

Introduction

Last week we learned about humanity’s great need for Christmas. That when humanity’s great sin comes into contact with a holy God we have a great need of Christmas. And this week now we are focusing on the arrival of Christmas. How did God provide the promised savior? How did the messiah come to us?

And we are quite used to the idea that Jesus came to us as a baby. But there is nothing tame or familiar about the truth that God Almighty took on flesh and submitted Himself to the body of an infant. My hope this morning is that we will see this very familiar story with new eyes that leave use marveling and worshipping our Great God. That’s the goal.

Towards that goal this morning we will consider the I. The Humility of Incarnation, II. The Great News of Incarnation, III. The Gospel Proclamation of Incarnation. First, let’s read the passage together. We are in Luke 2:8-14 so if you have your Bible go ahead and turn it there. God’s word says...

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!”[a]

Let’s first take a look at the Humility of Incarnation...

The Humility of Incarnation

12 “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

The fact that God became human is shocking. The fact that God truly became human starting as an infant is even more startling.

In the incarnation we see God the Son submit himself to infancy. And this is shocking for no other reason than its great humility.

The Christ coming into the world as an infant—was not shocking because infants are vulnerable. Because God is sovereign—he had been speaking through his prophets for centuries about the messiah, the Christ who would come. This child may have felt fragile in his parent's arms, but there was no danger that Jesus would not grow to be the man that he was to become.

Jesus’ life was full of “danger”. Herod tried to kill him, he got “lost” in Jerusalem, but while these things would have been scary in the moment we have the outside perspective to know that the Father would protect the messiah so that he could accomplish his purpose.

God wasn’t taking a risk by becoming a baby. Are you tracking with me here?

The truly shocking thing about this is the great humility of it!

And we are so familiar with the story of baby Jesus that we miss it. I call it the Air Conditioning Effect—when we treat something amazing as if it is commonplace.

For nearly all of human history when it was hot you sweat, when the sun went down things got dark, but you and I live in an age where it can be 105 degrees outside and 65 degrees in our house. The sun goes down and we flip a switch. Need water? We don’t make a trip to the river—we turn on the faucet. But how many times do you stop and marvel at the light switch, the faucet handle, or the thermostat?

We don’t because we’re used to it. But really all that goes into getting you freshwater, light on demand, and a climate-controlled home is pretty amazing.

Now I’m not suggesting that you start worshipping your utilities—but I’m pointing out that we are such a blessed people who live in a world of what would be “miracles” to our ancestors that maybe the shock of Christmas has worn off. Lord, help us to see it anew.

Keep in mind this God in the manger is the same God who descended onto Mt. Sinai before the Israelites in the wilderness. Let me read you this passage. And I know I’ve read it to you before, but it is the perfect example of God’s majesty and holiness coming to bear on this world.

Read with me Exodus 19:16-20

16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

This God burns the mountain with His presence.

This God is worshipped by angels who cry out, “Holy, holy, holy!”

Moses, being in the presence of our God had to wear a veil over his face because it shined with the glory of God!

Our God commands the stars, he rules the galaxies, He’s the master over all creation...

And He becomes a baby...

as a baby, he is in great need of care. He screams when he’s hungry. He thirsts. His diapers need to be changed. He spits up. His muscles are too weak to do what he wants them to do. He can't speak.

And even as a man with all the faculties of a grown man—we have to recognize that these pale in comparison to the freedom and control of exercising His divinity.

And this is the mystery of the God/Man Jesus Christ. He is both fully God and fully man. The $10 dollar seminary word is the in Jesus we see the hypostatic union. That Jesus is both truly God and truly man. Both natures are contained within one personality.

Jesus being divine has equality with God. The members of the trinity of God are equal in substance and glory, but Jesus doesn’t walk the earth to be worshipped. He walked the earth in obedience under the law. The Law that he gave to Moses on the Mountain.

Why? So that he could be a substitution for you and me. So that he could pay for our sins. So that he could cover us with His righteousness.

He was born as we are—he truly is one of us—he didn’t have a “super Jesus body”. He had a human body. He hungered, he hurt, he got cold.

And in a body just like ours, in the same fallen world that we live in. Jesus prevailed where Adam failed.

Jesus is what Adam was to be. Adam before the fall was to live forever from the moment of his creation, but brought death to all by his sin—and Jesus fixes this.

Church, can we see that there is more to this baby? There is more to the Christmas story? It’s shocking!

Jesus was like us in his humanity—not in sin—but in every other way. Isaiah 53:2 says that he had no majesty or beauty that we should look at him. This means, that in his humanity he looked like any one of us. He was normal in appearance.

But at the same time, Jesus was glorious! Hebrews 1:3 says, “he’s the radiance of the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.”

He could have demanded worship but instead, he lived in an awe-inspiring humility! Taking the form of a servant.

Micah 6:8 says,

8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,[a] and to walk humbly with your God?

Jesus fulfills this perfectly because of his great love.

1. His Great Love for His Father

The Son has always loved the Father. God in Trinity has always been in perfect relationship.

When I was serving as a youth pastor we would teach on God creating humanity. And I would ask the question, ‘Why did God create man.’

Without fail some student would raise their hand and say that God created humanity because he was lonely. God has never been lonely. He did not create man out of a need for companionship.

And when the Son took on flesh his love for the Father was not muted one bit.

So Jesus’ humility was born out of a love for the Father.

But Church, we are mistaken if we think that the humility of Christ had nothing to do with his love for us.

2. His Great Love for Us.

Romans 5:8 says, “that God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”

The Christ, the messiah, died for us because God (Father, Son, Spirit) cast his love on us.

And this is another incredible facet of the incarnation—the arrival of Christmas—we are so unlovable and yet we are loved so powerfully by God.

There is a contest held every year in the US. The purpose of this contest is to find the world’s ugliest dog. Let me show you some of the winners. This is Quasi Modo, Yoda, Zsa Zsa, and the triple crown winner, Sam.

Here’s the thing these owners love these dogs.

And I don’t want to offend anyone, but when it comes to God and us, friends, we’re the ugly dogs.

We are powerfully loved by God.

Why did Jesus wash feet, heal lepers, cast out demons?

Why did Jesus—God in the flesh—leave a heavenly throne and walk the earth in poverty?

Why did All Powerful God submit himself into the mocking hands of sinful humanity?

Why was holy, lifted up, magnificent, God so humble in his service to us?

Because if you are going to love the lowly you have to bend down low!

Friends, we are the lowly—the highest among us rises no higher than anyone else in the presence of God.

And God in great humility loves us where we are—while we were yet still sinners God loves us!

So this Christmas as you think about the arrival of God the Son on earth be in awe that God in all his magnificence has loved you so greatly! This is what the arrival of Christmas shows us. The we see shocking humility in the incarnation. We also see...

The Great News of Incarnation

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.

The incarnation of God the Son also brings with it great news.

This occasion of God entering the world is not like the scene on Mount Sinai—there is no quaking, crashing thunder, or smoke and fire.

Shepherds are tending their flocks—keeping watch over them by night and an angel of the Lord appears before them—and the glory of the Lord shines around them—and understandably they are filled with fear.

But the angel doesn’t bring a message of fear, but says, “I have good news for you! I have news of great joy! That is for all people. Today in the city of David, a savior, the messiah, the Lord is born!”

All of the prophets have prophesied about this moment for centuries in Israel. And today is the day!

And we know this news is for all people because it was delivered to shepherds. These were not the creme de la creme of the Israeli social scene.

These were nobody’s in a nowhere part of Israel doing an inglorious job.

And God was purposeful with his announcement of the long-awaited savior. Who he told communicates something.

This messiah is for all peoples. Not just the Israelites. Not just the Pharisees. Not just the rich and powerful. No this baby in the manger is for all who God calls to Himself and he calls people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. He calls people with no respect to social, ethnic, or class divides.

Friends, Christmas shows us that God is for you.

Maybe you believe the lie of the enemy that Jesus is not for you. That you have sinned too much. You have run too far from God.

Jesus and the forgiveness of God that comes with him—couldn’t possibly be for you.

But a lie is exactly what that is.

Jesus is for the broken, the proud, the sinners, the ashamed, the hurting, for the lonely.

Jesus is for those who have everything and those who have nothing!

Jesus is for you! And he’s for me!

The question is: Do you live your life like this?

If you have placed your faith in Christ for your salvation do you live as if the God of the universe has cast his great love on you?

Listen, I’m not a prosperity preacher, I’m not gonna ask you for seed money, or tell you that God will give you riches if you're obedient...

But I will tell you that you can live in victory—because that is not prosperity theology—that is biblical theology.

The victory of Christ is yours in Christ. You have been freed from your sin. It has been paid for on the cross. Death no longer has a hold on you.

Your future is secure in the hand of God. He has saved you in Jesus and he’ll never let you go.

So as you face hardships—as you go to work—as you reach for goals—as you seek to be obedient to God...

Do so with the right mindset.

When Jesus was born in that barn he was born for you! And this changes everything!

You’re not alone in the world. You’re not alone in your trials. You’re not alone.

God Almighty cares deeply for you, he lived for you, he died for you, and he rose again for you. That you would be transformed into the image of Christ and live in this new reality that is yours in Christ Jesus!

Are you living in that reality? Or are you believing the lies of the enemy that would have you believe that the miracle of Christmas is only for your death and your eternity? The enemy wants you to believe that Christmas has no meaning for your life now. Don’t you believe it!

What does Jesus say in John 10:10, “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly!”

What would it look like for you to live your life in a way that reflects the freedom you have in Christ? Maybe for you that would look like gaining victory over your worry. Maybe it would be having peace in your heart when you don’t know how things are going to work out. Maybe it looks like your prayer life is active and vibrant and consistent. What does it look like for you?

The incarnation is great news because it is the arrival of the savior—and if you are found in Jesus all of the great news of Christmas belongs to you.

I want us to notice though that this is not just “automatically applied” to all people. While this is for all people it is not applied to all people. Let’s now notice...

The Gospel Proclamation of Incarnation.

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!”[a]

Here at the end of our passage, the angels proclaim Glory to God and they declare that there is peace for those with whom he is pleased.

The arrival of Christmas offers true peace between God and man.

In Jesus there is peace. Without Jesus there is none.

Last Sunday we saw that God is a holy judge and that the rightful expectation of sinful man is that they will be judged for their sin because God is a good judge. And a good judge punishes those who break the law.

If you have never placed your hope in Jesus the peace of Christmas is not yours. And I say that because I want you to have the peace of Christmas. And you can...

Understand that our God knows you intimately—he knows every secret place of your heart—he sees you—and he desires that you would come and be healed in Jesus.

God knows your days and he knew that you would be hear today and that the preacher would be calling out to you to trust Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. This is not a coincidence.

Here’s my question for you. Will you trust Jesus today for the forgiveness of your sins? Will you start living today in the glorious news of Christmas?

Church, for those of us who have trusted Christ. For those of us who are in freedom. My question is will you remember those who haven’t? Will you desire peace for your neighbors, co-workers, and family members? Does it matter to you personally?

God is pleased with all those who come to him in Jesus because the baby in the manger would grow up to be the man on the cross who atones for the sins of those who come to him in faith.

Christmas proclaims the gospel. There is peace with those whom God is pleased. And God is pleased with those whose sins are forgiven by His Son, Jesus.

Conclusion

We can so easily take the miracle of Christmas as a common place story. We know that Jesus was born. We know that he was the long foretold messiah. We know, we know, we know! But friends, if we truly see the shock of Christmas. If we truly see the glory of that first Christmas morning then I think we will be anything, but comfortably familiar with it. So this morning as we have seen the humility, great news, and gospel of the incarnation my prayer is that we would move forward acknowledging with our hearts, minds, and hands the incredible nature of Christmas. And as we celebrate this year I pray that we would live in the truth of Christ and all that this affords us. Let’s pray.

Discussion Question: What would it look like for you to live your life abundantly?