This Child was the Savior of Mankind

If Matthew records for us the fact that Jesus was from His birth the King of the Jews, then Luke reveals to us that from His birth He was also the Savior of mankind.

You'll notice that Matthew begins with Abraham and stops at the birth of Jesus focusing on His Jewish heritage and the lineage of David. Luke, however, begins with the birth of Christ and traces backwards to David (31), to prove His right to the throne, then backwards to Abraham (34) to prove He was the Messiah, but Luke doesn't stop there, he descends all the way back to Adam (38) to prove that Jesus Christ's claim didn't begin and end with the nation of Israel, but extended to that of the entire human race!

Proposition: The birth of Jesus Christ was special because it was the birth of the Savior!

Interrogative: I wonder today if there may be some among us who find this hard to believe?

TS. You don’t have to take my word for it. We know He was the Savior of mankind because the Bible offers for us the following reasons. First…

I. The Angel Said So Luke 1: 26-38

The Bible tells us plainly in Luke 1 that the angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her she had been the chosen vessel to bring the Messiah into the world of man. How can we be certain that Mary was worthy to bring in the Messiah? Let’s examine her qualifications:

v. 27 tells us she was a virgin

Isaiah 7:14 says that the Messiah would be born of a virgin – that is a woman who has never known a man in the physical sense, see Mary’s response in v. 34.

See Mary’s response in v. 34.

She was also of the line of David per vv. 32- 33

Not to mention the genealogy recorded in chapter 3 of Luke which we’ve already mentioned

It was important that both Mary and Joseph be of the line of David so there’d be no dispute

The right to the throne spoke to His right as Israel’s King, the fact that His kingdom would be eternal speaks to the fact that His is a Kingdom over all men

His very name means “Savior” v. 31

As if we needed any further clarification on the subject, the very name Jesus means “Jehovah saves”

Jesus Christ of the NT is the LORD Jehovah of the OT

And now he was to be born a man to redeem mankind from sin.

What further “proof” do we need? Why exhaust this subject any further? Well, let’s suppose there are some doubters here among us who claim “Angels don’t exist.” Perhaps they’ll listen to the witness of two human messengers, such as…

II. Simeon and Anna Luke 2:21-40

The Bible mentions these two elderly saints in Luke 2 and tells us they were both patiently waiting on the arrival of the Lord.

Simeon says of the baby in verses 25-34

“I have seen they salvation” – He recognized Jesus to be the Savior of His people Israel v. 30

“A light to lighten the Gentiles” v. 32 – He acknowledged that Jesus came not only to redeem Israel, but all mankind as well!

Anna said of the Christ Child in vv. 36-39

He was born for the redemption of Israel

Redeemed means to be purchased from or out of the market

Particularly this term refers to the redeeming or purchasing of a slave.

We who are saved were once in bondage to sin, but because of this Christ child we have been bought back from the slave market

Let’s hope that everyone here today is satisfied by the testimony of the angel and of the witness of these two-godly people, but let’s also be realistic. There may very well be one among us who is not satisfied, who claims that angels do not exist, and that these two people were old and delusional. Let me offer one other proof that this child born to Mary was born as the Savior of man…

III. Because God Said So Genesis 3:15

Before we can “prove” Jesus Christ was born to be the Savior of man, we must first understand that man stands in need of salvation. When we look at the condition of our world today we must admit that it is bad and getting worse. The atheist claims “If God exists, what does He allow such wicked things to happen? Why do bad things happen to good people? If God created all things that makes Him responsible for all things and that means that He is the originator of all the evil in the world.”

I am glad this is not the case. See what most, if not all, unbelievers fail to understand is that God did indeed create the world, space, time, matter, and all things living both plant, animal, and man, but, when God created them in Genesis 1:31 He pronounced everything to be “Very good”. When man was created, he was created, not just in the image of God, but he was created perfect, that is with no sinful nature. However, man was created with free-will and when man’s will was tested, man, in Adam, failed to trust God, and instead indulged his human nature and plunged the whole world, and all of mankind into sin.

Because of the first Adam’s sin, man has been under the curse of sin. Romans 3:23

Romans 3:23 (KJV 1900)

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 6:23

Romans 6:23 KJV 1900

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God may have placed man under a curse because of their disobedience, but God, the Bible tells us, “is rich in mercy”, and first promised to redeem mankind in Genesis 3:15, and then He fulfilled that promise in Luke 2:6-7. The swaddling clothes were bindings that mothers-to-be wore wrapped around their bodies when they took a long journey, in the case that they child was born during the trip and did not survive, she would have something to bury her baby in.

I want you to know that sin and the curse may have come into this world by the first Adam, but Jesus Christ was the second Adam, and because of Him the curse of sin has been lifted. Because of the birth of Jesus Christ, because He was born the Savior of man, He lived a perfect life, never sinning, never being disobedient to the Father. He was innocent, yet He was executed as a common criminal, the curse has been lifted. The song writer wrote:

His heart was broken mine was mended, He became sin now I am clean, The Cross He carried bore my burden The nails that held Him set me free

Conclusion: God didn't give the promise of a coming Redeemer first to Abraham and the Jewish people, but rather to Adam and to the entire human race! I want you to see this so that you'll understand that you are important to God! That He cares for you, He cares about you, He loved you so much that He sent His only begotten Son, to take your place on the cross and to die for your sins. That's how much God loves you.

What will you do with this knowledge? Knowing that God loves you? Will you leave this place today still lost, still holding off, waiting for the right moment? Or will you come to Him today and lay your all on the altar, trusting Christ?

Christian, what will you do with this knowledge? Will you sit there where you are or will you go tell others about Him and what He did? There is so much more to this Christmas season than simply being nice and doing nice things and buying the “perfect gift”. You cannot purchase the perfect gift, because it was purchased for you on the cross of Calvary. What will you do with this knowledge?