Christmas Eve -- God Gives Heaven's Best Gift

Fairy tales occur in mythical lands. But today’s Gospel occurs in the real town of Bethlehem, during the actual reign of Caesar Augustus and Quirinius. This is tremendously important for us to recognize.

Around Christmas, our culture often focuses on make-believe, magic, and fantasy. Those things can certainly have their proper place. But it seems that, for many, the “stuff” of Christmas—the lights and gifts and music—can become a flight into an imaginary world, a temporary retreat from the real world and real life. And that is the exact opposite of the Christmas message.

Luke emphasizes here that what he is writing is real history. It actually occurred in a real place and at a real time when certain real officials were in power. It isn’t a legend or a myth or a fable. It is true, an accurate and factual account of the way things really were.

WHY? Because Jesus is the Messiah — our Savior — promised according to God’s purpose and promise, who is God’s agent of salvation for all peoples everywhere.

God Gives Heaven’s Best Gift for you — By Keeping His Promise, Hearing His Announcement, and seeing His Gift Revealed.

A Promise Kept — Luke 2:1-7

Luke emphasizes that what he is writing is no fairy tale or fable by grounding his account firmly in history. The birth of Jesus marks the fullness of time and the fulfillment of Old Testament history.

Luke 2:1–7 EHV

1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 And everyone went to register, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the town of Nazareth, into Judea, to the town of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was from the house and family line of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, his wife, who was pledged to him in marriage and was expecting a child. 6 And so it was that while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Christmas is not about escaping into some fantasy world.

It’s about our life in the real world being redeemed and renewed by the Lord.

It’s about the real Son of God, through whom all things were created,

who entering into His creation as a true and literal baby boy,

with real flesh and blood.

It’s about a first-time mom giving birth to Him in the humblest of circumstances—in the cold of night, among real livestock and hay and smell.

It’s about the Lord of all taking on the form of a servant and being laid in a cattle trough so that He might rescue us from our sin.

There is nothing unreal or imaginary about Christmas, for Jesus is the concrete and tangible love of God come to walk among us.

Christ was born among the animals for us.

Because of sin, we have become like animals—survival of the fittest, self-preservation at all costs, following our basest instincts and desires.

We have all fallen away from God, wanting to go our own way and do our own thing.

In the process, we have become inhuman.

So in order to save us from perishing eternally, Jesus, the Son of God, took on our human nature and caused Himself to be placed in a feeding trough.

The One who slept near those working animals came to lift us out of our inhumanity and set us free from the beastly power of death and the devil.

Jesus descended to the depths of our fallenness in order to raise us to the heights of eternal life with Himself. He became like us so that we might become like Him.

In the stable with the animals, we see Jesus as the new Adam,

who has come to restore us and all things to paradise,

to recreate us by His coming in the flesh.

God the Son took our humanity into Himself so that we might be made new in Him.

By His conception and birth, Jesus has sanctified and purified our natures. His incarnation permeates and hallows mankind.

God has greatly exalted us by becoming not an angel or any other creature but a true man, our human Brother.

Christ became one of us so that He might take our place under the Law in order to free us from its damnation.

Jesus’ lowly birth foreshadows the humble life He would lead for us and the shameful death He would suffer on our behalf.

The wood of a manger would later be traded for the wood of a cross.

And just as Jesus was wrapped in cloths in His birth, so also He would be wrapped in cloths in His death—the graveclothes He would leave behind in His glorious resurrection.

The Son of God was born among us and became man for this very purpose:

to die in the flesh in our place and to shed His blood to ransom and purchase us from the powers of darkness.

He was made to be like us in every way, but without sin, so He could be our perfect stand-in.

As true man, He was our substitute in death; as true God, He paid the infinite price our sins required, which we could not even begin to pay.

Therefore, only in this fully divine man is there eternal life. Only in this child, who was laid in a manger and who is now bodily raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father, is there salvation. Only He could accomplish it. Every other religion is an illusion and a false hope.

God Gives Heaven’s Best Gift

An Announcement is Made — Luke 2:8-14

Luke 2:8–14 EHV

8 There were in the same country shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified! 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people: 11 Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you. He 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 Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude from the heavenly army, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind.”

The angels tell us of our only real hope: “Do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord.”

Do not be afraid—do not be in terror any longer of death or of the judgment of God, for your sins are forgiven.

Even the evils and the injustices that have been done to you have been cleansed from you by this holy birth.

Christ the Savior has come to rescue you from the devil’s prison house and to bring you into the eternal kingdom of God.

Light has broken in and shattered the darkness forever. Rejoice greatly in the good news, for all of this is for you! Jesus is born to you, the angels said. He is your merciful King, your gracious Lord.

The angels certainly rejoiced over what God was doing for us.

After announcing the good s to the shepherds, a whole multitude of the heavenly host spilled over heaven’s edge and burst forth with praise to God, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind.”

The very coming of Christ is a sign of God’s good will toward us, that He wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Only Jesus brings real peace on earth—not temporary peace between people but eternal peace with God.

In Christ, we who were once at war with God are now reconciled and put right with Him. God and man come together in Jesus, because He is Himself both God and man. Those who believe and are baptized into the body of Christ are thereby reunited with God. Truly, Jesus is your Prince of Peace.

God Gives Heaven’s Best Gift

The Gift is Revealed — Luke 2:15-20

In Bethlehem, “the house of bread,” Jesus is laid in a cattle trough to be the bread of life for us to feast on so that our humanity might be restored in Him. Christmas comes to you especially in the Sacrament of the Altar, where Christ is humbly mangered for you.

Luke 2:15–20 EHV

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Now let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they told others the message they had been told about this child. 18 And all who heard it were amazed by what the shepherds said to 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 the things that they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

And the angels told them what to specifically look for.

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

The angels wanted to make sure the shepherds didn’t miss heaven’s best gift, so they gave them a description of what to look for.

We are prone to look in the wrong places for hope

Or, we have pictured in our minds what hope should look like.

But, the description of “a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths” — RAGS — and lying in a manger — an animal feed box — is unmistakable

You also are given a sign of where to find Jesus.

He is to be found humbly mangered in the Word and Sacraments.

Jesus has told us that His Words are “spirit and life” (John 6:63).

He also said, “The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the Last Day. For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him” (John 6:54-56).

Jesus went on to say, “Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like your fathers ate and died. The one who eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:57-58).

You don’t need to go to grandiose reenactments of the Christmas story to experience closeness to the Christ Child.

The Nativity is here, because Jesus Himself is here, concretely and tangibly — in the very Word you are hearing now.

These are His Words, and they are “spirit and life”. The Word is His manger, in which His is truly present to bring to you all the blessings of this holy night. There, you are literally given to kneel before Him.

Of course, if all this is the living nativity, if that is the manger, the feeding trough (HOLD UP A BIBLE), then you and I are the animals. But so be it. Let us humbly kneel before the Word of Christ so that our humanity may be eternally restored in Him who is truly human and truly divine.

Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah — our Savior — promised according to God’s purpose and promise, who is God’s agent of salvation for all peoples everywhere. We have heard the announcement and His precious gift to you has been revealed.

Therefore, let us, with Mary, keep and ponder all these things in our heart in penitent faith. And let us with the shepherds glorify and praise God for all the things we have heard and seen in Christ, just as it has been told to us.