SUNDAY AM WORSHIP
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We have come to the climax of “The Greatest Story Ever Told”, the birth of Jesus! We have looked at most of the characters and places of the nativity, but today I want us to focus on Jesus and the reason for the season. The scriptures state in one verse the purpose of what we call Christmas.
Text; Mt. 1:21
21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
In this one verse we see the true meaning of Christmas! We need to focus upon the three declarations made to Joseph by the angel of the Lord, that we might truly understand “The Greatest Story Ever Told.”
1. The Virgin Birth; 21a
1. The Virgin Birth; 21a
The greatest miracle of Christmas is the Virgin Birth of Jesus.
We know the intimacy that must take place between a man/woman to produce offspring. It is the natural order of God set in creation.
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
But before Adam and Eve had children, they fell into sin and therefore all men are born with a sin nature.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
So what is it about the Virgin Birth that is so important?
If Joseph would have been the paternal father of Jesus, then Jesus would be corrupted with a sin nature and therefore could not save men from their sins. So the Virgin Birth is a must that Jesus could be fully human but without a sin nature.
One important reason for the virgin birth was the blood. If the conception was to be guileless, the blood could not be corrupt. If blood is corrupt, then man is corrupt, because the life of the flesh is in the blood.
11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’
If Jesus was to be our Savior, His blood could not be corrupted by the sinfulness of men. In order to produce a sinless man, who would yet be the son of Adam, God had to provide a way whereby Jesus would have a human body derived from Adam but have not a drop of Adam’s sinful blood. The reason the blood of Jesus was pure is because of His virgin birth. From conception to birth, not one drop of blood passed from Mary to Jesus. The mother contributes no blood at all to her baby. When God created woman, He made her so that no blood would be able to pass from her to her baby. The placenta acts as an exchange surface between the mother and the fetus [baby]. Nutrients and oxygen are passed over by diffusion only. If the mother's and fetus's blood mixed, it could be deadly for both of them. The blood-type is from the father. Since Adam was the head of the human race, it is his blood which transmits Adam’s sin. Since Mary conceived of the Holy Spirit, the blood of Jesus was of His Father in heaven, pure and holy without sin. It is for this reason He was able to redeem and cleanse us from sin.
Rod Matoon, Treasures from the Scriptures, The Gospel of Luke
15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
If Jesus was not born of the virgin, then we are all still in our sin! Praise God that the Scriptures and even science prove that He was!
2. Call His Name Jesus; 21b
2. Call His Name Jesus; 21b
Joseph was instructed by the angel to name the Child, Jesus. Names are important to families. Names represent a heritage in the family tree of the father. But the name “Jesus” was a common Hebrew name. Many boys were named Jesus, for it is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua.
Joshua was a name that was associated with two very important men in the Old Testament. One a leader of Israel and the other a priest.
In Numbers 13 there were 12 princes of the tribes sent to spy out the Promised Land and bring a report back to Moses. When they returned 10 men were afraid to go forward and take the land but two, Joshua and Caleb, were ready to follow the Lord despite the challenges that lay ahead.
6 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;
7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land.
8 If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’
9 Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”
Joshua name was “Hoshea” before Moses changed it. The name Hoshea means salvation or deliverance. But Joshua confessed that only Jehovah could save and deliver the land to the people. So Moses combines the two names, Hoshea and Jehovah and gives him the name Joshua which means “Jehovah is Salvation”
There was a high priest named Joshua son of Jehozadak, in the days of Haggai and Zechariah. He encouraged the people to follow the Lord in the completion of the Temple and turn from their sinful ways. A priest was to stand before God for the people and make atonement for their sins.
1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.
2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”
5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.
6 Then the Angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying,
7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘If you will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command, Then you shall also judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk Among these who stand here.
8 ‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.
9 For behold, the stone That I have laid before Joshua: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’ Says the Lord of hosts, ‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
Joshua’s clothes were filthy with the sins of the people and the accusations from Satan. And God is the only One who can make them clean.
In both these Joshua’s, we see a type of Christ, but not the fulfillment of Him. Joshua the leader could not give the nation complete rest in the Promised Land. And Joshua the priest could not remove the blot of sin from the nation Israel.
Only Jesus, the Son of God, could live up to His name.
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
The name Jesus declares His identity, Jehovah is Salvation, but it also declares His intentions.
3. Save His People from their Sins; 21c
3. Save His People from their Sins; 21c
Kenneth Scott Latourette, renowned historian, says that no life ever lived on this planet has been so influential in the affairs of men than that of Jesus.
Jesus was born to save His people from their sins!
Save- to rescue from danger or destruction, to keep safe and sound. Jesus came to rescue us, to be our substitute [take our place under God’s wrath] that we could be set free in Him.
Look what happens to our sin in Jesus.
Hebrews 1:3 (NKJV)
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Isaiah 43:25 (NKJV)
25 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
Psalm 103:12 (NKJV)
12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Micah 7:19 (NKJV)
19 He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.
Hebrews 10:17 (NKJV)
17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
His people- Jesus came to establish His Kingdom and all who come to Him in faith are His people.
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
Close;
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas show that has been around since 1964. But most people don’t know the meaning behind the story. This story is more than Rudolph saving Christmas, it’s about “misfits”.
Misfit- a poor fit, not suitable, an oddball, failure, a throw away
Rudolph had a red nose and Hermey the elf didn’t want to make toys, he wanted to be a dentist. Both ended up on the Isle of Misfit Toys. A place where not suitable, oddball, throw away toys were discarded because nobody wanted them.
Water gun that shot jelly
A Charlie in the Box instead of Jack in the Box
A cowboy who rode an ostrich
A airplane that couldn’t fly, but could swim
You and I are a bunch of misfits. We are broken, oddballs, failures, throw aways who are not suitable or qualified for anything good because of our SIN!
Christmas is a mission for misfits! God choosing to love a planet full of losers and oddballs and fitting them for His Kingdom through His Son, Jesus!
Are you still a misfit or have you become a part of “The Greatest Story Ever Told”?