The Focus of Christmas

Introduction

Christmas is just a few days away and we might be striving to do a better job focusing on what is most important...

Some of us have busy everyday lives and the thought of Christmas shopping, wrapping, cooking or card-writing sounds more stressful than it does anything else…The world has done a very good job getting us off track at Christmas, but I want you to focus tonight with me on the reason we celebrate Christmas…Christmas should be a time of drawing closer to God and remembering what He has done for us!

This gift of Jesus, God incarnate, transforms our lives, and we see that in the verse I’m bringing to you tonight:

Matthew 1:21 KJV 1900

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

I want us to focus on three things found in this verse:

The Wonder of Christ

Matthew 1:21 “...she shall bring forth a son, ...”

During the lifetime of Ezekiel, God had said, “Ezekiel 22:30 “...And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.”

All that had changed; God had provided a Savior for Israel. During the Old Testament years, God had been FOR His people; now in the Person of His Son, God would be with them…Matthew 1:23 “...they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

Religion – God is above us.

Nihilism – God is against us.

Atheism – God is below us.

Pantheism – God is around us.

Narcissism – God is us.

But the Bible tells us:

Immanuel – God is with us.

The birth of Jesus Christ was the most famous birth that ever happened in this world. In fact our calendars are based on the birth of Christ. We have BC which means “before Christ” and AD which stands for the Latin phrase “anno domini” which means "in the year of our Lord”.

The point is the birth of Jesus Christ is that which divides time and history. The world hates this but they have to abide by it on their calendars.

In recent times, there has been a push to replace the B.C. and A.D. labels with B.C.E and C.E., meaning “before common era” and “common era,” respectively.

The change is simply one of semantics—that is, AD 100 is the same as 100 CE; all that changes is the label.

The advocates of the switch from BC/AD to BCE/CE say that the newer designations are better in that they are devoid of religious connotation and thus prevent offending other cultures and religions who may not see Jesus as “Lord.” The irony, of course, is that what distinguishes B.C.E from C.E. is still the life and times of Jesus Christ.

I find it interesting, there are no contradictions in the Bible, this is addressed to Joseph - We know that Joseph was not the father of Jesus, God was the father of Jesus, but I just want to point this out…It doesn’t say “she shall bear thee a son” like what was said to Zacharias concerning Elizabeth…But “she shall bring forth a son...”

Remember, “a child is born, a son is given” - This son came as a gift from the Father in Heaven!

This fulfilled the prophecy of Genesis 3:15 “15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

It’s an amazing thing ya’ll, the birth of Christ - I’m talking about the Wonder of Christ tonight...

The world has filled Christmas with many things that are not related to Christ, but the fact remains that if Jesus Christ has not been born, Christmas would not be. The advertisements and such always show children wide-eyed and amazed looking to Santa Claus or the newest toy they have, but we need to look like that as we see God’s Word, and look over the precious story of how our Savior was born! We need to keep the wonder of Christ!

The Word for Christ

Matthew 1:21 “...thou shalt call his name JESUS:...”

The name “Jesus” is a great name. It is in Greek “Hesu” and in Latin it is “Jesu.” In the Old Testament Hebrew it is “Heshua” which we translate “Joshua.” The name Joshua and the name “Jesus” are the same.

The name Jesus means “God our Savior” or “God who is salvation.”

No more appropriate name could have been chosen. Once that name was associated with God’s Son, it ceased to be a common name and became the most wonderful, significant, and glorious name ever uttered by human lips.

Acts 4:12 KJV 1900

12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

If I were to write you a check for a million dollars. You would be no better off, for my name is not good for that kind of money. But if Bill Gates, or Jeff Bezos were to write you a check for that amount, you would be a million dollars richer. What makes the difference? The name.

There are people who come to God in their own name, or in the name of Muhammad or the virgin Mary, or in some other name.

They are just as lost as they were before, because Muhammad and Mary, for example, are the names of bankrupt sinners. God honors only one name for salvation at the bank of Heaven: the precious name of Jesus.

The name of Jesus is special!

We need to focus on the Word for Christ this Christmas…His name is Jesus!

The Work of Christ

Matthew 1:21 “...he shall save his people from their sins...”

This is the first mention of sin in the New Testament.

Salvation is interwoven with the name Jesus.

The main work of Jesus Christ was that of a Savior from sin.

Jesus was named for His work. Most people do not appreciate His work. The people of Jesus’ day wanted deliverance from Roman tyranny. But they were not interested in deliverance from their sins which is a worse tyranny.

Today many are more interested in Jesus as a healer of their illnesses and a savior from economic problems than the Savior from their sins.

Most people do not view their sins as something from which they need to be delivered. But Christ did not come primarily to save from physical illness or to prevent material bankruptcy. His primary work is to deliver from spiritual sickness and from spiritual bankruptcy.

The greatest work Christ can do for you is to save you from your sins. That is your greatest need. You may have many needs today, but none are as important and as great as having your sins forgiven. And that is the main work of Jesus Christ. That is the main reason He came into this world.

Christmas should celebrate more the reason of His coming than anything else.

Had not Christ been born to remove our sins, there would be no Christmas whatever.

Conclusion

When you think about Christmas this year, try to keep things in perspective. Christmas must not be allowed to continue its slide into paganism, commercialism and the world of fantasy.

You and I who have been exposed to the truth of God’s Word need to remember that Christmas is about that special day when God sent His Son into the world to be the sacrifice for our sins.

Christmas is about you coming to know God. After all, that is why God sent His Son into the world!