Happy Birthday Jesus
Tomorrow is a very special day for all Christians. It is the day on which our Holy Savior, our Redeemer and the man who would save us from our sins, was born into this world.
It is not, as most people think, simply a day of giving and receiving presents. It is also not meant to make the big stores major money, offering the naïve consumers fake discounts and mail-in rebates.
It is, instead, a day to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. The Son of the Most-High God. Again, a man that was sent into this world to save us all from our sins and provide forgiveness, offering eternal life for all that would accept and believe in Him.
Let us all remember this and, equally as important, remember to teach our children in the same fashion that they not be consumed by what this world and today’s society has deemed this day to be.
I’d like to share the story of the birth of Christ, straight from the Bible, and hope that it will remind you of the true meaning of Christmas.
Not to steal Spider’s thunder from last week, and at the risk of repeating things, I’d like to begin with the Virgin Mary and how the Angel from God foretold her of this miracle.
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
Luke 1:26-38 – “In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.’
‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’
The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.’
‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her.”
The Manger
Mary was to be married to Joseph, a carpenter by trade and a man of God as well. Back in those days, Caesar Augustus had issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. Joseph, then went into Bethlehem to register himself, Mary… whom he was pledged to, and their expectant child. While they were there…
Luke 2:6-7 – “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”
Not a hospital; not at a doctor or any other suitable medical facility… she laid him in a manger, in a barn, among the animals. A manager can be defined as “a wooden or stone trough or food box that holds hay for larger farm animals like cattle, horses and donkeys.” Could Christ have had a birth more humble than this? Even from His birth, He was humbled.
The Shepherds
Even early in His birth, Jesus was praised. I like to tell you now, the story of the shepherds. From again, in Luke…
Luke 2:8-18 – “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
The Magi
As in Matthew 2…
Magi, or wise men, had come the Jerusalem asking “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
After hearing this, King Herod became greatly disturbed. He called the Magi secretly and asked the exact time the star had appeared. He then sent them to Bethlehem and said “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
Matthew 2:9-12 – “After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”
Once again, early in His Birth… he was exalted and praised as the Magi knew of His greatness and bowed down before Him with great gifts.
So then, what is Christmas all about? The Story of The Missing Jesus
In Conclusion
We should never forget…
John 3:16 – “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.”
Let us not forget what this day is all about… and let us not forget how great the gift from God was that was given to us on this day.
If you must give this day, give from your heart as Christ taught us. Let material things be furthest from your mind and love, humbleness and kindness be in your hearts for one another.
Go with God; be good to one another; always stay humble; always be kind… God Bless!