“Who among us will celebrate Christmas correctly? Whoever finally lays down all power, all honor, all reputation, all vanity, all arrogance, all individualism beside the manger; whoever remains lowly and lets God alone be high; whoever looks at the child in the manger and sees the glory of God precisely in his lowliness.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer
THE PROPHECIES OF JESUS’ BIRTH
PROPHECY | OLD TESTAMENT PREDICTION | NEW TESTAMENT FULFILLMENT |
The Messiah would be the seed of a woman. | Gen. 3:15 | Gal. 4:4 |
The Messiah would be a descendant of Abraham. | Gen. 12:3 | Matt. 1:1 |
The Messiah would be a descendant of Isaac. | Gen. 17:19 | Luke 3:34 |
The Messiah would be a descendant of Jacob. | Num. 24:17 | Matt. 1:2; 2:2 |
The Messiah would be from the tribe of Judah. | Gen. 49:10 | Luke 3:33 |
The Messiah would be an heir to the throne of David. | Is. 9:7 | Luke 1:32, 33 |
The Messiah would be anointed and eternal. | Ps. 45:6, 7; 102:25–27 | Heb. 1:8–12 |
The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. | Mic. 5:2 | Luke 2:4, 5, 7 |
The Messiah would be born of a virgin. | Is. 7:14 | Luke 1:26, 27, 30, 31 |
The Messiah’s birth would trigger a slaughter of children. | Jer. 31:15 | Matt. 2:16–18 |
The Messiah would also come from Egypt. | Hos. 11:1 | Matt. 2:14, 15 |
THE INCARNATION AND HYPOSTATIC UNION
The incarnation is used to describe how Jesus, the Son of God, took on human flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). In doing so, Jesus accomplishes the hypostatic union where His two natures are joined together: His Diety and humanity. This incarnation state was necessary to be the Savior of mankind.
It was necessary to be born “under the law” (Galatians 4:4)
5It was necessary for Him to fulfill it on our behalf since all of us have failed to do so ourselves (Matthew 5:17; Galatians 4:5)
It was necessary for Him to shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins according to the Old Covenant law. If Christ was not incarnate He could not really die and the cross would have no meaning (Hebrews 9:22, 10:5)
By sending His only begotten Son into the world, God did a wonderful work in providing us with the key to eternal salvation that we don't deserve and could not earn. Because the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, a perfect sin offering was presented in Bethlehem that night. Jesus was the Lamb of God without blemish, without sin (1 Peter 1:19). Jesus is fully human and fully divine, His two natures are unmixed. He is one united Person forever. Hallelujah.
Abba Father.
Lord God, King of the Universe. We praise You for the wonderful work You have done by sending Your begotten Son to us to be the perfect lamb offering for the atonement of our sins. In doing so, the darkness that covered the earth gives way to the light of Your Word made flesh. The intricacies of Your plan have been woven throughout history and have been made known to us in marvelous ways. We thank You for revealing Yourself so tangibly to us so that we can choose to have a meaningful relationship with You. We recognize today as the day the Lord, the Lamb of God, was made manifest on earth and we praise You because of that. However, we pray that You increase our faith so that we will never stop praising You for the work You did that night in Bethlehem, that day on the cross at Calvary, everything that came before, all that occurred in between, and that which is still to come. We ask that You protect us from the temptations and pleasures of this world so that we can remain fixated on You. To those who have closed their eyes, their hearts, and their minds to Your glory we pray that You open their eyes so that they may see Your Light, soften their hearts so that they can make room for You in their lives, and protect their mind from infiltration of the enemy so that they may turn away from their rebellion of You and Your perfect will. We wait in anticipation of Your eternal Kingdom. Praise be to the Father, Son, and Spirit—three in one. Whoever has ears let them hear what Your Spirit has to say.
Amen.
###
The Birth of Jesus | Luke 2:1-20 | In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 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. 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. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Comments