December 26, 2018 ● 18-13
Matt. 20:28: Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
Mark 1:14-15: Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
John 1:14: And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Gal. 4:4-5: But when the fulness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
From the prophets Isaiah and Micah, and from the gospels of Matthew and Luke we have the stories of both the prophecies and birth narrative of Jesus. There are also other verses of Scripture through the Bible that speak to the birth of Jesus, to the reason why we celebrate the birth of Jesus. So often we get focused on the what of Christmas that we often forget the why of Christmas. We serve the God of purpose, and God did not just send His Son, but He sent Him with purpose, the purpose of the redemption and salvation of sinful man through the cross. The writer of Hebrews summed up the Christmas story this way:
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. (Heb. 1:3-4)
Christmas, as a specific day on the calendar, may be past, but the reason why we celebrate Christmas is eternal. Let God’s Word equip you with the why of Christmas, the great joy and hope of eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord!