Christmas--God with us

Matthew 1:18-25 (NASB)

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

When a child or someone asks you to define Christmas, what would you say?  Anything else other than it’s the time of year where the Christian church celebrates and/or commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ?  Yet the majority of people in the world think of Christmas either as a non-holiday for them or the time for Santa Claus to visit.  No thought nor appreciation for the real reason why Christmas exists. 

The real reason why Christmas exists is explained in this passage from Matthew.  The key statements of this passage are (1) “……..for He will save His people from their sins” and (2) “God with us”.  Two extraordinary, indescribable truths, yet so many fail to grasp their true significance for this life and the life to come.  Either people don’t understand, don’t believe, don’t care, or simply take these truths for granted without giving them any thought and how they apply in life on earth and life eternal. 

Take time right now to meditate over these two remarkable, almost incomprehensible truths.  First Jesus was born for the purpose of saving you from your sins.  Okay, so what?  So what means that without Jesus there would be no way for your sins to be forgiven.  Without forgiveness the penalty for sin is death---eternal death---complete and forever separation from God.  Eternal death is oblivion.  I know people and you do too who claim that they know that when they die, they will enter oblivion and don’t seem to be concerned about it.  Oblivion means to be completely forgotten.  Oblivion is a component of being in hell.  Yet Jesus came to save all believing souls from oblivion. He was born on earth to be the atonement for the penalty of sin and complete and eternal separation from God. What Jesus did on earth enables you, if you believe in Him, to escape oblivion and have eternal life with Him in heaven.  He also promises you an abundant life while living on this earth.     

That thought leads to the second great truth here—Jesus means “God with us”.  Before Jesus came to earth, man was separated from God.  There was no way for a holy God to be connected to sinful man.  Jesus was born in order eventually to die for the sins of the world.  Think of the cross as the connector between holy God and sinful man.  Think of the vertical beam as the pathway for man to enter into the presence of God.  Think of the horizontal beam as Jesus outstretched arms to gather you into His presence and His presence to enable you to be intimate with God.  Immanuel---God with us. 

Norman Vincent Peale wrote the story “If He Had Not Come”.  A little boy woke up on what he thought was Christmas day.  Yet his joy turned to horror when he saw no stockings hanging from the fireplace mantel.  No Christmas tree.  No Christmas lights, no singing, no time off from work, no joy in the world, not even a church.  The little boy saw a man injured in the street, yet no ambulance was available to pick him up because there was no hospital.  The little boy was so horrified over all this that he had to find the family Bible.  Yet where the New Testament should have started, there were only blank pages.  There was no Christmas story, nothing.  The little boy began crying terribly when his mother ran into his room to wake him up.  He had been enduring a nightmare.  He leaped out of bed and saw the stockings, the tree, the lights, heard the music, heard the church bells, and all other aspects of Christmas that is celebrated.  The little boy shut his eyes and said, “You came……thank You for coming.”