God's Last Words

GOD’s PROMISE – Part 1

Just a few days before Christmas two women stood looking into a department store window at a large display of the manger scene with clay figures of the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men, and a bunch of animals surrounding a tiny cross. Disgustedly, one woman said, “Look at that, the church is trying to horn in on Christmas!”

Sadly, Christmas is just a tad bit controversial in our times, isn’t it? I wish it wasn’t. In fact, I would pray that everyone would know the real reason for the birth of Jesus and why it was necessary.

Humanity has needed Christmas, and has been promised Christmas, since we got kicked out of the Garden of Eden.

If you remember the scripture passages in Genesis 3 then you remember how God handled Adam and Eve’s indiscretion with the forbidden fruit and the serpent’s role in that incident.

God promised that for as long as the “serpent” lived, that his offspring and Eve’s offspring would be enemies and struggle against each other, culminating in Eve’s descendant striking a fatal blow to the serpent’s head while receiving a strike from the serpent on the heel.

God was promising Eve, and humanity in general, a “Kinsman Redeemer,” directly related to her, that would be born and set the world aright.

Genesis 3: 15 – “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” HCSB

The Prophet Isaiah speaks of this coming redeemer no less than 19 times in specific ways that were fulfilled literally before all of Israel who had eyes to see. Isaiah 9: 6 predicts:

“For a child has been born for us, a son given to us, authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The Prophet Micah (5: 2) foresaw: “But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from old, from ancient days.”

This is God’s promise of redemption and His steps toward restoring His creation to the perfection He intended.

Our Christmas celebration, regardless if the birth date is accurate, is all about that fulfilled promise. Let’s see how God goes about delivering on His promise from Luke’s Gospel, Chapter 1, verses 26-38 (NRSV):.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.

 The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.

 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 

 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

 The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.

For nothing will be impossible with God."

 Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

 Someone once asked me why Mary had to be a virgin, Hebrew word, Bĕthuwlah,

(pronounced beth-ǜ-lǟ), and the Greek word, Parthenos, meaning a young maiden of marriage age who is pure and unsoiled by marriage.

Two quick answers come to mind but neither alters or challenges the fact that God, as the creator of heaven, earth, and humanity, could certainly do whatever He needed to do to make His Will work.

First, it may be that God chose this as part of the way that would ensure that Jesus would start out sinless in His birth. Second, it might be God’s test of faith for Mary, Joseph, and those who become believers in Jesus’ and His mission. It becomes part of the story of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

An additional factor in the virginal birth is it fits and makes sense and also fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy given in Isaiah 7: 14.  The confirmation of the virginal birth has always been found in the earliest of the New Testament writings which suggests it wasn’t a latter addition to further justify Jesus as a prophet and messiah.

If we forget why Christmas is celebrated then we are guilty of forgetting our blessings and gifts given to us by God. If we think of reasons and the mechanics of how God did this rather than why He did it, we are in danger of trivializing God’s Grace.

In order to show the splendor of the newborn Savior in the church Christmas pageant, an electric light bulb was hidden in the manger.

All the stage lights were to be turned off so only the brightness of the manger could be seen, but the boy who controlled the lights got confused, and suddenly all the lights when out.

The tense moment was broken by a little shepherd’s loud whisper: “Hey, you just turned off Jesus!”

Sometimes even our best intentions have unexpected consequences: A wife said to her husband, “This year let’s give each other more practical gifts for Christmas, like I get you socks and you get me a fur coat!”

Our gift to our culture, our society, our neighbors, our family, and even ourselves, must be more practical than material goods that will pass away,

In these last days we can’t afford to alienate or not get the message of God sending His Son to set things right in His creation. This Christmas, let us commit ourselves to share the full story of God’s promise to us: Jesus:

“Even though humanity screwed up everything God still loves us enough to sacrifice His only Son, so that we could receive eternal life if we believe in Him and allow Him into our heart.”

 
Praise to God the Father, God the Son, and to God the Holy Spirit!  Amen.