[20] But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. [21] And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. [22] Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, [23] Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. …
Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays, yet how many know what it is all about. Some say it is all about the kids, giving them toys that will amuse them for a small span of time. Others might believe it about families getting together and exchanging gifts and eating too much. For others it a time of all the Christmas festivities and cliches, Santa Clause, pretty lights, dreams of snow on Christmas Day or a little baby laying in a manger giving hope to the world though they really don't know much about the hope He gives.
In the passage of scripture above we have the true relevance of the baby's birth that gave birth to the holiday known as Christmas. I have just a points to make as in I do not want to bore you with spiritual rhetoric but only want to remind us of the signifcance of the birth of Christ.
In verse 20 we see the intervention of God in the affairs of man. God cause a young virgin to conceive. The creator of the universe has created a miracle in the womb of the young Virgin Mary. I believe it is safe to say that God did not do this just to wow us or give another miracle for us to believe in but there was a divine purpose in this divine intervention.
In verse 21 we see the purpose of the intervention. The purpose being that through the baby in Mary's womb He was going to save His people from their sins. We know from other passages of scripture that this include all who will place their faith in Him. Some might ask, "why would I want to saved from my sins?" My answer, why does a cancer patient with a malignant tumor want to be rid of the tumor? The answer of course is that the tumor if not removed will kill them; sin is more deadly than the worst cancer we can imagine. Let's look at Romans 6.
Romans 6:19 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
No good comes from sin it brings eternal death, sometimes physical death and I believe it works the principle of death in our lives, it kills our potential, relationships, peace, joy, influence, productivity, who we really are or who God created us to be and makes us into something else. In short, sin if not atoned for by the blood of Christ will condem us to the Lake of Fire known as the second death when this life is over and will bring death to the life we could have had here on earth if we would have followed Christ.
In verse 23 we see God coming down to us to help us with our sin problem which was brought about by man's transgression. What a loving God we have that instead of telling us to somehow try to make it up to Him, He came down to us. "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. …"
Merry Christmas to all.
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