As we enter the Christmas season, that is celebrated this time of year by many throughout the world, it is a good time to reflect on the Christmas story and what this means for you. The prophecy of the Christmas story actually begins in the Book of Genesis, which is the first book in the Bible. In Genesis Chapter 3, vesres 14 and 15, right after Satan the serpent had deceived Adam and Eve into breaking the only command that God had given them, God told Satan," Because you have done this, ......... I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heal." Enmity is defined as a deep seated hatred or hostility, as between enemies or opponents. In Psalm 101, verse 1, David wrote," the Lord said to my Lord sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for thy feet". In Mathew Chapter 26, verse 64, Jesus, after being questioned by the high priest as to if He was the Christ, the Son of God, said this, " You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you shall see The Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." So what we see in this, is that Jesus is the One who is being referred to as being at the right hand (power) of God, and that Jesus' enemies will become a footstool for His feet. Therefore, Jesus will bruise satan and all who choose him on the head, and Jesus heal will be bruised. So what we can conclude, is that Jesus is the enmity that will come between satan seed and the seed of woman, who choose to be Born of Above in Jesus. So what does all this have to do with Christmas? Well, it shows that from the beginning, God had planned to send an enmity (Jesus) into the world with a very special purpose. Jesus would be special. In Isaiah Chapter 9, verse 6, For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." Note: this verse is quoted many times during the Christmas season, but the one part of it that seems to be overlooked is that this child is referred to as the Eternal Father.
The details of Jesus birth is best found in Luke's Gospel, starting in Chapter 1, verses 26 -38," Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her," Hail, favoured one! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. And the angel said to her, " Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus." ( Note: His name in Hebrew was Yeshua, which means, the Lord our Salvation.) " He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end." ( Note: this was because Mary and Joseph were from the lineage of David. They were also descendants of Jacob (Israel). No matter how much Satan tried to destroy the descendants of Jacob, God would always intervene to protect them, because it was from this lineage that He would come into the world.) "And Mary said to the angel, " How can this be, since I am a virgin?" And the angel answered and said to her," The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring will shall be called the Son of God......And Mary said, " Behold the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her."
In Mathews Gospel, Mathew details how this was communicated to Joseph in the first Chapter, verses 18 -25. He writes, " Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His Mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. (Note; if Mary was with child by the Holy Spirit, then that would make the Holy Spirit also His Father.) And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly. (Note: this would protect her from being stoned to death.) 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 that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, For it is He who will save His people from their sin. ( Note: He will save His people, therefore Jesus (Yeshua), The Lord Our Salvation.) Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fullfilled, saying, " 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." (Note: this was phophesied by the prophet Isaiah in his 7th Chapter, verse 14.) And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
Now about the time that Jesus was to be born, Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem, which is the city of David, because Caesar Augustus had made a decree requiring everyone on the earth to register for the census in their own city. They had to go to Bethlehem because Joseph was of the house and family of David. When they got there the Inn was full so the only place inside that they could go was in a stable. How fitting, although many would ask, "Why would God choose to have Jesus born in a stable?" Jesus is also the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This was His whole purpose for coming to the earth. Where else should a lamb be born, but in a stable. When Mary had giving birth to Jesus in the stable, she wrapped Him in cloth and laid Him in a manger. At the same time that Jesus was born, there were shepherds in the same region, that were in the fields that night watching over their flock. All this is written in the Gospel according to Luke in his 2nd Chapter, and starting in verse 9, Luke writes, " And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the Glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them, " Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the City of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Note: Good News for all the people. The house of Israel was choosen to be the lineage in which Jesus would come into the world and He still is going to do a special thing with the house of Jacob in the world to show that He is God. But His main reason for coming was to bring joy and do something for all people. He came to be the Lamb of God, who would die for all sins, so that anyone who would believe would have eternal life and become a New Creation. Thus we have a Savior, Yeshua, the Lord our Salvation.) The angel continued in verse 12, " And this shall be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying," Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." (Note: this is the most misquoted passage of scripture in the Bible. What you will hear is, "Peace on earth and good will towards men." The actual scripture says that there will be peace among men with whom He is pleased. The only way to please God is to recieve the gift that Jesus came to give. The peace is an internal peace in the soul. He did not come to bring peace to the earth, for apart from Him there is no peace.) The shepherds made their way to the stable and found Jesus in the manger just as they had been told. They also told Joseph and Mary all that had been revealed to them about Jesus. And all who heard it wondered at the things that had been told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as they were told.
We finish the Christmas story back in Mathew Chapter 2, when the three wise men come traveling from the east to find, " He who has been born the King of the Jews." That was their word. Imagine, here are three men, not of Israel but from the east. They know of the coming of the Messiah, and were looking for it. (Note:The house of Israel, who were told by their prophets about His coming, were caught off guard because they were not looking for the Messiah that would come as the Lamb. Rather, they were looking for the Messiah that would use Israel to show His Power to the world. This is still the case for a lot of Jewish people, they are waiting for The Messiah's second coming, but to be the recpient of His power, you need to acknowledge the Lamb, His first coming.) The three wise men had seen a star in the sky on the night that Jesus was born and followed in the direction that they saw the star. They were coming to worship Him. I believe what they saw is what the shepherds saw, the multitude of heavenly host. I believe that above Bethlehem that night, the sky opened up between heaven and the earth and the light of heaven was coming through. They eventually found where Jesus was and fell down and worshiped Him; and opening up their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. These were all very costly idems. Today, what can we bring Him to worship Him? We all have what he would like as a gift. He would like us all to offer our hearts to Him, so that he could fullfill His purpose for coming to you personally. That would be creating in you a New Eternal Creation. Invite Him into your heart and He will give you the greatest Gift ever possible. The ultimate Christmas Gift. Peace to you.
If you would like to know more about this New Creation, you can read read one of my previous bloggs intitled: How can one man death forgive sin and give Eternal Life?, The New Creation, and Why all this for a New Creation?
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