Jesus in the manger
Over the past few weeks, we've been talking about Jesus as King.
In the first week, we discussed Isaiah's vision of Jesus and how he saw Jesus as a king high and lifted up. I mae the point that we need to have the same vision, and I tlaked about what that meant.
- To trust that Jesus is King of the universe. In other words, Jesus is in control.
- To trust that Jesus is Holy, in other words, the decisions that jesus makes are tight and just.
- To trust the fact that Jesus is gracious. In other words, Jesus loves you.
In the second week, we discussed how Jesus left his throne in heaven to come and live among His people.
Isaiah calls Him Emmanuel, that is, "God with us" (Isaiah 7:14)
The Christmas story is about Jesus, the King of the universe (Isaiah 6) leaving His throne to live among His people.
This means that even though we feel alone, we are never alone because Jesus is "Emmanuel"... God with us.
Last week we talked about Jesus as a King who fights for His people. He is the "Warrior King" of Isaiah 9:6
Jesus is not just present in your life; He is actively involved in your life. He fights for youj.
Summary.
If you have not noticed, we have been looking at what the Old Testament says about Jesus. From the prophet Isaiah, we get a clear picture of who Jesus is.
Jesus is a king who left His throne to live among His people. He didn't just come to observe and report. He fights for His people.
This brings us to the story of Jesus in the manger. Jesus (The King of the universe) humbled Himself by fully entering the human experiencfe.
In Matthew's version of the Christmas story, we see two truths,
- "God's providence is faithful"
- "God's promises are sure."
God's providence is faithful.
When we open the book of Matthew to read the Christmas story, we are immediately confronted with a list of names.
Matthew 1:1-17 is one of the most skipped sections of the Bible and for good reason, its boring, and seemingly unhelpful.
When you're feeling down and need encouragement, how many of you go to the Bible? How many of you go to Matthew 1:1-17 for that encouragement?
When we read the Christmas story, we almost always skip it, but this list of names gives a picture of God's providence.
The word providence describes God's control of History. When we read the list of names at the beginning of Matthew, we see God's providence at work.
How?
God used these flawed people to accomplish His perfect plan.
In this list of names, we see that God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick.
Your plan may fail, but God's plan never fail. Through the centuries, we see GOd slowly bringin HIs plan into focus, using people you or I would never use.
- Abraham, the doubter
- Jacob, the liar
- David, the adulterer
The Christmas story shines a light on God's providence. Look at what God can do!
Application
Some of us look at our lives and think, "I'm nowhere near where I planned to be"
- You may be on your second wedding
- You may be fighting addiction
- You may have wasted the first half of your life
I got good news for you, the people on this list were even more messed up than you.
"This genealogy is not a dull list of names. It is a record of the faithfulness of God in preserving the children of Abraham as a channel through whom Christ could come into the world." -Warren Wiersbe.
God's promises are sure!
We see the Promise of Jesus in Genesis 3; throughout the Old Testament, GOd hints at what Jesus will be like.
The way the Old Testament describes Jesus is as a "Promise."
The world as it is, is not how it should be, but Jesus is ocming to set all things right.
The prophecies in the Old Testament are meant to build anticipation of this Promise.
Matthew 1:22 Now all this was doen, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Matthew 1:23 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
The story of Christmas is about a Promised fulfilled
We've seen this pver the past few weeks, the prophet Isaiah describing Jesus.
- Jesus is the King of the universe (Isaiah 6)
- Jesus is King who left His throne to live among His people (Isaiah 7:14)
- Jesus will be King who fights for HIs people (Isaiah 9:6)
This baby in the story is that King...
At the time of Jesus, there were two kinds of Jews, expectant Jews and people who were just Jews.
The people who were just Jewish by birth read the Old Testament like it was an instruction manual only.
That is they saw the Bible as useful for tradition, and that was it.
The Jewish people who were expected Jews read the Bible as it was intended. As a promise from God to save humanity.
Which meant they expected the Messiah to come.
- They looked for him
- They longed for him
An excellent example of this is the story of Simeon and Anna. They looked for the Messiah every day.
We don't knpow much about Anna or Simeon, but no doubt they had friends and relatives who looked down on their faith.
They would probably ask them, are you still waiting for this Messiah to come?
The birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of their hopes and expectations.
Our takeaway
As we celebrate, remember we are celebrating not just the holiday. We're celebtating God's providence.
Your life may seem like it's falling to pieces, but God has a plan, and his plan has never failed.
- Remember the story of Abraham? God promises him that through his and Sarah's offspring, the Messiah will come. However, through his disobedience, he nearly loses Sarah to the King of Egypt, which would have ruined the Promise.
- At one time, all David's offspring were killed, except for Joash.
When you read these stories, there are parts where it seems as if all is lost, as if GOd can't possibly come through
We read them and think, "I don't want to know the end. How could God possibly save this situation."
But then He does.
The Bible is God's record of HIs History of victory.
The Christmas story is the best example of this. He takes a young girl from a nowhere town and a man from a noweher town and uses them to save the world.