Sermon Summary
This week, Pastor Doug continued with Part 2 of his series “The Wonder of Christmas—God at Work in History,” which explores the story of Jesus’ birth and what it means for believers.
In Matthew Chapter 1, verses 18-25, we read the account of an angel of the Lord visiting Joseph in a dream, proclaiming, “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.” Matthew is making it clear to us that Jesus has both a human and a divine origin. He has a human mother, but he does not have a human biological father. We see that the work of conception was done by the Holy Spirit. The angel of the Lord made the truth clear to Joseph: this pregnancy was unique. It was different from anything that had ever happened in human history.
Jesus was different from anyone else who has ever walked on this planet. He was fully god and fully man at the same time. He had two separate natures: a divine nature and a human nature coexisting in one person. Being human, he did not just take on our skin; he took on human emotion. He took on the ups and downs of human experience: the pains and the sorrows; the anger and the frustration. Everything we experience as humans, he experienced. And you see this play out in his life and ministry. This is an amazing truth that we try to wrap our minds around, but we really can’t. And as we see that mystery unveil itself before us in the person of Jesus, we are moved to worship him.
We, the human race, including you and me, have rebelled against our creator, God. We have rejected and ignored him and said, “We don’t need you. We are going to live our way.” We have sinned against a holy God and turned our backs on him. Because of this rebellion, the Bible says that we are enemies of God. All of us who are a part of the human race are in this category. Therefore, we have severed the relationship we could have had with him. Since we have rejected him, we tend to think that God is out to get revenge. But the gospel teaches that he is seeking a relationship instead. You know John 3:16; it is a famous verse: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
We have rebelled and revolted. We are already condemned. But in his great mercy and love, God sends Jesus to save us, to rescue us, to redeem us! This is the story of Christmas! That baby came to save us. And the fact that he is fully God and fully man means that He can! In his humanity, he could take our place on the cross, because that is what is required. Because of our sin, God is going to pour out his wrath on us. Sin has to be punished, and the punishment of that sin is death. On the cross, Jesus took the punishment we deserve. In other words, God himself provided the needed sacrifice by becoming that sacrifice in the person of Jesus.
Being fully God and fully man, he was able to take on our sin, and to all who place their trust in him as their savior, he offers his righteous standing before God the Father. And now, because of what Jesus has done, God sees us differently. He sees us as if we have never sinned. Only Jesus could do that, and he is the only savior we need.
And that is what we celebrate at Christmas. Let’s cling to that. Let’s celebrate that! Jesus has come—he is fully God and he is fully man and he can save us from our sin. So let’s draw near to him this Christmas!
Application / Challenge
- Gain a correct understanding of Jesus—100% divine and 100% human.
- Trust 100% in Christ as your sin-bearer. Only he can solve our sin problem. Let us know if you have made a decision for Christ here. See the check box at the bottom of the form.
- Worship Jesus, the divine God-man who came to save—not to squash—us.