Luke 2:2-19
What Did Jesus’ Birth Prove?

There are some things about the birth of Christ that are debated.
    1. We do not know what day Jesus was born on.  That may come as a surprise to
        some, but the truth is the date, December 25, was selected by guesswork
        and not fact.
    2. There is even debate about what year Jesus was born.  Most scholars would
        place the year between 3 and 6 BC.
    3. Inside the church today, many are debating whether we should celebrate
        Christmas at all.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas)
        a. There is no reference to "Christmas" or a celebration of Jesus’ birth
            anywhere in the Bible.
        b. There is little evidence to think the church celebrated the birth of
            Christ at all for the first 300 to 400 years.
        c. Most attributed the celebration of Christmas to the Catholics.  The
            word Christmas literally means "the mass of Christ," or the prayers
            offered to Christ.  At various times, ana-baptists and Protestants
            have refused to celebrate Christmas at all.
        d. Much of the Christmas holiday is obviously pagan - elves, magic,
            trees, lights.  While we can and have attached a Christian meaning to
            some of them, there origins cannot be questioned.
        e. Historically speaking, Christmas has never been celebrated as it is
            today.
            (1) America frowned on Christmas, especially after the Revolutionary
                 war, mainly because the holiday had its roots in European
                 religion.
            (2) Only since the "baby-boom" generation have such lavish and costly
                 gifts been purchased and given.
        f. Because of all this and more, some debate whether Christians ought to
            participate in the holiday at all.

My purpose is not to stir up debate, but rather to point out that many aspects of
Christmas are debatable; however, some things about Christmas are not debatable
at all.  What did the birth of Jesus prove?

    I. The birth of Jesus proved that God keeps His word.
        A. The birth of Jesus is a prophesied event in the Old Testament.
        B. Some of the things that God told us were:
            1. Where Jesus would be born:

Micah 5:2  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be
ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

            2. How Jesus would be born:

Isaiah 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a
virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

            3. When Jesus would be born - The passage is \\#Daniel 9:24-27\\.
                Some knowledge of history and some math abilities are required
                to figure the approximate date, but it can be done.

            4. Even a sad sign was given (although it probably was not associated
                with the birth of the Messiah until after the fact).

Jeremiah 31:15  Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation,
and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for
her children, because they were not.

        C. Everyone of these signs were given in advance and fulfilled.
            1. In addition to the prophecies of Jesus birth, there are dozens
                more about His life and death.
            2. To these we can easily add hundreds of others about the nation of
                Israel, as well as Babylon, Egypt and other nations.
            3. Without doubt, the greatest proof that the Bible is true is
                fulfilled prophecy.
            4. God keeps His word!

   II. The birth of Jesus proved that God has power.
        A. For God to have fulfilled the prophecies that He gave concerning
            Jesus’ birth required power.
        B. However, there is more of a display of God’s power in the birth of
            Christ that some have supposed.
            1. A virgin had to conceive a Child.

Luke 1:26  And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a
city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27  To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David;
and the virgin’s name was Mary.

                a. This was no small task.
                b. Man’s science has been working in earnest for hundreds of
                    years, spending billions of dollars, yet it cannot do what
                    God did.
                c. The miraculous conception of Christ proves God’s power.
            2. Then there was the task of getting Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem.
                a. The Old Testament tells us that is where Messiah was to be
                    born, but the New Testament tells us that Mary lived in
                    Nazareth \\#Luke 1:26\\.
                b. That is a distance of about 70 miles (as the crow flies).
                c. The easiest way for God to have moved the couple would have
                    been just to tell them to go to Bethlehem.
                    (1) Angels were flying left and right during that time.
                    (2) Using another angel would have been the easiest,
                         quickest, and surest way to get the information to
                         Mary and Joseph.
                    (3) But God wanted to demonstrate His power, so He put it
                         into the heart of a pagan Roman ruler (Caesar Augustus),
                         who lived 1400 miles away, to have a census that would
                         coincide Mary’s due date and force this couple to return
                         to the city of the ancestors.
            3. Then there was that star that God hung into the sky.

Matthew 2:1  Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of
Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2  Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star
in the east, and are come to worship him.

9  When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they
saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young
child was.

                a. To this day, we do not understand how that star guided the
                    wise men from the east.
                    (1) Was it a star out in space that miraculously appeared
                         for this event?  If so, how was it that it "came and
                         stood over where the young child was"?
                    (2) Was it a lower orbital object that perhaps looked like
                         a star, one that could move across the sky?  If so,
                         why didn’t others see it and follow?
                b. Regardless of what it was, God made it.
                    (1) If it was a solar system star in the heavens, it was
                         God who placed it in the heavens!
                    (2) If it was a moving. flying sphere in the lower sky,
                         it was God who created it.
                    (3) God not only made the star, but God turned it off and
                         on when it suited Him!
                    (4) God waited for the wise men to get near Jerusalem and
                         then He turned it off, knowing that the wise men would
                         make the announcement to Herod that the Christ had been
                         born.
            4. And speaking of Herod, it was God who kept him in check.
                a. Herod the Great was a murdering fiend.
                b. This man would do anything and kill anyone to keep his throne.
                    (1) It was Herod who slew the male babies in Nazareth.
                    (2) In 29 BC, Herod accused, tried, and had executed his wife.
                    (3) At his wife’s trial, Herod forced his mother-in-law to
                         testify against her own daughter, then executed her with-
                         out a trial.
                    (4) In 28 BC, he executed his brother-in-law for conspiracy.
                    (5) In the last three years of his life, Herod executed three
                         of his own sons to keep them from getting his throne.
                C. This Herod set his sights to kill Jesus.
                    (1) God warned the wise men not to divulge where they found
                         Jesus.

Matthew 2:12  And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to
Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

                    (2) God then had Joseph flee to Egypt to protect Jesus from
                         Herod.

Matthew 2:13  And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth
to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and
flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the
young child to destroy him.
14  When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed
into Egypt:
15  And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

                 d. The fact that Jesus was born under Herod’s reign and lived is
                     a testimony to the fact that God has power and uses it in the
                     lives of humans.

  III. The birth of Jesus proved that God loves mankind.
        A. Of all the things that Jesus’ birth proved, by far it proved that God
            loves mankind.
            1. We see the love of God for us in what God gave up.
                a. God gave up His Son.
                b. We do not understand the Trinity.
                    (1) It is beyond us.
                    (2) When we speak of Jesus being God’s Son, it does not mean the
                         same as it does for us.
                    (3) To us, a son is our off-spring, one that is begotten of us.
                    (4) Jesus is not literally God’s off-spring.
                    (5) God refers to Jesus that way to help us understand the
                         relationship and love that exists between the members of the
                         Trinity.
                    (6) In reality, Jesus is God.
                    (7) we do not worship three different gods, but One; yet, the
                         Trinity is manifested in three distinct and different
                         Persons.
                c. This may not be theologically sound, but when we say that God
                    gave up His Son, we are saying that God gave up a part of
                    Himself.
                d. What God gave up proves
            2. We see the love of God for us in what He endured.
                a. The Bible makes it clear that the wage for sin is death; however,
                    Jesus went well beyond just dying for our sins.
                    (1) Jesus SUFFERED for our sins.

Mark 8:31  And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things,
and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be
killed, and after three days rise again.

                    (2) I have never understood why Jesus suffered so much.
                    (3) The best I can figure, the more Jesus suffered in this life,
                         the less we must suffer in it.
                    (4) If that is true, our load of suffering has been greatly
                         reduced.
                b. In addition, I believe that while Jesus went to the cross, all
                    the members of the Trinity suffered.
                    (1) I do not know to what extent.
                    (2) But what God endured for us proves a great love for us.
            3. We see the love of God for us in what He got.
                a. May I be blunt.  God did not get much for what He gave.
                b. The best of us are still weak, carnal, and sinful.
                c. God is not stupid.  He must have really loved us to get involved
                    in a trade like that.
        B. Some doubt God’s love for mankind.  They do not understand what God did
            when He gave us Jesus.

   IV. The birth of Jesus proved that you have a choice.
        A. Make no mistake.  God is sovereign.
            1. That means God rules over everything.
            2. However, God has the Ruler, has given to men and women the opportunity
                to make some choices.
        B. Every human being is free to accept or reject Jesus.
            1. The wise men saw a star and chose to investigate it.
                The religious leaders in Jerusalem chose not to investigate it.
            2. The shepherds in the field heard Messiah had been born.  They chose
                to go see Him.  Herod heard and chose not to go.
            3. Each person has been given a choice by God to determine where their
                soul will spend eternity, what they will accomplish with their life,
                and countless other decisions.
            4. Make your choices wisely.

There are indeed many things about Jesus’ birth which are debated.  However, some
things are beyond dispute.  Why not celebrate this Christmas by accepting God’s
great love Gift, Jesus?

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