Immanuel, God is with us

Today is the first day of Christmas. Christmas is a celebration of love. It is a time when everyone tries to treat each other with love. It is a sign of love that there are presents under the tree. By now, everyone has received their gifts and has come to worship with great joy. ☺ Of course, we all know that Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the greatest gift anyone has ever given, for God the Father gave His only begotten Son so that we might have eternal life. The birth of Jesus is the greatest gift for mankind.

Luke 2:1-7

Before Jesus was born, there was a prophecy that the Saviour would be born in Bethlehem, but Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, another province. How do they get to Bethlehem? Because God, by His sovereign will, decided that there should be a census in the Roman Empire at the very time when Mary was with child and near the time of her birth. This is what we call God's providence. God directs history so that His will is done, and He uses even the decisions of unbelievers to do it. This is good news because if we love Him, God's providence is good for us.

„And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭ESV‬‬

So Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem because it was the city of David and Joseph was the great-great-great-grandson of King David. And just when it was time for the birth, they were there, and so the OT prophecy was fulfilled. Interestingly, Jesus was born in a manger in a stable. Why? We don't know, but perhaps that was Jesus' way of saying that He was not born to achieve worldly power, but for something else entirely, something that perhaps no one at the time understood.

Why was Jesus born?

The name Karl Marx is probably familiar to everyone. They even used to teach his doctrines at school. Marxism Leninism. He said that religion is "the opium of the people." (a pleasant illusion). He wanted to create a world where there was no religion, therefore no God, all men were equal and all wanted good for each other.

Later, his views were used by the Soviet Union, China, North Korea, etc. to create brutal dictatorships. Marx failed to take into account that without religion, or rather without God, humanity is incapable of moving in the right direction, because man has a fundamentally evil, depraved nature. What is needed is not a better, more just social system, but a saviour to free humanity from sin and its consequences.

This Saviour was born about 2000 years ago in a manger. Jesus has since turned the whole world upside down more than Marx or any other philosopher. Millions and millions follow Him around the world today.

But why was Jesus born? What was his purpose? One of the names of Jesus is Immanuel, that is, God with us. Jesus' birth says God is with us, not against us. Jesus was born to restore the relationship between God and man that mankind's sin had broken.

The example of the ant and poisoned leaves. Once a man was spraying in his garden and saw ants coming and eating the poisoned leaves. He tried to distract them but failed. He wondered how he could tell them not to eat the leaves? Only by becoming an ant, going down among them and speaking to them in ant language. Well, that's what God did when he was born into this world as a man in Jesus Christ.

God also saw that man was going wrong, and became man to tell us men the truth. But not only did he show us the right way, he did more. He gave his life for us, taking the penalty of sin to restore the relationship between God and man that was broken at the first sin in the Garden of Eden.

It is very interesting that the early church put much more emphasis on the cross and resurrection than on the birth of Jesus. Someone said: NO MANGER WITHOUT A CROSS. Unfortunately, it is the other way round in the world today. People celebrate baby Jesus, Jesus Christ, but they turn their eyes away from the adult Jesus hanging on the cross. That is why Jesus was born on earth. That was his main purpose. Not just to show us the way, like Buddha, or Gandhi, or Mohammed, but to take our sins upon Himself and open the way for us to heaven, to be the way Himself.

Visits (Why are they in the Bible? What can we learn from them?)

Shepherds

„And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

 Then they said: let's go and see! And they found Jesus lying in a manger.

Historical research shows that by the time of Jesus, shepherds were outcasts, despised people at the bottom of society. "Because they could not meet the purity standards of the law because of their work, they were considered lawless people." They were looked down upon mainly by the Pharisees, even though they were also God's people, and I'm sure the shepherds believed as much as the Pharisees, and perhaps more. The shepherds were looked down upon, yet God chose to announce Jesus' birth to them first, not the religious leaders. Why?

The shepherds were not proud, but humble. They didn't think they were so great, they knew they were not keeping the Mosaic commandments, they knew they were sinners, and they were not worthy to see God. Yet God chose them to see God incarnate first because He knew their hearts. In God's sight, it doesn't matter what your clothes look like or how much money you have, it only matters what your heart is like.

The shepherds went away praised.

„And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

God's purpose was to lead the shepherds to His Son, Jesus, to worship Him. He used supernatural means to do this.

Wise men

„Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” ... After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭2‬, ‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

REALITY: it might be shocking for you to learn that the paintings usually depict the scene completely falsely. Not 3, not kings, and not at the manger. Scripture only says that Jesus was visited by wise men from the East, it does not say how many, and that Jesus was already in a house, not a manger. This happened long after his birth. The wise men came to worship the King of the Jews, but they didn't know exactly where he was. It is very IRONIC that the Jewish chief priests and scribes knew exactly where the Savior was born, but showed no signs of wanting to worship him. Empty religion is the enemy of Jesus. Jesus came not to religious people, but to sinners.

Here, as with the shepherds, God supernaturally guided the wise men. We read after their conversation with Herod:

"And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Why? GOD DID NOT WANT THEM TO MISS THE WAY, but to make sure they found Jesus.

When they found Jesus:

"They fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

A lesson on how to worship God. Worshipping God often involves sacrifice. Not because it is obligatory, but because those who worship Jesus with a pure heart want to give to Him from the heart.

The wise men were rich and pagan. Pagans, that is, unclean according to the Mosaic Law. They were the first Gentiles to worship Jesus, but this process has continued ever since, because since Jesus' birth millions of Gentiles have worshipped Him. This story shows that God led the wise men to worship His Son. God is doing the same today. He often works supernaturally in the lives of Gentiles to lead them to Jesus. It happened in my life. There were many events in my life that came together like pieces of a puzzle that eventually led me to Jesus. Nothing in your life is a coincidence, not even what happened before your conversion.

Finishing

Two main messages of today's sermon:

  1. Christmas is a holiday of giving. But the greatest gift of all is given to us by God. That gift is Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” ‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬ The key word is GAVE. Not because it was his duty, not because he owed it, but because he loves you. He loves humanity very much and he loves you and me very much.
  2. In today's stories, the shepherds were poor, religious people, and God led them to the manger. In contrast, the wise men of the East were rich Gentiles, and God led them to the house where Jesus was. When they saw Jesus, both groups worshipped Him. The lesson today? God's purpose is to lead all people from every nation to His only begotten Son to worship Him. This is the greatest desire of His heart. That is what our lives are about, and that is what our ministry is about after our conversion. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, ... (Matthew 28:19). It doesn't matter if you are rich, poor, white, black, Hungarian, gypsy, English or Chinese. God wants to bring everyone to his Son Jesus. Including you. The big question is, when you see Jesus, what will you do with him? Do you love Him or do you reject Him? I wish you would bow down before the Son of God now and worship Him, so that this Christmas would be different from the last. If only today something new would begin in your life.

I wish you a very blessed and happy holiday season, and I wish that in these days we do not forget the Celebrant.

The sermon was preached at the Élterevalók - Pestszentimrei Baptist Church.
Zsolt

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