Christmas: The story that changes lives

Matthew 1:18-25

Three sentences pointing at three names show us the essence of Christmas. They are the key to understand this celebration and the reason for its true joy:

• Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son: Mary (v. 23)
• And you shall call his name Jesus (v. 21)
• And they shall call his name Immanuel (v. 23)

1. Mary: a credible miracle

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son (Matt. 1:23 ESV)

The Christmas story begins with a miracle. There is a supernatural dimension to believe in. As with other vital points of the Gospel, faith is the first step in understanding Christmas.

Apparently incredible. The story of a virgin who conceives a son arouses an easy reaction of parody in many people. How can a virgin get pregnant? We laugh and reject as “not credible” everything that escapes our understanding. We need to rationalize the mystery. Certainly, this story raises some questions, but they are not fundamental to understand the text. The emphasis of the text is not on the mysterious –a virgin who conceives– but on the glorious, Jesus is born through the direct work of the divine Spirit, an expression which is repeated twice (v. 18 and v. 20). The core of the story lies in the direct action of the Holy Spirit, not in Mary's virginity.

The underlying issue. Thus, what is at stake in believing or rejecting the virgin birth of Jesus is divine omnipotence and sovereignty. God gives life where, when and how He wants. For this reason, the supernatural conception of Jesus is important, so important that it is part of the doctrines of the Apostolic Creed. The key question is not, “How is this possible?” but “Is there anything impossible for God?” (Luke 1:37).

A faith without mysteries is no longer faith. Indeed, there is mystery in the text, but there is much more light than mystery. People find in the mystery of the supernatural an excuse not to believe, but the mystery can also be a stimulus to faith. A faith without mysteries would cease to be faith. Faith contains veiled elements and revealed elements. Focusing on the veiled, “the secrets” of God, will prevent us from understanding the revealed aspects, the great light of the Gospel.

Therefore, Christmas begins with a test of our faith. Am I willing to believe that nothing is impossible for God? If so, we will believe in the miracle of the virginal conception of Jesus. If we fail here, we will not believe either in the rest of the supernatural facts of Christ's life, including the resurrection. The life of Jesus revolves constantly around the miraculous. A faith without miracles leads us to a merely human Jesus who leaves us a humanistic Gospel, without any power.

Thus, Christmas reminds us, first, of the power of God.

2. Jesus: a necessary Saviour

And you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21 ESV)

The second name, Jesus, reveals to us the purpose of Christmas: it is “for salvation”. Christmas reminds us that we need a Saviour. Here lies its real meaning.

Salvation is the axis around which Jesus' entire life revolves to such an extent that the name Jesus means Saviour. What should Jesus save us from? In the gospel of Luke this salvation is explained. Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying: ...And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High... to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins (Luke 1:67, 76, 77 ESV).

The salvation of Jesus appears inseparably linked to forgiveness. It was not a social event -the political liberation from the Roman yoke- or simply an emotional delivery, the ability to be happy in this life. It is much deeper: Jesus will save his people from their sins (my sins) (Matt. 1:21 ESV). For Jesus, salvation did not consist of eradicating the great social evils of his time -poverty, hunger, discrimination, violence, etc.- nor did it consist of alleviating personal problems. All of this is included in the message of the Gospel, but it is an outcome, the result of salvation, not its essence nor its purpose. The salvation of Jesus is a personal and moral experience with social and emotional implications, but not the other way around.

Now, forgiveness requires confession of sins. How important it is to understand this need today! Our society is blind to its spiritual reality, suffering from a sort of moral anaesthesia with tragic consequences. The idea of guilt and sin today have become obsolete. Nothing is a sin; everything depends on the sincerity with which you do something. The hardening of the conscience of our contemporaries prevents them from seeing the depth of their sin, but this blindness does not exempt from responsibility before God. Even if we don't feel it, we all need forgiveness and salvation.

Christmas is joy and celebration, but its essential message reminds us that there is a key issue to meditate on: my eternal salvation. Of all the gifts we may receive these days, one stands out for its importance: the forgiveness of my sins. What is at stake is reconciliation with God and, consequently, my eternal destiny.

The three steps of the ladder to Heaven. We can summarize what has been said so far with an illustration. The ladder to Heaven has three steps:

• Conviction of sin. The awareness of sin leads us to
• Need for forgiveness that can only be achieved in
• A look of faith to the cross, where Christ dies for Sin and for my sins

If the first two steps require to look down at our hearts in repentance, the third step requires to look up at the cross in faith trusting Christ is the Saviour of my sins. Jesus came to this world to make this third step possible. The Christmas story begins in a manger but ends and culminates on the cross. Christmas would not be complete without lifting our eyes to the cross. We can apply the well-known text of Hebrews 12 to Christmas and say: let us celebrate it looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith... (Heb. 12:2 ESV).

Secondly, Christmas reminds us of the love of God.

3. Immanuel: a close God

And they shall call his name Immanuel (Matt. 1:23 ESV)

With this third name, Immanuel, God with us we reach the climax of Christmas. So far we have seen how God is for us providing a necessary salvation, now we come to see that He is also with us. God Himself has come down to this world, a great mystery, but at the same time an extraordinary reality! Zechariah's song in Luke describes it beautifully: Because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death (Luke 1:78-79 ESV).

We have here a unique and extraordinary fact which is exclusive to the Christian faith: the all-powerful God, the creator and sovereign Lord of the Universe, has come close, has drawn near to “visit” us. This perfect combination between the greatness of God and His closeness –transcendence and immanence– is not found it in any other religion. Notice the key value of the preposition “with”. This little word defines the message of Christmas and the essence of the Gospel. It contains the most distinctive feature of Christianity compared to any other religion. In pagan religions the relationship between their gods and human beings is defined with a very different preposition: “against”. The gods are against men and all kinds of sacrifices must be made to appease their anger. Even in Buddhism, so popular in Europe today, the man-god relationship is best described with the preposition “before”. Buddha is a calm, but distant god, he is before (in front of) me, but not with me. The image of Buddha with his arms crossed, eyes closed, a rigid expression on his face and a hieratic smile conveys the idea of a cold god who, in the best of cases, contemplates human beings from a distance and impassively.

How impressive is the difference between Jesus and Buddha! The God who is for us providing such a great salvation is also with us coming to this world. Jesus and Immanuel are inseparable and reveal the essence of God's character, His love. Indeed, God always wanted His relationship with us to be a relationship of love and not an imposition. In any love relationship the best gift is the presence of the loved one by your side. Therefore, Christmas is, as Zechariah prophesied, like a dawn, the dawn of a bright day that will culminate when the Sun of righteousness (Mal. 4:2 ESV), Jesus Christ, will reign forever. It is not surprising that one of the best-known texts in the Bible begins like this: God so loved this world, that he gave his only Son... (John 3:16 ESV).

Therefore, thirdly, Christmas reminds us of the closeness of God.

Conclusion: Christmas is a story that changes our lives

Immanuel, the God who “became flesh and came to dwell with us” changes our perspective of life in every way. It opens our eyes to a totally new landscape here on this earth and there in the hereafter. Therefore, even in times of tribulation, when we ask ourselves in perplexity: “Where is God?”, then we lift our eyes of faith to heaven and state in full confidence: Jesus Christ is here at my side and intercedes for me (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 4:16). Yes, the same God who was on this earth and went through all sorts of human suffering (Heb. 2:17-18; Heb. 4:15), is for me and with me now.

God is for us and with us. Can you think of a greater message of encouragement? Therein lies the true joy of Christmas, the real motivation of our celebration. For this reason, when the wise men from the east saw the star shining in the sky, a sign of the birth of Jesus, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy (Matt. 2:10 ESV). We rejoice likewise and celebrate Christmas, a story of the power, love and closeness of God, the story that changed our lives.

This is why we pray and sing “Shine, Jesus, shine; shine on me” this Christmas and fill the Earth with your presence.

Dr. Pablo Martínez