The Wonders of Christmas

“THE WONDERS OF CHRISTMAS”

LUKE 2:8-20

INTRO: Friends, the day we call Christmas—the day we celebrate the birth of

our Saviour—is rapidly approaching. Christmas to the believer is all

about JESUS! Jesus is not to us as Christmas is to the world, here

today and gone tomorrow. -- Rick Mylander in Covenant Companion

(Dec. 1988). Christianity Today, Vol. 33, no. 18. Christmas is

SPECIAL! It is not just another holiday but it a holy day to all who

believe! CHRISTMAS IS CHRIST! There would be no Christmas

without HIM! All we could ever imagine, could ever hope for, He is. ...

He is the Prince of Peace whose first coming has already transformed

society but whose second coming will forever establish justice and

righteousness. All this, and infinitely more, alive in an impoverished

baby in a barn. That is what Christmas means--to find in a place

where you would least expect to find anything you want, everything

you could ever want. -- Michael Card in The Promise. Christianity

Today, Vol. 37, no. 15.

In Luke 2:8-20 we read about the angel’s appearance and

announcement to the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by

night. The appearance invoked fear but the announcement inspired

faith. We read in vv. 15-20—“And it came to pass, as the angels were

gone away from them intoheaven, the shepherds said one to another,

Let us now go even untoBethlehem, and see this thing which is come to

pass, which theLord hath made known unto us. And they came with

haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and thebabe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying

which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it

wondered at those things which were toldthem by the shepherds. But

Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the

shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all thethings that

they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.” There are some

interesting words found in vv. 18-19—“And all they that heard it

wondered at those things which were toldthem by the shepherds. But

Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” It tells us

that those who heard the report of the shepherds “wondered at those

things which were told them” but “Mary kept all these things, and

pondered them in her heart.” Every circumstance relative to herson’s

birth, Mary treasured up in hermemory; and every newcircumstance

she weighed, or compared withthose which had alreadytaken place,

in order to acquire the fullestinformation concerning thenature and

mission of her son. (CLARKE’S COMMENTARYNT, VOLUME 5A: MATTHEW – LUKEby Adam

Friends, no matter how old we get or how long we have been saved, we

should never lose the wonder of Christmas. I want to speak this

morning on THE WONDERS OF CHRISTMAS. Note with me three

things. First let us see…

(1) THE WONDER OF HIS BIRTH

ISAIAH 7:14—“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a

virginshall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name

Immanuel.”

LUKE 2:6-7—“And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were

accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forthher firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid

him in a manger; because there was noroom for them in the inn.”

A. PREDETERMINED BY SCRIPTURE. The Old Testament records many

prophecies concerning the birth of the Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ. We

read in Isaiah 9:6—“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and

thegovernment shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called

Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of

Peace.” Micah 5:2 tells us—“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be

little among thethousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto

methat is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from ofold, from

everlasting.” Those verses speak of the majesty of His birth. Isaiah 7:14

tells us—“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin

shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” We read

in Galatians 4:4-5—“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent

forth hisSon, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that

were under the law, that we might receive theadoption of sons.” These

versesspeak of the manner of His birth.

ILLUS: Who would have had sufficient daring of imagination to conceive that

God Almighty would have appeared among men as a little child? We

should have conceived something sensational, phenomenal,

catastrophic, appalling! The most awful of the natural elements would

have formed His retinue, and men would be chilled and frozen with

fear. But, He came as a little child. The great God "emptied Himself";

He let in the light as our eyes were able to bear it. -- John Henry

Jowett in My Daily Meditation. Christianity Today, Vol. 34, no. 18.

B. PERFORMED BY SOVEREIGNTY. We read about the angel’s appearance

unto Mary in Luke 1:26-35—“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was

sent from God unto acity of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to

a man whose name was Joseph, of thehouse of David; and the virgin’s name

was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art

highlyfavored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And

when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind

what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear

not, Mary: for thou hast foundfavor with God. And, behold, thou shalt

conceive in thy womb, and bring forth ason, and shalt call his name JESUS.

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord

God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over

the house of Jacob for ever; and of hiskingdom there shall be no end. Then

said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I knownot a man? And

the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,

and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy

thing which shall be born of thee shallbe called the Son of God. And, behold,

thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is

the sixth month with her, who was calledbarren. For with God nothing shall

be impossible.” The birth of Jesus was performed by “the power of the

Highest” (v35). The angel said, “This conception shalltake place suddenly,

and the Holy Spirit himself shall be the grandoperator. The power,

dunamiv, the miracle-working power, of the MostHigh shall overshadow

thee, to accomplish this purpose, and to protectthee from danger.(CLARKE’S

COMMENTARY NT, VOLUME 5A: MATTHEW – LUKE by Adam Clarke. The Master Christian Library. Version 5.

in Isaiah 9:6 is “the Mighty God”.

ILLUS: What a paradox that a babe in a manger should be called mighty! Yet

even as a baby, Jesus Christ revealed power. His birth affected the

heavens as that star appeared. The star affected the Magi, and they

left their homes and made that long journey to Jerusalem. Their

announcement shook King Herod and his court. Jesus' birth brought

angels from heaven and simple shepherds from their flocks on the

hillside. Midnight became midday as the glory of the Lord appeared to

men. --Warren W. Wiersbe in His Name is Wonderful. Christianity

Today, Vol. 30, no. 18.

One of THE WONDERS OF CHRISTMAS is THE WONDER OF HIS BIRTH but let us also see…

(2) THE WONDER OF HIS BLESSING

LUKE 2:10-11—“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I

bring yougood tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For

unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which

is Christ the Lord.”

ILLUS: Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the

world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only

requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall

have everlasting life. -- Corrie ten Boom in Each New Day. Christianity

Today, Vol. 38, no. 14.

*Christmas gives us THE WONDER OF HIS BLESSING. What are these blessings? :

A. LIGHT FOR DARKNESS. We read in Luke 1:79 that one of the missions of

the Messiah is “To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of

death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Jesus was born to bring

mankind light for darkness. Jesus said of Himself in John 8:12—“… I am

the light of theworld: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but

shallhave the light of life.”

ILLUS: Christ is the Light of the world. God is light, and Christ is the image of

theinvisible God. One sun enlightens the whole world; so does one

Christ, and there needsno more. What a dark dungeon would the

world be without the sun! So would it be without Jesus, by whom light

came into the world. Those who follow Christ shall not walk in

darkness. They shall not be left without the truths which are

necessary to keepthem from destroying error, and the directions in

the way of duty, necessary to keep themfrom condemning sin.(MATTHEW

HENRY’SCOMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLECONDENSED VERSIONby Matthew Henry. The Master

B. LIFE FOR DEADNESS. That babe born in Bethlehem’s stable was destined

to die for the sins of mankind. Hebrews 2:9 tells us—“But we see Jesus,

who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death,

crowned with glory and honor; that he bythe grace of God should taste death

for every man.” Before the birth of Christ all men were living “in the shadow

of death…”. He came to give us life instead of death. Jesus said in John

10:10—“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I

am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more

abundantly.” He died in our place so that we could live! Ephesians 2:1

assures every believer—“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in

trespasses and sins.”

THE WONDERS OF CHRISTMAS are THE WONDER OF HIS BIRTH, THE WONDER OF HIS BLESSING and…

(3) THE WONDER OF HIS BENEVOLENCE

LUKE 2:10-11—“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I

bring yougood tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,whichis Christ the Lord.”

A. THE GLORY OF HIS GIVING. I want you to notice the words here—“For

unto you…”. The angel told the shepherds “the good news is to you,-and

not to yourselves exclusively, for it is to all people, to all the inhabitants

of this land, and to the inhabitants of the whole earth.”(CLARKE’S COMMENTARY NT,

Software. Albany, OR). Vance Havner said—“Christmas is based on an exchange of

gifts, the gift of God to man--His unspeakable gift of His Son, and the gift of

man to God--when we present our bodies a living sacrifice. --Vance Havner

in The Vance Havner Quote Book. Christianity Today, Vol. 31, no. 18. He

gave up His life so that we could have life. We give up our lives for Him

because we love Him! (Titus 2:11-14).

B. THE GRACE OF HIS GIVING. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 8:9—

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet

for your sakes he became poor, that ye through hispoverty might be rich.”He

so far laid aside the glory ofhis divine majesty, that he was to all

appearance a man, and even a servant,so that men refused to recognize

him as God, but despised, persecuted,and at last crucified him, as a man.

He who was rich in the plenitude of alldivine attributes and prerogatives

thus became poor, on youraccount, out of love to you. The end to be

accomplished by thishumiliation of the Son of God, was that you through

his poverty might berich. (AN EXPOSITION OF II CORINTHIANSby Charles Hodge. The Master

ILLUS: Friends, Christmas is costly! Think about the cost of that first

Christmas:

It cost Mary and Joseph the comforts of home during a long period of exile in Egypt to protect the little Babe.
It cost mothers in and around Bethlehem the massacre of their babies by the cruel order of Herod.
It cost the shepherds the complacency of their shepherds' life, with the call to the manger and to tell the good news.
It cost the wise men a long journey and expensive gifts and changed lives.
It cost the early apostles and the early church persecution and sometimes death.
It cost missionaries of Christ untold suffering and privation to spread the good news.
It cost Christian martyrs in all ages their lives for Christ's sake.
More than all this, it cost God the Father His own Son-He sent Him to the earth to save men.
It cost Jesus a life of sacrifice and service, a death cruel and unmatched in history.

CLOSING: Friends, Christmas should inspire wonder in our hearts. "Mommy,"

asked Jane, "what makes everybody so happy at Christmas?" "Well,

because it is the Lord Jesus' birthday...and because we love

Him...and because we are happy about His coming to this world."

Jane thought a minute and then said, "Then is the Lord happy

about you?" "Oh, little girl, what a question you have asked!" Is the

Lord Jesus happy about us on His birthday? Is he really happy

because He sees within our hearts a deep, true love for Him? Does

He see a satisfying love and not just a seasonal affection stirred up

by the festivities of Christmas? What He wants more than anything

else on His birthday is the love of our hearts.

We hear much today about getting into “the Christmas spirit” and

“the spirit of Christmas”. But someone has well said, “The spirit of

Christmas needs to be superseded by the Spirit of Christ. The spirit

of Christmas is annual; the Spirit of Christ is eternal. The spirit of

Christmas is sentimental; the Spirit of Christ is supernatural. The

spirit of Christmas is a human product; the Spirit of Christ is a

divine person. That makes all the difference in the world. “ – Stuart

Briscoe in Meet Him at the Manger. Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no.

14.

THE WONDERS OF CHRISTMAS are THE WONDER OF HIS BIRTH,

THE WONDER OF HIS BLESSING, and THE WONDER OF HIS

BENEVOLENCE. Friend is your heart still awed by THE

WONDERS OF CHRISTMAS?

PREPARED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING, PASTOR OF BEECHMONT BAPTIST CHURCH , BEECHMONT, KY FOR SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 21, 2008.