Jump Start # 1503

Luke 2:10-11 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

NOTE: Tomorrow is a holiday. There will be no Jump Start tomorrow. We will catch up with you on Monday. Enjoy time with your family. Worship the Lord this Sunday. Be thankful.

  Tomorrow is Christmas. It is a time of gift giving, family, food and fun. Was Jesus born on December 25th? Probably not. Luke 2 opens with, “Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all  the inhabited earth.” The Roman emperor would not call for an empire wide census to be taken, which required people to travel to their place of birth, during a season in which it is very rainy and travel is difficult. That would defeat what he was hoping to accomplish. Jesus was probably born sometime in the Spring. We also notice the silence in the Bible regarding the celebration of Jesus’ birthday. The apostles are not recorded doing anything to remember Jesus’ birth. The early church left no record of anything being done. Interesting, every holy day that God wanted His people to celebrate and remember, the specific day, and activities are spelled out. This is true of Passover, Pentecost and even the Lord’s Supper in the N.T. God never left it up to our guesses. When it comes to the birth of Jesus, God never left any instructions. Are we to sing “Happy Birthday?” Are we to make a cake? Are we to buy presents? What are we to do? There is no example of the early church celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Churches interested in following that primitive pattern left in the Scriptures understand that it wasn’t a baby in a manger, but a Savior upon the cross that changed eternity. A baby in a manger is cute. A dying Savior on the cross is bloody. The emphasis in the N.T. is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

Having said all of that, Christians today ought to be able to talk about any aspect of Jesus’ life no matter what the calendar says. Since so many are stuck on the baby Jesus, I thought I would share a few thoughts about the angels declaration to the shepherds on the day Jesus was born. Our verse is what was said to the shepherds in the field. Good news came. This was a message from Heaven, delivered by the angel. The news that they brought was immediate. They said, Today, in the city of David, there is born a Savior for you. Those shepherds may not have realized that they needed a Savior, but they did. The angels acknowledge that this birth is the Messiah. The Messiah has come.

God came to earth. He didn’t come for a quick walk through. He didn’t come disguised as an under cover boss. He wasn’t here for a weekend. He didn’t come as an adult. He was born as we are. He grew up, as we did. He had to comb His hair, brush His teeth, put on His clothes, go to the bathroom, eat and even sleep. He went through what you’ve gone through. He did all of this without sin.

His coming meant three things.

1. God wants you to know Him. If you want to know someone you have to spend some time with them. If you want to know me, then we have to get together. God wanted man to know Him, so He came to earth. He came so we could trust Him. He came so we would see Him. He came so we would understand Him. To see Jesus, is to see the Father. They saw His compassion. They saw what was important to Him. They saw how open He was. The expression, “God moves in mysterious ways,” is not found in the Bible. It implies that we do not know God. It implies that God does things that are mysterious, unknown and baffling to us. That’s not what happened. God showed Himself to the world. This is how God is. We can know God.

2. God wants to be with you. The word, ‘Immanuel,’ means, “God with us.” That’s what happened when Jesus came to earth. God was with us. He was not far away. He wasn’t unavailable. He was with man. He saw. He understood. Can you imagine what it would be like if God was with you today? What would it be like for God to sit at your desk where you worked? Would He get more done? What would it be like for God to send the text, instead of you? What would it be like for God to talk to your teenager, instead of you? God with us. That means we are never alone. God is with us. There are times when it seems we are alone. We may feel that no one really understands. Worse, you may think, no one really cares. God does. God is with you. Even through those long dark valleys, God is with us. There is great hope and encouragement in knowing this. God came to be where man was.

3. God wants to save you. This is why Jesus came. He came to save us from our sins. He came to do what we cannot do. There are some things that are beyond us. There are some problems that are greater than we are. Sin tops the list. We can’t be good enough to erase the damage that sin has caused. We can’t save ourselves. We need Jesus. We need His sacrifice. It is His blood that washes away our sins. God came to do what we couldn’t. This act demonstrates what God thinks of you.

Today, the angel declared, a Savior is born for you. God has sent rain. God has sent food. God has sent prophets, judges and later, apostles. But this was the first time that God sent a savior. Our greatest need is salvation. If we needed information, God could have sent a teacher. If we needed direction, God could have sent a guide. If we needed happiness, God could have sent a comedian. He didn’t send a coach, a therapist, a scientist, a doctor or a financial planner. He sent a savior. He sent Jesus. He sent the best of Heaven for the likes of us.

He came to our world so we could live in His world. He became like us, so we would follow Him and become like Him. Jesus came. Will you come to Him?

Roger