The Message of Christmas

   When Christmas season comes everyone seems to be in a happy mood. For those who are able, it is a busy time to shop. Some people are getting stressed out trying to finish their last minute shopping. Christmas carols are all over the radio and the TV. Family members coming home to spend time with their families. Friends meet up to celebrate and have fun. And everyone is just in the festive mood. But now that Christmas Day is over, let us look at the other side of the coin so to speak. There is also the other side of Christmas, as John Macarthur calls it the "Ugliness of Christmas". With every laughter, there is crying. With every singing, there is wailing. With every happiness, there is sadness. And it is the same with Christmas and that other side of Christmas or the "Ugliness of Christmas" is - sin. For if there was no sin, we have no need of redemption and since we have no need of redemption then Jesus the Christ would have not been born. And if Jesus wasn't born, there will be no Christmas.
   But it is not my intention to have you be discouraged of Christmas but for you to look at it in a different perspective. I am being called out always to what the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:23, to preach Christ crucified and that crucifixion of Christ actuated with the birth of Christ.
   What is the message of Christmas? I pray that as we delve deeper into the word of God, we can really appreciate Christmas not because of the gifts or our friends or out time spent with our families. I pray that as we answer this question w can leave this sanctuary with the full knowledge of what is behind Christmas.
   Matt 1:20-23
   20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."
NIV
    We all know the story of Christmas and what the nativity is all about but what I want us to do here is to cut through the icing and pick out the inside of the cake. Sure there was a baby. But why was He born? Because He will save His people from their sins. Why was He called Jesus? Just a bit of trivia: The name Jesus is the Greek variant of Joshua which is Hebrew. And it means "saviour". Why is a saviour needed? Because He will save His people from their sins. But mind you back in those days, there were so many Jewish boys called Joshua. Every mother during that time was hoping for their son to be the prophesied saviour as written in Genesis 3:15, Genesis 22:18, Genesis 49:10 and 2 Sam 7:12-13. But what differentiated Jesus was His title. He was called the Christ. And Christ in Greek means anointed. Jesus the Anointed and what was He anointed for? He was anointed to save His people from their sins. And anointed is the equivalent of Messiah in Hebrew. Jesus is also the Messiah or Jesus the Messiah. Which also means the anointed one. That title "The Christ" separated Jesus from the rest of the boys back in His days.
   Luke 4:18
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
NIV
   There is a reason why Jesus Christ read this specific passage. Basically the good news is that God has made a plan for his people to be redeemed. That Is the good news. And I want to point out to you a fascinating insight here. In Biblical survey, the book of Isaiah shows not only God's judgement but also His salvation. It declares a needed repentance from sin and a hopeful assurance that God will saved His people in the future. So when Jesus Christ that book, He was telling His listeners that this was being fulfilled right before your very eyes. He said it so in verse 20, "Today this scripture is being fulfilled in your hearing". So we have Jesus anointed to preach that good news; that God will send an atoning sacrifice, a messiah, as prophesied in Isaiah. And Jesus Christ in this passage is telling them, "I am that Messiah." God has sent Jesus to proclaim freedom for the prisoners. Freedom from what? SIN! God has sent Jesus to have the sight of the blind recovered for they have been blinded by SIN. God has sent Jesus to release His people from the oppression of SIN! That is the very message of Christmas. That God in His infinite glory has given us hope. And this is our hope that Jesus was born, He was crucified and He arose three days later to save us from our sins. And in that hope we should rejoice and take full joy in this knowledge. That God who transcends time and space yet so immanent, from the very start detailed His plan to redeem His people from their sins. And that redemption actuated in the birth of Christ.
    So my dear friends, let us look at Christmas in a different way. Instead of looking down towards a manger, let us look up towards the cross where the ultimate gift has been given to us. Jesus Christ was the greatest gift of all. He was born on that night sop that 33 years later He can fulfill God's ultimate plan.