"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given..." Isaiah 9:6.
Some years ago, an American astronaut climbed down a ladder and put his feet on the surface of the moon, and the President of the United States said that was the greatest event in human history. With all due respect to that President, the greatest event in human history was not when man first put his feet upon the moon but when Almighty God came down and walked upon this earth. We call that the incarnation, and we celebrate it at Christmas. If you do not understand this event, you don't have the golden key of all history.
How sad to know biology, the study of life, and not know Jesus Christ the Giver of life. How sad to know astronomy, the study of the stars and of the heavens, and not to know Jesus Christ the bright and morning Star and how to go to heaven. How sad to know geology, the study of rocks and geological ages, and not know Jesus Christ, the Rock of ages. How sad to know botany, the study of flowers, and not to know Sharon's sweetest Rose. How sad to know history from beginning to end and to miss the central event in history, which is the story of Jesus — His story. A wise man is ignorant, a rich man is poor, and a strong man is weak until he knows the Lord Jesus Christ.
The God-Man
Who is Jesus? Isaiah, seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, wrote, "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given." Now that's not just a repeat of the same thought. There are two distinct thoughts there. "A Child" speaks of the humanity of Jesus, and "a Son" refers to His deity. God sent His Christmas gift to this earth. It was the gift of Himself — deity wrapped in humanity.
Jesus Christ did not have His beginning in Bethlehem. John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word (Jesus). And the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Jesus was the One Who spoke the world into existence. And then God translated deity into humanity. That little baby in a manger is the great God Who created the universe. The little baby of Luke two is the great God of Genesis one. God became flesh.
You may say, "I don't understand that." Well, I'd be ashamed of you if you said you did understand it. None of us understand it. You see, the miracle of the ages is the virgin conception of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Miracle of the Ages
But you don't have to understand it to believe it. If you have difficulty believing in the virgin birth, you really have difficulty believing in God. Why would you have difficulty believing that a child could come into this world without an earthly father when God made the first woman and the first man out of nothing?
If you doubt the virgin birth, you really have difficulty with...
- the character of the Word of God — The Word of God plainly teaches that Jesus was born of a virgin.
- the character of Mary — If Jesus were not born of a virgin, Mary was a harlot and conceived out of wedlock.
- the character of Jesus — If Jesus were not born of a virgin, He was a descendant of Adam, and "in Adam, all die" (see 1 Corinthians 15:22).
You see, if there were no virgin birth, there would be no sinless Christ. No sinless Christ...no atonement. No atonement...no forgiveness. No forgiveness...no hope of heaven. No hope of heaven...we would all die and go to hell. Thank God for the virgin birth. If you take away the virgin birth, the whole house of Christianity collapses like a house of cards.
Now, you may be wondering what this is it all about? Let me just sum it up. Let me just tell you what Christmas is all about. God came to this earth to live, breath, work, laugh, cry, weep and teach, then carry our sins to the cross and die. Jesus is the virgin-born Son of God sent into this dark world to redeem us. He is the greatest Gift and history's greatest happening. He will save you if you will trust Him. Do you know Jesus?
