Caesar Augustus was emperor, and Quirinius was governor of Syria. Herod the Great was king in Jerusalem. Astrologers in Persia were gazing at the stars. Peace reigned throughout the world. But it was an uneasy peace, enforced by the power of Rome and the point of her sword.
Joseph, the heir of King David eked out a living, working as a carpenter in northern Israel. His promised wife was pregnant, and he wasn’t the father. But Joseph didn’t break off the engagement. God, having told him, through an angel, of her miraculous pregnancy, Joseph protected his wife. He guarded her and would raise her son as his own, not as a stepfather, but as a guardian father.
But, at the height of her pregnancy, Joseph did something that he would’ve never chosen. He traveled 90 miles with his pregnant wife and her unborn son. The blade of the Roman sword demanded it, and so Joseph obeyed.
And so, Joseph went down to Bethlehem, to the city of David, for he is of the house and line of David. Joseph knows that much. He knows his hometown. And because of this, he goes there to pay his taxes. But other family members have traveled there and have taken all the guest rooms in their ancestral home.
So, Joseph and Mary bed themselves down with the animals. Then something happens. Mary begins her labor pains, and she gives birth. At that moment, something took place that had never happened before and will never happen again. God was born in the flesh.
The Almighty and eternal God, who created the universe, who separated the light from the darkness, was born in Bethlehem. The God, who delivered His people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, who anointed David king of Israel, was born in Bethlehem. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that God, the only true God, to whom is glory forever and ever and into ages of ages, was born in Bethlehem.
Today, we celebrate that miracle beyond human conception. This morning, we celebrate the birth of the Light of Light. We celebrate that God the eternal Son, the uncreated Light that gives all other light its existence, has taken on human flesh and was born of a virgin. We rejoice in that God, the Creator, who did not think it beneath Him to become a creature. We remember that God took humanity into Himself so, as a man, He could redeem all men.
The Word became “flesh.” The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. That’s why Christmas is such a celebration. For it is in the flesh of Jesus that we see God’s glory on this side of heaven. We see the glory of the one-and-only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
That is the joy of Christmas–but it didn’t look that way, not at first. Kings aren’t born in poverty. The world would never believe that dirty swaddling clothes could wrap a king and that an animal’s feeding trough could house him. These aren’t the circumstances in which such a King should be born.
As kingly births go, the birth of Jesus wasn’t much to see. He was born to poor parents, forced to go to Bethlehem because of a decree from a foreign emperor.
Does God behave this way? Does God humble Himself to this degree? Does God allow the world’s suffering to touch Him in such an intimate way? What could be sillier sounding than God being born as a man to an unwed mother in a humiliated family?
How about this? God having to grow up. The God who knows all had to learn to read and write. The infinite God, who pervades all, contained Himself in a human body and sat on His father’s knee. He went to church. He rejoiced in the Scriptures.
Jesus was born because it was all part of a greater whole. As staggering as it is that God could be a baby, that was just the beginning. God being born in Bethlehem was just the beginning of what He needed to do–to save us fallen beings, we who made the mess in which we find ourselves.
God was born because we’re in rebellion against Him, whether outward and obvious or inward and seething, from the moment of our conception. God was born because, even though we are born in rebellion against Him, He loves us. He was born in a cave, nursed at His mother’s breast, grew up, and took up His cross because He loves you. That’s the greatest story of Christmas. It is the story of love. God becoming a baby shows that to us.
But the eternal Son of God knew that the road that he would walk to save us would not be easy. But such undaunted love walked the way of redemption, which led to the cross, with pain, suffering, and even blood. He knew that He would suffer more than anything in His creation would ever suffer. He knew that the pain of Good Friday would be beyond imagining. But love compelled Him, even when still but a baby.
The joy of Christmas is the joy of knowing that such love in the flesh is the God we have. The joy of Christmas is the joy of being able to say, “God was born in Bethlehem.” It’s the joy of saying, “God is a man.” It’s the joy that we just sang in our hymn: “Nails, spear, shall pierce Him through, the cross be borne for me, for you; hail, hail, the Word made flesh, the babe, the son of Mary!” (LSB 370).
Jesus entered our world to save us. He entered our world in a feeding trough so, we, His flock, could feed upon Him. It is now as it was then. On that first Christmas morning, the majesty of God, the Light of Light, was hidden in the darkness of a cave, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Our Lord was incarnate as a man in the most humble of circumstances, so we sinners could receive Him and live. Now, He who was born in the humility of a stable comes to us today in simple bread and wine.
There’s a reason Christmas comes from the words, “Christ” and “Mass.” Christ points us to Jesus being born as our Messiah to save us. “Mass” points us to where the Lord’s salvation comes to us today. Without Christ, you don’t have a flesh-and-blood Savior. Without the Mass, the Lord’s Supper, you don’t have a flesh-and-blood Savior giving you His salvation in His body and blood.
“Christ’s Mass”; Christmas: that’s when the Lord’s own words, “This is my body,” and “This is my blood” allow us to experience God with us, Emmanuel, here today. On Christmas Day, the Almighty God wraps Himself in unassuming, earthly stuff that we, fallen earthly people, can receive His heavenly gifts.
When we eat God’s body and drink His blood, we receive the gifts of life and salvation that He has won for us in His birth, life, death, and resurrection. Emmanuel, God is with us, aren’t just words from long ago that make us feel warm and fuzzy inside. No, Emmanuel, God is with us, is even true today!
That’s the whole point. Christmas is God in His Life coming to you. Christmas is God’s salvation for you. Christmas is God’s peace for you. So, rejoice, dear saints of God. The Light who enlightens all men comes into the world to give you life–back when He was born, and even now in His body and blood. Jesus, the true Light, comes here to banish the darkness.
That’s why today is brighter than yesterday, and tomorrow will be even brighter than today, for darkness cannot exist where the light has come. And so, today, Jesus has put away the works of darkness that separate you from Him. He has redeemed you from sin, death, and the grave. The babe of Bethlehem is your Savior.
Contrary to popular belief, Jesus isn’t the ONLY reason for the season. Jesus is the reason for the season–for you. Everything that Jesus did, He did for you. Jesus came to give you salvation, hidden in human flesh and blood. He grew up for you. He carried your sins for you. He suffered for you. He died for you. And on this Christmas Day, Jesus still comes to you, in His flesh and blood, in His Supper, for you. It’s all for you and your salvation. Emmanuel, God IS with us!
Merry Christmas, dear saints of God! As with the shepherds long ago, come to kneel before God’s manger and receive Him still, where He comes for your salvation. Amen.
