The day Jesus was born fulfilled the promise, God is with us
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Luke 1:26-33
Angel Gabriel visited Mary in Nazareth and told her that she would be the mother of the Messiah. Mary was probably a teenager at that time. Part of the tradition was that Jewish girls married young. She was betrothed or engaged to a carpenter named Joseph. It is important to highlight in the gospel that Joseph came from the line of David (see Luke 3) and Mary was a virgin as fulfillment of the prophecies (see also Isaiah 7:14). In those days, betrothal is for a period of one year and was equated to marriage except that they did not live together and engaged in sexual intimacy. This explains why Joseph was called her “husband” even before they actually they got married (Matthew 1:19). Gabriel told Mary, “You have found favor with God!” She was a godly woman and it was God’s grace that made her to be His choice to be the mother of God, the Messiah. When Mary realized the significance of the event about to happen, she understood that Christ’s coming is God’s answer not only to her need of a Savior but to all mankind. “Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!” (Luke 1:46-47). It was because of His grace that all people will have the opportunity to come to know Him as Savior. “So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son” (Ephesians 1:6). As our Savior, His rule is not just for a time but for eternity; “His kingdom will never end.” “The Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)” (Isaiah 7:14). What do you look for a Savior? Who is your God? The answer to these questions depends upon the authority you trust. If your authority comes from God and His Word, the Bible, then you will receive that Jesus fulfilled what was promised in God’s Word and that He came to be your Lord and Savior. Jesus is the realization of what God promised through the prophets from the Old Testament. Do you still have the sense of awe that surrounds the coming of Christ? So when you gather around with family members this Christmas celebration, remember its message for in the first Christmas day the Sovereign Creator God became flesh to be with us. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14, NIV).
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A BLESSED NEW YEAR!
