"There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:11). This is the well-known angelic announcement of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every detail about it is significant and beneficial for our instruction. Let us contemplate it in four ways:

First, consider the subject of the announcement. "There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Three titles are here given to Jesus, each of which serves to emphasize His identity and mission. He is called Savior. His very name, Jesus, comes from the Hebrew name that means "the Lord saves" or "the Lord is Savior." Thus the angel, when sent to Joseph, had instructed him, "You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matt 1:21). Some say that Jesus came to be an example, a teacher, a guide, even a prophet; and all this is certainly true. But to so confine the purpose of His coming is to miss Him entirely. His great mission was to be the Savior--to save His people from their sins. "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim 1:15). He laid aside His heavenly glory to become man so that He might redeem man. "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Phil 2:8). Why all this? "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world" (1 John 4:14). He is called Christ. This title literally means the "anointed one" or the "Messiah." In scripture, we see that Prophets, Priests, and Kings were anointed when placed into office; it was a sign that God had appointed them to the task and had gifted them for its accomplishment. The prophet spoke to the people on behalf of God; the Priest offered prayers and sacrifice to God on behalf of the people; the King protected the people and upheld the rule of God's law over them. These offices were shadows and types of Jesus, the coming Messiah. He is the great Prophet, of whom God said to Moses, "I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him" (Deut 18:18). He is the great "High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens" (Heb 8:1). He is the "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" (Rev 19:16). Therefore, when Jesus asked Peter, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt 16:15-16); and when the Samaritan woman said to Jesus, "I know that Messiah is coming. When He comes, He will tell us all things," Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He" (John 4:25-26). He is called Lord. This title serves to emphasize His deity and dominion. He is not merely a Lord, but the Lord--the Lord of all (Acts 10:36). Of Him, scripture says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:1-3,14). Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of Man, the perfect union of deity and humanity. He is the One who has been given the name above all names "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil 2:10-11). He is the ruler of earth and heaven, for "all things have been created by Him and for Him; and He is before all things, and in Him all things consist" (Col 1:16-17). Many wish to have Jesus as Savior but will not bow to Him as Lord. They are like the citizens of the parable who say, "We will not have this man to reign over us" (Luke 19:14). But He bears no single attribute to the exclusion of the others. If we will have Him at all, we must have Him as all. We must plead for Him as our Savior to redeem us, but we must also submit to Him as our Lord to rule over us.

Second, consider the time and place in the announcement. "There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior." Events, though sometimes appearing incidental or accidental, are never so; they come from the hand of God, who rules over the affairs of humanity. He determines the end from the beginning, and from ancient times, things not yet done (Is 46:10). Note, regarding the birth of Christ, the time stated by the angel: "this day"--that is, on that chosen day more than two thousand years ago. "When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law" (Gal 4:4). God's timing is never without purpose. Christ could have been born centuries earlier or later; but how then would the scriptures be fulfilled? How could His every earthly relation and encounter have occurred as it did unless He came at precisely the appointed time? How could He be delivered to death by His own people and crucified on a cross, unless He came into a Jewish nation occupied by Roman rule? And think how His timing affected the spread of the gospel! He came to a world in which Roman innovation and rule and the commonality of the Greek language had paved the way for His truth to go into all the earth. Note the place stated by the angel: "In the City of David"--that is, in Bethlehem of Judea, fulfilling a prophecy made many centuries earlier: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2). Here again we see that the Sovereignty of God rules over the affairs of men. It was necessary that the Christ would come not only from the line but also from the city of King David. But His parents lived far away in an obscure village call Nazareth, so how could this be? "And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered" (Luke 2:1-6). Joseph and Mary must go to Bethlehem because of a decree issued by Caesar! And the timing of this decree will have Mary come to full term while in Bethlehem! "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. Like the rivers of water, He turns it wherever He wishes" (Prov 21:1). We may take comfort that God's purposes are always accomplished, even working through every contingency from the intents and actions of men. And how necessary this is for our salvation! Were God to neglect His superintendence of the least detail, we could never be saved; but thanks be to God that what He promises He brings to pass, and what we cannot do, He does.

We may also learn from this that scriptural truth is rooted in literal historical events. There was a literal birth of a literal Jesus from the womb of a literal virgin in a literal town called Bethlehem during a literal census decreed by Caesar. Many wish to take the Bible as myth or at best as good principles couched in antiquated and inaccurate thought. Many even deny the very events that scripture affirms while claiming to believe its message! And some of these are the self-professed "friends" of Christianity! But the light of scripture and evident reason will not allow such views. Though we walk by faith and not by sight, our faith is both reasonable and historical, and of God's Word we may always affirm, "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8). "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." To believe in Christ is to believe His words: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away" (Matt 24:35).

Third, consider the sign in the announcement. "And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12). We might have expected the birth of the Son of God to be accompanied by elaborate preparation, lavish decor, and great festivity. Not so. To the world, this birth would have seemed unimpressive, and the destiny of this child, insignificant. Jesus did not come in the fullness of His power but as a dependent child. He was not born to a King and Queen, but His parents were a lowly couple from an insignificant town. Unlike the Kings of the earth, He was not born in a palace but His birthplace was a stable. There was no soft cradle in which to lay Him, but His bed was a feeding trough. He was not wrapped in the garments of a Price but in swaddling cloths. There were no Kings or nobles attending His birth, but only shepherds and later foreigners from the East. What is noteworthy in His birth was intended to be typical of His life. The Son of Man had nowhere to lay His head (Matt 8:20). His closest companions were uneducated men, and His most devoted helpers were humble women. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Is 53:3). Although He was the King of Kings, the only crown He would ever wear was made of thorns, and the only scepter He would ever hold was a broken reed (Matt 27:29). One of His Apostles would betray Him with a kiss, and the rest of them would forsake Him in His hour of trial. Those in high position would plot against Him, and the people, who once praised Him, would cry out "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" (Luke 23:21). And in the end, He would hang on a cross, alone and forsaken, of whom it is written, "I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none" (Psalm 69:20). "We hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:3-6).

Fourth, consider the recipients of the announcement. "Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid" (Luke 2:8-9). The announcement of the Savior was not made to the King of the Jewish nation or to Caesar. It did not come to those highly regarded among men, nor did it come to the religious rulers of the day, who thought that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt. No, it came to shepherds, those of low esteem in society. We may learn from this that God is no respecter of persons. He does not regard wealth, or fame, or power, or ability, "but in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him" (Acts 10:35). Although man looks at the outward appearance, the Lord looks at the heart (1 Sam 16:7), and what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination to Him (Luke 16:15). "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence" (1 Cor 1:26-29). "For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, and with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones'" (Is 57:15). Let us learn from this that we will find God in the way of humility. Let us learn to have the heart of the tax collector, who would not even lift his eyes to heaven but beat his breasts and said, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" (Luke 18:13). "For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (1 Pet 5:5).

Dear friend, you may celebrate Christmas, but do you have Christ? You may love the gifts and the ornaments, the trees and the lights, the celebration and the food, the songs and the productions, but do you love the Lord whom the season commemorates? Or can it be said of you what was said of the world at Christ's coming: "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him" (John 1:10)? What a tragedy it would be to have celebrated the Christmas holiday so many times only to hear Christ say in the end, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt 7:23). Let it not be. Do not miss the reason for the season, the Lord Jesus Christ. Make this Christmas one in which He, the Lord of heaven and earth, is Lord in your heart. And let those who know Him be glad that the true light, which enlightens every man, has come into the world (John 1:9). Let us hear the angelic announcement with the shepherds, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11). Let us take heart that the Lord has come--the One we call Immanuel, which is translated "God with us" (Matt 1:23).

If you would like to receive further information concerning these matters, please contact Joseph Montalto.