Celebrate the Birth of Christ

This June, the convention essay described the Person of Jesus Christ with the title “Who Do You Say I Am?” by Prof. Michael Smith. It is vital that we know the correct answer to this question. The devil greatly desires that we accept any of the false answers he has devised. For if we believe that Jesus is neither God nor man in one Person, we have no savior. The Christian Church confesses the true doctrine in the Athanasian Creed: “For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man of the substance of His mother, born in the world…” (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, p. 30).
While the mystery of Christ’s Person is proclaimed by His death and resurrection, our celebration at Christmas presents an even clearer testimony of the Redeemer whom God sent to ransom the world from sin and death. For God clearly describes to the people involved whom He is sending so that they are prepared to appreciate His Christmas gift. Those descriptions are available to us and are read each Christmas season so that we and others may know why Christmas is such an important day of worship.
As Zacharias ministered in the Temple, the angel Gabriel told Zacharias that his son “will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:16–17). Gabriel was referring to God’s promise to send a forerunner before the Messiah comes (Malachi 4:5). Note that this forerunner will turn hearts to the “Lord their God,” a description of Jesus. Zechariah understood what the angel told him, for when he was able to talk again, he said, “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people” (Luke 1:68), which is a clear reference to Jesus as God.
Gabriel went into greater detail when he told Mary that God would give her a son: “That Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). He proclaimed that her Son would have two natures—a son who is born and will receive the throne of David and the Son of God who shall reign forever. The words are clear, but they remain a mystery as to how God can take on a human nature and be one Person.
The message was repeated to Joseph as he considered what to do with Mary. The angel quoted the prophecy of Isaiah, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which means ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23). Joseph was to understand that Mary’s child was God Himself, as Isaiah declared.
And when that Baby was born, the angels once again announced to the shepherds the great mystery of God’s gift, “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). The baby is both the promised Messiah (Christ) and the Lord (God). This God–man is born “for you” because Jesus must be “born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law” (Galatians 4:4–5). Jesus came to establish our righteousness by obeying God’s Law that we had broken and by suffering the curse of God’s Law in our place. Jesus also had to be true God in order to keep God’s Law perfectly for all people and to fulfill righteousness for all people.
St. John adds his declaration, “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 1:14). John already stated that the Word was God who created all things. So our Creator took on human flesh and lived in this world to provide the ransom needed so that God would forgive our sins.
With all these clear testimonies about who Jesus is and what He came to do, Christmas presents a wonderful opportunity for us to tell others about His Person and work. Consider ways in which you can tell about the peace Jesus won before God for us.
Theodore Gullixson is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Madison, Wisconsin.