GOD'S GREATEST GIFT
HIS SON JESUS

Luke2:1-6
1 And it came to pass in those days,
that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus
that all the world should be taxed.

2 (And this taxing was first made
when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed,
every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee,
out of the city of Nazareth,
into Judaea, unto the city of David,
which is called Bethlehem;
(because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife,
being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there,
the days were accomplished that she should be
delivered.




7 And she brought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped him in swaddling clothes,
and laid him in a manger;
because there was no room for them in the inn.





Luke 2:8-14
8 And there were in the same country shepherds
abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo,
the angel of the Lord came upon them,
and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:
and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them,
Fear not: for, behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day
in the city of David
a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you;
Ye shall find the babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes,
lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest,
on earth peace, good will toward men.



Luke 2:15-17
15 And it came to pass,
as the angels were gone
away from them into heaven,
the shepherds said one to another,
Let us now go even unto Bethlehem,
and see this thing which is come to pass,
which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste,
and found Mary, and Joseph,
and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen it,
they made known abroad the saying
which was told them concerning this child.



Mary's First Christmas

That starlit night
when Christ was born,
long promised child
from God above,
young Mary must have
felt her heart fill with a sweet,
protective love.

And as she held her little boy,
so gently wrapped
in swaddling clothes,
she surely checked his tiny feet
and marveled
at his perfect toes.

Could she have known
the path her son would choose to walk
in later years...
how lovingly
someone would kneel
and bathe his care-worn feet
with tears?

And did her trusting heart foresee
his footsteps moving
toward the cross
in faith, where all-forgiving love
and light would triumph
over loss?

Perhaps the simple,
priceless gift
that Mary somehow understood
was just to feel a mother's joy
and hold her baby
while she could.

Seeing Him for the first time

She was very young ... and very pregnant.
Her name was Mary, the daughter of a poor family
from Nazareth, and the wife of a humble carpenter
from the same village, a good man named Joseph.
The two of them had just made the long journey
from Nazareth to Bethlehem to pay their taxes,
Mary riding on the back of a donkey over dust-
choked roads and steep mountain trails.

Totally exhausted when they arrived, they hadn't
been able to find sleeping accommodations anywhere.
In desperation, Joseph finally found them a place
to rest in a stable behind an inn and devised a
makeshift bed for Mary out of hay and straw.

A few hours later, Mary was jolted from sleep
by wrenching cramps and birth pangs.
It was time for her to give birth.
And so it was that this young woman - far from home
in a strange city, still weary from travel
- lay on the straw-covered floor of a dark stable
and gave birth to her firstborn son.
With Joseph's help, she managed to wash the tiny infant
and wrap Him tightly in a long cloth
brought along in the saddlebags.
Then, as Joseph brought over a manger filled with hay
to serve as a cradle,
Mary gently kissed her newborn baby on His head
and laid Him in her lap.
In the flickering light of a crude torch
Joseph held over her bed,
she looked into the face of her son for the first time.

A group of raw-boned men dressed in leather girdles
and homespun robes hurried through
the dark streets of Bethlehem.
Shepherds from the fields outside of town,
they seemed out of place and ill at ease in the city.

"This is where the angels said He would be,"
the leader of the group said.
"But how will we know exactly where to find Him?"

"Look!" the youngest shepherd replied.

"There is the bright new star we saw.
It seems to be standing just over those buildings there.
He must be inside. Let's go and find Him."

Almost running in their excitement,
the shepherds hurried to the inn,
then slipped around it to the back,
noticing a faint light coming from the stable door.
And just above, the star shone brightly

Awkwardly, noisily, they made their way inside the stable.
A young couple sat close together,
hands resting on the edge of a roughhewn manger,
gazing at their newborn son sleeping on the hay.

The shepherds gathered around, one by one,
dropping to their knees in reverence and awe
as their eyes drank in this amazing scene.
Somehow they seemed to realize
that this was no ordinary baby.
For the first time in human history,
they were looking into the face of God.


If I had been in Bethlehem on that first Christmas morning,
I believe I also would have been irresistibly drawn
to that humble stable to find Mary, Joseph
... and baby Jesus.
I can scarcely imagine the thrill of seeing Him.

I believe that what I beheld there
would have taken my breath away
and left me with the deepest faith possible
for the rest of my life.
It would have been an incomparable moment
that would have left me forever changed.
For I, too - for the first time - would
have seen my Lord.

No doubt I would have recognized Jesus
by His divine presence for the Apostle Paul tells us
that in Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9).
Think of it - all the fullness of the Trinity
residing in that one body.
I think that means that when we get to heaven,
the only body we will see when we look at God
will be the glorious form of Jesus Christ.
The eyes of the Savior
If I could have seen Him on that original
Christmas morning,
I believe the first thing I would have noticed
would have been the eyes of the Savior.
Even today when I am introduced to people,
I have a tendency to look first into their eyes -
the windows of the soul.

The eyes of baby Jesus would have been eyes of innocence.
But soon the eyes of this God-man
would look past the faces of men and women
and see deep inside to their true hearts,
knowing their innermost thoughts and intents.

Remember the gospel account of Peter's sin
when he denied Jesus three times
during those awful hours before the crucifixion?
The Bible says that when they brought Jesus outside
to lead Him away,
His eyes looked deep into the eyes of Peter...
and an instant later, the disciple turned away
and wept bitterly, overcome by shame.

Can you imagine the eyes of God looking at you
and seeing inside your heart?
That's a really intimidating thought, isn't it?
But somehow I believe that,
had I been there with Peter that day,
even in the intensity of Jesus' gaze,
I would still have seen great love, compassion,
understanding, and forgiveness.

That's how I see Him today.
And, thank God, that's the way He sees me.


The mouth of God

After seeing the eyes of baby Jesus,
I think the next thing I would have noticed
would have been the tiny mouth
that was so quiet as He was born.
But it would not be quiet long.
This was the mouth that, with a word,
had already brought eternity to life
and spoke the world into existence.

This was the mouth that would disarm a lynch mob
by demanding - "Let him who is without sin
cast the first stone."
And when the guilty accusers had all slunk away,
this mouth would dispense grace to a fallen woman,
saying, "Thy sins be forgiven thee."

From these lips would come the cry that would open a grave
and call a dead man to life -
"Come forth, Lazarus!"

This mouth would challenge the doubters
and hypocritical religious leaders
with unparalleled wisdom and stern words
of rebuke and admonition.

And this mouth would someday proclaim the greatest sermon
that had ever been delivered to a multitude
of hungry hearts - the Sermon on the Mount.

Oh, what an inestimable thrill to realize that today
you and I can still hear Him speak to us -
inside our hearts in a still, small voice.

The hands of Jesus

After seeing His eyes and His mouth,
I think probably my eyes would have been drawn
to the Christ child's tiny little hands.
The hands that I saw would not be
resting on beribboned satin covers,
but would be nestled in the hay
that filled His manger bed.
For God did not send His son to an opulent palace,
but entrusted Him to the care of a carpenter
and a simple Jewish maiden
who received Him in a stable.

These hands would never enjoy a golden ring,
but they were reserved for something much greater.
Someday they would heal the sick
and comfort those who were mourning.

The hands of Jesus would bless and multiply
a little boy's lunch of loaves and fishes to feed a multitude.
These expressive hands also pointed lost and wandering people
back to the plan and path of God.

These same hands would overturn the tables
of the moneychangers
and grasp a whip to drive these irreverent
and scornful reprobates out of the Temple,
God's house of prayer.

And these hands now so small and gentle,
would one day be forced against the crosspiece
of a rough-hewn Roman cross
while huge, iron spikes were driven through the palms.
Even in death, His hands reached out to every sinner
who would ever live,
offering the precious gift of salvation
and new life.

The feet of our Savior

I'm sure I would have wanted to see the feet
of baby Jesus - tiny, unblemished, and at rest.
But not for long.

These were the feet that would help Him toil
beside His earthly father in the carpenter shop,
and carry Him on dusty trails
around the village of Nazareth.
These feet would take him to Jerusalem at the age of twelve
to confound the wise men and scholars
with His divine wisdom and amazing knowledge
of deep spiritual truths.

These feet would become tired and dirty
as Jesus went about "His Father's business."
They would carry Him throughout Judea,
giving the message of life and hope.
His feet took Him up rocky trails
to the top of mountains to pray.

Once, during a fearsome storm on the Sea of Galilee,
Jesus's feet walked on water to reach the boat
carrying His disciples who were crying out in terror.

On one memorable occasion,
a woman recognized the beauty of Christ's feet,
washing them with her tears, drying them with her hair
and anointing them with precious perfume.

And, of course, these were the feet
that ultimately made the anguished walk to Golgotha ...
and on to Calvary.

The feet of Jesus would seldom rest
because His work on earth was never completely finished -
He ultimately commissioned His followers
to continue His work,
proclaiming the gospel in all the earth.


The heart of God

If I had been permitted to kneel before the manger
and put my hand on the chest of Mary's baby that day,
I would have felt the beating of His precious heart.
That heart pumped the blood of life through Him,
and would enable His earthly body to grow
strong and healthy.

But I simply cannot comprehend the full measure
of the heart of Jesus.
It was, indeed, the heart of a man,
subject to every passion and pain of mankind.
But it was - and is - also the heart of God,
with a limitless capacity for love,
understanding and forgiveness.

I believe this heart thrilled to the beauty
and majesty of His creation,
the mountains and plains, the deserts and the seas.
I think Jesus watched the animals of the forest with pleasure,
and listened raptly to the song of the birds.
And He never got tired of walking and talking with people,
enjoying the company of children,
and having fellowship with His friends.

But this was a heart with a mission -
a divine purpose that could never be forgotten.
And one day this heart would be broken.
Can you hear the cry of Jesus' heart
as He reached out to all of mankind in love and compassion,
only to be rejected by them.
Looking out over Jerusalem
as the shadows of destiny darkened the sky,
He lamented, "Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
how oft would I have gathered you to Myself
as a hen gathers her chicks, but you would not."

No wonder the prophet Isaiah described our Lord
as "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief."
He came to save the lost,
but they turned their backs on Him.

The other day a person asked me,
"Why are there no pictures of Jesus laughing?"
I quoted that verse from Isaiah,
and reminded my questioner that Jesus knew the hearts of men.
I asked, "If you could look into the faces
of people today and know their hearts,
would you be laughing?"

Oh, my friend, we are so prone to sin.
And only the heart of God understands our frailty.
This is why Jesus came -
to seek and save us from our sins.
His heart drove Him on a life-and-death mission
on our behalf.


We shall see Him face to face

Obviously I was not in Bethlehem
on that first Christmas morning.
I did not see the newborn Jesus with my natural eyes
as Mary did ... as the shepherds did.
I can only look back with faith
and see Him with the eyes of my mind.

But with all my heart, I believe that one day
I will see Him face to face.
He will not be an infant,
He will not be hanging on the cross
or sealed inside a stone tomb.
He will be alive, in His resurrected body.

He will be laughing on that day,
rejoicing because His work -
and that of His saints - will finally be completed.
His eyes will behold the purity of righteousness.
His lips will never stop smiling.
His hands will be freed from the torture of the cross.
His feet will walk on streets of gold.
And He will rest in the embrace of His Father.

Oh, I want to see Him, don't you?
And I believe we will.
Well did the beloved disciple, John, prophetically write -
Now are we the sons of God,
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be:
but we know that, when he shall appear,
we shall be like him;
FOR WE SHALL SEE HIM AS HE IS
(1 John 3:2 emphasis mine).

This is what Christmas is all about.
This is why Jesus came to earth.

And this is why He is coming again!



Lord, we thank You
for the gift of Your Son,
Whom You sent to us
on this night so long ago.
Help us to remember,
that it is for this reason alone
we gather here to celebrate
Amen

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