Date- 30 December, 2001
I hope we all took some time during this Christmas season to consider for ourselves what and who this baby is, this baby whose birth we celebrate. After all, the central question for all of mankind is whether or not this baby is who the Bible says he is. Is he the son of the living God, God in mortal flesh, or isn’t he? A cursory inspection of his first month of life certainly suggests in the strongest terms that he is no ordinary baby. During that month when neither the baby nor his parents have made any announcements or proclamations about who he is, the following things happened:
1. Shepherds left their flocks of sheep just to lay their eyes on this baby, then their visual awe led them to worship him and then after worshiping him to go and tell people that he was the promised Messiah.
2. Three educated and wealthy men traveled for a year or more over a great distance just to see this baby, worship him and bring him expensive gifts.
3. A powerful worldly king was so threatened by and in fear of this baby based only on the knowledge related by people who knew him that he ordered all male infants born at about the same time and in the same area killed in hopes of killing this baby.
4. An elderly man and woman who saw this baby recognized in him the fulfillment of their most cherished dream, to see God’s Messiah before they died. Both rejoiced at this blessing from God.
5. His mother and father had to flee with him to a foreign land to protect the life of this baby.
Of all the male babies born before and after this baby how many had this kind of impact on those around him in the first month of life? Clearly this is no ordinary baby. Notice also the reaction of the adults who encountered him either by personal contact or by the related experience of people who had personal contact with this baby. Some sought him to worship him and give him gifts, some were afraid of him and were threatened by him, some ignored him and some avoided personal contact with him. It would be no different during his adult ministry just as it is no different today. These events occurred and this pattern of reaction was established before the baby ever spoke a word, healed a sick man, restored and made whole a broken spirit or raised anyone from the dead. Clearly this is no ordinary baby.
Through Isaiah, God’s prophet, God tells us that He understands that it was not by any message He sent, but by his love demonstrated by his presence that He redeemed Israel. Throughout the Old Testament through his prophets God tells us He will redeem the world by his presence in the form of his Messiah Then in our scripture from Matthew the Apostle meticulously points out that this is no ordinary baby because even in his first few months of life he is fulfilling the ancient prophecies regarding God’s Messiah. This baby goes on to fulfill all the prophecies regarding God’s Messiah. What child is this? This baby is God’s Messiah, God in the mortal body of a man named Jesus. This baby is Emmanuel, God with us. This baby is God come to fulfill his promise to us to redeem the world by his presence.
In our scripture from Paul’s letter to the Hebrews the Apostle tells us who this baby is. He is the only Son of God who calls you and me brothers and sisters. He tells God He is on earth with the children God has given to him. Those children are you and I. We are God’s children and God’s Messiah is our brother. This baby is He who will grow up and experience all we experience in life so that God through his Son can perfectly understand our limitations, our failings and our shortcomings. This also makes him our perfect comforter because He has experienced anger, fear, joy and grief. And by the Son’s experience of being fully man and fully God He is able to become the perfect sacrifice of atonement for our sin as God pays the cost of our sin for us and by his resurrection He destroys Satan and frees us from the fear of death. What child is this? This child is the ultimate revelation and fulfillment of God’s love for you and me. Is it any wonder that the shepherds rejoiced? Is it any wonder that Satan does his best to lead us to ignore or despise this baby?
As we come to realize who this child is, it should become much clearer why we spend 4 to 5 weeks in extensive preparation to celebrate the birth of this child and to prepare ourselves to once again welcome him into our world and into our hearts. What child is this? This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing. This child is Emmanuel, God with us. What child is this? This child is God down from his throne to walk among us and to keep his promise that He will redeem us by his presence. May this knowledge fill us with the fervor and zeal of our psalmist today to praise the Lord, old and young together. May we leave this place with a sure knowledge of who this baby is and with great joy as we join all of creation in praising the name of the Lord! Amen.