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[0:00] between your seed and her seed, and he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. And it's referring to the war between Satan and ultimately God.

[0:20] And the last part of that, he as in the Savior shall bruise your head, but you, Satan, shall bruise his heel. Referring to the cross.

[0:32] And so right at the fall of man, as they disobeyed God, and the consequences of sin swept over Adam and Eve, God promised, this is going to come.

[0:50] And this morning we are gathered to celebrate the fulfillment of what God said would come. And so this morning, I've titled the message, Who is the Babe in the Manger?

[1:09] Who is the Babe in the Manger? And we're going to look at some of the names that are used of of the baby Jesus and the significance of them as we go through that.

[1:33] Does Christmas exceed Passover or Good Friday, the resurrection, Easter, or even Ascension Day in importance?

[1:53] Is Christmas more important? Is there more hype at Christmas? I'll ask the children maybe.

[2:04] There's more hype at Christmas than at Easter. And I think there is. As we've created that as mankind, right?

[2:17] And yet, in reality, Christmas, maybe we put more weight on as God initiated the first step.

[2:29] But in reality, without Good Friday, without Easter morning, Christmas has no meaning and no value.

[2:42] And so as we go through the story this morning, let's keep that thought together. We have to look at the whole picture of what God has done for us.

[3:01] Let's begin in Galatians chapter 4. The book of Galatians chapter 4. Verses 4 and 5.

[3:17] Galatians 4. He says, But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

[3:47] And so, Paul brings out, in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.

[4:06] Why in the fullness of time? And as I pondered that a bit, so the first promise that we just read in Genesis chapter 3 was made 4,000 years before this was written.

[4:24] And so, 4,000 years before sending Jesus Christ to be born as a baby. And I'll just open that up.

[4:35] Is there any thoughts? Why did God wait 4,000 years? Any thoughts?

[4:47] Any thoughts? Why not the plan of salvation in Genesis chapter 4?

[5:12] Man had to try to do it on their own. Okay. Man had to try to do it on their own. Okay. To show them that they couldn't. Okay. Good.

[5:24] Anything to add to that? Well, I think as we look at that, I'm going to add a couple thoughts.

[5:36] Not that I have this figured out. But, we have to realize that in the Old Testament era, men and women were saved by faith just as we are today.

[6:00] And they were saved by faith in God that He would make provisions for their sin. And they put their trust in Him.

[6:11] They looked forward to what God would do and we look behind because it's accomplished.

[6:26] And so, we have to keep that principle in mind. So, God was just in waiting. He did not keep anyone from salvation by doing that.

[6:42] Okay. And, and then, God prepared a people group through whom He would bring about His plan.

[6:55] For Jesus was born of a Jewish nation. Born a Jew. Born as a human being as we celebrate today.

[7:08] And, and so, He had to do it through a people group so He prepared the way of salvation. He prepared a people, the people of Israel.

[7:20] He also gave them a period of the law. And the law did maybe a number of things.

[7:31] But first, it showed them that they could not obey. It showed mankind and God's chosen people that they were incapable of obeying God.

[7:50] And secondly, it highlighted their sin and their need of help. And in doing that, God prepared the world for a Savior.

[8:03] to highlight sin. And we need a Savior to help us. We cannot, we cannot attain righteousness without.

[8:16] And that was proven through and through over those years. And, and, and maybe lastly, Jesus born as a human being, born of the Virgin Mary, but fully God as well.

[8:41] God did that so that he could identify with our humanness. And that none of us could say to Jesus, well, you're God, you can't identify with us.

[9:00] Scripture says that Jesus at all points was tempted and was able, is able to identify with us. And so he came to save being fully humbled in the, in the most humble conditions God brought him about.

[9:21] God. And so hence, all of this came together in God's plan. And he chose, for likely reasons that I don't grasp, or all of us, any of us do, but he chose in the fullness of time years later.

[9:41] And today we've added 2,000 years of church age, or very close to that, as we still celebrate that birth. So in the fullness of time, God sent his son.

[9:57] In the fullness of time, God is going to send his son again. Amen?

[10:10] God is going to send his son again. The first time for salvation, but in the fullness of time to come, it's going to be for judgment.

[10:24] And that is just as valid, even though it has not happened yet. It's just as true. And it's going to bring in maybe the fullness of Christ's character that we have not fully experienced.

[10:43] Jesus will come as king, and he will reign as king as well. So with that background, we want to read the Christmas story this morning.

[10:56] And I have four passages of scripture to read, and I have asked four young men to come up and read. And so I would ask you guys to come up, this maybe all together.

[11:12] And so just follow along in your Bibles as we read, and we're going to begin in Luke chapter 1. And Elliot will begin, and then it's going to be Kevin, and then Jeremy, and then Aaron.

[11:30] So just follow suit, and I'll go sit down and listen as well. So Luke 1, verses 26 through 38.

[11:46] Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.

[12:00] And coming in, he said to her, Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you. But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.

[12:11] The angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God, and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.

[12:32] Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I am a virgin? The angel answered and said to her, The Holy is upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and for that reason the Holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

[12:48] And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.

[12:59] And Mary said, Behold, the bond slave of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. Matthew chapter 1, verses 18 to 25, says, Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows.

[13:24] When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

[13:40] But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child who has been conceived in her is a son.

[13:54] She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. For he will save his people from their sins. Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which translated means God with us.

[14:17] And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus.

[14:34] Luke 2 verses 1 through 10 says, And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

[14:46] This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria, so all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

[15:10] So it was that while they were there, the days were completed there for her to be delivered. 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.

[15:25] And there were in the same country shepherds living out in their 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.

[15:39] Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people. Luke 2, verses 11 through 20.

[15:58] For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you. You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

[16:10] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of blessing God and saying, Glory to God the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

[16:26] So it was then, the angel had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.

[16:44] And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying which was told to them concerning this child.

[16:59] And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

[17:12] Then the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told to them. Thank you guys for doing that.

[17:38] that we have a full story for Christmas. And just as we heard starting in Luke 1 where God initiates and he sends an angel, Gabriel, two, a chosen mother of Jesus, Mary, a young girl or a lady that was still single and a virgin.

[18:15] And so God initiates the fulfillment of his promises. And he comes to Mary and says, you will be with child.

[18:28] God. And you will call his name Jesus. And he will be the son of the highest.

[18:41] And also he will be called the son of God. All these things heard from Gabriel's lips.

[18:51] grace. And so she says, how can this be so? And then the angel says, the Holy Spirit will overshadow you.

[19:05] And you will become pregnant by the Holy Spirit. And so Mary, by faith, accepted that and said, let it be according to your words.

[19:19] And so the plan was in action. And it was initiated and we assume shortly after that, Mary found herself to be with child. And then as we read in Matthew chapter 1, we have a problem because Mary was betrothed to Joseph.

[19:42] And then Joseph finds out his girlfriend is pregnant. And we have a problem. God already had an answer for that, a solution.

[19:59] And he sent another angel with a message to Joseph. But notice in that element of the story, Joseph's heart was such that he did not want to deal harshly with Mary even before the angel came.

[20:17] and he was minded to put her away secretly instead of publicly, making a spectacle of her. And so with that, the angel came to Joseph.

[20:31] Do not be afraid to take her unto you as wife, for that which is growing in her is of the Holy Spirit. it. So Joseph receives explanation.

[20:45] And God meets the need that was there. And hence, we continue the story with Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem to be registered there as upon the command of Caesar Augustus.

[21:05] Also, another piece of the puzzle that God put in place. For scripture had said that the Christ child will be born in Bethlehem.

[21:18] And hence, that as well happened. And as they came together to Bethlehem. And so in Luke 2, we had the story read of the baby coming to birth, to be born, and of the shepherds visiting and worshiping the child.

[21:42] And so as shepherds looked in the stable into the cradle, what did they see? do we ever think about that?

[22:01] What did they see? A baby. They saw a baby. But what caused the worship? The message, right, of who this baby was, the significance of this baby.

[22:22] And so the shepherds had at least some understanding of what was happening here. But this morning, as we look into the cradle, what do we see?

[22:42] And I want to turn my attention from here this morning. What do you see in the cradle? What do you see? What do you see? What do you see? What do you see? What do baby?

[22:55] And who is the baby? Jesus, our Savior, the Holy Spirit, the Son of God.

[23:09] All good answers, all right answers. It is so, so very crucial that we as God's children don't lose sight, that we celebrate the birth of His Son, and that we push away the hustle and bustle, that that has to subside and take second place to the birth of the Son.

[23:44] God's name. We have a number of terms used of that baby in the manger, and I thought we'd look at some of them and just bring out some meaning here, the true understanding of who this baby is.

[24:06] So, Mary was told, you shall call His name Jesus. What does the word Jesus mean? does anyone know? The Lord saves.

[24:21] Yeah, absolutely. So, in the Hebrew, it's Jehovah is salvation. The Lord saves.

[24:34] And as we look at that word, the Lord, or Jehovah, that word means, it's interesting, the self- existing one.

[24:46] Jesus, Jesus, the self- existing one that saves. Now, how does that fit in with our picture of a baby in a manger?

[25:07] Just born that night, the self- existing one, come to save? this is the reality of his identity.

[25:23] And we realize full well that Jesus has always existed before he came to be born as a human. And so, Jesus, the self- existing one.

[25:39] By the way, do we have any Joshua's here this morning? One here. And so, scripturally, Joshua is the same root word as Jesus.

[25:53] And so, you have the same meaning as Jesus' name. And so, in scripture, they are one, Joshua and Jesus. Okay, in Matthew 1, we, let's turn back there, Matthew chapter 1.

[26:24] Verse 21 through 23. And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

[26:36] So, all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated, with us.

[26:53] God So, we have a second name at Christmas, Emmanuel, and we have the explanation right there, God with us.

[27:06] And so, God come down in flesh, to take on flesh, to become human, like us, to dwell in our midst.

[27:19] God with us. God came down to visit mankind, and in a very real sense, as he was there physically.

[27:31] But that is only the beginning of the meaning of that word, for is God not with us today? And he is, right?

[27:46] And he has promised to return and to be with us again, in the physical sense. So, it is God's intention to dwell with his creation.

[28:03] It's God's heart delight to dwell with us. and I just thought I'd read a verse in John, John 15.

[28:16] It applies for us today. It's one of the privileges we have. John, John chapter 14, not 15, John 14 verse 23.

[28:33] John, John 14, John 14, John 14, Jesus answered and said to him, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

[28:57] We, as in the Godhead, we will come and make our home with him. and so as God's children, as we've recognized him as our creator God, as we've surrendered to him, as we've loved his word, the father has come and dwelt with us and he's made his home in us, with us.

[29:30] and so we are to walk through the rest of our earthly journey with God present, with us.

[29:42] Where Jesus, in the physical, walked with the disciples, with the crowds for a number of years, but he was limited to a physical being, one place at one time, and today a fuller sense, God with us, with all believers, at all times, in all places.

[30:11] And then the very richest of that promise is when he is going to return, and he will be with us as king. So this is Emmanuel, God with us in its fullest.

[30:30] Okay, and then turning back to Luke 2, Luke chapter 2, verse 11, and this is the message of the angels, of the angel to the shepherds.

[30:59] For there is born to you this day in the city of David a savior who is Christ the Lord. So Jesus is called savior here, and that's quite self-explanatory.

[31:18] It means one who saves, our one who delivers. And so he is our savior to deliver us from the penalty of sin, from the power of sin, and ultimately from the presence of sin when he comes back.

[31:39] And so he is our savior, and then who is Christ the Lord? So what does the word Christ mean?

[31:51] Jesus the Christ. Messiah. What does Messiah mean? I'm putting it right back on you, Ben.

[32:08] you're right that Christ and Messiah are one and the same in meaning. One is Hebrew and the other is Greek.

[32:24] But the meaning of those words are the anointed one. So Christ means the anointed one, one, and Messiah means the anointed one.

[32:41] And the word Messiah is used, I think, only three times in scripture, twice in the new and once in the old or something like that. But Christ is used many, many times, but both referring to the same depth.

[32:59] So what does it mean to be anointed? Well, anointing is used to consecrate or to set aside for a specific purpose and was often used in kingship.

[33:19] And so Saul, when God chose him, he was anointed with oil. Later, King David was anointed with oil when he was still a lad with the sheep.

[33:33] You're going to be king one day. And the anointing marked him out for that purpose. Elijah, when he was coming toward the end of his ministry, he anointed Elisha and said, you will succeed me as prophet.

[33:56] He's marked out, consecrated for that purpose. And so the Christ means God has anointed, set Jesus Christ aside for this purpose to be savior.

[34:13] He's anointed by God. And so hence, he is the savior of mankind. Okay?

[34:23] So all of these things, as we look in the manger, Jesus is all of this, that baby. The last word there, Christ the Lord.

[34:37] And what does the word Lord here mean? It's like king?

[34:52] Okay. Yeah. Anyone else to add to that? Ruler. Okay.

[35:06] Master. It's on a personal level. Christ the Lord, he is Lord or master over us.

[35:20] Over his creation. And over us as individuals. so when I say Christ is my Lord, I am submitting to him as my master.

[35:38] And so the message by the angel to the shepherds, there is born to you this day in the city of David a savior who is the anointed one, the master.

[35:54] and then they went to see and they saw a little baby. How do we reconcile all these names with Jesus?

[36:12] We have to, we have to take in the cross. we have to take in the return of Christ to get the full picture of Jesus' character.

[36:31] But he was all of that in the cradle already. And so as we celebrate Christmas and just behold the awe of that, let's remember that.

[36:54] So turning again to the children, when we have a newborn baby among us, what's that baby like? special, cute, do you think Jesus was cute, innocent, helpless, helpless, anything more to add to that?

[37:33] Dependent, dependent on whom? on its mother, right? Primarily, or firstly, anyway, yeah.

[37:47] Yeah. It's astonishing, and we as humans would never come up with a plan like this, but God would.

[38:00] I will come down to humanity as a human, and I will subject myself to being totally helpless and dependent on the very ones that I created.

[38:19] Who is that in the manger? He is the Lord. Only God would do that, to make himself dependent.

[38:35] judgment. It's ironic, if we think about it, and yet, it's of the Lord. In the most humble manner, he came, in a way that mankind would just not expect.

[38:58] There's no way, and yet, the Lord decided to do it that way. He impacts us in every aspect of life.

[39:29] our responsibility is to bow down and to worship. And today, he has gone back to be in glory with the Father, and yet he is present.

[39:51] So we don't have a baby in front of us to worship, in the physical, and yet we look back and remember how he came. And we look at his fullness today, being in glory again.

[40:07] So as we go through the next days of Christmas joy and gatherings, let's spread that story.

[40:24] Let's tell it the way it is, in its fullness, so that people understand as we look at the real roots of who Jesus is.

[40:35] Let's pray. Father, what a beautiful, beautiful gift you have given.

[40:46] God, born as a baby, born as a baby, born without blemish, born fully human and fully God, born with the deepest of purposes to die for mankind, born to be resurrected again to eternal life in order that we could live.

[41:29] We praise you, Father. We thank you, Lord Jesus, for being willing to come, for humbling yourself and coming as that baby.

[41:44] May we truly worship you in that sense and, Lord, above all, that we would share that story with others. May you do bless us as families and as we celebrate the season of your birth.

[42:02]  We pray this in your most holy and precious name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.