Christmas Truth - Day 4

"I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him." Psalm 2:7-12

Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem was Lord and Christ. Messiah, Savior and God become man. This prophecy was fulfilled at the birth of the child, and referenced in New Testament scripture many times:

Hebrews 1:2-3,6 says, "but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word...And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, 'Let all God's angels worship him.'"

Romans 1:2-4 says, "the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendent of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with his power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."

All I wish to add to that reading of the Word is that Jesus claimed to be God, nothing less. At Christmas time as we sing the songs of the Christ child and celebrate the birth of the Savior, what strikes me is how completely unfathomable is the means by which God chose to provide for our salvation. We are never told in scripture so it would be only a guess, but I can't imagine that at some point Luke, after having questioned so many people about the birth of Jesus, would have run across someone who would have said something like, "I always thought the Messiah would have just appeared on the scene, straight from heaven in a flash seen by a multitude strong and powerful, marching into Jeruselum to claim His rightful place as King and ruler over the whole world. Never would I have guessed that He would have come into the world as a baby. Perhaps a baby like none other in the history of the world, but a baby nonetheless. I just never would have guessed."

That's the way I feel. I am expecting a new baby this Christmas. It is amazing enough that God would send His Son to be fully human, but to send Him as a baby, having gone through a full 9 months in the womb of Mary, fully Man in the truest sense of the word. A descendent of David in His human nature, but full of power and majesty as the very Son of God. In light of this Christmas truth two more scripture passages come to mind:

1 Corinthians 1:26-30 "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of nobel birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." In this time when children are not even considered fully human that I put my faith in God, who used the very basic humanity of a developing child in the womb of a virgin to give His Son as a gift for the salvation all who would belive on Him. I boast in that truth this Christmas, that that which no one would plan and see as foolishness (a King coming as a child), in the weakness of a baby and lowly in stature (born in a manger, son of a carpenter) is the very righteousness, holiness, and redemption for my soul.

John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."