Rev. David Holwick  ZR
First Baptist Church                                          
Ledgewood, New Jersey                                        
December 20, 1992                                     
                                                           Matthew 1:20-23
                        WHAT'S AMAZING ABOUT CHRISTMAS

  I. The wonder of Christmas.
      A. Decorating, cooking, writing tons of cards, buying gifts.

      B. We get so wrapped up in the preparations, we forget the event!

      C. Martin Luther once remarked that Christmas consists of
             three miracles:
         "The first, that God became man;
          the second, that a virgin was a mother;
          and the third, that the heart of man should believe this."
                                                                    #1702

 II. God became a Man.
      A. Hard to believe the concept.
          1) "Incarnation" - that God took a human body - it difficult.
              a) How can a person be both 100% God and 100% man?
              b) Why does Jesus pray to God?  And die?
          2) Many modern people reject the idea.
              a) Hicks - "The Myth of God Incarnate."
              b) Jews, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses don't accept it.
                  1> Jesus is a supernatural being, but not God.
                  2> Jesus is a fantastic person, but not God.
          3) But Bible insists it is true.
              a) John 1:1,13.      The Word was God, and lived among us.
              b) Colossians 1:15   Jesus is the image of the invisible God.

      B. Beauty of the incarnation.
          1) God became one of us.
              a) OT prophet Isaiah promised this:  Immanuel.    Isaiah 7:14

              b) Former announcer and catcher Joe Torre had just been
                    named manager of the Cardinals.
                 New York Yankees' announcer Phil Rizzuto suggested that
                    managing could be done better from high above the
                      baseball field.
                 -He would get a superior view from the broadcasting booth.

                 Thoughtfully, Torre replied, "Upstairs, you can't look
                     in their eyes."
                 In Jesus Christ, God also chose to come down on the field
                    and look into our eyes.
                                                                    #2087
          2) Jesus can empathize with our weaknesses.        Hebrews 2:14-18
              a) Many religions make God unapproachable.
              b) Jesus understands EVERYTHING we go through.

III. A Virgin was a Mother.                                  Matthew 1:23
      A. Rejected by many modern people.
          1) Father Raymond Brown, a leading Catholic Bible scholar,
                has declared the issue of the virgin birth "unresolved."
          2) Jane Schaberg, who chairs the religion department at the
                University of Detroit, goes further.
             She contends that the unwed Mary was impregnated by a man
                other than fiance Joseph, and that she was a liberated
                   woman who was
               "not identified or destroyed by her relationship with men."
                                                                    #1810
          3) Among Baptists, divisions have been caused over issue.

      B. Biblical account.
          1) Isaiah 7:14 speaks of a young woman giving birth to a son.
              a) "Young woman" can mean either virgin or unmarried girl.
              b) Immediate fulfillment was probably by prophet's wife.
          2) Angel Gabriel revealed that ultimate fulfillment -
                "God with us" -could only through an actual virgin.
              a) Greek word for virgin is very specific.
              b) Matthew and Luke have very different Christmas stories,
                    yet both agree Jesus was born of a virgin.

      C. Why a virgin birth?
          1) Not because of original sin.
              a) Catholics also make Mary virgin-born, and her mother,
                    but stop there.
              b) Original sin derives from having Adam's basic character,
                    not from our means of being born.
          2) It establishes that "nothing is impossible with God."  Luk 1:37
              a) Virgin birth is not the basis of the incarnation, nor
                    proof of it.
              b) It is a sign that God's great gift to humanity is given
                    entirely by grace.

 IV. The greatest miracle of all, Faith.
      A. Miracles are difficult for modern people to accept.
          1) Ancient people expected great signs to accompany the birth
                of kings.  We don't.
          2) As a non-Christian, the idea of a virgin birth didn't
                impress me at all.  Seemed like a myth.
          3) We are skeptical of anything that breaks the laws of nature,
                unless we see it with our own eyes.

      B. Christianity has always seemed like foolishness.     1 Cor 1:22-24
          1) Our faith is not in reasonableness, but God's power.
          2) Rich young ruler was just like us, walked away.  Luke 18:23-27
              a) Disciples remarked, "If he can't be saved, who can?"
              b) Jesus responded, "It takes a miracle."     (cf. Luke 1:37)

      C. Jesus was born as a king, and he demands our worship and obedience.
          1) Repentance is harder to accept than the virgin birth.
          2) Our problem is not that Christmas is hard to believe, but
                that we don't WANT to believe it.  Belief requires change.

          "Calvin & Hobbes" cartoon on Thursday, December 17, 1992:
          -------------------------
          CALVIN:  I'm having a lot of holiday stress.
          HOBBES:  Why?  You don't shop for anyone.
                     You've got two weeks off from school.
                     And your parents do all the cooking, cleaning
                         and decorating.
                     How could you have holiday stress?
          CALVIN:  Deep down, I doubt my greed for presents can
                     overcome my desire to misbehave.
                                                                 #2396
          3) By nature, people want to excuse themselves rather than repent.

      D. C.S. Lewis once put it like this:  "Christianity has no message
             for those who do not realize they are sinners."

         If we are going to be prepared for His coming, we better do
           something about our sin.
         That is a side to Christmas that the world ignores.
         People take out the appealing parts of Christmas--the sweetness,
            the good cheer, the giving of gifts, etc.--
         But they have no concept of the deeper meaning of the Christmas
            event, that the holy God has invaded our world.

  V. Jesus fulfills the greatest needs we have.

         Rev. Eric Ritz refers to a Christmas card he received:

           "If our greatest need was for information,
            God would have sent an educator."
           "If our greatest need was for technology,
            God would have sent a scientist."
           "If our greatest need was for pleasure,
            God would have sent an entertainer."
           "If our greatest need was for money
            God would have sent an economist."
           BUT SINCE OUR GREATEST NEED IS FOR FORGIVENESS,
              GOD SENT A SAVIOR.
                                                                #2386


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