At Christmas, we receive gifts, but often we secretly dislike what we got, and long for something better.
When God gave His Son Jesus to us, His was a gift that most men actually despise.
First, God gave us a child and a Son, by which means the Deity of Christ was joined with our humanity for all time to come! He is become God with Us.
But most importantly, Jesus came to save His people from their sins. The problem is, that Israel by and large didn't want a Messiah to save them from their sins, and neither does most of humanity today.
Thus, Jesus is the gift that is unwanted by many.
The Angel promised Jesus' mother Mary that He would be the great King to sit upon the throne of His father David forever, a glorious promise to encourage Mary in her time of shock and dismay.
Yet Mary never lived to see any of the Angel's promises come true. Instead, she saw Jesus rejected, betrayed by His own people, and put to death by the Roman occupiers.
Faithful Simeon warned Mary about this sadness, for he told her a sword would pierce through her own soul, as Jesus was turned against.
It was to Joseph that the Angel revealed the marvelous promise that Jesus would save His people from their sins.
But Israel didn't want such a Savior, because they had the law and sacrifices and their own self-righteousness, so they thought they were already right with God. What Israel thought it needed was a political savior to restore the kingdom and drive out the Roman occupiers.
To the Jews, God's gift of a Messiah who would save His people from their sins was unnecessary and just a little bit insulting.
Praise God, no one could stop Him from doing what He promised! |
#15 - Top Played Sermon (48-Hours) on 12/25/2016
