A Saviour born

Was deciding what to blog about, cos I could possibly blog about today's sermon which was quite sobering, friday's bible study or continue to blog about Luke.. Anyway decided to continue with Luke la since I have already started with it.

Luke 2 continues with a record of Jesus' birth. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Then an angel appeared to some shepherds and told them, "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Luke then went on to record for us the response of these shepherds who returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Similarly, later in the chapter, a righteous man named Simeon and a prophetess named Anna also gave thanks to God and praised God for the birth of Jesus.

So what we see here, are the responses of 3 groups of people who responded positively to Jesus' birth and gave glory to God for it. Their response was amazing and reflected a lot of faith in the sense that they had not yet known how Jesus will come to save them of their sins. They had not come to know of Jesus' miracles and his death on the cross. However they simply trusted in what God had said. In the Old Testament, God had promised the Jews a Saviour that will come from the line of David, and who will deliver Israel from suffering and oppression. 400 years after the last book of the OT, the birth of Jesus was a fulfilment of what God had promised the Jews and provided great hope to the Jews.

At the same time, this salvation will not only be for the Jews, but will go out to all nations. We see a glimmer of this greater salvation in verses 28 to 32 of chapter 2: Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God, saying: "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." So this greater salvation, through the person and work of Jesus Christ will go out to all people, including the Gentiles who were the non-Jews.

What does this mean for us? To some, the birth of Jesus probably gives us some reason to exchange presents, eat log cakes and buy christmas trees during Christmas. For some, it doesn't mean anything more than a day of reference for the counting of years.. That's where BC (before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini or in the year of the Lord) comes in. Oh by the way, historians have recently changed the way they name their years to BCE (before common era) and CE (common era) to replace BC and AD to remove the religious affiliations..

But the birth of Christ has greater significance and importance than that. And unlike the shepherds and the Jews living at that time, we are privileged in that we know how Jesus had provided us with salvation by dying on the cross for sinners. We know that the birth of Christ heralds a new era in the history of man and ushers in God's kingdom which will come to include all who believes.

But knowing about the birth of Christ and the crucifixion of Christ means nothing. Only a response by faith in God's offer of salvation, giving thanks and accepting His gift of salvation will save you from God's wrath and grant you entry into His kingdom. For myself and many Christians, knowing this good news about the birth of our Saviour has brought great joy and comfort in our lives. I am extremely thankful that God has not forsaken his people despite our sinfulness and unworthiness and has sent His Son down to earth to save us. Sometimes, people will ask me why there is only one way of salvation. It seems almost unfair and unreasonable that Christianity is the only way. But if you look at how sinful the world is today and has been in the past, and if you put yourself in the shoes of God who looked down at His creation, it is mind-boggling to understand how God has even bothered to offer a way out for us.

Perhaps it will be appropriate to leave you with the famous John 3:16 verse:
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.