The Weary World Rejoices

No matter where you come from with matters of faith, you’ve probably all sung these words at one point or another:

Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon Virgin, Mother, Mother and Child

Holy infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

Christ, Christ, the Savior is born

Christ, Christ, the Savior

Christ, Christ, the Savior is born.

We used to sing these every year for the Christmas program at St. Francis Xavier, where I went to elementary and middle school. Then, we would go eat pie.

These lyrics represent one of the greatest mysteries of the Bible, and one of the most peculiar events in history. It is the Christmas season. This is a season where we imbibe spirits wearing ugly sweaters which have now just become sweaters. We get together with family, and probably try to avoid political conversations. We order enough packages to put a massive strain on freight companies like UPS. We eat enough calories to put a massive strain on our belt loops.

The lyrics listed above from the hymn, “Silent Night” remind us that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. What is with all these songs about Jesus? Why is it so relevant that a baby was born? Babies are born every day. What is the significance of the season?

Is that baby God? Is the Christmas story the story of the Author writing himself into the story? Why would that have to happen? Why would God have to come into the world, born of a virgin.

This post will look at the simple question: Why has the Son of God come into the world, born as a babe in a manger?

This is a brief biblical theology of Christmas, of Jesus’ birth. (A Biblical Theology is an examination of the progressive revelation of the Bible -- i.e., a “How did we get here?” that follows the narrative storyline of the Scriptures).

How did we get to this “Silent Night?”

The Creation of Humanity:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26–28 ESV)

In the beginning of the story God creates the world and all that is in it. He stretches out the heavens, the stars, and as his crowning achievement, He makes human beings, men and women, in His image. God has established the earth as the place of His special dwelling, and people are to be His royal subjects, sharing with Him in the dominion of the world and all the creation and representing who He is to the world. Humans are created to be God’s representatives, displaying His glory, His image in the world.

Adam, and then Eve are dwelling in perfect harmony with God and creation. Genesis 2 ends by telling us that the two were naked and felt no shame. What they were experiencing was peace, bliss, intimacy with God and each other. Life inside the garden was life inside the most beautiful place imaginable, because it was this special relationship in the presence of God. However, this goodness doesn’t last long.

The Fall of Humanity:

For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. (Genesis 3:5–7 ESV)

The blissful shalom of the garden of Eden is about to come to an end, because sin is about to enter the world. The serpent tempts Eve, and she and Adam sin. Order is disrupted. Adam and Eve have rejected God as king, and decided to become rulers themselves. God had created them to bear His image, and they have decided to make their own image, to take matters into their own hands. Their sin leads to the curse and to the exile of the man and woman from the Garden, from the immediate and intimate presence of God. The holy God must exile sinners from His presence, and that is what happens.

He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:24)

Humanity, as the image bearers of God, were made to mirror and reflect God to the world, but due to being separated from His presence and the knowledge of Him, they start to mar that image. Humans do things that are out of line with the character and nature of their Creator, and this is sin. Over the course of the next few chapters of Genesis, sin increases upon the earth. God brings judgment and tries to preserve a righteous few through Noah, but that too doesn’t work. Murder, strife, and wickedness are running rampant on the earth. This increase of sin in the early part of the story culminates in the Tower of Babel.

Spiritual Judgment

Genesis 11:1–4

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

Human beings who were created to bear the image of God and joyfully spread the fame of His good name across the earth now seek to ‘make a name for themselves.’ The Babel story shows how humanity can work together toward evil ends, and this leads to a spiritual judgment from God. God separates the peoples by language and disperses them across the earth.

Genesis 11:7–9

Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

The harmony and unity of the Garden are gone. Humanity has been judged twice at this point, and rebellion against God has known no bounds. Things are not good. What happens next is remarkable. Immediately after the spiritual judgment and dispersion of peoples in Genesis 11, God comes to a shepherd named Abram and says these words:

Genesis 12:1–3

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God tells this idol worshiper, I will make your name great, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. “I will make your name great...in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” God doesn’t waste time in the matter of redemption. Even in the midst of judgment, God has a plan to bring unity, peace, and blessing back to all people. How will God do this?

God’s Covenant with Abraham

Shortly after, we get this scene with God and Abram that helps us unfold the story further.

Genesis 15:3–14

And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions."

(SIDE NOTE: We can’t dig into it just yet, but notice how God tells Abram that the people to come from him, Israel, will be in slavery under another nation for four hundred years. Some promise God!)

Abram is wondering about the promise of God. “Are you really going to bless people through me? I have no offspring yet God! How is this going to happen?”

God answers Abram by bringing him out to stare at the vast desert sky and the millions of stars in the bright sky. God tells Abram, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believes God, and the Bible tells us something remarkable. “...he believed the LORD and [God] counted it to him as righteousness.”

Next, we see God make this covenant with Abram. What is the deal with the animals? Why are they cut up? In this kind of a covenant, two kings would cut open these animals, splaying them in half with a pathway in the middle. Then, the two covenant partners would walk through the void space between these bloodied animal carcasses, sealing their covenant. By passing through the slain animals together in covenant, the two covenant partners are saying, “May this be done to me if I do not uphold my end of the covenant!”

Only, Abram doesn’t walk through the animals with God. Remember above where it says a deep sleep fell upon Abram?

Look what God does next:

Genesis 15:17

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.

God passes through the animals in theophany. (Theophany is just an appearance of God in something - in this case as a smoking fire pot and flaming torch). God is the only one who walks through the slain animals of the covenant that He makes with Abram, because Abram is asleep. God essentially says, “If I don’t uphold this covenant, may it be done to me!” God is declaring that His word to Abram, promising him of many offspring, and blessing to all peoples will come through Abram after all. This primogeniture, as we see in the story, is Abraham’s offspring, Isaac, the miracle child born to barren Sarah. God fulfills his promise to Abraham, and gives Abraham and Sarah their miracle child, Isaac.

Then, something weird happens...God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac?! “Um, wait God, didn’t you give me this miracle child who was going to be part of the restoration of blessing to all peoples? Now you want me to sacrifice him?” This is one of the hardest passages for people who don’t believe the Bible to understand, and rightfully so. Why would a good God demand that a man sacrifice his son? Let’s look at the story.

Genesis 22:4–14

On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

First, we see the faith of Abraham and Isaac. They both went together to the mountain, the man trusting his father, and Abraham trusting his God. “God will provide for himself the lamb.” Abraham knows that God has promised to bless the world through Isaac, and that God is committed to His own covenant, so, for Abraham to offer Isaac is an act of trust in the character of God. And God provides the lamb, right there on the mountain, to spare Isaac. All nations will still be blessed through Isaac, but we don’t yet know how that looks.

Eventually, Isaac has his own children, and one of them is Jacob. The lineage continues. We won’t dig into all Jacob’s wild stories here, but focus on his becoming the father of the 12 tribes of Israel, including Joseph. Joseph is sold into slavery in Egypt by his envious brothers. God is with Joseph and delivers him and establishes him as an authority in Egypt. Joseph becomes manager over the storehouses of Egypt and prepares them for a famine, which draws his brothers to Egypt. Eventually, all of Israel comes to inhabit an area of Egypt and Joseph dies. Then, the Pharaoh over Egypt forgets Joseph, and begins to distrust Israel.

Exodus 1:8–14

Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves."

God’s word to Abram about his people being taken into slavery by a foreign nation comes true, as the Egyptians enslave Israel. However, God also promised that He would bring judgment on that nation which is were we get the deliverance of Israel through the plagues. God brings these plagues of judgment upon Egypt to free Israel from the yoke of slavery. God remembers His people and is faithful to His word.

God Delivers Israel: The Passover

Exodus 12:12–13

For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

The final plague is the death of the firstborn sons of Egypt, and it is the final straw where Pharaoh finally lets Israel go. Israel is finally being delivered, and called into the wilderness to be with God. Egypt pursues, and God splits the sea while Israel passes through. Then, God lets the waters of judgment sweep away the pursuing chariots of Egypt. Israel is delivered to be God’s people.

The wilderness wanderings lead the people of God to Mount Sinai where they receive the covenant law. God is attempting, through Israel, to make a group of royal subjects and image bearers who will be a blessing to all the earth. The Law, given through angels and entrusted to Moses comes to help God’s people worship Him and be His people, living in His presence with love and justice toward neighbor. The Law is given as a gift of God’s grace, and it is focused on loving God and not false gods, and on loving neighbor.

The Law also comes with stipulations, namely blessings and curses. One of the most distinct stipulations is the rejection of God and exile of the people:

Deuteronomy 28:64–65

“And the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. And among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but the LORD will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul."

This stipulation of exile promised in the covenant with Israel was the worst of the punishments of the Law. Sin led to Adam and Eve’s exile from the Garden of Eden, and sin would lead Israel out of the presence of the LORD and into exile. Therefore, Israel must be the holy people of God by adhering to the Law.

However, the Law doesn’t come with the power and ability to obey. The people consistently reject the rule and reign of God and turn to other gods. The entire book of Judges is written to show the continual rejection of God as King and the continual failing of people to do life and justice apart from God. Israel is crying out for a king, like the other nations. This in itself is an affront to the King of their covenant people, God himself. However, God obliges, first through Saul, and then through King David.

King David’s reign is the peak of the nation of Israel. The people have been delivered and are safe on every side. However, there was something missing. In all the time of wilderness wandering, God had dwelt among His people in the tabernacle. God’s presence would come among the people of Israel in the tent, which was constantly in transition. King David wanted God to dwell among the people permanently in the temple.

In the midst of that desire, God gives King David an even greater word.

2 Samuel 7:4–16

But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

God tells David the opposite of his request! David will not build God a temple, rather King Solomon, David’s son will do that. God gives David something even better, saying, “the LORD will make you a house.”

I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son...your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

God’s promise to David is this: A king is coming who will be as God’s son, from the lineage of David, who will rule on the throne of his kingdom forever, and my steadfast love will not depart from him.

This is the peak of Israel’s time as a nation, under King David. Solomon builds the temple of God, and God’s presence comes to mark the temple.

1 Kings 8:10–11

And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

God’s presence was now established in a more permanent way, among His people in the temple. This tremendous moment in Israel’s history was buckled with these words:

1 Kings 8:61

Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.

Being God’s people was yet again affirmed to be about walking in God’s ways. As Adam and Eve were called to not eat from the tree and failed, so Israel would fail. God’s people would not be true to His statues or keep His commandments. Their hearts went after other gods, which leads us to the prophets. The Prophets are God’s messengers, sent repeatedly to call His people back to righteous living.

Over the course of the Old Testament journey through the prophets, the people refuse to live righteously, perpetually rejecting the rule and reign of God, and are carried into exile by the hands of other nations. Israel experiences the promised judgment. If they want other gods as gods, they will have foreign kings as kings. The culmination of this judgment is when the glory of the Lord leaves the temple.

Ezekiel 10:18

Then the glory of the LORD went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim.

As the prophets continually point the people of Israel back to the LORD and away from idols, they are met with rejection, scorn, and persecution. Despite all of this, the prophets continually point forward to that day when God’s King would come. This is the king, promised to David, from the lineage of David, who would restore righteousness and justice.

Despite the exile and the barrenness of life without God, there were prophets would would call the people to hope in the coming Messiah. Here are a few examples of key Messianic prophecies:

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

A child born of a virgin shall come, and be the great Immanuel. Immanuel means, “God with us,” and this promise was key to the people of God. God would one day be with us again.

Isaiah 9:6–7

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace

there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

A child will come who will have all things upon him. He will be the prince of peace, the mighty God himself. He will increase peace and his throne will be established in righteousness and justice. This king will rule forever and ever on the throne of David.

Jeremiah 23:5

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land."

The king will come, and he will reign in justice and righteousness, doing all God’s will.

Ezekiel 36:23–28

And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God."

If the Law didn’t come with the power to obey, the Spirit will. God will give forth the Holy Spirit to create a new heart and a new spirit within His people, cleansing people from their idolatry and equipping them with the desire and power to obey the LORD, being his people from the inside out! Exile will be ended and these people will no longer reject God’s rule and reign in their lives. These people will be God’s people, and He will be their God, restoring the intimate relationship that was lost in Eden.

Who is this righteous one who will come to rule? How will he accomplish this great reconciliation? Will he deal with sin?

Isaiah 53

Who has believed what he has heard from us?

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

For he grew up before him like a young plant,

and like a root out of dry ground;

he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his wounds we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he opened not his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away;

and as for his generation, who considered

that he was cut off out of the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people?

And they made his grave with the wicked

and with a rich man in his death,

although he had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;

he has put him to grief;

when his soul makes an offering for guilt,

he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

because he poured out his soul to death

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors.

The prophet Isaiah paints this picture of a suffering servant of God. This man will come and suffer, bearing the iniquity of many and making them righteous. He will pour out his soul unto death, but he shall divide his spoil with the strong, ruling. Out of the anguish of his soul, this suffering servant will see and be satisfied. He will be delivered, and he will be vindicated.  

Isaiah prophesied these words approximately 700 years before the birth of Jesus. So what happened in the interim? Well, a bunch of minor prophets came and called the people to repent. Then, Malachi prophesied to close out the Old Testament prophecy era.

Malachi 3:1

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

Malachi declares the words of God, saying that a messenger will come and prepare the way for God to come to His temple. The messenger of the covenant, (the king of righteousness) is coming to the earth.

Then, 400 years of drought happened. God did not speak to the people through the prophets for 400 years. The people of Israel found themselves and Jerusalem ruled over by the Romans. The people of Israel are oppressed but they have these words of prophecy and they are hoping for a coming Messiah to overthrow the Roman rule and establish peace for them once again.

The people are hungering and thirsting for a savior, a deliverer.

Then we get this from Luke’s gospel:

Luke 1:26–55

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And 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 his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

An angel comes and gives Mary, the virgin, this word. She rejoices, because she knows that God has looked upon His people, and herself with great favor. The virgin will bring forth the child who is to rule with righteousness and justice forever. God has remembered His mercy and will deliver Israel. He will keep His promise to Israel. The birth story of Jesus continues:

Luke 2:8–21

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Unto you this day in the city of David, a Savior is born. Christ the Lord is born, the Messiah, promised of old. God’s King has come into the world, God himself, born in a manger to meager people in a small town, in a turdy barn, witnessed by the lowly and outcast shepherds.

Christmas is the celebration of the Author writing Himself into the story. But back to our original question: Why has the Son of God come into the world, born as a babe in a manger?

This passage from Luke shows us with these words, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

The God of the universe took the low road, to display His glory through mercy and compassion. Jesus took our deserved exile upon himself on the cross. Jesus was the sacrificed son on the mount of God, the ram who stood in our place. Jesus is the true Israel, who walked with God faithfully and obediently all the days of his life.

Jesus came to bring the glory of God into the world, and to bring peace. Jesus is the seed, promised to Abraham that will restore blessing to all nations. Jesus is God with us, sent into the world to reconcile people to our Creator. Jesus is the baby in the manger. We celebrate Christmas because God came to dwell with us.

The baby in a manger was God’s King, declared of old. The baby in the manger is Jesus Christ, the one by whom and for whom we have been created. The baby in the manger is the one who brings us peace with God, making peace by the blood of his cross. The baby in the manger is proof of the loving grace of God to those humble enough to accept His love.

The baby in a manger became the man upon the cross, the suffering righteous servant of God, who has now risen and sees and is satisfied.Jesus is the risen King and Jesus is the Kingdom of God, ruling and reigning. Jesus establishes his rule and reign in the hearts and lives of all who, by faith, joyfully submit to His Lordship obeying his words and keeping his commands. Jesus is the one who sends the Holy Spirit to us, enabling us to be the children of God, the temple of God in this wandering wilderness. Jesus is bringing us back from exile, and leading us day by day toward the time when we will be with God and God will be our God.

Our souls have a longing, a deep yearning, that all the good things of the world cannot satisfy. We can only find that peace in our souls when we return in humility to our Creator. God has made the way, through the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension for us to find peace with Him as our God. We can return from exile, we can return from rejection, we can return from rebellion. We can accept God as Savior, and rejoice in Him, giving Him glory, because Jesus was born in a manger. The goodness of God is shown in that baby in a manger.

John 1:1–18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

Therefore, along with Silent Night and the other great Christmas hymns, we joyfully sing these words:

O holy night the stars are brightly shining

It is the night of our dear Savior's birth

Long lay the world in sin and error pining

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new glorious morn

Fall on your knees

O hear the angels' voices

O night divine

O night when Christ was born

O night divine o night

O night divine

Has Jesus come to you? Do you know the beauty of trusting your life to Christ? Is he your Savior and Lord? Have you experienced that thrill of hope?

Yesterday, I drank a coffee and rejoiced in the birth of Jesus at a place that used to be a bar and is now a church. I praised Jesus in a place where people used to get drunk and drown their sorrows has become a place where people are blessed and rejoice in God even through their sorrows. 

God is with us. 

I sang with God's people, a bunch of former hard-hearts like myself, gathered to praise God for the day He sent Jesus into the world as a babe in a manger. God has come to His people, and our weary hearts. Therefore, the weary world rejoices. We praise God for Jesus. 

The weary world rejoices in God our Savior!