Luke 2:1-14
As in all the Word of God, there is so much that precedes this account from where we start our reading. It is most difficult to grasp the whole of the story unless all the foundation has been laid. But it is impossible to give the full account/meaning/doctrine of the Birth of Christ in a lifetime let alone one service. So may I encourage you to read the full account of the "Promise of Christ" in your Bible Study.
Advent itself means ''arrival'' or ''an appearing or coming into place.'' Christians often speaks of Christ's ''first advent'' and ''second advent;'' that is, His first and second comings to earth. His first advent would be the Incarnation-Christmastime.
The Advent celebration is both a commemoration of Christ's first coming and an anticipation of His second coming. As Israel longed for their Messiah to come, so Christians long for their Savior to come again.
Advent is seen as a time to prepare one's heart for Christmas and for the eventual return of Christ (and the judgement He will bring to the world).
We take up the story here in Luke 2:1 and reading through verse fourteen.
The Long awaited Promise was full filled
God embraced all of humanity with the gift of eternal life. Jesus is God in the human body prepared for Him by The Father, Hebrews 10:5".... but a body hast thou prepared me:" Luk_1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. God embraced all of mankind with the gift of eternal life. "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Matthew 1:23
He came down to us that all would have a way to the Father, "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11.
He came that both Jew and Gentile would have a Saviour. The coming of the Wise Men to worship Him who was born King of the Jew embraces the truth that all people have a Saviour and all are to worship Him.
The Eternal subjected Himself to the Temporal. With the creation of man came time, and time is for man. Time is man's opportunity to prepare for eternity by first believing on Him for eternal life. And second, by taking up your cross and following Him. Someone said, "Procrastination is the graveyard of opportunity". If you are to enjoy the Blessing of Christ you will need to use your time wisely. , Php. 2:6-9 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Royalty reached down to the lowly, 2Co 8:9 "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."
He came in fulfillment of His Promise made in eternity past, Titus 1:2
"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;"
He was made in the likeness of man to bare our sins., "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed". 1 Peter 2:24 . The Bible tells us that God the Father laid on Him the iniquity of us all, Isa 53:6 "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."
He was made in our likeness to be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, Heb 2:18 "For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted."
It is so important that you learn to trust Him, "without faith it is impossible to please him". Here is the lie that satan, the world and the flesh (your nature) will give you: If you trust the Lord you will not have any problems, trials, difficulties, disappointments! That is not true! Look at the promise, " he is able to succour them that are tempted."
The temptation is common to all mankind and that is to respond to your trial in every way except by faith in God. It is in the trial you need to believe Him. This a real part of the Christmas Story where we celebrate the birth of Christ. Jesus is God with us . He came down to us that He could help us in our time of need. Trust Him in the midst of your troubles.
"He is the man Christ Jesus, who lay on the bosom of the virgin Mary, as a little infant, and knows the heart of a man. He can be touched with the feeling of your infirmities. He has Himself experienced Satan's temptations. He has endured hunger. He has shed tears. He has felt pain. Trust Him at all times with all your sorrows."
—J. C. Ryle (1816–1900)
Trust Him for Eternal Life - Know He is with you for strength in your daily life.
Poem: "One Solitary Life"
He was born in an obscure village, the son of a peasant woman.
He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter's shop until he was thirty. Then for three years he became a wandering preacher.
He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a house. He didn't go to college. He never visited a big city. He never travelled two hundred miles from the place where he was born. He did none of those things one usually associates with greatness.
He had no credentials but himself.
He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to his enemies and went through a mockery of a trial. He was executed by the state. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race and the leader of mankind's progress. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that One Solitary Life.
You have only to read the Gospels, and to look with willing eyes, and you shall behold in Christ all that can possibly be seen of God. It is veiled in human flesh, as it must be; for the glory of God is not to be seen by us absolutely. It is toned down to these dim eyes of ours; but the Godhead is there, the perfect Godhead in union with the perfect manhood of Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory forever and ever.
—Charles Spurgeon
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