Jesus Gods Greatest Gift

Jesus, God’s Greatest Gift (Luke 1:26-35; 2:4-7) “… the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom 6:23) Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (God with us). (Isa. 7:14) God miraculously created a human child who would actually be his Son, the long-awaited Savior (Gen. 49:10; 2 Sam. 7:9-16; Ps. 2:7; Isaiah 7:14; 9:1-7; 11:1-3). Why is Mary’s status as a virgin significant? In order that the body of Christ might be shown to be a real body, he was born of a woman; but in order that his Godhead might be made clear he was born of a virgin. – St. Thomas Aquinas Jesus Christ, God’s Son, had to be free from the sinful nature passed on to all other human beings by Adam. Because Jesus was born of a woman, he was a human being; but as the Son of God, Jesus was born without any trace of human sin. Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. Because Jesus lived as a man, human beings know that he fully understands their experiences and struggles (Heb. 4:15-16). Because he is God, he has the power and authority to deliver people from sin (Col. 2:13-15). God orchestrates all human history By the decree of Emperor Augustus, Jesus was born in the very town prophesied for his birth (Micah 5:2) The birth of Jesus is a demonstration of God acting to save us from our sins Out of love, God provided an atoning sacrifice for us, in the person of His only begotten son, Jesus (John 3:16, Rom.5:6-9) (as was symbolized by Abraham’s drama, Gen.22:1-13) He was/is the sacrificial, Passover “lamb” (John 1:29, Rev. 19:7-9, 1 Cor. 5:7, 1 Pet. 1:19) Jesus sacrifice is perfect and complete, given once, for all, and for all time. (Heb. 9:22-28, 10:10) It cleanses us from our sin (Heb. 9:14, 1 John 1:7, 1 Pe. 1:2 & 18-19, Matt. 26:28, Rom. 3:2425, Col. 1:14 & 20, Rev. 1:5) Jesus served as the perfect sacrifice by becoming human The Bible explains how Christ being both God and man fulfilled the purposes of God: “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people” (Heb. 2:17)

Jesus sacrifice was made knowingly & voluntarily (John 10:17-18, 19:28-30, Luke 23:46) Jesus Christ became a man in order to help us recapture our lost destiny as “Sons of God” with eternal life (Mark 10:30; John 3:15; 10:28; 17:2; Rom. 2:7; 6:23; 1 John 2:25) Life is the greatest gift one can give to another God acts in unexpected ways Mary was young, poor and female = not highly valued by human society at the time But she was also obedient, which is highly valued by God God uses what/whom the world considers insignificant to accomplish great things (Acts 4:13; Judges 6:15-16) Ordinary People + Sincere Faith in God = Spiritual Empowerment (including boldness) & Extraordinary Accomplishments Favor/Grace was God’s undeserved gift to Mary (Luke 1:30) Charitoo {khar-ee-to'-o}Gk. = viewed with great favor, surrounded/covered/filled with grace, accepted (see Eph.1:6) The proper response to grace is gratitude (2 Cor. 4:15) demonstrated by obedience, and rejoicing (Luke 1:47) Christmas is a time to express our deep gratitude for that gift and to celebrate life If there is anything special about Mary, it is her accepting response to God’s grace extended to her, “May it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 1:38) Unlike Zechariah, Mary does not ask for a confirmatory sign but only for light on how God will accomplish what he has told her. “The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28) recalls the way the angel of the Lord addressed Gideon to assure him of God’s help in the assignment he was about to receive (Judges 6:12). Mary was blessed (eulogeo {yoo-log-eh'-o}Gk. = consecrated (Luke 1:28) The word for “overshadow” (episkiazo, Gk.) carries the sense of the holy, powerful presence of God, as in the description of the cloud that “covered” (Heb. sakan; “settled upon”) the tabernacle when the tent was filled with the glory of God (Ex. 40:35; Ps 91:4). The word is used in all three accounts of the transfiguration to describe the overshadowing of the cloud (Matt 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:34). Likewise, in each account the voice comes out of the cloud identifying Jesus as God’s Son, a striking reminder of Luke 1:35 where the life that results from the enveloping cloud is identified as the Son of God.

“Jesus” (Iesous {ee-ay-sooce'}Gk.) comes from “Joshua” which means “God/Jehovah is salvation” The symbolism of Jesus’ name was not lost on the people of his day, who took names seriously and saw them as a source of power. Jesus was given that name because he was sent to save us from our sins (Matt. 1:21) Jesus is the Son of the “Most High” (Hupsistos {hoop'-sis-tos}Gk. from Elyon, Heb. = the Exalted One; the Most High God) (Luke1:32) At Jesus’ baptism and transfiguration, God the Father identified Jesus as His son, in passages reflecting Ps.2:7. He was identified as Son of God by an angel prior to His birth (Luke 1:32, 35); by Satan at His temptation (Matt. 4:3, 6); by John the Baptist (John 1:34); by the centurion at the crucifixion (Matt. 27:54). Several of His followers ascribed to Him this title in various contexts (Matt. 14:33; 16:16; John 1:49; 11:27). His Kingdom will have no end (Luke 1:32-35) (Aion {ahee-ohn'} Gk. = for eternity; Ou telos {tel'-os}Gk. = without end) Centuries earlier, God had promised David that his kingdom would last forever: “And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever” (2 Sam.7:16) David’s earthly dynasty ended four centuries after his reign, but Jesus Christ, a direct descendant of David, was the ultimate fulfillment of this promise (Acts 2:22-36). Jesus is “Great” (megas {meg'-as}Gk.) in the sense of having superior abilty, virtue, authority and power; being highly important (His birth has eternal implications); exalted; preeminent John the Baptist recognized his greatness when he said, He must increase and I must decrease” (John 3:30) Jesus indicated that He was greater than Jacob (John 4:13-14)