The Reasons for
Christ’s Birth
Why Does Jesus have a Birthday?
Matthew 1
Dec 9, 2012 AM
Pastor Craig
Ledbetter
I.
Introduction
A.
WHAT Are the Reasons for Christmas?
1.
To most people, the birth of Jesus
is just the excuse…
a.
To get very drunk, over and over
b.
To go deeply into debt, buying what
I call “guilt gifts”
c.
To try and make your children happy
with THINGS instead of YOU
2.
To so many people, this time of
year has only become a time of stress. Divorces and separations are HIGHEST at
this time of year!
3.
To many parents, it is one of the
only ways to get their children to behave – by BRIBING them!
4.
Are there any better reasons than
those?
5.
Well, there certainly ARE!
B.
There are Four Main Reasons for
Jesus Being Born in Matthew chapter 1
C.
Every Christmas, we all need to
review these great truths, so that Christ’s birth stays like it was that first
Christmas!
II.
Background
A.
The Christmas Story is a Long Story
(Mt 1:1-17)
1.
It is not just a page or two in a
Bible story book
2.
It reaches back to Abraham
3.
Through 42 generations
4.
There were so many twists and turns
– not an easy path – so many sins and disasters
5.
All the way to the birth of a baby
called Jesus
B.
The Christmas Story is a Great
Story
1.
Of God’s People
a.
Not of the Chinese, or Koreans, or
Indians, or English, or French
b.
But of the Jews – God’s chosen
people!
2.
Of God’s Plan
a.
What Satan had set out to do by
defeating Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
b.
God was ready with a perfect plan
to undo, and fix
3.
Of God’s Grace
a.
Look at all the names in the list
1)
Abraham – lied about his wife to
protect his own skin
2)
Jacob hustled even his own older
brother out of the inheritance
3)
Judas was an adulterer
4)
David was an adulterer and a
murderer
5)
Solomon was a idolater, and an
idiot - married 700 women!
b.
Four others are there who shouldn’t
be – if we were writing this
1)
Thamar (1:3) a harlot
2)
Rachab (1:5) a harlot
3)
Ruth (1:5) a Moabite
4)
Bathsheba (1:6) an adulterer
5)
THAT is God’s amazing grace to
bring all those people into His plan
C.
The Christmas Story is an
Impossible Story
1.
A Virgin Birth (Mt 1:18-20, 22-23)
a.
Talk about IMPOSSIBILITIES
b.
A virgin cannot produce a baby
without a man!
c.
HOW could the Bible have known
that? Must have been written by GOD!
d.
It is the miraculous conception
without a man, having no human father.
e.
All tests of genetic law show that
a virgin conception would have produced a daughter - not a son. Why? Because the
human male determines the sex of the offspring. A woman only has X chromosomes.
Any artificial egg that might be produced in a laboratory, can ONLY produce a
female!" It is a scientific law!
f.
And here was the prophet Isaiah
talking like it was no problem for God – which it wasn’t!
2.
A Prophesied Birth (Mt 1:22,23;
Isaiah 7:14)
a.
Written down 750 years BEFORE Mary
met Joseph!
b.
That is IMPOSSIBLE! How do you
write down such a specific prediction?
1)
That not just a woman, but a virgin
2)
That she would have a SON!
3)
That this son would grow up and be:
GOD in the flesh (Isaiah 9:6)
4)
That He would rule the world
(Isaiah 9:7)
c.
You and I might take a guess about
…
1)
Two people possibly getting married
2)
Having a future firstborn child
3)
That the baby would be a boy
d.
Well, Try making a prediction 7
centuries in advance, and writing it down for EVERYONE to read and check up on!
e.
There were Several Specific
Prophesies about this Birth
1)
No prophecy was vague or ambiguous
2)
Isaiah 7:14
3)
Isaiah 11: 10 “And in that day
there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people;
to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.” Has to be a
descendant of king David’s daddy, Jesse!
4)
Isaiah 9:6,7
5)
Micah 5:2 – born in a small town
named
6)
Numbers 24:17 “17 I shall see him,
but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of
Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of
D.
Yet, the Christmas Story Has
Affected Our World Like Nothing Else!
1.
Our Calendar
a.
What year is it? 2012
b.
2012 what?
c.
2,012 years since the BIRTH of
someone named JESUS!
d.
Wikipedia says, “Anno Domini (AD or
A.D.) and Before Christ (BC or B.C.) are designations used to label or number
years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars. This calendar era is based
on the traditionally reckoned year of the conception or birth of Jesus of
Nazareth, with AD counting years after the start of this epoch, and BC denoting
years before the start of the epoch. This dating system was devised in 525, but
was not widely used until after 800.
e.
The Gregorian calendar is the most
widely used calendar in the world today.
f.
The term Anno Domini is Medieval
Latin, translated as In the year of the Lord, and as in the year of our Lord. It
is sometimes specified more fully as Anno Domini Nostri Iesu (Jesu) Christi ("In
the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ").
2.
Our Economy
a.
The economy of almost 25% of the
world is based upon Christmas sales!
b.
Without Christmas sales, entire
national economies would collapse!
c.
It’s amazing! But the world NEEDS
Christmas
3.
Our Time of Year - Without
Christmas…
a.
Without Christmas,
b.
Without Christmas, the candied
fruit market would collapse!
c.
Without Christmas, you'd have to
buy all your own underwear and socks!
d.
Without Christmas, December would
feel a lot like February!
e.
Without Christmas, Eggnog becomes
just a disgusting beverage!
f.
Seriously, without Christmas, there
would BE no Easter! — That means there would also be: no hope, no forgiveness,
no victory over the grave, no victory over sin. No heaven. No love of God!
4.
Our Families – just think about how
Christ’s birth has blessed our families!
a.
I’m talking about a REAL Christmas
celebration – not the world’s drunken party
b.
It brings families together like
nothing else – from so far away!
c.
It is MUCH better than a funeral!
d.
Christmas is all about the whole
family – not friends, or work, or bills, or holidays – it is about us coming
together with the people MOST precious to us!
e.
Thank God Christmas has affected
our families
E.
But WHY did Jesus HAVE to have a
Birthday?
F.
Four Reasons for the Birth of Jesus
Christ! (Matthew 1)
III.
Message
A.
To Keep His Promise
(Matthew 1:1-18; Genesis 3:15)
1.
God made the promise to Adam and
Eve in the Garden after they disobeyed God and were trapped under the dominion
of Satan
2.
That he would UNDO all that Satan
had done
3.
That He would fix what sin had
ruined
4.
When God makes a promise, He will
keep it! He cannot lie!
B.
To Demonstrate the Power of the
Holy Ghost
(Matthew 1:18-20)
1.
People accept or at least WANT to
accept so many lies and fairy tales about powerful beings:
a.
An all knowing Santa – who never
grows old – is eternal – is only good
b.
Flying reindeer – faster than the
speed of light
c.
Heros like the Avengers, and
Superman
2.
People believe in power! Like
nuclear power, “people power”, and especially the “big bang”
3.
But there is a power that is more
powerful than anything ever imagined
4.
The power of the Holy Ghost of God!
a.
In creation (Genesis 1:1-3)
b.
In getting Mary pregnant (Luke
1:26-35)
c.
In the life of every believer
1)
Luke 1:41
2)
Luke 1:67 Zacharias
3)
Luke 2:25 Simeon
4)
John 14:26
5.
We are walking, talking proof that
the Holy Spirit of God has power
a.
To save sinners like you and me
b.
To CHANGE sinners like you and me.
1)
The presence of the indwelling Holy
Spirit, living within you and has the power to deliver you from the grip of any
bondage.
2)
No sinful habit, painful past, or
present struggle is too difficult for the Holy Spirit to overcome.
c.
To preserve a believer all the way
to heaven! Without perfect works!
C.
To Save Us From Our Sins
(Matthew 1:21; Isaiah 1:18)
1.
That’s what His very name means!
a.
Jesus means “The Lord is Salvation”
– “HE is Our Salvation!”
b.
It describes what He came to do—to
save us from the bondage of sin through His death on our behalf.
c.
That’s why He had to become
Immanuel. Since the Father is immortal and cannot die, He had to take on a human
body in order to offer Himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of
mankind.
2.
The biggest threat to everyone
breathing in this room today, is our sin account
a.
Jesus came to save us NOT from
cancer, or Bullying, or Depression, or Poverty
b.
Jesus came to save us from our SINS
3.
Who are sinners?
a.
The apostle Paul was a sinner
(1Timothy 1:15)
b.
Mary herself was a sinner, needing
the saving power of Jesus Christ applied to her own sins (Luke 1:41-47)
c.
The whole world lieth in wickedness
(Romans 5:8,6) ungodliness!
4.
People want to be left alone – but
if only people knew that God’s wrath is coming against all sin!
5.
The most wonderful truth about
Christmas, about Christ’s birth is that Jesus would be able to accomplish what
no one else could – the saving of mankind from the judgment of their sins
a.
To save us, means to pull us out of
harm’s way
b.
The baby in the manger would step
in, and take our place under the righteous wrath and judgment of God, so that we
could walk away free and forgiven!
c.
Gift of God is ETERNAL life! It is
not something you can earn – it is a GIFT
6.
Have YOU been saved from your sins?
a.
Are you forgiven? NOT perfect, just
forgiven?
b.
Have you believed that you deserved
God’s judgment, and then fallen upon God’s mercy and asked for forgiveness at
Christ’s expense?
c.
You can be saved today! Washed as
white as snow!
D.
To Dwell Among Us
(Matthew 1:22,23)
1.
I believe this is awesome!
2.
Emmanuel! It means “God with us”
a.
Down here, in THIS realm
b.
GOD, right here, WITH us
c.
Not just above us – which He is
– but at our level!
d.
Not “God is on our side” but God
was right here AT our side – the apostle John said it this way in 1John 1:1
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with
our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of
life”
3.
Throughout human history, heaven
was God’s dwelling place, and except for a few personal encounters (as with
Abraham, Hagar, and Jacob), He seemed far away to most people.
4.
But here was GOD, who had come to
live in a human body (John 1:1-3,14)
a.
He didn’t come to show off
b.
He didn’t come to visit
c.
He came to dwell among us, to live
like us, to walk among us, and suffer the weaknesses of humanity.
d.
Yet never forget that He also
displayed the power of Almighty God as He healed the sick, cast out demons,
calmed the sea, and raised the dead.
5.
Jesus was God in every way
6.
He was also Man in every way, yet
without any sin!
7.
All so that he could dwell among
us, and live in each of us (John 14:23; Romans 8:9-11; Rev 3:20)
8.
Is Jesus WITH you? Is he Emmanuel -
Dwelling with you, abiding IN you? Really, literally?
a.
He wants to be
b.
He can be
c.
If you will let Him in this
morning!
IV.
Conclusion
A.
Forget about ALL the other
“reasons” that motivate you at Christmas time, and revel, rejoice in the very
best reasons for Christmas!
B.
Without the Incarnation…
1.
God wouldn’t have kept His Promise
unless he became a baby
2.
The Power of the Holy Ghost would
not have been shown!
3.
No one would have been saved from
any of their Sins
a.
God had accepted innocent lambs in
the place of sinners
b.
Countless numbers of lambs,
slaughtered because of the stubbornness, the wicked imaginations, the hatred and
fighting, and thievery, the coveting, the adulteries of men and women, young and
old!
c.
But NEVER had God Himself come to
BE the final lamb of God – not until the Incarnation!
4.
And God would have only stayed
distant from sinners such as us
C.
But God has kept His promise!
1.
But it does you no good unless you
believe it, and accept the free gift that He offers to you this morning –
eternal life, forgiven, washed, forgotten, and cleansed!
D.
The Holy Spirit HAS done the
impossible!
1.
Have you let that power loose in
YOUR life?
E.
Here was God, as US (mortal, human
flesh and blood) and WITH US, PERMANENTLY – our Emmanuel! Does He dwell WITH
you?
F.
Have you let JESUS save You from
your sins?
1.
You and I are in trouble with God!
2.
You and I CANNOT save ourselves
3.
Only Jesus can! Not Mary, not any
priest, or sacrament. No good effort, or good intention – only the life of
Jesus, being given on the cross, in the place of yours!
G.
Would you like an early Christmas
gift? Accept God’s Son
1.
He took YOUR place – He took YOUR
sins, and was punished for them all
2.
Take His forgiveness right now, and
call on His name, asking Him by name to forgive you and make you His child!
3.
That’s the whole reason why He came
- to SAVE save a sinner like you!