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Good morning my dear “Walking with Jesus” friends,
May I begin this Monday with an important question. . .
Where does the Christmas story begin?
The Gospel of Luke with the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary in Nazareth? Or maybe Gabriel’s visit to the Temple & Zechariah? Or maybe one of the famous Old Testament prophecies which foretold the coming Messiah?
I’ve been praying about where “Walking with Jesus” should go during the month of December, and I have an idea. How about we trace the chronological journey of Christmas, the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ? It’s central to our Christian faith, isn’t it?
So from today until Christmas Day, we’ll walk with Jesus as He shows us in His Word how it all fits together, ok?
So I ask again, where does the Christmas story begin?
May I suggest the Christmas story actually starts BEFORE Genesis 1…before Creation! Ephesians 1:4-6 says “For He (God the Father) chose us in Him (Jesus Christ) before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight (God the Father’s sight) . In love He (God the Father) predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will – to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.”
Do you see what Paul is led by the Holy Spirit to tell us? Before God had created planet earth and humanity, He knew there would be a crisis in Eden, and He already determined He would make a way for us to be restored, to be ‘holy and blameless’ again, in His sight. I say ‘again’ because when Adam and Eve were first created, they were ‘holy and blameless’. I see that in Genesis Chapter 2, since there was no evil yet in our world.
“Christmas” is God’s idea. It is the first step in God’s “Redemption Plan” for humanity.
Do you see Ephesians 1:7 continues by saying “In Him (that is Jesus) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace which He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” You know, my friends, “redemption” means ‘rescue’, deliverance.
God knew that as a result of Adam and Eve’s decision to trust Satan and reject the ‘holy and blameless’ relationship that they had with God… their children, and every generation of humans since, would be born in bondage to a sinful, evil nature. As a result every human would be born and live separated from God, in a downward spiral of sin. A hopeless existence of frustration and disappointment, that would end in death, and eternal separation from God.
The ONLY way that could be reversed and restored to a ‘holy and blameless relationship with God’, would be if God Himself would rescue each and every person, and restore them into relationship with HIM. That is God’s Redemption and restoration plan. But… it required full payment of the sin price, and defeat of Satan, the king of evil, and rescue from bondage to Satan’s dark kingdom (Colossians 1:13).
The ONLY person who could do that was JESUS, because He had to be sinless in order to pay for our sin! He had to be all powerful in order to defeat Satan. BUT… He had to become human in order to be able to die an atonement death for us and then be raised again to life by God the Father!
Therefore…Christmas! Jesus becoming human.
Jesus came to live on earth, so He could explain all this to us, and become our atonement sacrifice, be raised up from the dead and return to heaven to reign victoriously and save any and all who will trust God’s Redemption Plan, and restore them into a ‘holy and blameless’ relationship with God the Father!
So… Christmas was God’s idea from before Genesis 1:1. And God’s Redemption Plan was first announced in Genesis 3:15… “And I will put enmity between you (Satan) and the woman, between your offspring and hers; He (Jesus) will crush your head and you will strike His heel.” There it is my friends. That’s the first mention of “Christmas” in the Bible! While it’s true most women are fearful of snakes, that’s not what this is talking about.
“Your offspring” for Eve was to be Cain and Abel and all other human beings. While born with a sinful nature, we are redeemable, as we trust in Jesus for our salvation from sin and we are restored into ‘holy and blameless’ relationship with God! (Romans 3:23 & 6:23)
“Your offspring” for Satan are all those who choose to follow him in his evil rebellion against God. First the demonic angels who left heaven with Satan (Isaiah 14:12-15; Revelations 4:12), and then all those human beings who refuse Jesus’ offer of salvation (Revelations 20:10-15). These are NOT redeemable! Jesus did not die for demons or Satans, and once a human being dies, their opportunity to be redeemed is over.
The phrase “…He will crush your head…” means Jesus’ defeat of Satan is final! No second chance, no opportunity for God’s forgiveness for Satan. Jesus death & resurrection defeated Satan for all time! (Hebrews 2:14,15). While it is true God has allowed Satan to continue his terrible work of evil in our world for a time, that time will come to an end with his final judgement when Satan and all his followers are thrown into the lake of fire for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10).
“You will strike His heel…” means two things. First, that every human being struggles with their sinful nature from the time of their childhood. Have you ever heard someone refer to their personality flaw or their character weakness or even a physical handicap as their “Achilles heel”? The second meaning is the horrific rejection and torture that was inflicted upon Jesus in His crucifixion and the days leading up to it.
So the wonder of Christmas began before Genesis 1, when God developed the Redemption Plan and Jesus agreed to come to earth and be our sin sacrifice. The first indication of “Christmas” in the human story, is Genesis 3:15, as we have seen today.
May I suggest we each take some time today, thanking God for His remarkable Redemption Plan and thank Jesus for His willingness to prepare for Christmas, even from the days of Genesis 3!
Tomorrow, we’ll see another picture in the Old Testament which points to Christmas.
Oh Lord Jesus, we thank you that Christmas was the plan of God from before the world was founded.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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