The Great Miracle of Christmas: God Became Man | Luke 2:1–20

Christmas, Incarnation, Nativity, Salvation, Atonement, Forgiveness, Faith, Shepherds

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This Christmas Eve sermon considers the great mystery of the Incarnation: the glory of God who created the heavens and the earth came into the world as a humble baby lying in a manger. The shepherds were given the privilege of hearing the angels proclaim Christ’s birth and then seeing the seemingly ordinary child for themselves, teaching us to walk by faith rather than by sight and to look beyond the outward trappings of Christmas to the greater miracle they signify. Jesus did not come merely as a teacher or prophet, but as the Savior and sacrificial Lamb who came into the flesh to bear the sins of the world. Born in order to die, Christ would take upon Himself our guilt and shame, suffer on the cross in our place, and rise again so that we might have forgiveness and eternal life. Therefore, Christians celebrate Christmas with thanksgiving, remembering that every gift and celebration ultimately points to God’s gift of His Son, through whom He brings sinners into peace and fellowship with Himself.

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. 

To shepherds out in a field, keeping watch over their flock by night the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. The night air lit up as rank on rank of angels appeared in the sky to give glory to God. This was, by no means, the greatest of miracles to happen on that evening. The same glory which lit up the night sky, the glory which at the beginning of time had spoke the world into existence, the same glory which led the captive Israel out of Egypt was now laying in a manger in Bethlehem. Christ Jesus, the Son of God, the Lord most high was born in a stable and placed where cattle feed. That is the great miracle of Christmas. That God became man and dwelt among us. Here, He is not a burning bush and a voice; He is not a pillar of cloud or of flame; He is a man, a baby boy.  

Our Christian faith demands that we first believe this fact. Here at the incarnation, the birth of our Lord is the beginning of God’s final act of salvation. The humble birth of our Lord sets up all the work that God would do to rescue us from sin and death. Yet, in the meantime, we can wonder at the fact that the Lord and God of creation would humble Himself to be born in such a strange manner. No one heralded His birth except some shepherds who happened to be in that country. Christ the Lord was not born in a king’s palace but in a stable. The holy family was even displaced from their own home at the whim of a far away king who decreed a census to be taken. In strange town, without home or family to stay with was Jesus born into the world. It was in these circumstances that the Lord chose to enter our world. Everyone should learn this account well so that we might know how the Lord chose to begin His great work of salvation for us. 

Think for a moment of the shepherds. They stood in their fields, an empty grazing land watching over their flock of sheep. This is not the most glamorous job in the world, taking the night watch over sheep. Even as far as shepherds go, they might be pretty low on the totem pole. It was probably a pretty uneventful night like most nights. Then all of a sudden, an angel of the Lord appeared to them with a message of great joy. The Christ, the one that Israel had long waited for was born in Bethlehem. This truly is good news of a great joy for all people. Yet, of all the people to whom this good news belongs, why should it first be given to some poor shepherds taking the night watch? Why should this nameless crowd be the first to hear of the birth of the Christ? Perhaps they had some unspoken fears or doubts about this strange message given to humble shepherds.  

Then this wonderful sight they saw became even more wonderful as the heavens burst forth in song from the whole host of angels, all praising God and singing “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” I don’t think we can even begin to imagine what a sight and sound that must have been like to see first the glory of God and then the whole heavenly host appear and burst forth in song. Awe inspiring doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what the glory of God is like. More like incomprehensibly magnificent. When it all disappeared, the shepherds then went in haste to see about these things that had been told to them. There in a stable they found it exactly as it had been told to them.  

Something I wonder about is what the shepherds were thinking when they entered into that stable and saw that small, poor family there. Did the newborn baby look any different from any other newborn baby? Was it strange to worship this child in a manger? Compared to the appearance of the angels in the heavens there was not much to be admired in this stable. If they had not remembered what the angel told them, it might have even been something of a let down to go from seeing the whole host of heaven singing to a stable and a newborn in a manger. It would have been easy to let those things which were secondary, the angels singing in heaven, to overshadow the real event, that God dwells among us in the flesh. One thing appears amazing, the other appears mundane but is the much greater miracle.  

It can be the same way with us as well. There is the danger that the trappings of Christmas—the trees, the decorations, the cookies, and presents—overshadow the main thing, the thing that all these trappings are intended to point to. If we put the presents and the decorations at the center of our Christmas celebration, we lose sight of why we have them in the first place. It is good to rejoice, to celebrate, to feast, and exchange presents, just as it was good for the angels to appear in heaven and sing. Yet, always remember what they were singing: “Glory to God in the highest.” The appearance of the angels was a mere sign and symbol of the greater mystery, that Christ our Lord had come into the world to rescue us from all our sins and bring us into eternal life. If the shepherds had failed to go find the Christ Child, the appearance of the angels would have meant nothing. The Christmas holiday without Christ is the same. Presents are exchanged and feasts are shared in honor of our God and Lord becoming flesh. So, we receive everything in thanksgiving to God and His great work for us. This is what it means to walk by faith and not by sight. The things we see are impressive, but the things we know by faith are even greater. The shepherds also had to walk by faith when they entered the stable that night and believe what the angel told them about this child.  

Even then, it is not enough to understand that our God and Lord took on flesh and dwelt among us, as great of a miracle as that is. Why did God come to earth? Did He come to preach and to teach? Certainly, but human prophets also were sent by God for the same purpose. Something more was needed than a teacher, so Christ our Lord cannot be reduced down to merely another prophet teaching Israel. He is not just a teacher, He is “a savior, who is Christ the Lord.” He is the one who proclaims peace to the downtrodden and all those who are cast down in spirit. Christ the Lord is the one who bridges the gap between God and man, as the Godman so that all put their trust in Him may be united with God.  

More than that, Christ came to earth to be the sacrificial lamb for all mankind. When sin and shame entered into the world, so also did the promise of a Savior. It is this very sin the separates us from God. He is good and perfect and holy, and however we fall short of perfection, we fall short of God. Every sin and every transgression of God’s perfect Law must be accounted for. Whether they are sins of thought or deed; sins of omission or commission. Each one must receive the punishment demanded by a just and holy God. Even now we bear the marks of sin in our bodies, and we crumble under its awful load. This isn’t something that can be merely ignored or wished away. Sin has promised to drag us down to the depths that we would see the light no more.  

God, in His love, did not desire to see all of mankind die. Through the love of God, He sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. That is what is happening at the birth of Christ. God is sending the one who will pay for the sins of the whole world to us. He is the sacrificial lamb upon whom the sins of the world would be laid. He was born in order to die on the cross so that we might become children of God.  

Dear friends in Christ, take all your sin and your guilt and your shame and place it on the God who became man. Place all your guilt on the one who was born in order to die. Every day put your sin on Him who carries it to the cross. This is what we remember, not just at Christmas time, but all year long, that our God came into the flesh, was born of a virgin in a humble stable, He preached a message of repentance and the forgiveness of sins, He died an unjust death that we who deserve to die would live, and finally He was raised to life so that we would live eternally with Him.  

Christmas is only the beginning of Jesus’ work for us. Tonight, we remember the work that Jesus started for us. As we go, we celebrate, we feast, we give gifts all so that we might give thanks for everything that God has done that we may have the promise of eternal life with Him. Let us then go in peace praising the Lord. Amen.  

May the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.