Advent 4
Beloved. Christmas Day is almost upon us. Like it is for most people, so it is also for us: there has been a whirlwind of activity and busyness the past few weeks but there are still those last minute preparations and things to be done—or even started, like shopping. But when Christmas comes, there will be that big sigh of relief that we can finally enjoy Christmas and all that busyness is all over with and we can finally rest and enjoy what we have been preparing for all this time. If you were to ask a lot of people of what Christmas is all about, you would certainly get a lot of different answers: time with family and friends, good will, that it’s for the children, and, of course there would many—and hopefully you would be one of them—who “get it” who would say that Christmas is all about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. But that central message of Christmas is so often and too easily drowned out by all the extraneous things.
What do we hear in today’s Gospel? –The quietness of Christmas; the quietness of the coming of the Son of God, our Savior. The heart and core of Christmas and its proclamation was preached to St. Joseph while he slept: Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to [Joseph] in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. The lesson for us is quite clear: don’t look at all the outward things of the season for the measure of whether it was a “good Christmas”; don’t base your holiday joy on whether you got the gifts you wanted, or who showed up—or didn’t show up—at the get-togethers. Instead, in all the midst of this holiday hubbub and sounds of season; in the midst of your inner conflicts and trials, like St. Joseph was going through, hear the quiet voice of the angel: that which is conceived in [Mary] is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. That’s the true source of our Christmas joy and that message gives us joy all throughout the year. For here, the coming of our Savior, is the source of true, solid, enduring joy—even for joy in the midst of trial and sufferings. It is a joy that will last into the eternity of heaven.
Our text today from the Epistle gives us a bit of a background, fleshes out a bit, the Christmas Gospel. St. Paul begins: Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son... Notice what St. Paul writes about the Gospel, that is, that good news about Jesus: He says it is something God promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son. In other words, this Gospel, this Good News about Jesus is nothing new. The promise of the coming of Jesus is not something that is new; it was not first announced to Mary and Joseph in about 4 or 5 BC. The Gospel, the good news about Jesus, is something that is announced already in the OT. In fact, we heard in today’s OT reading, which took place about 700 years before, the prophecy of the Virgin birth, that St. Matthew records as being fulfilled in Jesus. Hear again St. Matthew: All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us). The Gospel, the good news about Jesus, was nothing new. And that is a good thing because it shows that it was always God’s plan. It’s not like it is plan B or even #827. And that means what? –It means that God is control. It’s not as if He’s scrambling from one plan to another; it means that the devil and his allies cannot thwart His will and work. It’s not some sort of chess game between God and the devil. In spite of all the sin and evil, in spite of all the troubles that are in the world and in our own lives, and even though it looks like the devil and sin rule the show, the Lord is still in control; He is almighty and powerful and works His good and gracious purposes and will toward us even as the devil is working all sorts of evil. So let us take great comfort from the fact that the Lord is in control, His good and gracious will is always being done. Look at the promise of the Savior He gave in the OT, even to Adam and Eve right after the first sin, that’s the Gospel, the good news about Jesus. It’s the same Gospel we hold to in faith today. At Christmas, we celebrate God carrying out His word and promise in sending His Son to be our Savior—as was His plan from all eternity.
Because the Gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, was announced beforehand already in the OT, there we see proof of the truth of the Gospel. Jesus’ coming, the coming of God into the world taking on human flesh and blood, was not something that was invented by the Church. It’s not something that has lately come on the scene and is equal to the claims of other religions that arose during the course of human history. What we have in the OT is prophecy—God’s promises going all the way back to the beginning of human history, to Adam and Eve; and what we have in the NT is the fulfillment of those promises in Jesus. This means that we can trust the Scriptures; we can trust God’s word because what He promises, He delivers and so what He says is truth. And how blessed we are dear Christian: we live in the times after the promises of God for a Savior have been fulfilled! We know that what God says is trustworthy. We can trust Him. And Christmas drives home that point to us.
The Gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, teaches us that the Gospel comes from God Himself. Who else knows and controls history but the eternal and almighty God Himself? So the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus, has the eternal and almighty God Himself as its source. Remember, all throughout the OT, God was speaking beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son. To have the NT completely fulfill the OT—All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet—is not a fluke or accident but shows a Divine Hand and working. Because of Christmas and the fulfilling of all of God’s promises about a Savior, we can be certain and trust everything that God tells us in His word; we can trust the Gospel of God, which He promised beforehand…concerning His Son.
Because the thing is, the promise is the Gospel. All the OT believers were saved the same way that we are—by God’s grace through faith in the Savior. In their case it was through faith in the Savior who was to come; in our case, we are saved through faith in the Savior that has come. So many people wrongly think that the OT people were saved by their works, the doing of the Law; and the NT people are saved through faith in Jesus. That’s wrong! They were saved through faith in Him; we are saved through faith in Him. Jesus and His work for our salvation is the Gospel. Hear again St. Paul in our text: the Gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son. That coming Savior was the object of faith of the OT faithful, was the Gospel. But with Christmas, what joy we have! Jesus has come into the world and has entered into and then completed His saving work which includes His holy life, His taking on Himself the sins of the world, His innocent suffering and death, His resurrection and ascension. For the OT saints as well as for us today, saving faith is trust in Jesus; saving faith is trust/ confidence in that word of God that proclaims Jesus. For through that word, He gives us all His gifts and blessings and we, in faith, humbly receive them.
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord... Here St. Paul directs our eyes to Christmas and the Christmas miracle itself/ to what Christmas is all about and why Christmas is such a season of joy: God became man. Who is Jesus? He is a true human being/ true man; He was descended from David according to the flesh. But He wasn’t just a man/ true human being—that’s what His resurrection shows and declares Him to be: the Son of God.
That one Gospel/ that Good News about a Savior from sin and death which has been in the world from the very beginning is fulfilled in Jesus, in whom humanity and divinity are united in one Person. The very one who, as the angel tells St. Joseph, who would save His people from their sins is the very one who was conceived and born by a virgin, and yet is called Immanuel/ God with us.
God’s promise to the OT saints was made clear for all to see and proclaimed that first Christmas. Notice how St. Paul phrases this in our text: his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh. Jesus is described as the Son of God, that is the second Person of the holy Trinity. And what did He do? He came from the realm of God, He came from heaven to us. And He did so out of His own will and desire; He did so, not because we earned or deserved it but out of His love and mercy toward us; He did so, not to come to this earth to judge and damn us for our sin but to be our Savior from sin, death and hell. For us and our salvation He became true man/ took on human flesh and blood to be our Savior. And He is truly one of us—a true human being! His Son… was descended from David according to the flesh. He took on human flesh from Mary, a descendant of David, and according to His humanity was a descendant of David. From that moment that deity and humanity united in one Person—that’s the incarnation—that Man, Mary’s Son, is and is rightly called the almighty, eternal God who has eternal dominion, who created and preserved all things. And they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us). And He was born that first Christmas to be our Savior. The true, eternal, almighty God was born a Baby, in time, of a virgin because He became and now is also true man—Jesus Christ. What a glorious miracle and mystery Christmas is!
From that conception and birth, Jesus, true God did not always show or make full use of His divinity while on earth, carrying out His saving work: He looked and seemed like any other person. He veiled His divine nature, His Godhead. As we will sing on Christmas {LSB 380 st.2]: Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail the incarnate Deity. In His passion—His suffering and death—Jesus could not look any more human. Not only did He not make use of His divine power and majesty, but He looked like the One most rejected and condemned by both God and men. Hardly could the one suffering and dying on the cross most miserably be God! But He was/ is! That’s what Easter showed when He rose from the dead. As Victor over death and as the Lord of life, it is clear that Jesus is not only man but also God. [He] was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. The Christmas miracle of God becoming also man is seen in its true beauty and meaning on Easter. Jesus’ resurrection shows that yes He is the true God and His work for the salvation of the world is complete! This is the Gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son.
God fulfilled His promises to send a Savior to the world—His Son who would become also true man to be our Savior. Here is our true joy this Christmas and throughout the year: unto you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. INJ