Christian Ministry Training Blog

At Christmas we tend to think of Jesus as a meek and mild baby. Yet, the angel let the shepherds know that more than an ordinary baby was born that day. In addition to being a Savior, the Messiah, the angel identified Him as the Lord. As we consider the significance of Jesus being called Lord, what response can we have but to celebrate Him at Christmas and always.

We Celebrate Him as the Lord our God

The angel used one of the names used of God the Father. God Himself came down to earth. — “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means “God with us”).” (Matt. 1:23) This is the Child prophesied in Isaiah 9:6.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

We Celebrate the Lord as our Maker

As our Creator, He has the rights of ownership over us. We were made for Him, not the other way around.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (Jn. 1:1-3)

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. (Col. 1:15-16)

We Celebrate Jesus as our Master

As Lord, Jesus possesses the authority. He is the Master, the One who determines how life should be lived. He is the One to whom we are accountable. And so, …

whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col. 3:17)

We Celebrate the Lord as the King

When announcing Jesus as the Lord, the angel let the shepherds know that the meek and mild baby born that day was also the long awaited King. Though initially a spiritual kingdom, there will come a day He will return and physically reign as the “Lord of lords and King of kings” (Rev. 17:14; 19:16).

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. (Isa. 9:6-7)

A Christmas Celebration that Lasts All Year Long

All of this translates into Someone to be respected and revered, trusted and obeyed, honored and exalted. That’s who the angel proclaimed to the shepherds –“a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Lk. 2:11).

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:8-11)

Let’s celebrate our Lord this Christmas and always! He is worthy to receive all “praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever” (Rev. 5:13).

People in Jesus’ day thought the Messiah would deliver them from the oppressive rule of world powers, that He would come as their King. Though the Old Testament Scripture does point to two different events of the Messiah coming into this world, they didn’t acknowledge that God’s Anointed would first come as their suffering Savior. Consequently, we read,

Jesus asked His disciples, ‘Who do people say I am?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah.’ (Mk. 8:27-29)

Many people were confused about Jesus’ identity because He came in a way they didn’t expect. They overlooked the prophecies of the Messiah first coming as a humble servant who would sacrifice His life to spiritually deliver us from the penalty and power of sin.

The angel, however, made it clear to the shepherds that the babe in the manger was the Messiah.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. (Lk. 2:11)

Why it Matters that we Believe Jesus is the Messiah

When the angel told the shepherds the Messiah was born “in the town of David” (Bethlehem), it let them know where to find Him. But, it undoubtedly also served as a reference to the prophetic words of Micah 5:2, helping to cement in their minds that this was the promised Messiah.

To deny Jesus as the Messiah is to doubt the veracity of God Himself. We find many prophetic promises about this Christ, the name given in the New Testament for the Messiah, that were fulfilled in this Person who already came. Some related to His second coming are yet to be fulfilled. It’s too much of a coincidence for all these prophecies to be fulfilled in one person and yet not be the Messiah. Either we believe God or we don’t.

We can’t look at all these prophecies in this post so the following links, which take you to our affiliate sites, will provide resources to help with that.

• Fulfilled Prophecies at the Birth of Christ
• 100 Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Why We Celebrate the Messiah as Good News, a Cause for Great Joy

Before Jesus came people looked forward to the coming Messiah. He was a long awaited hope fulfilled. Today we look back and celebrate His coming.

As the Son of God, only Christ, the Messiah, qualified to take on our sin, to be our Savior. To know we have a blessed, eternal home in heaven because of Jesus should excite us. To be able to have a relationship with the Almighty God, the Holy One, because our sin is forgiven due to the Messiah’s coming truly is good news.

Further, as prophesied, the Messiah will come to earth again, abolishing death and defeating the devil who is the enemy of our souls once and for all. Of that time, we read in the book of Revelation:

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” (Rev. 11:15)

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.” (Rev. 12:10)

How can we not celebrate, with great joy, what the Messiah has done and is yet to do!

In a dark world, we still have a reason to celebrate. As the angel told the shepherds long ago,

“I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you” (Lk. 2:10-11).

It’s hard to know if the shepherds understood the full significance of the proclamation of Jesus, “a Savior has been born to you” (Lk. 2:11). But we do know that they understood enough to celebrate. They left “glorifying and praising God” (Lk. 2:20).

• We have the whole of Scripture to help us grasp the need for and significance of having a Savior. Shouldn’t we all the more celebrate the Savior this Christmas and always?

We Celebrate a Savior Who Delivers Us from the Gravity of Sin

Go back to the beginning pages of the Bible and read how God created people in His own image with the intent of being in a relationship with them. He put only one stipulation on them, not to eat the fruit of one specific tree. Their disobedience would result in eternal separation from a holy God, their Creator. They would die not only physically but also spiritually.

Though God gave people laws to show them how to live a holy life, mankind could never perfectly keep the law to bridge that gap between them and God. Yet, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn. 3:16)

Only a sinless person, God Himself, could ever become an adequate sacrifice to pay the penalty our sin deserves. And so, we have the events celebrated at Christmas when God incarnate, came to earth as a sinless baby who would later die for our sin but also be raised from the dead.

For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Rom. 8:3-4)

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:21)

and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. (Phil. 3:9)

Sin has grave consequences which Jesus willingly took on Himself so we can be made right with God. Let’s celebrate the coming of the Savior this Christmas and always.

We Celebrate the One who Saves us from the Grip of Sin

Though saved from the penalty of sin, we still have our sin nature. We can identify with the Apostle Paul when he said, “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing” (Rom. 7:18-19). But, don’t stop reading. Paul concluded:

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Rom. 7:24-25)

We have a Savior who gives us power to rise above. As we yield to Him, He saves us from the grip sin has on our lives. Change is possible because of Jesus! Let’s celebrate Him this Christmas and always.

We Celebrate the Savior Who is Powerful Enough to Deliver Us from the Groanings of Sin

Pay attention to the news and you know we live in a sin ridden world, filled with much pain and sorrow. One day, however, our Savior will usher us into an eternity where “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Rev. 21:4). Wrongs will be made right. Justice will be served.

Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33). We may not be able to escape the effects of sin in this world, but the day will come when He delivers us from the very presence of sin, and that gives us plenty of reason to celebrate even now.

Let’s be real. As we look at the state of our world today, we could conclude that we have little reason for celebrating. A steady flow of bad news seems to keep coming our way — all the political divisiveness, natural disasters, crime, war, terrorism, and more. However, the message the angel brought to the shepherds long ago brings us to a different conclusion that holds true for us today.

Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. (Lk. 2:10-11)

Imagine being the shepherds out in the fields in the dark of night when suddenly an angel appeared “and the glory of the Lord shone around them” (Lk. 2:9). If the angel had appeared during the light of day, the glory of the Lord would still have shone but probably would not have seemed as brilliant as it did piercing through the darkness. God got their attention.

• Today, God wants to break through the darkness of our world with that same message — “a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Lk. 2:11).

A Message with a Reason for Celebrating

The angel prefaced his message by saying, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (Lk. 2:10). Notice the adjectives in this statement. The angel didn’t just bring them news but rather GOOD news. And, what he was about to announce would not just produce some joy but rather GREAT joy. Also, it wouldn’t affect just them or a handful of people but ALL the people. There’s hope … a reason to celebrate.

• But, what could be so special or spectacular to produce that kind of impact? — A birth? Yes, but this wasn’t an ordinary baby.

It’s Who Came that Gives Us a Reason to Celebrate

We don’t merely celebrate a baby who came to earth. This child, who grew up and eventually died on the cross —

a Savior,
the Messiah,
the Lord.

• We must get beyond the story of Christmas to the Person of Christmas to recognize how GOOD this news is and to experience that GREAT joy.

A Reaction that Culminates in Celebration at Christmas and Always

After hearing the angel’s message, the shepherds said, “Let’s go … and see” (Lk. 2:15).

Scripture doesn’t record what they did while they visited Jesus. Maybe they sought to learn more about Him. Perhaps they worshiped. It’s hard to imagine they didn’t celebrate in some way while there in the presence of the One proclaimed to be their Savior, the Messiah and Lord.

Once they had seen Him, “they spread the word” (Lk. 2:17).

It’s important to note that they didn’t just spread the word about their experience, but rather “what had been told them about this child” (Lk. 2:17). “WHO” mattered more than “what” as the Source of good news and great joy came in a Person, not because of the right circumstances or through a set of precepts.

And, they celebrated.

With an experience rooted in truth, “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told” (Lk. 2:20). This wasn’t merely a story to revisit once a year. It was more than a babe in the manager that engendered such a celebration. They had seen the Savior, the Messiah, the Lord!