Christmas Day 2024 Sermon: The Salvation of Our God
In this Christmas Day sermon, we explore the beauty, joy, and power of the message of Jesus' birth. From Isaiah's prophecy to the manger in Bethlehem, we see how God displayed His faithfulness and salvation in humility. Let this message of hope and redemption inspire your celebration and proclamation of the gospel.
Contemplate these questions as you listen to this message:
How does the humility of Jesus’ birth contrast with His preeminence as described in Colossians 1:16-17?
Why is the message of God’s salvation in Isaiah 52:7-10 described as "beautiful," and how should it impact our proclamation of the gospel?
In what ways does the Christmas story reveal God’s power through weakness, and how can this truth encourage us to share our faith?
Transcript:
Last night, I saw on Facebook, a friend of mine from growing up, one of my closest friends from childhood, made a post talking about Christmas memories. For him, it was leaving church, piling in the back of a station wagon, and going home and having oyster stew. It made me think about different Christmas memories and how powerful they are. If I were to hand out a piece of paper for you today and gave you an assignment to write down 10 images that you get in your head when this season comes to mind, I don't think you'd have a problem picking out 10. Christmas Christmas is that significant for us. It's that memorable. In fact, I'm guessing you'd probably get about eight or nine in and remember some other ones and have to cross them off, lower down the list. Now, sure, maybe you would have some significant things that you would remember from Christmas that would be easy to put on the list, easy to rank.
Maybe a child or grandchild was born during this season Maybe you had a special Christmas program. Things like this would be easy to rank some of them. But there's also a lot of little things that come to mind because we have an abundance of memories and things that are important to us from the Christmas season. One of the amazing things about these significant images for us is that I would describe them as having a substantial range. There's a great range to these things. What I mean is you probably have some of those private images, things that are deep and dear to your heart, more private family moments from a more quiet and intimate setting. But on the other end, you have very public images. Like I said, maybe a Christmas program where a young child in your family sang their heart out. That's a more loud image, more substantial public image. Maybe you have a special appearance or a special memory of going to see something big and loud like Handle's Messiah. But I think you understand what I'm saying. The Christmas season has a great range of emotion for us, of memories for us.
Well, now that I've maybe distracted some of you for the rest of the service with my little fictional assignment of ranking your Christmas memories. I want to give you another fictional assignment. I suppose it doesn't necessarily need to be fictional. If you have a piece of paper, you can most surely do this. But what I want to have you work through in your mind for a second is to think about what aspects of the biblical Christmas story come to mind for you, first and foremost. Because while the story of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ is a relatively short, small part of the story of redemption, it is a turning point. It's the point to which thousands upon thousands of years of biblical prophecy pointed to. It's important. It's the culmination of so many stories, so many prophecies. As I mentioned before we read Psalm 2 together, of the songs the people of God. It all came together on Christmas Day. Now, just like our personal images of Christmas, the memories that we have, the aspects of the Christmas story that we might highlight also have great range. You have things like the simplicity of a young virgin and her betrothed, this virgin is pregnant, traveling to Bethlehem.
It's a rather small part the story and ultimately pretty insignificant as far as the details of it, but it's a fulfillment of prophecy. Then you also have the part of the story where they had the difficulty of not knowing where they were going to rest with the baby on the way. There wasn't room for them in the inn or the upper room, and so they had to figure that out. Well, another part of the story is the intimate quietness of a stable and the thought of a child's cry breaking into that environment. But then at the other end, proving my point of there being great range, you have the splendor of the angels making their announcement to the shepherds. You also have the significance of these magi seeking out the child from places afar because they've been following this star in the sky. Then you have something as intimate This is the end of Luke's account of the Christmas story, where it talks about Mary cherishing those things in her heart. Again, the depth and the range of the Christmas story is great, and we can find significance in so many different parts of the story.
But perhaps what gets me the most about the story of Christmas is the way in which this event, this historical moment of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, is now celebrated and has been celebrated by millions upon millions. But it was really nothing when it happened, other than to a few shepherds, to Mary and Joseph. It was so insignificant. But now, as I said, millions upon millions upon millions have celebrated it throughout history. As we think about this, we're reminded of what the apostle Paul says in Colossians about the pre-eminence of Jesus. He tells us that by him, all things were created through him and for him, that he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Yet this one who had this Majesty within him, he stepped into this creation to redeem it from sin. But he was in a manger, in a stable, in a backwater town. No parades, no human fanfare, no heralds from a king or Emperor, letting people know their next ruler had been born. He came in humility in the same way that most people have been born throughout history. It was simple, normal, ordinary.
In fact, the birth in the manger in Bethlehem shows us that he came in even lower estate than most. The story of Christmas is about the message of the incarnation. And nothing shows us the idea of God the Son taking on human flesh than him being born in the most lowly of places. And the message of Christmas, that is what matters. It's the message of salvation, the message that God is doing this for his covenant people. So as we settle in to consider the importance of Christmas even further. What we're going to do today is we're going to dig into our Old Testament lesson from Isaiah. As we do this, we're going to take a look at three significant parts of this passage. The first thing that we're going to see is the beauty of the message. The message of the coming of the Messiah is a message of hope and the rescue of humanity. That's what we need to be rescued from sin and death, and that is a beautiful message. Second, we see the sovereign rate of God and that it causes rejoicing in the people of God. Finally, we're going to dwell on the power of this salvation that we have in Jesus.
Let's get into it and consider some very familiar words from Isaiah 52:7. It says, How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him who brings good news. Now, this is a well-known passage. In fact, Paul quotes it in Romans 10:15. In all the times I've heard this verse, I never really thought about what it says here until I had to look at it to preach it. It suggests that the feet of the person bringing the good news are beautiful. Think about that for a second. Now, I don't know about you, but I personally don't think there's anything beautiful about feet. Feet are functional at best, nasty at worst. And think about what feet would have been like in the time of Isaiah. Most people likely wore sandals and were trudging through the dirt, and they did not exactly have the same standard for cleanliness that we have in our time, we have access to running water and we have plenty of soap. They did not have those things. Feet aren't beautiful. But when we read this, we know that isn't the point. That's not what It's being mentioned here, right? Isaiah isn't telling us that when this messenger comes to go look at their feet because they're esthetically pleasing.
That's not what Isaiah is saying. The point here isn't the feet. The point is the message. The message is so good that the one who brings it to them is now seen as a beautiful person. The message that is being delivered is good news, and it isn't just ordinary good news. The messenger isn't coming over the hill with a message that your favorite team won their sporting event last night. He isn't coming to tell you that some stock you've invested in has gone up a few pennies. In the verses that are leading up to this one, we see that the story is that the people of Judah had been oppressed by the Assyrians. The Prophet Isaiah proclaims the word of the Lord, and he delivers a message that the people of God shall know his name. They will know that it is God who is speaking, and he is saying, Here I am. The reason that the people are oppressed in this passage that Isaiah is speaking about is because they've turned away from God. They have rejected him. They have turned to idolatry. The idea is that his name is being despised. They have forsaved forsaken God.
Even though they've done this, we're being told that God is faithful because even though they've forsaken God, God doesn't forsake his promise. He keeps His promise. Throughout the history of the people of God, we know the story. They would turn away in idolatry, and they would be punished by being sent into exile. But we're continually reminded that God never forgot his promise to bring the Messiah to save us from sin and death. The idea leading up to verse 7 here in Isaiah 52 then is that the people of God have caused the name of God to be despised. But God is going to remain faithful, and they will know his name, they will know his power despite what they've done. He isn't doing this only to rescue the people from their oppression by the Assyrians. No, he's doing it to show his faithfulness in order that his might and his sovereign power might be made known. When verse 7 comes around, we don't get a story of how the Assyrians will be assailed. We don't get images of war or images of violence being done to the ones who oppressed the people of God. Instead, we get an image of a messenger coming to tell the good news of the freedom that God has brought to his people.
Again, not someone bringing a news update that is of something inconsequential. It's a news update that dramatically changes their lives, and it shows that God is faithful to his people. We see this in the second half of verse seven here. This messenger publishes peace, tells of happiness, and gives the news news of salvation. Now, these people who have been oppressed are now at peace. They are happy. They've been saved. The most substantial part of the message that the messenger delivers to Zion is this, your God reigns. While they were afflicted, the people of Judah likely had thoughts that God was absent, and then he was powerless to rescue them from the situation they were in. But this message of victory over the Assyrians is possible. Why? Because God is sovereign and God is faithful. He is the one who wins the victory. And so now the people are at peace. They're happy, they're rescued, not because they're doing anything, but because of God. It wasn't the hand of man that has done this thing, but the victory has been won by the mighty power of Almighty God. We have seen then that the message is beautiful because it is a declaration of what God has done for his people and because it is not the powers of the Earth that hold the fate of the nations.
Instead, the sovereign hand of Almighty God is what is in control, the one who is faithful, the one who keeps the promise that he makes. As we move on to our second point, we look at verses 8 and 9. We look to the praise that this invokes in the people of God. The message of God's reign, we read here that it causes the watchmen to lift up their voices. Now, this is an interesting statement when you stop and think about it. When you think of watchmen, do you think of them raising up their voices in joy? What do watchmen do? When invaders are coming, they lift up their voices. Isn't that naturally the job of a watchman? To sound an alarm. But here we see that the news of the salvation of God is so good that the watchmen are now lifting up their voices in celebration. That isn't the job of a watchman. Imagine a training session for a watchman. You would go through what to do if there's an attack or if there's, say, a pack of wild animals coming. The focus on a watchman is on security. If this or that happens, you need to inform the people to be on guard.
Or perhaps it's their job to alert the defenders of the cities to get to their post. Archers, get to the wall of the city. The enemy is coming. The person who would train a watchman on how to do their job probably wouldn't have to tell them that if something really good happens, you need to get together with the other watchman to lip up your voices and sing for joy. That wouldn't be a part of the training more than likely. The point here is that this shows you just how dramatic a reversal is going on. It incites praises in the people of God. The ones who are watching for danger, who would call out an alarm are now calling out in joy. The situation has been completely reversed, so much so that they lift up their voices together. Imagine in your mind this idea that one watchman sees the messenger coming and he hears the message and the news is so good that it spreads to all of them. Then it can't help but spread to all the other people because they are calling out in celebration It all comes together. It comes up from out of them because the news is so good.
And Isaiah wants us to understand the collective nature of this event in the fact that he says that eye to eye, they see. The people are all going to witness this. Everyone has to see the messenger and hear the message of the return of the Lord to Zion. You see, they had thought that God had abandoned his people, but he has come, he has rescued his people. As we look at this passage and we see the idea of God rescuing his people from the hand of the Assyrians, we need to stop and consider why is it that this is a passage that we know because we read it at Christmas? You see, so often in the prophetic words of scripture, we see what we call a double fulfillment. You see, there's a fulfillment for the people that would have heard this prophecy initially, that the Assyrians would be run off. But there's a deeper sense to the prophetic word that points beyond what is happening with the people being set free from the oppression of the Assyrians. These words from Isaiah are deeply embedded with expectation and hope of something greater. The defeat of an occupying army can't live up to the sense of expectation here.
Yeah, it's good news that the Assyrians are gone, but there is an idea of celebration and joy and lasting peace that that event can't carry on its own. The city of Jerusalem can't hold the full significance of what is being hoped for in this idea of the return of the Lord to Zion. And while Jerusalem is Zion, there's a greater hope that's felt in this passage when we read it. The idea of Zion holds an expectation of completion, the idea of finality, nothing that an earthly regime can bear. There's something more expected here. This is a passage looking for a true hope, looking for a final hope, a complete completion of the plan of God. We see this as being fulfilled in the coming of the Lord Jesus. This is why we read this passage and why we see the truth of the victory that we have in Christ as we read it. We are driven to praise and look at this language that Isaiah uses, The people break forth together in singing, and even the waste places of Jerusalem are to do this. The places made most desolate by the destruction that has been done can rejoice.
Why? Because victory has been won and it has been secured. The people who were in despair have been comforted and they have been redeemed. Those are two very strong images for us. When we are in despair, we desire to be comforted. We want assurance that there will come a time where we will no longer be grieving. Because this is connected here with this idea of being redeemed, these words truly mean something so much deeper for The idea of redemption, to be redeemed, is to be bought back. The comfort that the people of God feel in God winning victory from them is not a comforting that says, I know you're struggling right now, but they're there. Everything will turn out all right. The comfort that's talked about here isn't like somebody saying, It's okay. Time heals all wounds. Those type of statements aren't really comfort. It is a hope of comfort. It is an actual comfort. But the prophet Isaiah says that they have been comforted. The fact of this being redeemed tells us that this is pointing to something greater. The truth that we have in Jesus tells us that this is not just some conceptual comfort.
The truth of the salvation, redemption we have in Jesus is a realized comfort. Why? Because the Lord has come to Zion he has won victory for his people. And so the rejoicing of the people of God is rooted in their being saved. It is rooted in the fact of their salvation. And when that is understood, there is nothing to do but rejoice. And so as we progress to the close of our passage from Isaiah today, we see the power of the salvation that we have received in Christ. We read here that the Lord has bared his Holy arm, and that is a powerful image. Think about that statement. What would it look like if God flexed his muscles? The prophet Isaiah is making sure that there is no doubt in our minds where salvation for the people of God come from. It isn't by their might or by their power. It isn't their intelligence or their cunning. It is the power of God that saves his people. This is a theme throughout the entire story of scripture. So many times, what is the situation that the people of God are experiencing? It's hopelessness. Abraham and Sarah can't have children because they are old and she is barren.
Joseph is a slave in prison in Egypt. The people of God are in bondage and in slavery on Egypt. And on top of it all, Pharaoh orders that they have all of their male children killed. Then they are freed from this bondage. But what happens? They end up standing at the foot of the Red Sea with mountains on each side of them and the army of Pharaoh behind them. It is hopelessness. Goliath is huge, but David is small. You get the idea. All of this isn't just to tell us a good story. It is telling us and teaching us something very important about salvation. In our sin, the condition we are in is hopeless, and we aren't going to rescue ourselves. Just as the Israelis needed God to bear his Holy arm at the Red Sea, you need God to rescue from sin, death, and hell. You need him to bear his Holy arm. It's the only hope that we've got. There is great beauty in God rescuing his people. There is even greater beauty in how he accomplishes that feat. God's power is made known in weakness. He rescues his people through suffering. Our situation was dire.
Sin had separated us from the Holy God, and how did he save us? He bared his Holy arm by leaving the glory of heaven and going to a manger. A child in weakness was born. He suffered in this life, and he fulfilled the law on our behalf. His Holy arm was most seen in the weakness of the cross. Then in the mighty power and Majesty when he defeated the grave by bodily rising from the dead. In his wisdom, God showed his power and weakness. We can truly say that it was seen before the eyes of the Nations, step out from here today, go out into the world during this Christmas season, and you can see that the world knows that Jesus has come. Now, I'm not suggesting that the world fully understands the message. Not saying that. But you can't understand history without understanding that this news of the birth of the Christ child has gone out before the eyes of all the nations, that it has gone out to the ends of the Earth. I want you to think about that for a moment. A child born in a stable more than 2,000 years ago who grew to be a man who was crucified on a Roman cross is celebrated today around the world.
The world has stopped today because of the truth of the incarnation. People sing glory to the newborn king, So many years after Jesus was born, the salvation of our God has been seen in all the earth. The Lord has bared his Holy arm to save his people. He has shown his strength strength in weakness to make a people for his own possession. So as we wrap up this passage this morning, I want to encourage you with the power of that message. You have heard You have believed the truth of the gospel. You have seen how God has shown his power and weakness and use suffering to show his power in salvation for his people. But so many will open gifts this Christmas and not understand what's being celebrated. They don't understand the story. Their celebration will be nothing more than the things that fade and spoil, the things that one day are going to rot in a landfill. The amazing power of the gospel is that God has entrusted weak vessels such as ourselves to spread the message. The celebration of Christmas affords us the excellent opportunity to share the extraordinary story of the Almighty God of the universe and how he took on flesh to rescue his creation.
As always, it is important that we remember the reason for the season, but it is just as important that we proclaim the gospel message because that is how people come to faith. That is how people are built up in the faith. And so may the Holy spirit be at work in us that we might tell of this message that our feet might be beautiful to those who hear us tell them the truth of the gospel. We have seen the salvation of our God. We are the Watchmen. We are the watchmen. So lift up your voices and proclaim what God has done with rejoicing, that the ends of the Earth might see the salvation of our God. Amen. Let us pray. Gracious and merciful God, we thank you that we have heard the message, that we have seen the Lord come to Zion in the truth of Jesus and his salvation. Now, Lord, we pray that we would remember that we are the watchmen. It is our duty and responsibility to share this story with those around us. May the message of Christmas inspire us to share and sing with joy this story of the salvation that we have.
We pray, O Lord, that you would embolden us, that you would give us clarity of words and thought that we might be your vessels to share the story of Jesus with the world. We thank you for this great gift that we have and pray that we would relish it as we celebrate this holiday today. It's in the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.
