Luke 2:6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7: And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8: And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9: And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10: And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11: For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12: And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Introduction

The Bible is divided into two Testaments, the Old and the New Testament. Between the Old and the New Testaments there were 400 years where God was silent. God did not speak directly to anyone in Israel. But after 400 long years of silence, God came and spoke again revealing His plan. On the first Christmas night we see God revealing His plan through the angel. The angel made the glorious announcement, the most important news in the history of mankind. The good tidings or good news if understood right and received with faith would bring great joy to all people.

Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11: For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Realtors will tell us that there are three words we need to remember when buying a real estate or a house – number one is location, number two is location and number three is location. Location, Location, Location! It means identical homes can increase or decrease in value due to location. It's repeated three times for emphasis, and so you will remember the phrase. It's the number one rule in real estate, and it's often the most overlooked rule.

There are three words that come to my mind as we remember the first Christmas night – number one is grace, number two is grace and number three is grace. Grace, Grace, Grace! Everything that took place on that first Christmas night seems to say grace. It’s grace upon grace. It’s all about grace. Christmas is a story of amazing indescribable, undeserved, unmerited, unearned, and unexpected grace of God.

I - Consider the Person Who was Born

Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

This is the direct fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy in Isaiah 9:6 where he said, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given ...” Who is this child? Who is this son? Isaiah describes Him for us. He is the Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace! 

The child born for us and the Son given for us is the King of grace! He is the Almighty One, the Creator of all things, the Keeper of all Creation, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Son of God, the Great I Am, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the One Who is Altogether Lovely, the Chief Cornerstone, the Sun of Righteousness, the Sure Foundation, the Great Physician, the New and Living Way, the Lord of the Harvest, the Hidden Treasure. All these and so much more. This is the One who was born for us to save us from our sins. 

The person born on that Christmas day is the infinite, all-knowing, all-powerful Son of God. Yet He came as a weak and defenseless baby, dependent on others to meet His needs. That’s condescension! That’s grace!

Psalm 113:4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. 5: Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, 6: Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!

This LORD who is high above all nations and whose glory is above the heavens, humbled Himself to be our Emmanuel.

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Jesus Christ, who existed from eternity in heaven, humbled Himself and willingly emptied Himself. The Son of God emptied Himself first by veiling His glory and secondly by taking Himself a true but sinless human nature. What’s amazing is that this was not a temporary “embodiment” for one specific task, but a permanent union of His divine nature with human nature.

God Almighty came down from heaven and emptied Himself to rescue guilty hell-deserving sinners. That’s grace! 

II - Consider the Place He was Born

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Where was Jesus born? In Bethlehem! Exactly the place that Micah predicted! None of us can select our birthplace and circumstances, but Jesus can! Yet He chose Bethlehem. He chose this small town, too small to be even mentioned in the list of more than 100 towns in listed Joshua 15:21-63.

Why not in Jerusalem or Rome or Athens? One would think and ask, “Would it not have been better that a King, a future ruler, the conqueror of the Jews, should come from a big and important city like Jerusalem or Rome or Athens?”

But God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are His ways our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways. God does things much differently than we humans do. He does it in ways that we do not always understand. 

Job 37:5 God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.

God's voice thunders in miraculous ways. He does great things that our finite minds cannot comprehend.

The place and circumstance of His birth speak of grace and humility. Think of it, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords chose a little village called Bethlehem. He was wrapped in swaddling cloth which really is a burial cloth. Then He was laid in a manger. Because there was no room in the inn, He was laid in a smelly feeding trough designed for cows and goats and horses to feed from. He chose Bethlehem so no one could boast. God chooses something small, quiet, out of the way, and does something there that changes the course of history and eternity that no flesh should glory in His presence.

Someone has said, “God is not impressed by our bigness; He does nothing in order to attract attention to our accomplishments; He does everything to magnify His grace and mercy.” 

The greatest lesson you could get from little Bethlehem, swaddling cloth, and manger are to magnify His grace so that no one could boast. If Bethlehem, swaddling cloth, and the manger teach us anything, it they teach us grace! This humble birth conveys an amazing grace of God.

III - Consider the People Greatly Favored

Who were the recipients of the glorious announcement? When the most important news in history was announced, the recipients were not the high and mighty Kings nor the well-educated Scribes, nor the morally strict Pharisees. The recipients of the most important news were the most unlikely people, the poor and lowly shepherds. Being a shepherd is not a white-collar job. It is a dirty and smelly kind of job. Always out with the animals. Because they smell and they are with these animals, the religious leaders looked at them as ceremonially unclean so they cannot come inside the temple building. They have to stay out there with the sheep in Bethlehem.

Despite of their status in society, the lowly shepherds were the first people who heard the announcement of the birth of Christ. This is amazing to me and it gives me great hope and joy. Why? Because God spoke and acted in grace. He sent the angel to appear to the lowest of the low that never even had a chance to set foot in the temple. God wanted to be clear that if you cannot be in the temple, I will bring the temple to you. If you don't think you cannot make it all the way to God, I will bring the Son of God to you.

While the religious leaders were preoccupied with their religious rituals and ceremonies, the ordinary and lowly shepherds saw heaven opened and heard the angel sing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!”

Friends, that’s the Gospel of grace! God knows that we cannot get to Him and so God has made a way to come to us and bring salvation to us. God has come in the person of Jesus Christ, to be our Emmanuel, to be our Saviour. To live a perfect life, to die the sinner's death and to rise victoriously from the dead. All these He has done because of His great love for you and for me. 

The gulf that separated me from Christ, my Lord,

It was so vast the crossing I could never ford;

From where I was to His domain, it seemed so far,

I cried, "Dear Lord, I cannot come to where you are."

He came to me when I was bound in chains of sin,

He came to me when I possessed no hope within,

He picked me up and He drew me gently to His side,

Where, today, in His sweet love I now abide.

He came to me, O, He came to me.

When I could not come to where He was, He came to me.

That's why He died on Calvary,

When I could not come to where He was, He came to me.

Closing Thoughts

Location, Location, Location! It's repeated three times for emphasis, and so you will remember the phrase. It's the number one rule in real estate, and it's often the most overlooked rule. Grace, grace, grace! Everything in the Christmas story shouts grace but sad it’s often overlooked and missed by so many.   

About 2,000 years ago, Jesus came to earth to be born in a humble manner in Bethlehem to redeem us from our sins and to bring us back to God. In order to redeem us, He had to die on the cross and He did. Now He is risen from the dead and He offers eternal life to everyone who would believe. Millions have already received this gift and have been completely forgiven. This Christians season will you humble yourself and accept His gift of eternal by repenting of your sins and trusting Jesus Christ for your salvation? 

In Titus 2:11-14 we read, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

So, what are we going to do with these truths? How should we respond to this amazing grace? I hope it’s not business as usual. I pray that you would respond in humility, adoration and worship.

Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 

“Unto you” is born a Saviour—unto you personally. Is He your Saviour? Do you know Him as the Emmanuel? Receive Him. Believe on Him. Trust in Him. Entrust your soul to Christ. And you will find Him as your Saviour and your Emmanuel!

To my brothers and sisters in Christ, my prayer for all of us on this Christmas is, may God help us increase our faith in His faithfulness. May we all experience a renewed love and appreciation for the gift of His Son. 

AMEN!