Luke 1: 26 – 45
Jesus born in human form in order to give us in our humanity eternal life. John 3: 16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Prayer Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path.
In our sketch ‘Your Call’ by J D many people responded to the advert, but James had to make the decision to appoint the right person for the job.
In our reading God chose Mary to bear the Son of God she had the essential criteria required: a descendant of King David, she was a virgin, engaged to Joseph, a Godly woman, the right person for the job.
Archangel Gabriel gave the message to Mary that she would bear the Son of God and she was to call him Jesus.
Jesus had been called by his Father God before the foundation of the world to become one of us.
Jesus’ prayer John 17: 4 he pointed to where he was before he was born into this world “And now Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory which I had with you before the world was made.”
John 17: 24 “I desire that they also whom you have given me, may be with me, where I am to behold my glory, which you have given me, in your love for me before the foundation of the world.”
The Psalmist described Jesus body being formed in the secret places: Psalm 139
“For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.”
In order for God to unite us to himself, and for us to have eternal life, he became one of us taking the human form in giving Jesus a perfect human body. He was born of a woman and lived his life in the flesh, but he knew his Father was God and he was full of God’s Holy Spirit.
Jesus born in human form from his mother Mary and from His Father God his divinity, in order to give us in our humanity eternal life. John 3: 16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus in conversation with a number of Jewish men after he had healed the paralytic man. John 5: 39, 40 “You search the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”
John the Baptist’s testimony pointed to Jesus as the Christ, the signs that Jesus gave bore witness that the Father God had sent him to give them God’s commandment, “And I know his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father as bidden me.” John 12: 50.
To obtain our eternal life is through our faith in Jesus, his death resurrection and ascension.
Jesus died on the cross, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb and after three days God raised him from the dead and after 40 days he ascended into heaven.
Jesus’ resurrected body still retained the marks of the nails and where the sword had pierced his heart. John 20:27
His resurrected body was without blood in it. Luke 24:39 “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see I have.” Jesus’ blood poured out for the sins of the world.
Jesus coming in the flesh taking the result our sin upon himself that led to his death, the shedding of his innocent blood has enabled us to enter into eternal life. We can’t earn our forgiveness for our sin against God; we can only receive forgiveness through faith in Jesus. It is the will of God that we receive eternal life while we live in our human body, united with Jesus in heaven.
Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Colossae, “He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1: 13. The cross is like a door into heaven. All we need to do is enter in.
It is up to us to make a decision for Jesus if we have any doubts then like John the Baptist Last Sunday Rev J B said in her sermon that John the Baptist by sending his disciples to Jesus to ask was he the one or do we seek for another ‘Saviour Messiah’ he had doubts and like him we should seek to find the answers to our doubts.
One of the conclusions from Jesus having a human body it has enabled us in our humanity to be his body, the church. Paul also wrote that we are united with Christ,’ Christ in you’ because we are translated into his kingdom while we live now, the church has the ministry of Jesus reconciling the people of the world back to God.
This means that every Christian is called to be actively involved in God’s plan and to be his witness to the Saviour’s birth.
Visual Aid Church bells are rung to celebrate an occasion or a call to worship. Many people are called to be involved in the church in order to celebrate Jesus’ birth.
Christians ringing the bells in the churches in Ramsbottom: St Andrew’s and St Paul’s on that December night as I stood looking out from our bedroom window. I said to myself, ‘That’s where I’ll be next Christmas at church.” We had spent the Christmas Eve in the pub and it had been meaningless, celebrating what?
It was my call, to respond to the Christmas story, the following year I was there at church on Christmas Eve.
Prayer Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus’ humanity, he has enabled us to be united with him and in him, for all eternity, the church being the bride of Christ. We pray for those who are not yet part of the body of Christ’s Church who have yet to respond to the Christmas story, May the bells of heaven ring out peels of joy over those who recognise what Christmas is really about. In Jesus’ name. Amen