It is nearly the end of 2016 and what a year of political change it has turned out to be. What with the UK voting for Brexit, under the USA voting system Trump was voted in as the President elect, the Italian Prime Minister resigning over rejected plans to reform the constitution and the French Republican candidate being popular, what else can we expect? Also it does not look to well for Angela Merkel in the German elections next year. People were and are showing more of what they really thought rather than follow what they had been, at times, told to think. If you had been given a free choice would you have voted for either of the USA presidential candidates? If you would not have chosen either of them why not? I guess that the main reasons would be unreliability either in their personal relations or with their political maneuverings.
However when it came to the Lord Jesus Christ He (John 8v42) said to His enemies one amazing statement after about two years in public service, “Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?” (John 8v46) Instead of coming up with a genuine accusation they falsely charged the Lord Jesus saying (8v48) “… Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan (a next door country) and have a demon?” both of which were manifestly not true. The Lord Jesus did not bother to reply to the first comment and answered the second with calm dignity.
But Jesus was the baby that was born by Mary and was put in a manger was someone totally different to everyone else. The angel said to Mary in Luke 1v32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest.” Mary never had to correct Him. Not only that, but Christ’s disciples testified about His sinlessness “… in Him is no sin” said John (1John 3v5) and Peter said He “committed no sin” (1Peter 2v22). These people were prepared to die for what they had seen and knew was the truth. There are others who are prepared to die for what they believe but they have not been told all the truth. The Lord Jesus was both God and from God the Father and so His life manifested qualities, right from being a baby, that no one else did.
Because Christ was an amazing baby, when He was born “… behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem.” (Matthew 2v1) We do not know where they lived in the east, nor how many there were, nor how long their journey lasted. However we know that they came to see Jesus Christ as they asked “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2v2). We know from Luke 2v8-20 that there were shepherds in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night when Christ’s birth was revealed to them by angels. One said, “You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” (2v12) and “they came with haste and found” (2v16). They found that the Word of God was reliable and true. And others, as well, found Christ both near His birth and in His life. When the Lord Jesus was about 30 years we read John 1v45, “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote–Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” So the Lord Jesus fulfilled the various Old Testament prophecies about Himself that were inspired by God up to 4,000 years before His life. At the end of Christ’s thirty three years on earth Judas, which had betrayed him, said “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” (Matthew 27v3-4). Pilate, the Roman governor who tried Christ said, “I find no fault in this Man” (Luke 23v4). The writer to the Hebrews said about Christ (v22) “who is holy, harmless, undefiled” (Hebrews 7v26). So here are God’s and people’s testimonies, and not just Christ’s disciples, about the perfection of the Jesus Christ, “… who went about doing good, …” (Acts 10v38) in super human ways.
But more than that, God put His whole trust in the Lord Jesus to do a work that no one else could do. “And she (Mary v20) will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1v21). Romans 3v26 says “… that he (God v25) might be just …” which confirms what the Old Testament says about God in Isaiah 45v21 “… a just God and a Saviour.” Think what it would be like if God was to bring judgment upon you for all your sins? The Lord Jesus said, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, …” (Matthew 15v19) so God will judge you for your thoughts as well as your words and deeds. A true but dreadful thought.
But such is the love of God displayed through the giving of Christ as a baby and such was and is God’s confidence in that baby of Bethlehem, Who became a Man, that God could safely prophesy of Jesus, “for he shall save his people from their sins”. So Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, and that He was buried and that He rose again the third day, according to the scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15v3-4). Therefore God is giving a sound and eternal hope to all that will trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. Jesus Christ is sinless. Jesus Christ is trustworthy. The Lord Jesus Christ can save you from the judgment of your sins and make you a member of His family, if you repent, i.e. turn from your sin, and trust only in Him for everlasting salvation and life.
This is a birth worth celebrating. Christ is the only Man Who is trustworthy. Will you trust in Him and know God’s rich blessing in your life?