Do You Want to Be Rich?

Matthew 1:18-25
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, December 25, 2016
Copyright © 2016, P. G. Mathew

What is Christmas? Christmas points to Jesus Christ—his person and his work of salvation. When we understand what Christmas is, and when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we will be saved and made rich in spiritual things.

Our heavenly Father sent his eternal Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, into this sinful world, wrapped in sinless human flesh, to save his elect poor sinners by his atoning death on the cross that we may by faith in Jesus, the only Savior of the whole world, could be justified and adopted as children of God to enjoy fellowship with God in eternal happiness.

This Jesus, the very rich Son of God, in his incarnation became very poor, so that we may become spiritually very rich in him. That is what I am and that is what you are—very rich in things that matter.

Saints, we are rich, not in silver or gold, but in salvation, in eternal life, which only Jesus can give. The angel told Joseph, “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). This Jesus himself is our heavenly Father’s indescribable gift to us.

Have you unpacked this gift? Have you put your trust in Christ? Have you received Jesus as your Savior and Lord? Are you rich in Jesus? God is not interested in our money or our degrees. The thing that matters is whether we have trusted in Jesus Christ alone. Paul writes, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). He also exclaims, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15).

If we have trusted in Christ, we are truly rich. In Revelation 2 we read, “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!” (Rev. 2:8–9). Later, the Lord told the Laodiceans, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’” This is what many people in this country also say. But the Lord continues, “But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see’” (Rev. 3:17–18).

Listen to the counsel Christ gave to a rich man in Luke 12. The man said, “I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’” But God told him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” Jesus concluded, “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:19–21).

What, then, is Christmas? We find the answer in the Bible.

I do not believe in the so-called “spirit of Christmas,” Santa Claus, or “Jingle Bells.” I believe in the birth of Jesus Christ, God’s eternal Son, in Bethlehem, as foretold by the Lord through his holy prophets. I believe in Jesus Christ—one divine Person in two natures, divine and sinless human nature. He is the only Savior of the world, who made atonement for our sins. Everyone who believes in him shall be saved.

The gift that the heavenly Father has given us is the unspeakable gift of the Savior, Jesus, the eternal Son of God. The question is, have you received him? Have you trusted in him? And, additionally, have you proclaimed him to your children that they may also believe in him?

This Savior, Jesus Christ, was begotten of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, as the Lord had promised over seven hundred years earlier through the prophet Isaiah. During this season, the true church celebrates the birth of this virgin-born child, the Mighty God, the Son of David, the everlasting King, the shoot out of the stump of Jesse, as well as the root of Jesse, the liberator of all burdens, and the Savior of the world.

The Gospel Introductions

How do the gospels introduce this Jesus to us? In their narratives, Matthew and Luke call him the virgin-born Savior, the Lord Christ Jesus, the Holy One, the Son of the Most High, the Son of God, and Immanuel. Mark does not give us an account of his birth as Matthew and Luke do, but he does introduce him as Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

What about John? In his prologue in the first chapter, John introduces Jesus to us by saying, first, “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1). In his book Knowing God, J. I. Packer tells us that this verse speaks of the eternity of the Lord Jesus Christ. When other things began, he was, he existed. Jesus Christ, in other words, is eternal.

John continues, “and the Word was with God” (John 1:1). This speaks about his personality. This Word is a personal being, an eternal personality, distinct from the Father and yet eternally in fellowship with God the Father. Then John says, “and the Word was God” (John 1:1). That speaks about the deity of the Word. He is God, and yet he is personally distinct from the Father.

Then we read, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3). John is telling us that the Word is also the Creator of all things, visible and invisible. He created all, yet he himself was not part of creation. Then we are told, “In him was life” (John 1:4). By this John tells us the origin of all life must be seen in Jesus Christ. Additionally, it tells us the cause of the continuation of this life must also be seen in this Word who is God, Jesus Christ.

So John says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men” (John 1:4). Not only is Jesus the author of all life, but the true knowledge of God also comes to us only through Jesus Christ. There is no other way we can know God except through Jesus.

Then John says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). John understands that Jesus Christ is the eternal Word, the personal Being distinct from the Father, God himself, the Creator and Author of all life and the author of all revelation of God. This God, this Creator, this Word-become-flesh, the mighty God, lay helplessly as a baby in a cattle-feeding trough. But John has no doubt who this One is. He continues, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, the only Begotten, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” And finally, John writes, “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known” (John 1:18). Thus, John introduces Jesus Christ to us. God became flesh.

A Crude Fact?

Some people, such as the late Professor William Barclay, a Scottish scholar, and many others, consider the birth of Jesus Christ as a crude fact. They do not see any beauty in this virgin birth. In his study on Matthew, Barclay tells us that the virgin birth is a doctrine that presents us with many difficulties. Then he says, “And our church [he was speaking about his own church] does not compel us to accept it in the literal and physical sense.”[1]

Isn’t that wonderful? We have come a long way. The creeds all state that the virgin birth of Jesus Christ is an essential part of the Christian faith. But Barclay says his church would not compel him or anyone else to believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ in a literal, physical sense, although, as a scholar, Barclay knew that the Bible teaches a literal, physical virgin birth. Thus, Barclay states, “This is one of the doctrines on which the church gives us full liberty to come to our own conclusion.”[2] He and those who agree with him are saying that we do not have to believe what the Bible clearly teaches, because we are living in the modern scientific age. They are saying Christians should no longer believe in the “primitive” conception of miracles.

But to me, and to this church, and to millions of orthodox, Bible-believing Christians around the world, the virgin birth of Jesus is not a crude, ugly fact. To us who believe in God as the Creator of the heavens and the earth, believing in miracles is not at all a problem. It is a mark of true intelligence, of divine wisdom. Paul says, “We have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). So we glory in the virgin birth of Jesus, the second person of the Godhead, because without the virgin birth, the cross would be emptied of its power. Without the virgin birth, Jesus would be just a sinful man, not able to save anyone. He himself would need a savior. If we remove the virgin birth, then we remove the power of the cross to save us, even though, in the cross of Christ, the infinite wisdom of God is made manifest (1 Cor. 1–3).

Matthew’s Account

The accounts of the birth of Jesus Christ as found in the gospels of Matthew and Luke are quite detailed. When we examine them, we notice that they are independent of each other. Yet they concur in this great doctrine of the virgin birth.

First, in Matthew’s account, Matthew tells us that Joseph had nothing to do with the begetting of Jesus. Matthew’s genealogical list ends with “Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ” (Matt. 1:16). Then Matthew explains, “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph. But before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit [ek pneumatos hagiou]” (Matt. 1:18).

Then we read that the angel was commissioned to come to Joseph at night in a dream. Contrary to what Joseph had thought, the angel tells him again about the supernatural aspect of this pregnancy: “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit [ek pneumatos hagiou]” (Matt. 1:20). The Holy Spirit begat, and Mary conceived and gave birth.

Matthew continues, “All this took place so that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled.” What was that word? “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel—which means ‘God with us’” (Matt. 1:23). I agree with James Orr and J. Gresham Machen and a number of others that the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 has a singular reference. This prophecy is speaking about the birth of Jesus Christ through the virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Thus Matthew, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who also inspired Isaiah to write his prophecy, says that the events of Christ’s birth took place in fulfillment of what the Lord spoke through Isaiah. Jesus was born of a virgin. And in verse 25, Matthew goes out of his way to let us know that Joseph did not have any sexual relationship with Mary until this son was born. This refutes the idea of Mary’s perpetual virginity (see also Matt. 13:55–56).

Finally, Matthew says, “He [Joseph] gave him the name Jesus” (Matt. 1:25). Giving Jesus his name meant that Joseph was adopting Jesus as his son and becoming his legal father. Joseph is addressed here as the son of David, which means that he was a prince, although the Davidic dynasty had declined and was in eclipse. So we see that out of the stump of Jesse’s line came a shoot, a branch, who is Jesus. He became the legal heir to David’s throne through Joseph, a son of David, and through Joseph’s adopting of him. And please note that both Joseph and Mary were descended from David.

Luke’s Account of the Virgin Birth

Luke also gives us clear evidence of his belief in the virgin birth of Christ. In Luke 1:27 Mary is called a virgin, hê parthenos. In fact, Luke uses the word “virgin” twice in that verse. And in Luke 1:34, this young girl, the virgin Mary, asks, “How can this be since I do not know a man?” She meant “to know a man sexually.” The angel’s answer was that the Holy Spirit would come upon her: “The power of the Most High will overshadow you.” Then Gabriel added that there is nothing impossible with God (Luke 1:35, 37).

Was Luke making all this up? No. Luke was a historian who was interested only in the truth. In the beginning of his gospel he wrote, “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us” (Luke 1:1). Luke was not setting out to write mythology, fake news. He was a historian whose purpose was to write the things that took place, “just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses” (Luke 1:2). There is no question that the source for both Matthew and Luke for this account of the virgin birth was Mary herself. Luke said that he interviewed “eyewitnesses and servants of the word”—those who saw the events he was recording.

Luke also stated, “I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning” (Luke 1:3). His intent was not to sit down and write a novel, creating a story from his head. He was a historian who personally investigated all things about Christ “from the beginning,” which included the virgin birth. And because of his investigations, he told his readers, “It seemed good also to me to write an orderly account so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:3–4). Luke wanted his readers to know that Christianity rests upon indisputable historical facts.

So Luke began his gospel account, first, by the narration of the supernatural birth of John the Baptist, and, second, with the supernatural virgin birth of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we must understand that the virgin birth is historical and factual. It is recorded that we may have certainty of the gospel. Without the virgin birth, there is no gospel

The church of Jesus Christ has always believed in the virgin birth, as revealed by her creeds. This doctrine is essential to our salvation. So unlike William Barclay and his church, our church believes, teaches, and glories in the biblical doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus. If we deny the virgin birth, we will soon begin to deny all the miracles of the Bible. We will reduce Jesus to a mere man, albeit a nice, ethical one. In fact, we may even say he is the best man who ever lived, but still a man, incapable of saving anyone. What does such reductionism do? It removes the joy of Christmas by removing the Savior.

Bill O’Reilly of Fox News said on December 9, 2013, “The Bible is not a history book. If you want to believe it is, fine with me. But it is a theological effort,” by which, I suppose, he means, “mythological.” In my view, he believes that Jesus was a man, the natural son of Joseph and his wife Mary—a sinful man like us, a kind man, a nice man whom they crucified, as they crucified many criminals.

Let us listen to pious scholars like J. Gresham Machen, the great New Testament scholar and founder of the famous Westminster Theological Seminary. He says, “Our salvation depends squarely upon history; the Bible contains that history, and unless that history is true, the authority of the Bible is gone, and we who have put our trust in the Bible are without hope. . . . Those who reject the virgin birth reject the whole supernatural view of Christ.” And I say, “Those who reject the supernatural cannot be true Christians, and cannot have the life of God in the soul of man.” Machen also explains that a man is saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ “as he is offered to us in the gospel.”[3] Part of that gospel is the stupendous miracle of the virgin birth. Professor B. B. Warfield of Princeton said, “The supernatural Christ and the supernatural salvation carry with them by an inevitable consequence, the supernatural birth”[4] of Jesus Christ.

What does God say about his word? Jesus said, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). Paul wrote, “Let God be true and all men liars” (Rom. 3:4). The psalmist says, “The words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times” (Ps. 12:6). He also says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple” (Ps. 19:7), that is, making the simple wise.

The so-called “wise” people of the world believe that the Bible is not true; that we must demythologize it, a la Bultmann, rejecting all miracles; that we must not permit God to act in his world; and that we must believe the lie of a closed system of a chance universe.

Joseph Makes a Decision

Luke’s detailed account of the birth of Jesus Christ gives clear evidence of his belief in the virgin birth. After Mary received the angelic announcement in Nazareth, she was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and she conceived. (PGM) Mary then went from Nazareth to Judea to visit Elizabeth to receive spiritual encouragement and enjoy fellowship with her. After three months, Mary returned to Nazareth, and Joseph learned of Mary’s pregnancy. Probably she said to him, “I am with child by the power of the Holy Spirit, according to the word of a holy angel, Gabriel.” But Joseph did not believe Mary’s explanation.

In Jewish circles of that time, marriage consisted of, first, a betrothal in which the couple exchanged vows of fidelity before witnesses. From that point on, the man was known as husband and the woman as wife. This was the first phase of marriage. But before the couple lived together as husband and wife, there was a period of about one year. At the end of the year, the husband would come to his bride’s father’s house and ceremoniously take his bride to his own home in a celebration such as we read about in Matthew 25. After the marriage feast, the couple would live together as husband and wife.

Mary informed Joseph that she was pregnant. Being a just man, Joseph refused to marry her. At the same time, he desired to divorce her privately by writing her a bill of divorcement before two witnesses and letting her go, as permitted in Deuteronomy 24:1.

What was Mary doing during this time? She was trusting in the Lord to solve this great, thorny problem. In my view, she probably reasoned, “Nothing is impossible with God. As Gabriel stated, I am pregnant with the holy Child by the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.” So she concluded, “This problem with Joseph is God’s problem. He must solve it, and he will solve it. I must trust God” (see Luke 1:38).

God’s Solution

In time, God also sent an angel to Joseph. I am sure Joseph loved Mary. Yet he could not go ahead with the marriage. After deciding to divorce her privately, he went to bed. I am also sure that before Joseph went to bed, he prayed. He probably said, “O God, take care of this matter. I only want to do what is right in accordance with your law.”

The angel of the Lord came and spoke to Joseph in a dream that night. He brought a command from the Lord, which we read in Matthew 1:20–21. The angel told Joseph, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.” God wanted him to go ahead with the second part of his marriage and to bring Mary ceremoniously to his house, to have the marriage feast, and to begin to take care of her. Then God revealed the truth to Joseph about Mary: “because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit [ek pneumatos hagiou].”

When Joseph heard these words, the darkness was dispelled from his mind because the angel was saying that Mary was not an adulteress. She was a virgin—innocent, just, righteous, and pure. In other words, this pregnancy was God’s work. Joseph did love Mary, so you can imagine the great joy that filled his soul as he heard these words. Mary had trusted God, and he solved her problem. Nothing is impossible with God.

Then the angel gave further instructions, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.” In other words, Joseph must protect Mary, honor her, and provide for her. He must adopt this son by naming him, which was an official act. Thus, Joseph would become the legal father of Jesus. As we said, Joseph was the prince, the son of David, a legal heir to the throne. Now, by being named and adopted by Joseph, Jesus would also become a legal heir to the throne of David. He is Jesus the King, whose kingdom is everlasting.

Notice how Joseph went to bed with one decision and woke up with God’s decision. How many times do we decide without facts or understanding? I tell people, “Go and pray,” and often they come back and say, “I prayed.” But I do not know what they really did. Prayer means going to God and saying, “God, show me your way, your decision. I have already decided, but my decision does not have to be right. What is your decision?” It may surprise us to discover that sometimes God’s decision is the opposite of the decision we have made.

Joseph accepted God’s guidance and changed his previous decision to divorce Mary. He took her for his wife, protected her, provided for her, and honored her. And when she gave birth, he dutifully adopted her son and gave him the name Jesus. Notice the obedience of Joseph. He obeyed immediately, exactly, and joyfully.

The Purpose of the Virgin Birth

Who is this Jesus? The angel told Joseph “You are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). I offer you Jesus: he will save you from your sins. Soon you must die. The Bible says today, now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.

The Greek text tells us that Jesus himself, he alone, will save his people from their sins, meaning there is no other savior. We have the freedom in this country to believe whatever we want. But there is no other savior outside of Jesus Christ. Jesus alone will save his people. He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He is the only mediator between God and man.

Here, then, is revealed the purpose of this virgin birth: God is giving us a Savior who is able to save his people from their sins by his atoning death. Jesus came to save his elect people, whom the Father had given him in eternity that he may save them.[5]

The psalmist tells us, “No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough” (Ps. 49:7–8). All the wealth in the world cannot save one soul. Then the psalmist says, “But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself” (Ps. 49:15). And in Psalm 130:7–8 we find another reference to what is reflected in Matthew 1: “O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.” That is what we read in Matthew 1: “Give him the name Jesus, for he [and he alone] will save his people from their sins.” How do you know who his people are? If you repent and trust in him, you are his people, eternally chosen in Jesus Christ to belong to him. And if you refuse to repent and believe, your refusal is demonstrating that you are not his people.

In the fullness of time God, through the virgin birth, gave us a sinless Savior who is God/man, able to redeem us from our sins. Joseph was told to name him Jesus, for he alone would save his people, Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, male and female, from their sins. “Jesus” was a common name during New Testament times; anyone could name his child Jesus. It is taken from the Hebrew verb yasha, which means to save and deliver from danger, sickness, and death. But the problem is, can any person save another from these problems? And who can deliver us from the greatest problem of all, which is our sin?

Man’s Fundamental Problem

Peter said there is only one Savior, Jesus Christ. He said, “Salvation is found in no one else. There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). What does Jesus save his people from? He saves us from our sins. Let me assure you, the fundamental problem of man is not political, economic, social, medical, or educational. Man’s fundamental problem is his sin. He is by nature an enemy of God. Sin is the cause of all human sufferings and all other problems (see Rom. 5:12).

In Genesis 3, we see how sin came into humanity. Adam sinned, and, through him, we all are sinners. We are conceived in sin, born in sin, and practice sin daily. We must never say we are not sinners, or that we do not need Jesus to save us. If we do, he will deal with us severely. He is the one who saves but he is also the one who judges. All people will go either to heaven or to hell.

The human heart is our problem. The prophet Jeremiah declares that our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9). Paul says that no one seeks God, all have gone astray, and there is no fear of God in man (Rom. 3:9–18).

Jesus also spoke about the wickedness of the human heart: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matt. 15:19). In the depths of his heart, man is an enemy of God and cut off from the life of God. Sin has separated man from God. Jesus came to solve the sin problem and reconcile us to God through his death on the cross.

Jesus alone is perfect God and perfect, sinless man; therefore, only Jesus could give his life a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). Only Jesus Christ of Christianity can save sinners. In Matthew 26:28, while instituting the holy supper, Jesus said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” There is no other way to save people from their sins except by the sinless God/man coming into the world and dying on the cross (John 1:1, 14).

Paul says, “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). Elsewhere he wrote, “Christ died for our sins” (1 Cor. 15:3).

The one who lay helplessly in the cattle trough in Bethlehem is the almighty God-become-flesh. He died on the cross for sinners that he may redeem his people, Jews and Gentiles, from their sins. The covenant with Abraham was that in his offspring all the families of the earth be blessed. Paul says Christ loved the church and gave himself for her (Eph. 5:25). Therefore, the elect people of God by grace will surely repent, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and be saved. Jesus will save all his people.

The Fullness of Salvation

What does salvation mean? First, it means salvation from sin—from the guilt of sin, the pollution of sin, the power of sin, the punishment of sin, and even from the presence of sin. Our problem is sin, and it is dealt with totally and comprehensively by Jesus Christ.

Second, it means that we are saved to serve God, to enjoy life eternal. The purpose of salvation is that we may have fellowship with God and his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, as we read in John 17:3, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” The virgin-born Christ obeyed God fully. He died on the cross in behalf of our sins and gave us eternal life. This is God’s only way of saving sinners.

God looked at man and saw his problem. So he sent a Savior, his only Son, to solve our sin problem and to bring us back into joyful fellowship with him. God says to all of us, “I know your problem. It is your heart. You are a rebel who is cut off from God. The solution to your problem is through my Son, the Savior, King Jesus. Through his death, he will solve your sin problem and reconcile you to me.” That is what Jesus Christ did. The good shepherd laid down his life for the sheep. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Praise the Lord!

Let me assure you, any effort of self-redemption by a sinner is utter foolishness and impossibility. God gave us a Savior from heaven. Paul says Jesus is the second man from heaven, and Matthew tells us he is Immanuel, “God with us.” Jesus is God, and Jesus is with us always (Matt. 28:20). So fear not, friends. He who is with us and in us is greater than the devil, who is in the world. In Jesus Christ, we are more than conquerors.

Receiving God’s Gift

In conclusion, I must ask you two extremely serious questions. First, have you received this personal gift from the Father? Second, have you given this gift to your children? We must think about these things. Why? This one is Immanuel, God with us. Jesus said, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). He is our good shepherd, and so we lack nothing. He is with us in life, in death, and beyond.

Truly to us a child is born, a son is given—for our salvation, and for our joy. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Professor William Hendriksen says that he came to dwell “with the sick to heal them.” He came to dwell “with the demon-possessed, to liberate them.” He came to dwell “with the poor in spirit . . . to bless them,” and I would add, to make them very rich. He came to dwell “with the care-ridden, to rid them of care.” He came to dwell “with lepers, to cleanse them.” He came to dwell “with the diseased, to cure them.” He came to dwell “with the hungry, to feed them,” not only with physical bread but with the living bread. And above all, he came to dwell “with the lost, to seek and save them.”[6]

He is nobiscum Deus, the “with-us God.” He has already come to be with us in Jesus Christ. And yet a greater reality awaits us at his second coming. John tells us of this nobiscum Deus coming in his fullness: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’” (Rev. 21:1-4).

The late Professor Eta Linnemann of Germany gave several theological lectures here in this church in 2001. She had attended the universities of Marburg, Tübingen, and Göttingen. She studied under Professor Rudolf Bultmann, the father of demythologization, as well as under Ernst Fuchs, Friedrich Gogarten, Gerhard Ebeling, and others. She wrote books in defense of the unbelieving historical-criticism. Then Jesus saved her. So she counseled people to burn all her books written in defense of rationalism. Listen to her: “My ‘No!’ to historical-critical theology stems from my ‘Yes!’ to my wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to the glorious redemption he accomplished for me on Golgotha.”[7]

Friends, I am speaking to you eternal matters. Can you rejoice because God in Jesus Christ is with us? Or do you still refuse to believe that he is the eternal God who became perfect man, the divine Person who took to himself a perfect human nature so that in it he may die on the cross for our salvation? Ask yourself: Why did he clothe himself with human flesh? He became man so that he could die on the cross for our sins. The wages of sin is death. Christ died for my sins and my sins are forgiven in totality. I am justified and adopted into the family of God.

If you are not trusting in Jesus Christ, may God have mercy on you! May he help you to hope in nothing else and in no one else but in God’s Son alone. He alone is our Savior and our Lord, the Son of the Most High, the Holy One. He alone can make us rich in eternal salvation. If you have trusted in Christ, you can rejoice greatly. But if you are outside of Christ, may you this day trust in him, the Christmas gift God has given. Then you too can rejoice, for the first time in your life.

[1] William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. 1, rev. ed., of The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1975), 20.

[2] Ibid.

[3] J. Gresham Machen, The Virgin Birth of Christ (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1965), 385, 391, 396.

[4] B. B. Warfield, Christology and Criticism, Vol. 3 of Works of B. B. Warfield (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981), 452.

[5] See Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 8, sections 1 and 2.

[6] William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Gospel according to Matthew, New Testament Commentary series (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989), 141.

[7] Eta Linnemann, Historical Criticism of the Bible: Methodology or Ideology: Reflections of a Bultmannian Turned Evangelical, trans. by Robert Yarbrough (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2001), 17.