The Event - Day 22

Man, what an awesome day at church today! I am so proud to be part of a community of faith like Epic. As I sit in my office right now I am watching a wonderful couple from our church sort hundreds of Christmas stockings that you all have so generously decorated and filled. I know that this Christmas is going to very special for some kids because of all you have done.

As we head into this week I've got one more post for you on the life of Joseph. This one comes from Roy Comstock of Christian Mentors Network. Many of you know Roy from his mentoring/discipleship books called "Mentoring His Way, Disciple 12" that we use here at Epic. Roy is a great friend of Epic and is a devoted follower of Jesus. His post is really great, so read on...

Jesus is the Reason for the Season

Matthew 1:18-25

When I was about to finish high school, fifty-two years ago, I was invited to a youth retreat near San Diego, California. One of the verses I heard frequently was John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believed in Him would not perish but have eternal live.” I was told if I believed in Christ’s death, burial and resurrection and ask Him to come into my heart that I would go to heaven. So by faith I accepted Jesus into my heart. But I remember asking myself, “How did Jesus become God’s only begotten Son?”

It wasn’t until some time later when I was studying Matthew 1:18-25, that I discovered the answer. “This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.” The angel said to Joseph, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through His prophet: Look. The virgin will conceive a child. She will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel, which means God with us.” In verse 23, Matthew is quoting Isaiah 7:14. Jesus was God in the flesh; thus God was literally among us, “with us.”  

I discovered the importance of the virgin birth when I learned that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, had to be free from the sinful nature passed on to all other human beings by Adam. Because Jesus was born of a woman, He was a human being; but as the Son of God, Jesus was born without any trace of human sin. Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. In John 1:1 it says, “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Then in verse 14 it goes on to say, “So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” This Scripture reveals an important truth about Jesus—He is both God and human. The infinite, unlimited God took on the limitations of humanity so He could live and die for the salvation of all who would believe on Him.

“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.” (Hebrews 2: 14) I learned that God made Christ who never sinned, to be the offering for my sin so that I could be made right with God through Christ.” (II Corinthians 5:21) Because of His virgin birth and His ultimate sacrifice on the cross, Jesus Christ is my only true reason for the Christmas season.