Christmas
True biblical faith rests on the supernatural birth of Christ, and Simeon shows that faith in Luke 2:25. 1 John 3:2-3 sets out the hope that goes with it. Consumer religion offers something else, while in Christ our salvation is already here.
Luke 1:26-56 falls into four divisions, from Gabriel’s announcement to Mary’s song. Mary and Elizabeth meet, and the old covenant greets the new. The law serves the gospel.
Liberals and conservatives alike have walked away from the infallibility of Scripture, and Matthew 2 tests that commitment. Herod slaughters the children of Bethlehem, and Rachel weeps and refuses comfort. God ends all dissatisfaction in Christ.
Christ’s birth reaches back to the patriarchs, where Jacob’s Joseph gives way to Judah. The virgin birth shows that Judah could never produce the promised king by his own power. Matthew’s Joseph accepts that in humility.
Christ’s coming is God’s last and new work. Luke 1-2 gives four songs, from Mary, Zacharias, the angels, and Simeon. Salvation, covenant, finality, and humility run through all four.
Simeon waits in the temple for the consolation of Israel, and his background shows why he matters. Some read his hope as purely personal and others as purely universal, and his song in 2:29-32 holds both together. ‘Mine eyes have seen thy salvation.’
Elizabeth’s barrenness ends in conception, and the ‘oath’ God swore to Abraham stands behind it. Zacharias, the priest, shows the law blessing the new order that comes in Christ. Luke 1:80 closes on the child growing strong in spirit, and God’s people rejoice in his work.
Throughout Scripture barren women give birth to significant children, and Matthew and Luke both tell of the child. John tells of him in 1:14, where the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. God’s compassion for us takes up residence in human flesh.
In Scripture birth means hope and barrenness means hopelessness, and God shows his power where hope has run out. In Isaiah 9:6, God’s barren people give birth to Christ. The child rules with strength.
Angels warn Joseph, and the child goes down into Egypt while Herod plays Pharaoh. The two Josephs and the two tyrants run in parallel, and the name Nazareth carries its own meaning. Christ enters our experience fully, and God made him sin for us.