Christmas Download

Merry Christmas
F RO M T H E T Y N DA L E B I B L E T E A M
“After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone
what had happened and what the angel had
said to them about this child. All who heard the
shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept
all these things in her heart and thought about
them often. The shepherds went back to their
flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they
had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had
told them.” Luke 2:17-20, NLT
We pray that this season you will reflect on the
awesome contrasts that are so vivid in Luke’s
account of the Christmas story that we read from
the Illustrated Study Bible. Though all around us
it seems fear and anger reign we can be Christ’s
light and love that break the darkness. May we,
like the shepherds, share the hope that a baby
born in a manger is the promised Savior.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
F RO M T H E T Y N DA L E B I B L E T E A M
1820
The Birth of Christ
Luke 2:1‑40
Matt 1:18–2:12
Luke's account of the birth of Jesus is a
study in contrasts. On the one side is the
lowliness of the birth. A poor peasant
couple makes their way to their ancestral
home of Bethlehem to register for a census
imposed on them by the oppressive Roman
Empire. Their journey is a long and hard
one from Galilee, and when they arrive
they can find no place of lodging. They
are consigned to a place reserved for animals. There is a sense of poverty, rejection
and obscurity. At the birth of the child,
announcements are sent not to great kings
or to the rich and powerful, but to lowly
shepherds watching their flocks in the field.
Yet beside this humble lowliness is a
message of unspeakable power and grandeur. The child who is laid in a manger is
the Messiah, the long-awaited descendant
of King David. He will reign triumphant
over the people of Israel and his kingdom
will never end. He is the one spoken about
by all the prophets. All of history has been
pointing forward to its climax in him. An
army of mighty angels comes from heaven
to announce his birth.
These contrasts are a foretaste of things
to come. In Jesus, the God of Israel and
Lord of all the earth has come to visit
and to save his people. The Divine One
reaches down to meet them where they are.
Throughout Luke's Gospel, Jesus will show
special concern for the lowly, the poor, the
outcast, and sinners. These are the ones he
has come to save because they recognize
their need for him. They receive the message of salvation with joy and rejoicing.
The contrast between lowliness and exaltation also relates to Jesus’ mission. Though
wicked people reject him and put him to
death, Jesus is vindicated at his resurrection
and exalted to the right hand of God, where
he reigns as Lord and Messiah. From there
he pours out the Spirit of God to guide and
direct his church. Through Jesus’ life, death,
resurrection, and exaltation Jesus provides
forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all
those who respond in faith to him.
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