INTRODUCTION:  Every year, the day after Thanksgiving marks the official beginning of the Christmas shopping season. I’ve found that stores begin putting out their Christmas merchandise earlier and earlier each year. It’s amazing to me how Christmas decorations are being made available as early as Labor Day. And by the time Halloween comes around, it’s everywhere! People are setting up their schedules as to when they will do their shopping and anticipate long lines, bad attitudes and short tempers. The day after Thanksgiving is becoming a “day of death” as people are being trampled and stampeded over, just to get to the newest toys, gadgets, and items on sale. Christmas is not a “day of death”, but rather the celebration of the human birth of the true giver of life. It marks the official beginning of the human representation of the Omnipotent, Faithful, and Just One, known to us as Jesus, the Christ.

TEXT/BACKGROUND: Luke, the Physician is our writer and makes us aware of the humble beginnings of our Lord’s earthly journey. Knowing that his actions as a physician meant the difference between life and death, he uses the same approach in cataloguing the life and events of our Savior, down to the minutest detail. In his gospel, Luke show Christ as the “Son of Man”, one who comes to share with the plight of man and sympathize with his situation (his sinful state). In chapter 1, we find the account of Zacharius and Elizabeth, parents to the forerunner known as John the Baptist. God does not work by coincidence and there’s a significance to their names. The name “Zacharius” means “God Remembers” and the name “Elizabeth” means “His Promise”. When you put the meaning of those names together, you get “God Remember His Promise.” Isn’t it good to know that when God makes a promise, (1) He remembers it; and (2) He’s able to keep it! As the story goes, Zacharius, being a priest, is visited by the angel Gabriel in the temple and is told some things concerning the birth of his child. Zacharius was an older man and had doubts concerning how it will all come to pass. Gabriel told him so that he would believe, he would not be able to speak until the child was born and the time of naming him was at hand. We went to look at three things concerning The Real Christmas Story; The Prophecy, The Person, The Place, and The Proof.

First, The Prophecy. God doesn’t do anything by chance, coincidence, or happenstance. Everything is done decently and in order based on the perfect will and direction of God. It was no coincidence that the story of the coming Messiah was told many years ago. The Prophet Isaiah has made it clear for our understanding the things concerning the coming of the Messiah. Written some 700 years before the actual birth of Christ, he makes the statement that the Messiah is coming. In Isaiah 7:14 we are told “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call him name Immanuel” This birth would be something special and unique, taking place like no other birth ever. When God begins to do something, He goes all out to make it happen! The word “virgin” here is from a Hebrew word “ha-almah” which means the virgin – the only one that ever was or ever will be a mother in this way. “Almah” itself means a lass; damsel; maid; virgin and more to the point, an unmarried young woman. This is key to our understanding because the Messiah had to come from a pure bloodline and God was showing the world the magnitude of his majesty and power by bringing the Messiah to this world in a manner that no man could take credit for what God was doing!

Second, The Person. In Isaiah 7:14, we also note what his name shall be called…Immanuel. This word, translated from the original Hebrew means “God with Us!” Isn’t it good to know that God is with us through the thick and the thin! Not only would he send the Messiah, he would Be the Messiah in the person of Jesus Christ. Not only is he sending a savior, he IS the savior! But also note what Isaiah said in chapter 9:6; “For unto us a child is born, a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” Each of these names carry significance in their own right:

· Wonderful – from the Hebrew peleh which means miracle; a marvelous thing; wonderful
· Counsellor – from the Hebrew ya’ats which means to advise, consult; to deliberate. The name expresses the idea that His is the Supreme Counsellor – the one who is qualified to give counsel and advice to all created beings.
· The Mighty God – from the Hebrew Gibbor which means powerful; mighty; strong; champion; chief, and El, Almighty, the Strong One.
· The Everlasting Father – meaning the Father of eternity; the Planner of the ages and Father of all time.
· The Prince of Peace – meaning the Peaceful Prince. He shall promote and increase His government and peace without wars.

Third, The Place. When the time of his birth was to take place, the parents of Jesus were out of place. A decree from Caesar Augustus was sent out that all should be taxed. At the time of this decree, the parents were in Galilee and had to travel to Judea, unto the City of David called Bethlehem, as it was the place in which King David was born. The heir to the throne of David was born in the City of David. God used Caesar to tax the people at this time to get Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem for the birth of Christ. In order for Jesus to be the true Messiah, he had to fulfill the prophecies concerning the Messiah. The Prophet Micah, who wrote his prophetic book somewhere between 772-722 BC, shares with us in 5:2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose going forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

And lastly, The Proof. Now that the Christ is born, the angel begins to share the good news with shepherds in the fields. Shepherds would seldom be found praising and worshipping God; as a result, they were looked upon as anything but worshippers. They were despised because they were unable to attend services and to keep the ceremonial laws of washing and cleansing. The “Preachers Outline and Study Bible states, “What a beautiful foretaste of the salvation to come: God gave the first message of His Son to common Shepherds, those looked upon as sinners.” The angel’s message was that the Christ was born and can be found in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes. When they got there, they worshipped Him as they recognized Him as the Savior!!

The Real Christmas Story is not the shopping that takes place, but the Savior getting in place.

The Real Christmas Story is not the buying of gifts, but the birth of the Greatest Gift.

The Real Christmas Story is not fighting in lines in the stores, but rather “peace earth, good will towards men.”
The Real Christmas Story is not about Santa Claus, but rather the one who was born and died for the cause, Jesus Christ.
The Real Christmas Story is not about going to bed early, but rather going to the cross for the sins of the world.
The Real Christmas Story is not about waking up to presents, but rather waking up to the reality that Jesus is the Present.
The Real Christmas Story!!!