Pastor John's Corner December 2008

Pastor John’s Corner
“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” These words from Luke 2:10-11 are a singular discourse and account of the birth of Jesus. Matthew, in his gospel, only says “Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the reign of King Herod.” He then tells us the story of the visit of the royal astrologers or “wisemen” as we tend to call them. Mark and John speak nothing about a miraculous birth.
Why then do you suppose it was so important for Luke to tell us about a “miraculous birth” with angels and shepherds on the hillsides and all of the other things that we have come to associate with the Nativity scene? And of course the second question would be; “Why, after 300 years, did we suddenly decide that this was event that needed to be told in this particular manner.”?


I think the answer lies in the simple word: “hope”. By the year 313 AD approximately 90% of the Roman Empire had “converted” to Christianity, however, there was a large split looming in the faith because of a division over the acceptance of the divine nature of Jesus. So the Emperor Constantine, at the Council of Nicaea, established and wrote the Nicene Creed, thereby “officially establishing” for the church, the Divinity of Christ. That then brought into play, Luke’s gospel and the telling of the Nativity story as we know it today.


I personally love the Christmas story because it is a story of hope. It tells of a longing of people to be a part of the kingdom of God. It gives us hope to know that God loves us enough to send his very own son, and that makes the birth of Christ very personal to me. Luke wrote of the birth because he felt it important that we hear the story and realize that this wasn’t just a man that God tapped on the shoulder to give a good message. This man had been miraculously conceived and angelically announced. This man was God’s Son.

I hope you too have a miraculous Christmas.

Pastor John