by Emily Wooten
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us 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.
Luke 2:11-12 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Isaiah was prophesying what would come. In Luke the angels declared he has come.
In Matthew 2 and Luke 2 the story of Jesus’ birth is recorded. The Hebrew people thought the Messiah would come to set up an earthly kingdom. Even though Jesus had told them he would be beaten, sacrificed and raised from the dead, that message was way more than the people could understand.
In the same way men in the Old Testament prophesied the savior would be born to a virgin in Bethlehem, men of old prophesied that same child would be sacrificed for our sin.
Isaiah 53: 1-6 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Before all this could be done one young woman had to be willing to abandon her dreams and choose to allow God to work through her.
Luke 1: 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.
What Joseph and Mary went through getting Jesus into this earth and protecting him while he grew to be the man who would take away the sins of the world, was not your typical praise and worship testimony. Through God’s grace Joseph and Mary became amazing people who kept safe our Savior, nurtured him up and taught him.
As a young boy Jesus knew he had a job to do. In spite of the devil’s temptations, men’s accusations, beatings and more Jesus had the strength to endure and prevail. We’ve been given his strength. Like Joseph and Mary we have the opportunity to choose his way over our own. Christmas time is the perfect opportunity to surrender to God’s love and choose to say, “Be it unto me according to your word.”