This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus (Matthew 1:18-25, emphasis added).

We have gathered together to celebrate the birth of Jesus.[i] For the last few weeks, we have been in the season traditionally known as Advent, which leads up to Christmas. Advent means “arrival.” Whose arrival have we been preparing for? Of course, we know it’s Jesus. Christmas is the celebration of His birth. But do we really understand who was arriving?

In our passage, Matthew reminds us about a prophecy about the Messiah’s birth: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Jesus would be called God with us. In Jesus’ case, that was literally true: the divine Word became flesh and dwelled with us (cf. John 1:1, 14). God became a baby, grew up to be a man, and showed us what true humanity is supposed to be like. He came to die for our sins so that you can be forgiven of them all. That is who Jesus is: God comes to live with us—with me and with you.

God came to us!

Isn’t that a scandalous idea—the God of the universe becoming a little baby? What kind of God does that? Why would He bother to do it? Does He really care about what is going on in this world, let alone in your life, enough to come here to earth Himself?

Many people think that God is very far above and far away, and if we have anything to do with Him at all, it’s our job to try our best to get to Him. That is what most religions are—complicated attempts to climb the religious ladder up to God. And most people think that is working for them. And here we are, as Christians, celebrating the exact opposite reality of God who came down to us.

God came to us!

What a reversal of expectations. And that coming to us tells us a lot about the good news of the gospel, powerfully illustrating how salvation is all of grace.

It reminds me of a story told to me by my friend, Steve Green, a psychologist and a chaplain. One year, Steve took a mission trip to Muslim Africa. He said he used the “paradoxical intervention technique” while evangelizing and found it worked. According to that technique, the psychologist prescribes the very symptom the client wants to resolve. So, for example, if someone has a problem with procrastination, instead of telling the person to stop it, the therapist will prescribe that she procrastinate one hour a day. By choosing to manifest the symptom, the client can recognize that they have the power to stop or change the behavior.

Steve was in a marketplace and started talking to a Muslim shopkeeper. He mentioned that he was a Christian from America, subtly opening the door to a spiritual conversation. The shopkeeper, who had never met an American Christian before, asked, “Do you Christians really believe in three gods?”

Steve answered, “Are you kidding me? I care about you too much to answer that question.”

That perplexed the shopkeeper. “Why won’t you tell me?”

“Because if I start telling you about my faith, you might believe me. And if you believe me, they’ll have to cut off your head. I know how your religion works, and I care about you too much to see that happen to you.”

“No, no, no,” the shopkeeper said. “You tell me. This won’t happen.”

“You’re trying to trick me,” Steve replied. “I don’t want you to die. So, no, I can’t tell you about Jesus and Christianity.”

By this time, some other shopkeepers, all Muslims, had gathered around to listen to the conversation.

“You tell me what you believe!” the shopkeeper insisted, practically begging to be evangelized!

“You really want to know?” Steve said. “OK, but I’ll only tell you if you make me a promise.”

“What promise?”

“Promise that you won’t believe me and that you’ll make fun of what I have to say.”

The shopkeeper started laughing. “Yes, yes! Ha ha! I do that! I won’t believe you! I make fun of you!”

“You all heard that, right?” Steve asked the crowd. “Do you all promise, too? I don’t want anyone here to believe me and get your head cut off. I love you too much. Do you all promise not to believe me and to make fun of me?” The crowd answered yes, which meant they were all safe. Steve said he knew the Muslims would make fun of his beliefs anyway and would be adamant about not believing, so he used that to his advantage. Having made that promise, their guards came down, and they could listen to the gospel openly without fear of the people around them.

Steve noticed a bug on the ground. “You see this bug here? Well, if you wanted to communicate with this bug, how would you do it? Wouldn’t you become a bug? Well, my God is so powerful that He could become a bug if He wanted to. But your god is not powerful enough to do that…”

The crowd murmured.

“And my God is so powerful, He could also become a man. His name is Jesus. God came because He loved us so much. He wanted to talk to us and show us He loved us. But your god isn’t powerful enough to do that. But remember, don’t believe me! You promised! If you’re going to believe me, I’m going to stop right now…”

“No, no, I don’t believe you,” the shopkeeper answered. “You keep talking.”

Steve took out a copy of the Gospel of John and told the shopkeeper to read John 3:16, but instead of saying “world” and “whoever,” he should add his own name. So the man read, “For God so loved Ibrahim that he gave his one and only Son, that if Ibrahim believes in Him, he shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The shopkeeper stopped reading and Steve saw something in his eyes. “Uh oh,” he said. “You believe it, don’t you? You believe what Jesus said! You promised me you wouldn’t believe it! You promised to make fun of it!”

The crowd started laughing. “You promised! You promised!”

“No, no, I don’t believe,” the shopkeeper replied.

“Good. I don’t want you reading anymore of what Jesus said. You give that Bible back to me.”

“No, no,” the man said, holding the Gospel to his chest. “I keep this…”

That man had never heard of a God who loved him in particular. He had never heard of the good news that God became a man. That is what Christmas is about: how God came to us! He gave the gift of Himself!

God so loved you and I that He sent Jesus to be born as a baby. He grew up and showed us what true humanity was meant to be like. And after being rejected by the world, He was put to death on the cross, being crucified for your sins so that you could be forgiven entirely. That’s God’s promise to you, and He sealed it by raising Jesus from the dead.

Maybe you’re realizing for the first time what Christmas means. It is an illustration of God’s grace. God came to us so that if you believe in Jesus, you will have eternal life and can be with Him forever! No gift you could ever receive this Christmas compares to receiving Jesus (cf. John 1:12). Believe it and be saved!

O Heavenly Father, you made this night bright with the light of your Son, Jesus. You came to us through your one and only Son. You sent Jesus to be born of a virgin. Help us, who have been born again through faith in Jesus and adopted as your children, be renewed daily by your Holy Spirit. We pray this in Jesus’ name, who deserves all honor and glory forever. Amen.      

[i] Sermon given at Gateway United Baptist Church, Candlelight Service, December 22, 2024.

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