December 25 | Surprise!
Matthew 1:18-25 (NLT)
18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”
24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
Surprise!
“And he gave him the name Jesus.” Matthew 1:25
I’m sure Joseph was totally taken by surprise when he found out that Mary was pregnant. But after God revealed his plans to Joseph through a dream, Joseph was willing, despite the vicious rumors, to take Mary home as his wife. When Mary gave birth to a son, he gave him the name Jesus.
When Heather was pregnant with our first child, the doctors were just starting to experiment with ultrasounds. I still remember being with her at a check-up, and the doctor said to us, “So, you are having a boy.” We informed him that we didn’t have knowledge of that, and to our surprise, he told us that it was written on the report of her last ultrasound. So, just imagine our surprise when she gave birth and the doctor announced, “It’s a girl!” And we gave her the name of Bonnie, instead of Joel.
On this Christmas Day, many will be surprised with gifts that they open (I, myself, don’t like surprises). Yet, here are a few things that should not surprise you, but may.
Jesus came on the first Christmas day as an infant, yet he had been in existence since before creation.
He willingly left the splendor and glory of heaven to come to earth as a helpless baby, knowing that he would one day die for the sins of all humanity.
Through belief and accepting him into our hearts, we are given the gift of eternal life.
May we always be in awe of the Christmas story and surprise others with the simple fact that the one born in the manger can become their Lord and Savior.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!
—Pastor Jeff