This is about the person who has given his name to Christmas, Jesus Christ. It will only take you a few moments to read. A single word\u2014 special\u2014sums up why you shouldn\u2019t grudge the time.<\/p>\n
Had you seen Jesus after he was born in Bethlehem special is not the word that would have sprung to mind. Judging by appearances he was as ordinary a baby as they come. But there was so much more to him than met the eye. The truth, in fact, is utterly extraordinary. In this little baby God himself had come to be with us. Charles Wesley, in his carol Hark! The herald angels sing<\/em>, gets it exactly right: \u201cVeiled in flesh the Godhead see! Hail, the incarnate Deity!\u201d God had taken our nature and come into our world as one of us.<\/p>\n One of Jesus\u2019 first disciples, John, puts it like this. This is from the Gospel that came from his pen. Calling Jesus \u201cthe Word\u201d (because he is the one through whom God the Father speaks to us), John tells us that he was with God in the beginning \u2013 already in existence when this world came into being \u2013 and that he was Himself God. And then John says this: \u201cAnd the Word became flesh and dwelt among us\u201d. Without ceasing to be what he had always been\u2014God the Son\u2014he began to be what he had never been, truly human. Another of Jesus\u2019 early disciples, Matthew, in the Gospel that came from his pen, links it with an ancient promise: \u201cBehold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel\u201d; \u00a0a name which means, Matthew adds, \u201cGod with us\u201d. Special person? Special indeed!<\/p>\n You would expect that the entrance of such a special person into our world would have something about it that marked it out as special. And you would be right. For one thing, angels appeared and celebrated his birth in song. But before that there was the birth itself. In the words of the ancient Apostles\u2019 Creed, \u201cJesus Christ\u2026was\u2026born of the virgin Mary\u201d. By the power of God the Holy Spirit, Jesus had been miraculously conceived in his virgin mother\u2019s womb. No man had been involved.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s hear from Matthew again. He tells us about Joseph, the man to whom Mary was betrothed, and how he thought about ending his relationship with her when he discovered that she was pregnant. \u201cBut as he considered these things\u201d, says Matthew, \u201can angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, \u2018Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit\u2019\u201d. Mary hadn\u2019t been unfaithful to him. The son to whom she later gave birth was in her womb because God had worked an amazing miracle. Special birth? Special indeed!<\/p>\n Here\u2019s something else you would expect: such a special person, coming in such a special way, must have a special work to do. And again you would be right. It\u2019s all in his name. Jesus is from a Hebrew verb meaning, to save. Why was he given it? Because saving would be his special work. Specifically, he would save people from their sins. Here is Matthew again. He\u2019s reporting the last words of the angel to Joseph: \u201cYou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins\u201d. One of Jesus\u2019 later disciples, Paul, puts it like this: \u201cChrist Jesus came into the world to save sinners\u201d.<\/p>\n It is simply the best news this world has ever heard. Our greatest need as human beings is someone to save us from the guilt and the power and the dreadful penalty of our sins \u2013 for we can\u2019t do it ourselves. And Jesus came to be that someone. It\u2019s why he took our nature. It\u2019s why he lived the beautiful life that he did. It\u2019s why he died the sacrificial death that he did. It was all for us, so that as sinners we might have a Saviour to whom we could go for forgiveness and eternal life. Special work? Special indeed!<\/p>\n I end with a question: Is he your Saviour? He wants to be. He\u2019s ready to be. And he will be if you will cry to him in your need and welcome him into your heart and life. Millions have done that. They have turned from their sin to Jesus and given him his rightful place as lord of their lives. Why not do the same?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n David Campbell is minister of North Preston Evangelical Church.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is about the person who has given his name to Christmas, Jesus Christ. It will only take you a few moments to read. A single word\u2014 special\u2014sums up why you shouldn\u2019t grudge the time. Special person Had you seen Jesus after he was born in Bethlehem special is not the word that would have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":112788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"resource-author":[20141],"topic":[5958],"class_list":["post-112787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","resource-author-david-campbell","topic-salvation"],"yoast_head":"\nSpecial birth<\/h2>\n
Special work<\/h2>\n