Most people tend to feel very fuzzy and sentimental about the Christmas season. Pictures of good-natured elves and quaint Christmas lights dominate our Instagram. We hear songs of saintly Christmas cheer and how the world will be a better place if we could only like each other more.
Before you accuse me of being the Grinch, I agree that at Christmas we should be a happy time as Christmas is a time to celebrate good news. We remember and celebrate the fact that God sent his Son into the world to save people from their sins.
What could be better news?
However, we would be very remiss if we didn’t remember that the coming of Jesus into the world is also dangerous news.
Matthew, in his book about Jesus, reminds us that the coming of Jesus the King was not a random event or a last-minute decision, but a fulfilment of centuries of God’s dealings with his people.
He reminds us that the extraordinary conception and coming of Jesus was a pre-determined, planned-for event:
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
“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.’”
(Matthew 1:22-23)
Matthew quotes from the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament, Isaiah 7:14. Isaiah prophesied around 700 BC and foretold the coming of a great sign – ultimately that a virgin would give birth and the child would be called “God with us”.
The startling thing is that when you read Isaiah Ch. 7 you discover that the sign of the virgin giving birth is a very dangerous sign. It is dangerous because it is a sign that God’s judgment is imminent. Cf. Isaiah 7:15-25
Having the Holy God in your midst is extremely dangerous.
If the Holy God is with us that means he must bring his just judgement on our un-holiness and rebellion against him. God with us means we have to bear the just punishment for our rebellion against God and our attempts at self-rule.
God with us is only good news if you are on God’s side.
If you’re not on God’s side it is disastrous news because judgement is around the corner. You still need to bear the judgement of God for your cosmic treason. If you do not belong to God, Christmas is dangerous.
However, if you belong to God through faith in Jesus, Christmas is awesome news because Jesus has borne the judgement of God for your sin on your behalf at the cross.
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. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
(Matthew 1:20-21)