Title: EMBRACING THE MIRACLE

Focus: Our salvation hinges on the miracle birth of Jesus Christ. Welcome, embrace, and celebrate that miracle birth.

Function: To deepen the people’s awe and adoration for Jesus, and to increase their worship of Jesus as Savior of the world.

Text: John 1:1-18

The birth of a child is a miracle. Rosanne and I witnessed that miracle with the birth of our own children. And we have witnessed the same with the birth of others. A good year ago, I remember seeing Alaina Terpstra. She was born pre-maturely; she was helpless and fragile, not much bigger than the length of my hand, weighing only a few pounds. Yet, she was beautifully shaped. And by the grace of God and with the care of many, Alaina is growing strong. She, like all newborn babies, I suppose, is a miracle child.

Jesus, too, was a miracle child. But not in the same way as Alaina, or all other newborn babies. For although we say that the birth of a child is a miracle, today we do know the science of conception and birth. We do know that the conception of a child requires the coming together of a man and woman. The seed of the one must unite with the sperm of the other, in order for conception to take place. Such conception is part of the natural order of things -something that God ordained as part of the creation order, when he brought Adam and Eve together as husband and wife. Through sexual intercourse and subsequent conception, God advances the human race from generation to generation. Thus from that point of view, there is nothing miraculous about the birth of a baby. Yet, Jesus’ birth is different. It was a miracle of the highest order—it’s a mystery that defies all logic and all science.

Do you know that North American culture, including North American Christians, consider Christmas and the season of Christmas the most important season of the year? Perhaps you are not surprised that our culture considers Christmas important. After all, commercially speaking, the season of Christmas is a break it or make it season for many merchants and corporations.

But more and more people--Christians and non-believers alike—are treating Christmas as more relevant or culturally important for them than Easter. People place a huge emphasis on the ambiance surrounding Christmas. The bells and whistles, the carols and candles, the presents and parties, the family times and family get-togethers--these are foremost on our minds and calendars. And all of these things tend to obscure the mystery and miracle of Jesus’ birth. Do you ever ponder this Christ child? Do you ever probe his identity, his origin, his uniqueness in our world? Jesus is a miracle child of the highest order.

When I was 18 years old, I worked with a man in his fifties; his name was John. John was always making fun of people of faith. I remember him mocking me for believing in Jesus’ virgin birth. Do you really believe that a virgin gets to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit? “That’s irrational! That’s ludicrous,” he said.

I don’t remember anymore how I responded to John. But today, I would tell him and you that we should not be surprised about God working a miracle in the womb of Jesus. After all, the Bible prepares us for miracle births all the time. Think of the stories of Isaac, of Samson, of John the baptizer. All of these stories prepare us, in some way, for the wondrous miracle birth of Jesus. Miracles and mysteries—these all belong to God’s style, God’s way of dealing with us.

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I like reading mystery stories. There’s joy and satisfaction in “crawling” into a mystery story and then discovering how the mystery gets unraveled, so that it no longer is a mystery. The mystery and miracle birth of Jesus, however, cannot be unraveled to the point that there is no longer a mystery.

Many Christians don’t bother to “crawl” into the mystery story of Jesus’ birth and identity. But that’s a mistake. For God wants us to probe the mystery of Jesus’ origin and birth. We shall never unravel the mystery, but we must learn to probe and ponder the miracle birth of Jesus, for God calls us to do so in his revealed Word, the Scriptures. What God reveals in Scripture is there for a purpose. Therefore, probe and ponder the mystery of Jesus’ birth and ask yourself: Who is this Jesus?

The Scripture taken from the gospel of John tells us that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the Creator of the world, the One and Only, who is equal and of the same essence as God the Father. This is mystery.

Listen: That Jesus is the eternal Son of God is implied in these opening words of the gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” The “Word” is the Son of God. The Word is Jesus, whose existence is from eternity to eternity. He is called in vs. 14 “God the One and Only,” which is a designation that can also be translated as “the Only-Begotten One.” Elsewhere, the apostle John tells us that “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” (I John 4:9). Jesus is the Word; Jesus is the “One and Only,” he is the Son of God. He is not only in relationship with God the Father; he is God, of the same essence or being as God the Father. This is revealed mystery that we ponder and embrace.

The mystery deepens when you listen to the text: “Through him (Jesus, the eternal Son of God) all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Thus when we read in Genesis that God created the world and universe by speaking or by sounding a Word that Word turns out to be the creative activity of God the Son. It is through Jesus, the eternal Son of God that our cosmos came into being. That baby Jesus in Bethlehem’s crib is the Creator of the world. The writer of Hebrews teaches the same thing when he says: “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.” Through Jesus’ creative work, the universe has its origin. This is revealed mystery that we ponder and embrace.

The mystery deepens further when we reflect upon the origin of Jesus. He and the Father are one. One in essence, distinct in person; one in godhead, yet sitting “at the Father’s side” (v. 18). Or as the writer of Hebrews says: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation (ikon) of his (God’s) being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Clearly, this Jesus, born in Bethlehem, is truly divine—uncreated, immeasurable, eternal, almighty. Together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus is God.

But that’s only one side of the coin of Jesus’ identity and miracle birth. The other side reflects Jesus’ humanity. He is fully human. In vs. 14 John tells us that “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

The eternal Son of God, who is invisible, untouchable and immeasurable, has taken on our form, a human nature, so that we could see him, touch him, interact with him, and so that he could enter into relationships with us, even to the point of dying on behalf of us.

When the Spirit of God brought about conception in Mary’s womb, the eternal Son of God took on the nature of Adam. It was not the sin-spoiled nature of Adam after he fell into sin. No, Jesus took on that nature of Adam that was untainted by sin. Our human nature is corrupted by Adam’s sin. We are all born with a sin-nature. But Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb and took on Adam’s nature before Adam fell into sin. Thus Jesus is fully human—but without sin.

Who is this Jesus? He is fully divine and fully human. In his human nature, Jesus is the “second Adam.” Christ assumed all of our humanity except sin, in order to kill the death that lurks in our sinful human nature. This is mystery—revealed in Scripture, for our salvation.

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So here’s what I believe we must do today in response to God’s Word:

1. Uphold the mystery of Jesus’ miracle conception and birth. Jesus’ wondrous identity—that he is, both, fully divine and fully human is part of God’s story. It’s what God has revealed to us. To uphold the mystery means to bow down before God’s wondrous ways. It means to embrace the way of God—even though it goes far beyond our comprehension. Do not close your heart and mind to divine mystery. Uphold it; welcome it. Mystery is God’s style with us.

2. Celebrate the mystery of Jesus’ miracle conception and birth. Speak about it. Ponder it. Don’t let people’s sentimentalism or our culture’s consumerisms bury or obscure the mystery of Christ’s birth. Confess it with vigor. Affirm it with the church of all ages: “I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.” We shall not blush; we shall not be silenced by mockery; we shall declare and celebrate the mystery.

Here’s why: If we ignore, pooh-pooh, or deny Jesus’ miracle birth, we have no Savior from sin. If Jesus is anything less than fully God and fully human, we are still lost in sin; without hope, without eternal life, and without a future.

But if we welcome, embrace and celebrate Jesus’ miracle birth and unique identity as being fully divine and fully human, we will deepen our awe and wonder and admiration for Jesus, and we will increase our worship and service to Jesus as Savior of the world.

I pray to God that each one of us here tonight will do so, now and always.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.