Christmas Eve
Luke 2:19
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
December 24, 2024
“But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”
The Virgin Mary is a great example to us of sincere faith. So, we should follow her example in treasuring the message of Christmas and pondering it in our hearts. Scripture gives us too many treasures to fully ponder tonight. So, I pray that you continue to ponder this Gospel your whole life. Yet, let us consider just a few things from this Christmas account.
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be registered. Six hundred years before Caesar Augustus gave this decree, the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. He saw a great image with a golden head, shoulders and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and legs of iron, but the feet were a mix of iron and clay. He then saw a rock cut out without human hands. This rock struck the image at its feet and the entire image collapsed into dust and was blown away by the wind. The rock then became a huge mountain.
Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar his dream and its interpretation. The head of gold was Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian empire. The shoulders and arms of bronze was the Persian empire, led by Cyrus the Great, which would conquer Babylon. The belly and thighs of bronze were the Greek empire, which conquered Persia by the military genius of Alexander the Great. Finally, the legs of iron were the Roman Empire, the most impressive of the ancient world, which conquered the Greek speaking world. Yet, it would become divided, as history shows, and weakened as clay mixed with iron.
During this last empire, God would set up a kingdom which shall not be destroyed but shall stand forever. This is the rock, which destroyed the image and became a great mountain. That rock is Christ, who was born under the reign of Caesar Augustus. At the time of his birth, the Roman Empire seemed indestructible. Yet, from Christ, the rock cut without human hands, that is, born of a virgin, whose kingdom is not established by men, an indestructible kingdom arises. Christ’s kingdom is the Holy Christian Church, a mountain which grows out of the crumbling Roman Empire to spread across the whole world.
This means that the great histories of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome were all orchestrated by God’s will for the purpose of establishing the kingdom of His Son Jesus Christ. Cyrus reestablished the Jews in Judea and the temple in Jerusalem. Alexander spread the Greek language around the world, so that the New Testament could be written in a language understood by the masses. Caesar established peace and the rule needed to send Joseph to Bethlehem, so that Christ could fulfill the prophecy. We look at history from a human perspective. We think of the economy, immigration, taxes, and wars. God thinks about the expansion of the kingdom of Christ and the salvation of souls. All things work out together for good for Christ’s Church.
Joseph went to Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David. God promised David that He would anoint one of his sons to build Him a house and to have an everlasting kingdom (2 Samuel 7). The prophet Micah prophesied that this Christ would be born in Bethlehem. “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. ... And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD.” (Micah 5:2, 4) Christ’s birth in Bethlehem proves true the words of the prophet. It proves Christ’s lineage from David, who also was born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem means house of bread. Christ Jesus is the Bread of Life, who gives eternal life to all who eat Him (John 6:35).
Jesus was Mary’s firstborn son. Indeed, Mary was still a virgin when Christ was born. God has a history of causing baren women to bear children. Yet, there is no bareness like a virgin womb, because without the seed of a man, she cannot conceive. Yet, the child to be born to Mary, as the Angel Gabriel told her, was conceived by the Holy Spirit and so would be called holy, the Son of God (Luke 1:35). This means that this Rock cut without human hands was born without original sin. He is a pure human like Adam formed from the virgin ground. Yet, He is also God most high.
In Exodus 3, the Angel of the LORD, who is the LORD spoke to Moses out of a burning bush. The bush was aflame, but the fire did not consume the leaves and wood of the bush. And so, God, who is a consuming fire (Deut. 4:24), joins Himself to human flesh, yet does not consume it. The incarnation of God in the flesh of Christ is a mystery beyond all comprehension. It is a greater mystery than Christ’s body and blood being present in the bread and wine in Communion. Yet, Scripture clearly teaches this, and we believe it for our salvation.
Mary lay this holy child in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily, in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes, because there was no room in the inn. Jesus was born in poverty. It is as St. Paul later wrote, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9). And so, as Christ was not ashamed to be poor for our sake, we should not be ashamed of any poverty, knowing that Christ has won for us riches in heaven, which we cannot comprehend.
Mary’s quiet night was interrupted by shepherds, who saw a vision of angels. While one might expect God to send angels to announce the birth of His royal Son to kings, emperors, or the high priest in the temple, it is fitting that He sent these heavenly creatures to shepherds. God took David from shepherding the flocks to shepherd His people, Israel (Psalm 78:70-71; 2 Samuel 7:8). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were shepherds. Moses was tending flocks when the Lord met him in the burning bush. And God repeatedly declared through the prophets that He Himself would be the shepherd of His people (Psalm 23; Ezekiel 34). The child born in Bethlehem is the Good Shepherd, the joy of all shepherds.
The shepherds told Mary and Joseph the sermon the angel preached to them. “Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” A Savior. This is how the angel convinced Joseph not to divorce Mary when she became pregnant without him. “Do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She shall bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Jesus’ name means the LORD saves. The Lord repeatedly spoke to His people in the Old Testament, “I am the Lord your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” (Isaiah 49:26) But what type of Savior is He? The angel told Joseph. He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, do not believe the lie you have been led to believe throughout this year. And you have believed it. Your own heart testifies against you, and the way you have conducted your life bears witness against you. This lie is that your biggest problem is not your sin; that your greatest effort in life should not be repentance; that money, health, travel, sports, social life, your career, whatever you fill your mind and time with, are more pressing than the problem of your sin. The truth is that sin is your greatest problem. It’s why you’re sick and dying. It threatens you and your children with eternal hell. And it has corrupted your nature so thoroughly that unless you are attached to Christ Jesus as a branch is to a vine, you can do nothing but sin and go to hell (John 15:5-6). This is the type of Savior who is born in Bethlehem. A Savior from your sin. A Savior who rescues you from guilt and condemnation, from death and hell. And He has come to save your children as well. He is born in our human flesh, so that He might suffer the punishment of our sin in human flesh and forever credit the weight of God against our debt.
And so, we like the shepherds should go and see what the Lord has made known to us. The angel gave the shepherds signs, swaddling clothes and a manger. Now, Jesus is no longer wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Yet, the Lord has still given us signs to mark, where we may find our Savior Jesus. Instead of swaddling clothes, our Lord is wrapped in His Word and Sacraments. He has promised that He will set free whoever abides in His Word (John 8:31), and that wherever two or three are gathered in His name, there is He among them (Matthew 18:20). Scripture teaches that those baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27). And Jesus gives us His very body and blood to eat and drink in the Sacrament. As the King of kings was wrapped in humble swaddling clothes, so our Lord appears to us in these humble means. As the Shepherds did not despise the swaddling clothes and smell of oxen and donkeys, so we ought not despise the hoarse voice of the preacher and the simple bread and wine.
Mary lay Jesus in a manger. The manger represents the Christian Church, where Jesus promises ever to be with His bride. These are the irrefutable signs God has given us to find our Savior, who was born to us.
“Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” The angels sang this Christmas hymn on earth, where their Lord was born. And so, we sing this song of the angels every Sunday when we receive Christ in the Sacrament. Formerly, the angels blocked the way to paradise with flaming swords after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden. Now, they celebrate as they hold the gates open to us to meet our God on earth. Our first parents fell, because they wanted to be like God. Now our God has become like us, so that we may become like Him in righteousness and holiness forever.
Soon the Christmas decorations will be put away. The world will tell you to focus on some other passing thing. But God has given you something to treasure in your hearts and ponder beyond tonight and into eternity. God sent His Son to save you. This salvation is received by the heart through faith. So, let us exercise our heart in pondering this message of salvation until we attain that salvation in heaven. Merry Christmas. Amen.
Luke 2:19
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
December 24, 2024
“But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”
The Virgin Mary is a great example to us of sincere faith. So, we should follow her example in treasuring the message of Christmas and pondering it in our hearts. Scripture gives us too many treasures to fully ponder tonight. So, I pray that you continue to ponder this Gospel your whole life. Yet, let us consider just a few things from this Christmas account.
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be registered. Six hundred years before Caesar Augustus gave this decree, the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. He saw a great image with a golden head, shoulders and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and legs of iron, but the feet were a mix of iron and clay. He then saw a rock cut out without human hands. This rock struck the image at its feet and the entire image collapsed into dust and was blown away by the wind. The rock then became a huge mountain.
Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar his dream and its interpretation. The head of gold was Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian empire. The shoulders and arms of bronze was the Persian empire, led by Cyrus the Great, which would conquer Babylon. The belly and thighs of bronze were the Greek empire, which conquered Persia by the military genius of Alexander the Great. Finally, the legs of iron were the Roman Empire, the most impressive of the ancient world, which conquered the Greek speaking world. Yet, it would become divided, as history shows, and weakened as clay mixed with iron.
During this last empire, God would set up a kingdom which shall not be destroyed but shall stand forever. This is the rock, which destroyed the image and became a great mountain. That rock is Christ, who was born under the reign of Caesar Augustus. At the time of his birth, the Roman Empire seemed indestructible. Yet, from Christ, the rock cut without human hands, that is, born of a virgin, whose kingdom is not established by men, an indestructible kingdom arises. Christ’s kingdom is the Holy Christian Church, a mountain which grows out of the crumbling Roman Empire to spread across the whole world.
This means that the great histories of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome were all orchestrated by God’s will for the purpose of establishing the kingdom of His Son Jesus Christ. Cyrus reestablished the Jews in Judea and the temple in Jerusalem. Alexander spread the Greek language around the world, so that the New Testament could be written in a language understood by the masses. Caesar established peace and the rule needed to send Joseph to Bethlehem, so that Christ could fulfill the prophecy. We look at history from a human perspective. We think of the economy, immigration, taxes, and wars. God thinks about the expansion of the kingdom of Christ and the salvation of souls. All things work out together for good for Christ’s Church.
Joseph went to Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David. God promised David that He would anoint one of his sons to build Him a house and to have an everlasting kingdom (2 Samuel 7). The prophet Micah prophesied that this Christ would be born in Bethlehem. “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. ... And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD.” (Micah 5:2, 4) Christ’s birth in Bethlehem proves true the words of the prophet. It proves Christ’s lineage from David, who also was born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem means house of bread. Christ Jesus is the Bread of Life, who gives eternal life to all who eat Him (John 6:35).
Jesus was Mary’s firstborn son. Indeed, Mary was still a virgin when Christ was born. God has a history of causing baren women to bear children. Yet, there is no bareness like a virgin womb, because without the seed of a man, she cannot conceive. Yet, the child to be born to Mary, as the Angel Gabriel told her, was conceived by the Holy Spirit and so would be called holy, the Son of God (Luke 1:35). This means that this Rock cut without human hands was born without original sin. He is a pure human like Adam formed from the virgin ground. Yet, He is also God most high.
In Exodus 3, the Angel of the LORD, who is the LORD spoke to Moses out of a burning bush. The bush was aflame, but the fire did not consume the leaves and wood of the bush. And so, God, who is a consuming fire (Deut. 4:24), joins Himself to human flesh, yet does not consume it. The incarnation of God in the flesh of Christ is a mystery beyond all comprehension. It is a greater mystery than Christ’s body and blood being present in the bread and wine in Communion. Yet, Scripture clearly teaches this, and we believe it for our salvation.
Mary lay this holy child in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily, in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes, because there was no room in the inn. Jesus was born in poverty. It is as St. Paul later wrote, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9). And so, as Christ was not ashamed to be poor for our sake, we should not be ashamed of any poverty, knowing that Christ has won for us riches in heaven, which we cannot comprehend.
Mary’s quiet night was interrupted by shepherds, who saw a vision of angels. While one might expect God to send angels to announce the birth of His royal Son to kings, emperors, or the high priest in the temple, it is fitting that He sent these heavenly creatures to shepherds. God took David from shepherding the flocks to shepherd His people, Israel (Psalm 78:70-71; 2 Samuel 7:8). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were shepherds. Moses was tending flocks when the Lord met him in the burning bush. And God repeatedly declared through the prophets that He Himself would be the shepherd of His people (Psalm 23; Ezekiel 34). The child born in Bethlehem is the Good Shepherd, the joy of all shepherds.
The shepherds told Mary and Joseph the sermon the angel preached to them. “Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” A Savior. This is how the angel convinced Joseph not to divorce Mary when she became pregnant without him. “Do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She shall bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Jesus’ name means the LORD saves. The Lord repeatedly spoke to His people in the Old Testament, “I am the Lord your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” (Isaiah 49:26) But what type of Savior is He? The angel told Joseph. He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, do not believe the lie you have been led to believe throughout this year. And you have believed it. Your own heart testifies against you, and the way you have conducted your life bears witness against you. This lie is that your biggest problem is not your sin; that your greatest effort in life should not be repentance; that money, health, travel, sports, social life, your career, whatever you fill your mind and time with, are more pressing than the problem of your sin. The truth is that sin is your greatest problem. It’s why you’re sick and dying. It threatens you and your children with eternal hell. And it has corrupted your nature so thoroughly that unless you are attached to Christ Jesus as a branch is to a vine, you can do nothing but sin and go to hell (John 15:5-6). This is the type of Savior who is born in Bethlehem. A Savior from your sin. A Savior who rescues you from guilt and condemnation, from death and hell. And He has come to save your children as well. He is born in our human flesh, so that He might suffer the punishment of our sin in human flesh and forever credit the weight of God against our debt.
And so, we like the shepherds should go and see what the Lord has made known to us. The angel gave the shepherds signs, swaddling clothes and a manger. Now, Jesus is no longer wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Yet, the Lord has still given us signs to mark, where we may find our Savior Jesus. Instead of swaddling clothes, our Lord is wrapped in His Word and Sacraments. He has promised that He will set free whoever abides in His Word (John 8:31), and that wherever two or three are gathered in His name, there is He among them (Matthew 18:20). Scripture teaches that those baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27). And Jesus gives us His very body and blood to eat and drink in the Sacrament. As the King of kings was wrapped in humble swaddling clothes, so our Lord appears to us in these humble means. As the Shepherds did not despise the swaddling clothes and smell of oxen and donkeys, so we ought not despise the hoarse voice of the preacher and the simple bread and wine.
Mary lay Jesus in a manger. The manger represents the Christian Church, where Jesus promises ever to be with His bride. These are the irrefutable signs God has given us to find our Savior, who was born to us.
“Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” The angels sang this Christmas hymn on earth, where their Lord was born. And so, we sing this song of the angels every Sunday when we receive Christ in the Sacrament. Formerly, the angels blocked the way to paradise with flaming swords after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden. Now, they celebrate as they hold the gates open to us to meet our God on earth. Our first parents fell, because they wanted to be like God. Now our God has become like us, so that we may become like Him in righteousness and holiness forever.
Soon the Christmas decorations will be put away. The world will tell you to focus on some other passing thing. But God has given you something to treasure in your hearts and ponder beyond tonight and into eternity. God sent His Son to save you. This salvation is received by the heart through faith. So, let us exercise our heart in pondering this message of salvation until we attain that salvation in heaven. Merry Christmas. Amen.
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