Sermon: St. Luke 2:1-14 (Historic Gospel)
12-24-25, Christmas Eve, Hope-Leander TX
(Hymns: 175:1-3, 139, 126:1.3, 1271.2.5, 145:1-2, 143:1.3.8.9, 137:1.4, 148:1-4.6.8, 140, 125)
BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY FOR YOU
Sermon Text, St. Luke 2:6-7. And so it was that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Lord, this is Your Word, and these are Your words. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is truth. Amen.
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ:
Luke doesn’t say that much about the actual birth of Jesus. “She brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger.” It’s so simple and spare. No details of how hard Mary’s labor and delivery were, Jesus, crying, none of that. This is strange, since Luke was a doctor and would know all this. It’s as if he closes the curtain.
But he does give other details. He says: “There was no room for them in the inn.” This says they were lacking all human kindness, unless you count the innkeeper letting them share the space. Everyone else turned them away.
With “laid Him in a manger” Luke is telling us that Jesus had to be born where they kept animals. In saying He is Mary’s “first-born Son” he’s telling us that she’s a young, first-time mother, who normally would have had her mother or a midwife helping her, but she and Joseph are on their own.
At this point you wouldn’t know that this is a special baby. Except for what we heard in Luke 1: that the angel Gabriel came “to a virgin” who was betrothed to a descendant of David, and the angel told her she would conceive in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit, and her child would be “called the Son of God” and would have a kingdom with “no end.”
Now this birth looks different, doesn’t it? These words from the Bible are why we say in the creed: “I believe in Jesus Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary.”
We see the one who “is born an Infant small, and in a manger – poor and lone – lies in a humble stall.” But it’s because “He leaves His heav’nly Father’s throne.” He’s true Man since He was born of Mary. He received His humanity from her. But He’s conceived by the Holy Spirit – by God, who is holy – so He’s true God. He isn’t born with a sinful nature. He is fully God and fully Man.
This makes Jesus your Savior. Only if His mother is a virgin, does He remain true God and also true Man. That’s how God set it up. If you have a Jesus who isn’t conceived and born of a virgin, you don’t have the real Jesus.
Sadly there are many people who don’t. The percentage of people in America who don’t believe Jesus is born of a virgin has gone up from 25 percent a decade ago, to 43 percent today. For many, they don’t think this miracle of the virgin birth is possible. It offends their intelligence.
But there are many who just claim to have no religion. They think God can’t help them, or that trust in God goes against intelligence. Today we have a new development: people entrust their activities more to human-initiated, artificial intelligence than entrusting themselves to God. People trust to themselves. They live without God. We too can be guilty of this “practical atheism” – that you agree Jesus is true God and true Man, you know the true God, but you live without relying on Him. You rely on self. This is having only an “intellectual” faith – it’s information you know but you don’t use it.
This often leads to looking to ourselves to fix our fallen world. People look to manmade solutions for making it perfect – which leads to trusting the way of law and force and rules – instead of the way of the Gospel, that of patiently trusting God, living by faith. It’s dangerous to live without God. And if you don’t have the real Jesus – the virgin-born, you don’t have the true God.
This takes us back to the first of the Scripture lessons tonight, from Genesis 3: after the Fall into sin, God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, out of paradise. Its entrance was guarded by an angel and a flaming sword, so that they could not get back in by their own doing.
We still try to force our way, to make ourselves pleasing to God by what we do. But as Mason recited the Ten Commandments tonight, we see what they chiefly do is to “show us our sin and how much we need a Savior.”
The Good News – the Gospel – is that God doesn’t make you force open the door to heaven by your own works. “Today He opens heav’n again/ And gives us His own Son. … Today He opens WIDE the door of paradise today; the angel guards the gate no more. To God our thanks we pay.” (ELH #148 v. 1, 8)
This is what God was doing when “there was no room for them.” This is what He was doing when Mary “wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger.” He was opening wide the door of paradise – for you.
But how? How can heaven be open to you if you have sins? How does His birth take away your sins? What does He do with your failures to trust Him? What does He do with all your idolatries and going it alone? What does He do with your bitterness, your pessimism, your judging, your lack of humility? What does He do with “the words we have spoken, the deeds we have wrought, our errors and failings we deeply abhor?” (ELH #575 v. 3) What does He do with the part you’ve played in sabotaging your life and hurting others? What about how others have hurt you, how can His birth heal it, make you whole?
It’s because of a truth we call “the blessed exchange.” You see this holy child Jesus. He is born without sin. He’s holy and pure. That’s what we lack, and it’s what we need in order to enter heaven, in order to be righteous before God and acceptable to Him. So in Jesus’ birth–in, with, and under the things you see in His birth – God actually places all the sin of the world onto Him, so He’ll fully pay for all the sin of everyone, you too. And in exchange, this Child’s innocence is given to you, so that you’re without sin before God despite what you’ve done. The Christ Child becomes sin, and makes you to be totally without sin. You receive this benefit and blessing by faith. By faith in this Child, you have no sin and can go right in through heaven’s open door. It’s open to you. This is a great exchange, a beautiful, blessed exchange.
This is why we love the virgin birth. The best part is that it’s true. See what a blessed exchange you are the recipient of, by His grace. Be comforted! Be at peace! Let this be your identity, this blessed exchange that is yours.
He serves that I a lord may be;
A great exchange indeed!
Could Jesus’ love do more for me
To help me in my need,
To help me in my need? (ELH #148 v. 7)