St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church -- Watertown, WI
Pastor Mark Gartner
Sermon for Advent 3 and Sunday School Children’s Christmas Service – Dec. 17^th, 2006

Dear followers of Jesus our true God. Amen

If I wanted to write a blockbuster book or movie, I think the story line would go something like this. Sometime around 0 B.C, a nice Jewish girl comes to her fiancé with a problem. She is pregnant; he is not the father. The groom-to-be is understandably disturbed. In his world, almost nothing brings more shame on a man and his family than a broken promise of virginity. Her explanation, that the baby was conceived by God, must have sounded impossible, desperate, even insane. On reflection, though, the man, who is profoundly decent—"righteous," as the story goes—decides that he cannot bear to inflict upon the girl the rare (but wholly legal) punishment for such crimes, which is stoning. And so he resolves to handle the matter in his own way. He will "divorce her quietly."

If the story ended there, it would be an ordinary drama about a family in crisis, one familiar in many times and many places. But this story was only beginning. The righteous man, Joseph, goes to sleep and receives a visit from an angel. "Joseph, son of David," the angel says, "do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins." Like all good Jews who had received visits from God or angels before him—Abraham, Moses—Joseph does as he is told. The baby is born in Bethlehem; his human parents name him Jesus.

OK, I know that this story line has already been taken, but I think that many people have missed what this story is all about. Maybe we have failed to see what this story really means ourselves. That is why we are going to spend a few minutes letting the Gospel writer Matthew explain in a little more detail what this story is all about. The heart of this story rests in this short thought which will also be our theme for this morning:

As we look at the coming of Savior into this world, it was a miracle in more ways than one. It was a miracle as we think about a baby being born of a virgin. It was a miracle as we think of Jesus being conceived by the Holy Spirit. It is a miracle that God’s plan to save sinful mankind included sending his one and only Son to live perfectly on this earth and then give his innocent life for the payment of our sins. But for all of this to happen, we needed to have a Savior that was in every way God. This might seem like a small point as we look at the baby born in Bethlehem, but it is so important for us as sinners.

One of the things that many people forget about Jesus is that Matthew and the Gospel writer Luke both give us many details about how the Savior came into this world. Matthew begins in the very first verses of the very first Chapter of his Gospel by telling us a little bit about his background. We hear the genealogy of Joseph and we then trace back the ancestry of Jesus all the way to David and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Matthew also gives the name of the wife of Joseph – who is none other than a virgin named Mary. Mary was also from the line of King David. Amongst all of the Jewish women over the course of many years, God chose Mary to be the woman who would give birth to the Savior of the world.

One of the things that we note when we look at the birth of Jesus is the way that Matthew describes it for us. If we look at the birth of the other forefathers we always see the name of the father. When it comes to the birth of Jesus, we see that he was conceived by the Holy Sprit. Mary was a virgin and Joseph was not the father. In fact we see from the words of our text that Joseph was a little alarmed at the news that his fiancee was pregnant. What a wonderful sight to see the angel coming to explain to Joseph what was happening. This special baby would be the Savior that had been promised for so many years.

Our text for today gives each of us some more good clues as to what we see when we look into that manger. The clues are found in the names that God gives us for his Son. He is first to be called "Christ." Christ meant that he was the special one that was promised. He was anointed or set apart to be the one promised way back in the Garden of Eden. We are also told that he was to be given the name Jesus, which means the one who saves people from their sins. And finally we see the name, Immanuel. We hear the name Immanuel often, especially around the Christmas Season. But what does the word Immanuel mean for us as Christians? Our text begins to give us some clues. The word Immanuel means, "God with us." As we think about this meaning we can see very clearly who the baby is lying in that baby in Bethlehem.

That baby Jesus is more than just another baby born into this world. It is God himself. That baby is more than just another baby with the name Jesus. It was the one and only Son of God. This is very important to us as we think about our sinfulness. God sent his Son to take the punishment for our sins. As God Jesus was able and willing to take this punishment in our place. There is no person who could die to take away his sins or die for the sins of another person. It is impossible. All that we are able to accomplish is to inherit eternal damnation for our sins. All we can accomplish is to daily and willingly disobey God and his ways. All we are able to accomplish on our own is to separate ourselves forever from God’s presence.

Just think of what it means to look into that manger in Bethlehem and see God. Think of the joy and assurance this brings to each and every one of us. We are not capable of saving ourselves, but our Savior-God; Jesus is able to accomplish this perfectly. As God, he was able to live the perfect life that our heavenly Father required. As true God, Jesus was able to battle the devil and carry our sins to the cross perfectly. As true God, he was able to conquer sin and death so that we are guaranteed of an eternal home in heaven.

But how many people look into that manger in Bethlehem and see just a baby? How many people look into that manger and see a man who would one day be a great prophet or a man who would serve as a great example for people to follow? How many people just simply ignore completely who that baby was in the manger? The problem in this world is that too many people celebrate Christmas and miss completely who that baby was. The sad thing about people who think this way is that they have missed the true point about Christmas. The have taken Jesus and lowered him down to our standards so that we can understand him better. It is a whole lot easier for people to relate to a common person so let’s make Jesus just a common person.

As we hear the Christmas story each and every year, it is such a joy to have the chance to hear over and over again how great our Savior truly is. As we look at his name there is no mistaking who he was. Isaiah spoke these same words as a sign to one of the kings of Judah to let them know that Jesus would most certainly come from the line of Judah, even if Judah was overcome by another nation. God is in control and God’s plan of salvation is perfect. The key to his plan is the fact that our great Immanuel came into this world for you and for me. As we hear this name of Jesus we are not mistaken as to what this name means about our Savior. It fills in all the gaps as to what kind of Savior we have. We have the perfect Savior.

I encourage all of us here today to take a very close look at ourselves. As we look at ourselves make sure that we do not overlook any stain or any blemish, and no I am not talking about your outward appearance. I am talking about the stains and blemishes of our sin. I encourage all of us to look at all those stains and blemishes of sin and realize how deep those stains and blemishes run. I encourage all of us to look at these stains and blemish and realize what all these stains and blemishes have done to us. As we do this examination of ourselves, we always need to remember that there is no earthly cure for the blemishes and stains of sin. As we look at these things we call sin ever so closely, the sins of our thoughts, and words and actions, we can see all to clearly that we don’t have anything to offer our God.

It is only after we have looked ever so closely at our own stains and blemishes of sin that we can then go and take a good look into that manger in Bethlehem, and see what God has given as the cure for our sins. And as we all draw near to that manger knowing full well who is in that manger, our God and our Savior, we can draw closer to that manger to find the comfort that only our true God could offer. In that manger we find the salve that cleanses all of the stains and blemishes of sin. In that manger we find the strength and assurance which God has offered to his forgiven children.

Today as we have looked at the name Immanuel, we see this name is very fitting for our Savior. I pray that our Immanuel will be ever so clear this Christmas Season and throughout the year as we remember what our Savior-God has done for us. May we this year draw near to the manger in Bethlehem and look with joy and thanks in our hearts at the Savior of all our sins, who is God’s own Son. Immanuel: what a perfect name to remind us and assure us that our sins are completely forgiven through the life and death of our Immanuel. Amen.