Luke 2,1-20 0523
Christvesper 05
Adam and Eve † 930 years
24. December 2022
1. ℣ Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given:
℟ The government shall be upon His shoulder (Isaiah 9,6).
O Incarnate Jesus, blessed are You who arrived in the Name of Yahweh; shine upon us the Light of Your salvation, so that we joyously praise You as Israel’s Messiah and the Gentiles’ Christ. Amen. (Psalm 118,26a.27a.23 Gradual).
2. »But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.«
3. Tonight we celebrate the greatest gift God the Father has given to this world: His only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ. For Mary, Jesus is a double treasure: He is her Messiah and also her firstborn son. She also treasured and pondered the words spoken by the shepherds which were the words spoken to them by the angel.
4. There are several key points to the words of the angel, particularly:
A. good news
B. city of David
C. Savior
D. Christ
E. Lord
5. The birth of Jesus is good news! His birth is pure gospel, for it is the fulfilling of many prophecies and promises given to Israel back through Abraham back to Adam and Eve. The gospel is to be proclaimed. The angel proclaimed it to the shepherds, the shepherds proclaimed it to Mary and Joseph and this gospel has been proclaimed for over 2000 years.
6. Jesus was born in the city of David, that is, Bethlehem. It was David’s hometown, and therefore Joseph’s hometown as one who descended from David. The Prophet Micah wrote (c. 750-686 bc): »and many nations shall come, and say: „Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths.“ For out of Zion shall go forth the torah, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of Yahweh Sabaoth has spoken. For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of Yahweh our God forever and ever.« The Messiah was to be of the house of David and born in Bethlehem; Jesus fulfills both promises.
7. The Messiah is a savior, yes, the Savior. The word savior appears in 24/39 books of the Old Testament. »I, I am Yahweh, and besides Me there is no savior.« (Isaiah 43,11). »Bless Yahweh, O my soul, … who is your Savior from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,« (Psalm 103,2-4). »Their hearts shall rejoice in Yahweh, for I am their Savior« (Zechariah 10,7d-8b).
8. The Messiah is also called the Christ. מָשִׁ֖יחַ : messiah : the anointed one was translated into Greek as χριστος : anointed one. The Messiah/Christ refers to one that is chosen by God, and when Jesus was born the conventional wisdom among the Jews was that the Messiah/Christ is the one chosen by God who will restore the positive things and the fortune of Israel (Voelz Issues,Etc. „The Confession of Peter“ 21st minute Tu 18. January 2011), but there were a number of differing opinions as to exactly how this would occur. So Jesus spent quite a bit of time in the Gospels detailing what the Messiah/Christ is about, and He centered on His suffering, death and resurrection.
9. Jesus is called Lord. The common Jewish word for lord is אֲדֹנִ֣ : Adonai; it is a title for God. One of the most famous Messianic psalms is the 110th: »Yahweh says to my Adonai: Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool« (Psalm 110,1). The angel proclaims that Jesus is God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel)!
10. God Himself saves His fallen men and women, and He does so by becoming a man, born of a woman, entering the time and space of His creation with a physical human body. Tonight we remember and celebrate His birth, for it is the birth of the King, the Savior, the Christ, God in human flesh. He was born to save us. Hallelujah!
11. He becomes a servant and I a lord;
What glorious exchange!
How could He be more friendly,
The dear little Jesus (Lobt Gott, ihr Christen, alle gleich elkg 334,5 2021 Nicolaus Herman (1550) 1560).
This is most certainly true.
12. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.
13. Let us pray. O God, to whom glory is sung in the highest while on earth peace is proclaimed to men of good will, grant that goodwill to us, Thy servants, cleanse us from all our sins and give perpetual peace to us, and to all people. Amen. (The Nativity of our Lord, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office.)
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
✠
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.
The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.
No comments:
Post a Comment