As we celebrate Christmas, we of course focus on the Christ-child of Christmas. But a majority of the time, the focus is only on the baby Jesus, we lose sight of the fact that God came to earth in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. The incarnation is what Christmas is all about, the very fact that God became a man. In the incarnation, God took on flesh and came to the very people and world He created.

 

 

1. A Virgin Conceived – If Mary was telling the truth, her baby had no human father. Mary was told by the Angel Gabriel that she would give birth to the Son of God. If Mary was lying, the night of Jesus’ birth was not holy. If Jesus’ life was the same as any other life, Mary’s claim of a virgin birth would be the easiest of all stories to dismiss.

 

2. An Old Testament prophet predicted a God-Man – In the 7th century B.C., the prophet Isaiah made predictions about a servant of the Lord who would rule the earth in the last days. He described a day in which all of the earth would be at peace all the nations would go up to Jerusalem to worship God(Isaiah 2:1-4).

 

– Read Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23

 

3. Angels announced the birth – In a shepherd’s field outside of Bethlehem, a group of witnesses formed a bridge between Isaiah and Mary. According to New Testament records, terrified Jewish shepherds were visited by an angel who announced the birth of Israel’s long- awaited Messiah(Luke 2:8-14).

 

4. A Sign appeared in the sky – According to the New Testament, a light in the sky gave additional credibility to Mary. A group of Magi or wise men from the east followed a star to the Jewish town of Bethlehem. What they found was the child they believed to be the long-awaited Jewish Messiah(Matthew 2:1-6). Matthew 2:6 is reference to what Micah 5:2 prophesied. For hundreds of years, Old Testament prophets had been speaking of a “star” and a “scepter” that would come out of Israel(Numbers 24:17).

 

5. The Time was right – Many believe that the Magi who worshipped Jesus after His birth came from the region of Babylon. If so, they could have had access to the prophecy of Daniel. Daniel had a vision that allows for the calculation of the arrival of the Messiah.

 

According to Daniel’s vision, from the command to rebuild the temple, 445B.C., 69 “sevens” would be followed by the arrival and death of the Messiah(Daniel 7:13-14; 9:24-27).

 

In the New Testament, Galatians 4:4 says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”

 

6. Jesus claimed to be equal with God – Some have suggested that Jesus never claimed for Himself what His followers claimed for Him. Yet He caused a lot of commotion by His repeated claim to be one with God. The Apostle John, quoted Jesus saying, “Before Abraham was, I Am”(John 8:58). In Exodus 3:14, the name “I Am” was used by God to identify Himself to Moses. John also quoted Jesus as saying, “I and My Father are One”(John 10:30). Also in John 14:7, Jesus said, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

 

– To love or hate Jesus is to love or hate His Father in heaven.

-To receive or reject Jesus is to receive or reject His Father in heaven.

 

7. His friends worshipped Him – When Thomas saw the resurrected Christ, he declared, “My  – Lord and My God(John 20:28).

 

-Read John 1:1 and 2 Peter 1:1

 

8. Jesus’ enemies accused Him of blasphemy – Jesus’ friends believed that He was more than a man, but His enemies did not. The religious leaders of Israel were outraged to think that the same man who accused them of being hypocritical, blind leaders of the blind, would also claim to forgive sins, would speak of God as Father, and would even say that He was one with God.

 

– Read John 10:33

 

9. Jesus’ miracles supported His claims – Jesus’ miracles in the New Testament were more than miracles, they were signs.

 

– Read John 20:30-31

 

10. His departure was greater than His arrival – Many people down through history have claimed to be gods. Yet only one came who was God and was willing to die for the sins of others. Only one has risen from the dead to prove He is the Son of God. According to the New Testament, after Jesus voluntarily gave His life on an executioner’s cross, He was buried, and rose on the third day. After which, He appeared to His closest disciples and more than 500 other followers for a period of 40 days(1 Corinthians 15:3-8). The eyewitnesses were so convinced of His resurrection that they were willing to suffer and die for their claims. His disciples said that He showed them His nailed-scarred hands and feet, walked and talked with them, and even ate with them. While they met with Him on the Mount of Olives, He gave them His last words and ascended into the clouds, with a departure more spectacular than His arrival. Jesus left us with a better understanding of the announcement of the Angel who said, “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”(Luke 2:11).

 

With these 10 reasons God became a man, we all should without any doubt or reservation or apology proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is our God and Savior. Our God became a man and was born the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. The God who took on flesh, to be our Immanuel, God with us! Jesus is the Reason for the season!