Date: 21/12/97
Speaker: David Meiklejohn
Text:

The Babe and the King

The Innocent Baby

Picture the scene - Bethlehem, bustling with activity, people looking for shelter for the night, crowding into the inns, arguments as people are turned away. Gradually things quieten down; people settle in wherever they've found. Night settles. In a small stable, with the animals gently lowing, baaing or neighing, a miracle happens: a woman gives birth to a son. But this is no ordinary child: this is the son of God. Shepherds up on the hills are startled as the sky is filled with angels singing. They are told to go down to the town, find the child and worship him. They go, and gather round the manger in awe to see the little baby who is the Messiah.

It's a peaceful scene, and one that fits in well with the spirit of Christmas. It's a time of happiness, of goodwill, of peace, a time for families. The baby is non-threatening, innocent, cute, sweet, harmless. But all children grow up. Some turn out good, some bad, but they all change a lot from when they were cute little babies. Did Mary wonder how her son would turn out?

The King of Heaven

Turn to Revelation 1v12-18. What a difference! This is no defenceless wee baby, this is the most powerful person ever. He is immortal, he created the world, his eyes bore right inside you and look directly at your soul. His words are judgement, and that judgement is final. He has always existed and always will.

So what made this person, the son of God, come down to earth and inhabit the body of a man? The one thing which is central to the Christmas story, and central to the whole person of Christ: the cross. The cross wasn't a mistake, or a defeat: it was god's plan. Jesus knew what he was facing when he left heaven and came to this world. Look to Psalm 22 to see a perfect picture of the cross. Read v14-19 and see how close it is.

Jesus came into this world for a purpose: to die on the cross. It was God's plan: man sins, deserves death, God comes to earth as a man, lives a perfect life, dies on the cross to take the punishment for man's sin, rises again, victorious over death, ascends to heaven. Man accepts Christ as his lord and saviour, rejoices in the fact he came to earth to save man. That's what Christmas is about. Don't just rejoice that God came to earth as some sort of goodwill gesture. Rejoice that he came to earth to save you from your sins. You'll notice that there was a stage before you could rejoice, accepting him as lord and saviour. If you've done that you can rejoice: the blood Jesus spilled on the cross has made you clean. If you haven't, you are bound for a lost eternity and Christ's life and death are pointless from your view. Don't let Jesus' death be in vain: take him today.

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