The Greatest Miracle Ever!

I encourage you to take the time to meditate on the following passages from Matthew and Luke. They are very familiar but should not be taken lightly. Discover for yourself the greatest miracle ever. I hope the following words for each passage help you on your journey of discovery.

• Revelation - the angel Gabriel informed Mary of a most remarkable event

in Luke 1:26-33

• Confusion - Mary wondered how such a thing could happen, Luke 1:34

• Instruction - Gabriel gave her an explanation which she accepted, Luke 1:35-38

• Acceptance - Jesus entered humanity through Mary with Joseph’s approval,

Matthew 1:18-25

• Support - Elizabeth confirmed what Gabriel had proclaimed to Mary, Luke 1:39-45

• Meditation - An angel announced the arrival of Jesus to shepherds, Luke 2:8-21

As you reflected on your reading, I pray you determined that the greatest miracle ever is incarnation. J. I. Packer clearly proclaims, ... the supreme mystery with which the Gospel confronts us ... lies not in the Good Friday message of atonement, nor in the Easter message of resurrection, but in the Christmas message of incarnation. Incarnation may defined as the Creator becoming part of His creation. It is God becoming man. David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, He took humanity into His deity. It is the Son of God taking on the form of man whose name is Jesus.

Consider what that means, God becoming man. Augustine, He was created of a mother whom he created. He was carried by hands that he formed. He cried in the manger in wordless infancy, He the Word, without whom all human eloquence is mute. He was born in a manger but He existed before Abraham. He is God yet was the son of Mary. This amazing truth was affirmed at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, The birth of flesh reveals human nature; birth from a virgin is a proof of divine power...the divinity was concealed by the veil of flesh...For it is from us that he gets a humanity which is less than the Father; it is from the Father that he gets a divinity which is equal to the Father. Jesus Christ is one Person with two natures, human and divine. He has the same nature as the Father in deity and the same nature as mankind in humanity except for sin.

Why is that the greatest miracle? Well, who Jesus is determines what He can do! He died on a cross but He is the resurrection and the life. He was sentenced to death by religious leaders but sits at the right hand of God the Father. He created us by His deity, yet He can fully relate to us through His humanity. He doesn’t need us but He wants us. J. I. Packer, The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity - hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory - because at the Father’s will Jesus Christ became poor, and was born in a stable so that thirty years later He might hang on a cross. A sinless God forgave sins by taking our sins upon Himself. Jesus came to take back what was lost in the Garden of Eden.

There is a lot more to the Nativity scene than just a little baby, mom and dad, shepherds, and farm animals. The incarnation is a road that leads to the cross with the conquest of earth, one heart at a time. As for Mary, it is the same for us: revelation, confusion, instruction, acceptance, affirmation, meditation. Receive His gift of eternal life by faith alone in Him. Obey Him from a heart of thanksgiving for Who He is and what He has done. Love others even as He loves us empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

I pray your meditation has led you to faith in Jesus Christ alone. If you already made that decision, I pray this Christmas will be more special than ever as you meditate on the greatest miracle ever. Take time to reflect on the beautiful meditation expressed by Joseph Bayly, Praise God for Christmas. Praise Him for the incarnation, for the word make flesh. I will not sing of shepherds watching flocks on frosty nights, or of angel choirs. I will not sing of a stable bare in Bethlehem, or lowing oxen, wise men trailing star with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Tonight, I will sing praise to the Father who stood on heaven’s threshold and said farewell to his Son as He stepped across the stars to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. And I will sing praise to the infinite, eternal Son, who became most finite, a baby who would one day be executed for my crime. Praise Him in the heavens, praise Him in the stable, praise Him in my heart.