Scripture referenced 13 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
-
Matthew 1:18-24 read aloud as part of the Christmas narrative, covering the angel's message to Joseph and the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: After his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
19 Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly.
20 But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 She shall give birth to a son. You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”
22 Now all this has happened, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel”; which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”
24 Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself;
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Keep this verse
Isaiah 7:14
quoted within the Matthew 1 passage as the prophecy fulfilled by the virgin birth
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Luke 2:1-20
read aloud as part of the Christmas narrative, covering the census, the birth in Bethlehem, and the shepherds
1 Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.
2 This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3 All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;
5 to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant.
6 While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth.
7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.
9 Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.
11 For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.”
13 Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.”
15 When the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough.
17 When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child.
18 All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.
20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Matthew 2:1-11
read aloud as part of the Christmas narrative, covering the Magi, Herod, and the visit to the Christ child
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,
2 “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born.
5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet,
6 ‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come a governor, who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared.
8 He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”
9 They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
11 They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Micah 5:2
quoted by the chief priests to Herod as the prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem
2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Psalm 19
cited to support the idea that creation pours forth speech in every language, connecting to God reaching the Magi
1 The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork.
2 Day after day they pour out speech, and night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4 Their voice has gone out through all the earth, their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which is as a bridegroom coming out of his room, like a strong man rejoicing to run his course.
6 His going out is from the end of the heavens, his circuit to its ends; There is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 Yahweh’s law is perfect, restoring the soul. Yahweh’s testimony is sure, making wise the simple.
8 Yahweh’s precepts are right, rejoicing the heart. Yahweh’s commandment is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever. Yahweh’s ordinances are true, and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the extract of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is your servant warned. In keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors? Forgive me from hidden errors.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I will be upright. I will be blameless and innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, Yahweh, my rock, and my redeemer.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Galatians 4:4-5
used as a big-picture summary of the Christmas message, emphasizing adoption as sons
4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,
5 that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of children.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
2 Corinthians 8:9
cited to show that Christ became poor so that we might become rich
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Philippians 2
referenced to describe Christ humbling himself, taking on flesh, and dying on a cross
1 If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion,
2 make my joy full, by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind;
3 doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;
4 each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
5 Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputes,
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,
16 holding up the word of life; that I may have something to boast in the day of Christ, that I didn’t run in vain nor labor in vain.
17 Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you all.
18 In the same way, you also rejoice, and rejoice with me.
19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered up when I know how you are doing.
20 For I have no one else like-minded, who will truly care about you.
21 For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ.
22 But you know the proof of him, that, as a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News.
23 Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it will go with me.
24 But I trust in the Lord that I myself also will come shortly.
25 But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your apostle and servant of my need;
26 since he longed for you all, and was very troubled, because you had heard that he was sick.
27 For indeed he was sick, nearly to death, but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow on sorrow.
28 I have sent him therefore the more diligently, that, when you see him again, you may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.
29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy, and hold such in honor,
30 because for the work of Christ he came near to death, risking his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 3:16
cited as another example of the same purpose-clause format: God gave his Son so that whoever believes might have everlasting life
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 8:12
quoted as Jesus declaring himself the light of the world and inviting followers out of darkness
12 Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 1:5
quoted to assure that the light of Christ shines in darkness and can never be extinguished
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Matthew 5:14-16
quoted as Jesus calling believers the light of the world and telling them to let their light shine before others
14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden.
15 Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house.
16 Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
A Christmas message preached at First Baptist Jackson on December 25, 2024, worked through the birth narratives from Matthew and Luke alongside a few key New Testament verses to show why God entered the world in the way He did. The thread running through the whole evening was simple: messengers brought a message, and those who received it acted on it. The invitation to do the same was left open to everyone in the room.
What was said
The readings moved through the familiar sequence of Christmas, Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, the shepherds in the fields, and the Magi from the East, but a consistent observation kept surfacing. Every time the word "angel" appears, the preacher noted, it translates the Greek word for messenger. The question the narrative keeps raising is what the person who receives the message does with it. Joseph acted on it immediately. The shepherds, once the heavenly host had gone, said "let's go straight to Bethlehem" and went in a hurry.
The Magi complicated the picture in an interesting way. They were outsiders by any measure, likely astrologers or sorcerers from far away, and yet they followed a star across a great distance to worship a child they had never seen. The preacher set this alongside Psalm 19's claim that creation is pouring forth speech in every language, and pointed out that the great commission was already being illustrated at the moment of Jesus' birth. God was drawing people from the uttermost parts before anyone had been told to go there.
Herod provided the contrast. He gathered the chief priests and scribes, learned from Micah exactly where the Messiah would be born, and sent the Magi to Bethlehem with the stated intention of worshiping the child himself. He had already determined the star's appearance time so he would know the child's age. The preacher did not belabor the point, but the implication was clear: receiving accurate information about Jesus is not the same as acting on it honestly.
The short sermonette at the center of the evening drew on Galatians 4:4-5 as a one-sentence summary of Christmas. "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who are under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." The preacher focused on what he called the "hina" clause in Greek, the "so that" construction that introduces purpose. He traced the same pattern through 2 Corinthians 8, John 3:16, and a C.S. Lewis quote: "The Son of God became a Son of man in order that the sons of men might become the sons of God." In each case, God acted in a specific way for a stated reason, and the reason was to bring people into His family.
The candle lighting that closed the service was framed by two verses from John. John 1:5 says the light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot extinguish it, and John 8:12 records Jesus saying He is the light of the world and that those who follow Him will have the light that leads to life. Blowing out the physical candles was offered as a picture of something that cannot actually happen to the true light of Christ. Jesus calls Himself the light of the world first, the preacher observed, and then in Matthew 5 He turns to His followers and says "you are the light of the world." The light gets passed along, and God gets the credit.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- The preacher pointed out that Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, and the Magi all received a message and acted on it immediately. What do you think made it possible for them to act, and what tends to stop us from doing the same?
- The shepherds were ordinary working people out in a field at night, and the Magi were outsiders from far away. What does it say to you that God chose to announce the birth of Jesus to people like these?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 3,485 words
Share this message
Every word on these came out of the message. Download one and post it anywhere.
