FROM THE CRADLE TO THE CROSS – Pt 2

Luke 2:10-11 “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

As I reflect upon Christmases past, I think of my childhood anticipation of what Santa Claus would leave under the tree. We didn’t have a lot of money but my parents would sacrifice to make sure I had certain things. As a small child there was the little red RADIO FLYER wagon. Later there was the WESTERN FLYER bicycle. When I got old enough, it was the RED RIDER BB GUN. You can see very easily that Christmas for me as a child was all about getting presents. That was not my parents’ fault because they tried to instill in me that God gave His Son so that He would die for our sins on the cross of Calvary. I knew that, but the fleshly nature turned inwardly and it was all about ME.

As young parents my wife and I loved to give presents to our small children. When we began to understand our responsibility as parents, we gave to our children but began to teach them the real meaning of Christmas. For years the tradition of the Buford family was that we always read the account of the birth of Christ from Luke 2 before we ever opened any presents. There are many ways to keep the right perspective before your family.

So why did Jesus come? He was born in Bethlehem’s manger to start a journey that would lead to the cruel cross of Calvary. In last week’s “Challenging Concepts” we noticed THE MIND OF SOVEREIGNTY as God had a plan of redemption in place long before man needed a Savior. Then we noticed THE MANGER OF SUBMISSION as Jesus was willing to submit His will to that of the Father. Today we’re going to follow Jesus further in this journey to the cross.

3. Thirdly I want you to notice THE MINISTRY OF THE SAVIOR

When you observe the life of the Lord Jesus Christ you realize that everything He did pointed to Who He was and the mission He had come to fulfill. In the book of John Jesus performed one miracle after another to prove that He was the Master.

A. When Jesus turned the water into wine it proved that He was the Master over CIRCUMSTANCES.

B. When Jesus healed the son of the Nobleman it proved that He was the Master over DISTANCE.

C. When Jesus healed the lame man it proved that He was the Master over DISEASE.

D. When Jesus feed the 5,000 it proved that He was Master over the MASSES.

E. When Jesus stilled the raging sea it proved that He was Master over NATURE.

F. When Jesus healed the blind man it proved that He was Master over SIGHT.

G. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead it proved that He was Master over LIFE AND DEATH.

Through all of His life here on this earth the Lord Jesus Christ proved Who He was. And Who was He? He was none other than God Himself. He was God in the flesh; God incarnate. Notice what Jesus said Himself in John 10:38 “But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.”

4. Fourthly notice THE MAJESTIC SACRIFICE

The average person likes to think of Christmas as a little-bitty sweet looking baby in a neatly built manger. But we need to remember that baby was born to make a journey which would take 33 ½ years and would end up outside the city of Jerusalem. There Jesus would be falsely accused, sentenced to be nailed to a cruel cross in between two guilty thieves. He would have already been stripped naked, beaten and His beard plucked out, Blood would be running down His side from a spear that had been thrust in His side. Blood also would be flowing down His brow from a crown of thorns that had been jarred upon His head. You could see torn flesh from His hands and feet as a result of the cross dropping into a prepared hole in the earth.

This is an ugly picture but it’s all part of the plan of God. Someone had to die for our sins. Somebody had to shed their blood that we might have redemption. And Jesus was willing to be that One. That babe of Bethlehem was willing to journey from the cradle to the cross that we might have eternal life.

Notice how it is written in I Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

Jesus shed His blood that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Praise God for the magnificent sacrifice that Jesus made for us. We read in Hebrews 9:12 “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”

5. Fifthly notice THE MESSAGE OF SALVATION

This was the message of the angels. Look again at our text, “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

He came to bring salvation to the World. In fact, there is no other way for people to get saved. Jesus Himself said in John 14:6 “. . . I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

We also read in John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

The world thinks there are many roads that lead to heaven. We may be traveling different roads but they all lead to the same place. I’m sorry for their misconception but there is only one way to heaven and that’s through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what Christmas is all about. Jesus was born in a manger over 2,000 years ago and started His journey to the cross. The mission was to die for the sins of the world. On this Christmas let’s make sure our families understand that what happened in Bethlehem was that Jesus started a journey FROM THE CRADLE TO THE CROSS.

Have a very merry Christmas!

That’s my view; how about you?