SERMON TITLE: The Greatest to be Born
TEXT: Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:1-7 (NLT)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 12-24-22
Watch the sermon here.
Take notes here.
Merry Christmas! As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this Christmas weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or are joining us at our North Main Campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
We’re wrapping up our Christmas series today. And — if you’re a guest with us — during this Christmas season — we’ve been seeing how Jesus is greater. “Greater than what,” you may be wondering — which is a great question to ask. We started by seeing how Jesus is greater than angels. Then we discovered how Jesus is greater than Moses. Next we observed how Jesus is greater than Joshua — not me — but the Joshua of the Old Testament — the man Moses handed off leadership to as the people of God entered the Promised Land — the Joshua who may you know because of a battle that happened at the city of Jericho where the walls came tumbling down. Then — last week — our founding pastor — Pastor Ben Borsay — showed us how Jesus is the great High Priest.
So — now that we’re all caught up — let’s turn to our passage for this Christmas Eve. If you have your Bible please turn with me to Hebrews chapter 2 — we’ll be looking at verses 14-18. We're in Hebrews chapter 2 — beginning in verse 14 — where we find that Jesus is the greatest to be born.
“Because God’s children are human beings — made of flesh and blood — the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. 16 We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.” (Hebrews 2:14-18 NLT)
Every Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Even if you’re not a religious person — you intuitively know there’s something more to the Christmas holiday than trees and stockings — gifts and Santa. You see nativity scenes — Mary and Joseph, with a few animals, and usually some shepherds — all surrounding a baby lying in a manger. Or you’ve seen the Charlie Brown Christmas special and have heard Linus quote the Christmas story straight from the gospel of Luke — the same gospel we heard from earlier.
Now — my hope for all of us — Christian or not — is that we’ll all leave here with hope and joy because this holiday — and that intuition we all have — that this holiday is about something bigger than the stuff we tend to focus on — my hope is that we’ll all leave here with hope and joy as we see that Christmas is about celebrating the greatest to be born. And — I realize that Hebrews chapter two isn’t an obvious go to Christmas passage — but it’s a passage that helps us understand why Jesus was born as a baby on that first Christmas morning. The Luke passage — that you heard earlier — is the account of Jesus’ birth — but it doesn’t explain why Jesus had to be born — it just tells us that he was born. But our passage in Hebrews tells us why Jesus was born.
So let’s explore why Jesus was born and why he’s the greatest ever to be born.
Let’s return to our verses. We’re in Hebrews chapter 2 — verse 14.
“Because God’s children are human beings — made of flesh and blood — the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. 16 We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.” (Hebrews 2:14-18 NLT)
Why was Jesus born? He was born to be our substitute, our sacrifice, and our Savior — this is what we find in our verses. Jesus was born to be our substitute, our sacrifice, and our Savior.
Jesus was born to be our substitute. In the beginning God created everything and — regarding his creation — God said, “It’s very good.” And in the Garden of God’s creation was a man and a woman. Perfect. Whole. Innocent. Sinless.
But — on one fateful day — the man and the woman chose to disobey God’s Word — rebelling against him — as they fell for the lie and temptation of the Serpent. Their decision to rebel and disobey resulted in death and destruction and brokenness and humanity’s innocence being lost — innocence being replaced with sinfulness.
And this is true for all of humanity. David — a man who knew both the faithfulness, grace, and kindness of God in his life — also knew the depths of his own sin and depravity. And David writes in Scripture, “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. 2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. 3 For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. 4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. 5 For I was born a sinner — yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:1-5 NLT)
David says that he’s a sinner both because of things he’s done and because he was born a sinner — a sinner from the moment of conception. “Well, maybe that’s true for David, but not for me.”
Well the apostle Paul writes, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23 NLT)
These aren’t subjective statements — these are objective truths that you know to be true regardless if you consider yourself Christian or not — here’s why I say this. You read the news or see all about the destruction of sin in our world on social media. Another shooting. Another sexual assault. Another war. Another scandal. Another child in the foster system because of neglect or abuse. Another drunk driver taking the life of others. And so on.
“But I haven’t done any of those things!” Maybe you haven’t, but be wary of the sins you’ve justified as acceptable and be wary of the sins that society has approved of. Like lying. Stealing. Abortion. Racism. Pornography. Greed. Sexual sins and so forth.
All of us have sinned and all of us are sinners — from those still in the womb to those with the fewest breaths left to inhale. And I know that this is offensively shocking to our ears because we all think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. But no parent had to teach their infant to be selfish — “that’s mine!” — or to be defiant — “no!” — did you parents — did you have to teach your two year old to be selfish or defiant? Why not? Because rebellion and sinning are natural to us — even the youngest of us — because it’s part of our nature — passed down to us from the rebellion of Adam and Eve in the Garden.
Thus — Jesus was born — in human flesh and blood — to be like us in every way — yet he was — and is — without sin. Though born of Mary — Jesus’ birth was no natural pregnancy. For he was conceived by the Holy Spirit — thus breaking the lineage of sin traced back to Adam. Thus Jesus was born in human flesh and blood — like us in every way — yet without sin — in order to be a sinless holy sacrifice for our sins.
You see, Jesus substituted himself — in our place — as he sacrificed his perfect holy life for our sin stained lives. God’s glorious standard — which we’ve all failed to live up to — is perfect obedience to him. Trusting that God’s way and commands are best for us — believing that he loves us and is worthy of all our unwavering commitment and loyalty. Yet we’ve failed to meet this standard — all of us — yet Christ did not fail. He lived every day trusting in his Father’s guidance and plan. He lived every day fulfilling his Father’s will — not once rebelling or disobeying — even when it cost him his life.
And his sacrifice — his living in our place and dying for our sins — is the means by which we’re cleansed from our sins — made holy — washed as white as snow without spot or blemish due to our rebellion. And this is all an undeserved gift — Christmas is the gift giving holiday after all. Scripture speaks of this wonderful truth this way. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT)
That a sacrifice is needed — for us to be made right with God — is something else we all instinctively understand. It’s why we sacrifice to make a name for ourselves. It’s why we sacrifice and work hard and judge and compare ourselves with each other — living under the burden of “Have I done enough to be better and more acceptable than others?” Or — as many have done — rejecting the comparison trap by creating a new set of rules — a new standard — that we always pass with flying colors. But it’s a standard that’s no longer God’s glorious standard — it’s a standard — that eternally speaking — doesn’t matter at all. But the glorious news of the gospel — the reason we’re reminded to have hope and joy each Christmas — is that Christ was born to fulfill God’s standard on your behalf — which means that — in doing so — he’s made the way of salvation possible.
And this is the final reason why Jesus was born — he was born to be a Savior. A rescuer. One who breaks the power of the devil — that ancient Serpent — and the power of death itself. This is why God’s people are to cry out in prayerful praise, “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57 NLT)
And — as Savior — Jesus was born to set captives free from the enslavement to Satan, sin, death, and Hell. He was born to lead us on his path of escape and — when we’re tempted to go back to our old ways — he lovingly draws us back to his path of salvation. And we have confidence that he is able to do all of this because he said, ““The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, 19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”” (Luke 4:18-19 NLT)
Why is Jesus the greatest to be born? Because he came to substitute himself as a sacrifice for the sins of all who believe in him — he was born to be the Savior of his people — rescuing them from their captivity to sin and death — he came to set his people free and to give them the gift of being made right with God.
I’m not sure what you came here believing about Jesus. My hope is that this Christmas you’ll consider whether or not he’s the greatest to be born. Really consider and ponder what you instinctively know to be true — that there’s something terribly wrong with the world — even wrong with you. And that a rescue is exactly what this world needs — and is what you need.
And that you would consider how — the One who came to be your Rescuer — to be your Savior — was born on that first Christmas morning in the town of Bethlehem. Jesus is his name — and he’s the greatest to be born. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your plan of rescue and salvation for your people. Your eternal plan of sending your Son to be born to be our substitute, sacrifice, and Savior.
Holy Spirit, open the hearts, minds, and eyes of all who hear my voice. Help them to consider what they instinctively know to be true about themselves and the world — that something is terribly wrong — and that what we all need is to be rescued.
And — Jesus — reveal to them that this is why you were born and why you’re the greatest to be born. For you are our Rescuer — you are the only Savior — and you are the hope for all of mankind. May many receive the gift you’re offering to them this Christmas — to be their Rescuer — to be their Savior — to be their hope and joy. We pray all of this in your holy name. Amen.
May you go this Christmas Eve — celebrating with joy and hope because Jesus is the greatest to be born. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent. And MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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