Christmas Eve: Jesus Was Born to Save Us (Matthew 1:21; John 12:44-47)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends in Poland, OH on Dec. 24, 2025

I have a few lights with me, why?

How many of us like darkness? I am a runner, that is not a secret. I have run at almost all hours. The only hours I have not been on the road are between 1:00 am and 3:30 am. I have been out at 3:45 am. I have been out until close to 1:00 am running. It is neat to be out running as the sun rises. I start out running, needing light to light my path. However, eventually I realize I can see. I don’t need my light.

Jesus came to save us. Jesus also came as the light of the world.

This Christmas season, we have been focusing on why Jesus came to us. Why did God become a man?

Jesus came to do the Father’s will (John 6:38-40).

Jesus came to give us fullness of life (John 10:10).

Jesus came to bear witness to the truth (John 18:37-38).

Jesus came to save us.

Matthew 1:21

“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

John 12:44–47 (NASB95)

44     And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me.

45     “He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.

46     “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.

47     “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

Jesus was born to save us.

1. Believing in Jesus means believing in God, the Father.
   1. In the previous two verses (John 12:42-43), John writes that many, even of the rulers, believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees, they were not confessing Him. They loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
   2. This is happening during Jesus’s passion week.
   3. Now, He speaks in John 12:44.
   4. Believing in Jesus means believing in He Who sent Jesus.
   5. Who sent Jesus?
   6. Gal. 4:4 shares that God, the Father, sent the Son.
   7. In John 12:45, Jesus says that when we see Jesus we see the One Who sent Him. That is God, the Father (John 14:9, Jesus says he who has seen Me, has seen the Father). Col. 1:15 and Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God.
   8. This is the mystery of the Trinity.
2. Jesus came as Light in the world so that we would not remain in darkness.
   1. In John 12:46, Jesus says that He has come as Light into the world.
   2. This is a common theme in John’s gospel (John 1:4; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5).
   3. Just think of it, Jesus opens our eyes to the truth about reality and Jesus saves us.
   4. Jesus gives us eternal life and fullness of life.
   5. This takes us out of darkness and into the light.
   6. It is like trying to understand something and then when one understands it we exclaim, “I see…”
3. Jesus came to save the world.
   1. In John 12:47, Jesus says that when one hears His sayings and does not keep them, He does not judge them, for He did not come to judge the world but save the world.
   2. There is a judgment; this is about Jesus’s first coming. When He returns, He will come as the judge (John 5:22, 27-30; Matt. 25:31-32).
   3. Jesus says He came to bring salvation.
   4. Why did Jesus come?
   5. He came to save us.
4. Do you know Him? Do you know the light of the world, or are you in darkness?
   1. Have you come to a point in your life where you have accepted Jesus into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins? Jesus didn’t come to earth just to live with us; He came to instruct us and to die in our place.
   2. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The Bible says that the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). The Bible says that Jesus is the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except by Him (John 14:6). The Bible teaches that sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). The Bible says that God will not let the guilty go unpunished (2 Thess 1:8-9). Yet, the Bible teaches that God loves the people of the world (John 3:16). That is a dilemma. God can’t tell a lie, or He wouldn’t be God (Numbers 23:19). God doesn’t change His mind (1 Sam 15:29). That is why God sent Jesus. The guilty must go punished. Jesus took our punishment on the cross. The penalty of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life.
   3. One of the most exciting things that you can do while celebrating Jesus’s birthday is to make it your spiritual birthday as well. You can accept Jesus’s free gift of salvation right now.

1. God created us to be with him (Gen. 1-2).
2. Our sin separated us from God (Gen. 3).
3. Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen. 4-Mal. 4).
4. Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again (Matt. – Luke).
5. Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life (John – Jude).
6. Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever (Rev. 22:5).

Prayer

^[1] John F. Hart, “John,” in The Moody Bible Commentary, ed. Michael A. Rydelnik and Michael Vanlaningham (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2014), 1644.

^[2] R. C. Sproul, John, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary (Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2009), 237.

Advent: Jesus Became Like Us to Save Us (Hebrews 2:14-18)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, December 21, 2025

Why did Jesus come?

Timothy Keller writes:

Hamlet was wrong. Where am I going next with that? Because Hamlet said, “… death, the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns, puzzles the will and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all …” But he’s wrong. Someone has come back from death.

When I see Jesus Christ raised, when I see Jesus Christ having destroyed the power of death, when I see Jesus Christ having opened a cleft in the pitiless walls of the world, blown a hole through the back of death, and bids me come through, and says, “Believe in me, follow me, and I’ll take you through it,” I’m not a coward anymore. You don’t realize the degree to which you are enslaved to the fear of death until the faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ comes into your life and begins to release you from it.^[1]

My theme today is:

Jesus became like us to save us.

1. By His death, Jesus broke the power of satan (Hebrews 2:14-15).
   1. Hebrews 2:14–15 (ESV) ¹⁴ Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
   2. Through death, Jesus was able to destroy the devil.
   3. Piper:
   4. This, I think, is my favorite Advent text because I don’t know any other that expresses so clearly the connection between the beginning and the end of Jesus’s earthly life — between the incarnation and crucifixion. These two verses make clear why Jesus came; namely, to die.[2]
   5. We are flesh and blood, so Jesus took on flesh.
   6. Jesus did this for us. It is all about God, and the reason He did this is all about us.
   7. Jesus is not helping the angels, but us (verses 15-16). We have a fear of death, or we should. Jesus is here to conquer that fear.
   8. We were subject to lifelong slavery to sin. Jesus conquered that.
2. Having once suffered, Jesus is now able to sympathize with those suffering (Hebrews 2:16-18).
   1. Hebrews 2:16–18 (ESV)
   2. ¹⁶ For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
   3. In verse 16, the writer shares that Jesus did not die for the angels.
   4. No, He came for the offspring of Abraham.
   5. In Hebrews 1, the writer was sharing how Jesus is greater than the angels. So, now He writes that Jesus did not die for the angels.
   6. The offspring of Abraham would be us. Hebrews was a letter written to Jewish believers, but Romans and Galatians teach that Gentiles are grafted in (Romans 11:11-24; Galatians 3-4).
   7. Hebrews 2:17 continues the idea begun in verse 14 that Jesus had to be a human to be our high priest and to be a sacrifice for our sins.
   8. He is our merciful and faithful High Priest.
   9. He makes propitiation for our sins. This means that He appeases God’s wrath on our sin. His death appeases the wrath of God.
   10. This term means that He bore God’s wrath and curse that rested on “the people” who sinned (Rom. 3:25, 26).^[3]
   11. Hebrews 2:18 (ESV)
   12. ¹⁸ For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
   13. As C.S. Lewis says, our great Captain has opened a cleft in the pitiless walls of the world and bids us come through.^[4]
   14. John Piper writes:
   15. The Son of God, who existed before the incarnation as the eternal Word (John 1:1), took on flesh and blood, and clothed his deity with humanity. He became fully man and remained fully God.
   16. that through death . . .
   17. The reason Christ became human was to die. As preincarnate God, he could not die for sinners. But united to flesh and blood, he could. His aim was to die. Therefore, he had to be born human, mortal.
   18. In dying, Christ defanged the devil. How? By covering all our sin (Hebrews 10:12). This means that Satan has no legitimate grounds to accuse us before God. “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies” (Romans 8:33). On what grounds does he justify? Through the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 9:14; Romans 5:9).
   19. Satan’s ultimate weapon against us is our own sin. If the death of Jesus takes it away, the chief weapon the devil has is taken out of his hand. In that sense, he is rendered powerless.
   20. So, we are free from the fear of death. God has justified us. There is only future grace in front of us. Satan cannot overturn that decree. And God means for our ultimate safety to have an immediate effect on our lives. He means for the happy ending to take away the slavery and fear of the present.[5]

Timothy Keller brings this to life:

I knew a guy years ago in my former church who was an x-ray technician. He worked in a hospital, and he put people up on the table. I went in to see him because he was in the hospital himself because I think, if I remember correctly, he had a kidney stone. When I spoke to him, he was in the hospital. He was in a lot of pain, and he had just been put on the table by one of his x-ray technician colleagues.

He had just come back to his room, and I said, “How’s it going?” He said to me, “When I get out of here I am going to have a radically different bedside manner.” I said, “Why?” He said, “Well, I really never knew what it was like to be on the table myself. I will never be impatient with a client again. I will never treat them like a cipher. I will never treat them like cattle, because I know what it’s like. I will never unnecessarily be brusque with them, because I’ve been on the table myself. I’ve been changed. I’ve been on the table. Therefore, I will never treat people on the table the same way.”

Jesus Christ, we’re told, was really human. He suffered. Here’s someone who knows everything we know. Have you been betrayed this year? So has he. Have you been isolated or lonely this year? So has he. Have you been broke this year? So has he. Have you faced death this year? So has he. He has faced pain and rejection and homelessness and misunderstanding and isolation and grief and loss.

We’re told in the Bible in Hebrews 5:7, when he was on earth, what does it say? “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” Not a little tear in the eye, but loud cries and tears. God not only came as a human being, but he refused to come as a human being with nerves of steel, somebody who was always crying, weeping over Jerusalem, weeping over his dead friend Lazarus, and sweating blood over his own doom.

What does this mean? It means if you have in your mind intellectually Jesus is fully human, but functionally you really think of him the way the Sunday school books used to picture him, tan, always beautifully tan, glowing, sort of porcelain-looking, his white clothes glistening, and always sort of hovering about six feet above the grass. He has been on the table, and he will never treat anybody else on the table in a way that’s inappropriate.^[6]

^[1] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[2] Devotional excerpted from “Born to Die for Freedom”

Desiring God. Org; accessed on Nov. 10, 2025

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/why-jesus-came?utm_campaign=Daily%20Email&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=80359528&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sEIZCPQrqeQ0_q29aMS6UHrKG655aaCzSsFb8m72uIksVzgwWUyuYREO3O-faz23RKVPSdWOZGJj4253X-MsJuYP7bw&_hsmi=80359528

^[3] R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 2200.

^[4] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[5] Devotional excerpted from Future Grace, pages 354–356; accessed on 11.10.2025 published on Desiring God August 2.

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/afraid-of-death-no-more?utm_campaign=Daily%20Email&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=92284673&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8_S2yKbJ7gHzlpvHMgCDC497DXRcW2ltwXYv2JVex7bo-KtioMpTkpzGlNM2-x0pIXooabJ1MkJTIudrRnCR50NvowOw&utm_content=92284673&utm_source=hs_email

^[6] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

Advent: Jesus Came to Bear Witness to the Truth (John 18:37-38)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, December 14, 2025

In this Christmas series, we have been talking about why Jesus came to us.

When I was a child, Christmas was a big deal. I was so excited. It was exciting to come down the stairs and see presents under the tree. I did not grow up in the church, but I do know that Christmas was about Jesus. At the same time, Santa was a big part of our Christmas celebrations.

Who was St. Nicholas? A “Breakpoint” commentary shares the following:

Today, December 6, is the anniversary of the death of St. Nicholas in 343, a leader in the ancient Church in the city of Myra in Asia Minor, or modern-day Turkey. If you’ve ever heard of the Dutch tradition of children leaving their shoes out in hopes of finding goodies left in them, like gold-foil-covered chocolate coins, it’s based on a story that St. Nicholas gave three young women the funds to pay for their dowries. According to another story, likely a legend, St. Nick punched Arius at the Council of Nicaea for his heresy. 

Aside from his reputation for legendary generosity, what we know about St. Nicholas is that he was imprisoned and possibly tortured for being a Christian by the Emperor Diocletian, before being released from prison by the Emperor Constantine. That’s enough to make him a hero, and to honor him by hanging stockings in his honor. … Just remember that the True Gift of Advent is the Christ he was unwilling to forsake.[1] 

We talk and sing about Santa Claus coming to town, but why did Jesus come to us?

My theme today is: Jesus said that He came to testify to the truth.

1. We are going to look at John 18:37, but what is the context?
   1. This passage is during the trials of Jesus.
   2. In John 18:12, Jesus was arrested.
   3. In John 18:19 and the following verses, Jesus is questioned by the High Priest.
   4. Starting in John 18:28, Jesus is taken from Caiaphas’s house to Pilate.
   5. Jesus is before Pilate from John 18:28-40.
   6. Starting in John 19:1, Jesus is flogged and mocked. Pilate says that he found no guilt in Jesus (John 19:6). The crowd wanted Jesus crucified, and Pilate was afraid of the crowd. Pilate delivered Him over to be crucified (John 19:16).
2. Pilate questions Jesus about kingship (John 18:33-36).
   1. John 18:33–38 (ESV) ³³ So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” ³⁴ Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” ³⁵ Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” ³⁶ Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” ³⁷ Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” ³⁸ Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
   2. After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.
   3. In John 18:33, Pilate enters his headquarters “again.” Why does it say “again”?
   4. This is because in the previous few verses, Pilate told the Jewish people to judge Him themselves.
   5. Pilate is going in and out of his headquarters. He is speaking with the Jews and then with Jesus.
   6. In John 18:33, Pilate asks Jesus “Are You the King of the Jews?”
   7. Jesus answers with a question.
   8. “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?”
   9. Pilate answers:
   10. “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?”
   11. Notice that Pilate admits that he is not Jewish.
   12. Pilate seems amazed that Jesus’s own people handed Him over to Pilate.
   13. Pilate was likely used to certain uprisings, but in this case, the Jewish people handed Jesus over to Pilate.
   14. Pilate wants to know what Jesus has done.
   15. Verse 36 is critical:
   16. ³⁶ Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
   17. Jesus is saying that His Kingdom is not of this world. Pilate said that His own people handed Him over, but Jesus said, “No, they are not from My Kingdom.”
   18. If His Kingdom were of this world, His servants would be fighting so that He would not be delivered over to the Jews.
   19. Remember, just earlier, Peter cut off the ear of a servant of the High Priest when they came to arrest Jesus.
   20. Jesus restored the ear (John 18:10-11; Luke 22:51).
   21. Sproul shares:
   22. He did not say that His dominion and authority did not include this world or that His realm was a transcendent spiritual Neverland. This was the same Jesus who affirmed, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). He told Pilate: “My kingdom is not like your kingdom. My kingdom is not built on violence, on blood, on war. That’s the way the kingdoms of this world function. My kingdom is not a world-like kingdom.” In other words, Jesus said that He did not plan to establish a kingdom by force. He had no intention of leading a rebellion against the Romans, no matter what the Jews might say.^[2]
   23. In the next verse, Pilate asks Jesus if He is a King.
3. Jesus says why He came (John 18:37-38).
   1. John 18:37-38: ³⁷ Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” ³⁸ Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
   2. Jesus does not respond to the Kingship, but to why he came.
   3. Notice that Jesus says:
   4. For this purpose, He was born;
   5. And for this purpose, He came into the world;
   6. To bear witness to the truth.
   7. He was born and came into the world to bear witness to the truth.
   8. Interestingly, Jesus says He was born, but that was not His beginning.
   9. Jesus says that He came into the world.
   10. That was His incarnation.
   11. As John Piper writes:
   12. The uniqueness of his birth is that he did not originate at his birth. He existed before he was born in a manger. The personhood, the character, the personality of Jesus of Nazareth existed before the man Jesus of Nazareth was born.
   13. The theological word to describe this mystery is not creation, but incarnation. The person, not the body, but the essential personhood of Jesus existed before he was born as man. His birth was not a coming into being of a new person, but a coming into the world of an infinitely old person.[3]
   14. Micah 5:2 (ESV) But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
   15. Further, from Piper: The mystery of the birth of Jesus is not merely that he was born of a virgin. That miracle was intended by God to witness to an even greater one; namely, that the child born at Christmas was a person who existed “from of old, from ancient days.”[4]
   16. He came to bear witness to the truth.
   17. Jesus did not say that He came to testify to “my” truth. No, He came to testify to “the” truth.
   18. New American Commentary:
   19. The theme of truth is a foundational idea in John. For Jesus and for John truth is not merely some intellectual concept of correct facticity. It also involves life-oriented integrity. Accordingly, we misunderstand Johannine truth if we merely speak of the truth about Jesus or doctrinal formulations about Jesus. Jesus is himself truth as he states: “I am the way, the truth and the life” (14:6). Jesus was not proposing to give the disciples a map or “triptik” to heaven or a theological description about himself. Jesus gave them himself. There is no doubt that truth is related to ideas and matters of facticity, but Jesus’ mission was to bring people to himself and to God and in the process thereby bring them to integrity of life. It is clearly possible to be academically right and theologically correct but still lack integrity in life.
   20. Jesus’ mission was to integrate truth into life. That is the reason the text here defines people who are of truth as those who hear the voice of Jesus. Hearing or obeying Jesus is not the same as affirming correct ideas. The Pharisees and legalists in Jesus’ day were very precise in their theological formulations, but God was remote for them. Moreover, they schemed his crucifixion in their correctness because they missed hearing the voice of God. That can still happen today. What Jesus did in this story was confront Pilate with himself and with the genuine nature of truth.^[5]
   21. Pilate asks, “What is truth?” That is what people ask today.
   22. Keller: Pilate says at the very end, “I am Rome, I have power, and I could crush you like a bug [John 19:10].” Do you know what Jesus says? There is a George Herbert poem in which the words of the Christian or Christ go like this …Spare not, do thy worst. I shall be one day better than before;
   23. Thou so much worse, that thou shalt be no more.
   24. Here’s what Jesus is saying. “You don’t realize this is all part of the plan. If you abuse power, you’re just going to bring your own house down. Go ahead. Try to destroy me. All you’ll do is put me on a cross and make me the Savior of the world. All you will do is put me up there as an emblem and a sign and a token and a power in the lives of people who eventually are going to turn your entire Roman world upside down. By you abusing your power, you are helping me show the world what power is for: giving, serving, giving away. Come on.”^[6]

Prayer

[1] “The Story of S. Nicholas.” Breakpoint article on Dec. 6, 2022. Accessed on Oct. 27, 2025

https://breakpoint.org/saint-nicholas-a-christian-hero/

^[2] R. C. Sproul, John, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary (Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2009), 352.

[3] Piper, John. The Birth of the Ancient of Days. Advent|Day 21. Accessed on Oct. 27, 2025

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-birth-of-the-ancient-of-days?utm_campaign=Daily%20Email&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=80303787&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9WEOIi2rYuV6UDnfnl0O72kQMpoTFnHsDxDrIwwgvnPvNER9sSX6DhFqLBz_hSE1G2KxQ8FzJ43G8PmbCrw2ZELfPCHA&_hsmi=80303787

[4] Ibid.

^[5] Gerald L. Borchert, John 12–21, vol. 25B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002), 243.

^[6] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

Advent: Christmas program/sermonette: Jesus became Like Us to Give Us Fullness of Life (John 10:10)

Prepared and preached by Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends on Sunday, December 7, 2025

In AD 1190, King Richard the Lionhearted of England was sailing back from the Crusades when bad weather forced him to land in the unfriendly territory of Austria. King Richard and his men decided to travel by land back to England. But they couldn’t just travel as a king’s caravan. So they disguised themselves as the Knights Templar so they could sneak their way back, posing as religious pilgrims.

But their disguise wasn’t enough to protect them. While passing through Vienna, King Richard was identified and taken captive—all because he insisted on eating roasted chicken for dinner and wearing his fancy rings (some disguise). So he was put in chains and forced to live as a slave.

The Duke of Austria wanted to send England back their king, but he wanted some money for his troubles. So he set what was—and still is, today—the most expensive ransom of a person in history: $3.3 billion in today’s money. And England paid it.

[One person writes]:

The first time I read that story, my first thought was, “Would I ever be worth that high a price to someone?” I’m certain the United States wouldn’t think so. My family might wish to pay that, but they wouldn’t be able to.

Yet God paid infinitely more than that for every one of us.

When we came to Jesus, we weren’t particularly strategic to him—not like King Richard. It makes sense to pay through the nose to get your king back. But you and I weren’t kings to God. Before he chose us, we were his enemies. If you think dropping billions of dollars for your king is wild, imagine doing that for your enemy!

But that’s precisely what God did. Though we were far less valuable to him, and far more antagonistic toward him, God paid the fullness of our ransom price without a second thought. The price was much higher than billions of dollars: It was the cost of his own life. We are redeemed, Peter said, with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish and without spot.

Why would he do it? So that he could transform his enemies into his sons and daughters. Because it may be impressive to pay a huge ransom for your hero. But it’s truly glorious to pay a ransom to redeem those who rebelled against you. God redeemed us—paid our ransom—because it brings him glory upon glory.

And like King Richard, we aren’t just redeemed to be set free. We’re redeemed for a purpose. The people of England wanted Richard back so that he could be their king again. They had a job for him to do; they were willing to pay the big redemption price so he could get back to it. So it is with us in God’s kingdom: We aren’t only saved from sin, but for good works. God pays the huge redemption price so we can get on to the tasks he has for us.

God brought us back to himself, not only with an incalculable price, but for an eternal purpose. We were bought to belong to him, to reflect his glory, to bring his light to the nations, and to be his instrument of blessing.

That’s the purpose behind your redemption—the biggest ransom ever paid.[1]

Every year we celebrate Christmas, but what are we really celebrating? Are we celebrating Christmas?

What is the purpose of Christmas?

Theme:

Jesus came, fully God and fully man, in order to die for our sins and give us life abundantly (John 10:10).

Application:

My application is that you repent and surrender to Jesus. Keep Christ the center of Christmas. 

Let’s read Luke 2:1-7:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

1. Christmas is about God becoming a human being to save us from our sins.
   1. The Bible can be summed up with the acronym that spells GOSPEL.
   2. God created us to be with him (Genesis 1-2).
   3. Our sin separated us from God (Genesis 3).
      1. But don’t think of God as this megalomaniac wanting to inflict punishment on us.
      2. Think of it this way.
      3. Imagine you go to the roof of the empire state building and walk off the building, what happens?
      4. You fall and hit the ground, but why?
      5. Gravity.
      6. Gravity is part of the created order.
      7. There is no reason to be angry at gravity.
      8. There is no reason to cast blame. Gravity did not want to hurt you. It is part of the created order.
      9. Think of the wrath of God like gravity. God is holy and when we sin it is like violating the law of gravity. There is an automatic response. The response is separation from God. Hell is separation from God. But like gravity, God also does not want to hurt you. Back to the acronym.
   4. Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4).
   5. Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again (Matthew – Luke).
   6. Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life (John – Jude).
   7. Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever (Revelation 22:5).
      1. Do you know that when you trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, you don’t only receive eternal life, but also abundant life?
      2. You are reconnected with God.
   8. John 10:10: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
2. So, in a nutshell Christmas is all about Jesus’ birth. God became a human being so that He could die for our sins. God brought events involving kings, common people, and shepherds in order to bring His Son into the world. Jesus lived among us for 33 years and then died in our place. He died for our sins. Do you believe that? I want to ask you a personal question: have you come to a point in your life where you have accepted Jesus into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins? Jesus didn’t come to earth just to live with us; He came to instruct us and to die in our place.
   1. Whether you are part of the church or not, my question for you is: Do you know Jesus as Lord and Savior, and are you committed to him?
   2. The Bible uses four verbs to describe the Christian life, they are: Believe, confess, commit and trust. Let me explain:

1. The Bible teaches that we must believe in Jesus. We must believe that He is who the Bible says He is. The Bible teaches that He was born of a virgin; He lived a sinless life and died on the cross for our sins and He rose triumphantly over the grave (John 3:16; 14:6; 1 Cor. 15; 2 Cor. 5:17 and 21).
2. The Bible teaches that we must confess that we are in need of forgiveness. This means that we must confess that we are a sinner in need of a Savior. In other words, we have done wrong things and we need forgiven (Romans 3:23; 6:23 10:9-10). We tell God this.
3. The Bible teaches that we must commit to Jesus as Lord and Savior. This means we are not simply fans of Jesus, but instead we are followers of Jesus. Fans stay on the sidelines, but Jesus calls us to be on the field with Him. Jesus told them to count the cost before committing to Him (Luke 14:27-33).
4. The Bible teaches that we must trust The belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior is not a casual belief, but a firm trust (1 Timothy 1:15; John 3:16).

Firmly make the decision to be with Him in order to become like Him and to learn and do all that He says and then arrange your affairs around Him. 

This year, don’t miss Christmas. Make Christmas your spiritual birthday.

Pray to receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord.

Pray

[1] Greear, J. D. June 24, 2024. Accessed on October, 20,2 025

https://jdgreear.com/the-biggest-ransom-in-history/