Sermon
for Christmas Eve, December 24, 2025
“Do
not be afraid. For behold, I bring you
good news of great joy, which will be for all people: … in the town of David, a
Savior was born for you. He is Christ
the Lord.” Amen.
John 1:1-14 In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. 2He was with God in the
beginning. 3Through him
everything was made, and without him not one thing was made that has been
made. 4In
him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. 5The light is shining in the
darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6There was a man, sent from God,
whose name was John. 7He came
as an eyewitness to testify about the light so that everyone would believe
through him. 8He was not the
light, but he came to testify about the light.
9The real light that shines on everyone was coming into the
world. 10He was in the world,
and the world was made through him, yet the world did not recognize him. 11He came to what was his own, yet
his own people did not accept him. 12But
to all who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right
to become children of God. 13They
were born, not of blood, or of the desire of the flesh, or of a husband’s will,
but born of God. 14The Word
became flesh and dwelled among us. We
have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father,
full of grace and truth. (EHV)
The Word, Creator and Savior, hid in
human form.
Dear
fellow redeemed,
No greater news has ever been
proclaimed than what that angel announced to the shepherds that long ago
night. It is Good News that pastors,
today’s messengers from God, get to announce on a regular basis, not just on
Christmas Eve but many times throughout the year. Christ the Lord, the Son of God, entered into
our world into our fellow human flesh to do for us what we could never do, to
rescue us from the dragon that started all this trouble way back in the Garden
of Eden when he tempted Adam and Eve to sin.
This
year, we are reviewing the catechism which summarizes the basics of Christian
faith. Tonight, we review briefly, The First Commandment: You shall
have no other gods. What
does this mean? “We should fear,
love, and trust in God above all things.”
Why do we examine this command on Christmas Eve? Because that Baby in the manger was and is
true God, just as God’s prophet, Jeremiah, proclaimed so many centuries ago, “The
Lord is the true God. He is the living
God, the eternal King.” (Jeremiah 10:10)
Consider the ramifications of that news.
God, who encompasses heaven and earth put Himself into Mary’s egg and became
the One and Only true God-Man. How can
that possibly be, that God would confine Himself in a tiny Baby? That is part of the mystery of our Triune
God. There are things about God that our
minds simply cannot fathom. We can
neither imagine nor comprehend the full extent of God’s power or His love and
desire to save us from the devil’s control.
Yet, God doesn’t demand that we understand every aspect of His being,
just that we trust Him.
Sometimes, people think of God as too small or weak, as if He were unable
to do the things the Bible declares He has done and still does. Other times, people think of God being too
far away, as if He doesn’t notice us, either seeing our sins, nor answering our
problems or needs. To these doubts God
answers, “Am I a God who is only nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God
far away? Can anyone hide in secret
places so that I cannot see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” declares the
Lord. (Jeremiah 23:23-24)
Tonight, we consider the love God has shown for you and me. The All-powerful Son of God humbled Himself
to take on human flesh to live among people very much like us. People who had their frailties and faults,
who often lived in poverty, who got sick, injured, had physical frailties and
birth defects, and above all else sinned just as we do. God’s Son wasn’t born in a palace and
luxury. Instead, He became the Child of
poor peasants and was almost immediately a refugee in a foreign land. The head of the local state wanted Jesus
killed before He could grow to be a Man.
Yet, that wasn’t the real danger for God’s Son. The real danger Jesus faced was with the
powers of darkness, because if the devil managed to get Jesus to sin, at any
moment in His years of living as a Man, everything would be lost and there
would be no god except the evil beings who rebelled against our Creator.
Jesus understood the task before Him.
In fact, He relished the opportunity to go head-to-head with Satan to
rescue mankind from that deceiver’s lies.
John reported:
In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him everything was made, and without him not one thing was made
that has been made. In him was life, and
the life was the light of mankind. The
light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
St. Paul later wrote, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of
this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
(Ephesians 6:12) We only get to enter
the fight because Jesus has already crushed the deceiver’s head.
So, why a baby, why does God enter the fight against evil in the form of
a child? In answer, God’s Son came to
live a complete life of perfect obedience in our place. From conception to death, Man had to live
without any sin or in any way desire something other than God’s holy will. Therefore, Jesus had to start at the very beginning
of our lives and fight the fight all the way through to the portal of death.
But, there is also a secret involved.
The devil is certainly crafty, but he was perhaps overconfident in his
rebellious attitude, so God set a trap for the devil. God’s Son hid Himself in the form of a little
Baby. We like to think them innocent,
but the devil knows that babies are born in sin, and the sooner he can lead
them astray the easier his wicked schemes become. Even so, the devil bides his time for
convenient moments. We read about a few
of those in the Gospels when Jesus was in the desert for forty days and nights
fasting and alone.
Yet, the ultimate test was what would happen when death came stalking
that perfect human? What would Jesus
endure when the devil could throw all his accusations for the sins of the world
against Jesus? Would that God-Man crack
under all those false accusations. The
One holy Son of God and Child of Mary bearing the sins and guilt of the whole
world. Sins so great that you and I
would be ashamed to admit them are all laid on Jesus. The sins of the most wicked and cruel of the
world’s despots, criminals, thieves, rapists, abusers, slanderers—all that
guilt—all of your guilt, and mine, laid upon that Babe in the manger. Jesus had to carry that burden from the
moment of conception until He was ready to enter the tomb. That’s why The Word, Creator and Savior,
hid in human form.
So,
how would you feel if you were ever falsely accused of a crime? How do you feel when someone takes advantage
of your generosity? How do you feel when
someone slanders you, stabs you in the back, or betrays you? How would you feel if your friends and
relatives lied about you, mocked you, or betrayed you to murderous authorities
for a small reward? Yet, the truth is,
we are just as guilty as any of those people who walked with Jesus two thousand
years ago. So, Jesus hid Himself in our
flesh, to suffer the worst indignities, in order to save us from the dragon who
wants only to consume your soul. Satan
wants to control you. He wants to steal
you away from God. Today, defeated, the
devil is still trying to lure you away from the love Jesus displayed for you as
He entered our world as a tiny Baby and walked toward the cross of shame in our
place.
I
said Jesus was setting a trap for the devil.
He used Himself as the bait. The
Bible declares that “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) Because Jesus was bearing all of our sins,
the devil saw Him as one of us, and Jesus is, except that He Himself was and
always will be without sin. Therefore,
when Jesus gave up His life on the cross bearing all our guilt and shame, death
could swallow Him whole, just like a predator fish could swallow down a
minnow. But death couldn’t hold
Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God and the
Child of Mary. Both true God and true
Man, Jesus lived for us full obedience and holiness, and as the same true
God-Man, Jesus blew the devil’s death-jaws wide open as He rose from the grave
triumphant on Easter morning.
Back
when Adam and Eve first sinned, God promised the devil, “He will crush your
head, and you will crush his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) The devil certainly caused Jesus to suffer
great pain, but Jesus won the war, so the devil’s future is eternity in the depths
of hell. Thus, the darkness of death is
now blown open to be a portal for us to enter the everlasting life and Light of
Jesus. With Jesus for us, we too will be
resurrected on the final day to dwell forever in the glory and peace of heaven.
That
little Babe in the manger is great news for us.
Before He went to the cross, Jesus told His disciples, “Do not let
your heart be troubled. Believe in God;
believe also in me.” (John 14:1)
Tonight, we remember John’s report of Jesus’ life:
He came to what was his own, yet his own
people did not accept him. But to all
who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God. They were born,
not of blood, or of the desire of the flesh, or of a husband’s will, but born
of God. The Word became flesh and
dwelled among us. We have seen his glory,
the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This
is our reality and our future. By the
work of the Holy Spirit in Word and Baptism, we have been brought to faith in
Jesus Christ. Through that God-given
faith we have been forgiven all our sins, and to those who believe God has
credited the righteousness of His Son, Jesus, and in His righteousness the
Eternal Father has adopted us to live eternally as His own beloved children. By the power of the Word made flesh, we have
been rescued from darkness to live in the eternal Light of His Son. That is the glory the angels promised the
shepherds that long ago night. It is our
story too.
“In
him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. The light is shining in the darkness, and the
darkness has not overcome it.” The
devil and the world tried to defeat God’s Son, but Jesus could not be
overcome. He is our Savior and Redeemer,
our Light and our Life, our King and our God.
Praise be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit for bringing
us forgiveness and life everlasting through Jesus. For us, The Word, Creator and Savior, hid
in human form. Amen.
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