The essence of the Christmas story comes down to what the angel said to Joseph when he found out that Mary was pregnant. The angel said to him,

Matthew 1:20-21
"Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

The Christmas story is about a miraculous baby who will come on a mission. The mission is one of salvation. Jesus will come to "save his people from their sins." This is what we sing about! This is why we rejoice!

Consider what we sang this evening:

Come, thou long expected Jesus:

Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.

O Little Town of Bethlehem:

O holy Child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray;
cast out our sin and enter in;
be born in us today.

The First Noel:

Then let us all with one accord
sing praises to our heavenly Lord,
that hath made heaven and earth of nought,
and with his blood our life hath bought.

O Holy Night:

O holy night! the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth.

Christmas songs are filled with the hope of redemption! That's what fills our Christmas with joy, because this child born in a manger in Bethlehem has come to save us from our sins. Think about it, would we be rejoicing if God came to earth, but didn't save us from our sins? Like some great being that came and wowed us with miracles of healing, but left us to be as we were? No. Apart from the nostalgia of the ancient days when God dwelt with men, there would be nothing for us today, other than a distant memory of God dwelling with us. But there is something for us today. Jesus Christ was born in a manger to save us from our sins!

But why? Why did Jesus come to save us? Because he had "his people." Look again at verse 21, "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). This Christmas season at Rock Valley Bible Church, we have been considering these two words, "his people." God has "his people." God has a love for "his people." That's why he came to earth.

At Rock Valley Bible Church this Christmas season, we have been considering this theme: "I will be Your God; You will be My People." This theme covers all of Biblical history, from Abraham to the end of time. Over the last few weeks we have been tracing this theme through Biblical history.

His people were established when he called Abraham. He said to him, "I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you" (Genesis 17:7). God redeemed his people, the Jews, who were in slavery, telling Pharaoh, "Let my people go." Later, God said to the people of Israel, if they would only obey, "I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people" (Leviticus 26:12). This was always the hope of the Jewish people, that God would be their God, and that they would be his people.

When they sinned and failed to keep God's law, the LORD promised them a New Covenant through the mouth of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 31:31-34
"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

That's why Jesus came, to bring this New Covenant to pass. To dwell with us. To die for our sins, that he might forgive them. To send his Spirit, to dwell in our hearts and empower us to walk in God's ways. All toward this aim, "I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Jeremiah 31:33).

On Sunday at Rock Valley Bible Church, we considered how this comes to all who trust in Jesus today. In other words, the promise to Israel applies to all who believe in Jesus today. Paul says that "it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham" (Galatians 3:8).

This evening, I want for us to consider how everlasting this promise is. The book of Revelation chronicles for us what happens at the end of time. Listen to what we read at the beginning of Revelation 21, after Jesus secures the victory and judges all evil.

Revelation 21:1-4
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

Did you catch the first pronouncement that the loud voice from the throne says? "The dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God." That is, when the new heaven and the new earth comes in all of its perfection, with no more tears, no more death, no more crying, no more pain, the great reality is that God will dwell with us! Forever! God will dwell with us as "his people!"

The full experience of Christmas was for those shepherds who saw the baby born in a manger. The full experience of Christmas was Mary and Joseph who had a front row seat. The full experience of Christmas was the disciples who were able to walk with him and talk with him and see him and hear him. The full experience of Christmas was those who were healed of their sicknesses by the incarnate Jesus. Our experience of Christmas is only second-hand, from what we have heard.

Oh, but there will be a day when our Christmas experience is far greater than ever experienced by the shepherds or Mary or Joseph or the disciples or anyone who encountered Jesus in the first century. Our experience will be one of God dwelling with us forever, in a perfect, sinless environment, when our communion with him is perfect and complete! And God will be our God. And we will be his people!

Christmas is wonderful! It speaks of the time that God dwelt with us. But Jesus dwelling with us was only a foretaste of forever.

But did you notice what's different about this dwelling? At Christmas time, Jesus took on flesh to be like us, so that he could dwell with us on earth. But in the end of time, God will transform us, so that our sin will be removed, so that we can go and dwell with him in the perfection of heaven! This is where history is headed! Where we can dwell with God, just like he can dwell with us. And in that day, there will be great joy!

The hymn that is often sung is "Joy to the World." But this isn't really a Christmas hymn, it's a hymn about Revelation 21, when Jesus has come and conquered and rules the world, when there are no more thorns and thistles, but only the blessing of God upon us, when He is our God and we are his people.

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on December 24, 2024 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.