Jesus, Our Savior

Once again, a reminder that this series of posts were written by our author, Martha, as a teaching tool during the Christmas season.

Savior: We have considered Jesus as the Great High Priest, preparing the sacrifice that will atone for our sins once and for all. We have watched him become that sacrifice, taking those sins onto himself and dying on a cross to defeat death forever. Now we see the resurrected Christ, his triumph over the grave complete, granting us eternal life. We have known about this child in the manger since the beginning of time; God told Adam and Eve that one day a child would come who would crush Satan’s head. Where Adam’s sin brought sin to all, this child will bring redemption to all. This child is the physical manifestation of the mercy and grace of God: mercy because we do not receive what we deserve, and grace because we receive what we do not deserve. Without the grace and mercy of God, we would walk in darkness, but the birth of this child is the coming of the light into the world. Every baby is a miracle, but this one is the greatest miracle of all: the miracle of God’s love – the miracle that he loves each one of us so much that he would die to purchase us back from death to life. This child in the manger has come to accomplish all that. His birth will reveal both his godly and his human natures: He comes amid the glories of heavenly hosts to a world that barely has room for him. He is visited by kings, but first he is visited by humble shepherds. He will be hailed by those who recognize him when he is presented in the temple, and then he will be forced to flee in the night to escape those who would have him killed. And in the end, he will be killed, but only to rise again and bring us salvation and eternal life.