◆The Savior was born Matthew 1:18-25

In a few days, we will celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus. Today is the last Sunday before Christmas, and we will observe the Christmas service together.

When you think of Christmas, what comes to mind? Many of us probably think of gifts. Gifts for a beloved wife or husband, children, grandchildren, a girlfriend or a boyfriend. Some of you may be thinking about what kind of gifts you would like to give.

But why do we give gifts at Christmas in the first place? I don’t know when the custom started, but I imagine it is because the birth of Jesus was a gift from God to us.

Indeed, Jesus Christ is a gift from God. A gift is not a reward. It is something we receive for free. Usually, they are given to those we love and those who care for us. But God’s gifts are a little different. They are gifts for those who mock God, ignore Him, or ask “please, God,” only when they need Him.

Jesus Himself said this when He said, “It is not the strong who need a physician, but the sick…. I have not come to invite the righteous, but sinners.”

Now, Christmas is Jesus’ birthday. We do not know the exact date when it was. The Christian world celebrates Jesus’ birth on December 25, but that is probably not the actual date. December is also winter in Israel, but the biblical account doesn’t match the season. But I don’t think that should be a problem.

What is important is that we don’t know exactly what day of the year or month in the Western calendar, but we do know that Jesus was born, that He was born on earth, and that He has a birthday. This is an earthly birthday, a birthday in the biological sense. And Jesus has another birthday. It is a birthday when He is born in the human heart. How is He born?

In the Gospel of John 1:12 and 13 we read.

“But the Word qualified those who accepted him and believed in his name to be the sons of God. For these are born, not of blood, nor of the lusts of the flesh, nor of the lusts of men, but of God.”

The “Word” here refers to Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself says that He gives those who believe in His name the qualification, or privilege, to become the sons of God. The “name” does not refer to a name, but to the meaning of who Jesus is and what He has done. It means that Jesus is God Himself, who was born as a man and came to us, and that He took on our sins and passed judgment on us. It is a historical fact that this has already happened. Jesus died on the cross. The person who accepts that as a fact, who knows his or her sins, and who realize that he or she must submit to that fact, is made a child of God. And it is not by blood, nor by the lust of the flesh, nor by the lust of man. One Japanese translation of the Bible translates it as “not according to the status or position of one’s ancestors or parents, nor according to the desire or will of man.” Sin is forgiven, and only God wills to make us sons of God. When a person accepts this fact, saying “Yes” to it, Jesus is born in his/her heart. Jesus becomes his/her Savior, healer, counselor, guide, and mentor.

We also find that we have two birthdays. One is our earthly, biological birthday. The other is our spiritual birthday, so to speak, the birthday when we are born as children of God. When you come to know Jesus Christ, not as God or Savior as some people say, but when you believe in His name yourself, when you know Him as your own God, your own Savior, you are born into the Kingdom of God. You are born as one who belongs to heaven, one who will go to heaven when you leave this world. Heaven is the kingdom of God’s people, and only those who know and believe in Jesus can go there. Those who do not accept Jesus, those who think that it does not concern them, that they do not need it, that they may think about it someday but cannot accept it now, will not be able to enter. This is a serious problem. Because life is not only about this world. People who have funerals and give offerings to their ancestors do so because they know that life is not only about this world. If you are not born into the Kingdom of God, you are not of the Kingdom of God and will be forever excluded from the Kingdom of God. This is a matter of your eternity.

Christmas is a festive event, but it is also an event that tells you this. You were born on earth. Have you also been born as a citizen of heaven? If not, be born today. Life on earth is not according to your will, but to be born into the Kingdom of God is according to your will. Therefore, today, let us celebrate the true Christmas. Receive Jesus into your heart and let Him be born.

Sermon script modified based on proofreading with ChatGPT and translation with DeepL.