The Nativity of Our Lord:
Christmas Eve
December 24, 2025
Text:
Luke 2:1-20
When the children of Israel were
enslaved in Egypt, oppressed, weighed down, sighing and crying to God above, Moses
reports that “God heard their groaning, and God remembered his
covenant with Abrham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and”
then, simply – and beautifully – “God knew” (Ex. 2:24-25;
ESV; emphasis added).
When all the earth was enslaved by
sin, by death and the devil, oppressed, weighed down, sighing and crying to God
above… when you, yourself, who know the tyranny of the ponderous
chains of your own making, oppressed by guilt, weighed down by shame… when you
sigh and cry to God above over the grief and fallenness and brokenness of it
all… well… the same is true for you, is it not? That is the Good News we hear this night.
God hears your groaning. He remembers His Covenant with you and
all the earth. God sees. And then, simply – and beautifully –
God knows. And so, He comes. In the fulness of time, God sent His
Son. Born of woman. Born under the Law, to redeem those under the
Law. That we might receive adoption as
sons (Gal. 4:4-5)… daughters and sons, children of God. “For unto you is born this day in the city
of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11; KJV).
Beloved, take great comfort in
this. God knows. He knows you.
He knows everything about you.
Everything you are. Everything
you’ve done. Everything done to
you. Everywhere you’ve been. Your sins.
Your fears. Your heartbreak. Your tears.
He knows, and He comes. For all
of that. For you.
He knows what it is to suffer under
tyranny. A decree went out from
Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed (v. 1). He knows poverty. He knows hardship. He knows what it is to be left out in the
cold. She wrapped Him in swaddling
clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the
inn (v. 7).
He knows, because God is born of
Mary in our flesh and blood. Clothed
in us, to be God-with-Us, our Lord, Emmanuel. He knows what it is to be a Baby, a
Child. To develop in the womb, and pass
through the birth canal. Mary’s God,
nursing at her breast. Incredible! He fills His diaper, like any other infant (God
does that. Just think of it!). He spits up, and He has to be burped (God
has to be burped!). In spite of
the carol, I am certain He cries.
Because we cry. And He
grows, with all the attendant pains. And
He suffers sickness. He learns to
walk. He learns to talk, though He is
the Word of God made flesh. He skins His
knees. He cries for His mother in the
darkness of night. Other kids make fun
of Him, and probably bully Him. The
Bible doesn’t say that part, but we know that He knows.
The hormones and changes of a
teen-aged boy. The thorns and thistles
of learning a trade. The carpenter’s
Son, He knows hard work. He knows
disappointment. And He knows about
grief. Let’s not forget… At some point,
He buried St. Joseph, His dad. He ached
at the sorrow of His dear mother. He wept
at the tomb of Lazarus, His friend.
He knows the burning of bitter tears.
Just like you. He knows. He knows.
He knows hunger. He knows thirst. He knows the betrayal of a trusted
friend. He knows how weariness can
overcome a man. And anger over
injustice. And displeasure. And distress.
He knows what it is to be targeted
for death. His whole life, He is pursued
by the rulers of this world: Herod, the Chief Priests, the Scribes, and bloodthirsty
masses. The devil. Satan thought that he could kill God. And as it happens, that is precisely what he
did.
But see… It was not enough
for Jesus to be tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin, as the
writer to the Hebrews preaches (4:15). Knowing
what He knows, He would know it all the way. The worst we could do to Him, that
death and hell could throw at him. The
old snake must have cackled, sinking fang into that sacred heel, while the
soldiers drove the nails, and gambled for His garments. Naked, He hangs, bridging heaven and earth,
while bystanders point, and laugh, and scoff.
What nobody sees, except for
a thief, and a Roman centurion, when all is said and done, is
that this is all according to plan.
Jesus knew it all along. He
came for this, made man, our flesh.
To suffer, to die, in the cosmic battle. The battle for you, for your rescue
and release. The answer to
your groaning, your crying and sighing, is lying in a manger, and hanging
on a cross. Jesus is born, your
Paschal Lamb. It is His blood
that marks your door, so that Death passes over. He leads you in Exodus, from oppression and
slavery, to liberty and life-eternal with Him.
Through the Red Sea waters of your Baptism into Him. Pharaoh is drowned. The serpent’s head is crushed. He knows, and He leads you. In the wilderness of this world. In sorrow and in joy. In weariness and wonder. In rest and refreshment. In labor and love. He knows it all, the full range of
human experience. And He knows you. Knows you complete. And He loves you. And lives for you. And He calls you His own.
But so also, Jesus knows what we
do not know. He knows what it is to
be raised from the dead. That we
may know it one Day, very soon. He knows
what He is doing to bring you over Jordan. To give you a place in His Promised
Land. New Creation. New heavens.
New earth. New life. A glorious inheritance. He knows.
He knows.
That you may know, the Lord
has given you a sign: You will find Him, right where He has promised to be
for you: Wrapped up in the swaddling clothes of the Scriptures, and laid upon
the altar under bread and wine.
Releasing you from bondage.
Forgiving your sins. Assuaging
your sorrows. Wiping away your
tears. Jesus Christ. God in human flesh. He knows.
So He comes. And here He is,
beloved. Here He is. For you.
“O holy child of Bethlehem, Descend
to us, we pray; Cast out our sin, and enter in, Be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels The great glad
tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Immanuel!” (LSB
361:4). In the Name of the Father, and
of the Son X,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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