An Angel's Appearing

Matthew 1:1-25

In his Advent devotional, The Dawn of Redeeming Grace, Sinclair Ferguson notes that traditional Christmas Eve services often begin with the words spoken by the shepherds after they were told that Christ had been born: “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us” (Luke 2:15, KJV). He further notes that the service leader often follows the quotation with an invitation to the congregation to join the shepherds and “go to Bethlehem”.

Ferguson then wryly writes, “Try as I might, I have never managed to arrive – you cannot get to the manger from Scotland!”

And in his inimitable manner, he reminds us of one of the purposes of the Advent season, that of preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, as he concludes:

“I don’t mean to spoil Christmas Eve services! The invitation sounds spiritual enough and is certainly well-intentioned. But we don’t discover the meaning of Christmas by imagining ourselves “there and then.” We need to understand it, and see its significance for us, in the here and now. Many people were “there and then” during our Lord’s life and it made no difference to them.”

But when we begin to understand the significance of that first Christmas, it can have a disturbing effect on us. In fact, it did on everyone in Matthew’s story.

I trust that you are taking time this Advent season to prepare your hearts for the coming of Jesus Christ. As you celebrate his first coming, are you getting ready for his coming again? 

I hope you can join us this week as we look at an angel appearing to Joseph in Matthew 1:18-25. Will you be ready for Jesus’ return?

In Faith Alone,

Pastor Wayne