Born To Save

Christmas is only a secular holiday for many people. It means time off from work: it consists of parties and presents. Those who see some religious meaning  in Christmas often restrict it to a baby in a manger scene. The two lessons in the study challenge us to look back before the manger to the preexistent Word of God and to look forward from the manger to the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of the Savior of the World.

 The first lesson. "What Child Is This?" includes the familiar story of Jesus birth in Lure 2:4-7, but it also focuses on the less familiar prophecies of Simeon and Anna in verses 27-38. Simeon predicted that a sword would pierce Mary's soul. This shows that the Child born to the virgin Mary was destined to die for the sins of the world.
 The second lesson, "Life in the Son," is based on the prologue to John's Gospel. John 1:1-18 reveals that the birth of Jesus was not the beginning of the Son of God. He is the Word of God who was in the beginning, who was with God, and who is God. What happened at Bethlehem was that the eternal Word became flesh and dwelt on earth during His lifetime.

 Thus when we view the Baby in the manger, we  need to look back to the eternal Word of God who became the God-man when He was born to the virgin Mary. And we need to look beyond the manger to the cross-and even beyond that. The manger is empty. The cross also is empty. The tomb is empty.
 God told Mary and Joseph to name the child Jesus, which means "Savior" (Matthew 1:21). The angel told the shepherds that Jesus was the Savior, Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11). He was truly "Born to Save."


~StudyTheme



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