Today is finally the day! Today is the day that the prophets foretold, the day Abraham was promised, and the day that every Jew prayed — the day when the Messiah comes to earth to bring the kingdom of God. 

When the Messiah comes, all of Israel is expecting their enemies to be defeated, God to bring his throne room down to earth, and for peace everywhere. There will be no more bondage, persecution, and captivity. Israel will be restored, and God will bring peace on earth!

But when Jesus is born, he comes humbly and lowly — born among animals and place in a make-shift bed of straw in a manger. Jesus doesn’t show up with any fan-fair or power, but rather, Jesus is born of a supposedly virgin woman (who became an outcast in society) and is greeted by shepherds. Jesus doesn’t come with all the power of God, but rather, as a fragile, innocent, and unthreatening baby and greeted by people that society considered lower-class.

Many times during Christmas, you’ll hear and read many beautiful Scriptures from the Gospels about Jesus’ coming, but we want to point you to this passage in Philippians.

Read Philippians 2:5-11:

“…have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The Jews were expecting a king, their king, to come and bring the kingdom of God. But what they did not expect was to watch their Messiah come and die — to watch their Messiah be defeated by the nations.

Jesus came to defeat his enemies and bring peace on earth, but Jesus did this in a way that no one expected. Rather than defeat Rome, Jesus defeated death. Rather than creating a physical kingdom, Jesus created a kingdom no of this world.

One day, every knee will bow to the King of the Universe. But until that day, we are called to go and be his ambassadors here on earth.

So on this Christmas morning, remember the coming of the Messiah, the Savior. Remember his lowly beginnings. Remember that he came to serve the weak and lowly. Remember that he calls you a friend. Remember that because of him, you can now be called a “son” or “daughter” of God.

Response: Pray to God and thank him that he sent Jesus to both save you from your sins and bring you back into God’s family. Pray for those who need to hear the good news of Jesus.