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Christmas is for kids, right? Almost everything about Christmas excites children - the music, sweets, lights, and other decorations. Television shows like Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman and the Grinch are annual favorites. Christmas traditions like searching for a tree or holiday baking make memories the kids will cherish for the rest of their lives. Waking up on Christmas morning to a tree surrounded by gifts makes the average kid think that "visions of sugarplums" sounds boring! Kids enjoy working in school or in Sunday School to make gifts for their parents; they can't wait for Christmas day to be here so they can share their treasures. Most kids love to show off in a Christmas program or two, and parents and grandparents couldn't be prouder. Kids love the story of a baby's birth, especially since it comes complete with angels and a special star. Christmas is for kids.
But not only for kids.
Isaiah 7:14 (NIV), written more than 700 years before Jesus was born, reads, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." Have fun explaining that one to your seven-year-old! The "magic" of that message was intended for adults, wasn't it?
When Isaiah first heard that message from God, it meant that Judah did not have to fear the Syrians to their north. God promised to rescue them from the threat posed by Syria & Samaria in the time it would take for a young woman to get married and produce a male child (between 2-3 years). Isaiah 7:16 predicts "He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste." "Immanuel" means "God with us," and God was about to prove that He was watching over and guarding the Kingdom of Judah.
Seven hundred years later it became obvious that God had something more in mind than just rescuing Judah. When the angel, Gabriel, told Mary that she was going to bear a son, Mary questioned, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" Gabriel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."
Joseph, Mary's betrothed husband, struggled to believe that a virgin could bear a child, so he, too, received a visit from an angel in a dream. "Joseph son of David," the angel said in Matthew 1:20, "do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." In telling this story, Matthew makes sure that his readers recognize the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. Matthew 1:22-23 reads, "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us")."
Gabriel summarizes the importance of all this in Luke 1:37 when he tells Mary, "For nothing will be impossible with God." When God is with us, 700-year-old prophecies are fulfilled and virgins have babies. When God is involved, doubts are overcome, conflict is resolved, and miracles occur. When we don't know how, God does, and when we aren't able, He is. Broken homes can be mended, broken dreams can be repaired and broken lives can be redeemed. Nothing is impossible with God.
That's a Christmas message for adults frustrated with their careers, disappointed by politicians and discouraged by the problems in their own families. It's Christmas peace for those with bodies wrecked by disease and minds ruined by past mistakes. It's Christmas for young couples struggling with infertility and for old couples who fear the separation looming ahead. It's Christmas for those who don't have enough money to pay the bills, and for those who have lots of money but can't find any happiness in it.
When God caused a virgin to conceive, He did the impossible. Gabriel made sure we understood: With God, nothing is impossible. So when Christmas rolls around each year, humanity is reminded that the burdens and struggles of life can be overcome with Gods help. God wants to be with us. That's Christmas for adults!