Cost of Christmas    
Christ Then, Now & Forever        
 Part 2    
   
   Have you heard the song, Mary, Did You Know? 

   Mary knew what the angel told her (Luke chapter 1), but she probably had no idea her son's mission covers the world (John chapter 1). 

   The fall of man in Genesis chapter 3 demanded a solution, if there was any reason for human life to continue. To the deceiving serpent, the Lord God said, "I will put enmity ... between your offspring and hers; he (Christ) will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." 

   Sin nature denies us the life our Creator intended. Prophets wrote what the Spirit gave them. Isaiah (7:14) prophesied that a virgin would be with child, and her son would be called Immanuel (God with us).  

   Micah (5:2) wrote that he would be a ruler from ancient times, to be born in Bethlehem. 

   The ultimate cost

   Jealous of his teaching, healing power and his popularity, religious leaders wanted Jesus dead. Exactly what our triune God had in mind; our sins can't go unpunished. 

   Isaiah (chapters 52 and 53) describes the horror of beatings and crucifixion. noting that Christ would not be handsome to begin with, and he would be "pierced ... and disfigured beyond human likeness." 

   But, Jesus reappeared in resurrected form, and sent the Holy Spirit to continue his mission through believers, to the ends of the world.  

   Tomorrow, we joyfully remember the awesome night he was born in Bethlehem.