I heard the true story of a SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER who took a trip to the Holy Land. Wandering through one of the shops in Israel, he was delighted to come across a beautiful nativity set, hand-carved from olive wood. Even though it was expensive, he immediately purchased it, planning to bring it home to show his Sunday School class. The set had all the traditional figures—Mary and Joseph, shepherds, three wise men and of course, BABY JESUS.
But as anyone who has traveled to the Mideast knows, there can be complications bringing purchased items back onto the plane. The traveler noticed that his nativity set seemed to be coming under great scrutiny by the security agents, who were carefully x-raying each piece.
Finally, the Sunday School teacher asked, “Why such scrutiny for a nativity set?”
The uniformed man replied, “We have to do this. We must make sure there is NOTHING EXPLOSIVE in them!”
The traveler nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself. But as he collected his belongings and boarded the plane, he couldn’t help but smile at what the agent had said. EXPLOSIVE? THE REAL CHRISTMAS STORY IS EXPLOSIVE. That night over 2,000 years ago, the earth experienced THE GREATEST EXPLOSION IN ALL OF HISTORY. It may have been a “silent night” for most people, but it was a night that would CHANGE THE WORLD FOREVER.
What could be more explosive than THE POWER OF GOD? The apostle Paul said that the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ, is “the POWER OF GOD to salvation FOR EVERYONE who believes” (Rom. 1:16).
That word “power” in the original language is dunamis—from which we get our word “dynamite.” No human mind can really grasp the SHEER WORLD–SHAKING POWER that was released on that first Christmas. Yes, it was only one little infant boy born to a poor family far from home. But that night He changed B.C. to A.D. It was the opening act in “the greatest story ever told,” and reminds us that absolutely NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD.
In the gospel of Luke, the story for a young virgin named Mary began in a Galilean city called Nazareth. Going about her regular tasks on what seemed an ordinary day, she suddenly found herself face to face with a powerful, radiant angel. The angel, whose name was Gabriel, said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” He went on to describe something that would happen to Mary—something that has never happened to anyone before or since. SHE WOULD HAVE A SON, even though she had never slept with a man.
“Do not be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her. “You have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name JESUS. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end” Mary, however, had a simple question for the angel. “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:30-34).
Gabriel, probably expecting the question, gave her this answer: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God… For with God NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE” (Luke 1:35, 37).
The Lord hand-picked this young woman to fulfill a Bible prophecy over seven centuries old. In the book of Isaiah, the Lord told King Ahaz, “The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
Mary probably knew about the prophecy. But do you think that she—even in her wildest dreams—imagined that SHE WOULD BECOME THAT VIRGIN? Yet God chose this unknown small-town girl—perhaps as young as 14—to bring about the most significant event in human history. By Jimmy Evens, Tipping Point Ministries
-Bill Stockham