Long ago before Jesus was born, Mary was pregnant with a first child. Nobody knew about this until Mary went to visit her cousin Elisabeth and her husband, Zacharias (Luke 1:39-40). The baby in Elisabeth’s womb leaped for joy and she realized that her cousin was with a child, the Promised Messiah. She became the first person to know the secret of the soon-coming Messiah.
Later Joseph found out about Mary’s secret pregnancy. He decided to put her away in a silent divorce. An angel of the Lord revealed the secret to Joseph and encouraged him to go ahead and marry Mary (Mat. 1:20-23).
Just before Mary gave birth to her child, there was a law from Rome that all people must return to their birth-places to be registered. Joseph took Mary and traveled to Bethlehem. Upon their arrival Mary gave birth to a son. God through the angels revealed the secret to the lowly shepherds and they came to see the Child (Lk 2:1-20).
Joseph and Mary took their Child to the temple to be circumcised. The secret was revealed by the Holy Spirit to Simeon and Anna and they saw the Child were glad (Lk 2:21-38).
Next, the secret was revealed to the wise men from another country and they came to ask King Herod for the whereabout of the Child. They learned from the Word that he was at Bethlehem and they traveled and saw Him (Mat. 2:1-11).
Thirty years later the Messiah was revealed to the people at River Jordan by the baptism of John the Baptist. From there on Jesus Christ opened Himself up to the world (Mat. 3:13-17).
Aren’t you glad that the secret of God was revealed to you through the preaching of His word and we continue to hear about the birth of a Child which is Jesus Christ, our Savior.
May the Lord bless your Christmas as you continue to remember His birth and why He died for our sin. That was and still God’s finest Christmas gift to you!
Merry Christmas!
Tony and Dorothy Callies
