[Having quoted this post (which was originally from 2023) in my recent piece about J.S. Bach’s Matthew Passion, only a handful followed the link. So I am now reproducing it for today, with some improvements, as I believe that it contains foundational teaching with reference not only to the incarnation of Christ but to the proclamation of His Gospel. I hope that you find it helpful].

Bible Reading: Luke 2:1-35.
Focus Text: Luke 2:34-35.

“Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: ‘Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your soul as well’” (Luke 2:34-35)

INTRODUCTION

If we meditate on the Incarnation of God the Son, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, what do we discover? We see that before He was conceived in the womb of the Virgin, He was God — enjoying the glory and fellowship of the Father and the Spirit as God (e.g. Micah 5:2; John 8:58; 17:5; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:10-12; 13:8; etc.). He existed eternally in heaven as one of the members of the Divine Being of God.

We see also that He made a number of appearances on earth in human form — referred to variously as “the Angel of the Lord”, “the Angel of His presence”, or “Commander of the Lord’s Army” — even though He had not yet been born (e.g. Genesis 16:7-13; 18:1-33; 22:11-18; Joshua 5:13-15; Exodus 3:2-6; 23:20-21; Judges 2:1-6; 6:11-24; 13:20-22; Daniel 3:25,28; etc.). These appearances are known as “theophanies” and were events designed to strengthen God’s people and equip them in special ways to do God’s work on earth.

We see also how He was sent on a mission from heaven to be the Saviour of the world — the One to whom people can turn in order to find their way back to a relationship with God. And we see that the reason He came to this earth as a human being was, as the Apostle John says: “to destroy the works of the devil” — the fallen angel that we now know as Satan (1 John 3:8). These works of the devil which the Lord Jesus came to destroy are the bringing of the Lie into the world (that humans can be Divine, as we see in his words to Eve in the Garden of Eden), spiritual darkness, sin (the inbuilt inclination to break God’s Law or to commit moral failure) and death in all its forms. He also came, ultimately, to judge the world and subsequently to create a wholly new universe — the new heaven and new earth.

Here, I want to ask the revealing question: “What does the Lord Jesus do in everyone’s lives (whether they know it or not)?” And in order to pursue the answer to that question, I want to focus especially on three verses in our reading, Luke 2:34-35, which you see at the top of this article.

“Behold, this Child is appointed….”

That Child lay in a manger (derived from the French word manger, pronounced ‘monjay’, to eat). But that Baby in that animal feeding trough had been appointed for things — a destiny beyond the wildest imaginings of any of the praising angels, the shepherds, or even, at the time, His own mother.

“Behold, this Child is appointed….”. Appointed for what?

The announcement of the birth of Jesus Christ — although an occasion of “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10) — has another darker, deeper side to it. The Coming of the Christ into space and time — conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a Virgin, God manifested in the flesh — was a perfect demonstration of divine power. The Greek word for such power is dunamis, from where we get our word ‘dynamite’. The coming of God as the babe, Jesus Christ, was DYNAMITE! Guaranteed to create havoc in the lives of demons and turn the world of men and women upside-down!

The truth is that regardless of whether or not people acknowledge the reality of the Son of God — regardless of whether or not they love Him or have any kind of relationship with Him — ­whatever their view is of what is known as ‘Christianity’, even if they claim absolute indifference, this little Child has been appointed to have a mighty impact on their lives, whether they know it or not.

How? In what ways?

You see, my friends, it is impossible to be impartial about the story of Christ. As I have said many times before, there can be no neutrality in this. Once you have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, your life can never be the same again. Never. Even if you think that you can ignore it… you cannot! Once you have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, your life is irrevocably changed, eternally. For in the hearing of the Gospel, Jesus the Christ has an impact on people’s lives which they cannot fully comprehend at the time. This is also why the proclamation of the Gospel is such a serious activity to be undertaken in a serious context. Lives are at stake, spiritually speaking. It is so serious that “to one person, we [who proclaim Christ] are an odour of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life” (2 Corinthians 2:16). That is the reality. As we will realize by the time we have come to the end of this little piece, the Gospel can only have one of two effects: 1) The hardening of a heart leading to “death and demise” or 2) The melting of a heart leading to life and salvation.

What, therefore, can we learn about this newborn Baby Christ from our text, Luke 2:34-35? The first thing that we learn is that…

I. THERE IS DESTINED TO BE A HUGE AMOUNT OF HATRED DIRECTED AGAINST HIM

As our text says, He is destined to be “a sign that will be spoken against”, v.34.

Do you not find this extremely strange? God comes into the world in human form in order to draw people back to Himself and stir them up to dedicate their lives to Him and to the beautiful qualities of love, compassion, and mercy, and to value truth above all else… and yet He is hated beyond measure. Extraordinary! Why should that be? Literally, the Greek words here say that this little child Jesus was appointed to be “a signal of contradiction”. His very presence in the world would create controversy. Jesus Himself predicted this when He said:

“I have come to ignite a fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law” (Luke 12:49-53).

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the great divider. Truth will always divide the world but should always unite the church (I speak here of the true church, the Body of Christ). That is the essence of the teaching of Christ. So this Child in the manger was appointed, destined, to be a ‘signal of contradiction’, One who would be “spoken against”.

The fact that this was prophesied so explicitly must mean that it was not referring merely to gossip or the kind of defamation which you or I come up against on a regular basis in our spiritual lives. It was to be far more poignant and poisonous than that. Far more.

1) He was Spoken Against Personally

He was accused of being a glutton, a drunkard (Matthew 11:19), insane (Mark 3:21) and demon-possessed (John 8:52). He was blasphemed against (Mark 14:64). As the sinless Son of God, He was spat upon and judged by the religious and political authorities to be a troublemaker and a lawbreaker. He was reviled beyond measure. He was “despised and rejected by people” (Isaiah 53:3).

2) He was Spoken Against Indirectly

At Antioch, “But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying” (Acts 13:45). Paul had only been speaking about Christ. At Ephesus, Paul

“went into the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus” (Acts 19:8-9).

When they maligned “the Way”, they were maligning Christ, for it would not be ‘the Way’ without Him. He IS the way! As Matthew Henry puts it: “The Christians are here said to be those of the way… Perhaps the Christians sometimes called themselves so, from Christ the Way”. If Christ’s disciples are “the Way”, it is only because Jesus Christ is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6) and no one comes to the Father except through Him.

“This Child is appointed to be a sign that will be spoken against”. And so He was. “For people everywhere are speaking against this sect” (Acts 28:22). Yes, the Lord Jesus was spoken against indirectly everywhere — for all attacks on the true church are attacks on its Founder. And so it is to this very day.

“This Child is appointed to be a sign that will be spoken against”. What a profound prophecy was spoken by Simeon when he said this to Mary. During the past 2000 years it has hardly decreased one iota. On December 25th some years ago, a huge front-page headline appeared in one of the UK’s quality national newspapers, which read: “It Never Happened!” Above this headline was a portrait of the manger scene at the birth of Christ. The very existence of all this is in itself a sign of Christ being spoken against.

There are many other ways of speaking against Him. Disregarding His laws is one way. Not to obey Him in the call of the Gospel is another way. For He came saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand, repent and believe the Gospel”. To disbelieve the Gospel is to disobey the command of Christ. Many people (even many calling themselves ‘Christians’) just do not realise this vital factor in the Gospel. For the Gospel is not merely the presentation of a choice for people to casually make a decision about. It is an actual commandment. In the proclaimed Gospel there is a serious commandment: “Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). That commandment must be obeyed. Therefore, one does not “make a decision for Christ” or “invite Jesus into one’s heart”, as the sayings soppily go. The Gospel is a commandment which must be obeyed. It seems that there are increasingly few who understand this today.

Paul speaks of the time “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8).  Peter speaks about the fact that “it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17). The Gospel of Christ must be obeyed. Whether obeyed or disobeyed, life-changing consequences will occur.

So, first, we see that there is destined to be a huge amount of hatred directed against the Lord Jesus Christ. He impacts the world, whether the world acknowledges this or not.

Brief Excursus on Mary, the mother of Jesus the Christ

But let us here spare a thought for Mary, His mother, in all this hatred directed towards her son.

One very rarely hears much about Mary from pulpits in what are known as Protestant Churches. No doubt the reason for this is because of the humanly-devised things which are believed about her in Roman Catholicism. For example, she is said to reign with Christ at the right hand of God in heaven. This is why, in Roman Catholic belief, she is called the “Queen of Heaven” (an unfortunate title considering that this is the same assignation which is given to various pagan “sky goddesses” in the Old Testament (e.g. Jeremiah chapters 7 & 44). Then there is what they call the “Immaculate Conception”, a teaching devised in Rome in 1854, which officially declared Mary to be free from original sin, in spite of the fact that she refers to God as her “Saviour” (Luke 1:47). Yes, too much is made of Mary in many quarters of the visible church. Indeed, she is virtually worshipped as a goddess, while the Pope has said that people should pray to her. Moreover, New Agers revere her as Mother Mary, one of the “Ascended Masters”.

But let us just leave aside all the dross and superstitions about Mary and look at a little something that is revealed about the real Mary here in our focus text. Bear in mind that these two verses (Luke 2:34-35) were spoken directly in prophecy to Mary about her Son. Anyone reading these words who is a mother will surely be able to identify with this. What if God revealed to you that your child was going to be such a controversial character who would be spoken against viciously and even fatally? And what about this final sentence: “A sword will pierce through your own soul also”. What does this mean?

What was the destiny of Jesus Christ? Why was He born? He was born in order that He should DIE! His death was dependent on His birth. So, whenever this time of year comes around, with all the razzmatazz surrounding the manger and a sweet little baby, I can’t help thinking about the fact that this is the One who commamds people everywhere to repent and follow Him and who will come to judge the world in a cosmic cataclysm when He returns, as He will! Thus, it is no wonder that the world would far rather keep Christ wrapped tightly in His swaddling clothes than submit to the fact that He has become the judge of this world!

And the destiny of Mary, His Mother, was to be a grieving mother. This is why the word “also” is used in our focus text. Not only would the Lord Jesus be pierced in His body and soul on the cross, but His mother too would be pierced by the sword of grief. Most children outlive their parents; but not this One. Just imagine, for a moment, what it must have been like to be the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about this carefully…

First, you are told that you are going to become pregnant solely through the power of the Holy Spirit (with all the embarrassment of that in front of the unbelieving world), and that this Child will be the long-awaited Messiah, the Saviour of the world. Then He is born. You watch Him grow with fondness and perplexity. One day, when he is 12, you lose Him on the way home from Jerusalem. When you go back there, you search for three days and then find Him sitting among the great teachers in the Temple where He is debating with them — at twelve years old! You have all the normal feelings a mother has towards her child; but yet you know that he is something extraordinarily, agonizingly, special. And all along, you have treasured up in your heart the prophecy of Simeon, that he will be badly received by the world and that because of him your own soul will be pierced also. Not until He is about 30 years old does His earthly ministry begin; and during those three years of His ministry you realise that He is being increasingly persecuted and that there are even threats to His life. One day, when you are trying to see Him, He totally baffles you by saying that those who follow Him are His real family, rather than His earthly mother and brothers (Matthew 12:46-50). Then one day, word is brought to you that He has been arrested and taken into custody. You hear the crowds all around you crying out for your own son’s crucifixion. Then you realise that the sentence of death is upon Him. You see Him carrying His own cross to the Place of the Skull, a rubbish-dump, outside the city of Jerusalem. You realise that He has been beaten to a pulp by the Roman garrison (and whatever else those disgusting, rough soldiers used to do to prisoners in their keep). You see the nails being hammered into His hands and feet, and you watch helplessly as He is raised up on the cross. A mass of confusion runs through your whole being, as your intense feelings of motherhood are mingled with the Scriptures which you know only too well. He looks down at you from the Cross out of His hideously battered, almost unrecognizable face, his beard having been ripped off (Isaiah 52:14; 50:6), and shows you your substitute son (John), saying: “Woman, behold your son” — and to the disciple, John, standing nearby, He says “Behold your mother” (John 19:26-27). How that Scripture must have spoken to her then, which says: “A sword will pierce through your own soul also”. At least she had been well prepared for it. But not all was doom and gloom. For later she would learn that her Son had risen from the dead, and we discover her after that in the Upper room with the disciples who brought news of His Ascension to heaven (Acts 1:11-14). What a life for a mother! What a death for her Son!

Thus, His mother Mary’s soul was pierced also because her son was a “sign” which was spoken against.

The second thing that we learn from our text, Luke 2:34-35, is that…

II. THIS CHILD IS DESTINED TO REVEAL THE INNER THOUGHTS OF HUMAN HEARTS

v.35, “…the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed”.

The wonderful fact is that an encounter with Jesus Christ will always bring the Truth into the open — ­most of all the true state of a person’s heart. There can be no neutrality in this. People will be shown for who and what they are when they come into contact with Christ and His Gospel.

When the words of Christ come to your ears what is your response? There is no more dynamic searcher of hearts than He is: “…all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts” (Revelation 2:23). When His light shines on you in the light of the Gospel, all will be revealed about you. For “everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that is illuminated becomes a light itself. So it is said: ‘Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you’” (Ephesians 5:13-14).

This searching out of human hearts and minds is not only the case with the Incarnate Word of God, but it is also the case with the written Word, the Bible. “‘Is not My word like a fire?’ says the Lord, ‘and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’” (Jeremiah 23:29). As He puts it elsewhere:

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13).

Once a person begins to tell others about the Truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and about the new spiritual kingdom He has come to build, it is guaranteed to cause an enormous stir. Those who are false Christians, who are secretly opposed to the truth about Christ, will all, sooner or later, be exposed in the light of Christ and His Word. And all those who are openly opposed to Christ and who refuse to have anything to do with His offer of eternal life — all these, by their own actions, will exclude themselves from His kingdom.

The Living Word shows us up for who and what we are. This Child in the manger is appointed to reveal the thoughts of many hearts — if not in this life, then at the Day of Judgement, when all things will be revealed, with fire. The true believer is always willing to have his or her heart scrutinized by Christ: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24). The psalmist would love the fact that the destiny of that Child was to reveal the thoughts of hearts and minds. What is your response when you hear the words of Christ?

What is your response when you hear Pontius Pilate crying out: “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:22). There was no neutrality then. And neither is there any now. Neither will there be at any time in the future. So where do you stand? How do you respond to the cammand to believe?

The third thing that we learn from our text, Luke 2:34-35, is that

III. OUR ETERNAL STANDING BEFORE GOD IS DETERMINED BY OUR EARTHLY RESPONSE TO CHRIST

v.34, “this Child has been appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel” — and not merely in Israel but across the whole world. That is an amazing thing to say about a six-week-old baby. What a destiny! But what does it mean? How does Jesus Christ bring about the “fall and rising” of people?

There is a teaching which runs right through the Bible about Jesus being “a stone”. He is known as both the Cornerstone (or foundation stone) and the Capstone (or topstone) of a building. In the Old Testament it plainly refers to YAHWEH; but in the New Testament these texts are then applied by the writers as being prophecies referring to Jesus. But the Lord Jesus is not just any old stone. He is the stone which the builders (unbelieving Israel) rejected and a stone over which people stumble. The first occurrence of this is in a prophecy in Psalm 118:22-23: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the LORD, and it is marvellous in our eyes”.

This prophecy is then quoted by the apostle in a gospel sermon about Christ in Acts 4:10-12: “Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone’. Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved”.

Again in 1 Peter 2:4-8, where these Old Testament Scriptures about Christ as the Stone are pulled together to great effect, we read about the importance of:

“As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: ‘See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame’. To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,’ and, ‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense’”.

But by far the most far-reaching of all these Scriptures about Christ as the stumbling-stone occurs in Matthew 21:42-44. What is interesting about this passage is that this is virtually a parallel text to our focus text in Luke 2:34. It reads like this:

“Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvellous in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you [unbelieving Israel] and given to a people who will produce its fruit [disciples and followers of Christ, both Jews and Gentiles]. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed to powder”.

This is why the formation of the modern country of Israel is counter to God’s word. The kingdom was taken away from Israel and given to His believing people, His body, the Ekklesia of Christ, made up of both Jews and Gentile disciples. Those who claim to be Christ’s, yet who wilfully support and encourage the modern state of Israel as some kind of ‘restoration’, are completely out of tune with Christ’s will. Jews should not be attempting to recreate the land of Israel but they should instead be believing the Gospel of the Messiah, who is their Messiah too. The physical nation of Israel is today a complete chimera, an illusion based on twisted Scriptures and wilful disobedience. [For much information about this phenomenon, please see my little book, “Abraham our Father: Jerusalem our Mother”. Click on that title to download it freely from my website].

Only two things can happen when you have an encounter with the Stone which is Jesus Christ: “He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed into powder and scattered like chaff”. Thus, you will either be 1) broken to pieces or 2) ground to powder, like chaff scattered to the wind. Those are the only choices when you have an encounter with Christ and His Gospel. There is no in-between pathway, and there can be no neutrality. This is the same as that “falling and rising” mentioned in Luke 2:34. Allow me to provide some nesessary explanation…

The Lord Jesus said, “Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces”. If you fall on the stone you will be broken. What does that mean? Surely, it refers to the humbling to repentance and the brokenness which is radically involved in any true conversion to Christ. When you have a genuine encounter with Christ, you will be broken. To pieces. Utterly. No doubt about that. As David says in his great conversion psalm: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). If you have not had your spirit broken by Christ then you have never truly undergone the metanoic process of repentance. That is what it means to fall on the stone (which symbolizes the Lord Jesus Christ) and then be broken to pieces. Such “brokenness” is necessary if one wants to come to Christ. Without it, union with Christ cannot happen. For only when we are broken (that is, our silly little egos) can we deny ourselves and follow Him (Matthew 16:24).

But the Lord Jesus also says here that the one on whom the Stone (Christ) falls will be crushed to powder and scattered like chaff to the wind (which is what lies behind the word “crushed” in the Greek). The stark fact is that if you are not broken to pieces when you stumble across this stone — if you go through your whole life having never been broken by it — if you wilfully reject the truth about Christ and regard yourself as self-sufficient, then it will surely fall on you, and just as surely it will grind you to powder. Literally, if you steadfastly and wilfully resist Christ and His Gospel, then that Stone will pulverize you.

Now THAT is the reality of this babe in the manger: “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rising of many…”. Whoever is broken when they fall on this Stone will rise. But failing that, on whomever this stone falls, it crushes him or her to death (spiritually speaking)  — the hideous fiery future of those who resist the Gospel and its command for obedience.

You see, my friends, there is a sequel to the birth of this little Babe. In fact, there is a whole sequence of events which is not yet finished. That sequence of events is the Birth, Death, Resurrection, Ascension, and Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. These are the five aspects of the life of Christ and the destiny of this planet and its population, and indeed the entire cosmos. But we are in between the fourth and fifth elements. That last element is not yet fulfilled. The whole of human history is now poised, waiting for that final curtain to be raised. Let us take a Scripture to explain this: In Hebrews 9:27-28, we read,

“just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment, so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him” (Hebrews 9:27-28).

Here we read that Christ was sacrificed “once to bear the sins of many”. How?

“He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

The first time that Christ came, it was on account of our sin. He came to be our substitute on the Cross, taking in His own body and soul the penalty deserved for our sins, if we will believe. Then we read that, “To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation”. The Second Coming of Christ is not to save us from our sins. We had that chance after His first coming and during this Gospel Age. When He comes again, it will be to save those who have believed in and followed Him and to bring in the Day of Judgement. For “just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment”, when He comes again, He will not come as “gentle Jesus meek and mild” [as the carol states], but He will come as Judge of all the Earth — as the One who “treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Revelation 19:15).

Once you have been told about the Christian Gospel — the good news which is involved in the coming of the Christ — you can never be the same again. NEVER! You have received irrevocable news in the form of a command, and you are duty-bound to respond to it, one way or the other. Trust me on this.

So now you know the truth. You have heard it. But how will you respond to all this? How has this knowledge of who Jesus Christ really is affected your heart? Truth, in whatever form, always has the same twofold effect, wherever it burns. As John Gill put it in his exposition of 2 Corinthians 2:15-16: “It is the same fire which melts the wax as hardens the clay.” It will either humble you or it will harden you. This is why we say that it is impossible to have a neutral attitude towards Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is the Inescapable One. Sooner or later everyone must take up a position in regard to Him and must choose to be for or against Him. There can be no neutrality in our responses to, or relationship towards, Jesus Christ. One day, we will all face Him when He comes again to judge the earth. That time may not be far away.

Here in Luke 2:34-35, in regard to “the rise and fall of many”, we clearly see the fact that the “falling” means coming under Divine judgement as a result of not believing the Gospel. While the “rising” means being broken or humbled by Christ. This is what the Lord Jesus meant when He spoke about the fact that those who are first humbled will be exalted or raised up: “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; 18:14b).

CONCLUSION: The Manger Points Directly to the Cross

My purpose in this brief meditation has been to put the birth of the Christ into its true perspective. For the manger points directly to the cross and cannot be regarded without it, for they are intimately linked. He was born in that Manger to fulfil one purpose, and one purpose only: To take the penalty for our sins on that cross and to die and be resurrected, then to ascend into heaven, where He must remain “until the time comes for the restoration of all things, which God announced long ago through His holy prophets” (Acts 3:21). He was born to die, and He died that we may live. Thus, any celebration of the incarnation of Christ has no real meaning unless it is seen as merely the precursor to His death. In other words, the manger always points directly to the cross.

So, in stating the question, “What does the Lord Jesus do in everyone’s lives (whether they know it or not)?”, what is the answer? The answer is that His entrance into your life determines your eternal situation. This you must believe and understand. He was “appointed for the fall and rising of many”. He was a Child of Destiny — THE Child of Destiny. He was born in order that He should die. This was His destiny — and He knew it: “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’?” (John 12:27). Of course not! That is something that He could and would never say! As He answered His own question: “But for this purpose I came to this hour”. That was His destiny… and He followed it through — for us.

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:17-18).

Those are the Lord Jesus’ own words. How can we now refuse to believe them?

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© Copyright, Alan Morrison, 2025
[The copyright on my works is merely to protect them from any wanton plagiarism which could result in undesirable changes (as has actually happened!). Readers are free to reproduce my work, so long as it is in the same format and with the exact same content and its origin is acknowledged]

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