The Real Christmas Story

Dannah Gresh: Merry Christmas! On this Christmas day, I hope you'll take some time to remember what the holiday is all about.

Max McLean: “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’”

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Well, Merry Christmas to you. My prayer is that your day will be blessed in every way. I don’t know what your Christmas season has been like, but I know for a lot of us, it has been a busy time with lots of activity.

Dannah: Nancy, during these holiday seasons, it’s good sometimes just to stop, slow down, take a deep breath, and let the Word of God wash over our hearts.

Nancy: I love that, Dannah. That's why on this Christmas day, this holy day, we thought it would be great to quiet our hearts and just focus on the words of Scripture. We’re going to listen to the simple Christmas story, and I hope you’ll be struck in a fresh way by the profound truth that God became man, Immanuel, God is with us.

Dannah: Max McLean is an actor. He’s the president and artistic director of the Fellowship for the Performing Arts. And for the next few moments, we’ll hear Max bring the Scripture to life as God has uniquely gifted him to do.

So let’s listen to Max McLean reading from the Gospel of Luke.

Max McLean: 

The Gospel According to Luke

Chapter 1

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord.

"And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”

And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”

And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

"He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.”

And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.

And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

"And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

"And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.”

Luke 2

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.”

Dannah: We’ve been listening to the account of that very first Christmas as recorded in the Gospel of Luke and read by Max McLean. For more information on how you can get this or other recordings from Max McLean, visit our website ReviveOurHearts.com.

And whatever you may be doing on this Christmas day, whether you’re celebrating with family or friends or around meal tables or perhaps just on your own for parts of the day, I hope you’ll take some time to be in awe of the wonder of this gospel story.

Nancy will be back in a few minutes to pray. But first, she taught a few years ago on Jesus as Immanuel. We often hear that name at Christmas. This is a great reminder of how amazing it is that God is “with us.” Let’s listen.

Nancy: Now that name for Jesus, Immanuel, comes from two Hebrew words—“God” and “with us.” Jesus is the “with us God.” He is God with us.

Now I want to start with the New Testament reference to this name, and it’s found in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 1. You remember that Mary and Joseph were betrothed to be married, and then Mary was found to be with child. And the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, telling him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife and that the child she was carrying had been conceived by the Holy Spirit.

And then we come to Matthew 1:21. The angel says,

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

Then continuing in verse 22,

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).” (vv. 21–23)

Now, as far as we know, Jesus never called Himself “Immanuel,” nor did anyone else call Him that. This is not His name in the sense that “Jesus” is His name. This is more a title or a description of who He is. But all that this name means was fulfilled in Jesus.

Now, there are a number of implications of this title that was given to the baby named “Immanuel.” First we know that this baby born in Bethlehem was God. Jesus is God—God with us. This is God coming to earth in human flesh, and that’s what we celebrate at the incarnation of Jesus. He came to earth. God came to earth in the form of this baby named Jesus.

John 1 says it this way: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh [thank God!] and dwelt among us” (John 1:1, 14). And so we have a God who is not some far away, distant deity, but a God who is with us where we are—a God who came to share the experiences of our lives and our humanity.

This promise, “I am with you” that God gives to us, “I will be with you” is a promise found all the way throughout God’s Word. In fact, in recent months as I’ve been reading through the Bible again, I’ve been making a note and keeping list of wherever this promise appears, “I am with you. I will be with you.” What’s neat to see is that whatever the need of the moment was, this was God’s answer—“I am with you. I will be with you.”

“God with us.” That is our greatest need. In every circumstance, every situation in life to know that God is with us. And here’s the good news of the gospel that Jesus is Immanuel—“God with us.” As God was with His people in the Old Testament—Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Moses and Joshua and Gideon and Jeremiah—so God is with those who know and trust Jesus.

So what difference does that make in your life and mine here today—in your life circumstances—in mine? Well, if we know Jesus as Immanuel, that makes all the difference in the world. If you have Jesus, Immanuel, God is with you. That means that if you live in a cramped apartment the presence of Immanuel transforms that tiny space into a palace because Jesus is with you—God is with you.

Immanuel, God with us transforms ordinary moments and mundane tasks into opportunities for God’s glory to be displayed. Some of you are thinking, I wish I could have the kind of ministry she does. I wish I could really be used for God. Listen, are you taking care of three kids at home? If God is with you, if Jesus is your Immanuel, then what you are doing in the work place, in the home, in the church, in your relationships, then that is an opportunity for God’s glory to be displayed.

In every situation, in every season of life, in every circumstance, in every conversation that you have, in every gathering of believers, God is with us. And that affects everything! In that profane work environment where you’re the only believer, God is with you. When you’re checking Facebook, when you’re browsing the internet, God is with you, in Immanuel. When your bills are greater than your income, God is with you. When you’re up in the middle of the night nursing a newborn or caring for a sick child, Immanuel, God is with you. 

When you stand at the graveside of that loved one, if you know Immanuel, God is with you. When you feel totally inadequate to do what He has called you to do, if you know Jesus as Immanuel, God is with you. If you’re a single woman or a widow, and you feel lonely, you are not alone—God is with you.

When you are fearful of what might happen to you, God is with you. We’re going to talk later in this series about how Jesus is the “Mighty God” who is with you. When your heart is breaking and sad, God is with you. His presence can give you joy in the midst of that valley—that difficult journey.

When you don't know which direction to go or what to do, if you know Jesus as Immanuel, God is with you. And that means that you have a guide for your journey.

I listened not long ago to Pastor David Platt speaking. I was listening on the Internet, and I love this line. He said, “Followers of Jesus don’t always know where they’re going, but they always know who they’re with.” Amen. If you have Jesus in you, then you have God in you and with you. (applause) Yes, you can applaud for that.

If you know Immanuel, if you know Jesus and God is with you, then you can be free from fear. You can have courage to step out in faith, to obey God, to fulfill His calling and His mission for your life. It’s Immanuel, God with us, that enables us to do whatever He has called us to do, because God is with us.

He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). And that means if you have Immanuel, if you know Jesus as your Immanuel now, that means for all of eternity God will be with you, and you will be with Him.

Dannah: That teaching from Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth is from a series called “The Wonder of His Name.” If you want to hear more of it, you can find it at ReviveOurHearts.com.

And whether you’re having the perfect Christmas or everything seems to be going wrong this year, remember: God is with you. He is Immanuel.

Nancy: And now would you just take a moment to join with us as we pray and give thanks to the Lord for all this day means to us.

And, oh Father, what an amazing gift You have given to us in Your great Son Jesus Christ. Thank You that You loved this world so much that You sent Him from heaven to come down to this earth to be born as an infant, to grow up, to live a sinless life, to die the death that we deserve for our sin, and to be raised again from the dead so that we could have eternal life.

We love You, Father. We love Your Son, Jesus. We thank You for Immanuel, God with us, and I pray that the sweetness and the wonder and the truth of this amazing story, it’s a true story, that it would wash over our hearts this day, and that we would receive You by faith; we would trust You, bless You, worship You with all of our hearts.

And for all that You have done for us in Jesus Christ, we give You thanks, and we worship You in His precious and holy name. Amen.

This program is a listener-supported production of Revive Our Hearts in Niles, Michigan, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ. 

All Scripture was taken from the English Standard Version.

Keith and Kristyn Getty. Joy: An Irish Christmas. "Jesus, Joy of the Highest Heaven." 2011 Getty Music Label, LLC.

Steve Green. Christmas Song: No Eye Had Seen. "All Is Well." 2012 Steve Green Ministries, Inc.

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