The biblical Christmas narratives in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2 show that the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ was revealed to various types of people – a young carpenter and his fiancé, an aging priest and his wife, common shepherds, wealthy and learned foreign magi, as well as two faithful senior saints eagerly awaiting the coming of Messiah.
When an angel of the Lord announced the birth of the Savior to the shepherds he proclaimed: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.” This is good news of great joy for all the people because Jesus came to be the Savior of all types and classes of people. All who believe and receive Him as their Savior and Lord, regardless of their age or social status, are rescued from the penalty and power of sin and receive God’s gifts of forgiveness and eternal life.
This truth is beautifully illustrated through a remarkable event in the ministry of G. Campbell Morgan (1863-1945). Morgan, who has been called “the prince of Bible expositors,” twice pastored the prestigious Westminster Chapel in London. He once was conducting a series of evangelistic meetings in one of the Midlands towns of England when a poor ragpicker came into the inquiry room after the preaching service. According to Morgan the man had “grown hoary in the service of sin and Satan.” Morgan knelt by the ragpicker and used the Word of God to lead him to the Savior.
Presently someone touched Morgan’s shoulder and asked him to speak with another man who had come into the place of prayer seeking spiritual guidance. This second individual turned out to be the mayor of the town, and Morgan similarly pointed him to Jesus as his Savior.
After the mayor finished praying, he stood and went over to the ragpicker. Just a few weeks before the mayor had sentenced the ragpicker to a month of hard labor for one of his repeated infractions of the law. Now the mayor stated, “Well, the last time we met, it was not here.”
“No,” the ragpicker responded, “and we never shall meet where we met last time, thank God!”
Morgan’s comment on this unusual circumstance was that the same Gospel message was sufficient for both men.
This Christmas season may those of us who know Jesus as our Savior overflow with fresh praise and thanksgiving to Him for having come to earth to provide our salvation. If you have not yet done so, may God graciously draw you to place your faith in His Son as your Savior. If I may be of any assistance to you in that matter, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
A blessed and Christ-honoring Christmas to all!
Copyright 2017 by Vance E. Christie