(Luke 1: 19) “And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.” The angel Gabriel was a special messenger from God to give “glad tidings” to all who rejoiced at the coming of Jesus Christ. “Glad tidings,” meaning he was sent to announce the great and glad gospel story, and each person in God’s gospel’s story tells us something about the Christmas story. 1)“Zacharias,” the father of John the Baptist, his name means “The Lord remembers his oath.” Through Zacharias, God’s promise to Israel was sent not just in Jesus Christ (Messiah), but also through John who would come in the Spirit and power of Elijah to prepare Israel to receive him. 2) Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. Her name means “Consecrated to God.” Through Elizabeth the Lord remembered Israel, by sending John to those who are the consecrated of God. In the Christmas story, Elizabeth and Zacharias also gave John back to God, in consecration. 3) John the Baptist, his name means “The Lord is gracious.” Answering the prayer of Elizabeth and Zacharias in their old age was a very gracious act by God, but John was also a very gracious act of God in that he prepared Israel to receive Jesus. 4) Mary, the mother of Jesus. Her name means “gift.” Mary was indeed the bearer of God’s gift to the world. 5) Joseph, Mary’s husband. His name means “He will add.” Just as Zacharias and Elizabeth were descendants of Moses and Aaron, Joseph and Mary were descendants of the kingly line of David. Jesus was added to this lineage. 6) Jesus, his name means “Savior.” He therefore is a prophet, priest, and King.
(Matt. 2:11) “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts;...” Christmas is all about the giving of gifts ; God gave the world Jesus (Jn.3:16), and here we see the wise men giving gifts as well. I think that in many ways, gifts are the real reason that the world enjoys Christmas time, but to those of us that understand God’s purpose in sending His Son Jesus, we love this season for a different reason. The Biblical account doesn’t say how many wise men came from the east seeking Jesus, but it does tell us that they gave three different types of gifts; 1) Gold . In Jesus’ day gold was given to honor new kings, and to increase their wealth. Gold also represents the very best that God had to give to us but also the very best man should give to God. 2) Frankincense was the incense burned in the temple of Solomon. It represented praise, pra
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