THURSDAY December 5, 2024

The Certainty of the Christmas Message

Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.
Luke 1:1-4

The Gospel of Luke was not written by an Apostle; Luke was not Jewish, he was Greek. It is believed he became a personal physician to Theophilus, a Roman governor. Luke had the wonderful opportunity to write to him and share an orderly account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ––the certainty of the Christmas message.

Luke wanted Theophilus to know without a doubt that the things he wrote about to him were true. In fact, the word certainty means “undoubted truth.” We know the Bible is not an ordinary book; it is God’s inspired Word. We can trust God’s Word because God does not lie: God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19).

God had not spoken to His people for 400 years. There was a great silence from the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, to the first book of the New Testament, Matthew. The Word of God had ceased. There had not been any visions, dreams, or angels sent with a message to His people. At this time, God’s judgment had come upon the nation of Israel. They were oppressed because the land was occupied by the Romans.

During this dark time of oppression, Christ’s birth would happen. Luke started retelling the story from the beginning, and, because of this Theophilus understood that the angel Gabriel had visited Zacharias, a faithful priest. During Christmas, start at the beginning, and share with certainty about the birth of Christ so that no doubt remains in the hearts of your listeners.

If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words: “God with us.”
~John MacArthur~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!