Luke 2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another… This, "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing," &c., was the resolution of the shepherds on the original Christmas Day. May it be our own I "Come and see," is written upon the gospel. There is no secrecy and no concealment in it. It challenges inquiry. I. WE HAVE A FACT BEFORE US: "UNTO YOU IS BORN A SAVIOUR." It is a summary of revelation. 1. It presupposes a ruin. 2. It assumes that salvation must come from without. 3. It declares that the Deliverer, though He comes from without the creature, must enter into it by incorporation. There must be a birth to bring in the Saviour into the Cosmos. "Unto you is born a Saviour" — Incarnation makes Him such. II. When we try to obey the summons the first thing which we notice is, that CHRISTMAS DAY IS THE FESTIVAL OF REDEMPTION AS A WHOLE. It presents to us, not so much one part or one element of the gospel, but rather the intervention of God in Christ to save sinners as a single and complete act, containing in itself all that was necessary to give it validity and efficacy. III. But the festival of Christmas, though its foundation lies so deep, has a thought for all natures. It is in an especial sense THE FESTIVAL, OF THE BRIGHTER SIDE OF CHRISTIANITY. IV. Christmas is by common consent THE FESTIVAL OF THE FAMILY AND THE HOME. (Dean Vaughan,) Parallel Verses KJV: And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. |
    |