Christmas According to ChristSample

THE CHRISTMAS SERVANT

“I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” ISAIAH 42:6-7 (ESV)

At Christmas, many of us feel tremendously cozy as we think about the familiar Nativity story. Filled with all kinds of sentimentalism, it is entirely possible for us to completely disengage from the whole panorama of God’s purpose: to allow familiarity with the scene to blind us to the awe-inspiring truth that as we look at the baby in a Bethlehem manger, we are looking in on the Servant of God. 

This Servant, Jesus, had a mission. Even Mary and Joseph had only an inkling about all He would accomplish—yet hundreds of years before Jesus arrived, God had announced what He would do to fulfill His purpose (Isaiah 42:1-4). 

Jesus came to open the eyes of the spiritually blind. During His earthly ministry, He gave a wonderful illustration of this by granting physical healing to the blind. The greatest issue, however, concerned not the body but the soul. He came to open the eyes of men and women who were blind to God’s truth. 

The Servant also came to free captives from prison. Many of us have felt the captivity of our guilt, trying countless hoped-for solutions to wash it all away. But nothing works except Jesus. He breaks our chains and sets us free. Once slaves of sin, we have now been rescued. Our Savior releases from the dungeon those who sit in darkness, if only they see His light. 

The story of the Servant is a story not about what we must do, but about what Jesus has done. He came down into the dungeon, into our enslavement, into our blindness, and said, You’ve failed and broken the law, and you are entirely unable to rectify your condition. But I save sinners. I open blind eyes. I release captives. I bring light. I have done everything required for you. Turn to Me in simple faith and childlike trust and you will see. You will be free, and your darkness will give way to sunshine. 

The one who has done all this is the one you are gazing at as you consider that familiar Nativity scene. Never let it fail to move and inspire you to praise and worship of the divine Son, who came as our Servant.  

• How is God calling me to think differently?  
• How is God reordering my heart’s affections—what I love?  
• What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today? 

Further Reading: Luke 1:26-56