Love in the Most Unexpected Way

The Exceptional Love of Christmas

After over two thousand years, it is no surprise that Christmas is celebrated in many unexpected ways.

The first Christmas in Bethlehem perfectly illustrates Isaiah 55:9: “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” If it had been up to us to plan and carry out the birth of the Messiah and Savior of the world, we would not have planned it the way God did.

That’s the focus of today's devotional. The deeper we understand the unexpected nature of the first Christmas, the more we will discover about the unexpected nature of God’s love for us.

The Unexpected Moment

Micah had prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). But His earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, lived in Nazareth. So, how did God get them from Nazareth to Bethlehem? By moving the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, to declare a census in the Roman Empire (Luke 2:1-4). Since Joseph was of the house of David, he and Mary went to register for the census in Bethlehem, the city of David.

So when it was time for humanity to be redeemed into freedom from the law, God moved the Roman emperor at the same time Mary was pregnant with Jesus—and that’s why Jesus was born when He was born.

The Unexpected Manner

If you were planning the birth of the Savior, would you have had Him born in a tiny village, in a stable, laid in a feeding trough, celebrated by a group of ragtag shepherds? Probably not—so why did God do it that way?

Jesus came into the world to identify with those He came to save. Jesus was born a King, yet, chose to be born in a stable. He had rights to royalty, yet He gave up those rights and humbled Himself. He came in such a way that you and I might see Him as one of us—Someone who suffered and was tempted just as we are (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15; 5:8).

The Unexpected Mission

First, He came to save “whosoever will”—not just the Jews. Second, the salvation He brought necessitated His death. No one would have planned for Jesus to die—except the One who knew He would be raised from the dead, becoming the source of new and eternal life for all who believe in Him.

The Unexpected Meaning

The most unexpected thing about Christmas is that we can be saved by grace, through faith. God entering into human history to save the ones who rejected Him in the beginning . . . nothing could have been more unexpected than that.

In our next time together, let's uncover a Match Made in Heaven – The Enduring Love of Christmas. Join me then!