Gospel Outreach International

What does it truly mean to be a witness to Christ’s coming, and how does this responsibility extend beyond the manger to our lives today? This Bible study explores the profound truth that Christmas is not merely about the trivialities of trees and decorations, but about God’s dependable nature, His incredible love for humanity, and His amazing grace in sending a Savior. Beginning with Luke 1:68-69, which speaks of how God “has visited and redeemed his people” and “raised up a horn of salvation,” we discover that numerous witnesses throughout Scripture testified to the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ - from Old Testament prophets to angels, from shepherds to wise men, from Mary and Joseph to temple teachers. Each played a vital role in confirming that God keeps His promises and that the baby born in Bethlehem was no ordinary child, but God manifest in the flesh, born to save His people from their sins.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people” Luke 1:68

• Christmas celebrates the miracle of Jesus becoming a baby in Bethlehem with the promise of salvation
• The name “Jesus” means “Jehovah the Savior” - a Greek variation of Jehoshaphat or Jehoshua
• The trivialities of Christmas (trees, decorations, celebrations) can blind us to the realities of its true meaning
• Three key messages from God: He is dependable, God is love, and Christmas is a picture of grace
• Christ was “the lamb slain before the foundation of the world” - Christmas is when God’s plan became public
• The baby in the manger was not a natural baby - He was God manifest in the flesh, 100% human and fully deity
• Old Testament prophets prophesied about the Messiah’s coming hundreds of years before it happened
• There was approximately a 400-year gap between Malachi and Matthew
• Micah 5:2 prophesied the exact location of the Messiah’s birth - Bethlehem in Judea
• Angels played a crucial role: visiting Zacharias, Mary, and the shepherds
• Mary stored up all these things in her heart and mind - she was a witness
• The Bible doesn’t specify there were three wise men - only that wise men brought three gifts
• The gifts had meaning: gold (practical provision), frankincense (worship), myrrh (embalming/death)
• Caesar Augustus’s decree for the census was God’s timing to fulfill prophecy
• Salvation means deliverance from danger (the second death); redemption means purchase from slavery to sin
• When Jesus was 12, He was found in the temple discussing with teachers who were amazed at His knowledge
• Disciples were more than just the twelve apostles - there was a larger band of followers
• John the Baptist was six months older than Jesus and was his forerunner
• All Christians are called to be witnesses of Christ - not all are preachers/teachers, but all must witness
• For every mention of Christ’s first coming, there are approximately eight mentions of His second coming
• Signs of the last days include: lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, disobedient, brutal, lovers of - pleasure rather than God
• The word translated as “difficult times” actually means “violent times”
• No one knows the day or hour of Christ’s return - not even Jesus, only the Father
• We are witnesses to the truth: God is the God of truth, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life

and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David” Luke 1:69

So here we are, friends - standing at the end of this journey through the witnesses of Christmas, and what a journey it’s been! The heart of it all comes back to Jesus, doesn’t it? He wasn’t just some cute baby in a manger for us to sing carols about once a year. No, this was God Himself, stepping into our messy world, holding all things together by the word of His power even while lying in that stable. From the womb to the cross to the tomb, Jesus was always fully God and fully man, dependable and loving, coming to save us from danger and redeem us from slavery to sin. And here’s the beautiful part - just like those shepherds couldn’t keep quiet about what they’d seen, just like the wise men traveled all that way and then went home a different way, we too are called to be witnesses. Not all of us are preachers or teachers, but every single one of us who knows Jesus has a story to tell about what God has done for us. The same Jesus who came as a baby in Bethlehem is coming back again, and the signs are all around us. So let’s not get caught up in the tinsel and forget the truth - God loves you, me, each one of us so much that He gave His only Son. That’s what Christmas is really about, and that’s the message worth sharing

Bible References

• Luke 1:68-69
• Luke 18:26
• Genesis 3
• Hebrews 1
• Micah 5:2
• 2 Timothy 3