Last week, in part 2, we caught glimpses of Jesus before the manger. We saw him hovering over the waters, speaking light into darkness, and breathing life into clay. We were reminded that Bethlehem was not his beginning; it was his arrival. In other words, he was already moving in Genesis, already working, already shining before the sun was formed. He was already speaking before creation took shape, and so Bethlehem is simply the place where eternity crosses the line into humanity.

That brings us to today, this Sunday before Christmas, the moment the eternal Christ enters time. This is the moment the invisible becomes visible, the Word becomes flesh, and the light that shone in Genesis now appears in Bethlehem.

This is what Zechariah prophesied, saying:

“Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace” (Luke 1:78-79, NLT).

And so, the same God who said, “Let there be light,” now rests in a manger.

John describes it this way in the introduction to his gospel:

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

The Word became flesh, not merely an idea, a concept, or a philosophy, but the Word. In other words, the same Word who spoke creation into existence, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, and who shaped the heavens and the earth stepped into human history, wrapped himself in flesh, and entered our darkness.

Matthew tells us this Child would be called,

“Immanuel,” which means, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

Luke describes angels filling the sky with glory, shepherds running to Bethlehem to see this thing that has happened, where they…

“Found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger” (Luke 2:16).

But this wasn’t the beginning of Jesus; this was the revelation of Jesus, the light stepping into darkness. This was God who became flesh and made his dwelling among us, as John said:

“The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world” (John 1:9).

And what a world he entered! A world under Roman oppression, marked by violence, fear, and injustice. A world where heaven had been silent for 400 years. A world where the law existed, yet hearts were still far from God. A world wandering in spiritual darkness. Into that world, the Light that shone in Genesis appeared again.

This is why Christmas cannot be reduced to some sort of ideology constructed from Christmas carols. Christmas was a cosmic invasion of sorts as the light shines in the darkness (John 1:5).

Christmas is light entering darkness, eternity entering time, God crossing the line into our world. As John said,

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14).

In other words, he came down from heaven because we could not reach up to glory.

And so, Bethlehem becomes proof, and the manger becomes evidence, that God keeps his promises. Christmas celebrates the moment when the Creator enters creation, not to admire his handiwork but to redeem it. This is the moment when the invisible becomes visible, the eternal becomes tangible, and the Word becomes flesh.

We now see that everything God revealed from the beginning has been moving toward this holy moment. Christmas is not an isolated event; it is the continuation and completion of a divine sequence that began before time itself. In Genesis, we saw,

“The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2).

We saw God command light into existence, the Creator form man from the dust of the ground, and the Lord of the Sabbath rest on the seventh day. We saw the Savior searching for Adam in the garden, calling out,

“Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9).

And we saw the righteous one provide a covering through the blood of an innocent substitute.

Now, in Bethlehem, all those revelations converge in one Person,

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

We saw the Holy Spirit hovering in creation, and now the Holy Spirit appears once again when the angel tells Mary,

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35).

And so, God sends his Word, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, that Word becomes flesh in her womb. The Creator humbles himself to be born in a stable, laid in a manger, and dependent on human care. The Lord of the Sabbath, the one who rested on the seventh day, becomes the One who can give true rest to all you who are weary and burdened (Matthew 11:28).

The angels appeared, announcing,

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

A Savior, the righteous one, who came to seek and save the lost, first appears wrapped in cloths in a manger in Bethlehem. From the very beginning, the Lamb of God is placed among sacrificial animals, not in a palace or a home, but so that we understand who he is in the manger.

You see, Jesus is not a new character entering the story. He is the fulfillment, the continuation, and the climax of the story. He is the same Christ we saw in Genesis, now clothed in flesh and stepping into the mission prepared before the foundation of the world. He is, as the gospel says,

“The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

This is why the angels were so jubilant as they proclaimed the good news with great joy. This is why the shepherds didn’t hesitate but hurried to Bethlehem. And this is why:

“Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).

Because all of creation recognized what was happening, the one who spoke light into being in creation had now become the light of the world.

And so the manger becomes the meeting place between heaven and earth. It is the intersection where eternity touches time. And it is the birth of Christ that marks both the completion of what God began in Genesis and the beginning of what he would finish at the cross and in the resurrection. But now that the Savior has entered the world, nothing can remain the same when light steps into darkness.

You see, Jesus didn’t come into the world to be admired; he came to confront the wilderness into which Adam was driven. This is the same wilderness humanity has wandered through for hundreds of generations. It is that wilderness that represents chaos, temptation, testing, and spiritual conflict.

But now that the Savior is born, everything is about to change, because it is in the wilderness that his authority is proven. I want you to see this by jumping ahead 30 years, because after Jesus is baptized, after the heavens open and the Holy Spirit rests on him, and after the Father declares, “You are my son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased,” immediately after these things, the Scripture tells us:

“Jesus was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him” (Mark 1:13).

That is the story of Christmas: God stepping into hostile territory, born into a broken world. As soon as Jesus begins his ministry, he steps straight into the wilderness, into a battleground, where he is confronted by Satan.

Isn’t that like your grandmother’s manger scene: Jesus in the wilderness, wild animals, spiritual opposition, and the ministry of angels?

Here, conflict and comfort exist together. This is the world that Jesus entered. Mark gives us a detail the other gospel writers do not, namely that Jesus was with the wild animals. He was with creatures that could lash out and tear flesh. Predators that sense weakness and take advantage of it. Wild animals that represent the disorder of a fallen world. And yet for 40 days he was not overcome, and when it was over, the angels attended him.

There is a spiritual truth in this that many believers have never heard. Blessings often arrive in the presence of wild animals. Your breakthrough comes while the enemy watches, waiting for an opportunity, hoping you will let down your guard. You see, God’s work doesn’t happen in sterile environments where everyone sings Silent Night. It happens in those wilderness places where opposition gathers and the angels wait to minister.

This is why some of you feel like you are struggling even as God is blessing you. Doors are opening, and new seasons are beginning, but suddenly warfare increases, fear begins to rise in your heart. It’s not because God has left you but because God is working and the enemy is resisting.

I want you to notice that the wild animals could watch Jesus but could not touch him. The dark wilderness surrounded him, yet it could not stop him. Satan tempted him, but he could not overcome him. When light steps into the darkness, darkness doesn’t win; it is overwhelmed. And so, the wilderness did not diminish his glory; it revealed it.

And this is where everything comes together, because the Christ who hovered over the waters in Genesis now enters the wilderness with authority. The same voice that commanded light now confronts darkness face-to-face. The same God who covered Adam now withstands the temptation Adam could not resist.

You see, Christmas is an invasion of the wilderness. It is light that exposes the darkness and takes back what the enemy stole. And so, there is hope for every believer, because if Jesus faced the wilderness, you will too. If Jesus encountered wild animals, you may as well. But if angels ministered to him, they will minister to you as well. After all,

“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14).

And so, Christmas is not merely the birth of our Savior; it is the arrival of our conquering King. If he overcame, you can overcome. If he walked through the wilderness victorious, you can come through your wilderness victorious. That same light that shone in Genesis and rested in Bethlehem is the same light that stands with you and your wilderness today.

That is why it is important that we understand the message of the gospel:

“The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (Matthew 4:16).

In other words, as we come to the manger, we need to understand why Jesus came in the first place, because his birth was not an isolated miracle. It was God’s answer to a problem that began in Genesis.

You see, when Adam sinned, sin entered the world and created tension. God loved Adam, but God is holy and hated sin. As long as Adam and sin were separate, there was no conflict, but once Adam joined himself to sin, the one God loved became entangled with what God hated. And so, if God judged sin, he would destroy the man he loved, but if God spared the man, he would tolerate the sin he hated.

This was the dilemma because,

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne” (Psalm 89:14).

And so, righteousness demanded judgment, but love demanded mercy. Justice demanded death, but grace demanded redemption. And so, God, who cannot deny his own nature, had to satisfy both justice and mercy at the same time. The Bible says,

“The soul who sins is the one who will die” (Ezekiel 18:4).

And so, this tension existed long before Jesus shed a drop of blood. Humanity could not resolve it. The law could not resolve it. The priests could not resolve it. Sacrifices could point to a solution, but they could never complete it. So, God himself stepped into the story, not only as Judge, but as a lamb.

The prophet Isaiah spoke of this long before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He prophesied of a man of sorrows, telling us,

“He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

In fact, we saw this foreshadowed from the very beginning, in the garden, where God revealed his plan. Adam tried to cover himself with leaves, but God knew it was only superficial, and so,

“The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).

In other words, something innocent had to die to cover something guilty. An innocent life was given so a guilty life could continue. Blood was shed to cover Adam's shame. That moment in the garden foreshadowed Christmas, pointing to

“The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

God showed that the only solution to his dilemma would be that he would provide a substitute.

The animal that died in Genesis did not die for its own sin, but it died for Adam’s. In that way, justice was satisfied without destroying the one God loved. Adam’s sacrifice was temporary because:

“It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).

but the Lamb of God born in Bethlehem would be final.

“He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself” (Hebrews 7:27).

outside of Jerusalem on Calvary’s hill.

And so, the Son of God took upon himself the sin that God hated, so humanity could receive the love God desired to give. He became the substitute and the covering, giving us peace with God.

“Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:14).

This is why Christmas cannot be separated from the cross. The manger points to Calvary. The Lamb born among animals would die among sinners. And so Jesus is both the giver and the gift, the sacrifice and the substitute, and Bethlehem is where the solution to God’s dilemma wrapped himself in flesh.

When we talk about glimpses of Jesus, we refer to the way God has revealed himself throughout Scripture. Lives were changed not because people saw everything clearly, but because they saw enough. Moses hid himself in the cleft of the rock and caught a glimpse on the mountain, and his countenance was changed. Simeon caught a glimpse of Jesus in the temple and declared that his life was complete:

“I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel” (Luke 2:30-32, NLT).

The shepherds in the field caught a glimpse and hurried to Bethlehem. The wise men caught a glimpse and followed a star across the desert to worship the Messiah, the King of Israel.

This is what Christmas is, a glimpse of eternity wrapped in flesh. Glory lying in a manger. Light stepping into darkness. The Lamb who would take away the sin of the world revealed, not in his glory, but only a glimpse. You see, it just takes one glimpse to change a life and redirect a destiny.

This is why people often struggle to explain what happened when God touched their lives. They may not have the words for it; they just know something lifted when they caught a glimpse of Jesus. Not a blue-eyed blonde-haired version of Jesus shaped by tradition or culture, but the Jesus who entered the wilderness, faced wild animals, confronted darkness, and overcame it all.

That is the Christ of Christmas, the gift God has given. You may not see everything clearly yet, but you know your spirit moves when his presence fills the room. You may not understand everything yet, you may still feel as if you are seeing a poor reflection as in a mirror (1 Corinthians 13:12).

But a glimpse is enough, because a glimpse of Jesus can bring healing, silence tormenting thoughts, restore peace, and awaken hope.

Everything we have seen in this series leads us to one unchanging truth: God wants to give you a revelation of Jesus. Christmas is God speaking the same words He spoke at the dawn of creation.

“Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).

He wants light to break into places that have been dark for a long time, because the more clearly you see him, the more powerfully you are changed by him.

When God spoke those words at the beginning, creation responded. When he spoke through the prophets, hope was awakened. When he spoke in Bethlehem, the Light himself entered the world. And now God speaks those words again, not over the earth, but over human hearts. The God who said,

“Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

And so, that first Christmas was not just a moment in history; it is God shining light into humanity’s darkness. The light that pushed back chaos in creation has come to confront the chaos in the mind. The light that stepped into the wilderness has come to confront the lies that have held people captive.

This is why the enemy fights so hard for your thoughts, why temptation circles like a predator, why discouragement whispers, and why fear presses in. The enemy knows what happens when light enters a heart. Darkness loses its grip because light reveals Jesus and brings everlasting life. And that is what God wants to do right now. He wants to speak light into your heart. He says,

“Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3).

Light in your mind, light in your family, light in your home, light in your wilderness. He says, “Let there be light” because light invades and overcomes darkness. He doesn’t abandon the weary or ignore the broken; instead, he strengthens and heals them.

This is what Christmas means: the light stepped into the darkness, and the light came for you. You do not have to escape the wilderness or silence every wild animal for God to find you. He comes near to meet you where you are. Not where you pretend to be, not where you wish you were, but right where you are.

And the line between darkness and light comes down to one simple response: Jesus, I need You. That is the moment the story turns. When He steps into a heart, He speaks the same words He spoke at creation.

“Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).

In that moment, darkness loses its power. It has no choice but to retreat, because light has stepped into the darkness.

 

Graphics, notes, and commentary from LifeChurch, Ministry Pass, PC Study Bible, Preaching Library, and Sermon Central. Scripture from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.