We are indebted to Matthew for his gospel story and the account of the birth of Christ. Likely he tells the Christmas story from Joseph’s viewpoint: how the angel visited him to reveal the miraculous conception of the Christ child and that Joseph was to take Mary home as his wife and to give her child the name “Jesus,” the visit of the Wise Men, and the flight to Egypt to escape Herod’s evil design.
And we love Luke’s own unique version of the Christmas story. He tells it from Mary’s viewpoint: the visit of the angel to her and the joyful declaration—“You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,” the journey to Bethlehem, the crowded inn and the manger, the angels’ visit to the shepherds and their subsequent discovery of the holy family.
But there is another version of the Christmas story, the one told by John, the beloved disciple of our Lord. John’s account is very brief, but filled with even deeper truth and meaning.
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 NIV) John, an older man by now, writing perhaps 60 years after the birth of Christ, has discovered through his own experience and through the revealing of the Holy Spirit, the deepest truths of Jesus’ incarnation - He is fully human, yet fully divine.
That is the mystery and the miracle of Christmas. That is what made the cross and the resurrection so vitally real and important. Jesus shed His blood there, undefiled by sin, so that sin’s curse might be removed from all who believe.
John helps us understand that Christmas indeed involves a gift - the gift of eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” Matthew and Luke help us with the unforgettable details; John bids us to receive the gift of Christmas, so sacrificially given.
“To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”