Every year they made this trek—Nazareth to Jerusalem. There was business to conduct at the temple. It was time to be in the presence of God. It was time to make a sacrifice.

This time, Jesus got to go. He was 12 years old—no longer a boy, He was a man, now. As such, it was time for Him to sit at the feat of the teachers for Torah instruction.

And, wouldn’t you know it, the first time He is receiving instruction from the Torah teachers, He amazes them. He was asking questions the teachers never heard before; He was causing them to think of things they had never thought of before. This young Man, supposed to be a student, had become the teacher, and the teachers became the students. This was no ordinary 12-year old sitting with them. Where did He learn these things? Joseph was a carpenter, certainly not a trained theologian, so it couldn’t have been from His “father.” Well, St. Luke wrote, “And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.”

Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem for a census. There was no room in the inn. Mary gave birth in a stable and laid her Babe in a manger, wrapped in swaddling cloths. This Baby is the Son of God—God in the flesh. Remember everything you’ve heard from me this past month as regards God in the flesh, because it’s all right there in the manger. (cf. Luke 2:1-7)

Shepherds were in the field tending their flocks that night. Then, an angel of the Lord appeared to them. They were frightened, but the angel brought them good news and was joined by a whole host of angels to sing a song:

The angels departed. The Shepherds made their way to see this thing of which they heard. They marveled, then went around telling everyone the things which they had heard and seen, then returned to their fields and folds. But Mary kept all things and pondered them in her heart. (cf. Luke 2:8-20)

Pause, because that’s what St. Luke does. The Son of God, who is the Word of God, is born in Bethlehem, as the prophets foretold, then Luke pauses for 8 days.

What a man, that Simeon. Although it is assumed he was an old man, gray and wrinkled, his age is never explicitly stated. This prophet, as he was, had spent his life waiting for God's promised salvation. He had spent his life waiting for God's promise to him to be fulfilled—it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

And so it was, after Simeon's wait, it was time for Mary, the Mother of God, to perform the ritual of purification, required by the Law of Moses for all women, 40 days after they had given birth. He was also her firstborn son, so there was another law to keep: “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”—so it was that Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the temple to present Him to the Lord. Simeon was there; right away he recognized this ordinary-looking child as the fulfillment of God's promise.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews wrote, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Hebrews 1:1-2) While God was always present with His people, as you might recall from a sermon three weeks ago, He didn’t always speak directly to them, certainly not as a group so that everyone could hear. That said, God is always present in His Word, and long ago His Word was most often proclaimed by the prophets. That’s the way God spoke to His people long ago, revealing His Word to the prophets who would reveal God to the people through that same Word.

But now, in these latter days, God’s presence among men is through His Son. There are still prophets, so to speak, as I mentioned in a Sunday sermon several days ago, who relate to men the Word of God. However, unlike the prophets of long ago, the prophets today speak the Word already revealed in the Scripture, nothing that was told them in a vision or dream, because that’s how God interacted long ago. So, to you it is given to hear the Word of God as it has been handed down from the Apostles and Prophets, recounted for you again and again, because you need to hear it again and again, hear the message of the Gospel again and again, that the Son of God was incarnate of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, buried, and rose again, all for your forgiveness, life, and salvation.

The prophet Isaiah foretold it: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) Matthew translates it for you: “God with us.” This is what you heard about at the first Mid-week Advent service. Immanuel is an amazing thing—but so is a virgin conceiving!

A virgin conceiving?! That’s not how this works. What does it mean? It means that the Son she carries is no ordinary Boy. He has no human father, which means that He has no direct human link to the fallen nature and sin of Adam. “From sire to son to bane descends,” you have sung before, just as it is proclaimed in the Scriptures. (cf. Romans 5:12-14, 18-19) The rest of you have human fathers, so like your fathers before you, you have sin.