1. Despite our culture’s romanticization of the Christ story followed by the commercialization of it; Christmas is a sacred holiday. It is the day we celebrate the Incarnation of the Son of God.l & second person of the Godhead/Trinity.

2. Contextually, the Christmas story begins in Genesis. Adam was created as a vice-regent of creation & when Adam sinned he distorted the representative nature of humankind which was made in God’s image & was intended to reflect Him. The result of sin was a cursed created order.

3. However, God in His mercy decreed that a day would come when the seed of Woman would triumph over the serpent & restore the created order bringing it back into Shalom (comprehensive peace). The Anticipation & hope of this redemptive seed is central to the Old Testament...

4. Adamic figures:
Noah... is he the one? No. fails.

Abraham, is it he? No, a sinner.

Saul? No.

Surely David?! Even David is conquered by Sin.

Christmas is a day we celebrate what the Saints of old anticipated; the coming of the New Adam, seed of Woman, vanquisher of sin!

5. Jesus, born of a lowly but faithful young woman named Mary. God’s favor looked upon a woman society would’ve never glanced twice at. Jesus, entrusted to a faithful man named Joseph (a carpenter) to be raised, nurtured, & taught the Word of God.

6. Christmas is the day we celebrate a cosmic shift in the history of God’s created order. On Christmas, we celebrate the glorious event where God Himself takes on a human nature & form and dwells among us, for us, for the sake of all of creation which languished under a curse.

7. The King of Glory, the creator of the cosmos, is born to a poor marginalized couple who could not afford access to a room so that the King of the Universe could be born in comfort. No. The Cosmic King & savior of all creation was born among his cursed creation & its filth...

8. Jesus was born in a feeding trough, in something like a barn. He was born around all the smells & elements that are found in barns. He was born & placed in the bin where animal food was put and where animals feasted. A space known to be filthy became holy ground that day.

9. Easter is the holiday where we celebrate the glorious resurrection of Christ & the ascension he made to the Father’s right side. On Christmas we celebrate Christ’s profound condescension where he became even lower than the angels in order to redeem that which was broken, us.

10. As you celebrate Christmas this year, in the midst of a pandemic, don’t forget what this Holiday represents & allow your heart to be overwhelmed with gratitude for the glorious incarnation where the eternal Son of God became one of us so that he might save us all.

I turned this thread into a blog post to make it easier to share. https://kylejhoward.com/blog/from-adam-to-immanuel-a-brief-biblical-theology-christmas-reflection/