The True Story of Mary's Baby

Gen 32:9-31; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon preached a St Mark’s Bassendean on 21 December 2025 

Intro  

Again, right up against Christmas, we have been stunned, shocked and full of grief as we've watched the reports of the killing at Bondi and listened to a confused range of explanations, and suggestions about what to do. And many of us have our own griefs & troubles.

 

It seems that around every Christmas there are tragedies or disasters that grieve us, or make us afraid. These things happen at other times of course but they seem to stand out in contrast to Christmas.

 

Christmas is a very good time to think and reflect about these things because this is when God did something to rescue us humans that you couldn't have imagined or guessed.

 

I want to tell you the true story of Mary's baby.

         Like all stories it will be good to start at the beginning.

 

1.The Beginning

In the beginning God said (Genesis 1:26-27) Let us make humans in our image, after our likeness. ...So God created humans in his own image,  in the image of God he created them...

 

So there was a True Image or likeness of God that was the model for making the humans. He was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1-2) This True Image is  exactly like God and shares God's being, (Heb 1.3). In other words the True Image was God.

 

So there was the True Image

and there was the earthly image,

         the humans, - modelled on the True Image.

The earthly image is the whole race of humans - without distinctions or divisions of language or culture, of geography or religion.

 

At first God and the humans got on very well in the Garden Orchard.

Until the humans decided that they wouldn't do what God told them to do. They decided to do what they wanted to do.

         God said that if they did that they would die.

 

So God pushed them out of the beautiful garden

         and they died, and kept on dying, one after the other.

 

Since then humans have been resistant and hostile to God. And hostile to each other. The story of Jacob fearing Esau and wrestling all night in the dark with a man he didn't know, is a good picture of this struggle and hostility. (Gen 32.9-31). Jacob didn't know the man's name, but he thought he was the face of God.

 

God tried many times to bring them back to him: a special family to model how to relate to God, simple rules for living, prophets, warnings, judgements, exile, new starts ... 

         but no change.   Still hostile.         Still dying.

 

2. Immanuel

And then God did an astonishing thing. The True Image joined himself with an earthly image. He did this by being born as a normal human being - as a baby - Mary's baby (Matt 1.21-23).

         As for the hostility, the authorities tried to kill him but failed this time. However they did kill all the little boys near Bethlehem.

 

This baby, Jesus, is the real actual True Image of God (Luke 1.31-35). Fully God. He is also a real human being, one of the earthly images. The two images, human and divine, are united in Jesus as one person (Rom 1.1-6). In Jesus, God is with us as a human (Matt 1.23) Immanuel.

 

And then for the next 30 or more years we see that it is possible for the earthly image and the True Image of God to live together in perfect harmony. Jesus is never confused about what to do. He always does what God wants him to do. He follows the word and will of the Father all the time.

         So there is hope for the humans after all.

 

3. Rescue

But the human earthly image, we humans, have two big problems.

We have a rebellious streak that has never been overcome. More than a streak. More like an inner corruption of our nature.  And up to the time of Christ no solution had been found to fix it or remove it.

 

And God has against us a complete list of all the things we have done because of our rebelliousness. Which explains our other big problem: that we all keep dying. Which is what God said would happen if people didn't do what he said.

 

But God never stopped loving his earthly images. He is quite attached to them. He stepped in to rescue the earthly image - us humans -  and did an even more astonishing thing.

Mary's baby, who is now a grown up man, still both the True Divine Image of God and still a normal human being, this Jesus died.

 

Not because the earthly image in him deserved to - on the contrary he didn't need to die.

         Rather he took on himself everything that stood against all of us humans. All our rebelliousness, all our sin. All our violence. The complete list of charges against us. (Col 2.14) He died our death for us. (2 Cor 5.21)

         So we could be forgiven.

 

And - this is magnificent - he took the earthly image to the grave with him, killed it off, if you like. But he didn't leave it for dead.

 

When Jesus was raised the True divine Image was still united with the earthly image, but something was different about the earthly image. Now Jesus had a body that would never die. A transformed immortal body that could ascend with him to the presence of God.

 

And now we see at the right hand of God the True Image united with the transformed earthly image in the person of Jesus.

 

One human has been brought into the presence of God to share in his glory.  Only one.

 

4. Including Us

Or perhaps we should say the First One (Col 1.18). Because God's great plan is to have an uncountable number of other humans join Jesus (Rom 8.29), be at peace with God, end the hostility, and be transformed to be like the True Image.

 

How does that work for us rebellious humans?

 

Is God calling you to get into unity with Jesus? To have him take up residence in your life so that you and he are at peace and harmony and you do just what he tells you?

Is God promising you forgiveness because of Christ's death?

(Col 1.14)

Then you should turn to Christ and do what God says: ask forgiveness, ask for his Spirit.

 

          If not you will die under the judgement of God that Jesus died to free you from.

 

When you do  turn to Christ the True Image will fill you with his presence. His Spirit will join with your spirit and bring God's presence into your life. And bring you into God's presence.

 

He will transform the old rebellious nature into one that loves God.  Making you into the newly created true image - like Jesus (2 Cor 3.18; Col 3.10). And fill you with his comfort, and power

 

Is this your life? Is your life tied into the life of Jesus? Is Jesus filling you with his presence? 

 

         All this is a sign that the same God who raised Jesus will raise you and transform your mortal body into the likeness of the True Image, the man from heaven. (Rom 8.11; 1 Cor 15:49; Phil 3.21)

 

         It was always God's intention that those who belong to Christ should really become  like the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (Rom 8.29).  Are you one of them and enjoying it?

 

This is the true story of Mary's baby.

This is the story we need whenever there is a tragedy.

This is the story we need whenever there is not any tragedy.

This is the story we need all the time.

This is the Great Story