Christian hymns and songs often carry with them some quite fascinating stories that surround their creation. Such is the story of how the Christmas hymn, Silent Night, came about. It was Christmas time, 1818 in the village of Oberndorf, Austria. When it was discovered that the organ at St. Nicholas Church would not function, possibly because some mice had eaten through the billows, some last minute adjustments had to be made. After all, one needs to be flexible when it comes to worship! Without the organ, the planned music had to be scrapped, but what to do? Christmas Eve without music is like apple pie without the ice cream. Father Joseph Mohr, the assistant priest, decided to write a new song to be used instead. He then asked organist Franz Gruber, to compose a tune. Since there was no organ, the music was written to be played on guitar. Over the years, Silent Night has become an all-time Christmas favorite.

The story of this hymn is a story of how God provided in an amazing and unusual way to meet a very real need. This hymn itself illustrates wonderfully how God provides for us through Jesus. Surely God has provided in an amazing and unusual way to meet our need for salvation. God’s salvation also results in a new song, which the Bible says (Revelations 14:3) only the redeemed can sing. Christ’s provision for our salvation came about through His sacrifice, which Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 8:9.

This Christmas Eve we are going to connect the dots between this verse, 2 Corinthians 8:9, and the Christmas hymn Silent Night.

First, Jesus’ sacrifice was a willing sacrifice as we sing in the first stanza. It was with “heavenly peace” that Christ came into this world because He came to pay the price for our sins, and that decision had been made long before that special day in Bethlehem. God’s plan of salvation is not an accident of history, but was a predetermined plan before the foundations of this world were even laid.

Paul in this verse uses the word ‘grace,’ “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The definition of God’s grace is ‘unmerited favor or blessing.’ That means we don’t deserve it, but God will give it to us anyway. We don’t deserve His love, but He showers us with it. We don’t deserve His transforming touch on our lives, but He wants to touch us in spite of ourselves.

During the Civil War, a young man was brought to Gen Robert E. Lee for a fraction of the rules. The young man was trembling. “You need not be afraid,” said the general to the young soldier. “You’ll get justice here.” “I know it,” replied the young man. “That’s what I’m scared of.” Let me ask you this Christmas Eve—Are you afraid of God’s justice? One day each one of us will stand before the supreme Commander of the Universe and confess that we have broken the rules. The good news is that in the midst of justice there is grace for those who accept God’s gift of salvation and instead of justice, we will receive mercy.

The Bible reveals that every one of us is a sinner (Romans 3:3) and therefore we are under God’s condemnation of eternal death and separation (Romans 6:3). The good news is that through this baby born in Bethlehem, God’s Messiah, God has made available to us the “gift of eternal life” (Romans 6:23). This is grace—God provided a way out and we don’t even deserve it. Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrates His love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” It was June 6, 1994 that General Norman Schwarskopf and Dan Rather were walking through the US cemetery at Normandy, observing the D-Day invasion. As they did, General Schwarskopf said that in light of these men, we should live to make this world worth dying for. A very noble ambition. One day 33 years after Bethlehem this baby faced His D-Day. He came to a people, who were not worth saving, nor dying for: sinners and rejecters of God. When Jesus did come they did not recognize Him or even care that He was there, but still He came. He came not to make this world worth dying for, but to make life worth the living.

Second, His was a wondrous sacrifice as we sing in stanza 2. Indeed, at the birth of Christ, “Glories stream from heaven afar.” The glory of God was brought down to man in human form. John records, as depicted in the Amplified Bible, “And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we (actually) saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives for his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.” (John 1:14).

As Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians 8:9, “though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor.” The thought that the Almighty God of the universe would take upon Himself human form is wondrous, indeed! Please note why Jesus did this, “for your sakes.” In becoming a man, Christ came to identify with us in our humanity.

There’s the story of a little boy who went into a pet shop to look for a puppy. The owner showed him a litter of puppies. After a couple minutes, the boy went back to owner and said, “I’ve picked out my puppy. How much will it cost?” The owner gave him a price and the boy promised to return in a few days with the money. The owner cautioned, “Don’t wait too long. Puppies sell quickly.” The boy replied, “I’m not worried. Mine will still be here.” The boy worked hard and saved his money. When he had enough, he returned to the store and presented the owner with a wad of bills. The boy reached into the puppy pen and pulled out a skinny little dog with a bad leg. The owner saw what happened and called out, “You don’t have to take that puppy, son. He’s crippled. He can’t play. He’ll never run with you. He can’t fetch. Take one of the healthy ones.”

The boy turned and said, “No thank you, sir. This is exactly the kind of dog I’ve been looking for.” And as the boy turned to leave, the owner suddenly understood. Extending out from the bottom of the boy’s pants was a brace for his leg. The boy knew how the puppy felt and rescued it.

Jesus knows how we feel. He became one of us and rescues us from our imperfections and sin. It is a wondrous thought that Jesus became like us so that we might become like Him!

Third, His was a world-changing sacrifice as we see in the 3rd stanza. Jesus’ birth marked the beginning of God’s work to make our salvation possible. As obvious as it may seem, without His birth there could be no atoning sacrifice. The cradle leads to the cross. As this hymn reminds us the Christmas event was “the dawn of redeeming grace.” Paul in 2 Corinthians 8:9 puts it this way, “so that you through His poverty might become rich.” Just to be clear, Paul is not talking about money and financial wealth here. God’s primary desire is to share the wealth of His love with you and me, and Christ’s sacrifice makes that possible.

Another definition of ‘grace’ is an acronym:

G od’s
R iches
A t
C hrist’s
E xpense

Grace is all that God has for us is made possible because of Jesus. It is in and through Him that we can have all that is necessary to live a changed and transformed life. Unlike other Christmas personalities, we don’t have to be good in order to receive God’s gifts and blessings. It is because of God’s grace that we can even be good! So many people have the mistaken idea that in order to experience God’s love and favor they have to be good. We are so loved and favored by God just because He wants to…that is grace. When we respond to God’s grace, then we can change and be good. It is God working in us to perfect us and change both our hearts and minds into goodness and right living.

Someone has said, “Jesus first catches His fish and then He cleans them.” Far too many people try to clean themselves up then hope that God will catch them.

Gloria Gaither expressed it this way, “Right from the beginning God’s love has reached, and from the beginning man has refused to understand. But love went right on reaching, offering itself. And still today, after 2,000 years, patiently, lovingly, Christ is reaching out to us today. He is reaching, longing to share with us, the very being of God. His love still is longing, His love still is reaching, right past the shackles of my mind. And the Word of the Father became Mary’s little Son. And His love reached all the way to where I was.”

The birth of Jesus is an historic event that has vast implications for us today. Have you been caught be Jesus?

Thank You for Taking The Time to Read This Message.
May God Use These Words to Help You and Strengthen You.