On July 29, 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong climbed out of a spaceship and down a ladder and put his feet on the surface of the moon.  Later, in an address to the nation, President Richard Nixon said, “The greatest event in human history occurred when man first put his foot on the moon.” 

President Nixon was wrong.  The greatest event in human history was not when Mr. Armstrong set foot on the moon, but, rather, it was when God set foot on the earth.  When God stepped out of heaven through the portal of the human womb and was manifested in the flesh, that was the greatest and most significant event in human history.  No secular event can come close to equaling the time when the Son of God became the Son of man.  Other than Calvary itself, that was the greatest event in human history.

Isaiah foretold of the time when Christ would be miraculously born of a virgin (Isaiah 14:7), and we read of it again when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary.

Luke 1:31-35 (ESV)
³¹  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³²  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³  and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” ³⁴  And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” ³⁵  And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

In the very next chapter of Luke, we read of Gabriel’s words coming to fruition (Luke 2:1-7), and another appearance of angels, this time to shepherds in the field.

Luke 2:8-11 (ESV)
⁸  And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰  And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

The good news was of the greatest sort.  The Savior has arrived!  From what would He save the people?  An angel of the Lord said to Joseph, “…He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).  Finally, the sin that Adam and Eve introduced into the world would now be conquered, and man would soon be able to escape the grasp of the devil, for this Savior would bruise his head (Genesis 3:15), and man will be able to escape the slavery of Satan and the fear of death (Hebrews 2:15).

This birth of the Savior took place at exactly the right time for it was according to God’s timetable.  Paul wrote, “But when the fulness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

While man would have to wait about thirty years before salvation would be offered, the birth of Christ was the necessary first step.  It was a step of grace, undeserved by man but set in motion by the love of God.  Referring to the incarnation of Christ, Paul reminds us of how fortunate we are that Jesus was willing to be born into this world.

2 Corinthians 8:9 (ESV)
⁹  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.      

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.