People might think, "Oh, if the angels came to earth to speak to anybody, it ought to have been to Caesar, or it ought to have been to Quirinius, or perhaps it ought to have been to the Jewish authorities, the priests." No, that is not what God did. God gave this glorious announcement to these men who were out in the fields with their sheep. The experience that they had was not even shared by the parents of the child. It is true that an angel had appeared to Joseph to tell him how to name the child. And the angel had appeared to Mary with the annunciation. But they didn’t hear the angels sing. They didn’t hear that great announcement: "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord."

Jesus Christ comes as the Son of God, the one who by his very presence exposes and condemns our sin. He comes as the Savior who says, "Come unto me that you might have life." He says, "I am the way to the Father." And people don’t want that message today any more than they wanted that message then. We get sentimental at Christmas, and people are inclined to say, "Oh, yes, certainly we would receive the Christ," but as a matter of fact they don’t, unless God by his grace first of all does a work in their hearts to open them to receive him.

Birthdays are very happy times. For that reason we generally try to remember the birthdays of close friends. With children you just cannot forget them because they will remind you. When we get older we are supposed to be too sophisticated to remind people about our birthday coming. But we are always pleased when they remember. Of all the birthdays that are remembered, however, there is probably no birthday that has been remembered more faithfully by more people over a longer period than the birthday of Jesus Christ.

John Gerstner summed up this great struggle like this: "Satan was majestically triumphant in this battle. He had nailed Jesus to the cross. The prime object of all his striving through all the ages was achieved, but in reality he had failed. While Satan was celebrating his triumph in battle over the Son of God, the full weight of the atonement accomplished by the crucifixion came down on him. And he realized that all this time, so far from successfully battling against the Almighty, he had actually been carrying out the purposes of the all-wise God."

What God has said here in Genesis 3 is that he is giving a divinely established struggle between the woman and her descendants and Satan. We are terribly depraved, but we don’t automatically assume that Satan is right. That is a blessing that results from the warfare that goes on. We have a fallen spirit within, and that is why we are in dreadful danger all the time of being drawn after Satan - because that within us inclines in his direction. But, you see, it isn’t wholehearted, and there is a struggle involved even when we sin as sinners.