Psalm 2
Psalm 2 seems like a strange passage to read on Christmas Day. A king fights and destroys rebellious nations, and God enables him to win!
What does that have to do with Jesus’ birth? Jesus is God’s king, but he doesn’t smash rebellious sinners with a rod of iron. Instead, he becomes one of them. Jesus becomes a human being, and he feels all of God’s anger, beginning with the small pains of his birth and ending when God vented his wrath on Jesus at the cross. He was broken by a rod of iron. He was smashed like a clay pot.
But Jesus used this to gather a people who used to be his enemies. He turns them into friends, and he gives eternal life to everyone who believes in him.