Transcript

Well, take your Bibles this morning and go to the Gospel of John, John 1. To set the context, Luke 1, I’ll just read this, verses 30 through 35, and then Luke 2:1-7.

31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

Now Luke 2:1-7.

1 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. 6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger [or a feed trough], because there was no room for them in the inn.

It seems almost inconceivable to me that over three decades ago I was in a labor and delivery room at the old ECM hospital. My wife was having the baby, I wasn’t, of course, but I was in the room and, ah, I wrote the first version of this sermon while we were awaiting the delivery of our firstborn child, Katie Lee. So this is the latest version of it and when God gave it to me, I knew it was a message I wanted to repeat often, not because of my message but because of the truth there within. So today I’ll bring you the latest version of a celebration of the Incarnation.

John 1:1 and verse 14.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

It’s no mystery to you that Christmas is being smothered out. Christmas is being smothered under lots of garments. The garb of mythologizing has always been around. I, it’s not so prominent on television today but when I was a little boy, there were all kinds of Christmas programs and they would add things to the nativity. There was always Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus but then they’d have talking animals sometimes around the a, the manger scene there, and sometimes they would have snow everywhere. Both of those totally unbiblical. Sometimes they had a little drummer boy that would come up and play his drum for Jesus. It was a sweet sentiment, it just wasn’t biblical. So when they got through with adding to the biblical story, it made the Christmas story not much more than a myth and that’s always been around. And then there’s the smothering of Christmas under secularism and under secularism there’s no nativity usually. There’s no Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. They’ll say the word Christmas and they’ll say the word Merry Christmas but it has nothing to do with the biblical truth about Christmas.

Now just off of the top of my head, two, two illustrations. First of all, the Hallmark movies. You seen the Hallmark movies? Now I’m not saying it’s sin to watch the Hallmark movies, okay? I, at least they’re decent and clean but there’s nothing about the truth of Christmas in them. Ah, with my grandchildren, um, I watched the new “Frozen” Christmas show, movie, whatever, broadcast, and ah, the same thing. It was, they used the word Christmas but it had nothing to do with biblical Christmas. I mean, at the end of these, it’s all about family and friends and parties and good deeds and good times and warm feelings, just mushy, generic, happy stuff, but that’s not the biblical message of Christmas. So when you watch those, enjoy that something’s clean and decent but tell your kids, tell the family, “But that’s not the Christmas message.” I mean, a Hindu or a Buddhist or an Islamist could enjoy those things.

Then there’s the smothering of commercialism. Industry experts say that this year 1 trillion dollars will be spent on Christmas, 1 trillion dollars. Christmas is a great tool for corporate profits.

And this, there, there, fourthly there’s the out-and-out repudiation of Christmas, those who just want to erase it off the calendar. Ah, for her Christmas gift and for, ah, ah, ah, her Christmas gift to me and my Christmas gift to her, I took Pam to New York a week or so ago and we went to a couple of the classic shows, “A Christmas Carol,” and other things, and we noticed the whole time we were there, everybody was disciplined to say, “Happy Holidays. Happy Holidays.” And it was obvious for many of them it was forced and disciplined to do it. Why? Because in those kind of settings or in those kind of metropolitan places, ah, ah, there’s the repudiation of Christmas. We’ve got to push it away. We might possibly offend somebody if we even use the word Christmas. So there’s the repudiation of things. So Christmas is being smothered out.

Can I tell you the, the little corny illustration that I’ve used for years? As you get older, you get fond of your old illustrations. A little boy was in Sunday school and his teacher had him to draw a picture of Christmas. So he came home and showed his dad and said, “We drawed, drew pictures today of Christmas.” Well, he had drew a jet airliner. He said, “Son, well, why the jet airliner?” He said, “Well, dad, that’s the flight to Egypt.” He said, “Okay, I see that but who’s the guy up front?” He said, “That’s Pontius, the pilot.” He said, “Oh.” And then his dad said, “Oh, I see, that must be Joseph and Mary, then there’s baby Jesus. Well, who’s the great, big, fat guy behind baby Jesus?” “Oh, that’s round John Virgin.” Thank you for laughing. I appreciate that every time I say it.

Well, we can excuse that with kids but here’s my point. Brothers and sisters, are you listening? With all of Christian truth, we have to be intentional and repetitive to regather and reclaim the truth of Christmas. It can certainly get lost if we do not. Christmas, that is, the truth about Christmas, is continually under attack.

Now think about it for a moment. Think about the simple, biblical yet profound message that is Christmas. It’s actually not hard to grasp. Think about it. God became man, born of a virgin, that he might save his people from their sins. What’s hard about that? God became man, born of the virgin, he might come into this world and save his people from their sins. I mean, this message is the hope of all hopes. Think about it. If God comes to save us, is that not the height of all hopes? Well, that’s the message of Christmas. He could’ve come justly so to condemn us. But no, he came, put on human flesh, was born of the virgin to save us.

Now so I ask the question to you this morning: why would anyone have an issue with that message? Well, I think I know why, matter of fact I’m sure I know why. It’s the glory issue, because behind the story, behind the work of God becoming man and becoming our Savior is God’s ultimate grand purpose and that is to bring himself glory, and through this most magnanimous of all events, God becoming flesh, he could cause men as they grasped what he’s doing to deem him and him alone worthy of all honor and praise, worship and glory. So it’s the glory issue that is the problem. Satan does not want God to get the glory. Satan wants the glory unto himself.

I left out a part of the Luke narrative of the Christmas story a while ago when I read from Luke on purpose, I left out the glory part. Listen to Luke 2:18-16.

8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory [there it is] the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

Can you imagine lowly shepherds on a dark, quiet hillside in remote, rural Bethlehem and, boom! Brilliant holy angel appears. The glory of God is everywhere. Verse 10,

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

Thank God it included us Gentiles, not just Jews. It’s for all the people.

11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly [added to that original angelic appearance] And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying [here’s the glory again, verse 14], 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

We’ll leave it there. I mean, when Jesus is born, the unfolding of God’s great wisdom, of God’s great purposes, of God’s great power and beauty to do such a thing as to put on human flesh to save his people from their sins, there’s such a wonder to that, such an awesomeness, such a magnitude, such a glory to God. So much so that when the angels announce it on that quiet hillside to the shepherds, the angelic host can’t help but break forth with great glorious praise of God for what he was accomplishing. But in contrast, the one great ploy of Satan and all of those under his dominion and influence, is to undermine the glory of God, to deter, to diminish the glory of God. So they attack Christmas. Well, they attack the truth about Christmas. They’ll let you have your Christmas holiday if you’ll forget the truth of it. That’s the spiritual force of the attack behind Christmas.

Now we come to our primary text, John 1:1, and very interesting as John’s writing, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he views Jesus as the Word, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God,” he says, “and the Word was God.” What does he mean by that? When he calls Jesus “the Word” because Jesus is the true manifestation of God to us. For example, our word is the manifestation of ourself to others. Someone says, “Tell me about yourself.” You give them the words. Now sometimes our words are not accurate to our true manifestation or our true reality. Our manifestation we give with our words isn’t accurate but that’s not true with Jesus. Jesus is the true Word. He was the accurate Word. He was the true manifestation of God to man.

So this Christmas season as we celebrate the Incarnation, we must worship him according to truth. Three key thoughts that we keep in our minds and our hearts. Three key truths that we must treasure and wonder over to worship him properly.

1., I., from our text: we worship him that the baby lying in Bethlehem’s feed trough was the preexisting one. The preexisting one. John simply says in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word.” He certainly didn’t say the beginning the Word was created, in the beginning the Word came forth. No, he was there. He was the Word.

You see, Jesus was there when creation began, when time began. He was there when it all started. In Genesis 1:1, the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The Hebrew word for God there is the word elohim. It’s a plural word, and among other things, I am convinced with most scholars, the word elohim is used there for God because it’s a plurality. It’s God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit were there. In Genesis 1:26 the Bible says and God speaking, “Let Us make man in Our image.” Who’s the “us”? Why the plural pronoun? It’s God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit who was present.

He’s the preexisting one. He didn’t begin when he was born in the Bethlehem manger and to his enemies that said he was just another prophet, even a false prophet, he said, “Guys, you don’t understand something.” John 8:58, “Before Abraham was, I am. I was already there. You esteem Abraham, I’m greater than Abraham. I am the preexisting One.”

In John 5, to his critics again, they were talking to him about how they were master scholars of the Old Testament. Jesus said, “You know, here’s what’s interesting. You search those Old Testament Scriptures because you think that in them you’re gonna find eternal life.” But Jesus said, “It is these that testify of Me. I was always in existence before I came in my final Incarnate nature and walked the earth and now discussing things with you.”

For example in Genesis 32, the Bible tells us that Jacob, a man unconverted, wrestled, wrestled with a man all night long, and Jacob wrestles with this man all night long and finally the man he’s wrestling with knocked his hip out of joint and he lived with that limp the rest of his life. But what’s interesting was when daylight came, Abraham, Jacob rather said, “Look, I’ve wrestled with a man all night long and I’ve seen the face of God.” That can’t be coincidence. Who is the man who wrestled with Jacob who was also God? That was Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ.

The Bible tells us in Joshua 5 that Joshua is the next day contemplating his conquest of Jericho and certainly he’s out there thinking about the battle plan, he’s full of anxiety, he’s praising to the Lord, and the Bible says all of a sudden out there on that dark hillside contemplating the battle the next day, a mighty warrior stood before Joshua and the Bible says that he had his sword drawn and when Joshua saw this mighty one with his sword drawn, Joshua says, “Who are you? Are you for us or are you for them?” He said, “Listen, I’m the Captain of the Lord’s Host. I’m for neither.” Here’s what the Captain of the Lord’s Host was saying, he says, “Joshua, you understand something, I didn’t come to take sides, I came to take over.” The Bible says he was commanded, Joshua was commanded to bow down on his face because he was standing on holy ground and give reverence and worship to the one standing before him. Holy angels were never allowed and would never allow anyone to worship them and show them that kind of reverence. Who was the one, the Captain of the Lord’s Host, sword drawn, standing before Joshua that he was to bow down before and worship? That was Jesus Christ. A pre-Christmas Incarnation of Jesus Christ.

And then what about Daniel 3? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the three Jewish captives would not worship the false idols of Nebuchadnezzar’s religion and to punish them, they were to be thrown in the fiery furnace. The Bible tells us that Nebuchadnezzar had the furnace heated up many many times hotter than they’d ever heated it up and they bound Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and they went up to throw them into the fiery furnace and the Bible says even the soldiers who threw them in there died from the intense heat. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are thrown into the furnace and a moment or two later King Nebuchadnezzar looks in and says, “Hey, didn’t we throw three men into the fiery furnace?” They said, “Yes, King, it was three men.” He said, “Why do I see four? I see four men walking around in the fiery furnace.” He said, “One of them’s very unique. One of them’s very different.” And in a pagan king’s understanding, this is all he could say, he said, “One of them is like a son of the gods.” Who was the fourth man in the fiery furnace walking around in there with a brilliance and a glory different from the others? That was Jesus Christ. A pre-Christmas Incarnation of Jesus Christ. And by the way, they got Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego out and they didn’t even smell like smoke, and the only thing that burned up were the bonds that held them.

Jesus has always existed. If we worship properly at Christmas, we worship that the baby lying in Bethlehem’s feed trough was the preexisting one. II. We worship also that the baby lying in Bethlehem’s feed trough was the pre, rather the prestigious one. The prestigious one. Look at it there in verse 1, “In the beginning was the Word,” preexisting, “and the Word was with God,” prestige. With God. You see, no one else can claim that. No once else dwelt in the unity and the oneness and the fellowship with God the Father that Jesus Christ has always known. This speaks of his prestige. This speaks of Jesus as being distinct from all others. No others can claim to have been with God from before the beginning began.

Jesus is one of great, grand and unmatchable distinction. From all eternity past, there’s been a oneness and a unity between God the Father and God the Son which is incomparable to any other and incomprehensible to the human mind. What was it, just a few years ago Prince William of Great Britain, second in line to the British throne, the Duke of Cambridge, he met a lady, a young lady of middle class stature, Kate Middleton. But upon Prince William’s marriage to her, she’s no longer Kate Middleton, she’s Katherine, Duchess of Cambridge. What’s the difference? Association. She’s the only one in all the British Empire and all the world that can say, “I am the Prince’s wife. I am now the Duchess of Cambridge.”

So it is with Jesus Christ. He’s the only one who is the Son of the holy Father. He’s the only one begotten of the Father. There is a prestige to him. Matter of fact, he not only was with God then came to earth, and the Bible says he arose from the grave and now he’s again with God. He’s now with God a second time, if you will, and now he’s there with God as a faithful high priest and a conquering King.

Let’s remind ourselves that not only did he not just begin at Bethlehem’s manger, his Incarnation did not end at the tomb either. Hebrews tells us he ascended into glory, into the Father’s presence after he had made atonement for our sins. No one else has ever done that. Also the man Jesus right now ever lives at the right hand of the majesty on high to make intercession for us.

In his high priestly prayer before he went to the cross, Jesus said something about the unique, special oneness he has with God the Father. In John 17:5 he said, “Father, glorify Me together with Yourself,” now listen, “with the glory which I had with You before the world was. Father, remember how it was as Us together before the world even came into existence. I’m coming back to You and I look forward to that intimacy again.”

John 17:11, Jesus said, “I’m no longer in the world and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You, holy Father, keep them in Your name,” that’s all the disciples, “the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are one.” I added the last one because it’s implied. He said, “Father, I pray that all those who believe on Me will begin to grasp and one day enjoy the oneness You and I have known forever.”

John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. Father, remember the love We shared before the foundation of the world. Father, I look forward to going back to heaven and You and I will have that again.”

“In the beginning was the Word.” Preexisting one. “And the Word was with God.” The prestigious one. Thirdly, John says, “and the Word was God.” If we’re gonna worship properly at Christmas, we grasp though never fully, we glory, we treasure, we hold that the baby lying in Bethlehem’s feed trough was God. Was God. You see, in the beginning Jesus wasn’t just there with God, in the beginning Jesus was there as God. Theologians use this little phrase, I’ve used it many times, that Jesus wasn’t just like God, he wasn’t just closer to God than all other creatures, that he indeed was God of very God. God of very God. The God-man. He was 100% God just like God the Father is 100% God.

Now in the ancient world they often had what they called demigods. They had these idols, these gods they worshiped and they would say, “These gods are greater than men but they’re not quite like the one true God.” Well, that’s not what Jesus is. He’s not a demigod, he is God. Put on human flesh.

The modern cults make this same mistake and that’s why they’re a cult. Matter of fact, the Roman Church makes this mistake. We went into, was it St. Peter’s in New York City. My, what a fantastic…if we could sell that building, we could pay off our loan. What a building but while we were there, we saw the veneration of Mary equal to the veneration of Jesus Christ. It’s a pulling down of Jesus from where he belongs. Men, heads of households, when you hear a preacher, when you sit under preaching, when you follow a leader, make sure he preaches the onlyness of Jesus. He is a prestigious one. He is the preexisting one. And in this point, he is the preeminent one.

In Colossians 1:15, he’s the image of the invisible God. In Hebrews 1:3, he’s called the radiance of God’s glory. In Colossians 1:19, all the fullness of God dwells in him. In Colossians 2:9, all the fullness of deity dwells in him. In Colossians 1:16, he is the Creator of all things. In Colossians 1:18, that all, in all things he might have the preeminence. And in Hebrews 1:8, God the Father calls Jesus God.

Now there are those who try to act eloquent in philosophy and they’ll throw out the notion, “Well, how can God become man and still be God?” Good answer for you: it takes God to do that. Only God could do that, put on human flesh but lose none of his deity.

He’s born of a virgin, the Bible says. This speaks of holiness. The magi came bringing gifts about two years after his birth. Why did they came with these priceless gifts? Because a holy one was born. At his birth the angels cry, “Holy, holy, holy, or glory, glory, glory,” I should say. Why? Because a holy one was born. God came among us.

We worship properly at Christmas, we worship the baby lying in Bethlehem’s feed trough as the preexisting one. We worship that the baby in Bethlehem’s feed trough is the prestigious one. We worship that the baby in Bethlehem’s feed trough is the preeminent one.

Couple of things, though, for practical application at this point for us. Let’s make sure every Christmas in worship we reaffirm, 1. the manner of our lives. Think about it. Whatever else God becoming human flesh, in this way it speaks of his humility. Humility, and we should review, renew rather the humility of our lives. He came veiled of his glory. He didn’t come in a palace or a castle or in regal splendor. He didn’t come as a great king or a mighty ruler but a baby born of a poor family, of all things were his bed a feed trough. This speaks of his humble selfless life. Let’s renew the manner of our lives concerning humility.

Secondly, he came holy. The Word became flesh and he didn’t cease to be the Word. He brought holiness into the world and at Christmas time we should renew our commitment to live holy lives before God. Brothers and sisters, listen to me, you’re not like everybody else. You didn’t just get your ticket stamped to heaven and now the rest of it’s okay. No, there are sometimes when your children aren’t gonna fit in at school because we’re not like everybody else and can I tell you something? It’s gonna soon be that we’re gonna have to be radically unlike because the world’s going to hell fast. You’re not like everybody else in the office or at the factory or in the neighborhood. We’re different so let’s renew the manner of our lives in humility and in holiness.

But secondly, let’s renew the mission of our lives. In verse 14 of John 1, the Bible says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Certainly humility and holiness in that. “A nd we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father,” here’s the phrase, “full of grace and truth.” He came born of the virgin, full of grace and truth. Now it could have justly said this, he came full of judgment and wrath, but that wasn’t his mission. He came looking for sinners and he found a bunch of them. I’m looking at a bunch of them right now. Don’t leave nobody out. Yup, every one of you, all sinners. He is too. Jesus came looking for sinners but he came full of grace, unmerited favor for sinners and truth, that he would achieve the purpose of making them right with God, fulfilling all the standards of holy justice by going to the cross. Grace and truth. Wow.

Now let’s remind ourselves throughout Jesus’ adult life, he never said, there’s never recorded in the New Testament text that he said, “Remember Me, Jesus, born in Bethlehem.” No, he always says in the Lord’s Supper and other ways, “Remember My death, not My birth. Remember I came to die.” In Paul’s preaching, Paul never said, “I preach Christ born of the virgin in Bethlehem.” Of course he preached that but he said, “That’s not the main point. That’s important and essential but,” he says, “I preach Christ and Him crucified.” Why? Because he was born to die to rise again. He came on a mission for souls.

So never separate Bethlehem from Easter. Never separate Bethlehem from Calvary. Never separate the Incarnation from the resurrection and the crucifixion. But as he came on a quest for souls, so we if we properly celebrate Christmas and worship at Christmas and renew our commitment to be winners of souls.

Who could you just share a word about Jesus? I got to share about a hour Gospel presentation to a young lady just recently and she seemed so open to the Gospel. Pulling through one of the fast food places this last week, I just go to throw out a word about Christ and make sure you’re committed to Christ and it seemed to have an impact on the lady’s soul. Who’s around you that you can least throw out a word about Jesus? Not in a demeaning or, or, or confrontational tone but a humble and sweet statement about Christ? Let’s renew the manner of our lives in humility and holiness and let’s renew the mission of our lives, to be like Jesus, to be full of grace and truth, a quest for souls.

You’ll remember the illustration. There was a wealthy family in Boston some years ago who was christening their little bitty newborn baby and they did that in their religion, as soon after the birth is possible, the baby was brought to the priest and there was a christening ceremony, and they always have a big party to celebrate afterwards. Unfortunately through the years many of these parties became drinking parties, more or less. And as the guests arrived at the home, it was a very cold day, they began to throw their heavy overcoats on the bedroom, the front bedroom in the house, that carelessly the first person that threw the coat in there did not realize that that newborn baby had been put to rest in the middle of that bed, and one cloak after another cloak after another cloak after another cloak went on top of that little baby and when the mom went back to check, he had smothered to death.

Well, that’s what our world would love to do with the message of Jesus, just keep throwing the garments of commercialism and the garments of mythologizing and the garments of just repudiation, just smother him out. But that’s not for us. For us, we want to celebrate the Incarnation. We want to honor and worship according to truth and we hold that the baby lying in Bethlehem’s feed trough is indeed the preexisting one, the baby lying in Bethlehem’s feed trough is the prestigious one, the baby lying in Bethlehem’s feed trough is the preeminent one. Indeed, the baby lying in Bethlehem’s feed trough was God.