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I thought it would be a good idea for us to take a “Christmas
Quiz” this morning to see how well we know the facts about the first Christmas.
1. When
Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem, how did they get there?
a. They
walked
b. Joseph
walked; Mary rode a donkey
c. They
took a chariot
d. We
don’t really know
The correct answer is “D.”
The Bible gives no record of their means of travel.
2. How
many angels spoke to the shepherds?
a. A
multitude
b. Two
Gabriel and Michael
c. One
d. Not
sure
The right response is “C.”
Luke 2:10: “The angel said to them…”
3. What
song did the angels sing?
a. “O
Little Town of Bethlehem”
b. “Joy
to the World”
c. “Glory
to God in the Highest”
d. None
of the above
This is a trick question.
The correct choice is “D.” According to Luke 2:13, they were: “…praising God
and saying…” There’s no mention of them singing anything.
4. What
animals were present at Jesus’ birth?
a. Cows,
sheep and camels
b. Horses,
sheep and donkeys
c. Lions
and tigers and bears
d. None
of the above
There is no mention in the
Bible about any animals being present. The answer is “D.”
5. In
what books of the Bible can you find the Christmas story?
a. Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John
b. Matthew
and Luke
c. Mark
and Matthew
d. Matthew,
Mark and Luke
The right choice is “B” -- Matthew and Luke. These two
gospels give us insight into the birth of Jesus and provide much of what we
know about the first Christmas.
While the Gospel of Mark picks up the life of Jesus
when He is a grown man, the Gospel of John actually begins much earlier than
even the accounts of Matthew and Luke. John tells us what Jesus did before He
ended up in the manger as He takes us back to the beginning, to show us that He
had no beginning. John’s report goes behind creation to show that the baby in
the feeding trough was the Creator of the world.
My goal this morning is to help answer the question to
the song we just sang, “What Child Is This?” John’s gospel begins with a
prologue that will give us some clues about the identity of the baby in the
manger. We’ll focus on the first part this morning and pick up the final
section next week.
The reality of Jesus is found in verses 1-9:
The Reality of Jesus (1-9)
1. The
Infant is Infinite (1-2). Some think that Jesus got his start
when He was born. The fact of the matter is that Jesus Christ has always
existed according to verses 1-2: “In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”
Jesus is before the beginning of time as He said in John 8:58: “Before
Abraham was born, I am.” He is eternal, or infinite because He has always
existed. This passage immediately reminds us of the opening words of Genesis
1:1: “In the beginning God…”
The word “word” is the Greek “logos,” which refers to Jesus Christ, the
second Person of the Trinity. In Greek culture, logos, was that which
gave meaning to all things. The philosopher Philo saw the logos as a bridge
between a transcendent God and the material universe. John is using a
term that everyone would be familiar with and yet he expands and transcends
its meaning. Since a word is an audible or visible expression of a thought,
Jesus perfectly revealed what was going on in the mind of God. He’s the
bridge between God and us.
I am trying my best to covey to you today the thoughts that are on my
mind, and the only medium I can use are my words. Likewise, Jesus is God’s
Word to us. In Revelation 1:8, Jesus declares that He is the “Alpha and
Omega,” which is like saying He is the A through the Z, the beginning
and the end. He is God’s alphabet, the one who spells out deity for us.
As the final Word, Jesus makes the incomprehensible God intelligible.
The “Word was with God,” indicates that Jesus Christ existed in a face-to-face
relationship with the Father. Jesus was not only in the closest possible
fellowship with God, the “Word was God.” We don’t have time this morning
to explore the majestic intricacies of the doctrine of the Trinity, but
suffice it to say that Jesus is not a creation of God, but is God Himself.
Verse 2 summarizes and repeats verse 1 in order to make sure we grasp
the magnitude of this truth: “He was with God in the beginning.” The Infant
is Infinite. 2. Christ
is the Creator (3). We see in verse 3 that Christ is also the
Creator: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made
that has been made.” This verse brings back the truth found in Colossians
1:16-17: “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on
earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;
all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and
in him all things hold together.” Jesus is both the creator and sustainer
of all things.
3. The
Lord is Life and Light (4-9). The infant is infinite,
Christ is the Creator, and thirdly, the Lord is life and light. Look at verses
4-5: “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in
the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” The story of the Bible
begins with physical darkness in Genesis 1. To correct this darkness God said,
“Let there be light.”
Spiritual darkness entered our world in Genesis 3 and can only be removed by
the Lord who is life and light. As the light, Jesus shines into the darkness,
and those who have not yet received Him are still in the dark and cannot
understand Him. Many people today do not comprehend the real meaning of
Christmas. It’s because the world in general has no place for Christ.
The word, “understood” means “to lay hold of, to seize or grasp.” Something can
be seized either for hostile purposes, or in order to possess it. It can refer
to resistance or refusal. The darkness cannot ultimately put out the light
because light is more powerful than darkness. Darkness by its very nature
refuses to come into the light because darkness and light are mutually
exclusive. If you have one, you do not have the other. Those in darkness cannot
readily understand the Lord who is life and light.
In verses 6-8 we read about the role of John the Baptist. He was the forerunner
to Jesus and helped prepare the way for people to see Jesus for who He really
was. He was the conduit, if you will, to bring the power of the light to those
blinded by darkness. He wanted people to know that the King was about to appear
and that His coming demanded a moral renewal.
He urged people to repent and his primary responsibility was to be a witness to
the light. Verse 9 reveals that Jesus Himself is the true light that gives
light to every person. Unfortunately, for many of us, we’d rather live in the
dark. Jesus put it this way in John 3:19-20: “This is the verdict: Light has
come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their
deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into
the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”
Light and darkness are recurring themes in the Gospel of John. People love one
or the other, but not both.
ILLUS:
Max
Lucado tells the story about a tribe of people who lived in a dark, cold cave.
The cave dwellers would huddle together and cry against the chill. Loud and
long they wailed. It was all they did. It was all they knew to do. The sounds
in the cave were mournful, but the people didn’t know it, for they had never
known joy. The spirit in the cave was death, but the people didn’t know it, for
they had never known life.
But one day they heard a different voice. “I have heard your cries,” it announced.
“I have felt your chill and seen your darkness. I have come to help you.” The
cave people grew quiet. They had never heard this voice. Hope sounded strange
to their ears. “How can we know you have come to help?”
“Trust me,” he answered. “I have what you need.” The cave people peered through
the darkness at the figure of the stranger. He was stacking something, then
stooping and stacking more. “What are you doing?” one cried, nervously. The
stranger didn’t answer. “What are you making?” another shouted even louder.
There was still no response. “Tell us!” demanded a third.
The visitor stood and spoke in the direction of the voices. “I have what you
need.” With that he turned to the pile at his feet and lit it. Wood ignited,
flames erupted, and light filled the cavern. The people turned away in fear.
“Put it out!” they cried. “It hurts to see it.”
“Light always hurts before it helps,” he answered. “Step closer. The pain will
soon pass.”
“Not I,” declared a voice. “Nor I,” agreed a second. “Only a fool would risk
exposing his eyes to such light,” said another. The stranger stood next to the
fire. “Would you prefer the darkness? Would you prefer the cold? Don’t consult
your fears. Take a step of faith.” For a long time no one spoke. The people
hovered in groups covering their eyes. The fire builder stood next to the fire.
“It’s warm here,” he invited.
“He’s right,” one from behind him announced. “It is warmer.” The stranger
turned to see a figure slowly stepping toward the fire. “I can open my eyes
now,” she proclaimed. “I can see.” “Come closer,” invited the fire builder. She
did. She stepped into the ring of light. “It’s so warm!” She extended her hands
and sighed as her chill began to pass. “Come everyone! Feel the warmth,” she
invited.
“Silence woman!” cried one of the cave dwellers. “Dare you lead us into your
folly? Leave us. Leave us and take your light with you.” She turned to the
stranger. “Why won’t they come?”
“They choose the chill, for though it’s cold, it’s what they know. They’d
rather be cold than to change.”
“And live in the dark?” she asked. “And live in the dark,” he replied.
The
Response to Jesus (10-13)
Let’s look now at three responses to Jesus.
1. Immanuel
is ignored (10). The infant is infinite, Christ is the creator, and
the Lord is life and light. Unfortunately, verse 10 reveals that Immanuel
is often ignored: “He was in the world, and though the world was made
through him, the world did not recognize him.” With all the tinsel of
Christmas, it’s easy to blow right past the birth of Immanuel, which means,
“God with us.” Everything starts with this truth: Jesus Christ was in
the world. And He was here for more than a fleeting visit, having walked
on this planet for 33 years. He was one of us and lived among us. J.B.
Phillips put it this way, “We must never allow anything to blind us to
the true significance of what happened at Bethlehem so long ago. Nothing
can alter the fact that we live on a visited planet.”
There has always been a great divide in the human race. The majority has
never recognized Jesus for who He really is. When He came the first time,
Herod hated him, the scribes ignored Him, and there was no room for Him
in the inn. Only the shepherds and the wise men, the poor and the foreigners,
welcomed him to earth.
Not much has changed today as we see the birth of Jesus slipping from
our cultural discourse. He came to the world He created, and the “the
world did not recognize him.”
In 1932, Robert McGimsey attended a Christmas Eve service in New York
City and then headed back to his one-room apartment. As he walked the
final blocks, he passed by the open doors of private clubs where people
were partying with all their might. They didn’t seem to have a clue that
it was Christmas Eve, and if they did, they didn’t seem to care. As he
stepped over people who had passed out on the sidewalk, he thought to
himself, “What a strange way to celebrate the birth of the most perfect
Person who ever lived on this earth. People are missing the whole significance
of His life.”
When he finally arrived home, he scribbled some more thoughts on the back
of an envelope: “Sweet little Jesus Boy, they made you be born in a manger.
Sweet little holy Child didn’t know who you was. Didn’t know you’d come
to save us, Lord, to take our sins away. Our eyes was blind, we couldn’t
see, we didn’t know who you was.”
Have you been ignoring Jesus this year? Don’t let this Christmas pass
by without figuring out why Jesus came.
2. The
Revealer is rejected (11). While some are apathetic and ignore
the Christ of Christmas, others reject Him outright. Look at verse 11: “He came
to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.” The idiom “came to
his own” means “to come home.” It’s been said, “Home is where, when you go
there, they have to take you in.” Jesus came to the people who should have
known Him best, but they wanted nothing to do with Him. Jesus came “home” to
his own people and they wouldn’t take Him in.
They should have known better because they knew He was coming. Every book in
the Old Testament testifies to this one great truth: He’s coming. One day God
would send His Messiah to deliver His people Israel. And when Jesus finally
arrived, they didn’t receive Him because they didn’t want to. To not receive
means, “to reject.” Instead of welcoming Him home they drove Him away.
This is not just an historical observation; it’s a profound theological
statement. Humans in general reject God. And the reason we reject Him
is because we want to. While some people seem to be sincere seekers of
Christ, the Bible says that most of us are looking to be rid of Him. People
are blind because it’s their very nature to reject the light. We can’t
come to Christ on our own. Jesus said it this way in John 6:44: “No man
can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”
3. The
redeemer must be received (12-13). While it is true that the
world ignored Him and His own people rejected Him, there have always been
some who will receive Him. John 1:12 is one of the greatest verses in
the entire Bible because it explains clearly how someone can become a
Christian: “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his
name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
Notice the three key words.
Received. This is an active word with a deep meaning. It literally
means, “to take, or to seize.” Those who receive Christ are those who
welcome or accept Him into their lives. Jesus is God’s gift to us at Christmas.
We can choose to ignore Him, or reject Him, or we can take what has been
freely offered to us. Have you taken hold of Him? Have you received Him
into your life?
Believed.
To believe means to engage our total being so that we put our trust completely
in Christ by committing our lives to Him. It involves more than just intellectual
assent or an emotional response. Biblical belief always involves receiving,
or responding to what God in Christ has done for us.
Right.
This word means “honor” or “privilege.” The moment you receive Christ into your
life, God gives you the honor of becoming a member of His family. We are given
permission to become a child of God when we believe and receive.
Believe, Receive, and Become. We must first believe
that Jesus is the only way to a relationship with God the Father. Then we must
actually receive what He has done by personally appropriating the gift of
salvation. Then, we become children of God.
The whole gospel is in the little phrase “born of God.” Salvation is of the
Lord. It’s a free gift—totally free and totally of grace. It’s not a
cooperative venture where you do your part and God does his. We may ask, “Don’t
I have a part to play in salvation?” We do indeed have a part. Our part is to
be hopelessly lost in sin and God’s part is to save us. That way God alone gets
the credit. Salvation is a work of God from first to last and is wrapped up in
the birth, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
Christmas is a great reminder that we’ve not been forgotten. We live on a
visited planet.
The infant is infinite, Christ is the creator, and the
Lord is life and light.
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