A Sunday school teacher asked her class of kindergarteners to draw a picture of the manger scene at Bethlehem. In the corner of one student’s sketch was a very plump, jolly-looking fellow.
“Tell me about this person,” requested the teacher, pointing to the portly character.
“Oh,” replied the pupil, “that’s Round John Virgin.”
Too often, in our efforts to celebrate Christmas, we get confused about what we’re celebrating, why we’re celebrating it, and who should be the focus of our celebration. That’s why today, we are starting a sermon series designed to lead us to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.
In the message the angels delivered to the shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth, we discover what Christmas is all about. Christmas is all about God sending His Son to earth. Christmas wasn’t man’s idea, it was God’s idea. Christmas wasn’t man’s initiative, it was God’s initiative. Christmas came about because of God. Today, I want us think about the reasons why God did what He did at Christmas.
1. Christmas occurred because of God’s Desire - v. 10
Christmas came about because of God’s desire to . . .
A. Embrace us with His love - "Good News that will be to all the people"
This world is filled with people who feel lonely and unloved. Pollsters say that one out of five Americans say that life is meaningless.
People do get lonely. We all do. An advertisement placed in a local newspaper was met with an overwhelming response. The ad read, "I’ll listen to you for thirty minutes for $5.00." The telephone rang off the hook. People do get lonely. The renowned Albert Einstein once said, "It’s strange to be known so universally and yet be so personally lonely." But we are not alone. Not with Christ.
“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.”
- John 3:16 (Amplified)
"He loves each one of us, as if there were only one of us." - Augustine
A young man sent a love letter to his girlfriend. It read: "Darling, I’d climb the highest mountain, sail the widest ocean, cross the hottest desert just to see you.” P.S. - I’ll be over Saturday night if it doesn’t rain." We chuckle at his fickleness, but feel bad for the girl who, like all of us, longs for love in action, not empty promises.
God does not offer empty promises of love. Through sending His Son, He has fully demonstrated his love for us.
“But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.” - Romans 5:8 (CEV)
Because of Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross, we can, through faith in Him, enter into a love relationship with God that is everlasting.
“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth
below - indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 8:35; 37-39 (CEV)
B. Encourage us with His peace - "Do not be afraid”
The shepherds were fearful because they encountered the “glory of the Lord” (verse 9). Knowing their sinfulness, the shepherds trembled in the presence of God. But Jesus came so that we might no longer live in fear of God’s judgment and condemnation, but so that we might have peace in our hearts as a result of knowing we have His forgiveness.
Many today do not believe that salvation comes through Jesus Christ alone. Rock group THE SMASHING PUMPKINS became one of the rock world’s most successful groups with hit songs, millions of dollars, and world wide acclaim.
Yet despite their accomplishments, their drummer was busted on heroin possession charges and their backup guitarist overdosed.
Their struggles are perhaps portrayed no more accurately than in the song, BULLET WITH BUTTERFLY WINGS. It reads,
Despite all my rage I’m still a rat in a cage
Then someone will say what is lost can never be found
Despite all my rage I’m still a rat in a cage
I’m naked and nothing but an animal
Tell me I’m the only one
Tell me there’s no other one
Jesus was an only son
Tell me I’m the chosen one
Jesus was the only son for you
Despite all my rage I’m still a rat in a cage
And I still believe I cannot be saved
Do you believe you cannot be saved? Are you hopeless and without direction? Jesus Christ will save you. Come to Him as you are.
"Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" - Romans 5:1 (NIV)
C. Enrich us with His joy - "Great joy"
In a large stone cathedral in Europe there was a very large, magnificent pipe organ. It was a Saturday afternoon, and the custodian was making one final check of the choir and organ loft high in the balcony at the back of the church. He was startled to hear footsteps echoing up the stone stairway, as he thought the doors were all locked and no one was around. He turned to see a man in slightly tattered traveling clothes coming toward him. "Excuse me, sir," the stranger said, "I have come from quite a distance to see the great organ in this cathedral, would you mind opening the console so that I might get a closer look at it?" The custodian at first refused, but the stranger seemed so eager and insistent that he finally gave in.
"May I sit on the bench?" That request of the stranger was met with absolute refusal by the cathedral custodian. "What if the organist came in and found you sitting there? I would probably lose my job!" But again the stranger was so persistent that the custodian gave in. "But only for a moment," he added.
The custodian noticed that the stranger seemed to be very much at home on the organ bench, so he was not completely surprised when he was asked by the stranger to be allowed to play the organ. "NO! Definitely not!" said the custodian. "No one is allowed to play it except the cathedral organist,"
The man’s face fell, and his deep disappointment was obvious. He reminded the custodian how far he had come, and assured him that no damage would be done. Finally the sexton relented and told the stranger he could play the instrument, but only a few notes and then he would have to leave.
Overjoyed, the stranger pulled out some stops and began to play. Suddenly the cathedral was filled with the most beautiful music the custodian had ever heard in all his years in that place. The music seemed to transport him heavenward. In what seemed all too short a time, the dowdy stranger stopped playing and slid off the organ bench and started down the stairway. "Wait!" cried the custodian. "That was the most beautiful music I have ever heard in the cathedral. Who are you?"
The stranger turned for just a moment as he replied, "Mendelssohn." The man was none other than Felix Mendelssohn, one of the greatest organists and composers of the 19th century!
The custodian was alone now in that great stone edifice, the beautiful organ music still ringing in his ears. "Just think," he said softly, "I almost kept the master from playing his music in my cathedral!"
Each one of us has the opportunity to have a personal relationship with the Master of the universe, Jesus Christ. Let’s not keep Him from "playing His music" and letting Him be Master of our lives!
“My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” - John 10:10 (CEV)
Notice that the angels spoke not just of "joy," but of GREAT joy!"
2. Christmas occurred by God’s Design - v. 11
In sending His Son to earth, it was God’s design that Christ would:
A. Fulfill the Scripture - "In the town of David..."
The angels referred to the fact that the birth of Christ fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy of Micah 5:2, concerning the fact that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
In the Old Testament there are some 300 prophecies of the first coming of the Messiah and 500 of the second coming, all of then made hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus and fulfilled to the letter in Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
George Heron, a French mathematician, calculated that the odds of one man fulfilling only 40 of those prophecies are 1 in 10 to the power of 157. That is a 1 followed by 157 zeros. Compare it to this; your odds on winning the state lottery are 14 followed by 6 zeros.
Imagine that we bring together forty different artists from all over - all kinds of background - all styles - artists with varying skills. Then we take a large canvas and cut it into lit¬tle pieces. We give each artist a piece of canvas and say, Sir, would you take this one - you take this one - and you take this small piece - you take this big piece -- until we have given out all forty pieces of that canvas. Now - you go to that room and close the door - and you go to that room - and you go to that studio - until we have sent them on their way to a private studio. Now, each one of you, in privacy - without consultation with another - sit there and search your heart and mind, open it up to the leadership of God; and then paint on that canvas the impres¬sions you have of what God would have you paint in a picture.
And they would paint - some a feat of nature - some of people - some abstract - some beautiful designs - free form --according to their nature and personality and their skill, they would paint.
Then, suppose we call them in, gather up all of those inde¬pendent separate paintings and put them on that wall - assemble those pieces into a whole canvas again. Having made a mosaic of the canvases of forty artists, we would discover that every picture
fitted in with the next one and the next one, and in the center of the picture was the beautiful face of a man, Jesus Christ.
That is exactly what happened - the mosaic of the writings of all the prophets of old began to flow and fit together. In the canonization of the Old Testament, the prophecy comes clear and a single stream flows to this ultimate climax when God said, I reveal myself to these at this level, at this level, at this level - until the progressive revelation of God comes to Its fulfillment in the sending of His Son Jesus Christ. He is at the center of it all. Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem in order that the prophecy might be fulfilled in the providence of God, and there, in fulfillment of prophetic Scripture, Jesus Christ was born.
B. Provide our Salvation - “A Savior has been born”
If our greatest need had been information, God would have, sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
On a breezy gummer afternoon, a young dad and his daughter took a stroll up into the mountains to enjoy a bit of time together. Walking down a dusty trail, a rattlesnake was startled and plunged his fangs into the little girl’s leg. She shrieked in terror and the snake slithered into the tall grass. Instinctively, the dad grabbed the girl’s leg and surveyed the wound.
Miles from medical help, he knew that swift action was needed. Pulling a sharp knife from his pocket, he quickly slit across the fang wounds on her leg, bent down;:and sucked the poison from her leg and spit it on the ground. He then picked her up and headed for the nearest medical help. Exhausted and frightened, he slumped into a chair in the emergency vehicle and began to feel dizzy.
A doctor checked the dad and was soon to learn that the poison from the snake had made its way into an open sore in the man’s mouth and infiltrated his blood stream. He died - she lived.
That is what Jesus did for us. He died so that we might live. His death on the cross paid the price for our sins.
"The One Who lives eternally came to die, so they we,
who were dying eternally, might come to live."
C. Rule as Sovereign - "He is Christ, the Lord"
"I’m gonna live forever. They’re gonna know my name." That line is from the Broadway hit, Fame. We often fall into the temptation of wanting the acclaim of those around us. Many people go to almost any length to assure "every¬one’s gonna know their name." Many infamous names you will never forget - Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face Nelson, Hitler, Charles Manson, to name a few. Then there are the rich and famous.
But the name that is above every name is the name of Jesus.
"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." - Philippians 2:10 (NIV)
3. Christmas occurred through God’s Decision - v. 12
A. He decided to come as a man - "A baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger"
"God came to walk among us so that He might wrap His arms around us."
“We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all - all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.” - Hebrews 4:14-16 (The Message)
B. He decided to call out to men - "This will be a sign to you: You will find . . ."
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ’I will be found of you,’ declares the Lord . . ." - Jeremiah 29:13-14a (NIV)
Far from the city of Jerusalem, Israeli postal workers sort through huge piles of undeliverable mail.
Included among these dead letters are many addressed to God. Some have been forwarded by foreign postal workers who think someone in Israel might know what to do with them. Eventually, all of these petitions to God end up at a recycling plant in central Israel.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6 (NIV)
Unless our communications with God are addressed, "John 14:6," they’re sure to have the same fate as those dead letters in Israel.
Jesus is the only way in which we can make a connection with God. That’s why He came. That’s what Christmas is all about.
