(adapted from a sermon by Darryl Dash)
TEXT: JOHN 1:1-14
TITLE: “THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS”
OPEN: A. In just two days, most of our entire country will shut down.
1. The offices will close
2. The roads will seem empty
3. The whole world will focus on a single event: Christmas
B. What’s the big deal?
--How could a baby born two-thousand years ago stop traffic today?
1. It’s because that baby was no ordinary baby
2. The Bible says that 2,000 years ago, God came to earth
3. On that day, it was as if God descended the stairs of heaven, came to earth, and placed His Son
in a manger in a little town called Bethlehem
4. That, my friends, is much bigger news than man setting foot on the moon
5. When God came to earth in human form, it divided history into A.D. and B.C.
C. Our passage this morning is not your typical Christmas passage.
1. It doesn’t say anything about Joseph and Mary
2. It doesn’t mention angels, shepherds, or wise men
3. It doesn’t talk about Bethlehem, Nazareth, or Jerusalem
4. In this passage, John goes back to the beginning
--Before there was ever a creation or creatures in creation
5. John the apostle doesn’t look at the birth of Christ in the physical sense
--John explores the spiritual side of the Christmas story
a. John, writing towards the end of the 1st century A.D., basically says, “You’ve already heard
what Matthew and Luke have related about the events surrounding Jesus’ birth. Let’s move
on and see the spiritual significance behind those events.”
b. John is really saying, “Let’s explore the meaning of Christmas.”
D. John 1:1-14 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing
was made that has been made. 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. There came a man who was sent from God;
his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all
men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true
light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the
world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his
own, but his own did not receive him.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become
children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will,
but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his
glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
E. Over the last several weeks we’ve looked at several images of Christmas
1. “The Angels: Images of God’s Provision”
2. “The Star: Image of God’s Guidance”
3. “The Manger: Image of God’s Grace”
4. There are lots of images that evoke Christmas in our emotional memories
5. When you get down to it, the question you have to ask is: “What does Christmas really mean?”
6. Let’s talk about five specific things that tell us what first Christmas meant and how those five
things can effect our lives today
I. AT CHRIST’S BIRTH, GOD BROUGHT A MESSAGE FOR OUR HEARTS
--Jn. 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
A. When John introduces Jesus to us at the start of his gospel narrative, he uses an interesting term
--the term is the Greek word logos or literally translated “word”
1. It was term used in Greek philosophy
2. But the most significant use of this word is found in Jewish writings
--It was a term borrowed from the Old Testament
3. To the Jewish reader, this Greek word logos had specific significance:
a. The Word active in creation
--God speaking the world into existence
b. The prophetic Word of the LORD
c. Some Jewish scholars used this word as the personification of Wisdom
--as in Proverbs
d. Jewish scholars also used this term to refer to the Law
B. In John’s gospel, this term is used to describe Jesus as the divine revealer
1. He comes with a message
a. The word logos meant more than spoken communication
b. It also referred to the meaning conveyed and not just the sound
2. Jesus is literally the expression of God to human beings
--He is the divine revelation
a. Heb. 1:1-2 – “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in
various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all
things, and through whom he made the universe.”
b. God spoke to people in many ways
1). He’s used visions
2). He’s appeared in dreams.
3). He appeared to Moses and Abraham personally.
4). He’s revealed himself through the Scriptures
c. But the culmination of the way that God has revealed himself was through the Word
--Jesus is the greatest and clearest communication of who God is what God has to say
d. If you want to know God, simply look at Jesus
C. But it gets even better than that
--Jn. 1:2-3 – “He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him
nothing was made that has been made.”
1. Not only is Jesus the message from God, he is also the creator
2. There are about 500 billion stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way
a. there are about 200 billion galaxies beyond ours, some of them holding more that a trillion stars
b. Jesus created all of them
3. Think about this carefully: The God who created billions upon billions of stars became a microscopic
cell in a woman’s womb
a. He entered the world as a baby in a smelly manger
b. Why would God do that?
--Because He wanted to communicate His message of love and grace to you and to me
4. And Jesus communicate with many types of people
a. In a time when men did not speak to women in public, and in which certain racial groups were
looked down upon, Jesus talked to a woman who not only belonged to that racial group but also
liven an immoral lifestyle
b. Jesus spoke words of grace to people who had made messes of their lives
D. Paul Harvey tells the story of a man who was a kind, decent, mostly good man. But he just didn’t
believe all that god could become a man. He was honest enough to admit his doubts. His wife and kids
were getting ready to attend Christmas eve services at their church. He told them that he would not be
going but that he would wait up for them.
Shortly after his family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He watched out the window as the
flurries came heavier and heavier. He sat back down to read his newspaper but was disturbed by a
thudding sound. Then another, and again, another.
He thought someone was throwing snowballs against his living room window but when he went to
investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled together in the snow. They’d been caught in the storm and,
in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window.
The man couldn’t let these poor birds just lie there and freeze. He thought about the barn. If he could
get them into the barn, they’d be safe. So he put on his coat, hat, and boots and tramped through the snow
to the barn.
He opened the barn door and turned on the lights on the inside of the barn thinking it would attract the
birds. They didn’t budge. He thought a trail of food would lead them into the barn. He went back into
the house and several slices of bread. He crumbled the bread and made a trail back into the barn. Still the
birds didn’t budge.
The man tried shooing them in. He would walk around the birds waving his arms trying to corral them
into the barn. Instead, the birds scattered in every direction – except into the shelter of the barn.
It finally dawned on the man that the birds were afraid of him. He knew that they saw him as
something strange and terrifying. He thought and thought: “How can I get them to trust me? How can I
convince them that I’m not trying to hurt them but only help them.”
As he pondered these questions, the answer came. “If I could only be a bird. If I could mingle with
them and speak their language. Then I could convince to not be afraid and show them the way to safety.
I would have to become one of them so they could see, and hear, and understand.”
Just then, he could hear the bells from the church where his wife and kids were sharing the Christmas
eve service together. He could hear the tune clearly above the sounds of the wind. It was a Christmas
carol proclaiming God’s entrance into this world as human baby. The point was made. The man sank to
his knees in the snow.
--Why did God become a man? To communicate His message of love and salvation to all who would
believe
1. God brought a message for our hearts
--He sent His Son to reveal Himself to us
2. That message is a message of unfailing love and faithfulness
--Jn. 1:14 – “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the
glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
II. AT CHRIST’S BIRTH, GOD BROUGHT US POWER FOR OUR LIVES
A. The Jews of John’s day would have recognized the use of the term logos or “Word” as a Jewish concept
1. But for the Greeks (the Gentiles) who read John’s gospel, they would have seem a completely
different meaning
2. We have to understand that John was writing with both groups in mind
3. For the Greeks, the concept of the logos was different from the Jewish concept
a. In the 6th century B.C., the Greek philosopher Heraclitus used this word logos in describing the
design and order he saw in the universe
--He used the term to portray the stabilizing, directing principle of the universe
b. Later on, the Greek Stoic philosophers developed the concept of the logos as a force or principle
that originated, permeated, and governed all things
B. John used the term logos because people’s lives were in spiritual chaos and many of them were searching
for order in their lives
--John starts his gospel with Jesus as the logos – the one in whom the order and purpose we long for is
found
1. And it’s true: life without Jesus Christ does not make sense
2. John proclaimed the good news that this logos – the source of order and meaning – was God himself
C. The logos came into the world of chaotic spiritual darkness
--the good news was that the very creator and sustainer of the world became one of us
1. Col. 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 created everything from nothing and He is the power that holds the universe together
2. When we send a space probe to Mars, it costs millions and millions of dollars. If something goes
wrong, there’s nothing we can do. We can’t send a repair technician. We don’t have that ability.
a. But the one who is both creator and sustainer of the universe came to earth
b. When He came to earth, he was telling us that not only did he have the power to rescue us from the
mess we had created but that he was willing to use that power to rescue us.
III. AT CHRIST’S BIRTH, GOD BROUGHT US LIGHT FOR OUR DARKNESS
--Jn. 1:4-5 – “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
A. One of the things that marks Christmas time in our nation is all of the lights on people’s houses,
businesses, trees, and shrubbery. You don’t have to go far to see millions and millions of tiny lights.
Edward Johnson was the man who in 1882 created the first electrically illuminated Christmas tree.
Johnson was a friend of Thomas Edison.
The first tree of its kind was an 80 socket, hand-wired set with specially made bulbs for the occasion.
The news media dismissed the lighted tree as merely a stunt but that humble beginning has grown into a
tradition that lights up the sky every December.
Putting up the lights can be frustrating: braving the weather, unknotting the tangled cords, searching
for that one stubborn bulb that keeps the whole string from lighting up. But the lights do create a very
festive look of anticipation. Sometimes, we as a family just get in the car and drive around to look at
the Christmas lights.
Those lights should remind us of Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming Christ in 9:2 – “The people
walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light
has dawned.”
--Jesus Christ is the light of life
B. What is light like?
1. Light is pure
a. Light is so pure that evil cannot stain it and impurity cannot defile
b. Light can pass through a poisonous atmospheres without becoming tainted
c. it can enter into the dirtiest environment and yet carry no germs
d. Jesus is as pure as light
--Heb. 4:15 – “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was
without sin.”
2. Light is pervasive
a. It hits the golden roof of the palace
b. It shines on the simple shingles of a cottage
c. It passes through the bars of a prison cell
d. Light does not discriminate
--It simply illuminates
3. Light is revealing
a. If you drive a highway at night and then drive it again in the morning, it would look like a
different road
b. Jesus as the light of the world is revealing
1). He reveals us
--nothing in our lives is hidden to Him
2). He also reveals God to us
--We would have trouble seeing God without the illumination of Jesus Christ
c. Jesus came to bring us light in the darkness
IV. AT CHRIST’S BIRTH, GOD BROUGHT US UNDERSTANDING FOR OUR STRUGGLES
--Jn. 1:10-11 – “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not
recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”
A. One of the most disturbing thoughts of all the ages is that the world God created did not know him nor
receive him when he came to live in it.
1. The phrase “that which was his own” in v. 11 refers to his own home and family and people
--the Danish people have a saying: “ ‘Relatives are the worst friends,’ said the fox as the hounds
took after him.”
2. Here was a major contradiction
--there was room for everyone in the world that God had created but there was no room for him
a. You’ve probably heard of a legal document called a restraining order
1). It’s an injunction to one party to stay from another party
2). They have to stay apart by an established distance
b. It’s almost as if the people Jesus came to save obtained a restraining order to keep him at a safe
distance
B. Contrast the welcome he received here with the welcome he had in heaven
1. Jesus had lived in perfect community with the Father from eternity
--He’d known the deepest relationship that will ever exist
2. And then he came to earth as a baby to a new family
--Here he experienced rejection and hatred
3. 2000 years ago, God became one of us
a. He shrunk to the size of a microscopic cell in a woman’s womb
b. He was born like we were
c. He grew like we did
d. He experienced all the thing that we have experienced
--both good and bad
e. He understands from experience what life here is really like
C. There is nothing that you have ever experience that Jesus doesn’t know about
1. He lived among us
2. He experienced what we experience
3. And He understands our struggles
V. AT CHRIST’S BIRTH, GOD BROUGHT US THE GIFT OF NEW LIFE
--Jn. 1:12-13 – “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become
children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but
born of God. “
A. If you will welcome Jesus Christ into your life as Lord and Savior, you receive a free gift
--eternal life
1. You’ve probably heard about orphans in perpetual foster care
--Sometimes they’re abused or exploited in those situations
2. What better gift could you give to an abused, exploited orphan than the gift of adoption into a good
family?
3. Ever since evil entered the human race, we’ve been exploited by the devil
a. Jesus called the devil “a murderer from the beginning” and also “the father of all lies”
b. Jesus came to set you free from the devil’s tyranny
B. At Christmas, we’re amazed at the miracle of God becoming man
1. Even more amazing is the reason he came
--He came to give eternal life to all who believe
2. Every one of us has suffered the fatal contamination caused by sin
--What we need is new life – life in the family of God
C. A young boy jumped into Santa’s lap at the mall and handed him a long list of things that he wanted
for Christmas. Santa looked at the list, and then said to the boy, “I’m going to have to check my list very
closely to see what kind of boy you’ve been this year. Only a very, very good boy gets all the presents.
The boy began to squirm. He closed his eyes like he was deep in thought. When he opened them, he
looked Santa in the eye and said, “Let’s just forget about checking that list. We can compromise. I’m
willing to forget about all the other stuff. Just give me the bicycle.”
1. When I think about the gift that God gives to us – the gift of being called his child – I also want to
squirm
--I don’t deserve God’s gift
2. But that’s fine
--That’s why it’s a gift
3. Salvation and eternal life are things none of us can ever deserve or earn
a. Salvation and eternal life have nothing to do with how good I’ve been
b. Salvation and eternal have everything to do with how good Jesus Christ is
--and how much I trust in Him
D. The gift you receive from Jesus is different from any other gift
1. It’s a personal gift
--It comes in the form of a person – Jesus Christ
2. It’s a practical gift
--It’s just what you need
3. It’s a priceless gift
a. It cost Jesus His life
b. It cost God His Son
c. 1Pet. 1:18-19 – “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you
were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with
the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”
4. It’s a permanent gift
a. I’ve received gifts that looked really great but didn’t last but for a few months
b. The gift of eternal life is the gift that truly keeps on giving and giving and giving – for all of
eternity
CLOSE: A. Just this past week, my friend Darrel Land shared a story that he had read about a young
married couple who lived in California. As husband and wife, they had gone through some rocky
times. The wife got so disillusioned with the stress in her marriage and the responsibility of being
a mother that she just had to get away.
One morning, the husband woke up with a note beside him in the bed. She was gone. He
agonized about her leaving but felt that she needed a little space, so he didn’t try to follow her. He
did call her cell phone that day and every day after. He told he that he loved, her. He begged her
to come home. She would listen to what he said and the husband would often hear her weeping
softly. But she stubbornly refused to come home.
As Christmas approached, the young father became more intentional in his efforts. He hired a
private investigator to locate. A week later, the detective stumbled across the young wife in a
low-budget motel in a seedy area of Las Vegas. Without alerting the wife to his discovery, he
called the husband back in California.
It was Christmas eve night, she sat on the lumpy motel bed, all by herself, in the dimly lit
room. She felt about as lonely as she’d ever felt in her life. Suddenly, she heard a knock. It was
soft at first but grew louder and more insistent.
Slowly, hesitantly, she walked across the room and peeked through the curtain. Her heart
skipped a beat when she saw her husband standing in the doorway. She slid the chain free, threw
open the door, and fell into her arms. He’d barely gotten the words out: “We love you. We need
you. Please come home.” She was already throwing the few clothes she had into her old suitcase
and heading for his car.
Several weeks later, the Christmas tree was back in storage, the kids were back in school, so he
asked her, “Why did you wait so long to come home? I begged you to come back a hundred
times. What took you so long?” She replied, “You told me you loved me; that you needed me.
But those were just words until you came.”
B. Darrel concluded that story with this statement: “Two thousand years ago, the God of the Universe
came…He left heaven and came to earth. He set aside His power and, rather than you just hearing
that God loves you, He decided to put it into action by coming to earth. A person doesn’t come that
far unless they love you and want to be in a relationship with you.”
