INDENTIFYING EMMANUEL
Christmas Eve 2012
Mililani Community Church
Pastor Rick Bartosik
A new movie will be released on Christmas Day 2012; it is entitled Les Miserables, a French term meaning: the miserable ones or the wretched ones.
The movie is based on a French novel by Victor Hugo which is widely considered the greatest novel of the 19th century – and one of the half dozen greatest novels in the world. The stage production has been seen by 60 million people in 42 countries.
A recent review describes it this way (Mike Cosper – “Law and Grace in ‘Les Mis’” December 20, 2012, The Gospel Coalition):
“Every character in the story experiences the weight and tragedy of our fallen world. They all face inevitable disappointments.
“There is a grinding, heartbreaking kind of tragedy that threads its way through Les Miserables. You can’t help but feel the sting of our fallen world.
“That feeling of relentless heartache sends the characters to God and to one another wondering if there’s any relief, any hope, any way out of the darkness.
“The answer to those questions plays out most tellingly in the contrast between Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert.
“Valjean deserves judgment and condemnation, but instead, he receives grace.
“Not just forgiveness for his sins, but an abundant, over-the-top gift.
“This act is the heart of Les Miserables. Grace transforms Valjean – and leads him home to God.
“Valjean is determined to live a life worthy of the grace he has received.
“This story resonates for two reasons. First, the audience can identify with a world of tragedy and disappointment. We all feel that sense of grinding sorrow and wonder if there is any hope for those who are sick, who suffer injustice, and who long to start anew. We are all discouraged by the constant onslaught of bad news, and we dream dreams of places where hope is high, life is worth living, and God is merciful.
“Second, Les Miserables answers those doubts with hope for redemption. There IS a way to start afresh. There IS a grace that surpasses, that sets us free from the burdens of our past, and that leads us home to God.
“And while Les Miserables provides a vague answer, how beautiful that it is releasing on Christmas Day, when that grace is announced to the world so clearly!
“In light of the gospel, a story like Les Miserables isn’t simply uplifting; it is a call to remember how great a salvation we have.”
Diane and I plan to go see les Miserables during this Christmas season.
The great truth of Christmas is that God the Father loves the world so much he sent His own Son to take on human flesh and to dwell among us – to die for our sins and to suffer for our iniquity; then to rise from the dead on the third day – CONQUERING SIN AND DEATH.
Now there is salvation and FULL PARDON FROM SIN AND EVERLASTING LIFE PROMISED for those who believe and put their trust in Him.
Death has met its ultimate defeat in the death and resurrection of Christ.
THOSE WHO DIE IN CHRIST have the hope of being immediately with Him – “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”
As Paul says in Colossians 3:4 – “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
There is something so glorious waiting for us that the Apostle Paul says, “Eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him” (I Cor. 2:9).
THE QUESTION I WANT TO THINK ABOUT THIS EVENING IS: How can we really know and be sure that this HOPE we have in Jesus Christ is real?
How can we know for sure that Jesus really is EMMANUEL – GOD WITH US – THE ONE the Father sent to be the SAVIOR OF THE WORLD?
As C.S. Lewis said – If Jesus is not who he claimed to be, then his teachings are either the ramblings of a lunatic who sincerely thought he was God (but wasn’t) or the words of a liar who knew he wasn’t God (but said he was).
ONE OF THE MAJOR EVIDENCES to support Christ’s claim to be the Messiah, the eternal, incarnate Son of God, are THE GREAT MESSIANIC PROPHECIES of the Old Testament.
The fulfillment of all the messianic prophesies in one person, Jesus Christ, provides convincing proof that Jesus Christ really is the Son of God – the One the Father sent to be the Savior of the world.
In his book, Beyond Belief To Convictions (63-68). Josh McDowell asks us to imagine agreeing over the phone to meet a distant business associate – someone we have never met in person – at a large business convention.
You are on the phone with this person and the conversation goes like this:
“How will I know you?”
“Well, I’ll be carrying a briefcase.”
“All right,” “but a lot of people will probably be carrying briefcases. Not everyone, but a lot. What color is it?” “Black.”
“That might narrow it down some,” but not enough.”
“I’m a redhead,” your associate offers.
“That helps, - a Redhead carrying a black briefcase.”
Still might not be specific enough. “What will you be wearing?”
“I will be wearing a blue blazer. How’s that?”
“That’s better. But just to be sure, can you wear red tennis shoes?”
“Very funny. I’ll just make sure I’m wearing A NAME TAG with my name in big bold letters.”
“That should do it,” you answer. I’ll just look for a redhead carrying a black briefcase and wearing a blue blazer with a name tag.
“I should be able to recognize you from a distance, and your name on the tag will seal it.
NOW IMAGINE GOD, DEVISING THE PLAN to send his only Son to earth to be born as a human infant.
If we could have spoken down the corridors of time, we might have asked “How will we know him? How will we recognize him as the Messiah, the eternal incarnate Son of God?”
God might have responded,
“I will cause him to born as an Israelite a descendant of Abraham (Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:16).”
“But,” we might have protested,” Abraham’s descendants will be as numerous as the stars!”
“Then I will narrow it down to only half of Abraham’s lineage and make him a descendant of Isaac, not Ishmael (Genesis 21:12; Luke 3:23-34).”
“That will help but isn’t that still an awful lot of people?”
“I will let him be born from Jacob’s line, then, eliminating half of Isaac’s lineage (Numbers 24:17; Luke 3:23-34).”
“I will be even more specific. Jacob will have twelve sons; I will bring forth the Messiah from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10; Luke3:23-33).”
“Won’t that still be a lot of people?
We still may not recognize him when he comes.”
“Don’t worry! Look for him in the family line of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1; Luke 3:23-32). And from the house and lineage of Jesse’s youngest son, David (Jeremiah 23:5; Luke 3:23-31).
And then I will tell you where he will be born: Bethlehem, a tiny town in the area called Judah (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1).”
“But how will we know which person born there is your Son?”
“He will be preceded by a messenger who will prepare the way and announce his advent (Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:1-2).
He will begin his ministry in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:12-17) and will teach in parables (Psalm 78:2; Matthew 13:34-35), performing many miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6; Matthew 9:35).”
“Okay, that should help a lot.”
“Oh,” God might have responded – “I’m just getting warmed up!
He will ride into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:2; Luke 19:35-37) and will appear suddenly and forcefully at the temple courts and zealously ‘clean house’ (Psalm 69:9; Malachi 3:1; John 2:15-16).
In one day I will fulfill no fewer than TWENTY-NINE SPECIFIC PROPHECIES spoken at least five hundred years earlier about him!”
Listen to this:
1. He will be betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9; Matthew 26:49).
2. The price of his betrayal will be thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah11:12; Matthew 26:15).
3. His betrayal money will be cast to the floor of my temple (Zechariah 11:13; Matthew 27:5).
4. His betrayal money will be used to buy the potter’s field (Zechariah 11:13; Matthew 27:7).
5. He will be forsaken and deserted by his disciples (Zechariah 13:7; Mark 14:50).
6. He will be accused by false witnesses (Psalm 35:11; Matthew 26:59-60).
7. He will be silent before his accusers (Isaiah 53:7; Matthew 27:12).
8. He will be wounded and bruised (Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 27:26).
9. He will be hated without a cause (Psalm 69:4; John 15:25).
10. He will be struck and spit on (Isaiah 50:6; Matthew 26:67).
11. He will be mocked, ridiculed, and rejected (Isaiah 53:3; Matthew 27:27-31: and John 7:5,48).
12. He will collapse from weakness (Psalm 109:24-25; Luke 23:26).
13. He will be taunted with specific words (Psalm 22:6-8; Matthew 27:39-43).
14. People will shake their heads at him (Psalm 109:25; Matthew 27:39).
15. People will stare at him (Psalm 22:17; Luke 23:35).
16. He will be executed among “sinners” (Isaiah 53:12; Matthew 27:38).
17. His hands and feet will be pierced (Psalm 22:16; Luke 23:33).
18. He will pray for his persecutors (Isaiah 53:12; Luke 23:34).
19. His friends and family will stand afar off and watch (Psalm 38:11; Luke 23:49).
20. His garments will be divided and won by the casting of lots (Psalm 22:18; John 19:23-24).
21. He will thirst (Psalm 69:21; John 19:28).
22. He will be given gall and vinegar (Psalm 69:21; Matthew 27:34).
23. He will commit himself to God (Psalm 31:5; Luke 23:46).
24. His bones will be left unbroken (Psalm 34:20; John 19:33).
25. His heart will rupture (Psalm 22:14; John 19:34).
26. His side will be pierced (Zechariah 12:10; John 19:34).
27. Darkness will come over the land at midday (Amos 8:9; Matthew 27:45).
28. He will be buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9; Matthew 27:57-60).
29. He will die 483 years after the declaration of Artaxerxes to rebuild the temple in 444 B.C. (Daniel 9:24).
As a final testimony, on the third day after his death, he will be raised from the dead (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:31), ascend to heaven (Psalm 68:18; Acts 1:9), and be seated at the right hand of God in full majesty and authority (Psalm 110:1; Hebrews 1:3).
Isn’t it amazing what extraordinary lengths God went to in order to help us identify and recognize his only begotten Son!
Jesus fulfilled sixty-one major Old Testament prophecies (with about 270 additional ramifications) – all of which were made more than hundreds of years before his birth.
Is it possible to believe that some of the details of Jesus’ life just happened to coincide with all those Old Testament prophecies?
Peter Stoner in an analysis that was carefully reviewed by the American Scientific Affiliation (quoted in Evidence That Demands A Verdict, 167) used the modern science of probability to show that the chance that any man might have lived down to the present time and fulfilled just eight of these major prophecies is 1 in 10 17. That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.
In order to help us comprehend this staggering probability, Stoner illustrates it by supposing that we take 1017 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep.
Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one.
What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time, providing they wrote them in their own wisdom.
Yet not just eight prophecies, but all 61 major prophecies, came true in Christ. This shows that these prophecies about Christ’s coming were given by inspiration of God. They were fulfilled in Christ to prove to us that Jesus is indeed the eternal Son of God and the Savior of the world.
The most explicit and powerful of all messianic prophecies is ISAIAH 52:13-53:12.
This prophecy was given seven centuries before the birth of Christ.
It reveals that:
1. The Messiah would suffer sinlessly (53:4-6, 9).
2. The Messiah would suffer silently (53:7).
3. The Messiah would die as a substitute to bear the sins of others (53:5-6, 8, 10-12).
4. The Messiah would be subject to “scourging” “pierced through” “cut off out of the land of the living.”
5. The Messiah would be buried in a rich man’s tomb (53:9).
6. The Messiah would be resurrected (53:11).
7. The Messiah would justify those who believe in him (53:11).
CONCLUSION
God wanted us to be able to clearly identify His Son when He came to be our Savior!
He gave us all we needed to know to believe that Jesus truly is God’s Messiah and the Savior of the World.
The angel said to the shepherds: “Unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!”
Jesus is Emmanuel – God with us!
Do you know Him as your Savior?
If you know Him – then go and tell others the good news so that they can come to know Him too!
Concluding song: “Go Light the World”
