“IF I WERE PLANNING CHRISTMAS…”
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. After being away on business for a week before Christmas, Tom thought it would be nice to bring his wife a little gift.
2. “How about some perfume?” He asked the cosmetics clerk. She showed him a bottle costing $50. “That’s a little much,” said Tom, so she returned with a smaller bottle for $30. “That’s still quite a bit,” Tom groused.
3. Growing disgusted, the clerk brought out a tiny $15 bottle. Tom grew agitated, “What I mean,” he said, “is I’d like to see something real cheap.” So the clerk handed him a mirror.
4. POEM: “Jingle bells, Spending Swells, Charge cards all the way; Oh what fun it is to shop, Until you have to pay!”
5. “For Christmas,” a woman remarked to her friend, “I was visited by a jolly, bearded fellow with a big bag over his shoulder. It was my son coming home from college with his laundry.”
B. TEXT
18Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." Mt. 1:18-21.
7[When Mary got to Bethlehem] she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn….When the angels had left [the shepherds] and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." Lk. 2:7, 15.
16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
C. THESIS
1. The birth of Jesus Christ is probably the most sublime event in all of human history; it is also one of the most colorful for its rustic
environment, angelic interventions, and visitations by the wise, learned, and wealthy Magi, and also by the most humble members of society – the shepherds – to Jesus’ nativity. It is truly a remarkable story!
2. However, if I had been God and if I were planning Christmas, I would have done things differently. The way the birth of Jesus took place was too risky. How I would have done it?
I. DONE DIFFERENTLY
A. ARRIVE EARLY
1. DANGERS OF THE WAY IT HAPPENED:
a. Imagine if Mary were your wife or daughter. She was nine months pregnant, and actually at the point of giving birth. Doctors routinely tell expectant mothers not to make lengthy trips, even in cars. This was a three-day trip, one way. Would you think it was a good idea for her to go on this trip?
b. From Nazareth to Bethlehem was 70 miles distance on foot. They had to travel up and down mountains, through ravines, exposed to bandits, sleeping in the wild susceptible to attack by wild animals!
c. Would I want to risk Mary or the Son of God that way?
2. I WOULD HAVE HAD THEM ARRIVE MONTHS EARLY. THIS WOULD HAVE ACCOMPLISHED THE FOLLOWING:
a. Let them GET SETTLED in Bethlehem.
b. Give Joseph time to FIND A JOB (since it was necessary for them to meet the wise men there possibly two years later).
c. Help them PREPARE FOR THE BIRTH. There was no need for Mary to be going through labor pains during the trip and go into labor as soon as they arrived in Bethlehem, with Joseph scrambling to find any facilities for his poor wife to have the baby in.
1). How many of you have slept in a barn in winter? (Not counting the Royal Rangers).
2). It was an unheated and unsanitary barn surrounded by filthy conditions and animals.
3). It was not even intended for human habitation.
4). There was no nursery, no diapers, no crib, no sanitary bottles, no running water, no fire, etc.
d. I would have AVOIDED the EMBARRASSMENT of Mary “showing” before she was married and the accompanying SCANDAL because people insinuated that she and Joseph had been immoral.
B. AT THE INN:
If THEY COULD NOT ARRIVE EARLY, then I would have…
1. SENT ANGELS TO THE INNKEEPER – to instruct him to give Joseph and Mary the best room in the Inn. “STORY OF HAROLD”
a. Ron Hutchcraft tells the story of Harold. Harold wanted to be in the annual Christmas play which was always a big production in his town. But Harold was not the top student in his class and seemed to have a lot of problems. The directors of the children’s play did not want to hurt Harold’s feelings, but they were worried about whether he could handle a part.
b. They finally decided to give him the part of the Inn Keeper. All he had to say was, “I’m sorry, there is no room in the Inn.” Well, the night of the big play came and the church was packed. At the precise moment Mary and Joseph came and knocked on the Inn door.
c. The whole village of Bethlehem shook as Harold tried to open the cardboard door to the Inn which was stuck. At last he got the door open, and looked at the pitiful young couple standing there. He blurted out the words: “I’m sorry, all the rooms are full, and there’s no room for you here.”
d. The couple turned sorrowfully away and began to walk off stage when all of a sudden the door of the Inn swung open again, and Harold ran up to the couple and said in a loud voice so that everyone could hear, “Wait a minute. Come back. You can have my room.”
2. SENT ANGELS to COLLECT MIDWIVES to be available to assist Mary in giving birth to the Christ child. Joseph was a fine man, but he was not an expert in obstetrics/childbirth. They were too vulnerable; what if Mary had had complications (the baby turned the wrong way, the cord wrapped around the baby’s neck, needing an episiotomy, RH- Factor, etc.)?
3. SENT ANGELS TO A WEALTHY MERCHANT – to provide finances for the Savior’s family until such time as they were to move to Egypt. Even if Joseph started working the first day in Bethlehem, he might not get paid for a week; how was he to provide lodging, food, and all the necessities of a new baby and recovering wife?
C. GET THE WISE MEN TO:
1. ARRIVE EARLY, with gifts in CASH form.
2. BYPASS HEROD and follow the star directly to Bethlehem, so that Herod wouldn’t wreck havoc on the innocents and endanger the Christ child.
D. FOR MARY
1. Comfortable Bed.
2. Antiseptic room. An epidural.
3. Competent Physicians.
4. Incubator, etc.
E. “If the wise men had been women then:”
- they would have asked for directions
- arrived on time
- helped to deliver the baby
- cleaned the stable
- brought more practical gifts
- made a casserole!
The wild thing was that Joseph and Mary were destined to these seeming mistaken planning gaffs; but they really weren't mistakes.
II. THE REASON WE WOULD CHANGE
A. OUR TENDENCY TO PROTECT OURSELVES
The reason that we would like to change the Nativity story is because of our tendency to protect ourselves from pain, hardship, risk, and vulnerability. We plan for our comfort. Jesus said, "I had no place to lay my head." God treats us better than He did His own Son!
B. WE WANT ONLY GOOD TIMES
1. We want God to order all our days pleasant.
2. But OUR CHRISTMASES are often:
a. LONELY – death, divorce, distance;
b. TROUBLED – unemployment, illness, meager resources;
3. Memories of better days bring despair. And all this in spite of the reality that God is in charge of our lives!
III. SECOND LOOK AT THE CHRISTMAS STORY
A. WHAT WOULD WE LOSE?
1. PICTURE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT THE MANGER
a. If He’d been born in a royal castle, could we have identified with His becoming poor for our sakes?
b. Why do we feel so close to Jesus? Is it not that He was so, like us, helpless in His coming? So poor?
c. Here are Mary and Joseph – No connections, no pulling rank to get a room, powerless (at God’s mercy).
d. Even we feel welcome in the manger. Few ever see a child born in a palace, but the whole world is invited to see the bleak humility of an open stable.
2. IF HEROD HAD BEEN RUBBED OUT…
a. It would have insulated the Son of God from other’s evil choices. Bad things often happen to good people. Life is not fair. Even the Son of God was susceptible to that.
b. God will not insulate us from evil, but He will give us the power to face it; not as a victim, but as a Victor.
3. LOOK AT THE SHEPHERDS
a. Do we really want to blot them out?
b. God gives His best to ordinary people. Think of it: Angels sang to shepherds!
B. AT CHRISTMAS, GOD BECAME ONE OF US!
1. THERE’S NOT A THING WE WOULD CHANGE. IT WAS PERFECT!
a. The Poverty
b. The Danger
c. The Starkness
d. The Glory
e. The Music
f. The Simple Humility
2. CHRISTMAS MEANS JESUS IS WITH US
a. Matthew 1:23 quoted Isaiah’s prophecy, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" —which means, "God with us." Jesus became fully human – sharing in our poverty, our troubles, and our struggles. Because of this, He is sympathetic to our weaknesses and problems. He was tempted in all points just as we are, yet without sin. Thank God for a God who cares about us so much!
b. All our trials have a purpose. We don’t want to omit them. In eternity, we’ll look back on our crisis periods and see what God was developing in us.
3. SOMEDAY WE’LL SEE GOD’S PLAN WAS BEST
a. We’ll say someday, “Father, I struggled to change the manger scene of my life – to rearrange your Grand Design and make it better.”
b. “Now I see that Your plan is best. Forgive me for thinking of You as being haphazard and careless in Your ways. You knew best all along!”
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: “PEACE CHILD”
1. In 1962, the Sawi people of New Guinea still lived in relative isolation. They were head-hunting cannibals. Their culture could not be more different from that of Don and Carol Richardson, and yet this missionary couple attempted to share Christ with them. In fact, two rival Sawi tribes, fascinated by the Richardsons, moved their villages right around the missionaries’ jungle home.
2. But Don became frustrated by his inability to find a point of contact. He was also discouraged by the 14 civil wars he had already counted right outside his front door now that the two tribes lived side by side. Eventually, the Richardsons decided to leave. However, the Sawi response surprised them: "If you’ll stay, we promise we’ll make peace in the morning." The next morning the Richardsons awoke to see the most amazing ritual they had ever witnessed.
3. The two tribes were lined up outside their houses, on either side of the clearing. Finally, one man dashed into his hut, grabbed his newborn son, and began to run across the meadow towards the other tribe. His expression betrayed absolute agony. His wife ran after him, screaming and begging him to give the baby back to her. But her husband wouldn’t stop. He ran over to the other tribe and presented the boy to them. "Plead the peace child for me. I give you my son, and I give you my name," he said. Moments later, someone from that tribe performed the same agonizing sacrifice with the same intensity and passion.
4. Richardson found out later that as long as those two children remained alive, the tribes were bound to peace. If they died, then literally all hell would break loose--cannibalism, murder, civil war. While this amazing scene unfolded before him, Don suddenly realized
that this was the analogy he needed to communicate Christ.
5. The next time he spoke to the Sawi elders he told them of the perfect Peace Child, Jesus. Eventually, droves of Sawi became followers of Christ. Several years later, on Christmas day, hundreds of Sawi from every tribe - tribes that had warred and cannibalized each other for many years - gathered together for a feast for the first time.
6. A Sawi preacher stood up and read in his own language a scripture that few people in the history of the world have ever understood so clearly: "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulders, and He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [Adapted by James McCullen from "Peace Child" by Don Richardson (Regal, 1976) in Mars Hill Review, Fall 1994. Pages 62-63]
B. ALTAR CALL
1. “Struggling this Christmas? God cares!”
2. The “Peace Child” came to guarantee your peace with God; will you accept God’s “Peace Child – Jesus” as the atonement for your sins?
