Missing Christ During Christmas
Text: Luke 2:41 – 49
You know, something interesting happens this time of year… every year at this time of year, it’s the same old thing… you see it when you talk to people, or visit with them a little bit… and it’s a very interesting phenomenon… And what I’m talking about is this strange attitude that seems to set in after Christmas…
You know… you go talk to people it’s they’re like, “Whew, I’m glad that’s finally over with.” And if you think about that… I mean, really think about it… isn’t that a strange way to be?
“Whew… I’m glad the time of celebrating Christ’s birth is finally over…” Of course, that’s not what they really mean when they say that. What they mean is that they’re glad all the running around, and hectic, holiday chaos has come to an end. They’re glad that there’s no more fighting the crowds at the mall, or JC Penny’s, or Wal-Mart (at least not for another year anyway). No more stressing out about whether or not people are going to like your gifts. Family members, and friends, and other guests are finally heading back home… and even though you love them and are glad to spend time with them, there’s a bit of relief in knowing that you can get back to your regular routine…
That’s what people mean when they say that – “Whew, I’m glad Christmas is over…” Of course, I think that part of the reason some of those things are so stressful is because we totally miss the meaning… we totally miss the fact that Christmas is a celebration of Jesus birthday. For some people, the presence of Christ is totally absent from their Christmas celebrations… And I’m not just talking about worldly, secular people… this can happen to us as Christians as well. We can get caught up in all the hustle and bustle and holiday activities and totally miss out on the presence of Christ during Christmas.
If that’s you this morning… or if that’s been you in the past, I think our text today can help. So if you would, take your Bibles and open them up to Luke 2:41 – 49 (READ).
Now let’s remember the Christmas story, because Luke is placing this event in that context. It started out with an angel appearing to Mary and telling her that she was going to have a baby… and that this baby would be the Saviour of His people. He was to be called Immanuel – which means “God with us.” And that He would be the Son of God. Joseph was also visited by an angel and he was told not to put Mary away, but that instead he was to go on and marry her, and raise this boy as his own. Then they had to travel to Bethlehem, and there was no room at the inn, so Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger… After that, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to the temple, to dedicate Him to the Lord and fulfil the covenant obligations… and they encountered Simeon and Anna… they returned to Bethlehem and stayed there for about two years. Then the wise men came… the magi, and after their visit, Joseph was warned in a dream about King Herod’s plan to kill Jesus, so He took Mary and Jesus and they went to Egypt. After Herod died, they came back to Judea, and eventually settled in the town of Nazareth.
And the Bible tells us that all of those things were done in order to fulfil prophecy. And that brings us to our text this morning.
Now I want you to really get this… Jesus is now 12 years old… All of the wonderful amazing events of the Christmas story have already happened. Joseph and Mary have seen them… they’ve seen shepherds and wise men come and worship their son. They’ve been visited by angels and heard prophets speak over Jesus. They’ve experienced Gods miraculous provision and seen how He kept them safe. But that was 12 years ago… now they’ve gone to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, and somehow… some way… they lose Jesus.
Now understand; it’s not like Jesus was a little baby anymore… He was 12… but still!
Mary and Joseph and Jesus go up to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, they do their religious duty, and then as they head home they go a whole day before they realize that Jesus was missing. Now how does that happen? Be careful here… You see; you might think that this is a complete failure at parenting. You might think this is negligence, or a dereliction of duty… that’s what I did… this week as I was reading through this, and studying it and preparing this message for you today, those are the thoughts that crossed my mind. And then a wave of conviction hit me like a ton of bricks. Because in my life there have been many… MANY times that I have neglected Christ’s presence. I’ve neglected His fellowship. I’ve gone my own way, not thinking about Him at all.
Now understand what I mean when I say we can neglect or lose Christ’s presence… I’m not talking about losing your salvation. If you’re born again, you cannot be lost – EVER. But there’s a difference between relationship and fellowship. Your relationship with God is based on being in Christ. If you’re saved, that can never change. When you’re born again, no one can “undo” that supernatural birth. Just like Leslie and Gabriel will always be my daughters. They will always have my genetics. But we can lose fellowship.
So think about it like this. Relationship means union with Christ… fellowship means communion with Christ. And the Bible tells us that the way we lose fellowship with Christ is through sin. Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” Walking together with Christ is fellowship. It means going where He goes, doing what He’s doing, being a fellow worker with Him. Following Him… So we walk with Jesus in communion… having a common goal, and common desires… but when we sin – we in essence have disagreed with God. Because Jesus isn’t walking toward sin. So when we sin, we’re in essence saying… I’m going to go my own way for awhile Jesus. And that fellowship is broken. You and I cannot enjoy fellowship with Christ if we are sinning, or if you’re covering your sin. You might be saved. You might have that relationship with God as a son or daughter, but you’re not in fellowship with Him.
Now let’s look at Mary and Joseph again… because there are lessons here we really need to see.
They were in Jerusalem celebrating the Passover… they’re doing their religious duty. But at some point… they got caught up in the ritual… the duty aspect of it, and they lost Jesus. It probably just took one moment, and they were distracted by something… or focused on something other than Jesus and they lost Him. So I want to ask you – How much of a focus was Christ for you during this Advent Season? Are you walking in fellowship with Christ today? Now you might be here and you’re not saved and you have no idea what I’m talking about… but if you’re here today and you’re a Christian are you estranged from the presence of Christ? Have you lost the joy you used to have? Have you lost your prayer life? Can you get guidance from God? Maybe you’ve lost that peace and power of God in your life. Maybe… maybe I’m talking to someone today… and maybe you’ve gone so long on your way without the presence and fellowship of Christ in your life, that you don’t even miss Him. Mary and Joseph went a whole day and didn’t realize He was gone. And maybe you’ve gone on so long out of fellowship that you’ve gotten used to it. How far have you travelled as a Christian without knowing the fellowship and companionship of the Lord?
And understand this… Mary and Joseph loved Jesus. It wasn’t their intention to go on without Him. But it happened. They got caught up in going along with the crowd and they didn’t realize that Jesus wasn’t in the crowd. Instead; He had gone to His Father’s house.
You young people need to hear this… most often, the crowds not going to lead you to church. When you leave home and head off to college or to your job, or wherever… most of the time, the crowd is not going to be walking with Jesus.
So Mary and Joseph had gone on without Jesus… they lost His presence…
So we could say that the most unexpected people (Mary and Joseph), lost His presence in the most unlikely place (in Jerusalem), doing a religious thing (celebrating Passover). That’s something to think about isn’t it?
But thank God the story doesn’t end there.
As soon as Mary and Joseph realize what’s happened they stop going the way they were going and go back to find Jesus. Let me encourage you. Whatever situation you find yourself in, whether it’s sin, or sickness, or sadness or sorrow, or suffering – SEEK HIM! Seek the Lord while He may be found!
Look at what Mary and Joseph do… They went searching… and notice here, they went searching where they had last been with Him. This is an awesome picture of repentance. They stopped going the way they were going and went back to where Jesus was. Sometimes in our lives we’re just going on about our business, not even realizing that we’re not walking with Jesus, we’re just going our own way, doing our own thing… but then we realize that Christ isn’t in it, and we’re not walking with Him. We need to stop and repent, and return to Him. That’s what Mary and Joseph do. The go back to where they had last been with Him. And they didn’t find Him immediately. Our text says it took them 3 days… but you notice, they didn’t give up. They didn’t throw their hands up in the air and say, “I give up! It’s hopeless!” Instead they were persistent. And sometimes in life, when we find ourselves falling into sin, we tell ourselves “I’m going to repent of this thing.” And we turn away from it and start heading back to where we were, but the presence of Christ and that sense of fellowship isn’t immediately felt and we feel ourselves being tempted to give up and go back to the sin. Don’t give in to that! It took Mary and Joseph 3 days… and I’m sure there were a couple of times when their hearts were filled with fear and despair and they were worried. And I’m sure the devil was whispering in their ear the whole time: “Oh you’re terrible parents.” “You’re never going to find Jesus.” “You might as well give up.” But they were persistent. They didn’t give up. And I understand; we live in an “instant age.” We want everything right now, but the Bible says we are to wait upon the Lord. The Bible says we receive the promises of God with faith AND patience.
And eventually they find Him… they find Him in the temple. Verses 46 & 47 say, “After three days they found Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.” So Jesus was in the temple, asking the teachers questions… but understand these weren’t the kind of questions you might ask someone if you wanted to know an answer to something… these were the kind of probing questions a professor might ask his students. Jesus was the teacher here.
So church, let me ask you a question… did you miss Christ this Christmas? And what about as we head into the New Year? Are you missing the presence and fellowship of Christ in your daily walk? It doesn’t have to be that way.
Come to Him this morning and that fellowship can be restored… or maybe you’ve never come to Him at all… If that’s you this morning, Jesus says to you, “All who come to me, I will in no wise cast out.”
We don’t come to the manger like the shepherds did… instead we come to the cross, won’t you come today?
