“The Surprising Gift”
John 1:1-14
David P. Nolte
Have you ever received a gift you could not understand at all? Maybe something obviously “re-gifted” or at least used. I Imagine a few fruitcakes have made a number of rounds.
Maybe you received something that never made your list of top ten desired gifts. Maybe something so bizarre that you didn’t know whether to use it as a doorstop or boat anchor.
At any rate something that made you wonder about the gift-gifting-giftedness of the giver.
Oh, I know, I know, “It’s the thought that counts!” And that is true when there is thought behind the gift. And in that vein, want to tell you about a little girl who thought a long time in giving her daddy a Christmas gift.
She really wanted to give her Daddy a special Christmas present and nearly had her heart broken in the process. Her Daddy saw her cutting the gold-foil wrapping paper and ruining most of a roll. He saw her pulling long strands of tape off only to have them stick to her more than the paper. He bawled her out for wasting the expensive wrapping materials. But she was undaunted in preparing a special gift for her daddy. Obviously she had little or no money since she was only six years old. But she was old enough to understand how to make a gift appropriate to the recipient as well as the giver.
This true story provides an illustration of our Scripture text. John records the giving of God's gift of Jesus Christ and the manner in which He was accepted. Let's look to the text to see how God's greatest gift, Jesus Christ, was, and often is, received.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-14 (NASB)
As the daddy didn’t comprehend his daughter’s gift, so:
I. SOME DIDN’T RECOGNIZE GOD’S GIFT:
A. “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.”
1. They didn't know Him! Oh, they had an idea of who He was -- they knew He was Jesus; they knew his family; they knew He was the son of the carpenter.
2. But the word for "know" in this text means "to perceive, to be resolved or sure about, or to understand."
B. The Jews didn't recognize this One Who walked among them and taught them and did miracles in their midst. They accused Him of being demented, demonic and a blasphemer.
C. There are a great many misunderstandings about Jesus Christ because He is not recognized for Who He is.
1. Some think He was merely a myth, an imaginary creation of somebody's imagination like the tooth fairy or Sasquatch.
2. Some think He was formerly the Archangel Michael transformed into human form.
3. Some think He was merely a prophet in a long succession of prophets.
4. Some think He was just a good man, a moral model, a prime example.
5. Some think He was a super star who lusted after all the women in His group.
6. Some think He was a religious zealot who got Himself martyred when things got out of hand.
D. But John makes it abundantly clear that He is much more than any of those! He is the Divine Creator Who put on flesh as a human baby and came to earth Absolute Deity in Absolute Humanity as God's indescribable gift -- and for the most part, people misunderstood.
As people misunderstood God’s gift, so the little girl's Daddy didn't understand what she was trying to do. He just saw her wasting paper. He saw her making a mess with the tape. And he was angry. "Don't you know that paper and tape cost money? Why are you making such a mess?" Never-the-less, she had already wrapped the box the best she knew how, and she put it under the tree. Daddy's negative reaction reminds me a lot of how Israel reacted to Jesus
II. SOME REJECTED GOD'S GIFT:
A. “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”
1. Sometimes we get gifts we find a little difficult to appreciate, and we find gratitude hard to fake.
2. We are sometimes like the little boy who opened a package with great gusto only to see a gaudy scarf he couldn't have cared less about. He said, with a frown, "Oh, just what I never wanted!"
B. According to John, that's how Israel reacted to Jesus, God's gift. They didn’t receive Him.
1. The word for "received" means "to take near to you, to associate with someone in a familiar or intimate act or relationship."
2. They did not take Him near to them to associate with Him intimately. In fact, their main reaction was to reject Him.
C. People today aren't much different.
1. Some are downright antagonistic toward Him. People world-wide are persecuted for Jesus' sake by those hostile to the gospel.
2. Some are merely indifferent and couldn't care less about knowing Jesus. They are apathetic and uncaring.
3. Some are afraid to know Him for fear He will change their lives in ways they would find unpleasant and undesirable.
4. Some are planning to know Him sometime, in the dim, undefined future, but can't take time for Him right now!
D. God has come to us in Jesus Christ. In Him all the fulness of deity dwelt in bodily form.
1. We must accept or reject Him, that's all He leaves open to us.
2. How we respond or react to Jesus Christ is how we treat God for He is Emmanuel, God with us.
Because they misunderstood, some rejected God’s gift. Not understanding what his little girl was doing, Daddy reacted negatively and even angrily to her package wrapping efforts. But she put it under the tree anyway. On Christmas morning, she proudly presented that box to her Daddy. He felt embarrassed that he had treated her so harshly when she was wrapping the box and took great pains to open it with a look of anticipation on his face. But that quickly faded as he discovered that the box was empty! His anger flared up again as he said, "What is this? Don't you know that when you give a present, there's supposed to be something inside it?" And with that he set the box aside, nearly missing the greatest blessing a little girl knew how to give a daddy. Some will do that with God's gift, too -- but to their loss. Yet there are those who gladly welcome Him to their gain.
III. SOME RECEIVED GOD'S GIFT:
A. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
B. There are many blessings when we receive God’s gift. In the text, however, are these specifics:
1. The first blessing is: The right to become Children of God. The unsaved are His creatures, but those who receive Christ are His children, bearing His likeness, filled with His spirit, members of God's household and recipients of inheritance rights.
2. The next blessings is: Grace: undeserved, unearned, unmerited, love all freely bestowed upon us by a Loving Heavenly Father through His only begotten Son! There is nothing harsh or forbidding in Jesus. He has treated us with abundant kindness, giving us what we don't, and never could, deserve.
3. The third blessing is: Truth: that which is credible, genuine, authentic, honest, sincere, guileless. There is nothing phony or misleading or fraudulent in Jesus. He is the original Promise Keeper, the unchanging Lord, the epitome of integrity and equity. He is the truth.
C. John lists three great blessings we receive in accepting His gift. But consider some additional blessings:
1. Peter said to the Jews, "For you first, God raised up His Servant, and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways." Acts 3:26.
2. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly." John 10:10.
D. You can't earn it; you can't merit it; you can't deserve it; you can't buy it; you can't be good enough for it -- it is a gift and if you will possess it, you must receive it. The question for some is, "How do I receive this gift?" The New Testament plan is plain, and we must not require more nor less than this:
1. Believe that Jesus Christ is God's only Begotten Son and put your trust in Him and obey Him.
2. If you believe, you will have no problem obeying His commands that you
a. Repent of sin by making a decision not to continue in it.
b. Confess your faith in Christ without shame.
c. Be baptized, that is, immersed, into Him for the forgiveness of sins and the reception of the Holy Spirit.
d. Continue to live faithfully for Him as long as life may last.
God wanted, and wants to give His gift to all who will receive Him. The little girl wanted to give, but Daddy had not understood her gift; he rejected it when he saw that the box was empty; but the little girl looked at him through tear dimmed eyes and said, "Oh, Daddy! It's not empty! I blew kisses into the box -- all for you!" The smitten father took her into his arms and hugged her close. "Oh!" he said, “Daddy is so sorry. This is the best present I ever got in my whole life!" He kept that box by his bed from then on so when he was feeling a little low, he could take out a kiss and remember the love of a little girl who wanted to give her best just for him. He found in this surprising gift the greatest expression of love a little girl knew how to give.
And when we understand who Jesus is, and when we respond in faith to God's bequest, we can then realize the significance of His gift AND HOW MUCH WE OWE Him in thanks. Toni sang,
Everything that I have I owe to YOU,
LORD, and Calvary's the reason why.
When I think of the love that YOU‘VE given,
LORD, when I think of the price YOU paid for me,
Then all the trials on earth they seem like nothing,
When they're compared to dark Calvary.
Have you received His gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ? Would you receive it this morning? And would you be moved in love and faith to give something back to Him?
He doesn't seek for what you don't have -- but does ask that you give Him your best, your heart, your life, your all! He gave, He gives, and He will continue to give His best to you, will you receive it?
As we sing our hymn, “I am Thine, Oh Lord” will you make that your gift to Him? Receive His greatest gift: Jesus Christ, and give your greatest gift: Yourself!
