NATIVITY
INTRODUCTION: The word, "nativity" comes from the Latin word meaning, "to be born". And if I were to ask you, who was born you would all answer, "Jesus". But on that blessed day it wasn't just about who was born, but also what was born. I'll be talking about four things that came with the arrival of Jesus. Today we'll look at the first two-hope and peace.
1) Hope was born on Christmas Day. [video clip]
Psalm 119:81, "My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word."
Have you ever had a longing for something? Something that was coming that seemed almost agonizing to have to be patient about? For kids that's Christmas morning. When the month of December comes the countdown begins. As it gets closer the excitement builds but so does the impatience. And then the day comes and you realize it was all worth the wait.
One of the reasons the book of Psalms is appealing is because many of them are so deeply emotional. They describe people crying out to God from the depths of their heart. Here we have the Psalmist telling God how he longs for his deliverance; how he longs for salvation to come. In context, he was mainly referring to deliverance from his enemies but prophetically it pertains to looking forward to the coming of the Messiah; the savior the prophets of the Psalmist's day told about.
I believe the Psalmist was hopeful for both types of deliverance. In a time of despair and attack the Psalmist could think about the words of the prophets and wonder when hope would arrive for he and his people. His soul is in anguish as he deals with the heartache of another attack and it causes him to think of how wonderful it will be when salvation comes. His hope is in God's promise of deliverance; his hope is in the truth of God's word coming to pass.
Prov. 13:12, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."
Deferred means delayed. To be clear, God's hope was not delayed, the coming of Jesus was in God's perfect timing although to the people of the OT I'm sure it felt like it was being delayed. But when the fulfillment of that longing came it certainly was a tree of life because the coming of Jesus was the coming of life and the promise of eternal life for those who would believe on him for salvation.
The prophets spoke about the coming of Jesus and they looked forward to his coming. Since the last prophet until Jesus' birth 400 years had passed-an obviously long time of silence. But then, Jesus, the fulfillment of the promise, the hope for all mankind was born.
There was a devout man named Simeon who was among those who were waiting for the deliverance to appear. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die before seeing Jesus. So when Joseph and Mary brought baby Jesus to the temple, the Holy Spirit moved Simeon to go to where they were. When they approached Simeon took Jesus into his arms and praised God.
This is what he said Luke 2:29-30, "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
Hope had arrived; salvation had come. Simeon could rejoice in the fulfillment of the promise. The long-awaited desire to see the coming of the Lord had finally happened. Not only could Simeon rejoice but we too, have this hope of redemption. When we find salvation through Christ we rejoice as Simeon did. We rejoice in the hope that was revealed when Jesus came to earth to be Immanuel but we also rejoice as we wait patiently for the glory of God to be revealed again when Jesus returns.
Interestingly, as the people of the OT eagerly waited in anticipation for the coming of Jesus, we are eagerly waiting too-for the second coming of Jesus. We have to be patient like those in Old Testament times had to be patient. And as sometimes the waiting was painful for them (especially when times were tough), the waiting can be painful for us too.
Rom. 8:23-25, "Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."
Our spirits are groaning because we can't wait to be with Jesus. We are eagerly waiting for the time when we can leave and be with Jesus forever. I'm sure there are days when you thought, "Jesus if you came back right now that would be all right with me". It's understandable. But as we look forward to this glorious event we are called to do so with patience. Because as the first arrival of Jesus was in perfect timing so will the second coming be. It's easier to be patient when we realize that while we wait there's work to be done and souls to be won.
But even though what we hope for is yet to materialize, it's not a wishful hope; it's a sure hope. The writer of Hebrews called our hope an anchor for the soul-firm and secure. God's promises are valid and trustworthy. We don't have to wonder if these future events will come true because we have already seen the fulfillment of hope for those in biblical times with the coming of Jesus. So if the prophecies of the OT concerning the first coming of Jesus were fulfilled then the prophecies concerning the second coming of Jesus and our eternal inheritance are as sure as if they have already happened.
Because Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies about himself and because he has ministered to us in unmistakable ways we can trust in him. We can have faith in his word that declared that he is going to prepare a place for us and that he will come back for us to take us there to be with him. This is his promise and our hope; solid and sure.
Our hope was born when Jesus was born.
2) Peace was born on Christmas Day. [video clip]
Isa 9:6, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
The people were looking for a political Messiah; someone who would establish peace in the land like in the days of Solomon. And God had spoken the establishment of peace through the prophets in times when his people were in captivity. But the peace that Jesus brought was not political but spiritual. He was not the prince of peace between man and man but between man and God.
When Jesus spoke the truth it caused some people to show hatred toward him. And not that Jesus wanted that but he didn't compromise his message so that there could be peace between him and those who opposed him. His mission was salvation; his purpose would be to establish peace between mankind and God. Through sin we had become separated from God and therefore we had no peace with him.
Isa. 48:22, “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked."
As a sinner, it doesn't mean we are in turmoil 24/7 but there is no peace for our souls. There is something missing and we are unaware of what that is or how to fix it. We are in a state of unrest internally. Our spirits are unsettled. We spend our time looking for satisfaction but can't find it. We long for peace and serenity but it seems to be just outside our reach. We may have glimpses of it and we may have periods of it but it isn't established within us; it isn't part of our inner being.
In reality, there is no true peace for any of us because we're all sinners. That's why we need Jesus. He is the only one who can establish peace within us because it first needs to happen between us and God. We can't remove the stain of sin from us; we're damaged goods. But Jesus, the sinless one, was the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins. Jesus came to pay the penalty for our sins, which is death, and make the way for us to have peace between us and God.
The beginning of Rom. 6:23 says that the wages (what we earned) from our sin is death. Jesus died for what we did; he stepped in and took our place. The punishment that is meant for us, the sentence we received for our guilty verdict was given to him instead.
Isa. 53:5, "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."
That's what it took to bring us peace. Col. 1:20 says that Jesus made peace through his blood that was shed on the cross. And that peace is ours if we choose to receive the gift of eternal life.
The rest of Rom. 6:23 says the gift of God (freely offered) is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. But, in order to benefit from a gift you have to receive it. Someone can offer you a gift but you don't have to take it, you can reject it; which is what many are doing when it comes to salvation. But we will avoid the punishment of being eternally separated from God if we humbly accept the free gift of salvation. If we believe we will receive the gift of forgiveness; the gift of life.
With the coming of Jesus we have been given the gift of hope and peace. That's why when the angel appeared to the shepherds in the field announcing the coming of Jesus we see this happen: Luke 2:13-14, "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
The heavenly host were rejoicing because with the birth of the Messiah comes the arrival of peace. In celebrating the birth of Jesus we celebrate the coming of peace. And the peace on whom his favor rests is the peace that all who trust in Christ for salvation will get to experience.
Rom. 5:1-2, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."
Since we have benefitted from the gift of eternal life offered by way of God's grace, we have peace and we rejoice in our newfound hope for the glory of God. But not only do we have peace with God, but because of the Spirit of God living in me I now have the ability to experience true inner peace. That opportunity wasn't there before Christ. But now because of my reconciliation with God the Spirit of God in me enables me to be peaceful.
When the world around me is chaotic I can still be at peace. When tragedy strikes me I don't have to panic because I know that Jesus loves me and will comfort me and watch out for me. I don't have to worry about things because Jesus will help me through any situation I face. He's not a crutch; he's my help in times of trouble. He's not a false sense of security; he's my rock.
Our peace was born when Jesus was born.
CONCLUSION: Years ago an interesting sign was seen hanging in a store window during the Christmas season. The original message stated, “Let’s make this the best Christmas ever.” Underneath, some perceptive person had scribbled a legitimate question: “How can we top the first one?” The answer is we can't.
On that first Christmas Hope arrived. On that first Christmas the Prince of Peace entered our world. That first Christmas wasn't just about who was born but also what was born. Hope and peace are here because Jesus brought them with him.
So as we look forward to the celebration of Jesus' birth let's remember to celebrate all that came with it and rejoice in the arrival of hope and peace.
