THE ORIGINAL GRINCH
Mt. 2:1-8, 16-18
INTRODUCTION
GRINCH SONG: “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch” 2:03
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27I3AN0XwP8
A. HUMOR: “Missing Jesus”
1. It was the day after Christmas at a church in San Francisco. Pastor Mike was looking at the nativity scene outside when he noticed the baby Jesus was missing from the figures/display.
2. Immediately, he turned towards the church to call the police. But as he was about to do so, he saw little Jimmy with a red wagon, and in the wagon was the figure of the little infant, Jesus.
3. Pastor Mike walked up to Jimmy and said, "Well, Jimmy, where did you get the baby Jesus?" Jimmy replied, "I got him from the church." "And why did you take him?"
4. With a sheepish smile, Jimmy said, "Well, about a week before Christmas I prayed to little Lord Jesus. I told him if he would bring me a red wagon for Christmas, I would give him a ride around the block in it."
B. STORY: THE GRINCH WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS
1. Most of us know the Dr. Seuss story of the green, wrinkled-up little creature who lived on a mountain above Whoville and had a terrible disposition.
2. He despised the Whoville’s happiness and celebrations.
3. One year he decided to stop their celebration of Christmas. To do this he…
a. snuck down the mountain & stole all the Christmas gifts;
b. …the Christmas trees and food; ornaments and lights;
c. He wiped out all signs of Christmas!
4. But he failed to stop the little people from celebrating. They sang anyway.
C. THE GRINCH IS ALIVE AND WELL TODAY
1. There have always been those who hated Christmas:
a. The Grinches and the Ebenezer Scrouges;
b. The Bertrand Russels and the Richard Dawkins;
c. But the original Grinch, who lived in the days of the Lord Jesus, was King Herod. He really tried to get rid of Christmas!
2. We’re going to read the story of King Herod and see how he missed the 3 most Important Things about Christmas, and hopefully, we won’t make the same mistake.
D. TEXT
2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” Mt. 2:1-8, 16-18.
2. THREE WAYS HEROD MESSED UP CHRISTMAS:
I. HE FOCUSED ON THE MATERIAL ASPECTS OF CHRISTMAS
A. HEROD’S MISTAKE
1. Here comes the 3 Wise Men following a supernatural star, asking, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?”
2. Herod’s reaction? He was threatened by this news. All he could think about were the material things he might lose – his Power, Wealth, and Position.
3. That’s really dumb because:
a. WHAT CAN POSSIBLY BE THREATENING ABOUT A BABY?
b. If this Child was the Messiah, what maniac would try to stand against Him?
B. A MODERN MISTAKE
1. The Grinch made the same mistake – he focused on the material aspect. He thought he could “steal” Christmas. Can Christmas be stolen? Of course not.
2. If you asked the average American about Christmas: “What’s the first thought that pops into your heads about Christmas?” “FILL IN THE BLANK: “Christmas:_________” “Gifts,” “Lights,” “Music,” “Tree,” “Sales,” “Decorations,” “Celebrations,” “Food,” and “Family.”
3. DO WE over-emphasize the material aspects of Christmas? Would Christmas still be Christmas without all those things?
4. ECONOMIC HARD TIMES may someday knock on our door. If Christmas is all about the visible things, then the Grinch could actually steal Christmas. Don’t let that happen!
C. THERE’S A POWER IN CHRISTMAS!
1. James Martin told about travelling to the Holy Land. While there, he bought a nativity set. It was carved out of olive wood in the town of Bethlehem and had all the traditional figures: sheep and oxen; wise men and the shepherds; Mary, Joseph, and, of course, the baby Jesus.
2. As he began the return trip home, he had to go through the very strict security at Tel Aviv airport. He didn’t figure that the nativity set would attract any attention, but he was wrong. Each figure was carefully scrutinized and even X-rayed.
3. Martin asked why they were being so diligent. The security officer explained it this way: “You see, we must make sure there is nothing explosive in them.”
4. Church, the Christmas story IS explosive! It’s part of the dynamite of the Gospel story. There’s power in knowing that almighty God loved us enough to come to this earth, be born, live a perfect life, die for our sins, and then raise from the dead and give us the promise of new, abundant, and eternal life. [Illustration by Michael Luke]
The 2nd thing ‘Herod the Grinch’ did wrong, was he…
II. MISSED THE FAMILY CONNECTION
A. IMPORTANCE OF HEROD’S FAMILY
1. Herod had quite a family.
a. He had nine or ten wives (Unger);
b. He had at least seven sons and other children (Tenney).
2. But Herod didn’t focus on family closeness.
a. On the barest suspicion of a plot against his throne, Herod put to death His favorite wife Mariamne and her two brothers, her grandfather, and later put to death three of his own sons.
b. Caesar joked that it would be better to be Herod’s pig than to be Herod’s son, because Herod, being part Jew, didn’t kill his pigs; but he did kill his sons!
c. With the announcement of the Birth of the King of the Jews, Herod didn’t think “How Wonderful,” but something like “How Dreadful!”.
3. So Herod missed the most precious thing in this life God’s given us – besides salvation – our families. He should have treasured them but his twisted perspective made them his enemies!
B. IMPORTANCE OF OUR FAMILY
1. Do we focus on our families? Do we appreciate our wives? OUR HOMES SHOULD BE WHERE LOVE IS!
2. ARE YOU “ME-CENTERED” OR “SPOUSE-CENTERED”? There’s 2 Greek words for love (dominant; are more)
a. Phileo - self-centered, conditional, based on feelings.
b. Agape - Other-centered, unconditional, based on commitment. In the word "wedding," "we" comes before "I."
3. Marriage is "An Unconditional Commitment to an Imperfect Person."
4. Our goal -- help each other become more like Jesus.
5. ILLUS. A woman, interviewed about the secret of her successful marriage, insisted, “My husband is the Boss. I believe in letting him make all the important decisions.” The Interviewer asked, “Who made the decision that he was to be the Boss?” She replied, “Why, naturally, I did!” The TV audience was supposed to laugh, but this woman had hold of a profound Biblical truth: the husband leads by permission.
6. ILLUS. of boy who asked his Dad how much he made an hour. Then the boy went out and worked several jobs to earn enough money to buy an hour of his Dad’s time.
7. If we ever ought to put other things aside and focus on our families, it’s during Christmas. Don’t let the Grinch steal your family’s Christmas!
3rd, Herod…
III. MISSED THE REAL MEANING OF CHRISTMAS
A. HEROD MISSED IT
1. Even though the wise men told him of the supernatural star… he trusted in his logic and human reasoning – he found a way to explain it away. He couldn’t TRUST in God alone and accept there’s some things bigger and more mysterious than himself.
2. Even when the Bible scholars told him the identity of the Child (Micah 5:2)…that GOD would become MAN; that DEITY become HUMANITY, that the ETERNAL would come into the sphere of TIME – Herod only saw his Power, Prestige, Position.
3. Bishop Cyril said, "For although visible and a child in swaddling clothes, and even in the bosom of His Virgin Mother, He filled all Creation as God and was a fellow ruler with Him who begat Him for the Godhead is without quantity and dimension and cannot have limits."
4. He knew what he should do; “Point Him out and I too will come and worship Him!” But he would never SUBMIT to Christ. SELF would stay on the throne.
5. Jesus’ first demand, for our salvation, is the humbling of SELF to Him; “If any man/woman would come after Me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Me” Mt. 16:24. Herod refused to do that. Shockingly, we’re all a lot like Herod!
6. SELF wants to stay in control; Self thinks principally of itself – what’s good for ME, what furthers MY interests, what do I want. But God demands we put HIM FIRST: “Not my will but thine be done!”
7. Herod wasn’t willing to turn over his kingdom to Jesus. ARE YOU WILLING TO TURN OVER YOUR KINGDOM TO JESUS? Herod felt that his individuality, his freedom, would be threatened by this Child (King). Better to snuff its life out than that it crimp his style.
B. HAVE WE MISSED IT?
1. You can have all the Gifts, put up all the trees, cook all the dainties, play all the music,
2. But if you’re refusing to surrender your kingdom to the One who was in the Manger, you’re rebelling just as much as Herod did.
3. Go ahead, Ignore the Christ, Act like He’s a usurper, Try to remove Him from your world. But it won’t work.
4. “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. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” Isa. 9:6-7.
5. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” Mic. 5:2 NKJV.
6. This is not just the season for giving, but the season of the Coming of the Son of God! Has He come to your heart?
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: TONIGHT OR NEVER
1. On one of the last revival meetings (around Christmas time) in a mining district in England, a burly, tough miner, in deep anxiety of soul, walked up to the evangelist and asked what he needed to do to be saved.
2. The Holy Spirit had touched his heart and he’d made the awful discovery that he was a sinner in the sight of God and on his way to an everlasting Hell.
3. The Pastor showed him the way of salvation – that Christ had come to “seek and to save that which was lost.” That He had given His life as a ransom for us. That Jesus became our divine substitute on the cross and if we trust in his sacrifice for us, we’ll be saved.
4. But the miner couldn’t believe God would forgive him; his sins were so serious he couldn’t see how God could forgive them. Hours passed; the preacher urged him to surrender to the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”
5. At 11 o’clock, the preacher told the miner it was time to go home; “We’ve got to load up and go home. I suggest you try to find a local church to attend next Sunday.” With an agonizing look, the minor replied, “No, I won’t leave; it must be settled tonight or never!” They remained more hours.
6. Finally, as the clock struck three – suddenly the miner touched God, God’s forgiveness flooded over him, and his guilt was swept away like the morning mist. Rising from his seat with tear-rimmed eyes, he exclaimed, “It’s settled now! Christ is mine!
7. He thanked the preacher and went on to his job in the coal pit, rejoicing. In the course of the day, a sudden crash and rumble was heard. The roofing of part of the mine collapsed and some of the miners had been buried.
8. Emergency crews rushed in to excavate the earth. At last they reached the converted miner. He was still alive and tried to speak to them.
9. They listened carefully as he whispered, “Thank God it was settled last night!” Those were the last words he ever uttered.
10. Little did the miner know, as he had wrestled with his soul the night before, how true it would prove: “It must be settled tonight or never!”
B. THE CALL
1. The same thing is true of you and me. We don’t know when our last day will be. That’s why it’s so important that we don’t neglect this opportunity to make our lives right with God.
2. So the first question is “Have you asked Jesus to save you from your sins? Have you repented of your sins and are trusting in Him as your Savior?”
3. Have you simply been focusing on the material Christmas? Have you been missing the family connection?
4. Have you surrendered your Kingdom to the Son of God? Or are you still trying to hold onto it?
