I’ve heard a lot of people talking about when is the right time to get into the Christmas spirit? How do you know you’re ready to celebrate this holiday? For some, it means putting the outdoor decorations up as early as the day after Halloween (after all, why not get that done before it’s freezing cold outside). For others, they know they’re ready when the gifts are purchased and all wrapped up under the tree (by the way, men, if you haven’t done your shopping yet, this afternoon is a good time to get going). Still others know it’s time when they’ve begun the preparation of the Christmas meal.
The weather often is a gauge that Christmas time has come. In fact, the lack of snow this year has caused some to struggle with getting into the Christmas spirit. Another indicator is the presence of family. This one comes with mixed emotions- there’s the joy of getting together, yet the longing to see loved ones who are no longer with us. For me, it’s the gathering of people- whether it’s to go caroling, hold a party, or gather at candlelight service on Christmas Eve and singing Silent Night by candlelight.
Nonetheless, Christmas has arrived. We’ve spent the last month preparing for it as we’ve talked about emptying the jar. We looked at how the wise men prepared for the journey, how King Herod missed the opportunity to worship, the gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh, and the sacrifices made by Joseph and others so that Jesus could fulfill His mission. Today, I want to focus on the journey that Jesus made because that’s what Christmas is all about.
The journey of Jesus began at creation. Read John 1:1-5. John begins with a familiar phrase, “In the beginning.” It’s reminiscent of how the Bible starts in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God.” Now, I love this truth. In fact, the dad joke maker in me couldn’t resist turning it into the theme for next week’s Final Friday Lock-In. You see, two years ago, the final Friday was New Year’s Eve, so we celebrated the idea of entering the new year and had everyone lift their left foot in the air at midnight and took a picture so we had proof that we’d all started the year out on the right foot. Last year, the final Friday fell on December 30, or New Year’s Adam since he came before Eve. This year, final Friday lands on December 29, so we’re talking about a new year with God because before Adam and Eve, there was only God.
John begins his gospel by identifying the deity of the Word because of the Gnosticism that had begun to penetrate the early church. Gnostics believed that there was a secret knowledge that could only be gained by joining their inner circle. One of their positions was that this Word (or in Greek, Logos) was a lower demigod created by the one true God. In fact, there are still groups today that are trying to deny the deity of Christ.
For example, one of our teens brought a New World Translation to Sunday school recently. I thought I recognized that name and asked if I could look at it out of concern. Sure enough, I turned to John 1:1 and recognized the error held by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Because there’s no definite article in the Greek, they insert the article “a” in front of God, lowering the Word to demigod status. Mind you, the same structure is repeated throughout the chapter and they leave out the article in every other instance.
I even had one time that a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses was trying to convince me they got this right. We were both shift managers at a Pizza Hut and would debate the merits of our beliefs during the slow times at work. At one point, he decided that he was going to bring his interlinear Bible to show me how they got the translation right. We opened his Bible that had two columns- one column showed the JW translation and the other had a line in Greek with the English translation of each word below. Of course, their translation was worded “a God” but when we looked at the Greek and English together, the “a” wasn’t there. Even his own Bible demonstrated their error.
John refutes this error by structuring this chapter as something known as a literary chiasm. The Greek letter chi is what we call X and if one was to create an outline using chiasm, it would look like idea A B C then reverse and continue as C B A. So the paragraph we just read declares the identity of the Word- God, Creator, Light. After mentioning that John the Baptist is a witness to the Word, the structure continues by describing the appearance of the Word- Light, Creator, Man.
John begins by presenting three truths to show that the Word is God in John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word- the Word existed eternally. He was already there, has no beginning of His own- when time began, He was there. He was with God- the Word is distinct from the Father. We begin to see the concept of the Triune God with this statement. He was God- the Word is the same as God in nature. There is Father, there is Son, there is Spirit- three godheads, one God. We see this truth stated again in Deuteronomy 6:4 (read).
He continues to talk about the Word is creator. John 1:3 tells us that all things were made through Him. The beginning of Genesis 1:26 contributes to this idea when God prepares to make mankind (read). Paul repeats the idea in Colossians 1:16 (read).
In John 1:4-5, he continues to describe the Word as light. In fact, he declares that this light is the source of life for all men and that darkness cannot overcome light. Have you ever gone on a tour at one of the national park caves? I remember going to Mammoth Cave once. The guide took us well underground, where no sunshine could penetrate. He had us turn off all our flashlights, then they turned off the lights along the path. The cavern became pitch black. I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face. But then he took and lit a match. It wasn’t the brightest light, but it penetrated the darkness and I could see again, even if faintly. The darkness couldn’t stop the light of the match. John is proclaiming this to be true for the Word- from the beginning of time, light has always overcome darkness.
John continues to tell the journey of Jesus at the incarnation in John 1:9-14 (read). Again, he reverses the order to complete the chiasm. The light was coming into the world. What I love about this idea about Jesus being the light is that light doesn’t discriminate. It shines on everything and everyone. Jesus didn’t just come for a select few- He came that the entire world could know God and have a path of restoration. His arrival wasn’t just for the Jews, it wasn’t just for believers, He came so ALL could see.
He tells about how the Creator came to be among His creation. It makes sense- why do we create things- be it art, machine, music, etc.? We create to enjoy the creation. I believe that’s also true of God, so a part of the reason for Christ’s arrival was for God to be able to enjoy His creation once again. Yet there’s an unusual reaction to His arrival. It seems natural that the created would recognize the creator.
When my daughter Hannah was born, I got to be in the room and help. I remember the doctor picking up this small child as she began to cry and setting her on the table to be cleaned up. I went over to see her, told her, “Hello Hannah, I love you,” and put my finger in her hand. She immediately stopped crying and calmed down (and had me tied around her finger ever since). She stopped because she recognized her father.
But what does John say? The world did not recognize Him. Yes, there were people like the shepherds, Simeon, Anna, and the wise men who were told to go and see the messiah and they recognized Him. But even with their testimony, the world did not recognize Him. It’s easy for us to marvel at their inability to know the messiah, they should have known, the signs were all there, right? Yet the entertainment world shows people doing this all the time. Look at our superhero stories- Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, even Super Steve- all heroes with alter egos so no one would know who they are. All Superman had to do was put on normal clothes and a pair of glasses and everyone thought he was Clark Kent.
Even worse though- His own people, the Jews, not only didn’t receive Him, they even rejected Him. They had plenty of prophecies to prepare them for his arrival. Going all the way back to the beginning with Adam and Eve, Jesus was prophesied (read Genesis 3:15). It continued with Abraham (read Genesis 12:3). Isaiah spoke of the coming messiah on more than one occasion (read Isaiah 7:14, 9:6). Micah spoke of where He’d be born (read Micah 5:2) and Hosea tells of his trip to Egypt (read Hosea 11:1). You’d have thought when Jesus was born, the whole nation would celebrate, but they didn’t.
John tells about the things would happen and wraps it up in John 1:14 when he states that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus became human. His life here on earth allowed mankind to see the glory of the only Son from the Father. He came to this earth, lived without sin, taught people how to live for God, healed the sick and raised the dead, then gave up His own life out of love for humanity. Fortunately, the journey didn’t end there. Jesus rose again on the third day and ascended to heaven to prepare a place for us there. John hints of the glory to come.
Paul concludes describing the journey of Jesus by writing of His coming glory in Philippians 2:5-11 (read). Jesus came to this earth to set the example of a life lived in humility. He didn’t have to do it. In fact, this passage tells us He didn’t consider equality with God something to be grasped. Why would He think that way? He already had equality with God, He didn’t have to pursue it.
You see, that’s where Satan messed up. We understand that Satan began as an angel of God but decided he could do a better job and tried to usurp the throne. He tried to grasp equality with God and failed. Jesus did the opposite- He knew His role, He knew He didn’t need to pursue equality with God, and He humbled Himself. Verse 7 tells us that He emptied Himself to become a servant and took on the form of man.
He lived a life that demonstrated to mankind how God intended us to live. Contrast that to the gods of Greek mythology. They were often made in man’s image, with many of our faults, always looking for power and control. Not Jesus, He came to serve- even washing the feet of His followers on the day that He knew He was to be arrested, tried, and crucified.
We’re told that Jesus was obedient to the will of God- even to the point of death on a cross. This was the most excruciating way a person could die, and Jesus was willing to endure it because of His love for us. Wow!
But that’s not the end of the story. As we know, Jesus rose three days later, appeared to over 500 witnesses, gave instructions to make disciples of all the world, then ascended into heaven. And there’s more still to come!
Because Jesus humbled Himself and carried out the will of His Father, His Father highly exalted Him and gave Him the name above every name. Upon His return to earth, EVERY knee will bow- in heaven (angels), on earth (humans), under the earth (demons) and EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Satanist, Atheist, and any other label you wish to come up with, there are no exceptions. All will bow and all will confess that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one can come to the Father without Him.
Jesus is the light that shines on all, the creator of all, the man who died and raised for all. He made this journey out of love for all. The day will come when all will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The question for you today is this- when are you going to make this confession? Are you going to wait for His return? If so, I’m afraid you’ll be making that confession with fear and trepidation as you realize it’s too late. Will you make this confession before His return? Will you believe in Jesus, repent of your sins, confess Jesus as Lord, and be baptized so that you can live with joy and anticipation of the day that Christ returns?
Why not answer that question today? If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, fully God, yet fully human; if you recognize that you’re a sinner the same as the rest of us and need a savior; if you’re willing to declare that Jesus has control of your entire life, we want to give you the opportunity to get on the side that brings joy and anticipation of Christ’s return right now. We’re going to stand and sing our song of invitation, if it’s time to make your decision for Christ, come forward now.
