Introduction . . .
I hope you’re ready for Christmas – it is here!
Illustration: The church bulletin declared, “The choir will sing ‘I heard the BILLS on Christmas Day.’”
Illustration: In a B.C. Comic strip: One ant said, "Dad, who is Jesus?" The father ant replied, "He’s the reason for the season. The next panel says, "But Dad I thought Santa Claus was the reason. And the father ant replies, "He is-if you prefer Sony Play Station 2 instead of everlasting life."
Illustration: Secular history leaves us with the belief that the Caesars, the kings and the presidents shape the world. Most items considered newsworthy revolve around these powerful figures, as they demand front-page headlines. In 1809 the newspapers were captivated with stories about Napoleon’s campaigns. International attention was focused on Napoleon marching across Austria. Little else was news worthy, especially the birth of babies that were born that year. It seemed as though Napoleon was the only one shaping the destiny of the world.
Actually the world’s destiny was being shaped in the cradles of the world. It was the year 1809 that William Gladstone was born and he was to become the greatest statesman that England ever produced. Alfred Lloyd Tennyson was born that year to a poor minister and his wife; he was destined to shape the literary world. Oliver Wendell Holmes was born that same year in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Edgar Allen Poe began his tragic life that same year. It was also that same year Charles Darwin was born. That same year in a log cabin in Hardin County Kentucky a baby named Abraham Lincoln was born. At the time these individuals were born their births were insignificant in the eyes of the world. After all the destiny of the world was being shaped by Napoleon on the battlefields of Austria, right?
In 4 BC Caesar August was one of the most powerful Caesars. It was said of him that he came to a Rome made of bricks and left it a city of marble. He transformed the world, not just Rome, with his roads and armies. Mourners at his funeral comforted themselves with the belief that he was a god and therefore immortal. After all, Caesar had shaped the world, right?
But the world was never so impacted as it was by the baby wrapped in cloths and placed in a manger.
Read the text.
Let’s look together at the Journey of Jesus.
Every journey has a departure point.
Jesus’ Departure…
What did Jesus leave when He started His journey?
Heaven – with all of its beauty and splendor – describe it.
Walls of Jasper with Gates of Pearl, Streets of Gold, River of Life, the Throne of God
Worship – The Angels worshipping and praising God, all of heaven focused on God.
Purity – There is no evil in heaven, no sin, no injustice, no wrong, no disappointments, no hurts; only righteousness & goodness.
Jesus left all of that to come to earth.
Imagine that!
Did He really leave all of that? Did He really exist before His birth? Sure!
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. John 1:1-2
Jesus’ Arrival…
Where did Jesus arrive on His journey?
Stable – a manger for a bed – animals for angelic worshippers – a far cry from Heaven!
Poverty – He arrived in poverty – a great distance from the riches of Heaven!
Homelessness – Jesus later said that the foxes have holes and the birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.
Loneliness – There was no one like Christ. He was forsaken and betrayed on numerous occasions. He understood loneliness.
Sin – He came to a world wrecked by sin. Injustice was everywhere! The strong took advantage of the weak. The rich took advantage of the poor. The haves belittled the have-nots. The spiritually elite disenfranchised the common person. There was wickedness and violence everywhere. Humanity had sunk to new lows.
Jesus came into this kind of world.
Imagine that!
Illustration: Dr. Larry Garman: Went to the jungles of Peru in 1966. The Indians were cruel and ruthless. There were no churches. They had no running water or electricity for the first 16 years. Bathed in the rivers. Went further into the jungles of Peru than any missionary had gone before. He went to two tribes that had been at war with each other for generations. It was said that there would never be peace between them. Now there are 150 organized churches, many of those churches have members from both of those warring tribes. And, the Garmens were laypersons, not ordained elders.
That’s what Jesus did! He came to a place ravaged by sin, plagued by the affects of sin, a place that knew no peace. He came to our world.
Imagine that!
Why?
Was it to fulfill prophecy?
There was the prophecy in Genesis 3:15 that the offspring of Eve would crush satan’s head.
There is the prophecy of the Virgin Birth
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Isaiah had many prophecies describing the Messiah. This one deals with his virgin birth.
There is the prophecy of Bethlehem.
Micah 5:2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel.
Yes, Jesus came in fulfillment of prophecy, but there is a deeper reason.
Was it because of sin?
Sin had ravaged humanity. It had destroyed people, families, and nations. All throughout the Old Testament, all throughout history, God had judged sin and evil. He clearly showed that He was on the opposite side of evil.
Sin had to go. There had to be a way to overcome the sin that enslaved humanity.
Yes, Jesus came because of sin, but there still is a deeper reason.
Clues to the Answer… Look with me at some scriptures in the Christmas story that will help us find out why Jesus came.
Matthew 1:1-17 Genealogy – 4 women
They are grouped in sequences of fourteen; so that they go from Abraham to David; from David to the Babylonian exile; from the Babylonian exile to the birth of Christ. So there is a nice, little, tidy, compacted grouping.
But inserted in these are four women. Matthew pulls those four women, and sticks them in. And it’s like they do not fit the form of the passage. They disrupt the flow. But he is saying something.
He is punctuating what he is saying in general, so that in case you missed the point. He says, "Here is Tamar (v.3). And here is Rahab (v.5). And here is Ruth (v.5) and Bathsheba (v.6)."
Now Tamar was guilty of incest with her father-in-law. Rahab was a notorious prostitute. Ruth was a Moabite (the Moabites were the hated enemies of the Israelites). Bathsheba was an infamous adulterous. One was a Hittite. One was a Moabite. All four of them were Gentiles. What are you doing with Gentiles in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
Luke 2:8-20 Shepherds – Social Cellar Dwellers
Common people, not socially accepted, poor. But God sent them direct word concerning the birth of Jesus.
Luke 2:4 Nazareth
That Mary and Joseph were living in Nazareth is striking in that it was a town not noted for its association with Jewish culture, and those who sought to be "undefiled Jews" would not likely live there by choice. It was located along a major highway; consequently, the town received a major source of its income from its economic dealings with the non-Israelites passing through. The town’s reputation for commercial enterprise and catering to gentile desires would have been despicable to many first century Jews. It was definitely not the place from which Jewish leaders were looking for the anticipated Messiah. Yet, Jesus called Nazareth His hometown.
Matthew 2:1-12 Magi
The magi were not Jews. They were Gentiles. Jews were not to eat or drink, or really even associate with Gentiles. And yet, God drew them to Jesus.
Matthew 9:9-13 Matthew – the hated tax collector
Read this. This is another clue to why Jesus came.
Answer…
Review the clues above. These tell me why Jesus came. Matthew was making the point that Jesus came for the disenfranchised of society, for the outcasts, for those outside the community of faith.
Guess what – that’s us! That’s everyone! (Some just don’t know it and others do.)
Jesus came because of His love for you and me (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).
That’s why He left heaven
That’s why He came to a stable, to loneliness, to homelessness, etc….
That’s why He went to the cross.
Jesus came to reconcile us to God the Creator.
Jesus came to be the bridge between God and us.
Jesus came to restore us to God’s intentions for us.
Jesus came to reach out to ALL people.
He came for you because He loves you.
Sin, evil, injustices, unfairness, all create problems, pain, and anxieties in our lives. But Jesus came because He loves us. He came to offer life after this life. He came to bring hope and help.
He journeyed from heaven to here because He loves us.
Give Him praise this morning for His great love!
Conclusion . . .
Illustration: Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. I had cut back on nonessential obligations -- extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas. My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a six year old.
For weeks, he’d been memorizing songs for his school’s "Winter Pageant." I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d be working the night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there’d be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then.
Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise. So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in 10 minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song. Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas", I didn’t expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment -- songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my son’s class rose to sing, "Christmas Love", I was slightly taken aback by its bold title.
Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row -- center stage -- held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song. As the class would sing "C is for Christmas", a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy", and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love". The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her --a small girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down --totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W". The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one’s mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W". Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we understood -- the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities. For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear: CHRIST WAS LOVE. And, I believe, He still is.
That is why Christ came – He is love – and He loves you.
Invitation to join the journey of Christ
· It starts when you give your heart and life to Jesus Christ.
· It continues as you walk with Jesus on the journey.
