“When He came…”
Introduction:
Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, "I am your king!" The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn’t. Instead he said, "You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!"
This is the way in which Jesus came to us. He came disguised as a lowly man, but brought to us so much. He met our every need
If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator.
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
Jesus came to the Earth in a great way and brought to us just what we needed!
Christmas time is one of the most loved seasons of the year. There is no doubt that many of us love many of the things associated with Christmas. Maybe you love the smells, the lights, the giving or even the receiving of gifts; maybe you love the food, or Santa. Maybe you love the crowded malls. When Christmas time is talked about I am afraid that many people forget the first half of the word, many people forget the reason for the season. Christmas is one of the most misunderstood and abused holidays in America. I am afraid that many people when they think of Jesus they think of Him as the little baby in the manger and forget what he came for. Many people forget that Jesus moved beyond the little helpless baby, but he died able to call 10,000 angels to his rescue. He rose from the dead, and ascended to Heaven, sitting down at the right hand of the throne of God. I hope this morning to get everyone thinking about the incarnation of Jesus, before the Christmas season. I hope that when we think of Christmas we will think of the way that Jesus came.
I hope that we can realize that Jesus was unlike any man that ever lived. No man has ever spoken like Jesus spoke. No man has ever done what Jesus did. No man had the authority that Jesus had. Jesus was unlike any person who ever lived. Jesus the very son of God, and equally God himself, came down to this Earth and took on the very nature of a man, making him nothing. I love what Paul said, that Jesus did not consider equality with God something that could grasped so he came as a man, to redeem us from our sins.
Text: John 1:1-18
I. Jesus came as the Light of the World
We sing a song at school sometimes that says:
Light of the World you stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes let me see
That is exactly what Jesus did; he came as the light of the world, clearing out the darkness.
I don’t know if you have ever been in a dark place, but light penetrates that darkness and shows the way. Being in a completely dark place is a scary and intimidating thing because you are left helpless and lost. Jesus came as the light of the world that shed light onto the world. He showed the way to a dark world to God.
For years the world walked around in darkness not sure of the way to be restored in a relationship with God, but when Jesus came he shed the light on the world showing them the way. Jesus even claimed at a later time that he was the light of the world and that he that walks with Him will never walk in darkness. When Jesus lived he offered that light to any that would follow after him, but even after he left the earth he made it clear that we are the light of the world. We as John did, are to testify concerning the light. We who walk around bearing the name of Jesus are to be the light of the world.
In the temple area they had several windows, and those windows were smaller insider then they were outside, and the reason was that more light would go out of the temple and less darkness would come in.
We, Christians are the light of the world. We are showing the way to God and testifying of Jesus. We are bringing good news to a very dark world. I can see that this world’s greatest need is to have light shine on them so that they can see Jesus. We need people committed to letting this little light of theirs shine, shine, shine. The world is lost, and desperate and wants to know the way to God, but they don’t know if we keep it to ourselves, we must tell people about Jesus. Jesus came to bring light to the darkness. That is why we sing:
There are souls to rescue, there are souls to save
Send the light, send the light
Send the light the blessed gospel light
Let it shine from shore to shore
II. Jesus came as the Living Word
I love what John said…In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and then the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is the Living Word of God. It is through the incarnation and the written Word that God reveals to us His nature and what he is like. Jesus came and spoke what the Father had told Him to speak. He didn’t comet to judge or condemn, he was just revealing the message that the Father told him to reveal. Jesus isn’t simply a baby in the manger, but he is the living Word.
When you read God’s Word you are reading about Jesus. Jesus is in the Old Testament. He is seen in the Old Testament as the Messiah who would come into the world and save Israel from their sins. He is seen in the gospels as the Savior who came. He is seen in the Epistles and Revelation and the Savior who is coming again. Jesus is all over the Bible. He is foreshadowed from the very beginning he is the Living Word. God’s Word is so amazing in that it relates to people in every generation, in every culture, in every instance of life. Not other book can do that. The reason why is because Jesus is that Word, He took it on himself and became the Word. The Bible is not simply a bunch of stories and facts written down about Jesus, but Jesus is the Word.
No book better reveals to us the nature and character of God than the Bible, and yet we for some reason as people who claim to follow after Jesus pick up the Word and read it. We let is collect dust, thinking that it is obsolete to us. We think that since we have read it once that is enough, but we miss the point that we are always changing and God’s Word meets us where we are and help us through our trials. When we read God’s Word we are reading about Jesus, who became the very Word. Remember it is by His Words we will be judged, and the only way we can know His Words and character is to read the Bible. Jesus didn’t simply come to Earth as a baby, but he also came as the Living Word of God, which tells us about God, teaches us about Jesus, and tells us how to get to Heaven.
III. Jesus came to bring Truth
The bankers of today are required before they can effectively work to learn all they can about money. Counterfeiting is growing problem and the bankers have to know for sure when they see a fake bill. Instead of studying all the fakes that have been made, bankers study real money. They become so familiar with what our currency really looks like that they can easily spot a fake.
The Word of God reveals to us perfect truth and Jesus alone should be our source for truth. Not any men, not any fictional book, not even the footnotes in our Study Bibles. Jesus came to bring something that was unclear to people years ago. They could understand some things in scripture, but they could not fully understand truth because Jesus was the fulfillment of every truth. Jesus is the way the Truth and the Life. He who knows Jesus shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free. I hear that passage always used to talk about honesty, but if you read it in context it is talking about Jesus. Jesus is the truth, and Jesus is what will set you free. Did you notice that Jesus is the only truth, he is not a truth. He is the only way to God. No one else can be saved. It may be narrow minded, but the scripture make it clear that no man can be saved outside of Jesus. Because He is the Truth. Muhammad is not the Truth, Buddha is not the Truth, the pope is not the truth, Jesus is the Truth, and apart from the Truth you are lost.
Along with that please do not let anyone tell you that you cannot understand truth or that there is no absolute truth, because there is an absolute truth, and there is a right and wrong on every issue. Sometimes things are clearer than others, but we can learn the truth, and our interpretations may be wrong. Truth does matter, and we can know that Truth in the Word of God. Jesus came as the Truth. He came and revealed to us the Truth.
IV. Jesus came to bring Grace
Grace is a word which we very seldom actually understand. All we know is that it sure must be amazing. I believe grace was a word in which people under the Law could not understand. Grace was non-existent to them. They were saved by the works that they did and the obedience to the commands that God has given them. We now are saved by grace through faith. Jesus came to bring us grace. We learn that grace and truth came through Jesus.
A husband and wife didn’t really love each other. The man was very demanding, so much so that he prepared a list of rules and regulations for his wife to follow. He insisted that she read them over every day and obey them to the letter. Among other things, his "do’s and don’ts" indicated such details as what time she had to get up in the morning, when his breakfast should be served, and how the housework should be done. After several long years, the husband died. As time passed, the woman fell in love with another man, one who dearly loved her. Soon they were married. This husband did everything he could to make his new wife happy, continually showering her with tokens of his appreciation. One day as he was cleaning house, she found tucked away in a drawer the list of commands her first husband had drawn up for her. As she looked it over, it dawned on her that even though her present husband hadn’t given her any kind of list, she was doing everything her first husband’s list required anyway. She realized she was so devoted to this man that her deepest desire was to please him out of love, not obligation
It is not that the commands of God necessarily changed when Jesus came, but the motives for our obedience surely did change. We obey now because of God’s grace.
Think back with me for a second to your childhood. Do you remember the greatest present you ever received? I do. I remember I got this battery operated knight rider car, which I could drive around one year. I am sure that you are thankful for those gifts. Jesus came though and brought us a much greater gift which we did not deserve. When Jesus came he came as the perfect display and picture of God’s grace.
Go away and sin no more
Your sins are forgiven
Your faith has healed you
Today you will be with me in paradise
Forgive them for they know not what they do
Jesus showed grace all throughout His life, and he continues to show it to us thousands of years later despite our unfaithfulness to Him. Jesus came into the world, not as a helpless baby, but as the light of the World, and as the perfect picture of the grace of God, and the way in which the grace of God did reach man.
V. Jesus came to bring eternal life
One of the main reasons that Jesus came was so that we may have eternal life. I love the story of the Prodigal Son. The son came to the father and told him he wanted to take his inheritance early. The Father agreed and the son went away with the money. He squandered all the money on wine, women, and song. He went broke and lost everything. He decided that he needed to go home to his father. As he was walking the father saw him coming and ran to greet him. He told his servants to cook a fattened calf and they would have a huge feast. The other brother was upset that the father forgave him. The son was lost and then was found.
This is what Jesus came to do he came to make a way for people to come to God.
Oh the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary.
When Adam and Eve sinned they were separated from fellowship with God, and we all face the consequence of that sin. For thousands of years man had no hope or promise of eternal life.
Imagine because of what Jesus did, when we die we have the promise of living eternally.
Jesus brought eternal life.
Our Jesus wasn’t a helpless baby in the manger, he was the Living Word, He was the Light of the World. Jesus came to bring to us eternal life, he came to bring grace; he came to bring us truth. That is what Christmas is all about. When you see it in that light, what a reason to rejoice and be thankful that Jesus came as God in the flesh.
Imagine thousands of years gone by awaiting the Messiah, and then one day a little baby was born in Bethlehem, and he grew up to save us from our sins, and rose again.
