Christmas Through Heaven’s Eyes
John 1:1-5
Did you here the news? Christmas has been canceled . . . in Bethlehem. Because of the violence and fighting between the Palestinians and Israeli forces, officials in the west bank city of Bethlehem just south of Jerusalem have announced that the traditional festivities at the Church of the Nativity will not be held this year. How ironic!
Actually there was no Christmas celebration 2000 years ago either. Most people didn’t have a clue about the eternal drama that was being played out in the quiet streets of Bethlehem.
Steve Brown radio preacher tells of a famous painting by Brueghel entitled The Census. It is a picture of Bethlehem on Christmas Eve two thousand years ago. The painting captures the scene of busy village filled to overflowing with visitors called to town for the Roman Census. In the center of the painting is a government booth and flowing from it a long line of tired travelers waiting their turn to fill out the imperial papers commanded by Augustus Caesar. If you look close you can see all kinds of people, rich and poor, young and old, powerful leaders and minor servants. They have all returned to the City of David to be counted. But down in the lower right corner of the picture almost out of site and sure to be overlooked by the casual viewer, just barely visible is a man tugging on a donkey and on top of the donkey a very pregnant woman.
We know the story. Few others did that night. Christmas is a lot like that for many of us, certainly for many of our pre-Christian friends and neighbors. Christmas is a busy time, probably the busiest of the entire year. It is easy to loose sight of the one thing that gives it meaning.
Not seeing what we should can be a problem. Did you hear the one about the guy who decided instead of coming home from work on Friday night he would cash his paycheck and take an unannounced weekend fishing trip with his buddies? He didn’t even call home. His wife waited all weekend, worrying and wondering where he was.
Finally he drug himself in late Sunday night having had too little sleep and too much to drink. As you might expect his very angry spouse had a few words for him. She laid into him. For two hours she let him have it with a barrage of words that befitted his thoughtless behavior.
Finally she stopped the tirade and simply asked him, “How would you like it if you didn’t see me for two or three days.”
A bit peeved at the angry reception he has received, the husband simply replied, “That would be fine with me!”
Monday went by and he didn’t see his wife. Tuesday and Wednesday came and went with the same results. Come Thursday, the swelling went down just enough where he could see her a little out of the corner of his left eye!!
Hopefully, it won’t take quite so drastic measures for us to begin to see Christmas with fresh eyes. That’s my purpose in the next three sermons all from John chapter 1. As you recall only two of the four Gospels (the first four books of the New Testament which tell the life and teachings of Jesus) relate the events surrounding Jesus’ birth. Each of the Gospels provides a different perspective or vantage point on the life of Jesus—including his birth.
Matthew tells the Christmas story through Joseph’s eyes. Luke provides Mary’s perspective. In a sense, Mark’s Gospel looks at Jesus through the eyes of the first disciples, Peter in particular. The result is no Christmas story. Mark just begins with the events surrounding the first time the disciples saw Jesus. John’s Gospel, probably the last written, provides what I want to call a Heaven’s Eye View of Jesus’ birth.
What was heaven’s perspective on Christmas? What did heaven see, maybe the angels, in the events of Jesus’ birth? What did heaven see that inn keepers, kings, even wise men and shepherds didn’t understand? I think John tells us and in so doing provides an explanation of what it all means.
What it means is the important part. John’s Gospel differs from the other three in a number of ways. He emphasizes different events and teachings and generally follows a different story line. Why? There may be many answers but the main one is John’s purpose. He states it clearly toward the end of the book, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:30 through John 20:31 (NIV)).
John doesn’t just want us to know the facts; he wants us to understand the story. He wasn’t us to believe. He is first an evangelist, not just a reporter or historian. His emphasis throughout is on the meaning behind the simple events. When it comes to Christmas, John is not interested that we just know what happened. He wants us to know why, the meaning of the events.
This is what we must learn and re-learn and what we must teach and re-teach our children and grandchildren. Listen closely to this Heaven’s Eye View of Christmas so you can explain to your loved ones what really happened. You don’t want them to loose Jesus in Christmas.
What will you see this Christmas if you look at it through Heaven’s Eyes? Listen to John: 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
Put in the simplest terms, Heaven’s eyes provide a new view of Jesus’ person, creation’s place, and my life’s purpose. Consider how John’s explanation of Christmas provides insight into these three important principles.
Jesus’ Person
First, everything stands or falls on the person of Jesus. It is who Jesus was and what he did, not just what he taught that matters for the Christian. This isn’t true for most world religions. It doesn’t make much difference who Buddha was. It is the teachings of Buddhism that matters. The same is true of Islam. Muslims have a high regard for Mohammed, but what he taught is the main thing. The same holds true for Confucianism. But not so for Christianity. Christianity is not first about teachings or principles or religious rituals. Though all of those things may have a place. Our faith stands or falls on Jesus. What he said matters because of who he was? What he did especially his death on the cross is in separately tied to who he was.
Who he was matters more than anything in history. As some one has said, “All the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has this one solitary life.”
Who was this most important person in history—so important that believers and unbelievers alike measure time from his birth? As someone has said, the hinge of history hangs on Bethlehem’s stable door.
In these verses John tells us two critical truths about the one whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. First, he was eternally God. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” A few details are worth noting. John intentionally mimics Genesis 1:1 with his words. He wants his readers to know that what he is about to tell them is as important as anything they have ever heard. A bit later he will insist that while the Old Testament was important, this is going to top even that.
The term “was” is in a form that emphasizes the continuing nature of the fact. It is not just that the Word was; it has always been. Secondly, the word “with” is a bit weak. The term was the one for the closest possible relationship. The Word wasn’t just with God; it was WITH God.
The most startling truth is found in the third statement. The Word was God. I will try to explain John’s vocabulary in a second. But one thing is clear at first blush—whoever and whatever John is talking about—he is making a powerful, eternally significant claim about it. In just a few verses, he will make the most radical, world changing, faith challenging statement. He will wrap the entire message of Christmas up in one powerful declarative sentence and toss it at our feet as if to say, “Now what are you going to do about it.” In verse 14, he announces, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The Word became flesh!! WOW!
Why does John use the term, “WORD.” Let me give you my best shot as I understand it. The term was the one from which we get a lot of common English phrases. It was the Greek word “logos.” “Logic” for example is from this word. Every word that ends in “ology” is based on the Greek term. Biology, zoology, theology, geology, etc. It meant study, reason, understanding, meaning. Geology, for example, refers to the study of the earth. It could simply mean “word.” But frequently it carried the idea of a word that explained or provided a reason. The Jews used this term, for among other things, God’s Word as an expression of God’s deepest purpose and intention. The Greeks often used the term as we might to speak of the Design behind the universe or the Blueprint of life. It was an impersonal way of talking about the fact that life is not meaningless. It was an acknowledgement that there is purpose and design to the whole thing.
To explain Christmas or Jesus’ coming, John could have used other terms that we are more familiar with, but each had a problem associated with it. He could have called Jesus the Messiah. He was. His gospel makes that clear. But the Jews of Jesus’ day had come to the conclusion that the deliverer that God would send was to be a military conqueror first. His main task, the rabbi’s taught, was to defeat the enemies of the Jewish nation. Do you see the problem? You don’t need a cross to do that! So John’s chooses to avoid the term Messiah, at least at the beginning.
He also could begin by declaring Jesus the Son of God. He will later use this term as well. But there was a problem with it. Pagans, the Greeks and Romans—and to a lesser degree the Jews, often used that term. If you had said to a Roman soldier, Jesus was the Son of God. He might have responded, “That’s nice. Zeus had lots of sons. In fact, Caesar is a son of God.” They frequently used the term as a title of nobility or honor, but nothing more. Even when it implied deity, it was not in a unique sense.
John wants to give Christmas, Jesus’ coming, a totally different level of meaning. So he pulls out a radical word that was clothed with dignity and mystery. It was a term that everyone wanted to know more about, no matter which side of the religious divide they came from. The Jews worshipped the living God who spoke and the world came into existence. His Word was power. The Greeks and Romans had lots of gods, but still hungered for some final explanation, or last word, behind the complicated and wonderful world they lived in. The term “word” implied power, reason, and purpose. So John takes that term and says to the Jews, “you want to know more of the Word of God? Listen.” To the pagans, he says, “So you yearn for a last word, the meaning behind all of your petty gods and goddesses? Look at what I have to show you.”
The one that Christmas is all about, the one whose birth is celebrated is the eternal God of the universe. Not a lesser deity. Not a second or third God. Not just the latest prophet to come on the scene. He is the WORD who was from the beginning and who was in the closest possible relationship with God. Indeed he was God! He is eternally and equally God.
Creation’s Purpose
That’s John’s first principle—Jesus’ person. Next, we turn to creation’s place. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. I won’t dwell long on this point. This Word, this Person, as we will see, is the Creator of everything. Nothing is outside his domain. Everything is under his rule as the Creator. John is not talking about some regional God, some lesser deity who made bits and pieces of the universe. That was a common notion among the ancients, different gods for different places or different problems. Not so here. John wants to introduce us to the One Eternal all sovereign God who is above all.
If He is God, the creator of all, then we learn a couple of important lessons about creation’s place: First, it is just that—a creation. This world had a beginning and it will have an end as we know it. Creation, the natural universe is to be admired, treasured, used with responsibility and honor, but it is not to be worshipped.
John’s words here sound a lot like Colossians 1:15-17 ”15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Col. 1:15 through Col. 1:17.
A second lesson about creation is implied in these verses. Creation is planned. It is not haphazard. We live in a world with an architect and designer. That has powerful implications. One of the most significant discussions taking place in contemporary science right now is among who group of scientists who are contending for what they call Intelligent Design Theory. Some are believers; some aren’t. What they are saying is that when you look at the facts and all the evidence, it is abundantly clear that we live in planned and designed universe.
This is precisely a part of John’s point. Our universe is planned. It is just right and John is going to tell us about the planner. That is not just theoretical stuff. This makes all the difference in the world. We live in a world where “someone” makes all things work for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes. There is hope there! There is destiny there! I may not understand everything that happens or why, but I know one who does. He is the WORD, the reason, the mind behind it all.
Life’s purpose.
These verses tell us of Christ’s person, creation’s place, but they also have something important to say about my life’s purpose. Note how John says it: 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John uses two words that will take on increasing important as his book unfolds. The first is life. Remember his whole point, the one I am telling you about in this book, is the one in whom eternal life is found. Later he will record Jesus promise that he came to bring abundant life. In each of these instances his word is zoe. The Greeks had at least two words for life. From one, we get our word biology. From the other we get zoology. For John, this second word zoe has a special meaning. On one hand, there is life or simple existence. On the other hand, there was a life that had quality and depth. We recognize the same idea in expressions such as “we can add years to our life or life to our years.”
The WORD, the one whom John is going to tell us about is the creator of life, the years of our existence, but he is more. He is the author of life. He can take you from just existing to LIVING. He brings a quality to a life he enters that can be found nowhere else.
John also frequently uses the word LIGHT. Jesus will say he is the light of the world. John wants to prepare us in advance for that idea. Here light carries the idea of understanding and focus. It is that which makes sense out of life. It is this understanding of our purpose and our destiny, our relationship to our maker, that makes life more than existence. It is life!
Not everyone has LIFE. They may live and exist, but if they can’t see that for which they were made they are missing the better part of life. Then as now, many are in darkness. But it doesn’t have to be that way!
What about you! Are you alive or just marking time? I want you to know that it doesn’t have to be that way. There is something more. And that something more is what Christmas is all about.
Conclusion
Richard DeHahn relates the following story in Our Daily Bread devotional booklet. Two young women were enjoying a nice lunch in a very fancy restaurant when a friend spots them across the room. The friend says hello and asks them about some neatly wrapped presents on the table. “What the special occasion?”
One of the ladies replies, “Oh, this my two year old’s birthday and we decided to have birthday party.”
With a curious look on her face, the friend asks, “But where’s the birthday boy?”
“Oh, I left him at my mothers. We couldn’t have lunch at a nice restaurant like this and bring him along!”
There’s a parable about Christmas there somewhere.
Through the eyes of the world Christmas means many things. To a youngster it’s a new bike or scooter. To a little girl a new Barbie. To a boy a BB gun. To a merchant, its dollar signs and certainly long hours. To Mom, lots of warm family times. For Dad that, too, but maybe also some big bills.
For we who are believers, it may be all of those things. But it is something more. It can be when we begin to see it, as John presents it, through Heaven’s Eyes. In his words, we find the most marvelous, amazing message ever to grace the tongues of men or angels—the very creator God of the universe, the very Word behind it all, became flesh and dwelt among us.
Joe Torre had been a catcher and a broadcast announcer for the St. Louis Cardinals. Shortly after he was named manager, according to the Pittsburgh Press, New York Yankees’ announcer Phil Rizzuto suggested that managing could be done better from high above the baseball field--from the level of the broadcasting booth.
Torre replied, "Upstairs, you can’t look in their eyes."
At Christmas, God also chose to come down on the field and look into your eyes. (David R. Martin in Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (Baker), from the editors of Leadership)
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
