Christmas is Sacrifice
Text: Hebrews 10:1-14
Introduction: In England there is a place called The Pilgrim Way. It is one of the many footpaths throughout the country, but it is unique in that it was the path that Christians, for hundreds of years, took as a religious pilgrimage. For many it was a way to do penance and earn merit with God. The trail ends in the town of Canterbury at the great cathedral named for it. It is here that Christians over the centuries have knelt at the spot where Thomas Becket was killed by the knights of Henry II. The story behind the death of Becket is that he was a close friend of Henry II who appointed him to his court. When the position of Archbishop of Canterbury came open, Henry placed Thomas Becket in the position thinking he would do his bidding. But something happened to Becket after he was appointed as spiritual leader of England. He stopped being complacent about his faith. He put politics and luxury behind him. He gave up his former wealth and style of life. And to his peril, he began to oppose the king when it came to differences between the church and the government. As a consequence, he paid the ultimate sacrifice.
But Becket’s willingness to be a martyr for the faith did not earn him a place in heaven. Neither does a pilgrimage to this site, great sacrifice though it may be for those hoping to incur God’s favor. The whole point of the Christian faith is that we can never earn our salvation, no matter how hard we work, or how great a sacrifice we make. Even if we give our bodies to be burned for the sake of the Gospel, or crawl to Jerusalem on broken glass it would not make us one bit more worthy of heaven. There is only one way that our sins can be taken away — only one sacrifice that is sufficient to atone for them.
The first Christmas was a time of sacrifice for many. Consider for a moment the price that was paid by many of the key players in this story: (1) It cost Mary her reputation when she became pregnant without being married. (2) It cost her and Joseph the security of home during a long period of exile in Egypt to protect the little Babe. (3) It cost mothers in and around Bethlehem the lives of their children as some of their babies were murdered by the cruel order of Herod. (4) It cost the shepherds as they abandoned their comfortable livelihood, with the call to the manger and the subsequent commission to tell the good news. (5) It cost the wise men a long journey and expensive gifts to worship the Christ-child. But there is none more significant than that mentioned in our text this morning,
Notice verse five for a moment. For centuries, Israel lived under the sacrificial system that was instituted at the giving of the Law to Moses. All of that changed, however, when Christ came into the world at His incarnation and offered Himself as a sacrifice. Why did He do it? Let’s look at the passage and see what the Word tells us.
When Christ came into the world...
I. He sacrificed Himself to take away our sin. In the first four verses of chapter ten the writer of Hebrews talks of the failure of the Law to bring about salvation (See Hebrews 10:1-4). In order to understand these verses you must know the meaning of two key words.
A. "Shadow" - We’re told that the law (which in this case is described as only a "shadow" of the good things that are coming...") was incapable of making perfect those who drew near in worship. The word "shadow" suggests something that is indefinite. Paul used the same term when talking about some of the Jewish festivals and celebrations (See Colossians 2:16-17). The idea is that they revealed a glimpse of reality, but still it (the reality) was obscured and as a result often misinterpreted. Illustration: Have you ever pulled out a Tupperware bowl from the refrigerator and tried to figure out what was in it without cracking the seal? If you have, then you know that sometimes you guess right and sometimes you guess wrong. Why? Because you can only see the outline of what is actually inside. This is how the law was viewed. It gave only a dim outline of what was to come. In fact the law failed to present this reality in a form that most Jews could recognize and understand because they continued to offer these sacrifices even after Christ had appeared.
B. "Realities" - The word used here is the Greek word for "image." It suggests something that is substantial and a true representation of that which it images. In this case the "reality" is given in Christ (See 2 Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 1:15). He is the only solution for our sin. Whereas the law was given as a reminder of sins, Christ’s sacrifice cleanses us from it and removes the guilt of sin.
Illustration: So the Law was given as a reminder of sin, but it would take Jesus to redeem us from sin. In the waning decades of the first century a Roman poet and dramatist named Quintus Horatius Flaccus wrote to give the young playwrights of his day some much needed advice. Plays in his day were complicated and confusing affairs, often with several contradictory plots, themes and characters. It was customary, in the last act of the play, when it was impossible to reconcile the tangled web for the contemporaries of Quintus Horatius Flaccus to simply write in the appearance of one or more of the gods--Apollo, Zeus, Mars--to magically wrap up all the loose ends before the final curtain fell. Horace himself thought this a rather predictable and anti-climactic practice. His advice to young playwrights was this: Do not put a god on stage, unless the problem is one that deserves a god to solve it. His advice relates pretty well to the text, doesn’t it? The problems facing mankind were of such a nature that the Law couldn’t resolve them. No, only a god could and that’s where Jesus came in.
II. He sacrificed Himself in obedience to His Father’s will (See Hebrews 10:5-9). Now I know that we’ve talked about this a lot in recent months, and I don’t mean to beat a dead horse, but this is a major theme in the first advent of Christ. There was complete submission in His sacrifice! Note that these words from vs. 5-7 are a quotation from Psalm 40:7-9. They are attributed to Christ and acknowledge that the Father prepared a body for Him in which He could dwell in human form. It was the Father’s idea and the Son was agreeable to it and so a baby was born in manger.
Not only was Christ submissive in the incarnation but also in the crucifixion. Jesus offered Himself as the true and final offering for sin because this was the sacrifice God desired Him to make. Do you remember the words of Christ in John 10:17-18? "I lay down my life and I take it up again." Jesus went to the cross of His own free will but, lest we forget, the cup from He drank had been given to Him by the Father (See John 18:11). Application: So now think back to the sentimental scene of the birth of Christ. The baby born in a stable and cared for by His parents was intended by His Heavenly Father to be a bloody sacrifice for sin. When we finally understand this, the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary and Joseph, take on a far greater meaning. The Son of God had indeed come to save His people from their sins (See Matthew 1:21 and Luke 1:32) and this He would do in obedience to His Father and at the cost of His own life. Here’s what Henry Nouwen says about Christmas: "SONGS, GOOD FEEELINGS, BEAUTIFUL LITURGIES, NICE PRESENTS, BIG DINNERS AND SWEET WORDS DO NOT MAKE CHRISTMAS. CHRISTMAS IS SAYING YES TO A HOPE BASED ON GOD’S INITIATIVE, WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT I THINK OR FEEL. CHRISTMAS IS BELIEVING THAT THE SALVATION OF THE WORLD IS GOD’S WORK AND NOT MINE." Illustration: Most of us obey our father’s out of fear, I know I did. (Share an experience.) Jesus obeyed His father out of love. In John 14:31 He said, "the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me."
III. He sacrificed Himself in order to make us holy (See Hebrews 10:10, 14). This addresses the significance of Christ’s sacrifice. He came to take away sin once and for all that we might become holy men and women. When His work was completed, Christ announced, "It is finished," and sat down at the right hand of the Father. To what is He referring? The text mentions two things:
A. We have been made holy (See Hebrews 10:10). The word is "to sanctify." It means to set apart for God. In His sacrifice believers are brought out of a position of guilt before God and into the position of a saved person with all the resultant blessings of life abundant (See John 10:10).
B. We are being made holy (See Hebrews 10:14). This is a present tense verb meaning that the affect is ongoing. We have been sanctified are being sanctified so that we can be assured that our salvation is lasting and eternal. Remember what the Scripture says, "Without holiness no one will see the Lord (See Hebrews 12:14)." Christmas is as much about holiness as it is about anything else! It was the holy prophets who spoke of His coming (See Luke 1:70); The advent of Christ was the result of God’s holy covenant (See Luke 1:72); Mary was with child through the Holy Spirit (See Matthew 1:18); the Lord, Himself, is called the holy One (See Luke 1:35); and He has come to enable us to serve God without fear in holiness and righteousness (See Luke 1:74-75). There is just something about Christmas that screams, "Be holy as I am holy." Application: If we want to make this personal, and we do, then we have to consider the sins we’re battling today. (Lead everyone in a time of confession and repentance.)
Conclusion: Amid the horrors of World War I, there occurred a unique truce when for a few hours, enemies behaved like brothers. Christmas Eve in 1914 was all quiet on France’s Western Front, from the English Channel to the Swiss Alps. Trenches came within 50 miles of Paris. The war was only five months old, and approximately 800,000 men had been wounded or killed. Every soldier wondered whether or not Christmas Day would bring another round of fighting and killing. But something happened: British soldiers raised "Merry Christmas" signs above the trenches, and soon carols were heard from German and British trenches alike. Christmas dawned with unarmed soldiers leaving their trenches, though officers of both sides tried unsuccessfully to stop their troops from meeting the enemy in the middle of no-man’s land for songs and conversation. Exchanging small gifts, they passed Christmas Day peacefully along miles of the front. At one spot, the British played soccer with the Germans, who won 3-2. In some places, the spontaneous truce continued the next day as neither side was willing to fire the first shot. Finally, the war resumed when fresh troops arrived, and the high command of both armies ordered that further "informal understanding" with the enemy would be punishable as treason. There is something about Christmas that seems to make us better people. Perhaps it is the knowledge that Jesus came into the world.
