For Christians, Christmas is a time to explore the joy of the gift of Christ.
For me, Christmas has always been a time filled with joy. As a kid, it was mostly about the gifts under the tree. Now it is more about the gifts around the tree. The time I get to spend with my family and my friends, while remembering the gift God gave us, has been the source of my joy.
For many this time of year, joy is a distant thought. It is a concept not easy to grasp. This morning, we are going to explore the joy in the gift of the Christ becoming fully human. We are going to unwrap Christ in a way that might be completely new or foreign to some.
Imagine for a minute that I was having a conversation with a new mother who did not agree with me. As we talk, I empathize with her on how unpleasant and painful the whole experience of childbirth is. I have, after all, been witness to two of those experiences, so I feel I can adequately relate to the experience and to what she had gone through. For some reason, this new mother would think that I had no clue what she had been through and couldn't possibly relate to her experience.
If we were to be honest, we might feel the same way about God. "How can God understand what I am going through?", we might say. Or we might hear, "This time of year is supposed to be full of joy and cheer because of Christmas, but all it brings for me is pain."
Jesus was born a baby and became a man.
Turn with me this morning to John 1. John 1:1-2 (NIV) says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." And John 1:14 (NIV) says, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
The Word, Christ, was with God from the beginning and became flesh. He became fully man and made his dwelling among us. He lived with us on the earth.
You might be saying, "Yeah, we get that. Jesus became a man and was born a baby. It is Christmas time. Everyone knows this. So what?" The so what is this. He made his dwelling among us, so he lived as one of us. This morning we are going to look at three of the ways that Christ understands us, in our humanity.
Jesus understands temptation.
Hebrews 2:17-18 (NIV) says, "For this reason he had to made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, his is able to help those who are being tempted."
Hebrews 4:15 (NIV) says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-- yet he did not sin."
So we read here that Jesus was fully human in every way. Until recently, I don't think I grasped this aspect of Jesus. I viewed Jesus as superhuman or as a super hero. But that isn't what we discover in scripture. He was like us in every way. Yet he did not sin.
Jesus faced the same temptations that we do.
Let's take a look as some examples where Jesus was tempted. Luke 4:1-3 (NIV) says, "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.' " We also learn later in this passage that the devil tempted Jesus with power and with greed, with possessions and with wealth, yet Jesus did not sin.
Do you suppose that Jesus was ever tempted to sin as a teenage boy? How about while working in the marketplace selling the carpentry work his family had made?
I want you to think about the everyday temptations in your own life. Now, realize that Jesus faced everyday temptations in his life, just like you do now. Have you ever been faced with a temptation and thought, "God really doesn't understand how I feel right now. God can't possibly understand. God can't understand the temptation to lie, cheat, steal, use banned substances, abuse food, to sleep too much, or to want to be important or noticed."
No matter what it is that you are facing, Jesus understands this temptation. He is not like me, trying to empathize with a new mother. He truly does get it. He lived through it. God is not disconnected from what we are experiencing.
This morning, there are some of us who need to recognize that Christ does understand the temptation that we are facing.
In your bulletin this morning is a yellow prayer card. If there is a temptation that you need to recognize that Christ understands, go ahead and write that down. Later you will have an opportunity to pray about that.
Jesus understands relationships.
Some of us have pain and a lack of joy due to other people. Whether it is from the loss of a loved one or due to the pain that someone close to us has caused, we need to understand that Christ understands our relationships.
For those of you who know me, this might be hard to believe, but as a kid I thoroughly enjoyed irritating my sisters. Eventually, they learned how to ignore my attempts and how to react in such a way that caused me to get in trouble with our parents.
Jesus' parents weren't perfect. Jesus' siblings weren't perfect. I'm sure that Jesus understood dysfunctional families and broken relationships. What are some things that Jesus might have experienced while growing up in his family?
Let's see. He had half siblings, since Joseph was not his father. There were sibling rivalries, family squabbles, and sick family members. He didn't know his father. He probably didn't look like Joseph and didn't have Joseph's name. Imagine how his brothers and sisters would have been frustrated by his perfect behavior and sinless actions! It's hard to live with a perfect sibling.
Jesus also had close friendships and he experienced the death of a close friend, Lazarus, detailed in John 11:33 and John 11:35. He had twelve close disciples, all of whom failed or betrayed him at one point or another.
The point is that Jesus lived as one of us and he understands relationships. If you are experiencing brokenness in a relationship and you need to recognize that Christ understands, go ahead and write that down on the yellow prayer card.
Jesus understands suffering.
When thinking about suffering in the life of Jesus, we naturally think about the final week of his life. As I have looked more closely at the life of Christ over the past months, I believe he experienced suffering throughout his life. The suffering that Jesus experienced was used to shape and mold him for the ministry ahead.
Jesus was probably mocked for his birthplace. He was not respected in this world and people could not believe that the son of Mary was able to teach and perform miracles. He was not obeyed in this world. He suffered in his home with imperfect parents and with brothers who probably got him in trouble and who did not believe that he was the Son of God.
Isaiah 52 and Isaiah 53 are messianic passages referring to Christ. In these passages, it was predicted that Jesus' suffering would lead to glory. The passages also indicate that Jesus' exaltation would come only after he suffered. Jesus himself acknowledged that suffering is part of this life and that it is how God shapes us to do his work.
Hebrews 5:7-8 (NIV) says, "During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered."
Christ modeled a life of obedience through the suffering he endured. Suffering is a gift. It builds strength and makes us more like Christ. Christ understands what it means to suffer in this life.
If you are experiencing suffering that you need to recognize Christ understands, go ahead and write that down on the yellow prayer card.
How did Christ deal with the suffering that he experienced?
Let's go back and take a look at Luke 4. Luke 4:1-3 (NIV) says, "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.' "
Throughout the gospels, we see Jesus getting away to be with his Father. We also see Jesus being led by the Spirit to do the Father's work.
In Acts 2 the one who Christ promised, the Holy Spirit, came to those who believed. The Holy Spirit filled them. We still have the Spirit dwelling in us today. The Spirit will help us with suffering and temptation.
Christmas is about God becoming man and living among us. We should also celebrate that God dwells within us. We have not been left here alone. We have been given the same gift that Jesus used in order to navigate humanity.
Jesus, who was fully man, gave us the example for how to deal with all these issues. Jesus pursued his Father daily. Jesus followed the Spirit's leading in his life. That is the blueprint for getting through the tough stuff in this life that comes our way.
This morning, if you need to rely on the Spirit to lead you in something specific, please take a minute and write that on the yellow prayer card.