2 Corinthians 8:9: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
The true meaning of Christmas is that God broke himself. God became poor. For love, God spends Himself, he poured out His grace to make us rich. Because of what the Father has given we’re never at a deficit before God. We no longer have to justify ourselves before God (our sin, our failure, our regrets) because Christ is our justification. In Christ we’re loved, we’re accepted, we’re forgiven, we’ve been clothed with Christ’s righteousness, we’ve been blessed with eternal riches, with every spiritual blessing in Christ, with eternal life. In Christ, God has given us his Holy Spirit, a new heart and a new mind. If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone, new has come. Never has anyone spent themselves so fully as God in Christ Jesus.
1 Peter 1:18-20: He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.”
We also understand that Christmas was God’s plan before the creation of the world, before time itself began. From the first pages of our Bibles, throughout the Old Testament, and not just in the New Testament, God started getting our attention. Through his word, by His Spirit, through the prophets, he began talking about Christmas early and often. His plan was to “send a child,” to “give a son” to save us from our sins. Understand, by the time Jesus was born people had been waiting thousands of years to see just who God would send. Every time a child born, parents asked “could this be the one?”
1 Peter 1:18-19: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
It’s not with perishable things… material things… nor gold and silver that God redeems us from our empty way of life. Rather, it’s with something infinitely more precious – God’s plan was to send a “child” –to give his only begotten “son”. What a terrible thing it would be if our homes were filled with perishable things but we missed the most precious thing of all this Christmas—God’s son, Jesus.
Last week, we invited you to consider how God introduced Jesus 600 years before Jesus was even born. We can think of these words, spoken through Isaiah the Prophet, as a kind of first Christmas Card. Some refer to the writings of Isaiah as the fifth gospel, because like Matthew/Mark/Luke/John Isaiah so clearly introduces Jesus.
In Isaiah 9 we read these words… “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. . . For to us a child is born, to us a son is given...” Every descendent of Adam & Eve… every descendent of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob… Moses, the Prophets, the Israelites… had their eye on the horizon waiting. Who would this son be? Who would this child become?
Isaiah description continues this way… “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.” —Isaiah 9:2,5–7.
You can take this verse and start underlining the phrases. God’s salvation would appear in this world as a child, born of a woman. Earlier Isaiah told us the child would be born of a virgin, not having a human father, but being conceived of God. The child would be a son. Notice, this child would be a great king. The government would rest on his shoulders. The greatness of his kingdom, the peace he would bring, would be unrivaled. His kingdom would never end. It would be eternal in scope. He would be a prince of peace. A “ruler.”
I want to talk about this idea of God sending a child, a son to be a King. First of all, it was always God’s desire to be King. In Genesis, God commanded Adam and Eve to eat of any tree in the garden except one. In Genesis, God was the lawgiver and judge. He walked with Adam, loved Adam, cherished Adam. For many reasons God was to respected, worshipped and obeyed. But Satan usurps God’s authority. He convinces Adam & Eve that God wasn’t good, and was depriving them of pleasure. When Adam and Eve sin they dethrone God in their hearts, and enthrone themselves. They appoint themselves lawgivers and judges of what is good.
From the beginning God has always had one desire… that he would be our God and we would be his people. That he would be our King, and we would love him and enjoy him forever. But it was the pattern of Adam, and God’s people, to reject God as King and look to men. An example of this is in 1 Samuel 8, when the Elders of Israel please with Samuel to appoint a King to rule over them. 1 Samuel 8:6 says, “When Samuel heard their demand—‘Give us a king to rule us!’—he was crushed. How awful! Samuel prayed to God.” So God tells Samuel, “Go ahead and do what they’re asking. They are not rejecting you. They’ve rejected me as their King.”
And then God warns the people, “This is the way the kind of king you’re talking about operates. He’ll take your sons and make soldiers of them—chariotry, cavalry, infantry, regimented in battalions and squadrons. He’ll put some to forced labor on his farms, plowing and harvesting, and others to making either weapons of war or chariots in which he can ride in luxury. He’ll put your daughters to work as beauticians and waitresses and cooks. He’ll conscript your best fields, vineyards, and orchards and hand them over to his special friends. He’ll tax your harvests and vintage to support his extensive bureaucracy. Your prize workers and best animals he’ll take for his own use. He’ll lay a tax on your flocks and you’ll end up no better than slaves. The day will come when you will cry in desperation because of this king you so much want for yourselves. But don’t expect God to answer.”
The history of mankind from the time of Adam to the present is this… people reject God as King and put absolute trust in men to provide everlasting joy and peace. And when the kings of men fail, we cry out to God expecting an answer to all the pain, injustice, and loss we’ve suffered. We always believe we’ll be better without God as King… with ourselves… with man as king… but in the end there are only tears.
The Bible tells us that evil stems from self-centeredness, self-righteousness, self-absorption. We want something but we cannot have it… so we lust, covet, and kill for it. We want to the world to revolve around our cravings and desires. We want everyone to serve us. We want to be great at the expense of others. We elect kings who will do our biding for us… kings who will exploit, coerce, commit violence even… kings who will act on our behalf in our interests. And when kings fail us we behead them only to anoint new kings. This is the history of kings, kingdoms, and politics from the time of Adam to the present. We embrace kings who appeal to our self-centeredness; we reject any King that calls us to live beyond ourselves.
There is only one King in the history of the universe who has ever truly be good, gracious, kind, and benevolent… and not just to us, but to all men. Consider Isaiah 9 in its broader context… the whole chapter is a promise that God will be King again!
Isaiah 9:2-7 “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness-- on them light has shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. 4 For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5 For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. 6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”
A child would be born.. a son would be given… WHY? So God would be King. Not King in the ultimate sense. We know that God is almighty, and powerful, and sovereign over all the Universe. But King over his people!
When Jesus was born, the wise men understood from signs in the universe, that a great King was being born. They showed up in King Herod’s court and asked, “Where’s the new King?” Herod was livid and he went to the chief’s priests and teachers of the Law—why? Because they were experts in the Old Testament Scriptures, and they knew the exact prophecies declaring who the King would be and where the King would be born. And learning this information, Herod committed genocide out of fear of what he knew Jesus would mean to God’s people.
As Jesus comes of age, do you know what his first sermon was? Matthew 4. “The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Matthew 4:17 says from that time on Jesus preached “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Jesus was telling people, “I’m the King of Isaiah 9!” In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus announces, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind to set the oppressed free to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” The King is God himself… and the King… and his Kingdom has come…
Nobody doubted Jesus was born a king. The Magi new it because of cosmic signs and what not. The Teachers of the Law and Chief Priests new it because they knew all the Scriptures pointing to Jesus as King. Herod knew it, and felt so threatened by Jesus, he committed unspeakable atrocities. When Jesus was crucified, Pilate knew it, and tried to wash his hands of any responsibility. Despite the protests of the Chief Priests, he had a sign posted on the cross that read, “King of the Jews.”
The Bible tells us how in death “Jesus was exalted by God, through his resurrection, to the highest place and given the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father.”
In Revelation 19 the cosmic Christ is no longer presented as a baby in a manger, but rather as a conquering warrior. John describes how Jesus reigns from heaven this way: “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.”
In the Christmas story, the pagan Magi get it right. They recognize that God has given a child and a son… and they worship Jesus as King. This is God’s invitation to us this Christmas. Its that we’d recognize his King. Its that we’d repent, acknowledging the Kingdom of God is now here. It’s that we’d worship. Why? Because a King was born, a Son was given. A King has died, a King has risen.. a King reigns.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.” —Isaiah 9:5–7.