Three Merry Christmases

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a great privilege to share the Word of God with you this morning.

Allow me to say once more on behalf of the church from and to all of our members and everyone visiting with us this morning, Merry Christmas!

This morning I would like to talk about what we are REALLY saying to one another when we say Merry Christmas. Just this week, I was leaving the Bucee’s and as I was leaving a guy gave me a head nod, as we men do. It was a very cordial occurrence so I gave him a very simple, “Merry Christmas.” He seemed a little shocked to hear it and gave a sheepish “Merry Christmas,” back to me. At the time I didn’t really think much of it. But as I was driving through the acres of parking lot at Bucee’s, this question plagued my mind. “I wonder what he thought I meant when I said Merry Christmas? … What did *I* mean when I said Merry Christmas?” As I kept driving and thought about the interaction I realized that when you say Merry Christmas, you are really referring to one of three things.

First there is the secular-cultural understanding of Merry Christmas. This is acknowledging that in the month of December there are a lot of heartwarming television programs to watch and activities to participate in. It is a Merry Christmas that is accentuating the shopping at the mall, the drive through the light displays at Southern Lights, and the twice a weekend constant string of gatherings and gift exchanges that take over the month of December. This view of Christmas can be steeped in tradition and emotional sentiments. Most of the Christmas movies you see focus on this Christmas. From Elf to a Christmas story, this first view of Merry Christmas is centered around comedy and fleeting, warm, fuzzy feelings. It is a Merry Christmas that says society tells us to be happy right now, so let’s go for it.

The second view of Merry Christmas is what I call the “sweet baby Jesus Merry Christmas”. Here is a video that came out a few years ago and I think it accurately portrays this second view of Merry Christmas:

Play video

When some people say Merry Christmas, they are referring to the story of the birth of the cute little baby Jesus. Now let me just say, this is a cute and hilarious video. I’d also be well pleased if our own kids understood the particulars of the Christmas story this way. It is such a joy to have our own children participate for the past few weeks as we have been in this Christmas season. In fact, theres really nothing inherently bad about intending to share cheer with others or adoring the sweet Baby in the manger. My intention this morning is not to be the Grinch who steals Christmas and sucks the joy out of the building. My intention this morning is to provide you with an even fuller, even more joyous exclamation of Merry Christmas!

This third “Merry Christmas”, if you would goes beyond cultural celebrations, it even goes beyond the Christmas card, simplified, and pretty-fied traditional sweet little baby Jesus. This Merry Christmas recognizes that the it was not a silent night, nor was the stable clean. This Merry Christmas exclaims that through blood, sweat, and tears, the Savior who would bleed, sweat, and cry was born to die. This third “Merry Christmas” recognizes the sovereignty of God to act in an unfathomable way to bring a people who rejected Him back into His flock. This Third Merry Christmas understands that the birth of Christ was not the end of His story, nor was it His beginning! This Third Merry Christmas promotes joy and cheer, not based upon cultural ideologies, but joy and cheer given from love incarnate love divine. This is the Merry Christmas that comes from having a full understanding of who the sweet little baby in the manger is and what He accomplished. This is the Merry Christmas we see in John chapter 1. Turn there with me now if you would.

This morning we are going to look at the first five verses of John 1. You may have come this morning expecting to hear the birth narrative. You can find those passages in the first couple of chapters of Matthew and Luke, also the video we watched a few moments did an okay job of paraphrasing the birth of Jesus, albeit with some *creative* liberties. This section we are looking at today shows us the true significance of Christmas and the great grandeur going on behind the scenes of the traditional. We will be confronted with Three realities of Jesus that should inform and transform the way we say “Merry Christmas!”

Begin with me in verses 1 and 2.

John 1:1–2 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

There is honestly enough going on in this verse that we could probably park it here and feast all day. For our purposes this morning I’ll try to be expeditious. Reading this verse on the surface may be a little confusing. You say, Pastor Brad, you told me were going to hear about Jesus, this is talking about the Word. We need to know that the author of this book, John, is using the phrase “the Word” to identify Jesus.

He does this for two reasons. First, the Word, or Logos in the greek, was a concept used in greek philosophy that described an abstract principle of reasons and order in the universe. Logos would describe the creative force and source of wisdom. It was an impersonal construct. John uses this Word to refer to Jesus because he is showing the greeks that Jesus is the personification and embodiment of the logos. And Jesus was not some impersonal construct, was God who became man. The greeks had been studying philosophy and had come to the conclusion of this vague sense of some greater wisdom. John is saying, put your glasses on, He’s right here in the person of Jesus!

The second reason John represents Jesus as the Word is for the Hebrew readers. The Hebrews were well acquainted with God’s Word, the Scriptures. They would have read and cherished the promises God would make to His people. They would have seen His faithfulness and praise Him according to His Word. John is presenting Jesus as the incarnation of divine power and revelation. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s Word. Jesus is the center of the Word. Jesus is the Word.

So now that we have established that this verse is most definitely talking about Jesus, what is it declaring about Him?

Here we are seeing that John is boldly and fearlessly declaring that Jesus Christ is eternal deity.

This is the first reality of Jesus to inform our Merry Christmas, that:

JESUS is eternal deity.

But what does this mean? Well He is eternal, that means He always was and always is. There is no beginning and no end. How do I know that? Because Jesus was there in the beginning! In the beginning was the Word! It does not say in the beginning came the Word, but rather that the Word is already there! Some interpreters have translated this phrase to say, “Before there was a beginning, the Word had been.” We will have more evidence in a moment, but for now, may we just ponder and the excellent reality it is that Jesus has always been existent! The story of Jesus Christ did not begin in the manger. That may have been the first note of His Magnum Opus, but His power and divinity go back beyond even the beginning of all time!

So what had He been up to for all of eternity? Well, John writes, “the Word was with God.” I checked out most of the major translations and they all say the same thing here, “the Word was with God.” But when you look at this phrase in greek it has a deeper connotation than simply being in the same space with someone. According to W. Robert Cook, for Jesus to be *with* God, it “[gives] the picture of two personal beings facing one another and engaging in intelligent discourse.” So when we read that the Word was with God we should be getting a picture of deep conversation and relationship between the three persons of the triune God. And we can know that this is a glimpse of the trinity because of the final clause of verse 1. The Word was God. Jesus is God. Jesus was God. Then in verse two HE, that He clearly connecting the Word with Jesus, HE was with God.

I understand that this may sound repetitive. That’s because it is! We repeat things that are important. I do it everyday with my son. We want him to learn language so we say mama and dada over and over again. Knowing that one day it will stick. Repeat through John 1:1-2 enough and eventually it will stick! These are cyclical statements that are intentionally repetitive so that we will get the point! Jesus is eternal deity!

This clear and explicit statement that has direct implications on what we mean when we say Merry Christmas!

When we think of the manger scene with the dirt and the ruckus, we shouldn’t ONLY see the sweet little baby that’s gonna be our best friend. We don’t have to wipe that image away all together, but we also understand that that is God incarnate! The eternal divine, GOD, Jesus Christ stepped out of heaven, laid in a manger.

Merry Christmas!

But there is even more great truth of Jesus that informs our Merry Christmas greetings. Look at verse 3.

John 1:3 ESV

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Have you ever watched a Christmas movie where the go to the North Pole? I am always amazed by the way the elves are able to make any toy. With a hammer and a chisel, they’re able to make an etch-n-sketch! Now you tell me how that’s possible! In the Christmas stories it is often attributed to Christmas magic that come from all the kids around the world who believe in the magic of Christmas.

That’s a really fun story. But even despite the incredible skills of the elves, I find it interesting that they are dependent on others and use tools to accomplish there work.

Here in verse 3, we are shown a second truth that should shape our understanding of Merry Christmas.

Jesus is the self-sufficient creator!

All things were made through Jesus. Without Jesus was not anything made that was made. It does not get any more broad than that! Without Jesus was not anything made that was made. That means without Jesus, there was is nothing that exists in the universe. We could try to make a list but we could never be exhaustive. This building exists because of Jesus. The atmosphere in this world exists because of Jesus. The gravity that moves the waves and drops the apples exists because of Jesus. The air in your lungs exists because of Jesus. YOU exist because of Jesus. There is not one thing that exists that was not made through Him. ALL things were made through Him.

Now, as we seek to understand the deepest meaning of Merry Christmas, realize this. The manger exists because of Jesus. The angels exist because of Jesus. The shepherds, their sheep, and the hillside they grazed upon, because of Jesus. The star shining in the sky leading to the wisemen from afar, because of Jesus. Even Mary and Joseph exist because of Jesus.

Are you beginning to see how Christmas is so much more than a cute little baby being laid in a manger? I have no doubt that Jesus was a very cute baby. But that was no ordinary cute baby! It was the self-sufficient creator that emptied himself and took the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

As we ponder upon the great power and glory of this Jesus, may we take a moment to examine His self-sufficiency. By this I mean that He was in need of no assistance for creation. In the beginning He created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, darkness was over the face of the deep. It was at the sound of His voice that He said let there be light and light appeared. Let water and land separate and it was so. Let the earth bring forth vegetation and it was so. Let there be creatures in the waters, the air, and the land and it was so. Let us make man in our image, and it was so!

That was a very quick paraphrase of the creation narrative you can find in Genesis 1 and I recommend you give that passage a closer study, but for our purposes this morning, I just want to drive home one point here. He said it, and it was so! He was not dependent upon any other creature, any other material. There was no tools necessary other than His own power and His own will. His power was not dependent upon the amount of those who believe in Him. He is simply and completely self-sufficient.

So really think about this. None of us are truly self-sufficient. We all depend upon others. We all depend on God for our existence whether we have faith in Him or not. Making matters worse, our sin separates us from the Holy God and we are utterly insufficient at reconciling that relationship. There is nothing we can do that would bring us into a right standing with God. With this understanding, what we see in the Christmas story is the Self-sufficient stepping in to rescue the insufficient. And if you, as the insufficient, have received the all sufficient grace of God, through faith at what HE did for you, which started in that manger some two thousand years ago, how can that not inform what you mean when you say Merry Christmas!?

This little baby Jesus, lying in the manger? ALL THINGS WERE MADE THROUGH HIM, AND WITHOUT HIM WAS NOT ANY THING MADE THAT WAS MADE. He is completely self-sufficient, and He was born so that He would die to save insufficient sinners like you and me! Merry Christmas!

There is still more about this Jesus that informs our proclamation of Merry Christmas!

Look with me at verses 4 and 5

John 1:4–5 ESV

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The final truth of Jesus that informs what we mean when we say Merry Christmas is that:

Jesus is the Supreme Light Giver.

We’ll come back to light in a moment, but I want to first touch on those first four words, In Him was life.

What a curious phrase.

The word for Life used here in the greek is Zoe. And this word does simply refer to a creature with flowing blood cells. This Zoe life is talking about spiritual life. John is telling the Greek philosophers that Jesus is the totality of spiritual vitality. I hope that you are following me here, because this is so important. In verse 3, we see that Jesus is the creator. Everything in the physical world exists quite literally because of Him and through Him. “Jesus Christ the Creator provides physical life;” Now we see Jesus as the holder of spiritual life. This tells us, “Jesus Christ the Redeemer provides spiritual life; and Jesus Christ the Savior provides eternal life.”

This Spiritual Life that Jesus Provides becomes the light of men. Later in the book of John Jesus would say, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life.” As sinners come to understand their sin and see the greatness of Jesus to pay for their sins, it is like a beacon of light that draws them to the Savior. But if Jesus never were to have come, there would be no hope .

“There once was a couple who took their son, 11, and daughter, 7, to Carlsbad Caverns. As always, when the tour reached the deepest point in the cavern, the guide turned off all the lights to dramatize how completely dark and silent it is below the earth’s surface.The little girl, suddenly enveloped in utter darkness, was frightened and began to cry.”

This is the state of the world in sin. When man sinned against God, we were left in the darkness of sin. Left to our own devices we are doing nothing more but stumbling around in depraved darkness.

But in the story of that little girl, after she was frightened this occured:

Immediately was heard the voice of her brother: “Don’t cry. Somebody here knows how to turn on the lights.”

In our sin we are running around in darkness. But Jesus came to be the light in the darkness. He is the light that gives us hope! As we saw last night in the candlelight service, even a small candle can drive the darkness from a room. But what is being describe in verses 4 and 5 is the brilliant, glorious light of the Lord Jesus Christ that will utterly decimate the Satan’s realm of darkness.

I hope that you can see the power and hope that is given to us through the end of verse 5. The light shines in the darkness, AND THE DARKNESS HAS NOT OVERCOME IT. The perfect love of Christ is sufficient to carry you through even the deepest of valleys. A pastor I follow shared that in just the past week he’s been with two separate families who both suffered just tragic loss. I myself have talked to many families dealing with illness. A friend of mine is dealing with a miscarriage. We have hurting families dealing with the consequences of sin all around us. We all see darkness and the results of sin.

That pastor went on to say, The Christmas light might be tougher to see this year, but it shines brighter as a result. The darkness did not overcome it.

You see, understanding Jesus as the supreme light giver informs what we mean when we say Merry Christmas because it moves the sentiment away from superficiality and into reality.

You see Christmas and light are inextricably linked. We took a group out caroling this week and saw some of the most fascinating home displays of lights I’ve seen in some time. Christmas lights are cool. I don’t have a problem with them, so long as we understand this: the little bit of joy we get from looking at light displays is just a momentary reaction. Eventually the lights will go out, or they’ll be put away, and back to darkness. But put this in contrast to the light that Jesus gives to those who believe in Him! The Darkness will NEVER overcome it! Jesus is the true Light Giver! He is our hope in the darkness! He is our guide in this dying world. Our celebration of His birth is shaped by the light He has given us. Through the coming of Jesus Christ, God’s person and power would be revealed to humanity. He is the life-giver and the light-bearer. And praise be to God, I saw the light! Merry Christmas!

Our understanding of why Christmas is Merry should be shaped by our understanding of Jesus. He is eternal deity. He is the self-sufficient creator. He is the Supreme Light-Giver. All these truths are maintained as He was born in a manger. If you would, skip down to verse 14.

John 1:14 ESV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

It is my hope that after this morning, it would be this verse that is your underlying meaning and motivation of say Merry Christmas.

Let’s quickly break this down. The Word, Jesus Christ, the eternal deity, self-sufficient creator, supreme light and life giver, became flesh. That is He laid aside the glory of heaven to be born in a manger. He lived in this world. He shared life with His disciples. There are countless testimonies of the Incarnate Son of God and what He did. His glory has been made evident. It is GODLY glory only possible of the Son of God, the second person of the trinity. Full of grace, unmerited favor extended to those believe in the truth of who He is, what He did, and why He had to do it FOR them.

The Word Became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. Merry Christmas.

To those among us today who have received the light of Christ, who know Him as Savior, don’t let your Merry Christmas mean anything less than this. It is okay to celebrate with friends and families and watch goofy movies so long as you are not violating your conscience in doing so. Whatever festivities you participate in, may you be able to clearly do so in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ giving thanks to God the Father through Him. But when you tell someone Merry Christmas, may you be communicating the hope you have because the one who’s birth we celebrate on this day. Use this as an opportunity to tell some one the full story of Christmas.

It is highly possible that there are some here today who think of Christmas from a cultural perspective. Or maybe you even simply enjoy the cute story about the silent night and the pretty angels singing. It is my hope that you have seen this morning the magnitude of what was really happening on Christmas. It isn’t just a cute story. Rather it was the coming of the real savior to save real people destined for real wrath.

It is vital that you understand the REAL Jesus. The eternal diety, self-sufficient creator, light and life giver, who was born in a manger, lived a perfectly righteous life and died on a criminals cross, all to pay the cost of the sins for all who believe in Him.

The reason I tell you these this is also the purpose for which the gospel of John was written.

John 20:31 ESV

but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

It is my sincere desire that you would hear the truth of Christ, see His sufficiency in contrast to your inadequacy and believe in Him. In just a few moments, we are going to have a hymn of response. If you desire to know more about what Christ has done for sinners like you and me, make that known by coming forward. You can also find me or someone you know that loves the Lord after the service. But do not wait.

Christmas is all about celebrating Christ coming into the world to save sinners like you and me. I want to conclude by reading a popular section of Scripture.

John 3:16–18 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Merry Christmas.

Let’s Pray