And took up residence among us
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2 In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him.
When I was grew up, I thought there was a lot of “what’s next” to come in the future.
In a sense I was right, because there is a new age coming that will never end.
But in my mind, I thought there was a lot of prep that God had to do in order to get heaven ready.
I remember when I was a little kid I had heard the verse where Jesus says “I go to prepare a place for you.”
And I imagined in my mind that what meant is that Jesus had a lot of construction work to do.
I had in my head that anybody who died before was going to get to watch Jesus building heaven, and that I would miss out because I would arrive right on time.
I have a distinct memory of being a kid and imagining a bunch of folding chairs lined up to observe Jesus literally brick laying a wall in heaven,
and my parents (who are still alive to day), were there watching Him, because obviously they were going to die before me.
When I was little, I had a built in child like sense that Jesus had won the day, and was building something good.
When I got older, I found out just how much He had won the day,
and just how good His kingdom was that He is building.
This little verse in Hebrews perfectly encapsulates the heart of Advent.
This verse discusses the past, the present, and the future.
This verse reminds us of Jesus’ first coming,
and alludes to the second.
It’s a wonderful verse to meditate on for Advent, because it is in Advent that we celebrate the arrival of the Word of God as a man.
That’s what the word Advent means by the way
“The arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.”
And that is precisely what the incarnation of God is.
It is the arrival of God on earth.
It
“See the curiosity of the cosmos as Christ condescends to His most cherished creatures
See the astonishment of angels as the Almighty advances towards Earth
See the humility of the pre-existent King born of a virgin birth
The Infinite becomes infant, the Maker becomes man”
What is history to you?
It might depend on what kind of history teacher you had.
Is history simply the ability to remember dates?
Or is it more than that?
History is the branch that connects us to the tree.
History gives us the frame that holds up the present.
One of the things that the Christian faith holds out as truth is that there is a being that stands outside of history that not only gives history it’s meaning but also is involved in it.
Greek conception of Logos.
John’s subversive fulfilment of the word.
Jesus is the one who reveals the Father to us.
This is critical because Jesus is embodied. OK TO SAY?
Jesus is God
Jesus is God
What is history to you?
It might depend on what kind of history teacher you had.
Is history simply the ability to remember dates?
Or is it more than that?
History is the branch that connects us to the tree.
History gives us the frame that holds up the present.
One of the things that the Christian faith holds out as truth is that there is a being that stands outside of history that not only gives history it’s meaning but also is involved in it.
Greek conception of Logos.
John’s subversive fulfilment of the word.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 This one was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one thing came into being that has come into being. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
14 The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
We’ve been seeing this as we have worked through the gospel of Mark.
Jesus speaks like God.
And He claims oneness with the Father.
He acts and commands as one with all the authority.
He is revealing God in plain image to us before our very eyes.
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
How do you know God?
Know Jesus.
How do you know Jesus?
Jesus is Immanuel
Jesus is Immanuel
14 Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.
What are some of the profound implications of God becoming a man in the middle of history?
The creator of history
The sustainer of history.
The goal of history.
In the middle of history.
The biggest implication is that we needed a God sized solution to the death problem.
The curse of death that comes in response to sin is so total.
There is no way humans could ever be rich enough to buy our freedom.
Psalm 49:6-9
There are some who put their trust in their goods, and boast in the multitude of their riches, But no one can deliver his brother, nor pay unto god a price for him;
For it is SO costly to redeem their souls, that we should never have enough to pay it, So that we should live for ever, and should not see the grave.
But God shall me from the power of death, for He shall deliver my soul.
There’s the gospel right in the old testament!
The Israelites that wrote this had faith that God was going to keep His promise and resolve the sin and death issue.
They didn’t know quite HOW, they just knew He was going to do it.
What our verse from today reminds us, is that WE actually do know how He did it.
We have the greatest vantage point in history.
Hebrews 1:2 (HCSB)
2 In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son.
Nothing could be clearer than God becoming man, walking among us, announcing the kingdom, explaining the need for His death, rising on the 3rd day, and then announcing the game plan now that He is king of the world.
One thing that those Israelites understood clearly was the sheer cost required to redeem even one soul from death.
It takes riches that only God could own.
And the most valuable thing in the universe would be God Himself.
I want to tell you about Athanasius
Arian heresy.
Jesus not fully God.
Created by God.
NO!
If Jesus is anything less than fully God than we are dead in our sins!
On the Incarnation
“The body of the Word, then, being a real human body, in spite of its having been uniquely formed from a virgin, was of itself mortal and, like other bodies, liable to death. But the indwelling of the Word loosed it from this natural liability, so that corruption could not touch it. Thus is happened that two opposite marvels took place at once: the death of all was consummated in the Lord's body; yet, because the Word was in it, death and corruption were in the same act utterly abolished.”
It’s the great trap for Satan.
An opportunity to kill the King of Glory?
Yes please!
But in that very act you have undone the curse.
“Even on the cross He did not hide Himself from sight; rather, He made all creation witness to the presence of its Maker.”
And what is the effect of all this?
Well it’s opened up a time in history where people don’t have to fear death anymore because they know what Jesus did to it.
“In ancient times before the divine sojourn of the Savior took place, even to the saints death was terrible; all wept for the dead as though they perished. But now that the Savior has raised his body, death is no longer terrible; for all who believe in Christ trample on it as it were nothing and choose rather to die than deny their faith in Christ. And that devil that once maliciously exulted in death, now that its pains were loosed, remained the only one truly dead.”
Have you ever been reading a book where the author spoils the end in the middle of the story?
I haven’t, but that’s how God writes His story.
Jesus is the final word of God.
There are no more prophets,
there is no more revelation,
Jesus is the final word.
The Christ event is the announcement of the end of the story, in the middle of the story.
Jesus is the goal of the whole story, but He pops up in the middle.
Why?
Well because God is gracious to us.
Jesus comes precisely when we needed Him most.
It also gives us a clear vision of where we are going.
Jesus is the Returning King
Jesus is the Returning King
“In these last days...”
We are living in the last days.
BUT
This isn’t some end times scary time.
Now that doesn’t mean there aren’t scary things happening...
But It’s the time when Jesus has made plain to us the plan of the Father, accomplished it on the cross, and sealed it for us in the Holy Spirit.
It’s the time when Jesus is ruling His creation from the throne of heaven now.
It’s the time in which the earth is being permeated with the gospel in every nation.
It’s the time in which the kingdom of God is growing more and more every day.
Now if we never look up, but get bogged down in the 24hr news cycle,
what do we see?
We see powerful forces at play in our world.
Threat of nuclear war,
economic shut downs,
diseases,
rumors of wars,
treachery,
corruption.
And it’s all way over our heads.
You start to feel like the little guy.
And then you remember who you belong to.
Listen to the words of Psalm 2
2 The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers conspire together against the Lord and His Anointed One: 3 “Let us tear off their chains and free ourselves from their restraints.” 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord ridicules them.
God sees all of the evil power plays across the world and does He fret?
No.
He laughs.
And when they refuse to obey Him and cease doing evil,
He breaks them.
2 In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him.
Jesus has been made the heir of all things.
What does an heir receive?
An inheritance.
What sort of inheritance does God give His son?
Everything.
And what is the crown jewel of everything God made?
People.
Which make up the nations.
What are the nations?
People.
Jesus receives people as His inheritance, and He is coming back one day to collect His inheritance.
You belong to Jesus in that sort of way.
Your value is immeasurable in Christ.
You are part of the church which was so precious to God that He gave the most costly thing in the world to redeem it.
A cultural lie we are told is that “You are perfect just the way you are.”
Close but no cigar.
What Jesus tells us is “you are perfect just the way I MAKE you to be.”
And we are made perfect when we are made like Jesus.
Therefore let us be His people together,
and wait for the Return of the King.
