The Connection From Cradle to Cross

Christmas is a time that is full of opposites. God becoming a man. Infinite stepping into time. Light invading darkness. Even today, Christmas is a time that is still full of opposites. Christmas is a time of the year where there is less and less sunlight and more and more cold weather, yet, it is a time of the year where people have warm feelings of hope, love, and joy. A time where people might have less, but try to give more. This week I was up in KC and everywhere I went, Christmas decorations dominated the skyline. Churches, classrooms, hotels, restaurants, even McDonalds for crying out loud! The Christmas season isn’t always easy as it can be a time marked by struggling and uncertainty… but even in those moments, this season is unique.

But, what comes after December 25? Another season comes. Circumstances change. Needs change. People change. Feelings change. Years change. Happiness changes. Yet, the Christmas story remains the same. God sent His Son into the earth as a baby to do something for us that we could not do for ourselves. Regardless of how we feel, what year it is, or what our circumstances look like, we all share the same fundamental need: We are separated from God. That doesn’t sound like a joyful message to celebrate… but it is one that we have to reckon with. At Christmas people like to do things that make them happy and many try to wear that mask as long as they can. But what happens whenever circumstances change? What happens when prosperity is replaced by pain? What happens when happiness is replaced with heartache? What happens when blessing is replaced by burden? What happens when things don’t go our way? We’re tempted to feel hopeless - aren’t we?

The hope of Christmas is this: In the midst of uncertainty, in the midst of sorrow, in the midst of chaos, and in the midst of celebration, we can have a deep, unending, soul changing joy. That might sound too good to be true… that might seem like an impossibility. But as one Christian author put it, “My joy cannot eradicate my pain, but neither can my pain wipeout or rob me of joy. Joy, genuine joy, can thrive in the midst of pain.”

This morning we’re going to see 3 seemingly contradictory truths in God’s Word that don’t completely make sense in our human brains and especially in our confused world! Let’s dive into Isaiah 52-53 as we begin.

Isaiah 52:13–Isaiah 53 CSB

13 See, my servant will be successful; he will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted. 14 Just as many were appalled at you— his appearance was so disfigured that he did not look like a man, and his form did not resemble a human being— 15 so he will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of him, for they will see what had not been told them, and they will understand what they had not heard. 1 Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him. 4 Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. 6 We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth. 8 He was taken away because of oppression and judgment, and who considered his fate? For he was cut off from the land of the living; he was struck because of my people’s rebellion. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, but he was with a rich man at his death, because he had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully. 10 Yet the Lord was pleased to crush him severely. When you make him a guilt offering, he will see his seed, he will prolong his days, and by his hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished. 11 After his anguish, he will see light and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will carry their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him the many as a portion, and he will receive the mighty as spoil, because he willingly submitted to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet he bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.

This morning we’re going to see 3 truths from God’s Word that flips earthly wisdom upside down that we celebrate this Christmas season

Success Is Found in Serving Others, Not in Being Served (Is. 52:13-15)

Maybe you’re here this morning and you’re genuinely curious how this passage of Scripture relates at all to Christmas - and you wouldn’t be alone. Many people fail to see how the suffering servant passage of Isaiah 53 relates to the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem - we’ll examine this throughout the morning, but many more people fail to understand the importance of serving others in a world that is fixated on serving self, exalting self, promoting self, valuing self, helping self, and selling self. In our world, success is usually defined or demonstrated by personally being in a position where other people serve us or where other people value. In the mindset of our world, we would say that the person giving orders is more successful than the one taking orders. We would say that you are successful if you do your job or fulfill your potential. Notice what Isaiah 52:13-15 tells us about this coming Savior. He will be a successful servant. How is one a successful servant? By fulfilling a bunch of orders correctly? By doing so effectively? What type of servant is Jesus Christ? Verse 13 tells us that Jesus is not a successful servant because He came on Christmas with milk and chocolate chip cookies. This promise speaks of His resurrection, ascension, and glorification. Jesus came to this world in order to serve and serve in this instance means to give of Himself. To humble Himself. To sacrifice Himself. This is completely different from our worldly view of success which is dependent upon other people exalting us and talking about us and serving us. Notice what Jesus tells His disciples in Mark 10 concerning His service

Mark 10:43–45 CSB

43 But it is not so among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you will be a slave to all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus came to serve, suffer, and save. And in this, Jesus was successful! Before you get to Calvary, you have to get to the Cradle. Before Jesus became the Savior, He was the Servant. At Christmas time, we celebrate that Jesus came to the earth, at least in part to serve others rather than being served by others. If anyone deserved to be served, it was Jesus. Growing up as a pastor’s kid and getting to know other pastors and people in the general thrust of Christian ministry, whether that be Christian music, Christian teachers, or authors, it is apparent that some of them believe that once you get to a certain status, you are the one that gets to sit back and be served rather than serving others. Once you get a couple hundred people in your church, then you don’t have to serve. Once you sell a best-seller book, then you don’t have to serve. Once you’ve been in ministry a certain number of years, you don’t have to serve. Once you’re beloved by the people or can sing and pack a sanctuary, then you don’t have to serve. This is prevalent! Yet, it’s not in the text… The text tells us the opposite. The Son of Man came to serve. That seems backward. That flips earthly wisdom on its head.

This is the scandal of the Gospel. Our world argues like this: If you are nice to others, come to church, sing the songs, memorize the verses, give faithfully, and are a generally good person then God will reward you… And if you don’t do those things, if you’re mean to others, and if you are a sinner then God will punish you. That’s the order of the universe. But the Gospel flips that. Jesus doesn’t come to serve the righteous and to be praised by all the kings of the world during His ministry. Jesus came to seek and save, whom? The lost. The Bible tells us that Jesus justifies the ungodly and that through Christ, God declares guilty people innocent. People wonder, is that fair? Absolutely not, on one hand. But do you know what’s also not fair? Jesus coming into this world as a servant to give His life as a ransom for guilty sinners. That also is not “fair” but it is the ultimate demonstration of God’s grace. Because of what Jesus has done, we are called to serve like our master served. We are called to point others to the Savior that He is. That is our barometer of success. We could have the most people in the history of this church come to a service, we could have the most beautiful songs, we could have best production that we could possibly do… But if we don’t worship, we’re wrong. Everyone likes a good performance, but performance isn’t worship. Our job, especially as we celebrate Christmas, is to serve one another and point them to the Jesus of Scripture who came, lived a perfect life, died for sinners on the cross, and rose victorious after defeating sin and death. This Jesus came to serve, and we must find our success not in being served, but in serving others.

Let’s see this really fleshed out in the New Testament as Paul shares another counter-cultural truth in Philippians 2 concerning Christ and the call Christ gives to His followers

Philippians 2:5–11 CSB

5 Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. 7 Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus is Fully-God and Fully-Man (Phil 2:5-11)

As we celebrate the joy that Jesus gives to us, it’s fitting to look at Philippians as Paul’s joy in Jesus is contagious. He’s locked in prison, chained to a guard, he’s been stabbed in the back by other preachers of the Gospel, he has every reason to be upset based on his circumstances… Yet, you read the book and his joy leaps off the page. How can we have this type of supernatural joy? Only in knowing who our Savior is and what our Savior has done. This is the subject of Philippians - Joy in Jesus. Paul in chapter 2 arrives at a summary statement of sorts as he calls on his listeners to adopt the same attitude of Jesus Christ. What attitude are we to adopt? Verse 8 - that of humility. Again, Jesus came to serve and save sinners. But where was Jesus before Bethlehem? Notice what the text tells us, He emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. This tells us that Jesus existed before Bethlehem… But how? Where was He? Maybe a better question, what exactly was He?

We believe that Scripture tells us clearly that Jesus is God. In our text we see that He existed in the form of God before Bethlehem. Look

Colossians 1:15 CSB

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

John 1:1–3 CSB

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.

This will be our Christmas Eve text that we’ll flesh out more next week, but do you see here that Jesus has always existed? This is vitally important for us to understand as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We’re not just celebrating the birth of a baby boy, we’re celebrating the arrival of a King. The Messiah. We celebrate that God became a man. Our world is completely content with you celebrating the birth of a baby boy on Christmas. That’s cute, that’s tradition, that’s nice, that’s harmless, it’s just a baby! But the minute that you share that you’re celebrating the birth of God who has come to earth as a baby boy - the incarnation - suddenly you meet resistance. The minute that you celebrate that this baby will grow up to give His life as a ransom for many on the cross and save people from their sins, you meet resistance. Why is this? Because people fundamentally misunderstand Who Jesus is. He is not just a baby human, He is also fully-God in the flesh.

A couple of years ago in mine and Lindsey’s hometown of Ozark, Missouri, likely with a population around 20,000 at the time, maybe a little less, there was a massive conflict raised concerning the town’s Christmas light display at the city park. Every year the city puts up Christmas lights and there’s all sorts of things to see as you drive around. But, one particular year there was an issue because of the cross that is about halfway through the light display. The cross had always been apart of the display… But in our strange new world, that became problematic. A group from Wisconsin came and argued that the city shouldn’t be allowed to display a cross because that’s a religious display and that people should be free from that type of thing in public. Had that been a manger with Mary and Joseph and a little baby, probably no problem. But the minute that you make the connection from the cradle to the cross, which was Jesus’ God-given mission from eternity past, suddenly you have a problem in our society.

Godless feelings don’t change God’s facts, though. Jesus came into this world, we see in Philippians 2, to give His life and to be exalted after His sacrifice on the cross. Jesus came in order to forgive us of our sins - something that only God can do. Jesus also substituted Himself in our place - something that only a man could do. Jesus Christ is both fully-God and fully-man. Now, in our brains that doesn’t make a lick of sense because that’s 100% + 100% = 200% and contrary to what your coach or director once told you, it’s mathematically impossible to “give 110%” when you just have 100% to give in the first place! How does this make sense for Jesus to be both fully-God and fully-man?

Bryan Chapell once shared a story he heard from a missionary in Africa that helps us to fully understand the idea of Jesus emptying Himself while still being fully God. This missionary came across a village where the village chief had to be the strongest man and he had a responsibility to wear a large headdress and robe. One day a man from the village was working on the village well while it was empty and fell down to the bottom, breaking his leg in the process. The only way that this man would be rescued would be if someone physically went down to the bottom, put him on his back, and made the climb out. No one else could even think of saving this injured man so the chief was called upon. The chief immediately put his headdress and robe aside and climbed down, put the man on his back, and brought him to safety. He did what no other person could do and this is exactly what Jesus did for us. He laid aside His heavenly glory and privileges as the eternal Son of God just as the chief laid aside his headdress and robe… But did the chief stop being the chief when those things came off? Absolutely not. Did Jesus stop being God whenever He came from heaven to earth to rescue sinful humanity? Absolutely not. We can think of this like how AW Tozer phrased it years ago, Jesus veiled His deity… He did not void His deity.

We celebrate joy at Christmas time because God sent His Son. Not just a baby boy, but literally God in the flesh. He came into this world to seek and save lost sheep like you and me. If you are saved, that means that He has found you, changed you, saved you, sealed you, and part of that plan is for you to adopt that same attitude that He had and humbly serve others. If you are here this morning and you are struggling this Christmas season, rejoice at the news of Philippians chapter 2 that God sent His Son into this world. The arrival of Jesus Christ demonstrates the love of God and provides us with joy while we go through this life because we know that whatever we face, we have a Savior who can sympathize with us in our struggles. Heb 4:15

Hebrews 4:15 CSB

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.

This Christmas season might be one marked by loss, change, or difficulty. For some this season brings up memories that are too fresh to dwell on because of the pain of losing a loved one. For someone else it might be a season of change where things just don’t feel like they used to. For others it might be a difficult season marked by challenges, obstacles, or suffering. Guess what? The Son of God can sympathize with your struggles. He knows what it is like to lose loved ones. He knows what it is like to suffer physically. He knows what it is like to grieve. He knows what it is like to have late nights. He hears your cries and He simply says this, “Come to me all who are weary and I will give you rest.” We won’t always get the answers that we want and even when we do, we won’t always get them when we want, but He is faithful to give us what we need and to provide for us in the waiting. There is joy in the truth that Jesus is fully-God and fully-man. There is joy as we reflect on the truth that one day every knee will bow and declare Him as Lord - we get to do that today.

Death Leads to Life (Is. 53)

In our world, we’re familiar with loss. As Newton shared centuries ago, what goes up must come down. Similarly, whatever is alive today is also dying. Today you are the oldest you’ve ever been and the youngest you’ll ever be. In this world, we know that life leads to death. In Isaiah 53 we see that God’s plan for Jesus Christ was to come and bear our sins - why did Christ have to bear our sins? Because He had none of His own to bear, and because if He doesn’t bear our sins then we’re still dead in our sins and trespasses as Ephesians 2 told us last week. We’re in serious trouble - so Christ came as this suffering servant to be pierced because of our rebellion and crushed because of our iniquity. He was afflicted and oppressed and cut off and killed and crushed. This doesn’t sound like a Christmas truth to celebrate… But look with me at verse 11 of Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 53:11 CSB

11 After his anguish, he will see light and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will carry their iniquities.

Consider what this passage of Scripture is telling us. After God’s servant suffers - meaning after He is killed - He will see light and be satisfied. He will justify many. In our world where life leads to death, Scripture is telling us that through Jesus, this suffering servant, death leads to life. Suffering gives way to salvation. Problems give way to peace. This same God who sent His Son to redeem the world as John chapter 3 tells us, is still in the process of justifying and saving sinners unto Himself today. In Jesus there is hope that death does not get the last word. To quote from Tim Keller, as a Christian all that death can do is make my life better. Christian, in Jesus there is joy that not even death can touch. Sin can touch a lot of things in our world. This is why so many are hopeless around us. Think of the things that we’re tempted to place our hope in. Our possessions, our traditions, our location, our money, our time. Think of even the best of things that people put their hope in: Their town, their friends, their family, their kids. I heard a pastor share a story of the danger of putting one’s hope in the pastor of the church. I promise you this, FBC Salem, as long as God calls me here, you might find people who preach better but you will find no person who preaches a better Savior. I can’t promise you that people will be saved when they come to this church, but I can promise you that every Sunday in this pulpit people will hear of the reality of their sin and the provision of salvation by grace through faith in Christ. You will hear that Gospel message preached every single week. Beyond that? I’ve been let down by pastors before - and I believe that you have too. That’s not my intention - but I’m a human with flaws, mistakes, and sins, ask my wife about them. I’m finite. If you place your hope in a person, you will be let down. My eyes are on Jesus. All of my eggs are in Jesus’ basket. All of my hope is in Him. Is anyone else there with me? Whenever we place our hope and confidence in anything other than Jesus, we run the risk of being let down. But Jesus has a perfect track record of success. Through His coming to earth, living a perfect life, dying for our sins on the cross, raising from the grave, and ascending back to heaven, there is a joy that this world can’t touch.

That doesn’t mean this world won’t try to touch your joy. It will try. The enemy will throw every tool in his disposal to get you and I to lose heart. Even within our family and church family, there are circumstance that arise where we are tempted to lose our joy. That’s why this Christmas season it is imperative to look to the text at Who Jesus is and What Jesus has done. To gather with one another this Christmas season as the body of Christ and “repeat the sounding joy” as we’ll sing on Christmas Eve. Why? Experiences fade. Seasons come and go. People change. But Jesus stays the same. In Jesus, death leads to life. He is our hope every step of the way because He gives us a joy that lasts. Understand, friend, we can have Joy while we Wait because God is always on time and always gives us exactly what we need. The Christmas season is all about waiting and if we’re honest with one another, we don’t wait too well. While we wait on the Lord, we can still have joy as He always comes through. He always provides. It is impossible for God to be anything other than faithful. We see that as we look to the cradle and we see that as we look to the cross and we know that will still be true whenever every knee bows and Jesus wears that crown that only He is qualified to wear as the King of Creation.

So, why do we have joy during the Christmas season? It’s all because of Jesus!

There is Joy in Serving because our Savior came to Serve

Jesus could have demanded to be served by others and refuse to give His life for sinners. He didn’t deserve to die. He wasn’t forced to serve sinners. Yet He did - and He still does serve His people as our mediator between ourselves and our Heavenly Father. There is joy in serving because our Savior came to serve. If you get to a point where serving is beneath you, leading is above you. If you want to find people to lead, look for those who have a heart to serve. Christ’s people have historically been a serving people and we must be known as a people who serve with joy, not because it’s easy but because it’s what Christ commands.

There is Joy in Life because our Savior came to Save

This doesn’t mean that life is always easy or favorable or simple. It simply means that as we go through this life, there is joy available for us at every turn as we look to Jesus because He came to seek and save the lost. If you are saved today, that means that you have been brought from death to life and that means that your life is not your own. Your life’s purpose is to tell others about your Savior. As you think about what Jesus has done in your life, that must bring about a deep joy.

There is Joy in Death because Death brings us to our Savior

There are people who can fake it until they make it a lot of the time when it comes to getting through hard times and suffering with pain and loss. But the Christian is the only person who can have a genuine joy at the prospect of death. No faking it. Because God sent His Son into this world and because that baby in the cradle grew up to be the God-man who took our place on the cross of calvary, we can have joy in the good days and the bad days. Joy doesn’t wipe away the pain, but pain can’t touch your joy. Christlike joy thrives during seasons of pain because all that pain can do is force you to look up and bring you eventually to your Savior. That, my friends, brings us joy even in times of sorrow.