Behold the Savior

Christmas Story Reading Week 2

Our reading of the Christmas Story this week comes from the Gospel of Matthew beginning verse 18 of chapter 1 and continuing through to verse 12 of chapter 2

Matthew 1:18–2:12 LSB

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the One who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” And Joseph got up from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” And when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring of them where the Christ was to be born. And they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Leader Who will shepherd My people Israel.’” Then Herod secretly called the magi and carefully determined from them the time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” Now after hearing the king, they went their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, was going on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And after coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi departed for their own country by another way.

Introduction

This morning, as we continue in our Christmas series with the focus of examining the encounters with Christ, we come to a very well known encounter. Christmas is typically one of two times in the year when we see a rise in church attendance, the other being Easter. During Christmastime the churches fill because the message of Christmas is one of hope and peace, there are typically plays, singing's, performances, and events of all shapes and sizes that take place during this specific time of year. Churches focus in on making sure that the birth of the Savior is proclaimed, rightly pronouncing that His birth offers peace, love, joy and hope.

But there is an issue…there is a problem with our execution of the command that God has given us. Amazingly enough, although we lift our voices in song, proclaim the truth of the incarnation of Christ, talk at lengths about the pronouncement of the angels, the worship of the shepherds and the adoration of the magi, and the promises that are secured in Christ’s birth, even to the point of calling people to have faith in Christ, we do not follow through. In our production driven society and churches, we are all about the numbers of people who have professed faith.

Do not misunderstand, professions of faith are vital, they are the reality after all of salvation. Romans 10:9–10 state “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation.” The issue is that we accept a profession of faith as a conclusion to the story, we have believed the great lie that starts with “did He really say” and goes on to question the word of God that repeatedly tells us that there are those who will profess, proclaim, and even live for a time as if they are believers, yet ultimately they will fall away as those who have not believed the word of God.

John 6:64–66 LSB

“But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples went away and were not walking with Him anymore.

Matthew 7:21–23 LSB

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, in Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

Do not misunderstand, this is not a call to a different salvation. Salvation has been, is, and always will be by faith in Christ through grace, Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast.” BUT it generates within us a change, Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” and that change leads to a life that is marked by obedience to God and His Word and the problem is within the church we do not hold each other accountable to the word of God as evidence of a life submitted to God as a RESULT of the FAITH that we PROFESS.

In our text for this morning, we will read of an encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus, a story that we are all very familiar with, one that includes what is arguably the most famous verse in all of Scripture, John 3:16. This morning as we look at this encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus, let us be mindful that during this time of the year, as we celebrate the first advent, or coming, of our Lord and Savior, that He came to provide salvation

Text

Please stand as we hear the word of the Lord

John 3:1–21 LSB

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. “That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness of what we have seen, and you do not accept our witness. “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? “And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been done by God.”

Father, we thank You for Your Holy Word, for it’s principles, it’s promises, it’s directions, and it’s light. As we partake of Your Word this morning, may we learn more of Christ, remind us of how dear He is to us, by the washing of water with the Word. We are one with Him by faith according to Your Word. Lord we humbly ask that our hearts are form according to Your Word in the the image of Thy Son. Father, we pray that Your words are written on our hearts and inscribed upon our lips. We ask that you take full possession of our hearts, that you would reign supreme within us, grant us the strength to be attentive to our condition and character, let our speech be edifying, our hearts diligent, let us fleeing from temptation, let us mortify our sin, and let us be concerned about the salvation of other, for Your names sake and Your glory above all. Father we ask these things in the blessed name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

By Night

The Christmas season exists for one reason because a Savior was born. The reality of the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ was so striking that it has literally split time in two. We mark the passage of time by minutes, hours, days, months and years. If we stretch this out it becomes decades, centuries and millennia, but our very calendars stand as testaments to the reality that something happened that forever altered the world. In relatively recent years, in an effort to subdue and suppress the truth, the terms have become CE or current/common era and BCE or before current/common era. These two terms were introduced in the 1700s by Jewish Scholars who did not wish to conform to using the standard that was developed 1200 years earlier. The original marking of time was notes as BC and AD. These terms stand for Before Christ and Anno Domini or “in the year of our Lord”. It doesn not take a person very long to recognize the reason why BC and AD are being pushed out. However, even if you use the different language or initials, you still have the same truth behind them…namely that something happened to change history forever, and regardless of how desperately the world desires to suppress it, the fact remains, God became flesh for the purpose of reconciling His people to Himeslf.

As we take a look at our text for this morning, we will not be dealing with the entirety of the passage, but rather focusing in on a truth taught here by Christ. Most people who have attended church for any length of time know two things specifically about this particular passage: 1. That it is the record of conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus and 2. That it contains John 3:16. For many, those two details are all that they feel that they need to know. They satisfy themselves by saving that God loved everyone so much that He sent is son so that they might not perish, but have everlasting life, and they solidify this because the words are written in red which means that they are the words of Christ. Before we proceed, let’s be sure that we understand the yes, God loved the world so much that He sent His Son so that THOSE who BELIEVE would not perish and absolutely it is the Word of God, not because it is in red ink, but because ALL of Scripture is the Word of God.

There is, however, another issue that we must deal with, and it is an extremely important issue. I am not sure how many of you have ever noticed this, but there are a few verses that we have to work through before we ever get to verse 16… in fact there are exactly 15 of them that lead us up to the truth revealed in verse 16 and if we want to really understand what is happening in this passage we also need to take into consideration the last three verses of chapter 2. All of these verses are important and have a direct impact on our understanding of verse 16.

So, let’s set the stage for a moment by reading the last three verses of chapter 2 and the first couple of verses of chapter three

John 2:23–25“Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, when they saw His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He had no need that anyone bear witness concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

John 3:1–2 “Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.””

It is important to note the context in which we find ourselves at the beginning of Chapter 3 which is that of Jesus seeing false conversions happen as a result of the “signs which He was doing”. They were not finding hope in Him as Lord and Savior but as at that of a miracle-worker only. Notice the text says, “But Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, for He Himself knew what was in man…being sin. It is important that we recognize this as the backdrop for Nicodemus’ visit, it is why Christ replies to Him in the manner that He does.

The next thing to note regarding the scene that is playing out before us is that Nicodemus approaches Jesus at night. It is likely, given what we know of Nicodemus at this point, to imagine that he comes secretly, knowing that this visit, if made during the day when there were many eyes on him, could have been interpreted by those watching as either a statement by Nicodemus that the Pharisees and possibly the Sanhedrin backed Jesus or that Nicodemus was standing against the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin. It is also a possibility that given the busy nature of both of these men it would have made more sense to visit during the evening when they would have been more readily available. In either case, Nicodemus comes to Jesus, and he does so with the idea of a conversation on his mind.

By calling Jesus, Rabbi and a teacher from God, Nicodemus is elevating Jesus from what would be His normal status of that as a carpenter from the back water town of Nazareth in Galilee to one of equal footing with himself and the others within the ruling order of the Jews who hold the same views as Nicodemus, note the plural we in Nicodemus’ opening statement. The link between verses 23-25 of Chapter 2 and this nighttime visit is found at the end of verse 2 “for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” letting us know that, like the many witnesses, Nicodemus was focused on the signs and not the true reason that He had come, the salvation of His people.

Visions of Heaven and the Kingdom

From Jesus’ reply to Nicodemus, it is clear that the man has visited for a deeper reason, even if he himself is not fully aware of what is happening. As Nicodemus remarks on the teaching ability and miraculous works of Christ, Jesus replies by cutting through to the heart of the matter. Verse 3 provides us with one of the most prolific statements in the entirety of Christendom. If verse 16 is the most famous verse, then the phrase “born again” is the most famous phrase. It has become a rally cry of the evangelists and preachers, and rightly so, but the issue is that we fail to flesh out what this truly means and we leave people with the idea that this is something that they can make happen by a decision that they make apart from anything else.

Even when we hold the best intentions in our proclamations of the message that in order to be saved you must be born again, we fall short if we are not clear that this is a work of the Holy Spirit within our lives and not an action that we take. Left to ourselves, we would be much like Nicodemus here when he responds, but before we get that far, we need to look closely at verse 3 which reads John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.””

The first thing that we need to note here is that Jesus opens this statement by literally stating “the faithful and true one faithfully and truly says” or “most certainly, most certainly”. Jesus, the Son of God, God Incarnate, the Living Word, wants Nicodemus to understand the severity and truthfulness of His words. In Scripture, when we see things repeated, it is typically to call direct attention to something or to elevate it to a higher degree, here Jesus is elevating the truthfulness of this statement to a level that says that this is an objective truth. When something is an objective truth, it means that the truth is found in the source or the object of the claim, in this case, Christ. When the object is the source, and because Christ is God in the flesh, and God is immutable, without change, and eternal, without end, then the facts surrounding the claim do not and cannot change, regardless of your opinion, feelings, thoughts, desires, statements, beliefs and claims. You cannot identify your way out of this claim.

The claim, “unless a one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” is a forceful one, it is a claim that rips at the very fabric of our natural understanding, bewildering us in such away that we are forced to deal with it, we have no choice. As we read this verse in the context of modern Christianity our eyes are immediately drawn to the words “born again”. However, as much as we are pulled to those words, we must force ourselves to consider entire statement. Let’s turn our focus to the second part of the clause first “he cannot see the kingdom of God”.

The adverb here, cannot, is modifying the verb, see. The verb see is important because, like with Nicodemus last week, this word carries with it far more than just the physical ability. The see here is speaking directly in regards to the kingdom of God, so the question becomes what is meant by this statement. If you were to leave this place today and poll the Christians in the local churches in the surrounding areas “what is the kingdom of God” you are likely to receive, regardless of denomination, a one word response, heaven.

If you are to press the conversation somewhat you would learn that for most, heaven, is that place where we go when we die to be with God. That our souls journey to a resting place on nice white fluffy clouds with small fat little angels floating around with harps singing to and for us. There we will live in our dream home, on our dream estate, where we have no worries or cares, and that does sound great…but this is NOT what is in view here. To be sure, the finally fulfilled and perfected kingdom of glory is in view, but there is a closer truth that strikes faster and harder, and the reality of this makes this entire response of Jesus a very hard pill for many to swallow.

John MacArthur writes regarding this kingdom of God

“He is specifically speaking of the kingdom of salvation, the spiritual realm where those who have been born again by divine power through faith now live under the rulership of God mediated through His Son.”

- John F. MacArthur Jr., John 1–11, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 2006), 102.

In other words, the kingdom in view here is not some far distant future kingdom that we will only see when we die, this is right here, right now. This is the already aspect of the kingdom. When we truly understand what it is that Jesus is emphatically, truthfully truthfully, verily verily, stating for us here, our world is turned upside down. Later in this chapter we understand the benefits of faith in Christ to be that we shall not perish, that we will have everlasting life, that we will forgo judgement because our price was paid by the blood of Christ, BUT before we ever get to that part, before we can understand that part, before we can even SEE that part, Jesus says we must be born again.

Regeneration

This brings us to a very difficult truth of Scripture…one that is clearly taught, right here in verse 3…regeneration. Yep, your heard me rightly, that big, churchy, word that people just do not like, but one that is absolutely essential that we deal with. In the text, the original Greek can be translated as born again or born from above. The term regeneration is not actually found in this text, which leads some to say that it is not biblical, but if we look at the definition of the word, regeneration, this is what we find:

Regeneration - the act of regenerating (to effect a complete moral reform, to produce anew); state of being regenerated (to effect a complete moral reform, to produce anew) and these are the secular definitions, theologically speaking it is defined as:

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Regeneration

The transformation of a person’s spiritual condition from death to life through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not by works which we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,” literally contains the Greek word that is translated as regeneration or renewal.

The real reason that this is a sensitive topic, however, truly has nothing to do with the word but with the condition of the heart. When we look at the overall development of Jesus’ teaching here in John 3, He makes it crystal clear that this is an imperative action that must occur before the kingdom can be seen or understood. in verse 5, responding to Nicodemus’ question regarding the ability of a man to rebirth himself, Jesus says John 3:5 “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Again, briefly, this is not referring to heaven, or New Jerusalem, but the right here, right now kingdom.

Follow me here for a moment, in verse 3, Jesus says you cannot see (understand) and in verse 5 He says you cannot enter that kingdom, UNLESS you have been born of water and the Spirit. So, we now have a dilemma that we need to resolve. In verses 15, 16, and 18, Jesus makes it clear that faith is required for eternal life. In verses 3, 5 and 7 He says we must be born again. The conclusion that many people draw then becomes one of being born again and faith or belief are the same action…but upon closer inspection, we quickly find that they are not.

In 1 Corinthians 1:18 the Apostle Paul writes - “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” So, walk through this with me for just a moment. 1 Corinthians is clearly drawing a line between those that are lost and those that are being saved, that line being an understanding of the Word of God. As Jesus has pointed our to Nicodemus, we cannot see or enter the kingdom apart from being born again, being made new, being, dare I say it again, regenerated. He also tells Nicodemus that this is an action of the Holy Spirit, not something that we can accomplish, note verse 6 John 3:6 ““That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit.” Anything we do in our flesh will only yield one thing…flesh. It is therefore only possible for this to occur by an action of the Spirit and the Spirit alone.

In Romans 10:11–15 Paul writes to the church at Rome “For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes upon Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him, for “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim good news of good things!””

Pay close attention to the questions Paul asks, “how can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How can they believe in Him whom they have not heard?” In order to believe, one must hear, behind this is a truth of some level of understanding. It is not necessary, nor will it be that the one who believe’s comes into the kingdom with full knowledge, but they must come with some knowledge. They must be aware, at a minimum of their great sin and need of a Savior and that this Savior is none other than Christ, but how can they ever attain that if the Word is foolishness to those who are perishing, which is every unbeliever, period.

Spurgeon remarked in a sermon he gave on this passage:

The New Park Street Pulpit Sermons, Vol. III Regeneration (No. 130)

“Except a man be born again,” he cannot know about heavenly things on earth, and he cannot enjoy heavenly blessings for ever, “he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

It is necessary that a change occur in us before we can begin to comprehend the sweetness of the Salvation of God through Jesus Christ. It is a difficult word, a challenge to the core of who we are as individuals because we have been conditioned from birth by the world to be independent, to be strong, to be resilient but it is necessary to humble ourselves before God, to fully and wholly rely on Him and Him alone for all of our needs. In that same sermon Spurgeon stated regarding the subject of regeneration:

The New Park Street Pulpit Sermons, Vol. III Regeneration (No. 130)

It is one of absolute and vital importance; it is the hinge of the gospel; it is the point upon which most Christians are agreed, yea, all who are Christians in sincerity and truth. It is a subject which lies at the very basis of salvation. It is the very groundwork of our hopes for heaven; and as we ought to be very careful of the basement of our structure, so should we be very diligent to take heed that we are really born again, and that we have made sure work of it for eternity. There are many who fancy they are born again who are not.

Conclusion

And so, dear friends, as we bring this message to its conclusion, let us not leave this moment with mere thoughts or fleeting sentiments. Instead, let us recognize the weight of what we have heard today. The Word of God is clear: salvation is the work of God through divine regeneration brought about by the Holy Spirit, “whereby the unwilling sinner is made willing, the desperately hard sinner has his conscience made tender; and he who rejected God and despised Christ, is brought to cast himself down at the feet of Jesus” (Spurgeon). That the entirety of salvation is of God and not by human effort or decision. It is a humbling truth, a truth that strips us of all pretense, a truth that strips us of all self-reliance, and leaves us wholly dependent on the mercy and grace of Almighty God.

We are reminded, through this encounter, that this truth is not a call to despair but to hope—a hope anchored in the perfect and finished work of Christ. This Christmas season, as we celebrate the incarnation, let us remember that Christ did not come simply to inspire or instruct, but to save, to redeem, to reconcile us to God through His life, death, and resurrection.

Let us leave here today not only as hearers of the Word but as those who are transformed by it, walking in obedience, holding one another accountable, and proclaiming the truth with clarity and conviction. May the birth of Christ not be a momentary celebration but a continual reality that shapes our lives, our worship, and our witness.

And now, as we go forth, may the Spirit of God strengthen and sustain us, enabling us to live as citizens of His kingdom, reflecting the glory of our Savior in all that we say and do. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Lord God in the highest Heaven, Our prayer this morning is that you would take full possession and reign supreme in our hearts. You alone are worthy to be praised with our every breath, loved by every portion of our beings, and served with every aspect of our lives. Lord, you have loved us, received us, purchased us, washed us, favored us, clothed us and adorned us for Your glory. Your spirit has regenerated us, bringing us into a new life, giving us the ability to see Your kingdom and opening Your word to us as a light, guide, comfort and joy! We know an unending peace because of the Christ. Help us now to walk worthy of your love, keep us for we cannot keep ourselves, protect us from evil and help us to lay aside every sin. Grant it to us that we continual walk by Your Word, lean on Your Truth, and come before Your throne in prayer and to commune with You. We ask these things in the blessed name of the one whose death is our life, whose resurrection is our peace and whose ascension is our hope, Your Son, Christ Jesus, Amen.