What Child is This?
Notes
Transcript
Prayer
Today we are focusing our attention on the love of God during our last Sunday morning of Advent, preparing our hearts for Christmas Day. And the theme this week is love.
Perhaps the most recognizable verse in all of Scripture gives us the reason we celebrate Christmas and it has already been read for us today but let us look at it again.
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
God loves the world so much that he sent his son into the world that whoever believes in Him, would never perish. But have everlasting life.
Homemade bread...stale bread...store bought bread. I believe sometimes we let things in our life go stale...
In your relationship with God what is stale? What have you neglected that has become hardened and no longer satisfies your hungry soul?
At the same time, there are some of us who don’t remember or know what real, good homemade bread is like and so we settle for the artificially preserved store bought bread. It’s a cheap imitation of what can be such a filling and wholesome meal.
What areas of your life have you settled for less than what God has for you?
Why am I asking these questions? Well I believe there are certain songs of the faith that we neglect...because of the season. And so they get stale and maybe when we have the opportunity to sing them as a church, we don’t even recognize how amazing these songs truly are! How wholesome and filling and rich in scriptural truths they are!!!
And during our examination of some very popular Christmas Hymns, today we are going to use the Hymn, Oh Holy Night to try to answer this question in more depth. Why did God send the Savior as a helpless child, given to us through a young virgin named Mary, the betrothed of Joseph, a carpenter, born in a stable, laid in a manger and worshipped by Shepherds and Kings.
Verse One: What child is this?
Verse One: What child is this?
Asks a rhetorical question…and then immediately answers the Question…
What child is this, who, laid to rest
On Mary's lap, is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste to bring him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary.
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Who is this child? He is the King. He is the Messiah, The Lord. He is the Savior. And we are invited to go and give him laud.
What is Laud anyways?
Because it sounds like a name of something or someone you would meet back in an ol’ holler.
Haste, Haste to bring him praise…the babe the son of Mary.
Verse Two goes on to ask the question…
Verse Two goes on to ask the question…
Why the manger? Why the obscurity?
Why the manger? Why the obscurity?
Verse 2
Why lies he in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear: for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
Luke 2:12,16
12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
Why the manger, better first to ask what is a manger.
A feeding trough. And as we talked about a couple of weeks ago, there was no room for Joseph and Mary at the inn, but this isn’t a motel 6. This was most likely their relatives house, and instead of showing this bethrothed couple good hospitality, they were given a place to stay with the animals. And it’s in this obsure place, this humble beginnings that God sent his only son into this world.
Why the manger? Well this quote from Rev. Paul Levy rocked me this week…it’s from his Article, “The Condescending God.
“God became man and took on flesh. The Creator became a creature; the One who hung the stars lay helpless in a manger. The One who we teach our children is so big, so strong, and so mighty became so tiny, so weak, and so powerless. The King of the angels was made a little lower than the angels. The Creator of time entered time. The One whose everlasting arms are underneath His people lay vulnerable in his mother’s arms.” – “The Condescending God,” by Paul Levy
Why the manger?
The manger facilitated a metaphor—Newborn Jesus, the Bread of Life, lay in a feeding trough in the little town of Bethlehem, which means “the house of bread” in Hebrew. No other food has the power to give us everlasting life (John 6:51). No other nourishment can yield lasting joy (Jeremiah 15:16). Those who feast on this bread will never be hungry again (John 6:35).
The question Why lies he in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding is answered in Verse Two. The way that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords was going to bring salvation to all who come to bring him laud.
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Nails, spear shall pierce him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The babe, the son of Mary.
On Christmas eve, we are going to look more at the light of the World and the Word made flesh, but for now we shall take our attention to Verse 3.
Verse 3- Our response to the Good News
Verse 3- Our response to the Good News
Verse 3 introduces us to the wise men and how we are to respond to God’s invitation of love through this helpless babe.
So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king, to own him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone him.
Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy, for Christ is born,
The babe, the son of Mary.
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” 16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
It is such a weird thing to have what accounts to a horror story pasted right into the middle of the birth story of the Savior.
Enter Herod…
Herod I came to be known as Herod the Great and was also called King of the Jews. He ruled from 37 or 36 BC to 4 BC. He is mentioned in the New Testament in Matthew 2. Magi from the East came to Jerusalem looking for the one who had been born King of the Jews. Of course, this would arrest Herod’s attention, as this was his title. Herod called the scribes and determined that, according to prophecy, the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. As the magi left for Bethlehem to find the Messiah, Herod asked them to report back to him with the location of the newborn King “so that I too may go and worship him” (Matthew 2:8).
Of course, Herod had no such intentions. The magi find Jesus and worship Him, presenting their gifts to Him, but they are then warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod. When Herod realizes that the magi have not reported back to him, he is furious and calls for the slaughter of all the boys up to two years old in Bethlehem and the surrounding area, hoping to end the life of any potential rival. God warns Joseph that he needs to flee to Egypt with Jesus and Mary. Jesus is not harmed; however, there is a great slaughter of the innocents in and around Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16–18). Such is Herod the Great’s biblical legacy.
But what a stark contrast we have been given in these two biblical accounts of Matthew 2 and Luke 2.
In Luke 2 we have the invitation to the shepherds to come and worship the Savior of the world. The Messiah, the king of kings. These unnamed everyday people come and see everything that was made known to them from the angels. And they were so excited about the news, that they spread word concernding what they had witnessed…
Then in Matthew 2. God sent a sign in the heavens that these wise men, or Kings from the East noticed and they came to present the child with gifts…
Because the gospel, the good news that God loves this world so much that he sent his son into the world, not to condemn the world but to save the world through him is for everyone.
But pershaps even the most stark contrast that we get is the response of King Herod.
It’s tempting to think that he is just crazy. He kinda is, but we cannot rule out that Herod knew something. He understood the simple fact that if this baby, lying in a manger, born in a stable to this virgin and her carpenter husband is truly the King of Kings, then guess who isn’t King anymore.
And here we all are confronted with the hard but simple truth of the gospel. That God sent His son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
God loves us so much that He made him who knew no sin, because he was not born with a sinful nature. He was born of a virgin. Into this sin ridden world, he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. Not by our own works, but by His work on the cross are we saved. And by simple faith of believing in Christ and calling upon his name we are saved.
As Paul declares this truth in Romans 10:9-13
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Our response is do we believe in who God declared this child is. What Child is this…He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And our response needs to be on bended knee… to worship this newborn babe.
So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king, to own him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone him.
Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy, for Christ is born,
The babe, the son of Mary.
Because one day, each and every one of us will bow down our knee to this King.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
That is God’s amazing love. That he doesn’t desire anyone to perish, but for all to willingly come and praise, bring him laud. Raising his song on high.
Prayer:
Eternal God, whose Spirit whispers to us in the calm eventide, calls in the quiet dawn, broods over the great deep and dwells within the heart of man. We rejoice in how you have revealed yourself through the holy child of Bethlehem. Cleanse our eyes to see him. Let not our hearts be busy inns that have no room to receive him. Give us grace to bring him the fine gold of obedience, the fragrant incense of lowliness, and the healing myrrh of our heart’s devotion.
Help us to be obedient to the simple teachings of Jesus and responsive to his word. Help us also to live in the spirit of this gracious season. Teach us to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as you have forgiven us in Christ.
Teach us to be humble, for we know our weakness. Deliver us from foolish pride and vain conceit. Renew us in the gentle spirit of child like faith and help us to offer our Master the lowly heart that is his chosen dwelling place.
Would we be willing to kneel with the wise men and present our tribute of devotion. We bow down before the Son and offer him our love and loyalty. May we keep nothing back. Help us to make a complete surrender and to serve him with our whole heart, mind body and spirit.
Graciously bless those who show the Christmas spirit—who befriend the needy, gladden the hearts of children and radiate kindness and good cheer. Grant that through their own gentle ministries they may find gladness and comfort and peace.
Let your Spirit descend upon the youth of our fellowship. Open their eyes to beauty, their minds to joy and their hearts to Jesus. Make them strong in the days ahead to meet lifes challenges. Help them to rise to the opportunities that you present before them. And inspire them with eagerness to serve under the banner of the Prince of Peace.
We bring to you those who rejoice in newly found happiness and relationship with you. Set them apart and lift upon them the light of your countenance and give to them the joy of their salvation. May they serve you with gladness and praise you with joyful lips.
Father in heaven, through the year ahead, let your love be our light and your word our guide. May we have the assurance of your presence with us each and every day as we go forward. Guide us, fill us and lead us in the way everlasting. That everything we do will be for the glory of the one and only Son, our Savior…the babe born in a manger. And it’s in His precious name we pray. Amen.
