Seeing Jesus in the Nativity

Introduction

Nativity Video

Tension

Good Morning Church and Merry Christmas...

I know that Christmas was a few days ago and many of us just finished working through our post Christmas blues and I am not trying to reawaken such things but I often try to take our Christmas series at least one more week after the big day. Because even though our Christmas holiday is just one day on the Calendar, the Advent of Jesus should continue to reverberate into the rest of our year.

Remember when we started this series we unpacked a couple of Christmas words from their Latin origins. We get our words “Advent” and “Nativity” from the Latin words “Adventus” means arrival and “Nativitas” meaning birth. And notice how neither of those words indicate any king of are endings… they are both the beginning of something. An arrival happens at the beginning of a story and a birth happens at the beginning of a life!

Luke 2:6–7 (ESV)

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

That may sound to us like a curtain call, but in reality it is the opening act. The Advent of Jesus in the Nativity scene is the start of something… not the end of it.

Luke 2:11–12 (ESV)

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

Maybe you are still trying to hold onto something of the feel of the Christmas season or maybe you are one of those people who have already put it behind you in order to jump back to your daily life but either way the story of Jesus being born is not something that we pack away in boxes and walk back to the attic. It is not something to look back on as a sweet memory, it is something to grab a hold of as it changes every season of your life.

The long awaited Savior has been born, he is Christ the Lord.

In this final message of our Advent series we are going to go back and look even closer at the Wise men, the Shepherds, Joseph, and Mary and try to see Jesus in their story. Not just his central role of lying there sweetly in the manger, but how that beginning was lived out in the core mission of His life.

Let’s stop and pray then we will get into that together.

Truth

Our first message in the series focused on the Magi or the wisemen who came from the East and…

Like the Wise Men: Jesus Made A Long Journey Bringing Precious Gifts

We began our Advent series with the Wise Men, but not because they were first to arrive. In fact they probably didn’t arrive until a couple of years after Jesus was born, but we began with them because we had just come off of our series in the book of Daniel where the Wise Men play a pivotal role.

And we will return to the second half of the book of Daniel next Sunday, but these guys were certainly not the same Wise men from Daniel because these two stories took place hundreds of years apart. However, it is likely that these men who came to seek the one born King of the Jews learned of such things from the legacy of Daniel and the other exiles in Babylon.

If that is true, then these Wise Men traveled a grueling 900 miles from their elaborate palaces in Babylon to the humble house in Bethlehem to bring their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. That certainly was a long journey, especially in their day, but it pales in comparison to the distance that Jesus journeyed to bring us His gift.

The story of Jesus’ life is contained in the first 4 books of the New Testament. These are biographies that we typical call “The Gospels” of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. Throughout this series we have been primarily bouncing back and forth between Matthew and Luke because they give us the details of Jesus’ birth.

Mark was the first and shortest of these gospels to be written and circulated. Considered something like the “cliff note” version, it begins with Jesus’ baptism and public ministry at about age 30. The other Gospel, the Gospel of John was the last one written. As such it was not really written to tell the story of Jesus, most people already knew it, but more to convince people that it was true.

So John opens up his biography of Jesus in the way of the Greek philosophers of his day. These philosophers would often used the term “logos”, or “Word” in English, to describe the core element of our world, the force that created and sustains our known universe. So to make his point, John borrows that terminology and applies it very accurately to describe the “God-Man” Jesus.

So the Gospel of John actually opens up telling the story of Jesus as he was before He was even born into our world. Before he was “wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger”. He descibes it like this:

John 1:1–5 (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.

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

Moving then down to verse 14 we read…

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.

The opening lines of the gospel of John explain that before Jesus was born in a manger, in fact before anything on earth even existed, Jesus dwelt in perfect unity and love with the Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit in heaven. Our understanding of his journey to “become flesh” is that Jesus left the glory of heaven, put on human form and then was born in a manger to bring us his very special gift.

What was the gift that Jesus brought us? It was more valuable than gold, sweeter than Myrrh, and smelled better than frankincense.

John goes on to describe this gift a couple of chapters later in one of the most well known verses in all of the Bible. It is so well known because Christians have used it for generations as a great summary verse for the message of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus. It is John 3:16 which says:

John 3:16–17 (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.

The gift Jesus was bringing was, in fact, himself! Jesus made the longest journey, from heaven to earth, in order to deliver to us the greatest gift that has ever been given. We could never measure that kind of distance or the value of that kind of gift.

Romans 6:23 (ESV) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

These “wages” is what we have earned. It is the consequences of many choices to not do or be what God designed us to do or be. In short, we are ALL on the naughty list! Thankfully the true story of Christmas doesn’t operate like the legendary one. Because God knows that no amount of “nice” can earn our way back to perfect. So if we were gonna get the gift Jesus came to give... then it would have be freely given and not earned.

This free gift of God is free to us, but understand that it cost Jesus dearly!

So when we look at the wisemen with their treasures, lets remember the greater journey that our Savior made to bring us a much greater gift at a much higher cost!

Secondly,

Like Joseph: Jesus Chooses Mercy Over The Law

Our second message in this series led us to focus in on Joseph, likely the most overlooked character in the Nativity. Sure, we need him to complete our picture, standing tall and watching over his wife Mary and baby Jesus... but we see in his character much more than just a figure head.

The gospels don’t tell us anything more about Joseph past Luke chapter 2, but what we read about him prior to that is pretty significant. He was a righteous man. A good man. He was also a man who chose mercy over the law.

Remember how Joseph had made plans to “quietly divorce Mary” when he learned that she was pregnant with someone else’s baby? Now we know the rest of the story and how there was no wrong doing on Mary’s part, quite the opposite actually, but even before Joseph knew this... he still decided to handle things “quietly”.

This speaks volumes of Joseph’s character. And sure eventually heaven would intervene, and Joseph would know the truth about where this baby came from, but his initial response to all of this is so telling. And this son that Joseph raised as his own would grow up to demonstrate an even greater love for mercy.

On one occasion, Jesus was eating dinner with his new disciple Matthew when several of his tax collector friends of questionable character stopped by. Jesus began eating with them, enjoying their company and extending to them the love and mercy of God. A love and mercy that the rest of Jewish community failed to ever offer. And this didn’t sit well with the religious leaders of the day.

We find the story in Matthew chapter 9 where it says:

Matthew 9:10–11 (ESV)

And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.

And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

Notice how they don’t confront Jesus, they go after his new followers instead…

Matthew 9:12–13 (ESV)

But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

And this isn’t just some witty saying about mercy that Jesus made up on the spot, He is quoting the prophecy of Hosea. A prophecy that these so called “teachers of the law” should have known well but apparently had overlooked for the more beneficial aspects of God’s law.

Grace & Mercy

And to understand what the Biblical principle of “mercy” is all about I find it helpful to compare it to the different but closely related Biblical principle of “Grace”.

Grace is getting something good that you don’t deserve. Like being given a gift.

A real gift can’t be earned, even by being on the nice list, because then it is actually owed to the person and so no longer a gift but an obligation. Grace is a true gift. It is getting something good, when you don’t deserve it.

Mercy is not getting something bad when you do deserve it. Like being forgiven of a punishment.

The Advent of Jesus was the greatest gift, or grace, we have ever recieved, but Jesus is also the ultimate man of mercy. He would show it and teach it throughout his time walking in our world. Even with some of his last breaths here on earth he declared to those who were actively torturing him to death through crucifixion… And Jesus said“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) In other words, “Show them mercy.”

Jesus would make a long journey to share the good news of the gift of God’s love and teach the world what mercy looked like.

Then last Sunday we looked at the story of Mary, and

Like Mary: Jesus Chose God’s Will Over His Own

Before any of the rest of the scenes of the Advent story could take place… Mary had to say “yes.” That was a big powerful “yes”. One surely bigger than Mary could have expected in that moment as the Angel Gabriel stood before her. But do you remember her response? She said…

Luke 1:38 (ESV)

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

She probably still had questions about how all this was going to come about, but she resolved herself to the will of the Father. In a similar way, this baby of hers would grow up and say: “Not my will but yours be done.”

We recognize those words as the final declaration of Jesus as he struggled against the idea of the cross in the garden of Gethsemane the night before he faced the agony of the cross. His flesh cried out, “Father let this cup pass from me” but his mission prevailed with “Not my will but yours be done”.

But long before he would pray that in the garden, he consistently taught this as the guiding principle of his life... and so it should be a guiding principle in everyone who follows Him. Jesus said:

John 6:38 (ESV)

For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

And He would teach his followers to pray:

Matthew 6:10 (ESV)

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

And yes, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus himself would pray:

Luke 22:42 (ESV)

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

Weakened by his human form, Jesus had to intentionally choose the will of the Father over his own human will in order to be successful in the mission that He came from heaven to accomplish. We have to do the same thing.

And his trip from heaven to earth to deliver God’s gift of love and mercy was no vacation. It was a mission. A rescue mission to save the world from the “wages of [our] sin” by receiving the free gift of God when we put our faith and trust in Jesus.

And lastly…

Like the Shepherds: Jesus Proclaims The Good News For Everyone

If you were able to be with us on Christmas Eve we took a look at the role of the Shepherds in the Nativity story. Specifically we emphasized how even though they never stopped being Shepherds, their experience with Jesus the Messiah made them evangelists… or those who share the “good news”.

Good news that was first delivered to them by the angel. Remember when he said to them:

Luke 2:10–11 (ESV) ...“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

And we love that iconic scene were the grimy shepherds arrive and peer over the manger sides to see the new born Jesus all bundled up is swaddling clothes. But that moment is actually sandwiched between two great declarations of the “Good News” of Jesus. The one that brought them into this moment was from the angels, but the one they bring from here was from their own experience with Jesus.

Luke 2:17–18 (ESV)

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

This is the pattern for each of us to follow. The Shepherds heard about Jesus, encountered Him personally and then they told everyone who would listen of the Good News of the arrival of Jesus the Christ child.

We don’t often think of Jesus as an evangelist. A preacher, yes. A teacher, for sure. A Miracle worker? You bet... but an evangelist? Maybe because a big part of the “Good News” that we share about Jesus actually happened after Jesus died and rose again.

But did you know that Jesus said that the preaching the “good news” of the Kingdom of God was one of the main reasons that He was sent?

In Luke chapter 4 Jesus has just begun his teaching, preaching and healing ministry and it says:

Luke 4:42–44 (ESV)

And when it was day, he [Jesus] departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

You see the people seeking him wanted more of his teaching, preaching and especially his miraculous healing… but they had already heard the Good News. All of those other things were secondary to Jesus’ primary purpose. They were just evidence to prove that Jesus was who he claimed to be and that He could do what he came to do. Jesus mission was much greater than just preaching, teaching and offering temporary healing.

So he says, “I must proclaim the good news for others”! That is why Jesus made that long journey. He came as the gift, the gift of an invitation to live eternally in the Kingdom of God. And He wanted as many people as possible to recognize and respond to this Good News.

Like the Wisemen, Jesus Made a long journey bearing gifts

Like Joseph, Jesus Chooses Mercy over the law

Like Mary, Jesus chose the will of the Father over his own will

Like the Shepherds Jesus proclaims the good news for everyone

and lastly...

Like Jesus: We can do these things too.

No doubt, the most important person in the nativity is the baby Jesus. He is the gift, the good news, the mercy found in a manger, and God’s good and perfect will for us all. While we can and should see all those things when we look at that little baby, we can also remember the words of the grown-up Jesus when He said:

John 14:12 (ESV)

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

What a statement! Jesus must see something in us that we don’t see in ourselves. More likely Jesus sees that we are only using a small portion of the gift that we have been given in Him. How is it even possible that you or I could do “greater works” than Jesus did? Because we have been given his Spirit to do them.

Gospel Application

Jesus left the gift of His “Spirit-filled” Church for a reason.

So that like Jesus... we too would go out of our way to journey with others in need and offer them the gift of Christian fellowship and help meet any practical needs they might have.

And like Jesus… we too might find ourselves enjoying the company of those who others have rejected, encouraging them and extending to them the gift of God’s love and mercy that we so richly enjoy.

And like Jesus… we would pray those dangerous words… Not my will Lord, but thy will be done… and may they not just be empty words but evidenced in our lives.

And like Jesus… we would not loose track of our mission to declare the Gospel, the good news of Jesus to each other, our families, neighbors, communities and world.

Landing

So as you find yourself cleaning up from the Christmas holiday and maybe especially as you pack away your Nativity set at home, stop and try to recall how each one of those figures represent more than just a seasonal story we focus on once a year.

They represent many different roles that Jesus perfectly played in our rescue mission. And in response, we have been given a mission.

In order to not leave out the small little Gospel of Mark, I will use his words to describe one of the last things that Jesus told us to do as we follow His perfect example.

Mark 16:15 (ESV)

And he [Jesus] said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

Because the Christmas story, the Story of Advent, the Story of the Nativity is a beginning and not an end.

Let’s pray into that together.