Christmas in Exile

Welcome

Well, good morning Lifepoint! If we haven’t met yet, my name is Dan and I serve here as the teaching pastor for the Worthington Campus. I’m really grateful you’re here with us today!

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We are continuing in short series leading up to Christmas [EXPAND to Connect to Bumper]. If you have a bible with you, meet me in Luke 2. Luke chapter 2 and we’ll be in the first 7 verses today.

And while you’re turning there…

Introduction:

[Connection to Bumper]

[Summary of Series: Week 1- Fear, Week 2 - Rejection, Week 3 - Longing]

Longing is a powerful emotion. It drives us, but it can also leave us aching. What happens when you never get what you’re longing for? Or what happens when you get it, and it's not enough?

I think we feel this most acutely around the holidays. When I was ten, December was pure electricity. The list was made, the parents were lobbied, and all that was left was the agonizing, wonderful wait for December 25th. That was longing. But as I got older, that electricity faded. Christmas became less about anticipation and more about obligation—a blizzard of events, recitals, and shopping.

We often try to fill that gap with the "Hallmark" version of Christmas—nostalgia, gifts, and happy endings. But sentimentality is weak medicine for real pain. What happens when the movie ends and you are still waiting for a diagnosis? Still waiting for a spouse? Still waiting for things to get better? A "Holly Jolly Christmas" doesn't fix that.

And that is why I am so grateful for the Bible. Because the true story of Christmas isn't a sentimental band-aid. If we look at the Gospel of Matthew today, we won't find a polished script. We find a story birthed right in the middle of sorrow, suffering, and fear. It is a story about deep, unresolved longing.

If there is one thing I want you to hear today, it is this: The life of a Christian is a life of Longing. But the good news is, we long with hope.So if you’re ready to see that, meet me in Matthew 1, verses 12-17. Let me pray, and we’ll get started.

So if you’re not there yet, open up to Matthew 1 and we’ll be starting out with vv. 12-17. I’ll Pray, and then we’ll get started.

PRAY

Genealogy:

Alright, let’s get going. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover! Matthew 1:12-17. This will be like our launching pad this morning.

Matthew 1:12–17 CSB

After the exile to Babylon, Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel fathered Abiud, Abiud fathered Eliakim, Eliakim fathered Azor, zor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, Achim fathered Eliud, Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, Matthan fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus who is called the Messiah.

Story of Phrases

I’ll be the first to admit, it’s a strange passage to build a sermon series off of!

But the more I’ve looked into these 16 verse-ones that, honestly, we usually skip right over, the more I’ve realized they are alive. They are alive with stories and themes that, just like intricate puzzle pieces, when put together, begin to form a very vivid picture for us...it’s like Matthew, the author, is giving us context for how we’re supposed to understand the birth of Jesus and what it means!

For Matthew’s original readers, largely a Jewish audience, each name on this list would have been like a trigger! Just seeing the names would bring up stories associated with that person.

But when you look closely, there’s an interesting detail that pops here…

Because while you would think a family tree like this would focus on people…this section focuses on an event, actually this is the only event mentioned in the genealogy; the Exile to Babylon. It’s mentioned right at the beginning of v. 12

But you get how this works. We all have those stories in our families that you almost always talk about (or maybe don’t talk about) when you get together. Memories is triggered by a single phrase!

But the question we’ve got to ask is why does Matthew bring up this memory? The Exile to Babylon? What is he trying to get across to us?

What is the Exile?

But before we can answer that, we need to know a little bit about this Exile.

What, When, and Why?

Some of you know the story already, but let me catch the rest of you up to speed.

The Exile refers to a specific moment in Biblical history when God’s people, living in the region of Judah were conquered by the Babylonian empire—it happened around 587 B.C. A lot of this is recorded in the Old Testament books of 1st and 2nd Chronicles—two books written after the Exile to help explain to God’s people why it happened in the first place.

We’re told right at the very end of the book of Second Chronicles:

2 Chronicles 36:17–20 ESV

17 Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 19 And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. 20 He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons…

Now, I want to hit pause for a second. Because I know how those verses land. We just read that 'God brought up the King of the Chaldeans' to destroy the city.

If you are exploring faith, or if you’re just paying attention, you might hear that and think, 'Wait, God did this? That sounds like a monster, not a loving Father.' And I want to validate that tension. It is terrifying.

But the biblical worldview holds two things together that are really hard for us to balance: God is a loving Father, but He is also a Just Judge. The backstory here isn't that God woke up angry one day. It’s that for hundreds of years, He protected His people while they chased after other things, oppressed the poor, and ignored Him.

Eventually, the most terrifying thing God can do is give us exactly what we ask for: life without His protection. He lifts His hand, and history takes its violent course. This isn't a tantrum; it's a judgment. And yet, if you read the prophets from this time, God isn't gleeful about it; He is heartbroken. He is a Father watching His children walk down a path of self-destruction, finally letting them face the consequences they insisted on.

So when the walls fall, it is tragic.

This is one of those things that, because we’re just so far removed from the event itself, it’s hard for us to even envision what this really would have been like.

Thousands and thousands of people were killed as the city was being raided. The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.

Thousands more enslaved.

A significant portion of the population, including the social elites were taken back to Babylon to live in exile—they were taken from their homeland and forced to live under foreign rule, with foreign customs.

Many of the survivors would have watched the Babylonians, not only destroy their homes, but demolish the Temple in Jerusalem.

And remember, the Temple was supposed to be the place where God dwelled. That was supposed to be the House of the Living God would would protect His people…who would fight for His people.

And so they didn’t just have their homes destroyed…the Exile to Babylon would have SEVERELY shaken the faith of His people. The question on everyone’s mind would have been, GOD, WHERE ARE YOU? HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN TO US? WHY?!?

God, how could you?

Which, if we’re honest, is a question some of us may be very familiar with.

Right around Thanksgiving and Christmas, some of us have these questions at the forefront of our minds.

We’re thinking about events and things that have happened to us….and ask:

God…why?

PAUSE

Why did you let that happen to me? Why did you take them from me?’

PAUSE

It’s a part of the year when we often have a heightened sense that things are not right in our lives…not the way they’re supposed to be…there is a deeper awareness of our longing for something more…something better…a longing for things to be made right.

In the rest of the Old Testament history…from this event…the Wxile…God’s people will never fully get over that.

Even when the temple is rebuilt some 70 years later, the ones who are they are weeping as they see it because the new one is nothing compared to the old one.

Transition:

So this is the event Matthew talks about in the genealogy.

But here’s my question that I couldn’t shake when I was looking at that passage of the last couple of weeks.

Why on earth would Matthew bring this up?

I mean if the genealogy is supposed to be like a crescendo…this drum roll leading up to the birth of Jesus…a climactic moment in ALL of human history….why is it that the one event mentioned here just happens to be the worst thing that ever happened to God’s people?

What’s that about?! Why bring it up? It’s not very jolly of him to do that!

But actually, if you look at the stage this morning, you see a picture of exactly what Matthew is doing.

If you’ve been here the last few weeks, you know this started as a pile of scattered trash—chaos. Last week it started to take shape. And today, you can see it forming a stable. But look closely: the stable is still made of the trash. We didn't throw the junk away and buy a nice polished wood set. The structure is made of the broken pieces.

That is exactly what this genealogy is. Matthew isn't hiding the 'trash' of their history—the scandals, the failures, the Exile. He is showing us that God takes the wreckage of our history and uses that as the raw material to build the story of redemption.

But then it hit me.

PAUSE

You see, I think there’s something quite profound about this reference to suffering and sorrow right here in the genealogy.

Something that is supposed to make us feel longing for things to be made right. That as Matthew see’s it…the Christmas story of the birth of Jesus has something very particular to offer to people who, far from having everything in their lives all put together in perfect…it’s a story that makes most sense in the midst of pain…and a longing for things to be made right.

Lamentations:

In the Old Testament, there is a book that speaks to the experience of someone with that kind of longing. It’s written from the perspective of someone who has watched the Exile take place.

It’s the short book of Lamentations.

If you’ve got a bible with you, it’s on page 685. If you brought your own bible…you’ll find Lamentations just to the right of the very middle…after the book of Jeremiah—and as always, the table of contents is your friend. No judgement here!

Lamentations.

It’s a smaller book in the Old Testament—one that we believe was written by the Prophet Jeremiah. And I think if there is any part of the Bible that captures for us, not just the STORY of the Exile that Matthew brings up, but also the emotion…the pain, sorrow, and longing instigated by the Exile, it’s this short book.

In the first two chapters, Jeremiah talks about the weeping and mourning of inhabitants of Jerusalem as they are watching the Exile take place.

Lamentations 1:16 ESV

16 “For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears; for a comforter is far from me, one to revive my spirit; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed.”

Lamentations 2:10–11 ESV

10 The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth; the young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground. 11 My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns; my bile is poured out to the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because infants and babies faint in the streets of the city.

That is a palpable grief.

Jeremiah is talking about a sorrow so deep that you begin to lose yourself—it makes you sick. It’s strong and grabs ahold of you, refusing to let go.

As you keep reading and make your way into chapter 3, Jeremiah begins to explain this sorrow and longing with some profound language.

Lamentations 3:16–20 ESV

16 He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; 17 my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; 18 so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.” 19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! 20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.

How many of you have been there?

PAUSE

Life feels, sometimes, like there is no peace.

You know that there should be more…you long for something more…but in the place you are now, it doesn’t feel like anything is left.

V. 17: “I have forgotten what happiness is…”

PAUSE

And I’ll be honest, this one of the reasons I can just get so bothered around Christmas time—and it’s not because I’m a Scrooge! It’s because so much of the way that Christmas is portrayed around culture today is that it’s some magical time of the year that somehow starts makes everything okay—you have signs all over buildings, the entire city decorated with signs of peace, hope, love, joy. Just in the US, we will spend BILLIONS of dollars on Christmas decorations alone.

As a society, we have become so enamored with cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies because they tell an easy story about how everything will eventually work out. I’m not just picking on Hallmark…Netflix and Amazon both make their own versions…And I’m not trying to rag on them or anyone who watches them! I recently watched one about a women who falls in love with a ghost who only has a physical body on Christmas Eve until he finds true love’s kiss--it was not my choice in movies that night—but guess what, everything worked out for that girl! It’s sappy…it’s sentimental. And I’ll be honest…it was a little ‘heart warming’. And the powers that be come out with new stories just like this every year!

But maybe it says something about our culture that we gravitate to stories and movies like this—maybe its an indication that we really are longing for SOMETHING to work out, right?! It’s because we know that a lot of times, things don't work out…at least not like that, with a nice little bow on top!

And some of you know this, maybe all to well, that when December 26th hits…and there’s no more music on the radio…there are no more trees in the windows and Christmas movies are over…you know that you will go back home and still be alone. You, or maybe someone you love, will still have a diagnosis. You will still be waiting/hoping for a job. You will still be depressed…and your anger has not be magical removed from your personality!

On December 26th you are longing for something greater than that! And a sentimental Christmas will have done nothing more than leave you feeling pretty empty—because the reality is, it takes more than sentiment to satisfy!

Now, before we move on, I want to address the skeptics in the room—or the skeptic inside your own head.

You might be thinking, 'Dan, this longing isn't spiritual. It's just a coping mechanism. Life is hard, so we invented the idea of a perfect world to make ourselves feel better.'

That is a fair push. But the great British thinker C.S. Lewis actually argued the exact opposite. He pointed out that, generally speaking, nature doesn't create a hunger for something that doesn't exist.

We feel hunger... and there is such a thing as food. We feel thirst... and there is such a thing as water.A duckling wants to swim... and there is such a thing as water.

We have physical appetites, and a physical world that meets them.

So Lewis asked: Why do we have this other deep, universal appetite? This longing for a world without death? A longing for perfect justice? A longing for a home we’ve never visited? If we are just biological accidents, why would we crave something that the material universe cannot provide?

In his book 'Mere Christianity', C.S. Lewis writes:

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”

See, your longing isn't a trick. It’s not a biological glitch. It is a clue. It’s a compass pointing you to the place you were actually made for.

And look, I know those verses from Lamentations 3, by themselves, are pretty bleak.

PAUSE

But Jeremiah the Prophet does not just leave us with an unfulfilled longing; because Lamentations is not just a book about sorrow and longing…it’s a book of profound hope in the midst of the deepest longing! Look with me at Lamentations 3:21-24:

But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:…

That in the middle of despair…the middle of the tears and confession that happiness is gone…that there is no more peace….Jeremiah says, “This I call to mind…AND BECAUSE OF IT….I—Have—Hope.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion’ says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him.

PAUSE

You see the reason Jeremiah can have hope…the reason those who have the deepest sorrow and grief can have hope…is NOT because God will immediately end your situation, but because God will sustain you THROUGH your situation!

Jeremiah can look to God and see one who’s love and care—is steadfast…it means it’s immovable and un-shaking. His mercy is unending. And that it begins fresh every morning! [EXPAND]

See the beautiful truth that Lamentations points to is that longing does not have to be bleak—it does not have to leave you in despair, but that you can have hope in longing, even when there is no conceivable way out because God is FAR more faithful to us than we are to Him—His Goodness and Kindness are dependent NOT on us, but dependent on Him.

And when Matthew writes this genealogy we’ve been looking at in Matthew 1, HE get’s this! That’s why it doesn't end with Babylon, but it all ends with Jesus!

Because the greatest picture of His goodness…his Kindness towards us in not just that Jesus was born but what Jesus was born to do! That He was born to live the perfect life that you and I could not, on our own live; a life of perfect obedience to all of what God commanded of us!

But Jesus didn't just come to give us an example. He came to resolve the Exile.

You see, the ultimate result of our wandering—of us pushing God away—is separation. It’s spiritual death. It is the ultimate Exile. And this is where the story becomes shocking. Instead of leaving us in that distance, God crossed the distance himself.

When Jesus went to the cross, he wasn't just 'paying a bill.' He was voluntarily entering the darkness of our exile. He took the separation, the silence, and the spiritual death that we deserved upon himself. He went to the furthest place from the Father—crying out 'My God, why have you forsaken me?'—so that you and I could be brought home.

He took the Exile so we could have the Homecoming.

And this means that even though our feet are still planted in a broken world, our hearts have found their way home. The distance between us and God is gone.

And the good news of the Gospel is that when we have faith in Jesus; pledging our allegiance to Him and Him alone, our relationship with God is restored! We are given new, everlasting life!

And friends, this is why we can look at Jeremiahs words in Lamentations 3:21 and see them as more than just empty, sentiment! It’s why like Jeremiah, in the midst of great sorrow and pain…followers of Jesus have longing with hope! Because we know that what we’re going through now is not what it will be forever! We know, one day, as Revelation 21 says,

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

And yet until that day, God’s people, followers of Jesus, are still those who eagerly wait with LONGING and EXPECTATION! We wait for our God who surely will make all things right…But while we wait, it is the Gospel, that empowers us to wait like the Prophet Jeremiah. To call to our minds, The steadfast love of the Lord…His mercy that never ceases…and His great faithfulness!

You see, this is what the Christmas story is pointing forward to! This is why the Christmas story is so much more than mere sentiment.

It is a story of LONING! And the life of a Christian is a life of longing!

Conclusion:

Now, what are we supposed to do with any of this? Let me close with just a few thoughts.

Christmas Doesn’t Solve Your Problems

There is still a longing we have for things to be made right. There is still a longing we have for God to intervene in our lives and do something about what we’re experiencing in the moment. And while the Christian life does not solve every one of your problems, it does provide deep resources for you to be able to persevere through them knowing that this life is not all there is! This is not the end of the story!

I want you to know that whether you've been a Christian for 20 years or you aren't sure what you believe yet, you have permission to not have it all together. The difference is, in Christ, you don't have to face that brokenness alone.

You don’t just have to put on a brave face in the morning and pretend like everything’s okay…but you can embrace true longing for God to provide—but you can do this hope and the full knowledge that He certainly will; it just may not be on our timing.

The story of the Gospel does not just put a bow on our ours…rather it equips us to live faithfully in a world of longing…but as ones who have hope and proclaim hope to others!

Living in Exile

Second, it’s no surprise that in the rest of the New Testament, the same imagery from the Exile is alive and well. Often, Christians are still called exiles in other parts of the New Testament. Where we’re at now, is not where we’ll one day be.

The good news of of the Gospel means that while you still long for something greater…Christians long with hope! We are not people surprised by suffering, even if it catches us off guard…because we know that this side of heaven is as bad as it gets! We long for the day that God promises where one day ALL things will be made right. All things will be made new.

Friends, the way that Matthew starts the story of Jesus and leading up to his birth, it’s not accident that the one event he talks about in the genealogy is full of sorrow, pain, and suffering. And in many ways, this is a beautiful thing for us to see because it meets us in our own story!

The life of a Christian is a life of longing…and the consistent cry that we ought is straight from the last words of the New Testament… “Come, Lord Jesus”!