Love Reigns Supreme
Notes
Transcript
We’re in the fourth week of advent. We have been working our way around the advent wreath. I pointed out earlier in this series that the four candles correspond to the first four fruits of the Spirit.
By now you should all know where to find the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22. The four candles around the wreath stand for hope, peace joy and love.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience
Earlier in the series we discussed where hope and patience are relate to each other. As we work our way around the wreath we are also working our way backwards through the first four fruits of the Spirit.
Love comes first in the fruit of the Spirit because love is the primary fruit of the Spirit. Love is the most important fruit of the Spirit, in fact it encompasses all the rest. If you have love all the rest flow out of that love.
Love is the last Candle of the advent wreath because love is the most important of these as we see in 1 Corinthians 13:13.
13 Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love.
And Advent is about working our way towards the most important aspect of Christmas, which is God’s love for us in Christ.
We’re going to be looking at several Scriptures this morning relating to love at Christmas. But our main passage is going to be Matt 1:18-21
As we’ve seen, Hope is an important part of the Christmas story. Peace is an important part of the Christmas story. Joy is an important part of the Christmas story. But now we come to love, and love is the most important of all.
In fact the Christmas story is all about love. We’re going to look at four aspects of love this morning.
Joseph’s love for Mary
Mary’s Love for Jesus
God’s love for sinners
Our Love for One Another
There would be no Christmas without love, and all four of these are important parts of the Christmas story. So let’s start with Joseph’s love for Mary, an incredibly important part of the Christmas story.
Joseph’s Love for Mary
Joseph’s Love for Mary
You might say, “well of course he loved her, they were engaged!” Yes they were engaged to be married, but that didn’t necessarily mean that Joseph loved Mary. Even today the Jewish tradition of marriage is, generally speaking, an arranged marriage.
Much more so and much more strict back then. Marriages were typically arranged by the spouses’ parents. Marriage was viewed more as a social or economic relationship rather than romantically based. Family was more important than self and marriages were arranged to benefit family not the individual.
So how do we know Joseph loved Mary?
We know Joseph loved Mary because of his response when Mary told him she was pregnant during the engagement. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall during that conversation. Can you imagine Mary trying to explain she got pregnant through God the Holy Spirit.
Joseph’s probably thinking, I’ve heard all kinds of stories and excuses, but this one takes the cake. Who in their right mind is going to believe that cockamamy bull?
Now he’s thinking not only is she unfaithful and an adulteress but she’s a liar too. He had to have been terribly hurt, confused, and angry. Now Joseph still had several options to weigh.
He could go ahead and marry her anyway, knowing the child wasn’t his own. However, that goes against all his convictions as a man of God and God’s ways. For his family and himself he must put his relationship with God first.
He could have and probably felt like dragging her before the tribunal and having her tried for adultery. This would have been a vindictive move (also going against God’s ways). At the very least Mary would be publicly disgraced, or even worse, she could be sentenced to death by stoning.
But what did Joseph do instead?
Look at Matt 1:18-19
18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. 19 So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.
Joseph chose a third option. Instead of marrying her in defiance to God’s commands, instead of dragging her before the judges in an act of revenge, he thought about what was best for Mary.
He decided instead of exposing her to public disgrace, he would divorce her quietly. Sure people would still know and talk about her, that was unavoidable. But at least she wouldn’t face the public humiliation of a trial and possibly even being stoned to death.
Joseph chose the way of love. He lovingly protected Mary from the negative attention and shame. Look at what 1 Cor 13:7 says about love.
7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love always protects. Even when Joseph thought Mary was an unfaithful liar, he chose to protect her. By the way, this wasn’t about protecting himself or his family. According to Jewish law if you knew about adultery you were supposed to bring the adulterer and adulteress before the tribunal.
Joseph instead chose God’s way. His love for God and his love for Mary is our first aspect of love at Christmas. Our next is Mary’s love for Jesus.
Mary’s Love for Jesus
Mary’s Love for Jesus
We read in Luke 2:6-7
6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
This is, of course, the very center of the Christmas story, the actual birth of Christ. After nine months of pregnancy, feeling every move, every kick, and pushing through the excruciating pains of childbirth, she now holds her precious newborn in her arms.
With instinct and great love she tenderly wraps the newborn Jesus tightly in swaddling cloths and lays Him in a manger. Most of you understand how wrapping a baby tightly in blankets actually gives comfort to the baby.
It settles the baby and helps them stay calm and sleep. She doesn’t have a crib to protect the baby so she uses the only thing available, a feeding trough called a manger. We see here a prime example of Mary’s love for Jesus.
We have another example of Mary’s love for Jesus in Luke 2:19
19 But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them.
The Greek word translated “treasuring” means to exert mental effort in storing information so as to have continual access and use of it; to cause oneself to be fully aware of.
And the word translated “meditating” most versions have “pondered” means to give careful consideration to various implications of an issue; to reflect on, to think about seriously, to think deeply about.
Mary’s love for Jesus is reflected in her very thoughts about Him. Her thoughts were so captive to Christ, that she made an intense effort to remember every fine detail as she sought to understand the meaning of His birth.
Mary’s love for Jesus is also revealed by the words Simeon spoke in the Temple found in Luke 2:34-35
34 Then Simeon blessed them and told his mother Mary, “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed—35 and a sword will pierce your own soul—that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
We’ve met Simeon before in this advent series. Remember Simeon? God had promised him that he would see the Messiah before he died. We looked at a part of his prophecy earlier in this series. But Simeon also spoke to Mary about the trials, suffering and death awaiting her Son, Jesus.
But Simeon also tells Mary “a sword will pierce your own soul.” Think about it for a minute. Could you imagine being the parent, the mother of Jesus?
He belonged first to His heavenly Father. Mary and Joseph are made fully aware of this in Luke 2:49-50
49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked them. “Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he said to them.
Jesus made it clear that He only answers to His heavenly Father, not any earthy authority. Another example is in Jn 2:4
4 “What has this concern of yours to do with me, woman?” Jesus asked. “My hour has not yet come.”
And the truth of Simeon’s prophetic words were fully realized as Mary watched her Son suffer and die on the cross as we see in Jn 19:25
25 Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
Simeon’s prophetic words were absolutely and brutally true. A sword would pierce Mary’s own soul. Mary loved her Son Jesus deeply, a Son who was born solely for the purpose of suffering and dying on the cross for our sins.
Mary’s deep soul splitting love for Jesus is the second aspect of love that is part of the Christmas story. Which brings us to the third aspect of love at Christmas, God’s love for sinners.
God’s Love for Sinners
God’s Love for Sinners
This really is the heart of the Christmas story. The Christmas story is all about love. Joseph’s love for Mary and Mary’s love for Jesus are both important parts of the Christmas story, but they are not the most important part.
The central message of love at Christmas is God’s love for sinners. This is evident from the angel’s words to Joseph about Mary in Matt 1:21
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Why do we celebrate the birth of Jesus and celebrate it as Christmas?
Why did God enter into His creation?
It’s all in His name Jesus. It means “savior” or “salvation.” Jesus was born into this world to save His people from their sins.
We read in John 3:16-17
16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will 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.
The reason we have and celebrate Christmas. The greatest gift ever given is the gift of God’s own Son. God gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus did not merely come into this world. He was sent into this world. God the Father sent his Son into the world. If you ever doubt that God loves you, just look at His Son, Jesus.
Look at Jesus the child born into this world as a helpless vulnerable baby that we celebrate as Christmas. Look at Jesus the man, lived a perfect, sinless life, teaching the people, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
And look at Jesus the savior, suffering and dying on the cross for our sins to restore our relationship with God. Look at Jesus the king, risen from the dead, ascended to heaven, and coming back to take us with Him that we may also be where He is forever.
Nothing can separate you from God’s love for you in Christ. Paul makes that clear in Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Christmas story is all about love, but the most important part of the story is God’s love for sinners. There’s a hint here, all people, the entire world are sinners. God so loved the world, He gave us His Son so that we will not perish but have eternal life.
We’ve looked at Joseph’s love for Mary, Mary’s love for Jesus and the most important of all God’s love for sinners. But there’s one more aspect of love that we are to be reminded about at Christmas. That aspect is our love for one another.
Our Love for One Another
Our Love for One Another
There are a lot of places where the Bible makes a clear and unbreakable connection between God’s love for us and our love for each other. One of the best passages that makes that clear is 1 John 4:10-11
10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.
Notice God’s love comes first. God’s love always comes first. God’s love in creating the world. God’s love in promising a Savior, God’s love in sending His only Son into the world. God’s love in His Son, Jesus Christ, dying on the cross for our sins. “Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
God’s love always comes first. But then our love MUST follow. 1 John 4:11 “11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.” Our love for others must follow, not merely as an obligation, rather as a character transformation that naturally extends God’s love for us to others.
Our faith in Jesus sanctifies those who truly believe. Sanctification transforms our character so that we naturally love other people with the same love God has for us that He sent His Son Jesus to die for us. God loved the world and sent His Son to die for ALL who believe in Jesus Christ. We must naturally have the same love of God for ALL people.
Christmas is not only a reminder of how much God loves us, but also how much we must love other people.
Is there someone who needs help this Christmas?
Is there someone you need to reconcile with this Christmas?
Is there someone you need to forgive this Christmas?
God showed His love for us at Christmas by sending His Son into the world as a sacrifice for our sins.
How will you show your love for others this Christmas?
