The Polar Express

Isaiah 9:1–7 KJV 1900

Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, When at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, Beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: They joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, And as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, And garments rolled in blood; But this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, To order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice From henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Isaiah 9:

Week 2

Text:

Movie: The Polar Express

Topic: Promise, Light, Peace

Big Idea of the Message: Jesus came not only for our individual salvation, but as light and peace to a dark and violent world.

Application Point: Approach Christmas celebrations as opportunities to “re enchant” the world and remember the ways God is working behind the scenes.

Sermon Ideas and Talking Points:

1. “A light has dawned” (v. 2)—this is the story of Christmas. is a favorite text to read during Advent because of how beautifully it describes a truth that we now understand even more fully than when the prophecy was given. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light” (v. 2) is a hope we are all clinging to, believing that, even in the midst of great evil and despair, there is a light that has broken through and will only continue to win against the darkness. The beauty of this passage is that what begins as a picture of cosmic victory then shrinks down into something seemingly small and quaint: “to us a child is born, to us a son is given” (v. 6) who will have outsized influence—“and the government will be on his shoulders” (v. 6). The incarnation is pictured as the breaking of light into darkness and a child who will upend unjust government and bring peace.

2. The picture in is one that animated the imaginations of the Jewish people for centuries before the actual incarnation. One of the greatest cultural changes for us today is that we live in a world where the supernatural is no longer assumed. We’ve lost the sense that there is something happening that we can’t always see or touch. Whereas many cultures across history have had some sense (whatever that may have looked like) of the enchantment of the world, of some kind of magic or power operating at the same time as we lived our everyday lives, this sense is often lost today.

3. One of the beautiful things about the film The Polar Express is the way it captures that very sense of losing belief and then the beauty of the world becoming reenchanted. A young boy begins to lose hope that Santa will visit him and questions his prior belief when he learns that the North Pole is too cold to be a viable place for human life. When a larger-than-life train arrives in front of his house to take him there, the world becomes magical again. When we gather together as the church and read words like , we are participating in a reenchantment, a reminder that God is up to something, operating in our world in ways we don’t always see.

4. Verses 3–5 give a powerful picture of one key aspect of what Jesus came to accomplish: peace on earth. “The end of war depends on the coming of a person—a royal person—yet one never explicitly called a ‘king’ here

Matthew 11:27 KJV 1900

All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

; ; ). He would appear as a child (emphatic in the Hebrew text); He would not only be God come to earth, but God born on earth, i.e., both human and divine. The ‘child born’ points to His humanity and the ‘son given’ to His deity” (Thomas Constable, Notes on Isaiah [Sonic Light, 2017], 62). We talk a lot about Jesus coming for our individual salvation, but this passage reminds us of the cosmic battle going on all around us, and the decisive victory that Jesus would accomplish.

Matthew 28:18 KJV 1900

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Matthew ; ). He would appear as a child (emphatic in the Hebrew text); He would not only be God come to earth, but God born on earth, i.e., both human and divine. The ‘child born’ points to His humanity and the ‘son given’ to His deity” (Thomas Constable, Notes on Isaiah [Sonic Light, 2017], 62). We talk a lot about Jesus coming for our individual salvation, but this passage reminds us of the cosmic battle going on all around us, and the decisive victory that Jesus would accomplish.

John 5:22 KJV 1900

For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:

He would appear as a child (emphatic in the Hebrew text); He would not only be God come to earth, but God born on earth, i.e., both human and divine. The ‘child born’ points to His humanity and the ‘son given’ to His deity” (Thomas Constable, Notes on Isaiah [Sonic Light, 2017], 62). We talk a lot about Jesus coming for our individual salvation, but this passage reminds us of the cosmic battle going on all around us, and the decisive victory that Jesus would accomplish.

He would appear as a child (emphatic in the Hebrew text); He would not only be God come to earth, but God born on earth, i.e., both human and divine. The ‘child born’ points to His humanity and the ‘son given’ to His deity” (Thomas Constable, Notes on Isaiah [Sonic Light, 2017], 62). We talk a lot about Jesus coming for our individual salvation, but this passage reminds us of the cosmic battle going on all around us, and the decisive victory that Jesus would accomplish.

5. This passage reminds us of the many-faceted implications of the incarnation. “Look at Jesus. As the Wonderful Counselor, he has the best ideas and strategies. Let's follow him. As the Mighty God, he defeats his enemies easily. Let's hide behind him. As the Everlasting Father, he loves us endlessly. Let's enjoy him. As the Prince of Peace, he reconciles us while we are still his enemies. Let's welcome his dominion” (Raymond C. Ortlund, Isaiah: God Saves Sinners [Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2005], 99).

6. While The Polar Express reenchants the world and points and hints toward a deeper meaning to the holiday, it doesn’t acknowledge the real power behind the “magic.” At one point, a character comments with supposed sagacity, “One thing about trains. It doesn't matter where they're going. What matters is deciding to get on.” But “it does matter which train we climb aboard, which dream we adhere to, and what we choose to believe in” (Jeffrey Overstreet, “The Polar Express,” Christianity Today, November 10, 2004, https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/novemberweb-only/polarexpress.html). This passage doesn’t just remind us of the ways that God is working at all times or the power of Christ coming to earth; it shows us that there is an answer to a broken world: Jesus.