From Heaven to Earth - God in the Flesh

James Watson

Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

0 ratings

· 6 views

Notes

Transcript

Sermon Tone Analysis

Emotion

Language

Social

View more →

Introduction: Have you ever planned one destination and ended up in somewhere completely different? Maybe it was a good deviation in plans. Maybe you headed for mcdonalds but ended up at Chic Fil A.

Matthew 1:1–17 ESV

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Matthew 1:1-

Or maybe you were headed on vacation, but wound up spending the weekend in the hospital.

But what about our lives? What about the plans that we make. Sometimes we can have our entire lives planned out by the time we are 6? And then we wake up in our 30s or 40s or 50s and wonder, “How did I get here?” What happens when the plans that we make don’t come to fruition? Will your mourn the loss of your dreams, or will you embrace whatever else God has for you a little further up the road? When this happens, you have good company. Because in the Bible, God takes the small plans of people like Moses, Deborah, David, and sets them on a course to change history. These weren’t great men or women who earned God’s grace and favor. They were screw ups, has beens, nevershouldhaves. For the intents, they were the wrong people for the job. They didn’t make sens. That was before God intervened.

There is perhaps no one where this is more true than Mary. Mary’s story is notoriously difficult to preach on because so many of us bring our preconceived notions to the table. If we have a catholic background, the story of Mary is filled so much mystery and superstition. If you weren’t raised catholic, you were likely taught to resist the catholic’s veniration of Mary.

But the story of Mary is simply one of a girl who had made her plans and then God showed up (literally). She was getting married, she’d be the simple wife of a carpenter. Probably have children who hopefully when she was older would take care of her. That would have been a good life. But God intervened and and showed up that she was part of His plan.

Turn in your Bibles to

How do we know that Jesus was human?

He was born -

He grew in age - ,

He grew tired -

He got thirsty -

He got hungry -

He became physically weak -

There is a song that gets sung this time of year about the relationship between Jesus and Mary. Mary did you know.

Tamar

He got tired in His journeys -

He died -

And just like any baby, Jesus was solely dependent upon Mary to survive in those first years of life.

Jesus Had emotions (contrary to what we see in a lot of movies).

Jesus cried -

Jesus was angry -

Jesus felt fear -

Jesus had a human mind

He increased in wisdom and in stature -

Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water? Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new? This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man? Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand? Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod? When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation? Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations? Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect lamb? That sleeping child you're holding is the great I am Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Oh Mary did you know?

John 2:1–5 ESV

1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Rahab

Turn in your Bibles to

For a little background, whereas the book of John was written to highlight the divinity of Jesus, the book of Luke was written to highlight the humanity of Jesus. Even Luke’s geneaology, he starts with Jesus and traces His lineage all the way back to Adam (Matthew starts with Abraham). If you’ve ever wondered why they are different, it’s because Matthew is the line of Joseph through Solomon (the line of Kings) whereas Luke record’s the line of Mary through David’s son Nathan. It’s also interesting that Luke doesn’t record the visit by the angel to Joseph. Luke is primarily interested in showing us that Jesus was a human. And one of the defining characteristics of humanity is to be born.

And that’s where Mary comes into this story.

Luke 1:26–38 ESV

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Luke

Ruth

Now imagine you’re Mary. How would you have felt or reacted? Mind you she’s likely 16. Yet she demonstrated a faith and trust in God that is able to overcome her doubt. So many questions. And Mary is able to say, Let it be to me according to your word.” If we can learn anything from Mary, and I think we can, it’s this: and it’s our big idea today.

Big Idea: Trust God’s plan even when it doesn’t make sense.

The Wife of Uriah (Bathsheba)

Mary

God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus.

Jesus

1. Mary was always a part of God’s plan. (26-33)

Explanation: While the idea that God would come in the flesh is shocking, it is not without warning. It was written in the Old Testament.

Jesus’ birth helps to connect all of human history all the way back to . (; ).

God had been talking in the Old Testament about the coming Messiah for thousands of years. And yes the words that were often used seemed to make this Messiah more than a mere man. But how could He be? He was to be born. Everyone knew this. Even in the house of King Herod, they knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, in the line of David. And God chose a young girl in the the line of David hundreds of years removed from the last king. Still you would expect God’s son to be born to a prophetess or a queen or someone with money or at least someone with a vacation home in Bethlehem. But God chose Mary. God always chose Mary.

But there was nothing special about Mary. She was no great queen. She was just existing. She was just a poor girl engaged to be married to a man. But it is this girl, maybe 16 years old, that God had been preparing to bare His son. I think some of us can related to Mary. Because she’s like we are. Going through life, but when God shows up, she responds in faith knowing that God is in control.

So many times in Scripture, we can feel like, why did God choose that person? Wasn’t someone else better suited for the job? It seems that with Mary, Jesus was always destined to be born in a stable. I mean, what kind of life would Jesus have with a mother like Mary? The answer is a human one.

The truth is Jesus has more in common with the common person that many might think. Many of us can relate to Mary having her life planned out and ending up in a place you didn’t plan. Some of you can relate to God wanting to use you, and you ahve a choice of whether to say, “be it done to me or according to your will” or “say what? Me? Was Kanye busy?”

or maybe we can relate to parents who were humble people who worked hard to give us a better life, but sometimes we had to eat generic macaroni and cheese.

Mary wasn’t a last minute fill in. She was a part of God’s plan all along. And when God calls you, you aren’t a fill in. You are a part of His plan too.

And even today, God wants each of us to have that same love for Jesus that Mary did. Knowing that He is worthy. Knowing that He didn’t come to earth to be coddled but, just like you and me, to be human.

Human…there’s a word with some baggage.

While the idea that God would come in the flesh is shocking, it is not without warning. It was written in the Old Testament.

Jesus’ birth helps to connect all of human history all the way back to . (; )

Isaiah 7:14 ESV

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

2. Mary’s HUMANITY does not reduce Jesus’ DIVINITY (34, 38)

It doesn’t make sense that God would become a human. I’ve often heard that when God told the angels that Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, would become human, they threw up.

Humanity is pretty messed up. Thousands of years of recorded History have taught us that left to our own devices, mankind can do some awful things. Wars, genocide, homicide, throw the ball at the one yard line instead of running it.

There is a reason when we make a mistake we say, “I’m only human.” Because to err is to be human. When we say that, we have connected ourselves to Adam and Eve who in the midst of innocence and God’s perfect creation managed to screw it all up. The Bible even says that we inherit Adam and Eve’s sin nature. It’s like our DNA is out of wack because of what they did. Everyone born in the likeness of Adam and Eve are under a curse. And this is where we find ourselves.

So it to say that Jesus was a human is almost to assume that He is as messed up as the rest of humanity. But we don’t have to think that way. Because humanity was the pinnacle of God’s creation. Man was meant to live in harmony with God and creation.

1 Corinthians 15:45–49 ESV

45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Jesus became the second Adam, born of a women to, in a sense, “DO IT RIGHT THIS TIME!”

Romans: Jesus became the second Adam, born of a women to, in a sense, “DO IT RIGHT THIS TIME!”

When Jesus came to earth, it was His divinity taking on human flesh. And GOd became flesh. God became a man and walked among us. So while we celebrate and worship Jesus as God, we must never forget that Jesus was also a man.

How do we know that Jesus was human?

He was born -

He grew in age - ,

He grew tired -

He got thirsty -

He got hungry -

He became physically weak -

He got tired in His journeys -

He died -

And just like any baby, Jesus was solely dependent upon Mary to survive in those first years of life.

Jesus Had emotions (contrary to what we see in a lot of movies).

Jesus cried -

Jesus was angry -

Jesus felt fear -

Jesus had a human mind

He increased in wisdom and in stature -

Now I’ll admit some of you may never have even thought to consider that humanity might corrupt Jesus’ Divinity or make Him less than God. You may be able to whole the full Divinity and full humanity of jesus without question. But there are those who genuinely question this profound doctrine. And Christians are more likely to elimination the humanity of Jesus than the divinity.

Especially when it comes to his emotional humanity. Humans are emotional creatures. We are characterized by our feelings. Love, anger, grief, joy.

And all over Scripture there are evidences that Jesus had human emotions. But sadly, when many movies are made about Jesus, they make Him out to be this lifeless robot who never blinks.

Jesus’ humanity should help us to connect better with God and I think Jesus is someone that people flocked to because He was the perfect embodiment of humanity. Jesus was emotionally healthy.

And we all know that starts at home.

3. A mother’s love is essential to Jesus’ HUMANITY. (35-37)

It doesn’t make sense that Jesus, God in the Flesh, would allow Himself to be a baby. Baby’s are helpless.

Mary would be the mother of the Son of God. Mary would bring about Jesus’ humanity without adding or taking anything from His divinity. But she did something else. She provided that first relationship for Jesus.

I’m always amazed at the ability of a woman to bring life into the world. And the relationship with a baby begins at conception. It’s goes beyond that physical connection and crosses over to an emotional connection. In the case of each of my daughters, I found it hard to connect with them while they were in the womb. I worked hard to talk to the belly. Amanda didn’t have that problem. And when each baby was born it was like I was meeting them for the first time, while Amanda had known them intimately for 9 months. And then that first year, the mother literally keeps the baby alive with her body. And Mary did this for Jesus. Jesus was totally dependent upon Mary for life.

And you can see that this relationship was always special to Jesus. My guess is it probably still is. There is just something about a mother’s love. We never lose that need for it. Even when Jesus is dying on a cross for the sins of His people, he shows concern for the well being of His mother when He asks John to take her into his home.

Mary’s relationship with Jesus helps us to see Jesus, God in the Flesh, as a person that each of us can connect with on a personal level.

Luke even tells us in that Jesus crew in wisdom. I think Jesus was humbling Himself to learn what it means to be human and Mary was His teacher. I’m not saying that He needed her to teach Him, but He invited her to teach Him.

Because Jesus needed a mother, not just to love Him and care for Him, but through her love, show him what it means to be human.

Illustration: Whether you are a male or female, you can relate to Mary. Hopefully all of us have known the love of a mother.

Conclusion:

There is a song that gets sung this time of year about the relationship between Jesus and Mary. Mary did you know.

Question: Is your faith strong enough to overcome doubt when life doesn’t make sense?

Mary enjoyed a special relationship with her son, God, and Savior. And it is that relationship that gives us hope that we can have a similar relationship with Jesus.

Reflection: My guess is that when Mary found out that she was going to be carrying the son of God, the Messiah and savior of the world that rather than reading “What to expect when you’re expecting” she went and learned all about the prophecies of the coming Messiah. What probably struck with fear was those related to that Messiah’s Suffering.

Isaiah 53:1–10 ESV

1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

And it’s appropriate that when we think of Christmas that we also remember that Jesus came to die. To pay the price for our sins.

So today in memory of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. We remember that this Baby grew up. We remember that it is by His broken body and shed blood that Jesus truly brought peace on earth and joy to all.