Who Needs Chag HaMolad
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So, here's the question. Ready?
Now the birth of Yeshua the Messiah happened this way. When His mother Miriam was engaged to Joseph but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Ruach ha-Kodesh.
Andy Stanley
This is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah the Messiah came about.
Note: The following content is a raw transcript and has not been edited for grammar, punctuation, and word usage.
This is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah the Messiah came about. So how did the birth of Yeshua the Messiah the Messiah come about? How did this happen? Matthew tells it. This is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah the Messiah came about, just in case you were interested. And the interesting thing is as Matthew jumps into this gospel, because this is chapter one, he's just starting off the story, Matthew lets us know upfront, as a Jewish man, that he believed that Yeshua the Messiah was the long-awaited Messiah. Now, real quick before we jump into the Christmas story, I've gotta talk about two things specifically, this word right here, "Messiah," is actually a Hebrew word and the Greek equivalent is the word... Anybody know what the Greek equivalent for "Messiah" is? People think it's Yeshua the Messiah' last name most the time. "Christ," that's right, I think somebody at Buckhead Congregation said that. "Christ," that's right. So, Christ is not Yeshua the Messiah' last name. In other words, it wasn't Mary and Joseph Christ and their son Yeshua the Messiah, okay? "The Christ" was actually the Greek term for the Hebrew term that meant "Messiah," the one that the Jews had been waiting on for long.
So how did the birth of Yeshua the Messiah the Messiah come about? How did this happen? Matthew tells it. This is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah the Messiah came about, just in case you were interested. And the interesting thing is as Matthew jumps into this gospel, because this is chapter one, he's just starting off the story, Matthew lets us know upfront, as a Jewish man, that he believed that Yeshua the Messiah was the long-awaited Messiah. Now, real quick before we jump into the Christmas story, I've gotta talk about two things specifically, this word right here, "Messiah," is actually a Hebrew word and the Greek equivalent is the word... Anybody know what the Greek equivalent for "Messiah" is? People think it's Yeshua the Messiah' last name most the time. "Christ," that's right, I think somebody online said that. "Christ," that's right. So, Christ is not Yeshua the Messiah' last name. In other words, it wasn't Mary and Joseph Christ and their son Yeshua the Messiah, okay? "The Christ" was actually the Greek term for the Hebrew term that meant "Messiah," the one that the Jews had been waiting on for long.
01:46 AS: So, here's the question. Ready? This is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah the Messiah came about. So how did the birth of Yeshua the Messiah the Messiah come about? How did this happen? Matthew tells it. This is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah the Messiah came about, just in case you were interested. And the interesting thing is as Matthew jumps into this gospel, because this is chapter one, he's just starting off the story, Matthew lets us know upfront, as a Jewish man, that he believed that Yeshua the Messiah was the long-awaited Messiah. Now, real quick before we jump into the Christmas story, I've gotta talk about two things specifically, this word right here, "Messiah," is actually a Hebrew word and the Greek equivalent is the word... Anybody know what the Greek equivalent for "Messiah" is? People think it's Yeshua the Messiah' last name most the time. "Christ," that's right, I think somebody at Buckhead Congregation said that. "Christ," that's right. So, Christ is not Yeshua the Messiah' last name. In other words, it wasn't Mary and Joseph Christ and their son Yeshua the Messiah, okay? "The Christ" was actually the Greek term for the Hebrew term that meant "Messiah," the one that the Jews had been waiting on for long.
So this is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah the Messiah came about. And while we're on names, I wanna talk about this name for just a second, and this may ruin Christmas for you but I'm not trying to ruin Christmas. This is very important for the Christmas story. Yeshua the Messiah, the term "Yeshua the Messiah," is actually a Latin translation from the Greek word from the Hebrew name "Yeshua." In fact, you may meet people every once in a while and you think they're just showing off because they don't say "Yeshua the Messiah," they say "Yeshua," and you say, "God bless you." And they're like, "No, no. I didn't sneeze. That's his name. It's Yeshua." And from the name "Yeshua," because the Hebrews don't have the letter J, just like the Greeks don't have the letter J, aren't you glad you came to Congregation today, it's where we get the name "Joshua," but they didn't have a "Juh-," so it's "Yeshua," we get "Joshua." So, to kind of mess up like all your Christmas music and reading the New Testament, we have been mispronouncing Yeshua the Messiah' name the whole time, okay? In fact, perhaps the reason God doesn't answer your prayer is you're mispronouncing the name of His son, okay?
And he's like, "Look. I'm not gonna pay attention to your prayers 'til you can at least get My son's name right. It's not 'Yeshua the Messiah,' it's 'Yeshua,' or if you wanna go for 'Joshua.'" Now, I don't think we're gonna reprint all of our English Bibles and we're certainly not gonna rewrite all of our
03:48 AS: And he's like, "Look. I'm not gonna pay attention to your prayers 'til you can at least get My son's name right. It's not 'Yeshua the Messiah,' it's 'Yeshua,' or if you wanna go for 'Joshua.'" Now, I don't think we're gonna reprint all of our English Bibles and we're certainly not gonna rewrite all of our
So, we're going to stick with "Yeshua the Messiah," but to understand the significance of what happens in the Christmas narrative, you need to understand that, really, Yeshua the Messiah was Joshua/Yeshua, and who was Joshua? Joshua was a warrior. Joshua was a general. Joshua was a military man. And the ancient Jews weren't looking for another Moses, they weren't looking for another law-giver, they had plenty of laws. What the ancient Jewish people were looking for was a Joshua, a warrior-king that could come in and deliver the people from their oppressors. So they were looking for Joshua. See, you've already learned something. So, here's how the story goes.
Now the birth of Yeshua the Messiah happened this way. When His mother Miriam was engaged to Joseph but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Ruach ha-Kodesh.
Now, in a previous generation before the 1st century, she would've probably been burnt alive or stoned for being pregnant outside of marriage. And they got married so young, there wasn't like this whole adolescent culture, like we have today. You were pledged to be married by the time you were 10 or 11, you were married by the time you were 12, 13, 14, certainly 15. If you were 16 and not pledged to be married, there were issues. So, she was pledged to be married to Joseph and he finds out, her family found out, everybody found out, apparently, or the family found out, that she was pregnant. But in the 1st century, they didn't have permission to burn people alive. In the 1st century, they'd sort of given up on some of those literal applications of the Old Testament law, so there were things that you did when you found out that a woman who'd been engaged to someone had been unfaithful. Now, the other thing that, I think, informs us as to why Joseph responded the way he did, and please don't take offense at this especially if you're Catholic, just wait 'til I get to the end of the message. Come on. Mary, let's be honest, she was crazy. It's like, "Okay, honey, you're," this is her parents, "Honey, you're pregnant, and which one of these crazy boys in the neighborhood is the father? What's going on?
His mother, Mary, was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
04:51 AS: Now, in a previous generation before the 1st century, she would've probably been burnt alive or stoned for being pregnant outside of marriage. And they got married so young, there wasn't like this whole adolescent culture, like we have today. You were pledged to be married by the time you were 10 or 11, you were married by the time you were 12, 13, 14, certainly 15. If you were 16 and not pledged to be married, there were issues. So, she was pledged to be married to Joseph and he finds out, her family found out, everybody found out, apparently, or the family found out, that she was pregnant. But in the 1st century, they didn't have permission to burn people alive. In the 1st century, they'd sort of given up on some of those literal applications of the Old Testament law, so there were things that you did when you found out that a woman who'd been engaged to someone had been unfaithful. Now, the other thing that, I think, informs us as to why Joseph responded the way he did, and please don't take offense at this especially if you're Catholic, just wait 'til I get to the end of the message. Come on. Mary, let's be honest, she was crazy. It's like, "Okay, honey, you're," this is her parents, "Honey, you're pregnant, and which one of these crazy boys in the neighborhood is the father? What's going on?
"Oh, no, mother, an angel. There's been no man. An angel appeared to me." "That's great, honey. What are we gonna do with this?" So, Joseph finds out Mary's pregnant and an angel told her that God made her pregnant. So you can't very well burn a crazy person or stone a crazy person. It's like, "So what do I do with this woman that I'm supposed to be married to, and she's got this crazy story? We're stuck."
And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, made up his mind to dismiss her secretly.
Because Joseph, this is, I love this, I love this, because Joseph, her husband, or her future husband, her fiance, was faithful to the law. In other words, the law says you can't marry her. The law says you have to shame her. The law says you gotta do something, burn her at the stake or stone her. Yet he did not want to expose her to public disgrace. "I don't wanna make a public spectacle and bring her out to the city square and say, 'I'm not marrying her because she's been unfaithful and she's pregnant.'" He's caught between law and grace, law and grace, law and grace. He had in mind, he was thinking, he hadn't decided yet, he had in mind to divorce her quietly, which he could do.
Because Joseph, this is, I love this, I love this, because Joseph, her husband, or her future husband, her fiance, was faithful to the law. In other words, the law says you can't marry her. The law says you have to shame her. The law says you gotta do something, burn her at the stake or stone her. Yet he did not want to expose her to public disgrace. "I don't wanna make a public spectacle and bring her out to the city square and say, 'I'm not marrying her because she's been unfaithful and she's pregnant.'" He's caught between law and grace, law and grace, law and grace. He had in mind, he was thinking, he hadn't decided yet, he had in mind to divorce her quietly, which he could do.
He could go to a priest or someone in that vicinity and say, "Here's the situation. I'd like to break this contract I have with this family. I'll go on my merry way. Let them do whatever it is they wanna do." But after he thought this through, and after he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and sends, and now Joseph has a dream. Here's what happened.
But while he considered these things, behold, an angel of Adonai appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Miriam as your wife, for the Child conceived in her is from the Ruach ha-Kodesh.
to break this contract I have with this family. I'll go on my merry way. Let them do whatever it is they wanna do." But after he thought this through, and after he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and sends, and now Joseph has a dream. Here's what happened. "Joseph, son of David," now, he wasn't a literal son of David, but he was related to David. This is King David so the angel is reminding him that he's in the lineage of David, which is an important part of story. "Do not be afraid," because he was afraid, "to take Mary home as your wife," because if you take her home as your wife then everybody's gonna assume you are the father and you're not the father so you don't need to be afraid of the situation even though your reputation's at risk, her reputation's at risk. The whole thing's a big mess. It's a small village. It's a small town. Everybody knows everybody's business. "Because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." Now, this is a really important part of the narrative that you can't miss or you kinda miss the spirit of what's going on here.
"Joseph, son of David," now, he wasn't a literal son of David, but he was related to David. This is King David so the angel is reminding him that he's in the lineage of David, which is an important part of story. "Do not be afraid," because he was afraid, "to take Mary home as your wife," because if you take her home as your wife then everybody's gonna assume you are the father and you're not the father so you don't need to be afraid of the situation even though your reputation's at risk, her reputation's at risk. The whole thing's a big mess. It's a small village. It's a small town. Everybody knows everybody's business. "Because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." Now, this is a really important part of the narrative that you can't miss or you kinda miss the spirit of what's going on here.
"Joseph, son of David," now, he wasn't a literal son of David, but he was related to David. This is King David so the angel is reminding him that he's in the lineage of David, which is an important part of story. "Do not be afraid," because he was afraid, "to take Mary home as your wife," because if you take her home as your wife then everybody's gonna assume you are the father and you're not the father so you don't need to be afraid of the situation even though your reputation's at risk, her reputation's at risk. The whole thing's a big mess. It's a small village. It's a small town. Everybody knows everybody's business. "Because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." Now, this is a really important part of the narrative that you can't miss or you kinda miss the spirit of what's going on here.
This prophecy was kind of a big deal. When it was initially written it used the Hebrew word “Almah” which means “young maiden.” We have a Hebrew word that means “virgin” it is Bethulah but that is not the word. But see the context gives it away because in Hebrew culture a “young maiden” is a virgin. Its normal use in the Hebrew Bible is in the context of a female who has not yet had relations with a man. Later, in the Septuagint translation they used a Greek word that specifically means “A Virgin” parthenos.
The context of the prophecy is for an amazing sign.
Though it was in the Scripture, no one was ready for it. It really does seem absurd.
Then Adonai spoke again to Ahaz saying,
In fact, this was a weird idea. And again, don't take offense. This was kind of a Greek leftover. You know Greek mythology, if you studied this in school. In Greek mythology, the gods were always mating with beautiful female, human females, in order to have these sort of god-person creatures, like Hercules. Anybody know the father of Hercules? Zeus, that's right. Right here at Brownsburg. Zeus, right. How about Helen of Troy, do you know who Helen of Troy's father supposedly was? Same answer. Zeus, yeah. So, this was a Greek idea. The whole idea of the gods mating with humans to create these sort of god-human creatures. This was not Jewish. That was Greek. That was pagan. Nobody is expecting a virgin birth. It was not critical to the story of a Messiah coming to deliver the nation of Israel. And here's the other thing that's so important.
“Ask for a sign from Adonai your God—from the depths of Sheol or the heights of Heaven.”
Though it was in the Scripture, no one was ready for it. It really does seem absurd.
Making this up does not help the story. And see, part of the problem is because we said early on that the whole story of Christmas is so, it's almost unbelievable, if you don't look at it within the broad, remarkable context.
For Matthew to have manufactured the story, or for anyone to have manufactured the story of a virgin birth does not help the storyline. It hurts it. Because it's weird. Nobody's gonna believe it.
10:08 AS: Within the context, it's believable, but when you isolate these events, they're not believable. But here's what you need to know, if you're kinda skeptical, and you drive by those
manger scenes, and you go, "These crazy Believers, they actually believe this stuff." Here's the thing. For Matthew to have manufactured the story, or for anyone to have manufactured the story of a virgin birth does not help the storyline. It hurts it. Because it's weird. Nobody's gonna believe it.
And yet, Matthew tells us. Matthew tells us, that an angel appeared to Mary and an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
She will give birth to a son; and you shall call His name Yeshua, for He will save His people from their sins.”
11:15 AS: And yet, Matthew tells us. Matthew tells us, that an angel appeared to Mary and an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "This son that's about to be born to you is special. He has been conceived by the Holy Spirit of God. And she will give birth to a son," this is when it gets rich, "She will give to birth to a son," this is talking about Mary, "and you are to give him the name", drum roll, the music changes, the soundtrack gets big, "you are to give him the name Yeshua the Messiah. Yeshua. Joshua." Now, Joseph in this dream is thinking, "We already have this whole thing played out," he's thinking, "Is this really happening to me? That an angel appears to me in a dream and tells me we're gonna have a son? I'm not the father but don't worry about that, and you are to give him the name of the long-awaited Joshua, Yeshua, the warrior-king? I've been instructed by an angel to name my son the name that we know will be the name of the coming and long awaited-on Messiah?" And the angel continues, "You are to give him the name Yeshua the Messiah because... " And Joseph would think, "You don't have to tell me because I already know. Because for hundreds of years, we have been a vassal state. For hundreds of years, we've been oppressed by, first, Assyria, then Babylon, then Persia, then the Greeks, and now, the know exactly why the Messiah is finally gonna be born into this world."
"This son that's about to be born to you is special. He has been conceived by the Holy Spirit of God. And she will give birth to a son," this is when it gets rich, "She will give to birth to a son," this is talking about Mary, "and you are to give him the name", drum roll, the music changes, the soundtrack gets big, "you are to give him the name Yeshua the Messiah. Yeshua. Joshua." Now, Joseph in this dream is thinking, "We already have this whole thing played out," he's thinking, "Is this really happening to me? That an angel appears to me in a dream and tells me we're gonna have a son? I'm not the father but don't worry about that, and you are to give him the name of the long-awaited Joshua, Yeshua, the warrior-king? I've been instructed by an angel to name my son the name that we know will be the name of the coming and long awaited-on Messiah?" And the angel continues, "You are to give him the name Yeshua the Messiah because... " And Joseph would think, "You don't have to tell me because I already know. Because for hundreds of years, we have been a vassal state. For hundreds of years, we've been oppressed by, first, Assyria, then Babylon, then Persia, then the Greeks, and now, the know exactly why the Messiah is finally gonna be born into this world."
The angel continues, "And he will save his people." He will save His people. [chuckle] And of course, Joseph's going, "I know he's gonna save His people, that's what Joshua does. Joshua took the people into Canaan, and Joshua drove out all the invaders, all the oppressors, so that our people could own their own land, and basically determine their own destiny. Of course I know what he's gonna do. We all the know the story of Jericho. We all know our Old Testament. We know exactly what he's gonna do. He's gonna save his people." And the angel continues, "From their... " And Joseph's going, "I know what he's gonna save his people from. He's gonna save his people from the oppressors, the invaders, Roman occupation."
"And we know how this story plays out. There's no mystery. We've been told this story since we were children, and I can't believe my son is going to be the one. We've kind of given up hope. That whole thing to Abraham, that was like 2,000 years ago. And then everything that's happened in the nation and everything that's happened in our history. We thought God had forgotten about us, and God, is now at this strange time in history, gonna send us the Messiah, Yeshua, Joshua, the warrior-king?" "And he will save his people from their sins." Mm. "Okay, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what?" "Yeah, he's gonna save the people from their sins." "Okay, angel. Okay. Real quick. I know you're an angel and everything, but look, that's not really a felt need."
happened in the nation and everything that's happened in our history. We thought God had forgotten about us, and God, is now at this strange time in history, gonna send us the Messiah, Yeshua, Joshua, the warrior-king?" "And he will save his people from their sins." Mm. "Okay, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what?" "Yeah, he's gonna save the people from their sins." "Okay, angel. Okay. Real quick. I know you're an angel and everything, but look, that's not really a felt need."
"Okay? That's not a felt need. We need delivering, we need saving, but if you would like to get all the Jews together and say, 'Hey, what would you like to be saved from?' Nobody's gonna say, 'Hey, hey. We need somebody to save us from our sins.' That is not what we need to be saved from. Clearly, you are not familiar with Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, angel. Let me explain this to you, okay?"
14:03 AS: "Okay? That's not a felt need. We need delivering, we need saving, but if you would like to get all the Jews together and say, 'Hey, what would you like to be saved from?' Nobody's gonna say, 'Hey, hey. We need somebody to save us from our sins.' That is not what we need to be saved from. Clearly, you are not familiar with Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, angel. Let me explain this to you, okay?"
"See angel, pay attention, okay? Here's how it works. See, our basic needs are physiological. We need to eat, we need to have water, we need to have the things that are necessary for survival. And then after that, we need safety, we need something to keep us from harm. And then once we're safe, then we need a sense of love, and community, and belonging. But we don't need this 'til we have these two, and then once we get this, we kinda have a sense of personal self- esteem, and the ultimate is self-actualization. Now angel, look, do you see sin on that list anywhere? We need to be saved from some things, but sin doesn't even make the list. Besides, 'save us from our sins,' we have a very sophisticated 'save you from sins' system already in place. I don't know if you've noticed this, it's called the 'Temple.' It's up on a big mountain, you can't miss it. And we can go to the Temple and be saved from our sins all day long."
14:24 AS: "See angel, pay attention, okay? Here's how it works. See, our basic needs are physiological. We need to eat, we need to have water, we need to have the things that are necessary for survival. And then after that, we need safety, we need something to keep us from harm. And then once we're safe, then we need a sense of love, and community, and belonging. But we don't need this 'til we have these two, and then once we get this, we kinda have a sense of personal self- esteem, and the ultimate is self-actualization. Now angel, look, do you see sin on that list anywhere? We need to be saved from some things, but sin doesn't even make the list. Besides, 'save us from our sins,' we have a very sophisticated 'save you from sins' system already in place. I don't know if you've noticed this, it's called the 'Temple.' It's up on a big mountain, you can't miss it. And we can go to the Temple and be saved from our sins all day long."
"In fact, our scriptures list every sin imaginable, and what to do about every sin imaginable. We do not need another system to help us be saved from our sins. But, angel, I will tell you who needs saving. Rome needs to be saved from their sins."
"Because they have perpetrated more sins than we can even begin to count. And we need saving from Rome. What we need is a savior with a sword. That's what we need. We do not need to be saved from our sins, we need to be saved from Rome." But Joseph did not respond that way, and I'll tell you why. This is pretty rich insight right here. When the angel of the Lord talks out loud to you, you do not talk back.
15:32 AS: "Because they have perpetrated more sins than we can even begin to count. And we need saving from Rome. What we need is a savior with a sword. That's what we need. We do not need to be saved from our sins, we need to be saved from Rome." But Joseph did not respond that way, and I'll tell you why. This is pretty rich insight right here. When the angel of the Lord talks out loud to you, you do not talk back.
In fact, when I hear people say, "God appeared to me... " I'm like, "Mm, I don't think so." No. Your face did not melt off. That wasn't God, okay?
16:03 AS: In fact, when I hear people say, "God appeared to me... " I'm like, "Mm, I don't think so." No. Your face did not melt off. That wasn't God, okay?
"You know, I feel like God made... " Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Okay? Let me just tell you something about God. I know... This is what I know. When God speaks, no one ever goes, "Was that God?" Never. Not one time do people go, "I think, maybe." No. If you think, "Maybe," be careful, okay? Because when God decides to communicate, He does not stutter. He doesn't speak in terms we don't understand.
16:11 AS: "You know, I feel like God made... " Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Okay? Let me just tell you something about God. I know... This is what I know. When God speaks, no one ever goes, "Was that God?" Never. Not one time do people go, "I think, maybe." No. If you think, "Maybe," be careful, okay? Because when God decides to communicate, He does not stutter. He doesn't speak in terms we don't understand.
When God showed up and spoke, it was so clear. So when the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream, even though it was a dream, when Joseph woke up, there was no doubt in his mind what he was about to do. In fact, when God speaks directly to mankind, it has the potential to override our free will. In fact, this is one of the reasons that God remains a bit of a mystery.
Because if God were to show up in all of His glory, you would lose your choice in the matter. It'd be a little bit like saying, "I'm freely choosing to hold my hand in a fire." You can only do that for a little bit and then your pain will override your free will. And so it is with the glory and the majesty of God.
When Joseph woke up from his sleep, he did as the angel of Adonai commanded him and took Miriam as his wife.
And God appeared to Joseph in a dream, the angel of the Lord, and so Joseph did what any of us would have done, if an angel had spoken directly to us. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him. And he took Mary home to be his wife. Now, here's what I wanna talk about for just a few minutes, as we wrap up this series, and as we kinda move in a little bit deeper to the Christmas season.
Do you know why so many of us are not moved when we hear that God sent Yeshua the Messiah to save us from our sin? Do you know why we're a little bit maybe like the people in the 1st century, when it's like, "Oh, God's gonna save you from sin," and they're like, "Eh, that's great, I don't know if that's a felt need"? The reason that even those of us 2,000 years later, who worship Yeshua the Messiah, those of us who've been a Believer for a long time... Maybe you're not a Believer or used to be a Believer or used to be a Congregation person, whatever the case. Do you know why I think most of us don't just light up and stand up, or fall on our knees, or kinda just feel emotional, or just sense something powerful, when we hear that God sent Yeshua the Messiah to save us from our sin? Here's specifically what the angel said.
She will give birth to a son; and you shall call His name Yeshua, for He will save His people from their sins.”
"You are to give him the name Yeshua the Messiah, because he will save his people from their sins." But that's not what we hear. This is what we hear. What we hear is, "You are to give him the name Yeshua the Messiah, because he will forgive his people of their sins." And if we're not careful, we will reduce Christmas to forgiveness. We will reduce Christmas to forgiveness. In fact, perhaps your entire Believer experience, or perhaps your entire religious experience, has basically been this. Nobody's perfect, but God forgives. Nobody's perfect, but God forgives. Nobody's perfect, but God forgives. I mess up, God forgives me. I mess up, God forgives me.
mess up, God forgives me. I mess up, God forgives me.
And for many people, that's their entire religious experience. But the message of Christmas and the message to Joseph in the dream, and the message of the Gospels is so much bigger than that. And if you have reduced Christmas to merely forgiveness, you've missed the primary message of Christmas. Because Yeshua the Messiah came to deliver us not simply from the penalty of sin or the consequences of sin. In fact, in most cases, we are not delivered from the consequences of sin. Yeshua the Messiah came to deliver us from the power of sin. Yeshua the Messiah came in the spirit of Yeshua, of Joshua, the warrior that came to free you and to free me from the kingdom of, the dominion of, the power of, slavery to, the nation of sin. That we have been promised, in Yeshua the Messiah, deliverance from, salvation from, the power of sin in our lives.
And Yeshua the Messiah alluded to this throughout his ministry. Most of us are familiar with this amazing story, where Yeshua the Messiah is at the temple and they've taken this woman, either the night before, maybe the night before that, or early in the morning, we don't know. She was caught in adultery, they wanna trap Yeshua the Messiah, so they dragged this woman who knows how far, it's a horrible story, they dragged this woman through the streets of Jerusalem, up this long, this giant set of stairs, stone stairs, to the last place she wants to be. They drag her to the temple. I mean, here, she's caught in the act of adultery, now, she is on the temple mount. She's 30 yards away from where they're sacrificing animals for people's sins. She's 75 yards away from the Holy of Holies, where supposedly, the law resides. This is the last place she wants to be and they throw her down and they say, "This woman was caught in adultery and the law says, we're to stone her. What do you say?" Remember this story? It's so dramatic.
And Yeshua the Messiah knew. Yeshua the Messiah called their bluff, he was so great. He knew they weren't gonna stone her. And he knew they weren't gonna stone her right there. 'Cause you don't stone people at the temple. And it was illegal for them to stone people, anyway. So he calls their bluff. He says, "Fine. Just take her down to the Valley of Gehenna, and just stone her. Go ahead. But one caveat. Those of you who have not committed sin, you start the execution." Everything got quiet, 'cause Yeshua the Messiah was just great. Just so smart.
21:06 AS: And eventually, you know the story, they all kind of go away. And then he kneels down next to this woman, and he says two things. One that's famous and one that's not so famous. And he says, "Woman, where are your accusers?" And she says, "They left." And then he says to her, with a smile on his face, and those powerful, I mean this is God in a body, imagine this moment, and he says to her, "Neither do I condemn you." In other words, "I who have the power, right here on the temple," we don't need to go over there and sacrifice an animal, you are looking at the Lamb of God, "I do not condemn you." That's the famous part, "I do not condemn you." Basically, Yeshua the Messiah said, "You're forgiven." And only who can forgive? Only one person can forgive, God.
In fact, they kept accusing Yeshua the Messiah, "How can you forgive sin? Only God can forgive sin." Yeshua the Messiah is like, "Hello?" Big clue, he looks at this woman, and he says, this is powerful, he says, "Neither do I condemn you." And then he said this, this is the part that we skip over, the not-famous part. "Neither do I condemn you. Leave your life of sin." "Leave your life of sin." To which we should ask, "Is that possible? Can we leave our lives of sin? Can we sin no more? Can we leave the nation of sin? Can we leave captivity to sin? Can we actually say no to sin?
The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly!
" Yeshua the Messiah is talking to the Pharisees, and he makes this incredible statement. It's kind of a famous statement, too. He says this, "The thief comes to steal and to kill and to destroy." The thief comes to steal, kill, and to destroy.
Some people think he's talking about Satan, I don't, he's just making a general comment about thieves. What do thieves do? They come in to steal and to kill and destroy, that's what thieves do.
And then he contrasts the thieves, that everyone knew about, to himself, and he says this,
“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
The hired worker is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. He sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees. Then the wolf snatches and scatters the sheep.
"But I have come that they might have life and have it to the full." See, that sounds bigger than forgiveness, doesn't it? Forgiveness just puts me back at zero. He says, "I have come and you'll see, it'll make more sense to you in the future. I have come for a completely different purpose. I've come to do more than forgive you from sin, I have come to free you from sin. They were correct to name me Yeshua. They were correct to name me have come to deliver you from something, not simply forgive you for something." Later, the apostle Paul would come along, and he's brilliant, he's a Pharisee, he was on the wrong side, then he became a Yeshua the Messiah follower. And he's so brilliant, and he sees it for what it is, and he puts theological language around the purpose of Yeshua the Messiah' coming. Here's what he said in the book of Romans, this is a letter he wrote to Believers living in Rome, a bad place to live if you were a Believer under Nero. Here's what he said,
"But I have come that they might have life and have it to the full." See, that sounds bigger than forgiveness, doesn't it? Forgiveness just puts me back at zero. He says, "I have come and you'll see, it'll make more sense to you in the future. I have come for a completely different purpose. I've come to do more than forgive you from sin, I have come to free you from sin. They were correct to name me Yeshua. They were correct to name me have come to deliver you from something, not simply forgive you for something." Later, the apostle Paul would come along, and he's brilliant, he's a Pharisee, he was on the wrong side, then he became a Yeshua the Messiah follower. And he's so brilliant, and he sees it for what it is, and he puts theological language around the purpose of Yeshua the Messiah' coming. Here's what he said in the book of Romans, this is a letter he wrote to Believers living in Rome, a bad place to live if you were a Believer under Nero. Here's what he said,
Therefore do not let sin rule in your mortal body so that you obey its desires.
he said, "Therefore," then he gives us a command, which means he thinks this is possible, don't miss this, "therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body. Do not let sin reign in your mortal body. Do not allow sin to continue to be your king, your master, so that you obey its evil desires. Do not allow yourself to stay under the authority of sin."
"So, Paul, we have a choice?" "Yes, you have a choice. It's why Yeshua the Messiah came. To deliver his people, you, people, us, people, from, not forgiven for, from, our sin." He goes on, he says this,
And do not keep yielding your body parts to sin as tools of wickedness; but yield yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your body parts as tools of righteousness to God.
"And do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness but rather," which means there's an option, which means there's another way, which means if your entire Believer experience has been sin, get forgiveness, sin, get forgiveness, sin, get forgiveness, perhaps, you've missed part of the reason Yeshua the Messiah came, he says, "But rather, offer yourselves not to sin, to God, as those who have been brought from death to life. I came to give you life and to give you life in the full." Brought from death to life. What's he talking about? When Yeshua the Messiah said, "I have come that they might have life and might have it to the full," this isn't just about being forgiven of your sin. This is about being set free from your sin. Then Paul says this, I love this.
For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
"And do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness but rather," which means there's an option, which means there's another way, which means if your entire Believer experience has been sin, get forgiveness, sin, get forgiveness, sin, get forgiveness, perhaps, you've missed part of the reason Yeshua the Messiah came, he says, "But rather, offer yourselves not to sin, to God, as those who have been brought from death to life. I came to give you life and to give you life in the full." Brought from death to life. What's he talking about? When Yeshua the Messiah said, "I have come that they might have life and might have it to the full," this isn't just about being forgiven of your sin. This is about being set free from your sin. Then Paul says this, I love this. "For sin, for sin, for sin, shall no longer be your master." And here's why this is so helpful. Paul sort of personifies sin, or makes sin like a character, or a something, or a power, or a force, or a thing.
"For sin, for sin, for sin, shall no longer be your master." And here's why this is so helpful. Paul sort of personifies sin, or makes sin like a character, or a something, or a power, or a force, or a thing.
He's not saying the devil. He's saying sin. And if you're going, "What does that mean?", it's very easy for me to explain what this means. It means what you experience every single day when there's two of you, and you're going, "I want to, but I don't to. I should, but I... Something in me that shouldn't. I shouldn't, but yet I'm gonna should." What is going on? And Paul says, "Just look. Don't think it through. Don't make this difficult. Don't make this complicated. Just call that sin." And he says, "That sin in you is no longer your master if you are in Messiah."
And then at the end of this incredible teaching, it's so rich, he summarizes it with a statement that many of us memorized as children. Remember this?
For sin’s payment is death, but God’s gracious gift is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.
He says this, "For the wages," or the payment, or the outcome, or the consequence, or the result, "for the wages of sin is death." Now, here's what you know and here's what I know. You don't have to be a Believer to know this. You don't have to be a believer. You don't have to be a theist to know this. Allow me to use a theological term to say something that we've all experienced. Sin kills things. Sin kills things. Sin always kills something. Some of you've had a marriage killed by sin. Some of you've had your finances killed by a lack of self-control, sin. Some of you've seen the relationship between you and one of your sons or your son or your daughter killed by their sin or your sin. Some of you have seen an addiction kill a relationship, kill the way you view yourself. You look in the mirror and you don't like what you see. And the reason you don't like what you see is because of sin, because sin has killed the way you view yourself. Wherever there is sin, something always dies.
He says this, "For the wages," or the payment, or the outcome, or the consequence, or the result, "for the wages of sin is death." Now, here's what you know and here's what I know. You don't have to be a Believer to know this. You don't have to be a believer. You don't have to be a theist to know this. Allow me to use a theological term to say something that we've all experienced. Sin kills things. Sin kills things. Sin always kills something. Some of you've had a marriage killed by sin. Some of you've had your finances killed by a lack of self-control, sin. Some of you've seen the relationship between you and one of your sons or your son or your daughter killed by their sin or your sin. Some of you have seen an addiction kill a relationship, kill the way you view yourself. You look in the mirror and you don't like what you see. And the reason you don't like what you see is because of sin, because sin has killed the way you view yourself. Wherever there is sin, something always dies.
But here's the part I don't want you to miss. Even forgiven sin kills things. Sin that has been forgiven continues to kill things. Our prisons are full of men and women who are afraid to be forgiven for their sin and God forgave them. They will be spend the rest of their life or they will spend a good part of their life in prison, because even forgiven sin kills things. And Yeshua the Messiah came into this world, not simply to forgive us of sin, but to be Joshua. To be the warrior-king. To deliver you from the dominion, the nation, the power, captivity, to sin. Because the wages of sin is always, always, always that something dies.
For sin’s payment is death, but God’s gracious gift is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.
But the gift to of Messiah’s Birth, but the gift of God, is eternal. There's that word again. "Life." And see, as a kid, you grow up, you think, "That just means I get to go to heaven when I die." That's not what he's talking about. Because the gift that you receive when you place your faith in Christ is a gift you receive right now, in this life. You receive the gift of God's life, eternal life, a life free from the power and bondage to sin. A life that frees us from sin's control. That was the gift of Messiah’s Birth. Not just forgiveness for, freedom from, the power of sin, through Messiah.
But the gift to of Messiah’s Birth, but the gift of God, is eternal. There's that word again. "Life." And see, as a kid, you grow up, you think, "That just means I get to go to heaven when I die." That's not what he's talking about. Because the gift that you receive when you place your faith in Christ is a gift you receive right now, in this life. You receive the gift of God's life, eternal life, a life free from the power and bondage to sin. A life that frees us from sin's control. That was the gift of Christmas. Not just forgiveness for, freedom from, the power of sin, through Christ.
This is the Gospel. This why we need the Birth of the Messiah. Through Yeshua, you can have a new master. Through Yeshua, you are given a new master. And here's the best news. Not the law of God, the spirit of God, in you. Which means, if you're a Believer, maybe you became a Believer when you were a child like me, maybe you became a Believer at camp as a teenager, or in college through a campus organization, or maybe, as an adult, your husband dragged you, your wife dragged you, your kids dragged you, and you've prayed that prayer, you put your faith in Messiah. If you're a Believer, and your religious experience has been what I talked about a minute ago, it's simply trying and failing and getting forgiveness, trying and failing and getting forgiveness, you are a bit like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.
you're a Believer, and your religious experience has been what I talked about a minute ago, it's simply trying and failing and getting forgiveness, trying and failing and getting forgiveness, you are a bit like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.
You're wandering around with those ruby red slippers. You can go home anytime you want. You can be free from sin anytime you want. You could say no to sin anytime you want. And maybe, like Dorothy, you just need somebody to tell you. So, if you're a Believer, I want you to look up here, I'm gonna tell you, alright? Sin is not your master. Sin is not your master. Lust is not your master. A lack of self-control in some area of your life is not your master. Alcohol is not your master. Prescription drugs are not your master. Your anger is not your master. Your jealousy is not your master. Your habit is not your master. When you became a Believer, you were placed into Messiah, and Yeshua the Messiah came into this world to do more than forgive you of your sin, He came to set you free from sin. Sin is not. You go, "I don't live that way," but I'm just telling you, Yeshua the Messiah would say, "You may live as if it's your master," you may say yes and make it your master, but sin is not your master, "you can go and sin no more."
It's why just about every morning of my life, I get on my knees and I pray, I pray on my knees. And part of my prayer is I say, I give God all my instruments, I give Him my hands, say, "God, I wanna give You my hands, wanna give You my eyes, give You my thinking, give You my lips, give You my ears, give You my feet. I want to surrender all of me to You, and I want to agree with You this morning to say, sin is not my master. And I will not submit the members of my body to a master that is no longer my master." You see, when that gets in your heart, and when that gets in your soul, in fact, there's somebody listening today at all of our campuses, and you're right now, you're sitting here going, "How are these people even sitting still?" I just wanna stand up and raise both of my hands, because I remember the day, I remember the afternoon, I remember the passage, I remember the book, I remember the blog, I remember my friend when they explained it, I remember the day that it dawned on me, "Wait a minute! I do not have to live as a prisoner to sin, because sin is not my master. You can speak to me, you can taunt me, you can bait me, you can tempt me, but sin, you are not my master." Now, if you're not a Believer, or maybe you grew up in Congregation but you got away, whatever the situation, you're not sure what you believe, the Bible's kinda weird to you, and the virgin birth is like really, really, really, really oblivious.
Let me just say this to you, if you're not a Believer, sin doesn't have to be your master, either. And if you ever get fed up, and if you ever get tired of being dragged down, you don't call it sin, you call it something else, that's fine. Lack of self-control, the way you were raised, you didn't have good parents, your boss, we all have excuses, I get that, I'm not being critical. I'm just saying, if you ever get fed up with you, and if you ever get fed up with something that seems to control you, if you ever get fed up with the self-destruction that you bring on yourself, and the self-destructive habits that destroy the relationships that are most important to you, if you ever get fed up with that, I have some great news for you. The Birth of Messiah.
This is a standing invitation from your Father in heaven. The birth of the Messiah is a standing invitation. You have been invited into a relationship where sin no longer has to be your master. Because you're not under law, you're under grace. You're a candidate for Christmas. So who needs to celebrate the birth of the Messiah? The world did. And who needs Christmas? God did, because He needed a way to demonstrate His love for us. And who needs Christmas? Anyone who needs to be saved from their sin.
heaven. Christmas is a standing invitation. You have been invited into a relationship where sin no longer has to be your master. Because you're not under law, you're under grace. You're a candidate for Christmas. So who needs Christmas? The world did. And who needs Christmas? God did, because He needed a way to demonstrate His love for us. And who needs Christmas? Anyone who needs to be saved from their sin. "You are to give him the name Yeshua the Messiah, because he will save his people from their sin."
She will give birth to a son; and you shall call His name Yeshua, for He will save His people from their sins.”
"You are to give him the name Yeshua the Messiah, because he will save his people from their sin."
Heavenly Father, please help us make this a reality in every single waking moment of our lives. n.