Christmas: Who is this Boy?

Introduction

Merry Christmas Everyone! It is good to be here with you all this evening! If you are visiting with us, let me just say welcome. We are so happy you are here.

My name is Ryan Keyser and I am actually not the pastor here. In fact our church is going through a very exciting time. We are currently looking for a new pastor. This has been a long process, but we are convinced that it is better to take it slow and get the right person than to settle. Now, It has been amazing to me to see how a church can come together without a pastor and work together not only to handle many of the administrative things that need taken care of, but also to love on people in this town, the state of New Mexico, and the world. With all this excitement going on, let me invite you to come visit us next week and in the new year. God is doing something special here and I am excited to see it all play out.

As I see several new faces out there, I want to take a moment and introduce myself. My name is Ryan Keyser. I am not the pastor here. In fact our church is going through a very exciting time in our church. We are currently looking for a new pastor. This has been a long process, but we are convinced that it is better to take it slow and get the right person than to settle. Now, It has been amazing to me to see how a church can come together without a pastor and work together not only to handle many of the administrative things that need taken care of, but also to love on people in this town, the state of New Mexico, and the world. With all this excitement going on, let me invite you to come visit us next week and in the new year. God is doing something special here and I am excited to see it all play out.

In April, my wife and I moved back to town to work at the lab. Having grown up here, we never thought we’d come back. after nearly 10 years away, we thought we had finally escaped. Seriously though, especially around the holidays, we realize there is no better place to be than home and around family. And let me just say, I am grateful to be with you guys. this church is like an extended family to us.

Of course you all know the story of the Christmas family: Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus. This evening we are going to take a brief look into this Christmas story from a viewpoint we don't often see. Normally, Christmas services do no more than read the 2nd chapter of Luke, or maybe sometimes look a little at the beginning of Matthew. We often times look at how Joseph and pregnant Mary went to Bethlehem to pay taxes and behold while there, Mary gives birth to Jesus. However, there was no room for them at the inn, so baby Jesus is laid in a manger. Shepherds come, wisemen come all to pay tribute to this child.

Rarely, however do we talk about who this boy is? Why is this story so significant? Today, we will be taking a quick look at the first chapter of the Gospel of John to see who this boy is. If you have a Bible, I invite you to follow along as I read .

John 1:1–14 NASB95

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1 NASB95

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. 19 This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” 24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. 27 “It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 “This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ 31 “I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” 32 John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.” 35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). 43 The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Lets Pray: Lord, We praise you and we thank you that the Word has indeed become flesh and has dwelt among us. Lord, today we pray that we may behold His Glory. The Glory of the only begotten from the Father. The Glory of the one who is full of grace, and full of truth. Amen

This passage is one of the deepest and most rich passages in the holy bible detailing who Jesus is. So, when looking at the baby in the manger, where better is there to look than this passage. However, due to the depth to the depth of this passage, we will only discuss three parts of it in detail this evening.

Starting in the last verse we read; verse 14, it says “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” This is proclaiming the birth of Jesus. Jesus, the Word of God, he became flesh and he dwelt among us.

Now I am sure you are all familiar with the Christmas story. We sang about it just a few minutes ago. The Christmas event was prophesied about centuries in advance. was written nearly 800 years in advanced. It reads:

Did you know that no one else in the Bible is called the Word? Strange nick name, huh? This word in the original Greek, logos, is a little more specific than in our english. In english, “word” can refer to a grouping of letters, word can also be a statement: “good word man, good word.” Word has also been adapted in english to be even more casual, right? Word. Word can mean a lot of things in english, but in the language this passage was written in, the Greek word “logos”, refers to a message or a statement. You see, Jesus is the message. Not only is he the message of the season, but he is a message to every man, woman and child. And this message became flesh, and dwelt among us. Jesus is the message

Isaiah 9:6 NASB95

6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Jumping back to verse 1 we see an even richer elaboration as to who this word is:

John 1:1–3 NASB95

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

- “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.”

Has anyone ever told you that the Bible doesn’t say that Jesus is God? Apparently they have not read the book of John. Throughout the entire book, Jesus is presented as God. In , Jesus Says

This verse points to the theology of the preeminence of Jesus. That is to say that Jesus was with God

John 10:30 NASB95

30 “I and the Father are one.”

Jesus says that he is one with the Father God. In , Jesus goes further. He says

John 14:6 NASB95

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

These are just a few of the many statements in the book of John and in the Bible that attest that Jesus is God. He and the Father are one. Jesus himself proclaims a trinitarian theology of God. That is to say, The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit are one, yet are distinct.

Jesus existed with God in the beginning. In Genesis, where we see God creating the heavens and earth, Jesus was there.

Then we come to statement “the Word was God”

Now, in my opinion, when I studied Greek, there were few things harder to learn than verb tenses. Why? Its because verb tenses in Greek don't have an equivalent tense in english. Take for example this phrase. “θεος ην ‘ο λογος” Simple enough, “θεος” is “God”, “ο λογος” is “the Word”. but were it gets complex is in the verb. ην is the to-be verb in an imperfect tense. Our english here translates it as a simple past tense verb - which might we add is accurate to a degree. However, the Imperfect tense in Greek means more. An imperfect verb is an “action in a state of being that is occurring in the past with no assessment of the action’s completion”

So when we read “The Word was God” in this passage, we now know that we don’t read that “was” as a simple past tense verb, which in English often refers to a completed action. however, we read it simply as “The word was God” without an assessment of completion. That is to say, given the context, “The Word was God, and he very well probably still is God.”

Michael S. Heiser and Vincent M. Setterholm, Glossary of Morpho-Syntactic Database Terminology (Lexham Press, 2013; 2013).

That is exactly who this boy in the manger was: God Incarnate. God came humbly to earth in the form of a baby to illustrate his desire to have a relationship with humankind. God desires a relationship with you, and with me.

We can keep going through this passage, which is so so rich, but lets just hit some high notes.

John 1:4–5 NASB95

4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Here John makes the contrast between light and darkness. Jesus is light; he illuminates, he peacefully shines on darkness and brings it to light.

But nevertheless it says the darkness cannot comprehend it. If you are not with Jesus, the true light, according to scripture you are in darkness. Jesus is shinning for you to invite you to come to him. to come into the light. but until you desire to come to him, it says that being in the state of darkness, you cannot comprehend Jesus and who he truly is.

Now as it says that Jesus, the true Light, Shines into the darkness. So we know that Jesus is God, but this is now saying why Jesus was born. This is saying why God came to earth to be born as a man. He wanted to shine into darkness.

John 1:6–8 NASB95

6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

John 1:6-

This passage talks a little about John the baptist. He also appears in the other gospels. He was the voice crying out the gospel message before Jesus’ disciples came on the scene. That we need to seek Jesus, our God.

Then the passage goes back to describing Jesus, the True Light:

John 1:9–12 NASB95

9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

John 1

You see, its clear, Jesus came to the earth. Though he was God, He put on people skin. He had a desire, that is to enlighten every man. This word “enlighten,” in the Greek, literally means to bring to the light. Jesus came to earth to pull human kind out of darkness. out of our sins, and to bring us to God’s marvelous light.

Now if you are out there and you sense that there is darkness in your heart. I would like to invite you now to accept that baby boy, laying in the manger into your life. I would like to invite you accept the Light into your life, for he alone drive out that darkness. Who is this boy? He is none other than Jesus Christ our God.

Let’s Pray:

Jesus Christ, we thank you that though you are God, you came so humbly and peacefully. We celebrate your birth on earth today and give thanks that you are the light of men. Lord we would like to take a moment now and acknowledge that we are not perfect people. The bible says that no one is perfect. We all do things against your will. That is to say that we have sin in our lives. We ask now lord, that you would shine your light into the darkest corners of our lives and of our hearts and that you would work to push out the darkness.

Now, if you have never come to jesus before, that’s okay. If this is you, if you have never asked jesus to be Lord of your life, that is to say to let him shine his light and change you so as to drive away darkness, I would like to talk to you now. If this is you, let me tell you that you can today become a child of God. It says in :

John 1:12 NASB95

12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

If you would like to receive Jesus as your lord and Savior. I would like to invite you to talk to me after service. You can either come up to me, or my phone number will be on the screen you are welcome text me and we can arrange a time to talk about what it means to accept Jesus into your heart, and what to expect as he begins to shine the light into the dark places in your life. But for now, i want to invite you pray this prayer with me:

Lord Jesus, I

I know I’m a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe that He died for my sin and that you raised Him to life. I want to trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as Lord, from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do your will. Shine your light into our lives today. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

John 1:1–3 NASB95

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

Joh

First we see that

That is exactly who Jesus is: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace.

Jesus was born and laid in a manger, which is essentially a livestock feeding trough, because there was no room for Jesus and his family at the inn. You see, they were on travel for a census that was occuring.

The Christmas story is the story about the birth of Jesus. But rarely on Christmas do we ever discuss why this event is so important. We don't talk about how the birth of Jesus changed everything. In fact Jesus’ birth has direct bearing on your life and mine. What we too rarely discuss is who was this boy? Who was this baby born and laid in a manger?

Jesus

As I look around I see some festive people, Ugly Sweaters are becoming a thing. I love it. When else can you dress in Ugly clothes and people complement you? As we look at Christmas, and the person of Jesus, what I find amazing is that