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Beholding the Glory
Luke 2:1
Last message of our sermon series: “The Glory of Christmas”
The Glory that Jesus gave up for us.
The Glory of the Incarnation.
Today let’s ask how do we truly experience the glory of Christmas?
Popular images of Christmas.
Popular images of Christmas.
Mary riding on a donkey.
The Inn
Animals in the stable
Kids dressed like animals
4. Nativity scene
Notice the kids wearing crowns on their heads are the three kings.
Explanation:
There was nothing from the Biblical accounts that say that Mary rode a donkey.
The matter of the inn with “no room” is one of the most historically misunderstood aspects of the Christmas story.
ACU scholar Stephen Carlson writes that the word “kataluma” (often translated “inn”) refers to guest quarters.
Most likely, Joseph and Mary stayed with family but the guest room was too small for childbirth and hence Mary gave birth in the main room of the house where animal mangers could also be found.
No mention from the Bible of animals gathered around the baby Jesus.
Animals begin to appear in nativity art in the fourth century AD,
The three Kings.
Matthew mentions the magi or wise men, There were probably not three magi and they were not kings.
In fact, there is no mention of the magi’s number, there could have been two or 20 of them.
The tradition of three comes from the mention of three gifts – gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Their visit was in a house, about two years after the birth of Jesus.. (Herod’s murder of the innocents, etc.)
This is not to ruin our Christmas.
We love the beautiful present day presentations about Christmas.
But if you take away the lights, the beautiful pageantry around our celebration of Christmas, what is left?
Jesus came into that little town of Bethlehem into a world that is filled with darkness..
If there were newspapers or online or twitter posts around the time of the coming of Jesus, the headlines probably won’t be great.
Seems to be a gloomy start to the third message of our sermon series “The Glory of Christmas”, but the truth is that Jesus was born into a dark world, but...
Judea, the city of David was under Rom
The glory of God is more brilliant in the backdrop of the darkness to which it shines.
the glory of the stars in the sky is brightest if there is no light pollution from where you are gazing...
Seems to be a gloomy start to the third message of our sermon series “The Glory of Christmas”, but in many ways the glory of God is more brilliant in the backdrop of the darkness to which it shines.
Put saying here on the brilliance of God’s glory in the midst of darkness..
The atmosphere around the coming of the Lord Jesus in the Jewish mind for the nation of Israel was far from festive and celebratory.
The period in which Jesus was born was characterized by..
Silence
Separation
Subjugation
- Silence - The Silence of God.
- Separation - National separation and religious division.
Separation - National separation and religious division.
- Subjugation - Foreign Imperial Power, the Roman Empire.
1. Silence - God seemed silent for 400 years.
The time period between the Old and the New Testaments was when there was no new word, no prophecy, no new scripture was inspired and written.
It was a time when the Jewish nation was waiting for the coming of the Messiah.
We have heard of His coming, but when is He really gonna come?
It was also during this 400 years of silence that the Romans came to rule in Israel.
It had been 400 years, Israel needed to hear from God again.
2. Separation - Israel was being separated from their land, heritage, religion and their identity.
The Diaspora or dispersion of the Jews was at its height, there were more jews living outside their homeland than those who live in Judea.
Their religion has evolved in response to the times.
Instead of just the purity of Judaism as given through Moses, Jews were subjected to a legalistic system of religion.
The religion was divided, there were new factions that formed within, now they have the pharisees, the sadducees, the Essenes and the zealots.
There was confusion, disunity and disagreement in their beliefs, one (pharisees) believed in the spirit world and the resurrection and another, the Sadducees did not.
Being separated from their national identity, their traditions, their religion which was really their only known connection with God.
3. Subjugation = Israel used to have their own Kingdom but now they are subject to the kingdom of Caesar, the ruler of the Roman empire.
In fact, the story of the birth of Jesus that I read from starts with the Jewish people being forced to go to the place of their birth for a census.
That was not good in many ways, it was not just a matter of inconvenience but the census was a stark reminder of their oppression by the Romans.
After all, a census was needed in order for them to pay taxes to Caesar.
This was the kind of world Jesus was born into.
Isaiah said that these were a “people walking in darkness...”
It was a darkness characterized by the silence of God, a separation from Him and a subjugation by the enemy.
This was the reality around Jesus’ birth.
This is also the reality of Christmas to many people today.
TO many, especially during this time we celebrate the Savior’s birth..
People feel God is silent and that they are separated from Him and they are oppressed by enemies from all fronts.
God seems very silent.
You may have been praying to the Lord for a long time, even probably for many years for an answer.
Lord at times I am most desperate for an answer, and I have waited and I am just about to lose hope
To some of us, who feel that God is silent, Jesus came to the world to be our prophet.
To some of us, who feel that God is silent, Jesus came to the world as God’s spoken Word.
Jesus is Our Prophet.
He
The prophets of the Old Testament foretold the coming of Jesus accurately, but it is Jesus Who gave the final word.
In fact, Jesus is the Word of God.
He demands that we listen to Him for our instruction and healing from our blindness and ignorance.
Jesus is the Supreme Revelation from God.
The coming of Jesus did not break the silence of God, it is a wake up call
The coming of Jesus did not break the silence of God, it is a wake up call to us that He had already spoken.
The reason why it seems God seems silent to many people is because the voice of Jesus is being drowned in the noise of our lives..
But God has already spoken and continues to speak to us.
The answer to all our life issues is found in the Bible.
Read and meditate on it.
But Ramon, I’ve been asking God for an a specific answer and it has not come..
Do you believe the saying God’s timing is always perfect, who believes that?
Ramon, where is that in the Bible?
The Biblical expression for God’s perfect timing is the “fullness of time”.
Fullness = Pleroma
Which means complete, the reason why we are not getting that answer is that God is preparing you.
When God’s work of preparation is complete then you would be ready to receive the answer and the blessing that comes with it.
Don’t rely on your own plans, expectations and timing but rather wait for God’s “fullness of time”!
To those who feel separated from God, Jesus came to be our High Priest to join us with the Father.
Jesus is Our High Priest.
Why is Jesus our High Priest?
What is the role of a priest.
A priest is someone who mediates between God and man.
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