Christmas Eve 2018 Unto us a boy is born

Isaiah 9:2–7 CSB

2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. The people have rejoiced before you as they rejoice at harvest time and as they rejoice when dividing spoils. 4 For you have shattered their oppressive yoke and the rod on their shoulders, the staff of their oppressor, just as you did on the day of Midian. 5 For every trampling boot of battle and the bloodied garments of war will be burned as fuel for the fire. 6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.

Hark the Herald

Luke 2:1–20 CSB

1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. 2 This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, 5 to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: 11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: 14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors! 15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. 17 After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.

Joy to the World

Matthew 1:18–24 NKJV

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,

Once in Royal David’s City

John 1:1–18 NKJV

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 were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 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 His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, 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 beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Unto us a boy is born

In John 1:14 he says that the ‘Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. Dwelt means living; so He lived among us but the root of the word is tent or tabernacle. He tabernacled among us. The Tabernacle was a special place in the Old Testament especially during Israel’s journey in the desert. It was the place where Moses would go in to talk face to face with God. If no one can see the face of God and live then who was it that Moses spoke face to face with? Was it, by any chance, the pre-incarnate Jesus? Even so, God does not live in tents or tabernacles for He fills the whole earth, the whole universe and beyond. According to Hebrews 1:3, He upholds and sustains all things with His powerful Word. This is the Word who was with God, the Word who was God, the Word who was in the beginning.

John, of course, is using Genesis 1 as a template to start his gospel: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth; In the beginning was the Word. John says of the Word that He is the light of man for He was also the Word that said “let there be light”. He is the source of light. The Word is the creator.

The Word became flesh; He took on human form and human nature and became like us, literally becoming flesh as we are flesh. The flesh is weak; it is vulnerable; it has needs. Flesh needs food and water to sustain it along with air, along with clothes to cover it – without these things the flesh soon dies. Flesh also feels, it can feel good, it can feel bad. We only need to stub a toe, get a paper cut to know our flesh feels.

So, to say that “the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us” is to say that it was no longer just Moses who had seen God face to face. But in becoming flesh and living among us He took on not only our physical form and our human nature—that He became a man—but also that He took on the entire human condition, and He shared with us our weakness and our vulnerability and our neediness and our mortality. The only difference between us and Him was that He did not sin.

Jesus comes as the Word made flesh to redeem us by living in the flesh but not according to it. He showed us a new and better way. So, the strong Word became weak. The sovereign Word became vulnerable. The Word of fullness became needy. The living, eternal Word died.

And the Word of God did this without ceasing for a moment to be the Word who was with God and the Word who was God. Fully God and fully Man.

He did all this for our salvation. The Word took our weakness to make us strong. He assumed our need so that we could become full. He became poor so that we might become rich. And He died so that we could live. Ultimately the Word has come so that we will receive spiritual bodies, so that we will be redeemed from our weakness and our mortality and our vulnerability, and we will have resurrection bodies that will live forever just as Jesus does; resurrection bodies that are full of the Spirit.

There is more to the story of the birth of Jesus than what first meets the eye. That the God of the Universe, the One who created it all became like us to redeem us from the flesh and our fallenness.

Jesus was called the light of the world. What needs light except those in darkness? We are trying to feel our way through this dark world. The darkness has a name: sin. Sin is like an inherited disease and we are born in it and because God is light, brilliant light, unapproachable light, light so white sin is so offensive to God who is holy; He cannot bear to even look at us tainted as we are and has passed the just sentence of death upon us.

The light who had come into the world as a child at Christmas was rejected and put to death. While Jesus was dying darkness came over the whole land for 3 hours. In a mysterious way He took upon himself all our darkness; that is, all our sin. And God the Father cannot look on sin. And Jesus felt this as abandonment. All because of us.

God gave His Son to solve a problem. He did not want us to die without Him in hopelessness, so He sent His Son to take our punishment. He paid for our sin with His death.

And to prove that He had actually achieved this, that the words on the cross: “It is finished” were true is that three days after dying on the cross Jesus rose from the dead defeating darkness; defeating sin; defeating death.

Now he wants to do an exchange with you. You give him your darkness…and he will give you his light. You give him your sin and he will give you his righteousness. And then He will come and live within you. He will tabernacle with you.

Sounds like a great deal, a great gift, a great present to receive at Christmas for this is the reason for our celebrations. Jesus was born at Christmas to grow up and die for all of us so that we could be reconciled with God and have peace and hope this Christmas.

And our hope is not just for now for we do not yet have our spiritual bodies. We continue to live in the flesh, but because “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”—because He assumed our condition and lived a sinless life—He enables us by His Spirit to live lives in the flesh that are yet lives according to the Spirit. And one day we shall be taken to tabernacle with Him in Heaven forever.

Could it be that there is someone here who does not yet know Jesus? Trust in Him today and He will come and live within you and give you eternal life.

John 3:16–18 CSB

16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

For those who have received Jesus we have such a promise to be fulfilled ahead of us:

Revelation 21:3 NKJV

3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

May the desire of God also be ours.

Silent Night

Benediction

John 1:14 NKJV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

May you be filled with the wonder of Mary, the obedience of Joseph, the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the determination of the magi, and the peace of the Christ child. Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless you now and forever. Amen.

Bibliography

https://www.keepbelieving.com/a-christmas-benediction-2/ [Accessed 24/12/18] John Armstrong Benediction

Meditations on the Life of Christ. (2016). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press