CHRISTMAS ACCORDING TO JESUS

Introduction

This time of year when we look at the Christmas account, we usually find ourselves in the gospels, specifically Luke. That has not been the case this year. Today we we go to the book of Hebrews where we find the truth that the manger was the beginning of the mission. The Babe of Bethlehem was born to die.

This morning we will observe the account of Christmas in Hebrews gets lost in the account of the gospels many times. This morning we will see Christmas according to Jesus.

Pastor John MacArthur states it this way:

“Those soft little hands, fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb, were made so that nails might be driven through them…Those baby feet-pink and unable to walk, would one day walk up a dusty hill to be nailed to a cross…That sweet infant’s head with sparkling eyes and eager mouth was formed so that someday men might force a crown of thorns onto it…That tender body, warm and soft, wrapped in swaddling clothes, would one day be ripped open by a spear.”

Yes, Jesus was born that He might die, but He did so that we might live.

Today we look at the recorded conversation Jesus had with the Father on the day He left heaven to begin His earthly mission culminating at the cross. There are three lessons we should learn from this incredible account of Christmas-Christmas according to Jesus.

God Cannot Be Pleased by Our Casual Commitment (10:5-6)

Jesus is greater than everyone. He is greater than Billy Graham. He is greater than every liberal mandating politician. He is greater than our fear. He is greater than sin, hell, and the grave. Mohammad Ali is not the greatest. Jesus is the greatest. Therefore He is worthy of more than our half-hearted commitments.

As we come to verse five, the first word we observe is the word therefore. It is a word of reason. To find the reason that this word is here we must go back to the first four verses for the context. [read verses 1-4]

One of the reasons Jesus is the greatest is because it is impossible for the blood sacrifices of animals to expunge the guilt of our sins. These were never meant to provide salvation. They were actually ineffective because of their external nature. The reason God accepted them was due to an internal requirement that made them acceptable to God.

When a sacrifice was made from an external position alone, the worshiper was guilty of coming to God with a divided heart. You cannot worship God with a divided heart (1-2). That is the reason Jesus would say in this verse, “You did not desire sacrifice and offering.” He repeats the same thought in verse six. [read] That is to say, God cannot receive from us the worship we outwardly give with hearts of half-hearted commitment.

Give as an act of worship. Honor the Lord with your money and with the firstfruits of all of your income. Two little boys were each given a box of chocolates by their grandfather. The first boy took the package into his bedroom, tore into it, and stuffed the candies into his mouth until he was one big mess of smeared chocolate. The other boy unwrapped his package there in front of his grandfather. He opened the box and looked at all the candies. Then he raised the box to his grandfather and said, “Thank you for giving me this candy. Here, you have the first piece.

It is the difference between giving God the “first peace” and giving God the leftovers of our lives that makes our worship and service to Him effective or ineffective.

Application

Just like the old sacrifices, our half-hearted commitment to the things of God will lead to ineffective service to God. The Old Testament sacrifices were external practices that the people had corrupted over time. Our sin many times is manifested externally. However, the corruption it causes always originates internally, in the heart. When our service to God is not done with the right spirit of heart, it reduces that service to worthlessness. Would you just ask God to reveal the true condition of your heart’s spirit and motives of service to Him. If necessary, ask Him to forgive you as you repent of a half-hearted commitment to Him. Turn loose of the control you are holding onto and have the attitude of a slave ready to serve His Master.

The first lesson for us to learn is that it is impossible for God to be pleased with half-hearted commitment. There is also a second lesson to be learned.

God Can Be Pleased by Our Complete Surrender (10:7-9)

At this point it is interesting to make a couple of connections to Christmas before moving on. Notice the first part of verse four once more. It says, “Therefore, as he was coming into the world, he said.” This speaks of both Christ’s preincarnate state as well as the incarnation.

Christmas Connection #1: Jesus has always existed.

The author of the book of Hebrews states that Jesus came into the world. Before Bethlehem, Jesus already was. At the very beginning of the book of Hebrews we are given information on who Jesus is. [read Hebrews 1:1-3]

Jesus is the one who speaks with God as well as being the one who speaks from God (1:1).

Jesus is heir of all things and is the creator of the world. He is also the one who holds the universe together by the word of his power (1:2-3).

Jesus is also the very radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of God’s nature. (1:3).

Christmas Connection #2: Jesus left the glory of heaven and came to earth.

This is the doctrine of the incarnation of Jesus. What does this mean? This means that the virgin birth is absolutely essential to Christianity. Without the virgin birth, Jesus would have inherited our human sin nature and would have been an ineffective sacrifice, just like the animal sacrifices of old.

Jesus was perfect in every way so He is perfectly qualified to be our atoning Savior. Someone might ask the question, “Why was Christ’s sacrifice so effective? The first thing to notice is that Christ’s sacrifice was bound up in his complete surrender to accomplish the will of the Father. This truth is reiterated in verses 8-9. In eternity past, it was in the mind of God to create a body (the Incarnation). It was the divine plan of God in eternity past that Jesus would go to the cross. Jesus is acknowledging this fact in these verses as He surrenders Himself to the will of the Father. Jesus would accomplish what no number of animal sacrifices could accomplish. He would bring about God’s plan of salvation for humanity. He willingly paid the price of obedience.

Verses five through seven are a quote from Psalm 40:6-8. The writer continues under the Spirit’s inspiration as he states in verse nine that, “He takes away the first to establish the second.” The old system is being replaced by the new. The ineffective was being replaced by the perfect. The old system was a foreshadowing of the ultimate truth of the new. We are no longer called to go to the Temple to sacrifice animals, we are called to come to Jesus, the perfect sacrifice.

Application

It is impossible to live in two worlds at the same time. We have a choice to make every morning we arise. Will we seek to live in the old or will we choose to live in the new? The old is filled with the fear, disappointments, and self-interests of the old man. The new is filled with faith, courage, boldness, and excitement of the new. Which world are we going to live in? To live in the new requires complete surrender to Christ, the one who completely surrendered to the will of the Father.

The second lesson to be learned is that God is pleased with our complete surrender. Hold on, there is one more lesson to be learned today.

We Can Rejoice in the Result of Complete Surrender (10:10)

Jesus spoke of the Old Testament sacrifices and offerings as not pleasing to God. God required the sacrifice of an animal to demonstrate to sinful people the seriousness of sin. Sin began in the Garden of Eden and continues today. The penalty of sin was death and it was necessary for an animal sacrifice to satisfy God’s judgment.

However, it was God’s position that the Old Testament sacrifices covered human sin. However, it never completely covered man’s guilt associated with those sins. Those Old Testament sacrifices were only a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Christmas Connection #3: Jesus accomplished His mission through a sinless life, a perfect sacrificial death, and a victorious resurrection.

You see, Jesus came to do perfectly what the Old Testament sacrifices could never do. He came to completely deal with our sin once and for all. “It is finished” from the cross spells the end of sin’s curse, Satan’s deception, and death’s destructive power.

The statement of Jesus from this passage , “I have come to do your will, God” speaks volumes on Christ’s attitude of surrender to the Father. Christ was all in for doing the will of God. He held nothing back. He gave all. Should our attitude to godly surrender to do God’s will be any different?

Adrian Roger and Rev. Josef Tson, the Romanian pastor, author and president of the Romanian Missionary Society who survived years of persecution and exile under Communist rule, had met and were conversing with each other. Dr. Rogers asked Dr. Tson for his assessment of American Christianity.

Josef said that the driving word in American Christianity is commitment. He said that was not a good thing. Dr. Tson stated that the word commitment was not even used in the English language until around the 1960s. He stated, “When a new word comes into usage, it generally pushes an old word out. I began to study and found the old word that commitment replaced. Adrian, the old word that is no longer in vogue in America is the word surrender.

He continued, “When you make a commitment, you are still in control. Whatever you choose to do, you commit to. But surrender is different. If someone holds a gun and asks you to lift your hands in the air as a token of surrender, you don’t tell that person what you are committed to. You simply surrender and do what you’re told. Americans love commitment because they are still in control. But the key word is surrender. We are to be the slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Christ’s sacrifice is powerful because it sanctifies the believer. That is, it makes him holy. Animal sacrifices never had the potential to make a person holy. The idea here is that believers in Christ have been set apart for God’s glory and purposes. Thus, the definition of a genuine Christian is a person who God has set part to Himself and for Himself.

God has set us apart to Himself and for His purposes to display His own glory and holiness. Isn’t that what Christmas is all about?

Conclusion

Have you ever had a conversation that you wished you could get back, even for just a moment? I suppose that all of us would agree that we have. On January 29th of this year, I had my final conversation with my father on this earth. At the end of that conversation I had to say goodbye.

Two thousand years ago God the Father and God the Son had a conversation. Imagine if you can the possible scene. There they are at the very doorsteps of heaven. Jesus is about to leave to go on His earthly mission that begins at the manger and eventually the cross. The Father and the Son exchange farewells. What was it that the Father and Son conversed about? We are not privy to the details but there are three things that were important from their perspectives. First, they spoke of human complacency and half-hearted commitment as being unpleasing to . Second, they spoke of surrender and how it is pleasing to God. Finally, they spoke of the reason Jesus was leaving. He would leave to replace the old system of animal sacrifices that were offered over and over again. He would replace this Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for mankind’s sin. He would make the way for man to return to fellowship and relationship with God. That is the account of Christmas according to Jesus.