The Greatest Gift of All
Notes
Transcript
Focus: The gift of Jesus Christ is greater than anything or anyone in existence.
Function: To encourage the congregation to think about those people or things that stop them from experiencing the true gift of Jesus.
1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3 He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You are my Son;
today I have begotten you”?
Or again,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son”?
6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7 Of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels winds,
and his servants flames of fire.”
8 But of the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”
10 And,
“In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
11 they will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like clothing;
12 like a cloak you will roll them up,
and like clothing they will be changed.
But you are the same,
and your years will never end.”
This would be a special Christmas Day Service on Zoom.
This morning many of you woke up with eager excitement. Most of you don’t have children at home anymore, but you just can’t seem to sleep in on Christmas morning, even if you don’t have small children awake and ready to open presents at 5am.
This year is, of course, very different. Maybe you normally have your grandchildren over on Christmas morning, but not this year. Maybe you would normally go to where your grandchildren are and celebrate Christmas with them, but not this year.
Maybe you are parents that do have children, but your parents or in-laws aren’t around this year to share in the excitement of your kids opening presents.
No matter how different his year may be for us all, we all have something that COVID-19 can’t take away from us, and that’s our memories.
Do you recall ever having a Christmas where there was a present under the tree that was wrapped so incredibly perfect? This present may have been wrapped in a bright red paper, or maybe a deep green? Maybe there were little images of Santa’s face on it, or maybe a bow or ribbon.
I remember one Christmas morning when I woke up very early, as most children do, and rushed to my Dad’s room to wake him up. He grumbled, of course, but then went and grabbed a cup of coffee as my little brother and I flopped down in front of the tree.
After he had a few sips he nodded and we began opening presents in a mad fury. Wrapping paper went this way, ribbons that way. Shreds of paper, tape and parts of boxes were flying in the air like they were a gently falling snow.
Through this madness I remember seeing a present center and under the tree. I pulled it out as my brother continued tearing through his, and I couldn’t seem to open it.
I was mesmerized by the wrapping paper on the outside. It was a small box, about the size of a shoe box. It was light when I picked it up, and felt like it had nothing in it. The paper though was a deep red (which is my favorite color.) It had a nice matte finish and the creases on it were perfect. The ribbon around it was a subtle green, and it all blended together in perfect unity under the Christmas tree lights.
I sat, staring at the box, unable to move. I was completely transfixed. I knew though that with this wrapping, whatever was inside had to be big, it had to be something that every little boy wanted for Christmas…but I just couldn’t seem to get passed the wrapping.
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Today we read the very first few verses of the book of Hebrews, the prologue. In this prologue we learn a few important things...
God spoke to His people in the past through prophets. Not only is that told to us here in Hebrews, but we can see it as we read through any of the Old Testament prophetic books. The authors wrote as through it is God speaking to the audience. God was in fact speaking to His audience through those prophets.
Then, the author of Hebrews directs our attention to Jesus by saying that “in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.” We learn here that God then spoke to his people through his Son, Jesus. But, the author of Hebrews is sure to elevate Jesus’ status above being just another prophet. More than that, we learn that Jesus is God’s heir and the means by which everything was created! Thus, the author of Hebrews establishes that Jesus is more important than the prophets.
Even more than that, Jesus is said to be “the exact imprint of God’s very being” and that when he died for the purification of sins that he was seated at the right hand of “the Majesty of high.”
Most of this that was said is pretty easy for us to understand. We recognize that Jesus is God and He is mightier than any human in the history of all creation, including the prophets.
But, the author of Hebrews gets to something that most of us read and think, “why was this included?”
We are told that Jesus became “much superior to angels” and then the author of Hebrews spends ten more verses trying to convince their audience that Jesus is much greater than angels.
Why?
Well, the audience that the author of Hebrews wrote to would have seen angels as these magnificent creatures. Angels are a part of God’s heavenly court, messengers from Heaven! They are mediators between God and human beings, and in fact stand closer to the presence of God than human beings do. The ancient Jewish world, steeped deeply into belief in the supernatural, would have understood the angels to have great importance, almost as important as God! They would have known them to be inferior to God, but far superior to humans.
To compare it to today, Angels would have been the magnificent and awe-filling wrapping paper that shouted out on Christmas morning “something amazing is inside!” These messengers of God were in high standing in the eyes of the 1st century Jews, but Jesus needed to be higher. Jesus was more important, and the author of Hebrews wanted to make sure that was clear.
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As I sat on the floor in my Dad’s trailer that Christmas morning, with an elegantly wrapped Christmas present in my lap, I almost became so obsessed with the wrapping on the outside that I almost missed the wonderful gift on the inside.
My dad noticed my pause and said, “Well, go on, open it up.” My Dad knew that this was my “big present” and he was just so eager to see me open it and watch my expression as I saw what was inside.
I stared at the box a bit more, and with a half-broken heart I tore through the paper and open the shoebox. Inside was a bunch of crumpled up newspapers. I flung these pieces of newspaper out as I continued to slump over the box and look at the desecrated wrapping paper next to me, and at the bottom of the box sat a... small white envelope.
Wow, how amazing. A letter, thanks Dad.
I was so frustrated at the audacity of my father that I didn’t even open the envelope. I tossed it to the side and moved on to the next box. My Dad, now a little aggravated, placed the envelope back into my lap and sternly said, “open the envelope” through clenched teeth.
As I sluggishly did so my eyes began to fill with joy. Much more joy than what I had at the sight of the wrapping paper. I pulled them out of the envelope and they sung to me like a choir of angels (hehe see what I did there?) I couldn’t believe my eyes as I inspected them carefully in my hands. I finally got the one thing that I had always wanted...
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This is what the author of Hebrews is working to do for their audience. Make them see that the gift that the angels are announcing, being Jesus Christ, is much greater than the angels themselves, and is everything they had ever wanted.
But, we don’t get distracted by angels today, do we? I mean, sure, we top our Christmas trees with them and put things in our cars that say “don’t drive faster than your guardian angel can fly.” But, we don’t come near worshiping them like Jews in the first century did.
Instead, we worship other things. We gawk at other fine wrappings around the box instead of longing for the gift inside.
We forget about Jesus and pursue the highest paying jobs so that we can buy the fanciest looking homes so we can park the nicest looking cars out front so that we can impress people that we will never meet.
We dress ourselves up in the nicest clothes and own dozens if not hundreds of shoes while the homeless freeze to death in harsh winters on the streets.
We say that we only worship Jesus, but sometimes our lives, our decisions…they reflect that we are simply worshiping someone else all together. Ourselves.
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The excitement that goes behind Christmas should be for Christ’s birth, but instead we find ourselves groaning over Christmas day services and cheering when our favorite item goes on sale for the new year.
So no, maybe we don’t worship the angels like some Jews in the first century did. We may not get stuck on the wrapping paper on the outside that announces the good gift on the inside, but we really aren’t worshiping God with all that we can, are we?
There was a video that went around of a child opening a Christmas present. He unwrapped the paper and put on the fakest enthusiasm possible as he said, “an avocado, thaaaanks” and set the avocado to the side.
I fear that while we say things like “put Christ back into Christmas” we are being like the little boy with his avocado, gently putting Jesus to the side with fake gratitude for the sacrifice that he made for us.
I want to wake up each and every day with the same gratitude and enthusiasm for Jesus as I did that Christmas morning when I held up two tickets to a WWE wrestling event in my hand!
The author of Hebrews wanted their audience to recognize the importance and necessity of Christ above the glory and majesty of the angels.
It wasn’t an attempt at downplaying the importance and significance of the angels that act as mediators for God. It was an attempt at highlighting the greatest gift that was given to them, and to us, the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.
So, I want to ask you, is there anything or anyone in this world that you get stuck on which doesn’t allow you to see the gift of Jesus fully?
It may not be angels like the audience of Hebrews, but it could be your spouse or you job. Maybe you get stuck on politics, or not giving up your sleep-in time to go worship God on Sunday morning?
Maybe the thing you get stuck on is a fear to know more about God because it means there is more responsibility to tell others about God.
The author of Hebrews is telling us, right at the beginning, that there is nothing greater than Christ the savior.
Each and everyone of us needs to take a step back, look around, and instead of focusing on all that surrounds our faith and work and our lives, look at who should be at the center of it all, like a gift under the Christmas tree...
the Light of the World
God with Us
the Wonderful Counselor
the Prince of Peace
the Son of God
the Might One
Our Messiah
Jesus the Christ.
