Unwrapped: Christmas Redemption

Video

Introduction

This morning we continue our series “Unwrapped”. We’re wrapping Jesus’ family history as it is given to us by one of his best friends, Matthew. Matthew begins his story of the life of Jesus with Jesus’ family tree. And in that family tree we find those who are unlikely, undeserving, unworthy, and unexpected. His family tree is full of the notorious. The outrageous. The scandalous. Sinners like you and like me. Along the way in the family tree, Matthew takes note of five women, women who have been touched by scandal and shame. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Jesus’ mother Mary all share similar scars of shame and notoriety.

One note this morning about Jesus’ family tree, and the stories we have been telling. If you haven’t noticed already about the way we are reading these stories from what we call The Old Testament, the parts of our Bibles that are before Jesus, we read these stories as

real events.

These are real events. They really happened. These are not fictitious. But we also read them as

anticipating Jesus.

All of these stories are telling us something about Jesus, who He is, and what He has done for His people. So today, as we are reading the story of Ruth, Naomi, and Obed, we read their stories as real events, but as also telling us something about Jesus and the redemption of people. These are shadows of what is to come in Jesus, even though Jesus lived hundreds of years later.

The story of Ruth

The story of Ruth is a fascinating story. Through marriage, Ruth is pulled into the world of a family in the tribe of Judah and connected to Tamar and Rahab. Ruth is not a Jew. She is a Gentile. A Moabite. Moabites were not only enemies of Israel, they happened to be distant relatives as a nation. And their origin story is one of drunkenness, rebellion and incest through Abraham’s nephew Lot. Sordid. Notorious. Through Ruth, Lot and his shameful behavior become part of the family line of Jesus.

Ruth is totally unexpected. Ruth, the Gentile, embraces the God of Israel and His Promises. Her husband and his extended family had moved to the land of Moab because Moab had food. Israel had drought. He marries Ruth, but then he unexpectedly dies, leaving her with no husband and no child. Her mother-in-law’s name is Naomi, and she is also a widow. After a few years, Naomi hears that there is food in Israel again and the two widows end up in a little town called Bethlehem.

Because they have no husbands, they have no land, and they have no heirs. Both Naomi and Ruth are completely dependent on the generosity of others to get by. Ruth meets a very kind man of considerable means whose name is Boaz. Boaz is rich and he is single. And most likely he’s also old enough to be Ruth’s dad. Naomi also tells Ruth that Boaz is a relative. Ruth asks Boaz to marry her. And through a series of events, Boaz redeems Ruth, he purchases Ruth to be his bride. This isn’t necessarily the stuff of romance and Hallmark. But Boaz, as Ruth’s redeemer, becomes an unlikely participant in an unexpected story.

Obed the Christmas Child

You see, the problem all along with Ruth and Naomi is that there is no heir. There is no one to carry on the family name. Naomi and Ruth are childless, one of the most depressing things that could happen to a woman living in that culture. No heir meant no participation in the Promised Land and its Promises. Yet Ruth holds to the Promise. Boaz isn’t just a redeemer. Boaz is an heir himself. And in the course of time, Ruth gives birth to a son. There will be an heir for both Ruth and Naomi. That heir’s name is Obed. Obed is the miracle son. Totally unexpected. Totally unlikely. Never in a million years does a Jewish man of great wealth marry a Gentile widow. Obed is the heir of destiny.

Listen to what the town is saying and most likely singing about Obed:

Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you without a family redeemer today. May his name become well known in Israel. He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. Indeed, your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became a mother to him. The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi. (Ruth 4:14-16)

They are singing Obed’s song. What a moment for Naomi. Just a year ago, she was bitter. She was without hope. And now? Through Boaz and Ruth Naomi has a son. Naomi has a destiny. Naomi has a place in the inheritance and the Promises. All through Obed. Obed is the promise child, the one providing hope and rest and peace to Naomi and Ruth. Note what the song says here:

Obed will renew your life and sustain you.

Obed will renew your life and sustain you. Who is this child? The women know. They know the Promises. They know the story. They’ve already song the song of Tamar. They know the Promise of a King is coming through Judah and his son Perez through Tamar. They’ve just witnessed a Redeemer’s purchase of an unlikely bride whose faith is remarkable. Ruth herself clinging to the Promises. And now Ruth’s child sits on Naomi’s lap as the child in a line of kings. The child sitting on the lap of Naomi as they sing…

A Son has been born to Naomi.

An infant on a mother’s lap as the chorus sings in the little town of Bethlehem, home to Naomi and Ruth… oh who does that sound like? Who is being anticipated here? What Promises are these women clinging to? Where is their hope? What do they see in the destiny of this child? Another mother’s lap. Another Child. Another Chorus. In the same little town of Bethlehem. And just like Obed, it will be said of this child,

This Child will renew your life and sustain you. This Child will save His people from their sins.

Matthew has included Ruth’s name here because he wants us to see how the grace of God was working in history for and through a Gentile woman. Ruth knew all about the scandal and shame of what it meant to be a Moabite living in Israel. God gives her grace through Boaz who Redeems her anyway. And it’s through that grace, a son of destiny is born. Obed had a grandson. That grandson’s name was David, the greatest king of Israel. But David didn’t fulfill all of Obed’s Destiny. David was a sinner too. There had to be another. Obed’s destiny is fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus is the one who gives us new life and sustains the new life he has given us. And so they sing,

A Son has been born in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.

All of Naomi’s hopes and dreams, all of the Promises that fueled Ruth’s faith are Unwrapped in that manger in Bethlehem. Matthew tells us that as the years went by, this little one who came to save His people from their sins grew up. And the very first thing he does before he begins his ministry, Matthew tells us, is to pay a visit to his cousin John on the banks of the Jordan River.

Jesus shows up to where John is preaching and baptizing, and the shock of the story is that Jesus wants to be baptized by John. And if you know anything about Jesus, you have the same response as John: Whaaaaaaaat? Jesus is the one who came into the world to save His people from their sins. Jesus has no need to be baptized. He’s not a sinner. He’s never sinned. He has no need to confess his sins or convert from unbelief to faith. John is stunned… he tries to talk Jesus out of it, and says “you should be the one baptizing me”.

Jesus’ words here are a reminder to John that there’s a bigger plan involved. Jesus basically says, “yeah, John, you’re right. I have no need to confess sin. I don’t need to convert from unbelief to faith. But I’ve come to save my people from their sins.” The very reason Jesus came into the world is why he is now on the bank of the Jordan River asking to be baptized along with sinners. It is necessary for Jesus to be baptized as if he is a sinner, because this is how he is going to save them from their sin. He is going to be among the sinners, take the place of sinners, and do for them what they cannot do for themselves: have their sins forgiven and make them right with God.

John gives in and baptizes Jesus. As John baptizes Jesus, Jesus is saving his people from their sins, people for whom he will eventually die on the cross. You see, if Jesus is not baptized in the Jordan that day, there is no baptism for the forgiveness of sins as John had promised. Water alone does not accomplish God’s salvation for his people. Jesus and his substitutionary baptism, life, and death, and resurrection for his people is what accomplishes that salvation. If Jesus is not baptized that day, there is no baptism for Ashley this morning. There is no hope for Obed, or Ruth, or Naomi. There’s no forgiveness of sins. No being welcomed into God’s family.

So John baptizes Jesus and the next remarkable thing happens. Matthew says“the heavens suddenly opened for Jesus”. And there is a voice from heaven, the same voice that thundered from a mountain hundreds of years prior… that thundering voice is now speaking words of love and divine satisfaction:

This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.

When Jesus steps into the water and stands in the place of sinners, the one who will eventually bear their sins in his body on the cross, he is doing the very thing he was sent to do: saving his people from their sins. And the Father is absolutely pleased. This is My beloved Son. And his actions today cause me great delight.

Jesus does this for us. Jesus does this for Ashley. And the Father declares Jesus to be the beloved son. Because Jesus has come to save his people, he is now known as The Beloved. And that’s the answer to our question this morning. What have we just witnessed? We have witnessed the Father bestowing a new identity onto Ashley, a new name…because of the action of His son Jesus. Ashley is now known as a “beloved”. The new name she is given in baptism is the same one Jesus was given and we are given… One who has been loved. This daughter is one who has been loved by God in salvation, in forgiveness. The father uses water and The Word to make us every bit a son or daughter of God as Jesus is. And then he declares for all the earth to hear: This is One whom I love. He is saying to Ashley this morning and to every single one of us who have been baptized: you are One who is loved. A beloved child. And because of Jesus, I am very, very pleased with you.

Christmas Redemption

Some of you came here this morning wondering how in the world God could be pleased with you. There’s no way, you’re thinking. No way, God will be pleased with me. If you have been baptized, if you have placed your faith in Jesus, God is pleased with you. Not because of anything you have done, but because of what Jesus has done for you on your behalf. God is always pleased with you because God is always pleased with Jesus. It’s not your works that make God pleased. The Bible says we cannot please God. But Jesus did for us. He pleases God on our behalf. And so God says, in our baptism, you are my beloved son, you are my beloved daughter, and I am very, very pleased with you. We don’t deserve it. Yet he is pleased anyway.

And in those moments when we are tempted to think we are not blessed and we don’t have God’s smile on us, we look to our baptism and we tell the devil he’s a liar. Because God has blessed us in our baptism. The chorus singing around Naomi called her “Blessed”. She’s “blessed” because her hope is in the Promise of One who is coming who will give new life and sustain that new life. That One has come. And he gives us His life. New life. And he sustains that life. Baptism is our blessed life now. Jesus has poured out the Spirit into our life and he has forgiven our sins because this is exactly what Jesus has done for us. Boaz couldn’t die for sinners. Obed couldn’t die for sinners. David couldn’t die for sinners. All of them anticipated another One who would come, the One who is Christmas redemption.

Only Jesus. Jesus died for sinners, saving His people from their sins. This is what has happened here this morning. This is why Ashley is blessed and you are blessed and we are blessed. This is the good news of the gospel of Jesus who gives us His grace and gives us the name: One Who Is Loved.

Let’s pray.

Do you want to know how you know you are loved? Right here. The font and the Table. Jesus gave us these two Sacraments not only to remind us how much we are loved, but to actually love us in the life and forgiveness that he provides through them. The act of baptism is actually a death. Water always has two purposes in the Bible… to give life and to kill it. The flood is an example. Another example is the children of Israel passing through the Red Sea leaving Egypt. When Jesus was baptized, he showed what he would do for us, he would die for us. The death we deserve, the punishment for sin that we deserve, is given to Jesus and he dies in our place. That death is reenacted in this Table. Jesus body was broken for us and his blood poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. And this is what he does for us in the Table.