The Second Day of Christmas
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION:
*Open Your Bibles to Luke 2
While you are finding your place, let me say Merry Christmas to you!
Yes, Christmas day was yesterday, but it is today as well
Today is the 2nd day of Christmas
Christmas is actually a 12 day celebration traditionally
It started yesterday, and will end on December 6th
On the Day of Epiphany, or King’s Day
This day is noted for the worship of Christ by the Gentiles
And while it is tempting this morning to preach on the two turtledoves from verse 24
Or, to go back and to focus on some familiar aspect of the Christmas story we have celebrated so well this season
Or to look on to the season ahead, which we will most certainly all begin to do over the course of the next week
This morning, we will spend our time in another story from the life of Christ
For as wonderful, awe-inspiring, and exhilarating as the Christmas story is, we have to be careful not to lose our Savior in the manger
I know that sounds ridiculous to you this morning, this second day of Christmas
How could it be, if our eyes are focused on the manger, that we could lose sight of the Savior?
And yet, I assure you that, if we are not careful, we can do it. Some of us may already have done so.
Illustration:
When we were living in Spain, I had an odd revelation one Christmas
We were living amongst a people that are Catholic by birth
though they don’t believe in God
We were celebrating Christmas, singing Spanish Christmas songs
most of these Christmas songs were about the baby Jesus
And it occurred to me that somewhere along the way that the meaning was being lost
This child in the manger was not being celebrated as the King of the Universe
This was little Jesus. Sweet, tender, magnificent, harmless, cute, warm and pure little Jesus.
And the problem, I realized, is that they weren’t seeing this child as the Jesus who grew up, or that Has always been, or that will always be.
The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.
And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast;
and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it,
but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.
When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him.
Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.
And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.
When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.”
And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them.
And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Pray, Invite the church to sit
*Listening Guide Out
Our culture is closer to the Gospel at Christmas than perhaps at any other time of the year
We regularly hear songs of Jesus sung in secular environments and tolerated where He usually is disallowed by the laws of men
Linus stands on the screen of network TV and speaks of His birth from Luke chapter 2
And yet, I’m afraid that in the streets and in the church, if we aren’t careful, we will miss the power of this baby born in the manger
verse 40 of our passage tells us
The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
Jesus was fully God when He was born, but as a man He had to grow
The Baby in the manger grew up
He learned how to walk, to eat solid food
He learned to talk, to do household chores
He didn’t stay in the manger, meek and mild
I know that this seems obvious, but it is easy to forget
It is easy to get lost in the sweet innocence of the Christmas Child and to forget the power, and majesty, and authority He carries, and that He came to exert as our Savior and Lord
We don’t have a lot of information on the Childhood of Jesus, but we do know two very important things
First, He grew up
Secondly, Even as a Child He was the Son of God
And in this brief snapshot from His childhood this morning, there are three applications for those who don’t want to lose the Savior in the manger
Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.
And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast;
and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it,
but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.
When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him.
Our first application this morning is this:
To Follow Jesus, your eyes must be on Him
To Follow Jesus, your eyes must be on Him
Mary and Joseph’s eyes were no doubt busy that day
There eyes were fixed on their tasks and their journey
They forgot that their Son wasn’t really theirs
They took their eyes off of Him
When my kids were little, we had one who was a wanderer
this child didn’t have his eyes fixed on me, they were fixed on everything else
every time we went somewhere public, this child would try to get lost
I lost count of the number of times I followed this child and “kidnapped them” from behind, trying to help them to see the danger of not fixing their eyes on their leader
We love the babe in the manger, but we must not forget that He is Lord in our lives
“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
The Jesus of Christmas pageants, shepherds, and wise men is also the Jesus who cleared the temple flipping tables
If we are saved in His salvation, we must also live in His Lordship
It is impossible to follow someone that you aren’t watching
Let your eyes follow Jesus from the manger and into His ministry
Follow Him into the depth of His teaching
Be a Disciple: watch what He does, and do it!
Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.
And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.
When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.”
And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them.
To follow Jesus, your eyes must be on Him, and
To know where He is going, you must be about His business
To know where He is going, you must be about His business
Can you imagine looking for your child in a city as large as Jerusalem for three days?
I know that Mary and Joseph must have been frantic
They surely felt the desperation, worry, and fear you and I would feel
Their frustration and anxiety show through in verse 48
Where have you been!
Don’t you know we’ve been looking for you!
Why have you treated us like this!
You and I would expect a child in this situation to respond with
I’m sorry! I didn’t know what I was thinking
You’re right, I shouldn’t have wondered off!
But Jesus responds:
And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
And as we struggle with His answer, we look and see that Mary and Joseph didn’t understand
they didn’t understand because they were thinking about their purposes
Jesus was focused on His purposes
To know where Jesus is going, to find Him leading in our lives, we must be about His business.
Certainly, let’s meet the baby in the manger, but let’s also follow Him as He leaves it!
When I am focused on my own business, I cannot see the Kingdom business that He is calling me to.
When I am not engaged in Kingdom business, I will not see Jesus
Because Jesus is always focused on Kingdom business
Isn’t it striking that He is asking questions and listening
Even as a boy, Jesus was teaching and leading
The child from the manger will lead you to the Father; but...
your eyes must be fixed on Him
your focus must be on the work of the Kingdom
This doesn’t mean the other things in life don’t need attention
But it does mean that God has them well in hand
YOU AND I NEED TO BE WORRIED ABOUT FOLLOWING JESUS
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
When our eyes are fixed on Jesus and the business of His Kingdom, God will take care of the other things that we worry about
The Lord of the universe may have been born in a manger, but He owns the cattle on a thousand hills!
Your needs will be met if your eyes are on Him
Let’s continue: verse 51
And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
To follow Jesus, we have to keep our eyes on Him. As we do, we will find ourselves about His business, and so we will know where He is going. And finally,
To grow in Christ, you must walk in His humility
To grow in Christ, you must walk in His humility
We touched on the humility of Christ last week
It took humility of the King of Kings to become frail human flesh
It took humility for the God who made everything to place Himself in need
And we see His humility demonstrated again today
Though His call and His purpose stood before Him, He obeyed His parents
The King of the Universe subjected Himself to His earthly parents
He did what He was told
He honored them in His treatment of them
And notice that three things happened because of it
He was a blessing to His mother-she treasured His humble obedience in the midst of His Lordship
Jesus was able to model what growth should look like for you and me
His favor grew, both with God the Father and with men
What we see in these things is that humility is the key to our growth in Christ
If Jesus was able to humbly grow and learn, so can we
No one ever lost favor through humility in their walk
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The key to Christ-like growth is in Christ-like humility
It is in humility that those in the Kingdom of God are exalted!
INVITATION
It is easy in the hustle and bustle to lose sight of the Savior from the manger
It is good to marvel at His birth and to wonder at His coming
It is right to join with Angel’s songs in singing glory to His Name
Just don’t put Jesus away with the boxes this Christmas
He is more than a child in a manger
Let Him reign in your life, as in humility, you fix your eyes on Him
PRAY