Luke 24:25-27: The WHOLE Christmas Story: An Overview of the Entire Bible

Introduction:

We’re at it again: wrapping up books we read every Christmas. We’ll still be doing it in high school.

Christmas traditions center round Christmas stories. You’ve shared your childhood stories with your children… Or, Christmas movies. For you, it doesn’t feel like Christmas until you’ve seen what movie? (Ernest goes to Christmas.)

We LOVE stories… And, we love the Christmas story: a baby born to a virgin who is a promised Savior. What a great story!

But, the story of Jesus doesn’t start with the birth of Jesus, and it doesn’t end with a manger - nor does His story end with His death and resurrection.

The Greatest Story Ever Told is given to us in the entirety of the Bible.

The Bible: a collection of 66 books written by 40 authors over the span of 1500 years - 3 languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) - over 800,000 words. 800,000 words that tell one singular story.

Most sold book in history - In USA over 168,000 Bibles are sold or given away per day.

Bible has been translated into over 1,200 languages.

Divinely inspired - true without any error. BUT intimidating - names hard to pronounce, cultural differences, prophecy that sounds like a science fiction movie.

When you understand the storyline of the Bible, you’ll read it not as 66 different books but ONE unified story. This morning, I want to tell that ONE unified story from Genesis to Revelation. One story in 6 acts.

Act 1: God Creates.

“In the beginning God...” The infinite, eternal, triune God - Father, Son, Holy Spirit always in existence in perfect fellowship - In HIS infinite wisdom God creates to put His power, glory, and majesty on display.

We are not here by accident or chance!

Creates by the sound of His voice over 6 days - POWER!

Day 6 - creates animals and man. Man is different - formed from the dust of the ground - God breathes His very breath into the nostrils of man. Creates man in His very own image - Man given the responsibility to reflect the glory of God and have dominion over the earth. Man created for intimacy with God and to rule with God. What a privilege!

Everything perfect - Adam and Eve in paradise - a perfect garden. God walks with them in the cool of the day. Life couldn’t get any better than Eden. “Naked and unashamed.”

Act 2: Man Rebels

Doesn’t stay perfect long. God gave boundaries - Eat of any tree, but eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and lose your innocence and die. Free will in the garden - what would Adam and Eve choose?

Satan - a fallen angel on a mission - to destroy God’s good creation. Deceived Adam and Eve by taking form of a serpent and caused Adam and Eve to think that God didn’t have Adam and Eve’s best interest at heart. Adam and Eve believed Satan instead of believing God. They ate and everything changed.

Tried to hide from God (we do too…), but you can’t hide from God. From naked and unashamed to very ashamed - clothed themselves with leaves.

Immediate grace - God covers them with the skins of an animal.

Death enters the world. Everything changes. Removed from the garden. Relationship with God affected. Relationship with each other affected. Their family permanently affected. Sin pervades the world. From that moment, every person born with a a natural desire to rebel against God rather than to live with God.

BUT - there’s hope - Gen. 3:15 - Some day One would come from Eve’s lineage to crush the serpent. A snake crusher.

The story goes from bad to worse. Civilizations are developed, but no one walks with God.

Gen. 6:6-7: “the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth… “I will wipe mankind, whom I created, off the face of the earth...”

A global flood - God pours out His righteous anger on sinful man - giving rebellious humanity exactly what they deserved, but God spares one family: Noah and his family.

Problem: Noah a sinner too and repopulates the earth with sinners.

End of the flood, we see a problem: only way to eradicate sin is to completely wipe out every single person and not leave one on the earth. We’re left with the question: Is there another way?

Act 3: God Initiates a Rescue Plan

Everyone rebels, but God loves. He desires a people for Himself who will walk in a relationship with Him. He desires to restore Eden. Gen. 12 - Story turns - God calls a pagan (his father worships the moon), with a barren wife to follow him. Abe very wealthy, but he leaves it all to follow God and the promise of a son and a great nation that will be a blessing to the world.

After 25 years of following, and lots of struggles of faith along the way, Abe has his son - Isaac. Isaac has a son - Jacob - =a deceiver, but God would do a work of grace in this deceiver and give him a new name - Israel. Israel’s twelve sons would become the twelve tribes of the great nation of Israel.

One son, Joseph, hated by his brothers. Sold into slavery in Egypt, but ends up becoming the second in command. During a famine, the brothers come to Egypt and are reunited with the brother they sold into slavery years earlier. Jacob’s whole family moves to Egypt.

Jacob’s family prospers and multiplies in Egypt. But, eventually Joseph’s leadership forgotten, and his descendants enslaved for 400 years by the Egyptians. To make matters worse, in an attempt to control the Hebrew population, the Pharaoh ordered the firstborn boy of each Hebrew family to be killed. Had God forgotten about His people? No… He was setting the stage for a mighty act of salvation.

One momma didn’t want her boy to die. She puts her boy in a basket and floats him down the Nile. Pharaoh’s daughter finds the baby and raises him as her own in Pharaoh’s house. This boy, Moses, grew up and saw how his people were mistreated. In his rage, he killed an Egyptian and fled for his life to Midian.

On the backside of a mountain, God appears in a burning bush: “Tell Pharaoh to let my people go.”

Moses took God’s message to Pharaoh, but Pharaoh ignored. After ten disastrous plagues, the last being the death of the firstborn in each Egyptian home, Pharaoh let the Hebrews go. But, the Egyptians pursued, and God parted the Red Sea. Hebrews walked through, Egyptians swallowed. Freedom!

Wilderness wandering on way to Promised Land. God gives Moses law on Mt. Sinai - establishes a covenant. People can’t live up to the covenant agreement. They complain. They build idols.

Moses constructs a tabernacle - a visual reminder that God was present among His people, but the people ignore God’s presence. As a result, they wander for 40 years.

After 40 years, time to enter the land. 12 spies sent in. People: “We can’t do it.” Continued disbelief. 1st generation of Hebrews die in wilderness including Moses - but 2nd generation led by Joshua into the Promised Land.

In the land, but they’re no different. They continue to sin even as God raises up judges, prophets, and priests to guide people.

The people don’t want God as their king, they want a king like the other nations. God raises up Saul. He looks the part, but he’s a self-centered king that doesn’t walk with God. David doesn’t look the part, but he’s man of faith.

The Kingdom of Israel grows - an international powerhouse. God promises David that an even greater king would come from his lineage and rule forever. (2 Sam. 7:11-16)

David far from a perfect king - commits adultery, family problems, etc. His son and successor, Solomon, isn’t perfect either. But, called the wisest man to live and builds a great temple - a permanent reminder of the presence of God among His people. Temple is the center of Israel’s religious life. Sacrifices made in an act of worship and contrition. People know their sin, and the sacrificial system a constant reminder of their need for atonement.

Solomon married foreign wives. His heart drifted from God. Israel polluted with idols. Solomon not so wise at the end of his life.

Kingdom divides - North and South - In the north - a series of kings that continue to lead Israel further and further away from God. God raises up prophets like Elijah and Elisha to warn the people, but they don’t listen. In 722, God allows the Assyrians to overtake the Northern Kingdom.

Southern Kingdom of Judah is a little better. Some of the kings, like Jehoshaphat and Josiah, tried to get the Southern Kingdom back on track, but ultimately, the Southern Kingdom fell into continued idolatry as well. God raises up prophets to warn the Southern Kingdom, but the people do not listen to the voice of the prophets. In 586, God allowed the Babylonians to take the Southern Kingdom into exile for 70 years.

In the midst of it all, God promised better days. He promised a Messiah - the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace - The government would be put on His shoulders. (Is. 9:6)

After 70 years, the Jews are free to return to their homeland. Many choose not to return, but some do. They rebuild the temple, but it was never the same. They would struggle to reestablish the kingdom.

The OT closes, and 400 years of silence - no one hears from God.

Act 4: God Rescues His People.

Galatians 4:4 - At the right time, God sent forth His Son - a baby born in a manger in the middle of nowhere to an engaged virgin - Angels announce His birth to shepherds - magi from the east bring him gifts. He IS the Promised Messiah - the ONE promised in Gen. 3:15.

But, while the shepherds and magi recognize Him as king and worship, no one else does. After all, this boy doesn’t grow up in royalty. He grows up in the obscure town of Nazareth learning the ways of carpentry from his earthly father.

BUT… He wasn’t a mere carpenter. He was GOD in the flesh who taught people that the Kingdom of God was present. Repent!

Jesus loved. He had mercy on those rejected by the religious elite. He healed the sick. He calmed storms. He taught people about the heavenly Father.

Unlike David and Solomon and other kings - His heart never strayed from the Father. Perfect in every way, and then the King died. What kind of King allows Himself to be humiliated at the hands of His own people? Stripped naked to hang on a cross for everyone to see?

Kings conquer… King Jesus conquered by dying… At the cross it seemed like the Promised King was conquered. The serpent of old, Satan, must have thought he was victorious.

But… the King died as a willing sacrifice. He fulfilled what the OT sacrificial system pointed to. The cross a place of GREAT EXCHANGE - Jesus took what we deserve so we could get what we do not deserve - righteousness. Declared right before God.

The King did not stay dead. After three days in a tomb, He rose, proving He was God in the flesh who is our conquering King.

The serpent has been crushed! Christ has given His people victory!

Act 5: God’s People on Mission

40 days after resurrection - ascends to the Father and leaves a mission for His people. Ten days after ascension - Holy Spirit comes and takes up residence in the hearts of the followers of Jesus. The church is born and given the mission to take the Good News of the death and resurrection to the entire world.

The church is not perfect. Paul writes letters to help the church know what it means to be the church. The church isn’t perfect today, but we’re safe and secure in the salvation of Jesus Christ, and we’re empowered by His Spirit.

We are living in Act 5! We exist to know Jesus and make him known!

Act 6: God’s Final Victory

The Beloved Apostle, John, exiled to an island and left to die because of His faith, had a God given vision: Christ is returning just as He promised! He will create a new heaven and a new earth. We’re going back to Paradise. (Rev. 21:1, 22:1-5)

Is His story your story? Follower of Jesus, this is your story! Worship Him, live for Him, adore Him.

Will you live to tell the story? (I Love to Tell the Story Hymn…?)

Lord’s Supper - tells the story.