Father’s Christmas

A non-canonical book is one that was not recognized as belonging to the 66 inspired books that comprise the completed Bible.

Undoubtedly the most famous of these books is The Book of Enoch. In Jude we read, “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” nThese are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage” (v14, 15 & 16).

Take a guess: How many non-canonical books do you think are referred to in the 66 inspired books that comprise the completed Bible?

At least 20 in the Hebrew Bible & 13 in the New Testament.

Some you might say, “O, yeah, now I remember:

  • Paul’s letter to the Corinthians before First Corinthians (1 Corinthians 5:9).
  • The Book of Jasher is mentioned in Joshua 10:13 and Second Samuel 1:18 and also referenced in Second Timothy 3:8.
  • The Book of Gad the Seer (also called Gad the Seer or The Acts of Gad the Seer) referenced in First Chronicles 29:29.

Mennonite scholar David Ewart has mentioned that Nestle’s Greek New Testament lists some 132 New Testament passages that appear to be verbal allusions to non-canonical books. Also in the NT at least 4 pagan authors are alluded to.

Last week I told you that I have been looking at some first century writings by the so-called early Church fathers. I’m doing it because there is a movement growing in popularity to return to what is being called historic pre-millennialism. It is a view of the future that insists the Church fathers taught a post-tribulation rapture. They insist that no Church father is on record ever mentioning a pre-tribulation rapture of the Church.

We talked about a reference from Irenaeus that was clearly pre-tribulational. He was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the apostle John.

They are not correct, but even if they were, it would make no difference. What does the Word say? It says, in Daniel 12:4, that much prophecy was to be “shut up” until the end of the ages. Irenaeus says as much. We thus expect new developments in our eschatology.

One more observation regarding the end times. It is also growing in popularity to identify the antichrist as a Muslim. It is therefore interesting to learn that Irenaeus (and others) insisted he would be from the tribe of Dan. Again, it is not authoritative. But if you had a choice between a guy who occasionally talked to the apostle John and a modern commentator…

Let me say this before we go too far. These extra biblical, non-canonical books are not inspired. We are not to read them the way we read the Word of God. Having said that, however, since the Bible pretty often refers to them, we certainly can glean from them, too.

While scanning YouTube, my research assistant, who happens to be my wife, came across some early Church father’s references to the birth of Jesus. It’s super cool.

In the spirit of this Christmas season and the universal call to encounter Christ anew, let us look back in time at what some of the ancients had to say about Christmas and the Nativity.

I’ll start with the best of the best, Julius Africanus. He was a Christian historian who  lived and wrote from AD 160-240.

He recorded the Magi’s own account of the star of Bethlehem and Christ’s birth.

(This account is found in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 6, under Africanus – Existent Writings; free to download on e-Sword).

And we came to that place then to which we were sent, and saw the mother and the child, the star indicating to us the royal babe. And we said to the mother: What art thou named, O renowned mother? And she says: Mary, masters. And we said to her: Whence art thou sprung? And she replies: From this district of the Bethlehemites. Then said we: Hast thou not had a husband? And she answers: I was only betrothed with a view to the marriage covenant, my thoughts being far removed from this. For I had no mind to come to this. And while I was giving very little concern to it, when a certain Sabbath dawned, and straightway at the rising of the sun, an angel appeared to me bringing me suddenly the glad tidings of a son. And in trouble I cried out, Be it not so to me, Lord, for I have not a husband. And he persuaded me to believe, that by the will of God I should have this son.

Then said we to her: Mother, mother, all the gods of the Persians have called thee blessed. Thy glory is great; for thou art exalted above all women of renown, and thou art shown to be more queenly than all queens.

The child, moreover, was seated on the ground, being, as she said, in His second year, and having in part the likeness of His mother. And she had long hands, and a body somewhat delicate; and her colour was like that of ripe wheat; and she was of a round face, and had her hair bound up. And as we had along with us a servant skilled in painting from the life, we brought with us to our country a likeness of them both; and it was placed by our hand in the sacred temple, with this inscription on it: To Jove the Sun, the mighty God, the King of Jesus, the power of Persia dedicated this.

And taking the child up, each of us in turn, and bearing Him in our arms, we saluted Him and worshipped Him, and presented to Him gold, and myrrh, and frankincense, addressing Him thus: We gift Thee with Thine own, O Jesus, Ruler of heaven. Wert things unordered be ordered, wert Thou not at hand. In no other way could things heavenly be brought into conjunction with things earthly, but by Thy descent. Such service cannot be discharged, if only the servant is sent us, as when the Master Himself is present; neither can so much be achieved when the king sends only his satraps to war, as when the king is there himself. It became the wisdom of Thy system, that Thou shouldest deal in this manner with men.

And the child leaped and laughed at our caresses and words. And when we had bidden the mother farewell, and when she had shown us honour, and we had testified to her the reverence which became us, we came again to the place in which we lodged. And at eventide there appeared to us one of a terrible and fearful countenance, saying: Get ye out quickly, lest ye be taken in a snare. And we in terror said: And who is he, O divine leader, that plotteth against so august an embassage? And he replied: Herod; but get you up straightway and depart in safety and peace.

And we made speed to depart thence in all earnestness; and we reported in Jerusalem all that we had seen. Behold, then, the great things that we have told you regarding Christ; and we saw Christ our Saviour, who was made known as both God and man. To Him be the glory and the power unto the ages of the ages. Amen.

Irenaeus (AD 120-200), the disciple of Polycarp:

  • In Book 3, Chapter 18, Section 1, Irenaeus talks about the importance of Christ’s birth from a virgin, highlighting the connection between the Virgin Mary and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah’s birth: “The Virgin Mary, being obedient to His word, received from an angel the glad tidings that she would bear God.”
  • Another reference can be found in Book 3, Chapter 19, Section 1, where Irenaeus discusses Jesus as the Word Incarnate: “For the Word of God, who is God, from the beginning, is in fact the divine substance of the Father, and therefore the Word became flesh, and the Son of God became the Son of Man.”

Church father Origen of Alexandria (AD 185-253) in Against Celsus 1:60, stated that the Magi had a copy of the prophecy of Balaam, found in Numbers 24, about the star coming out of Jacob. It was given to them by Daniel after the time of Cyrus’ taking the kingdom. Origen also stated, in Against Celsus 1.58, that historical records indicated that the Magi were not Chaldeans, but Persians.

Tertullian (AD 190-210) stated, in Idolatry 1.9, that astrology is simply a form of idolatry, but he believed that the science of the magi was totally different from the pagan form of astrology.

From here we jump to circa AD 400. The following excerpts are taken from the Christmas sermons of a few of the guys.

St. Leo the Great, Sermon on the Feast of the Nativity, AD 400’s.

The birth of Christ is the source of life for Christian folk, and the birthday of the Head is the birthday of the body. Although every individual that is called has his own order, and all the sons of the Church are separated from one another by intervals of time, yet as the entire body of the faithful being born in the font of baptism is crucified with Christ in His passion, raised again in His resurrection, and placed at the Father’s right hand in His ascension, so with Him are they born in this nativity.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem (AD 300’s). “But let us believe in Jesus Christ, as having come in the flesh and been made Man, because we could not receive Him otherwise. For since we could not look upon or enjoy Him as He was, He became what we are, that so we might be permitted to enjoy Him.”

John Chrysostom (AD 349 – 407) was famed for his preaching epithet, “Chrysostom” which means golden-mouthed. His Nativity Sermon:

Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the Nativity. For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of kindliness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been implanted on the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, and men now hold speech with angels.

Jerome (AD 347-420), best known for his translation of the Bible into Latin, popularly known as the Vulgate. In On the Nativity of the Lord, wrote, He found no room in the Holy of Holies that shone with gold, precious stones, pure silk, and silver. He is not born in the midst of gold and riches but in the midst of dung, in a stable, where our sins were filthier than the dung. He is born on a dunghill in order to lift up those who come from it: “From the dunghill He lifts up the poor.”

I’d rename his sermon, Dung da-dung-dung

I’ll Betrothe For Christmas (Matthew 1:18-25)

Matthew 1:18a – 18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way…

In most of our favorite Christmas movies, things do not work out the way the main characters expect. Along the way, they experience a lot of frustration and let down. Charlie Brown can’t quite figure out what Christmas is all about. In Home Alone, the McCallisters’ meticulous plans are all derailed. Nothing goes right for the Griswold family in Christmas Vacation – not the turkey, not the lights, not even the drive to get the tree.

And then there’s George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life. Staring out over that bridge it seemed his whole life had worked out wrong. But then an angel appears and gives him the true perspective on things. In all of those Christmas classics and others still, by the end, the main characters, often the dad, realize that what they thought they were looking for wasn’t really what mattered most. What they really needed was something else.

Matthew’s telling of the arrival of the Savior focuses on the man who would become Jesus’ adoptive father: Joseph. Joseph was a good man – faithful and willing to do hard things. We’ll see that in our text. But, Joseph’s life was not quite working out the way one might have hoped.

You see, he was a descendant of David. And, even if he never actually thought that he should be king, at very least it would be hard to know that you are a member of the royal family, but instead of ruling in luxury, you were a poor carpenter, subjugated by a pagan empire, which was forcing you to take a long and costly trip back to a random town attached to your ancestors.

Joseph would never be king. That was to be expected, unfair as it was. What wasn’t expected was how things suddenly went sideways in his personal life when Jesus arrived in His Incarnation.

Matthew 1:18b – After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit.

Matthew knew she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. Mary knew it. But apparently she hadn’t explained her visit from Gabriel to her betrothed husband, Joseph.

In the Jewish customs of the time, there was a period of engagement – a year – before the man and wife started living together. But, that betrothal period was legally binding. That’s why Joseph is going to be called Mary’s husband in the very next verse. If you wanted out of betrothal, you would have to officially divorce.

Mary being pregnant was a big problem, culturally speaking. It would scandalize their families and communities. Joseph undoubtedly loved Mary. He wanted to marry her. But now, if he wanted to be faithful to God’s Law, he had a duty to either divorce her quietly, or bring her to strand trial before the Jewish leaders. Under the Law, those were his only 2 options.

Matthew 1:19 – 19 So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.

Joseph was a remarkable man – a man of care and character. We see, on the one hand, he wasn’t going to ignore the Law of God, even if it meant having to part ways with the woman he loved. He “demonstrate[s] that his love for God [was] stronger than his love for Mary.” But it’s clear that he did love Mary. Even though she seems to have totally violated their relationship and marriage contract and social convention, it was important to Joseph that she not be disgraced publicly. He chose this quiet option that saves face, not for him – it saves face for Mary.

Joseph examples for us the fact that real righteousness always includes mercy. In that way, Joesph’s righteousness exceeded the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees. It was a foreshadow of the way Jesus would treat the woman caught in adultery in John 8.

But, the Law was the Law, and so Joesph started making arrangements to break off his relationship with his fiancé.

I imagine his heart was absolutely crushed. He’s a good man. He’s a righteous man. If I were him, I can imagine I’d pray something like, “Lord, what am I supposed to do? I can’t live out my royal blood right. I’m a poor laborer. I’m getting pushed around by the Roman Empire. I’m trying to carve out a little life for myself and start a family with what little prospects I’ve got. I’m serious about following the Law and honoring You as God of my life. And now my marriage can’’t happen?”

Matthew 1:20 – 20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

We’re not told whether Mary tried to convince him. But we see he was thinking a lot about it. He didn’t act emotionally or in haste. He considered the situation, and made what he thought was the best decision moving forward. The problem is, he didn’t have all the information he needed to make this life decision. He didn’t know the levers of providence that were in motion.

So, before Joseph can make his ‘best’ decision, the Lord changes the situation. In all those Christmas movies, there’s always a pivot-point. George Bailey meets Clarence. Charlie Brown hears God’s Word from Linus. Kevin McCallister talks to the scary, bearded neighbor.

How interesting that the angel called Joseph, “Joseph, son of David.” A lot of good the family name had done him so far in life. But we see that God knows what is true about you, God installs eternal value in you, God sees the culmination of His work in you, even if the rest of the world passes you by. It didn’t matter to Rome that he was a son of David. It didn’t matter to the Innkeepers of Bethlehem. But it mattered to the Lord and the Lord had not forgotten. In fact, the Lord had decided to give Joseph a personal, hand-tailored part to play in the drama of redemption.

This is what God wants to do with every single child of God! Your life may not be working out according to your five-year plan or the dream you had when you were a little boy or girl. But God has a providential plan that is shaking up the cosmos, displaying His grace and glory and power to all the powers in all the heavens. And He has written a part for you to play.

The angel clears up where Jesus came from, but things were still sticky. Joseph was being asked to live a sacrificial life for the rest of his life – a life of social embarrassment. People would whisper everywhere they went. His whole life would now be oriented not around his own dreams or his own greatness, but instead, his whole life would revolve around this job that God had given Joseph and Mary to do: Raise and nurture the Messiah. But how could they possibly do it ‘right?’

The angel continued in verse 21.

Matthew 1:21 – 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

You are to name Him. Mary had an incredible, unique calling placed on her life. She would bear the Christ into the world. Jewish mothers for millennia had hoped to be chosen by God to be a part of this work. So, on the one hand, Mary has this monumental job that she is remembered for. But, she would need help. A lot of help. And the Lord expected Joseph to serve with her in this endeavor. He couldn’t do what she was asked to do, but what he could do was help and support and provide and protect and lead and partner with her in raising the Messiah in their home!

His name would be Jesus. Scholars explain that depending on whether you study how the name sounds or what its etymology is, the name means “He will save,” or, “Yahweh is salvation,” or “O save, Yahweh!” or, “Yahweh saves, He and not another.”

This is Who Jesus is. The little Baby in the nativity set is God Himself, come in human flesh. Fully God and fully man. He came for one reason: Someone had to die for the sin of the world. Someone had to pay the fine that we all owe for all the wrongs we’ve done and the wrongs done to us.

There is just One Savior. And we are a people who need saving. Who will rescue humanity from our downward spiral? Who will save us from our failures and mistakes and sin? The average Christmas movie is usually vague in the end. It’s togetherness or family or just not being so tightly wound. But we all know the Griswolds are going to have a terrible Christmas next year. The McCallisters weren’t any better in Home Alone 2. Those vague “just be nicer” messages don’t really hold water.

We need saving. God knew it before we did and He made a plan. His plan was to come Himself, born of a virgin, to live a sinful life, die a death He did not deserve, rise again the third day. This was the only way that He could bridge the gap between God and man and reconcile us to Himself.

Matthew peels back the curtain to show us how this has been God’s glorious plan of salvation all along.

Matthew 1:22 – 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”

What God promises, He will do. No matter what. That’s why Joseph and Mary didn’t need to be afraid. It didn’t mean things wouldn’t be hard – in fact, they’d be running for their lives in a few verses – but God is a God of promise and presence. Not presents, though He loves to give gifts, presence, meaning His desire is to be with us. Coming into the earth in His Incarnation, He said, “Ok, I’m the eternal God, I hold everything together in the palm of My hand. But I’ve got a new name I’d like you to use for Me: Immanuel. God with us.”

Matthew 1:24-25 – 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her 25 but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.

Joseph was a man of faith in action. Once God spoke, it was time to do. He named Him Jesus. This was the first of three midnight dream-meetings with angels that Joseph would experience. After each one he did exactly what the Lord asked.

But there were many other days without angel visits were Joseph also did what the Lord asked. It must have been hard to know that you have the King of kings in your care, but you can’t give Him a palace. There wouldn’t be many nights of feasting. There were no royal robes or grand parades. Just the three of them, and then siblings that came later. Living small, living far from home for awhile. It may have felt like things didn’t work out the way you’d want. Their life may have felt small and insignificant or meager. But what God cared about and wanted for them was working out just fine because He was the One accomplishing it by His own power and grace.

You and I are not called to foster the Messiah. But He has other callings for you and me. We discover them by loving Him and being in His presence, by hearing His Word and doing what we’ve been told. We join in His magnificent, Kingdom work as we relinquish control of our life’s decisions and instead allow Him to direct and propel and move us through this walk we’re on with Him. If you feel things are not working out, look to God’s gift, His Son, our Savior, Who is still with you, still Immanuel even now and writing you the most important part you could ever play.

There Was An Old Woman Who Lived To Serve Jews (Luke 2:36-38)

They are called the 400 silent years.

It is the time between the Old Testament and New Testament, during which no inspired Scripture was written.

It would be wrong, however, to say that God did not speak. He certainly spoke to Anna as a “prophetess.” She may have been over 100yrs old. That cuts deep into the 400 so-called silent years.

God speaks. He’s a talker, with lots to say. He reveals Himself to us so that we can know Him.

He speaks to everyone through the wonders of the created universe. You could call it, “Creation Evangelism” or, “The First Testament.” “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard” (Psalm 19:1-3). Design demands a designer; creation, a Creator. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth.”

God reveals Himself to each person through his or her conscience. Everyone has a conscience. Our conscience gives us an awareness of what is right and what and wrong. Don Stewart writes, “Humanity knows intuitively the difference between good and evil, right and wrong. Furthermore, they know from their conscience that they will ultimately be held responsible for their behavior.” Another commentator said, “Conscience is the voice of God in the soul.”

God speaks to you from the Cross upon which Jesus was crucified. If you listen, you hear, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Most of you recall Verizon’s “Can you hear me now?” ad campaign. No matter where the tech was, you could hear him on Verizon’s superior network.
It’s Christmas and God has brought you here so He can chat you up. If you are not a Christian, then His Creation… Your conscience… & The Cross where He took your place in death that you might live…

They are the very voice of God drawing you to Himself.

Only a fool says “there is no God” as you experience and explore the wonderful world He has created.
In your conscience, you know that you are a sinner.
With your attention drawn to the Cross, God’s Spirit provides the ability for you to repent and believe.

Since you know He is speaking…“Can you hear Him now?”

We will spend the next few minutes with Anna. We’ll see her living in the Temple, always ready to serve her fellow Jews.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

We start asking kids this question when they’re in elementary school.

A poll revealed that the #1 career among children is Professional Athlete. Rounding out the top ten: Doctor, Don’t Know, Teacher, Veterinarian, Firefighter, Scientist, Astronaut, Engineer, and Law Enforcement.

I couldn’t find, ‘Widow who lives in the Temple serving God with fasting and prayers.’ Most likely, Anna didn’t aspire to the career that would occupy the majority of her very long life. Nevertheless, that was her calling and she went about it as a gift from the Lord.

Some of us are in our dream job. One or more of you might go as far as saying you hate your job. You might have upward mobility. Perhaps you are stuck, can’t start over. The possibilities are many.

Anna didn’t choose the course of her life, but no matter the twists and turns, she walked her course to please God.

Luk 2:36  Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;

Asher was one of Jacob’s sons. He was the progenitor of one of the tribes of Israel. When you search the Bible for him, you find his greatest achievements stated in the form of prophecies: “Bread from Asher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties… Let him be favored by his brothers, And let him dip his foot in oil” (Genesis 49:20 & Deuteronomy 33:24).

It sounds like he owned a day spa.

When the tribes of Israel inherited their land, Joshua assigned to Asher western and coastal Galilee. It was a region with some of the most fertile land in Canaan, with rich pasture, wooded hills, and orchards. You could say of Asher that he was materially well-off.

He is remembered as a privileged, wealthy land owner, rancher, and farmer. God is not opposed to wealth, only its potential to trip you up in your walk with Him. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. The love of money is what motivates people to lie, steal, cheat, gamble, embezzle, and even murder. Jesus warned that “you cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24). By one estimate, stock market losses wiped out $9 trillion American’ wealth this year. Meanwhile, Heaven is cranking out the dividends to those who invest with God.

The Bible encourages us to counter the hold money may have on us by being thoughtful, generous, hilarious, regular givers to the work of God.

We can’t know if Anna was once, or even then, materially well-off. We can say that she spent most of her life living meagerly. She’s an example to us of being rich in faith.

Her dad, ‘Phanuel,’ is mentioned nowhere else. Nothing is known about her family, or her deceased husband’s family. Whether or not any relatives were still involved with her, her daily contact was with the Temple servants. They would be like family to her.

Don’t think of her as some crazy oracle, the kind highlighted in fantasy movies. Prophets didn’t necessarily predict the future. Technically, we would list Anna with the godly Old Testament women called prophetesses: Miriam (Exodus 15:20); Deborah (Judges 4:4); Huldah (Second Kings 22:14; Second Chronicles 34:22); and the wife of Isaiah (Isaiah 8:3). The scope of their speaking for God can be ascertained by reading the relevant passages. What I get out of them is that they advised with wisdom derived from the written word, and they revealed the will of God. We could say that they functioned in the office of prophetess to advise about the will of God.

Anna’s ministry, whatever its scope, assured the people God was not silent. He was behind the scenes, prepping for the fulfillment of His promises to them. If in your walk with the Lord He seems silent, know that He is behind the scenes, prepping for the fulfillment of His promises to you.

BTW: Sometimes silence can be effective, edifying communication.

Luk 2:37  and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the Temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

What happened to her husband? Did they have children during their seven years of marriage? If not, why not? Still a relatively young woman when her husband died, why did she not get remarried? Don’t know. Don’t know. Don’t know. Don’t know.

She may have been 84 years old, or widowed for 84 years. If she married in her teens, she would be over 100.

At some point she “did not depart from the Temple.” If someone spends a great deal of time somewhere other than home, we say they live there. Anna really did live there.

Another big part of her being a prophetess was to “[serve] God with fastings and prayers night and day.”

Anna was on-call, day and night, to pray for you.

“Fastings” can be translated, “Going without eating.” I buy Chaplain gear from a website called ColdDinnerClub. The name represents firefighters & police officers not being able to finish a hot meal on account of their commitment to serve. Anna was often not able to finish her meal, and, in addition, she practiced the discipline of fasting.

Jesus spoke of praying, giving, and fasting as spiritual disciplines. I doubt any of us would claim to be satisfied with our praying, giving, and fasting (Matthew 6). These disciplines, however, are not a one-size-fits-all program. Talk to God about your praying, giving, and fasting.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? She was pretty spry for her age. Pilates?? No, God measured out her physical health.

If you have your health, do you have everything? Of course not. What is the condition of your soul?That’s the essential thing. Charles Spurgeon writes, “I venture to say that the greatest earthly blessing that God can give to any of us is health, with the exception of sickness. Sickness has frequently been of more use to the saints of God than health has.”

Luk 2:38  And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

Anna came just when Simeon was holding baby Jesus and prophesying about the royal family.

The words, “that instant,” are truly amazing. Simeon, Anna, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus converged in a fleeting moment of time. It was a case of right place, right time, in God’s providence. He had foreseen the free actions of these people, and then He saw to it that their meeting came to pass for His glory.

If I asked you to name a spiritual “that instant” moment in your life, most of you could do so. If you were saved later in life, not from an early age, the moment you received the gift of salvation was at “that instant.”

As long as you are on Earth, you should expect “that instant” moments.

We aren’t told how Anna “gave thanks.” It may have been silently, in her heart. Maybe it was out loud. It probably describes not just her immediate reaction, but an ongoing one. We can assume that she was thankful prior to this. Now she would take gratitude to an entirely new level.

I’m reminded of the apostle Paul and what he described as the thorn in his flesh. After praying about it, the Lord revealed to Paul that it would not be taken away. Paul reacted, saying, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (Second Corinthians 12:9-10).

God’s answer wasn’t “No,” it was grace, sufficient grace. Paul was grateful. That is ‘next level’ gratitude.

Anna “spoke of Him to all…” As a prophetess, she already did this, but now there was a renewed excitement that expressed itself in her sharing.

“All those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem” were godly Israelites who hoped for the arrival of their promised Messiah. Here that hope is called “redemption.” A redeemer was a certain person described in the Bible, who had a very important role in their tribal culture. The Jews connected the Messiah to the person in the Law of Moses known as the “kinsman-redeemer.” Our friends at gotquestions.org put it like this:

The kinsman-redeemer is a male relative who had the privilege and responsibility to act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble, danger, or need. The Hebrew term (go el) for kinsman-redeemer designates one who delivers or rescues (Genesis 48:16; Exodus 6:6) or redeems property or person (Leviticus 27:9-25, 25:47-55).

Another commentator said,

“A kinsman-redeemer was someone who redeemed what was lost. This could be the other persons’ property, their freedom, or even their name. The kinsman might also be called upon to exact revenge on someone who may have killed their relative. In short, the kinsman was a rescuer and restorer.”

Summarizing our redemption as Christians, one author said, “To be redeemed is to be forgiven, holy, justified, free, adopted, and reconciled.”
Commenting on our need to be redeemed, Dave Hunt said, “The more clearly we see the infinite chasm between God’s glory and our sinful falling short thereof, the greater will be our appreciation of His grace and love in bridging that gulf to redeem us.”

There were four requirements you had to meet to be go el:

You had to be kin.
You had to be willing.
You had to be able to redeem.
You had to pay the price in full.

Jesus was Israel’s go el.

Jesus was God in human flesh. He became just like you and me, our kin, which put him in position so that He could redeem us.
Jesus gave up His life for us as a sacrifice of His own free will.
Because Jesus was God, He has the ability to redeem us.
Jesus paid the redemption price. We are told, “He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people…” (Titus 2:14).

If you want to understand redemption, read the short Book of Ruth in your Bible. It tells the story of a go el rescuing and restoring his kin. It tells it as a love story.

God redeeming you by sending Jesus as your go el is a love story; it is THE love story.

The holiday season is for most people a fun time of the year, filled with parties, celebrations, and social gatherings with family and friends. For many people, it can be a time filled with sadness, self-reflection, loneliness, and anxiety. You either know someone who has suffered loss for whom the holidays hit hard; or you are that someone.

Anna was that someone. We need to be careful to not suggest a backstory for Anna that is purely speculative. One thing for sure is that she had suffered the loss of her husband. She remained widowed all her very long life.

No one chooses that path to walk on. Little girls don’t aspire to widowhood.

Some little girls will get a bride Barbie doll this year, but not widowed Barbie, with coffin Ken.

We might immediately admire Anna’s life devoted to God, living in a makeshift room in the Temple, praying and fasting night and day, blessed with getting to see Jesus, the Redeemer. At the same time, I think the majority of us look at Anna and say, “See you; wouldn’t want to be you.”

You have, or you will, suffer loss on your way to Heaven. It might be great loss, by our reckoning. Anna can minister to you in your loss.

It isn’t a matter of trying to be like Anna. You are an Anna already. In fact, you’re better off than Anna, spiritually, because you have God’s Spirit in you.

Anna didn’t overcome loss by praying and fasting and living at church. She didn’t discipline herself out of depression. She was on a walk with God, and she accepted that her path went through the loss of her spouse, and all these other things that followed.

You don’t know where your path will lead me, let alone you. On Earth, it will involve greater or lesser loss, on account of the problem of sin.

The psalmist wrote, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 76:3). It would have been a good life-verse for Anna. Let it be yours while waiting for your own; or, if you have been given a life-verse, let it fill your heart.

Simeon Says: Wait (Luke 2:22-35)

Simeon awoke every morning with the imminent hope he would see the Messiah.

Does that sound like anyone you know? Christians in the Church Age awake to the imminence of Jesus’ return to resurrect and rapture us.

One day, and we don’t know how many days it was after Simeon initially received the prophecy, that day came. God the Holy Spirit directed him to the Temple. His excitement must have been palpable.

Undoubtedly others knew of the prophecy. Seeing Simeon, with an extra bounce in his step, they may have followed him.

“There He is,” God’s Spirit announced. Where? Is it that guy? Is it that guy?

“Simeon – He is that 40-day old in the arms of His teen mother.”

It is a good bet Simeon figured that, when he saw the Messiah, it would be ‘deliver’n time,’ not diaper’n time. We are so familiar with the Christmas story that we assume Israel was waiting for a baby to be born. They were not.

Simeon, however, was anything but disappointed. He blessed the little family, then went away hopeful.

Throughout the Bible we find God working in unusual ways that we could never predict. Sending a baby to do a Messiah’s job isn’t strange for Him:

He sent a stutterer to be His voice to Pharaoh.
The youngest, least obvious teenager was His choice for King.

His work in your life will be no less unusual. It is His signature as the craftsman who is completing His good work in you.

Brother Andrew put it this way: “I am a fool for Christ. Whose fool are you?”

With that under our belt, so to speak, let’s take this wonderful passage verse-by-verse.

“Simeon Says, “Wait”

Do you think of little Jesus like Boss Baby – an infant with the mind of an adult? We sing, Mary, Did You Know? The better question might be, “Jesus, what did You know?”

The subject of how Jesus processed the world as an infant isn’t discussed in Scripture. The only appropriate verses I can think of are in the Gospel of Luke where the baby in Elizabeth’s womb, John the Baptist, “leapt” when Mary came to visit pregnant with Jesus. He and cousin Jesus were definitely not normal babies.

If we are careful doing so, I think we can make a few suggestions as to how Jesus would look back upon His infancy.

Luk 2:22  Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
Luk 2:23  (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “EVERY MALE WHO OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD”),
Luk 2:24  and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG PIGEONS.”

The Law God gave to Moses when Israel exodus-ed Egypt required Jesus be circumcised (Leviticus 12:3), and presented as their firstborn to God (Exodus 13:2 & 12). It was also necessary to bring an offering for Mary’s purification after childbirth (Leviticus 12:1-8). Jesus would be 40-days old when Simeon encountered Him. .

As a newborn, Jesus kept every requirement under the Law thanks to the obedience of Joseph and Mary. We are informed in the Book of Hebrews that Jesus “learned obedience” (5:8). It means that He was fully immersed in being human. As a Jew, He must obey the Law. He would throughout His lifetime perfectly obey God and the Law of God, first with the needed assistance of godly parents, then on His own.
Both in the womb and now 40-days having emerged from it, the Lord had not only fulfilled prophecies of His virgin birth, but was perfect. Jesus learned to walk in holiness before He learned to crawl as a toddler.

Luk 2:25  And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

In the Gospel of John, we are told that Jesus “came to His own.” He came to Israel, as their “Consolation,” i.e., the Messiah. His own, however, received Him not. That is an understated way of reporting that they hated Him and had Jesus crucified.

Towards the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus lamented over the Jews in Jerusalem. He said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37).

Every Jew could have been a Simeon.

Jesus is the Savior of all men, especially those who believe. He draws all men to himself by the agency of the cross. God is not willing that any perish, but all come to eternal life. Whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

The leadership hardened their hearts and resisted the grace of God. Yes, God’s grace is resistible. The first Christian martyr, Stephen, substantiated it when he accused these same Jews, saying, “You always resist the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51).

But there was Simeon; and there were others like him, believers. This would greatly encourage Jesus in His mission, just as it would any of us with a mission, to find faithful followers.

Simeon was “just and devout.” The two words summarize Simeon’s walk on Earth:

Towards men, he was motivated to do what was “just,” meaning right.
Towards God, he was devoted above all other persons or things.

This is another way of saying, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ ”(Matthew 22:37-40).

It is always a good idea to reflect upon your love for God. It can easily wane as we wait for Him. Not always out of disobedience. We can leave love for Jesus in the dust of our zeal to serve Him.

As for “your neighbor,” Jesus told a parable, The Good Samaritan, so that we would not ask, “Who is my neighbor?, but, “Whose neighbor am I?” You are everyone’s neighbor, to do good to them and thereby glorify God. You make the invisible God, visible.

“Consolation” sounds weird to English ears. I immediately think of a consolation prize for losers. We describe someone as inconsolable.

Simeon used it hopefully. The nation would be consoled when the Deliverer came:

He would deliver them from the oppression of other nations.
More importantly, He would deliver Jews and Gentiles from the oppression of the malevolent ruler of this world, of sin, and of death.

Luk 2:26  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

Was Simeon an old man? Nothing in the text indicates his age.

He lived in a state of imminence. The Messiah might appear any moment. Imminence is a big thing to us. Jesus could return any moment to resurrect the dead in Christ, and nearly simultaneously rapture living believers.

It seems that it was widely known that the Holy Spirit had “revealed to him” this marvelous promise. In that way, it was a shared promise. You could get up every morning and check the obituaries in the Jerusalem Daily News. If Simeon wasn’t listed, then you still had a chance to see the Messiah.

Luk 2:27  So he came by the Spirit into the Temple…

Maybe the Holy Spirit gave him a strong impression to go to the Temple.

Maybe he had a dream, or a vision, or a prophecy.

Maybe another God-fearing believer received the message from the Lord to give to Simeon.

Or a bunch of seemingly random coincidences suddenly seemed to him God’s providential direction.

God the Holy Spirit is multi-lingual, especially when it comes to communicating in unusual, non-linguistic ways. He especially likes to ‘sign’ things to you. Throughout our walk with Jesus, we will learn SSL – Spirit Sign Language.

If you are not receiving anything from the Spirit, one possibility is that you are not listening. All of us understand the husband who is not really listening to his wife. Whether it is on account of the game on the television or something else, he’s not hearing her. Or those scenes when someone isn’t listening and the speaker starts stating absurdities.

A first step to listening is to believe God’s Spirit ‘speaks’ to you. Then go through the Book of Acts and note the various times and ways the Spirit ‘spoke’ to the apostles and disciples.

We read, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son… who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person…” (Hebrews 1:1-3).

Baby Jesus was the first step in revealing God to His creatures on Earth. Coming as a baby by itself shouts volumes about God’s understanding of, and use of, power and sovereignty. Human infancy isn’t exactly a strong position to take in a cosmic war against supernatural creatures bent on your destruction.

Satan is the ruler of this Earth. From the Garden of Eden forward, he has been trying to stop the coming of the Messiah. With all of his many resources, both natural and supernatural, how easy would it be to simply kill the promised Christ as an infant. In fact he tried to do just that.

Satan incited brutal King Herod to “put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men” (Matthew 2:16).

Sidebar: Secular scholars try to discredit the slaughter by saying there is no historical record of it. One may yet be found. Without minimizing the event, mathematicians have calculated the likely number of male children in Bethlehem and its districts who met Herod’s criteria – 12. Significant, sure, but not exactly newsworthy when dealing with a despot who regularly killed his own family members.

Luk 2:27  So he came by the Spirit into the Temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,

I can’t speak for Simeon, but I know what I’d have thought. When I saw the Deliverer, I’d be expecting deliverance! An infant deliverer meant decades more of waiting for the political aspect of deliverance. Think Moses.

This is the third time our attention is drawn to God the Holy Spirit’s ministry in Simeon:

“The Holy Spirit was upon him” (v25).

The Holy Spirit “revealed to him” (v26).

He “came by the Spirit” (v27).

God’s Spirit did not indwell him. The indwelling of God’s Spirit is a gift promised to believers in the Church Age.

Jesus promised that those who believed in Him would receive the Spirit of God. This includes all believers. Are you a believer?

Then you don’t need to seek Him, per se; He lives in you.

I always liked the comic book Green Lanterns. They are intergalactic peacekeepers who receive superpowers from power rings. A Green Lantern’s ring is charged using the energy from a power battery that resembles an old-fashioned lantern made of dark green metal. A Green Lantern’s ring must be recharged every 24hrs.

Ever hear of Hour Man? He was chemist Rex Tyler, who created Miraclo which granted him super-strength and endurance, but only for one hour.

Do you think of God the Holy Spirit as if He is a power source that wears-off and needs replenishing?

The Spirit is not a power but a Person with power. His presence in you makes it possible to obey God’s Word. What God says to do, you can do.

Luk 2:28  he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

Simeon wasn’t a priest or Levite. Joseph and Mary were from far away. Simeon may have been a complete stranger to them when he found them. Was there an awkward moment in which Simeon clearly wanted to hold their baby?

Again I want to stress I have no idea what Jesus perceived. But this is a marvelous moment for Him on Earth. A human being who was waiting for His coming held Him in his hands. God had come in human flesh as promised 4000 years prior.

Luk 2:29  “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word;

There is nothing to indicate Simeon died soon thereafter. Let us suppose for a moment that he did not. His life had been all about waiting for the fulfillment of this promise. Now, that part of his life had ended, pretty abruptly. He would have to transition into a new ministry.

It can be hard to do something like that, since so much of your identity is wrapped up in what you’ve been doing. If the Lord tells you to stay, stay. But if he tells you to go, to move, then do it.

“Peace” came from Simeon realizing God kept His Word. Some dialogue from Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan came to me. Kirk asks Khan something like, “How do I know you’ll keep your word?” Kahn replies, “I’ve given no word to keep.”

God has given His Word to keep, in these 66 marvelous books, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Everything we need for living life in a godly way is found between its covers… Or in your Bible app.

Luk 2:30  For my eyes have seen Your salvation
Luk 2:31  Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
Luk 2:32  A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

Notice Simeon says Jesus will “bring revelation to the Gentiles,” then the “glory of… Israel.” It seems out of order. Shouldn’t it be to the Jews first, then Gentiles? But that is precisely what occurred:

In His first coming, rejected by His own, Jesus put Israel on hold while the Gospel would go out to the Gentiles. The apostle Paul stated at the end of the Book of Acts, “the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” (28:28).
In His Second Coming, all Israel will be saved. Quoting Paul again, “Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved…” (Romans 11:25-26).

Luk 2:33  And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.

Make note that Luke says, “Joseph and His mother,” using the wording appropriate to the virgin birth.

Parents, have you ever felt inadequate in raising children? That’s a rhetorical question, by the way. How inadequate must Joseph and Mary have felt to raise Jesus in light of so much expectation upon Him.

The best they could hope for was that He would grow up to be a godly master craftsman. It is all they knew, all that they had to impart.

They knew God. They entrusted Jesus to God. Chip Ingram said, “Remember that you are not called to produce successful, upwardly mobile, highly educated, athletically talented machines. Giving your children great opportunities is good; it is not, however, the goal of parenting. Christlikeness is. Above all, seek to raise children who look and act a lot like Jesus.”

Luk 2:34  Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against
Luk 2:35  (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

David Guzik writes, “The ‘fall and rising of many’ would be shown in the way that Peter repented, but Judas despaired; in that one thief blasphemed, the other believed. Jesus is like a magnet that is attractive to some, but others are repelled from Him.”

Jesus was a “sign,” which here could be translated, target. We use the phrase, “He has a target on his back.” That’s the idea.

Mary would be more than heartbroken. A “sword” would pierce her heart. Hers would obviously be a unique suffering, seeing as Jesus was born to her in such a unique way. No one would be able to say to her, “I know what you’re going through.”

Multiple commentators note four main lessons we learn from Simeon: We wait, we watch, we worship, and we work.

Simeon ‘says’ each of them.

I encourage you to read and reread the story of Simeon with those characteristics in mind. Ask the Lord to reveal your progress or regress in each of them. Then yield yourself to His leading in order to wait-watch-worship-work as you walk.

Lady Sings The News (Luke 1:46-55)

Jesus Refulsit Omnium
Corde Natus ex Parentis
Adeste Fideles

It isn’t tongues… I don’t have a brain tumor… It’s not from Parkinson’s.

These are not spells from Harry Potter. I’m not making fun of President Biden.

They are the Latin titles for what music historians consider the oldest Christmas hymns:

Jesus Refulsit Omnium translates to, Jesus, Light of All the Nations, written by St. Hilary of Poitier in the 4th century.

Corde Natus ex Parentis translates to, Of the Father’s Love Begotten. Christian poet Prudentius wrote the poem that inspired this song in the 4th century.

Adeste Fideles is the familiar, O Come, All Ye Faithful, from 1841.

Away in a Manger, Silent Night, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing… These are probably what come to mind when you think about traditional Christmas carols. As classic as these songs are, they’re not old.

There is in the Bible the overlooked oldest of the hymns of Christ’s birth.

You might know it by its Latin name, Magnificat.

It is found in only one place, in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke.

The Magnificat is one of four hymns recorded by Luke in response to the birth of Christ. The other three are:

Zechariah’s Benedictus (1:67-79).
The angels’ Gloria in Excelsis Deo (2:13-14).
Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis (2:28-32).

Luke presented Christmas as a musical; or at least having its own score.

Christmas is a time for song. I feel sorry for those who refuse to celebrate for one reason or another. They miss out on so much praise.

BTW: Have you been told that our celebration of Christmas has pagan roots? There is historical evidence that the opposite is true. One historian wrote,

The pagan festival of the “Birth of the Unconquered Sun” instituted by the Roman Emperor Aurelian on 25 December 274, was almost certainly an attempt to create a pagan alternative to a date that was already of some significance to Roman Christians. Thus the “pagan origins of Christmas” is a myth without historical substance.

http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=16-10-012-v#continue

Or Google Calculating Christmas.

We don’t want to ruin the Magnificat by picking it apart. Happily, it suggests it’s own three movements:

In verses 46-49, God’s calling upon her life draws praise from Mary.
In verses 50-53, Mary sings about the Messiah transforming the world.
In verses 54-55, Mary’s song finds its crescendo in God’s trustworthy promises and prophecies.

Let’s set the scene within which this song was sung. Finding herself pregnant after the angel Gabriel’s visit, Mary went to see her cousin, Elizabeth, to see if Elizabeth was also pregnant like the angel had said. Elizabeth was visibly pregnant, being six months along in her pregnancy with John the Baptist. He went full Pentecostal, leaping inside her womb when Mary arrived. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth spoke a blessing over Mary.

Mary began to sing:

Luk 1:46 “My soul magnifies the Lord,
Luk 1:47  And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Luk 1:48  For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
Luk 1:49  For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.

Magnificat is Latin for “magnify.” In her case, Mary magnified God by rejoicing in Him.

The Doctrine of the Virgin Birth is implied in the Old Testament. It wasn’t revealed until later on, in the New Testament. No one in Israel was anticipating a miraculous virgin birth. The Jewish leaders would accuse Jesus of being illegitimate.

Mary was a young, betrothed girl, pregnant out of wedlock. Her condition was considered shameful socially and morally.

Mary chose to believe God and rejoice.

Do you believe God? Then choose to rejoice in your circumstances.

We applaud the person whose human spirit cannot be broken. William Wallace yelling, “Freedom,” while being disemboweled gets Mel Gibson an Academy Award. Why do the smallest things rob our joy as believers? Why does anything?

You’ll notice that Mary sang about things in the past tense as if they had already occurred. Scholars call this the ‘prophetic past-tense,’ meaning it hasn’t happened but it most certainly will because God has prophesied it.

Mary was 15 years old, maybe 16 tops. God has a habit of calling upon youth:

David was the youngest in his family, just a youth, when he slew the Philistine giant.

Daniel and his three friends were youths when taken captive to Babylon.

Jeremiah is thought to have been 17 years old when God called him.

A godly young man or woman, boy or girl, has the same Holy Spirit in them as an adult. God wants to use young people.

Mary was no theologian. Her song was spontaneous and inspired. She sang it with joy for an audience of three – two of whom were in utero.

There are two ways we can approach Mary’s song:

We can approach it intellectually by looking at its various parts.

We can approach it devotionally by taking it as a whole.

We are going devotional. Our understanding of ‘devotional’ is discovering what the Bible says to us without taking it out of its original context.

Looking at the Magnificat devotionally, we can say that it describes every servant God calls

Mary’s service was unique in the Christian story, sure. There are a lot of saints like that, whose names are known for a unique part they played.

You are an unknown. To people, that is, not to God. But you are no less loved or blessed than Mary or any other servant. It is impossible for Jesus to love one servant more than another.

“My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”

Is God your Savior? If not, receive Him – right now!

Jesus is the Savior of the whole world, especially those who believe.

“Spirit” refers to the immaterial part of humanity that connects with God.

Human beings are souls. In its most basic sense, the word soul means “life.” It has been called the “life essence of the body.”

Humans are born spiritually dead, with souls blackened by sin. Believe Jesus and you are born again, born spiritually. You receive a new nature, and the Holy Spirit.

“For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.”

A paraphrase of these words is, “God took one good look at me, and look what happened – I’m the most fortunate woman on earth! What God has done for me will never be forgotten.”

God took one look at you. You were dressed in filthy garments. You were born with a sin nature and you were a sinner. There was nothing about you to commend you to God.

Mary looked just like that, too. There was nothing holy about her, nothing to set her apart.

You were just what He was looking for, to save and transform, to perfect you to meet the Father as His bride.

“All generations will call me blessed” doesn’t only apply to Mary:

Think of all the Bible’s hero’s and heroines whose names are upon our lips.

Think of all the ‘famous’ Christians not in the Bible we called blessed.

You are no less blessed, though you work in obscurity, no one ever knowing your name. (You might be better off).

“For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.”

Our God is “holy,” which in part means that on account of His perfection, He can do nothing wrong or evil. We can therefore trust that “great things” are happening in our lives as we walk with Him.

I admit sometimes I apply this wrongly by thinking, “That’s just great, Lord.” We don’t always recognize all things working together for our good, but we know they are because God is almighty and He loves us.

A new movement in the song begins in verse fifty:

Luk 1:50  And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.

From “generation to generation,” God oversees history. He has the watch. He acts providentially to fulfill His promises and push forward His agenda of redeeming the human race and His ruined Creation. No matter how much the plan of redemption seems to be in jeopardy, believers in every generation, “those who fear Him,” experience God’s mercy.

Luk 1:51  He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
Luk 1:52  He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.
Luk 1:53  He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.

Throughout history there are “proud,” “mighty,” and “rich” individuals who hold earthly power. They always seem to be winning. They are not. Time after time, God has “scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.” Think of Pharaoh and Moses and you get the idea.

The reversals listed herald the changes to come in the future Kingdom of God on Earth

Satan is the current ruler of this world. At one point in history he had a throne in the city of Pergamum. God had a church there. Believers may be “lowly” and “hungry,” but the church cannot fail.

I should rephrase that and say, “believers will be lowly and hungry (in need).” The Church Age in which we find ourselves is a time when we magnify the Lord in our weaknesses and sufferings. The apostle Paul wrote,

2Co 12:7  And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
2Co 12:8  Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
2Co 12:9  And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

God can and does heal. Healings are few and far between, if we are honest.

Either the church is failing, as many suggest.

Or we are living in a time during which having a thorn in the flesh is more a testimony then healing it would be.

The final movement of the Magnificat is about Mary’s people, the nation of Israel:

Luk 1:54  He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,
Luk 1:55  As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

God determined to call out a special people for Himself, and through that special people He would bless the whole world with the Messiah. He chose Abram to be the father of that new people, the nation of Israel. He would later change Abram’s name to Abraham.

God’s unconditional promise included land. It was a specific land, an actual property, with dimensions specified, to be Israel’s forever.

Joel Richardson writes, “Among the most critical matters of urgency for the church in this hour is acquiring a biblical view of Israel. Exposing the spreading cancer of anti-Semitism, arrogance, and misinformation within the Body of Christ is one of the most important challenges of our day.”

If anyone deserved to be abandoned by God, it was Israel. Their history is full of rebellion and idolatry. God continually “helped” Israel, calling them His “servant.”

We serve an incredible Promise Keeper. If He has begun a work in you, He will complete it – despite your efforts to go your own way.

Think of your life as a musical, e.g., PG the Musical.

What is the audience experience as folks watch your musical? What is your score on Rotten Tomatoes? Because you can be sure people are watching.

Here’s a better way of thinking about it. Each of us, as believers in Christ, are writing our musical. Our thoughts, our actions, our decisions, all contribute to it.

Mary’s song was a Magnificat.

Our song, our musical, can likewise be a Magnificat as we choose rejoicing

From Rags To Righteous

I want to talk to you about one of our most original and endearing Christmas traditions: The Ugly Christmas Sweater.

Sweaters decorated for Christmas made their appearance in the 1950’s. They were known as “Jingle Bell Sweaters,” and featured Christmas themed decorations. The sweaters were not intended to be ugly.

The Google says that the first ever ugly sweater party was hosted in 2002 in Vancouver, British Columbia by two men named Chris Boyd and Jordan Birch.

Every year since, what they call The Original Ugly Christmas Sweater Party has been held at the Commodore Ballroom.

The annual party has a dress code

What do you think it is? Yep – An ugly Christmas sweater. You won’t be admitted without one.

Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse in Scottsdale AZ has an unusual dress code. If anybody comes in wearing a necktie, a server will sneak up on them with a pair of scissors and cut it off. The clipped necktie then joins thousands of others hanging from the ceiling.

You might recall the episode of Seinfeld in which Jerry was invited to join the exclusive Friars Club. When he arrived, he was initially denied entrance. The club had a dress code: Men must wear a suit or sport jacket.

No shirt… No shoes… No service is now, No mask… No Entering. Thanks, COVID19.

Long ago, before COVID19, couples were married in ceremonies that included invited guests. The bride and groom may not have insisted on a dress code for their guests, but most if not all of their friends and family adhered to basic wardrobe appropriateness.

There is a wedding with a dress code in the Gospel of Matthew.

To be accurate, it is a parable Jesus told using a wedding celebration to describe an important truth about Heaven. It reads (in part) like this:

Mat 22:2 The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son…
Mat 22:11 … when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.
Mat 22:12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.

In many ancient cultures, a king provided garments for his guests to insure that they would appear before him properly dressed. In the Old Testament Book of Genesis, Joseph was a prisoner in an Egyptian jail. When the Pharaoh called for him to come and interpret his dreams, “they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh” (Genesis 41:14).

The king in Jesus’ parable furnished the invited guests with a “wedding garment.” To come to the celebration and refuse the garment was a terrible insult. The man without the proper wedding garment could expect to be denied entrance or to be thrown-out.

A Bible parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. It is a teaching aid to simplify spiritual truths. Listen to what Jesus said next.

Mat 22:13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

You were definitely not expecting anything like that. Maybe ask him to leave; but “outer darkness… Weeping and gnashing of teeth?”

Where is that, anyway? It’s not on earth. That is language the Bible uses to describe Hell. It is a place of separation from God; a place of eternal, conscious torment.

It might be good to pause and identify the main players & places in the parable:

The King represents God the Father.
The Son represents Jesus Christ.
The wedding celebration represents the joy of being in Heaven for eternity.
Those wearing a wedding garment are people who have believed in Jesus Christ and are thereby properly dressed.
The man without a garment represents all who in unbelief reject Jesus as their Savior.

Heaven has a strict dress code.

Any person without the proper garment violates Heaven’s dress code, and not only can he or she not enter – You are remanded to Hell for eternity.

What is so important about this garment? Why do we need it?

We can begin to answer that by explaining how we are dressed without this garment.

When God looks at a person, from Heaven, He sees him or her differently than we do. There is a passage in an Old Testament book, the Book of Zechariah, that will explain what I mean.

In the passage, the High Priest of Israel, who’s name was Joshua, was on earth in the Jewish Temple performing his duties.

(This is not the Joshua who led Israel into their Promised Land. Joshua was a popular Jewish name).

Zec 3:1  Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD…

On the earth, Joshua was ministering in the Jewish Temple.
In the unseen supernatural realm, Joshua was standing before the LORD

The High Priest had a unique wardrobe that was his dress code. His garments were magnificent. He wore, for example, a breastplate with twelve precious stones – one to represent each of the twelve tribes of Israel. These jewels were in gold settings. In the first row, there was a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald; in the second row, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a diamond; in the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and in the fourth row, a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper.

The High Priest wore a total of eight different holy garments. Of these, four were of the same type worn by all priests, and four were unique to him.

Listen to this description of his garments:

The high priest had two sets of holy garments: The “golden garments,” and a set of white “linen garments” which he wore only on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). On that day, he would change his holy garments four times, beginning in the golden garments but changing into the linen garments for the two moments when he would enter the Holy of Holies, and then change back again into the golden garments after each time. He would immerse in the ritual bath before each change of garments, washing his hands and his feet after removing the garments and again before putting the other set on.

If in our passage it was the Day of Atonement, Heaven was watching Joshua as he went through the rituals, changing from one outfit and back again.

You know the expression, You can’t judge a book by its cover? Joshua looked his best, ‘covered’ by his beautiful and costly garments, and washed. He didn’t look that way to everyone:

Zec 3:3  Now Joshua [the High Priest] was clothed with filthy garments…

The word “filthy” means smeared with human excrement.  

There’s a scene in Robin Hood – Prince of Thieves, the Kevin Costner version, involving filthy rags. A master of disguise, Robin Hood robed himself with the torn and tattered garments of a beggar in order to avoid being detected while visiting Maid Marian in the church.

To make it even more believable, he picked-up dung from the road, and rubbed it all over his robe. He was filthy.

Warning: The next few minutes might gross you out. To put it another way – little boys will love it!

I think you’d be surprised at how many people each year fall into cess pools or septic tanks.

Ralph Santos, 88, was weed whacking in his backyard when a cesspool collapsed creating a sink hole. Santos fell into the hole, holding his head above the contents of the cesspool using the electrical cord from the weed whacker. He was found a short time later by his wife, who called 911.

In other ‘filthy’ news… A man charged with the first-degree murder of a New Orleans police officer, delayed the jury selection in his trial by rubbing feces on his own face, head, and mouth in the courtroom. He was declared incompetent to stand trial.

In 2018, a United Airlines flight bound from Chicago to Hong Kong was diverted to an emergency landing in Alaska when a passenger started (quote) “smearing feces everywhere.”

Did you know that there are several conditions that can make your breath smell like feces? Bowel obstruction, ketoacidosis, liver failure, and something I can’t pronounce whose acronym is GERD.

I’m not trying to gross you out. The fact is, this is an exceedingly gross image that the Bible uses to get the point across.

Did Joshua fall into sewage rushing to the Temple? Why would he minister in the Temple in such stained and spoiled garments?

He didn’t fall – but Adam did!  We call the willful disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the “fall.”

God created them in His image, with genuine free-will.
Not only did being in the image of God mean they had to have free-will. It was also necessary for them to have a choice because love cannot be forced, or it ceases to be love.

Our original parents chose poorly. They “fell,” bringing ruin upon God’s creation. They saw themselves as naked. God saw them as being clothed in filthy rags.

We left Joshua in the Temple. You are being shown the same man, in the same garments, from two perspectives.

From the natural and earthly perspective, his garments were fine.

From the supernatural and heavenly perspective, his garments were filthy.

The Bible describes every human being that way

The Bible says, “all of our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.” God sees us, in our natural state, as if we are wearing filthy rags. You and I are feces-breathed, dung-smeared, cess pool floaters.

None of us are righteous. We all fall short of the glory of God. We are all sinners.

There are so many really, really evil people in the world that it can be hard to believe you are too sinful to be allowed into Heaven. That’s where God’s Law can clarify. Jesus once said,

Mat 5:21 “You have heard that it was said… ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’
Mat 5:22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment…

Each of us has been angry. It is not equivalent to murder, but it is evidence that something is wrong deep within us.

Billy Graham often said, “The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart.” All of us have broken many of God’s laws in our hearts.

Breaking even one law, one time, is more than enough to keep us out of Heaven.

Have you ever lied, no matter how white the lie was?
Ever stolen anything, no matter how small?
Have you ever coveted something?

The answer is, “Yes.” We have all broken God’s law; we are all guilty. The fact that someone might be a worse sinner doesn’t change the fact I am a sinner.

God intervened on behalf of Joshua:

Zec 3:4  Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

The robe God was speaking of wasn’t a physical garment. It was unseen by men on earth, but visible to beings in Heaven.

You need a robe to enter Heaven; a very particular robe. In another place in the Bible, in the Old Testament Book Isaiah, we read,

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness…” (Isaiah 61:10).

God can provide you with a robe, called here “the robe of righteousness.” With it, you are a welcomed guest; you are properly dressed for Heaven.

In the wedding garment story Jesus told; and in the verse we just read; the robe is given to you: “He has clothed me… He has covered me…”

The same was true with Joshua. It was given to him, freely.

The robe of righteousness is not deserved, and it cannot be earned. It must be given to you – it is a free gift from God. We call this free gift of God salvation by grace, through faith

Where do we get this robe of righteousness? It is only found in one place: At the Cross of Jesus Christ.

His death on the Cross was sufficient to ‘robe’ all sinners. He is the Savior of all men – especially those who believe in Him.

There’s a verse that explains Jesus’ death on the Cross as if it were an exchange. It reads like this:

2Co 5:21  For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

A paraphrase of that is, “God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.”

Jesus was severely beaten prior to His Crucifixion.

He was stripped of His clothing, nailed naked to the Cross.

Heaven saw Him differently. He had righteousness to give, as you would give a robe, to all who would believe in Him.

Think of it as a one-sided gift exchange. Jesus gives you His righteousness and takes upon Himself your filthiness.

Jesus gives you the robe of righteousness you must have in order to enter Heaven and avoid Hell.

It is an exclusive garment

Jesus alone has the robe of righteousness to give.

He is the unique God-man, the only One righteous, Who rose from the dead showing He alone has power to save you.

No religious leader, or religion, can give you the robe.
No philosopher, or philosophy, can give you the robe.
No other supernatural being can give you the robe.

I am sure some of you frustrate yourselves by playing golf. Even if you’re not a golfer, you’ve heard of the Masters Tournament.

Since 1949, a green jacket has been awarded to the champion. It is a garment you can only get in one place on earth.

The robe we are talking about can only be gotten at the Cross.

All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; none of us is righteous enough to deserve Heaven.

What we deserve for sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

You must receive your robe before you die. There is no chance to ask for it after death.

The exchange takes place the instant you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Again I emphasize that the robe is given freely. At the Friars Club, Jerry Seinfeld‘s problem was solved when the management provided a jacket for him. All he had to do was accept it.

A fun-fact about the robe: Once you’ve received it, you’re encouraged to adorn it

The whole of Isaiah 61:10 reads, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness.  As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

You are given your robe of righteousness when you receive Jesus as your Savior.  Afterwards you have the privilege of adorning your robe with “jewels.”  

In my role as a law enforcement Chaplain, I’ve over the years worked with the Lion’s Clubs. At their meetings they wear vests that are adorned with pins and patches they’ve received in service to the club and the community. Lots of service clubs do the same.

You don’t earn or add to your salvation; but you can receive rewards to adorn your robe.  

In the passage in which the apostle Paul talks about our being rewarded by Jesus for our good works after we have been saved, he describes them as “gold, silver, precious stones” (First Corinthians 3:12).

I want to look good for Jesus. It’s not a competition with other believers. It’s between Him and me.

The Bride eyes not her garment,
But her dear Bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory, but on my King of Grace
Not at the crown He giveth, but on His pierced hand:
The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel’s land

If you’re a believer in Christ, stay busy be-dazzling your robe by discovering the good works that Jesus has before ordained for you to walk in.

If you are not a believer in Christ, consider this

You’ve seen celebrities on the red carpet.

As they make their way towards the event, they stop to chat with reporters. They almost always ask the women especially, “Who are you wearing?” To which they answer Vera Wang, or Armani, or Calvin Klein.

If you’re not in Christ… Who are you wearing, hoping to get into Heaven without His robe? Buddha? Joseph Smith? L. Ron Hubbard?

None of them died for you.
None of them took upon themselves your filthy rags in exchange for the righteousness needed to enter Heaven.
None of them rose from the dead with the power to save you, and to sanctify you, and to glorify you.

No Jesus… No robe… No Heaven

Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Disbelief

Most popular non-Biblical Christmas story of all time?

I didn’t say your favorite. Most popular. And it’s not Die Hard. BTW: You die hard Die Hard fans – Do NOT Google Die Hard + Ambulance while you’re here. Do it later.

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, was an instant classic. It’s full title is, A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas.

Published on December 19, 1843, the first edition sold out by Christmas Eve. By the end of the year thirteen editions had been released.

In 1849 Dickens began public readings of the story, which proved so successful he undertook 127 further performances until 1870, the year of his death.

A Christmas Carol has never been out of print and has been translated into several languages. The story has been adapted umpteen times for film, stage, opera, and just about every other media:

There have been at least 23 motion picture adaptations.
62 theater adaptations.
4 operas.
29 television adaptations (with new ones every year).
5 graphic novels.

Then there are the radio performances, recordings, and straight-to-DVD’s. It’s almost impossible to count what are classified as ‘derivative works,’ where the storyline, or a character, are utilized.

For all its popularity, you almost never hear anything about what inspired Dickens.
There are good reasons to believe that Dickens had a Bible story in mind. But not one that most people would in any way think of as representative, or even appropriate, for Christmas.

It’s the story of the Rich Man & Lazarus. It is found in the sixteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Let me read it to you in its entirety:

Luke 16:19  “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
Luke 16:20  But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
Luke 16:21  desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luke 16:22  So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
Luke 16:23  And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luke 16:24  “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’
Luke 16:25  But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
Luke 16:26  And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
Luke 16:27  “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house,
Luke 16:28  for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’
Luke 16:29  Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’
Luke 16:30  And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
Luke 16:31  But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”

Try reading that before opening gifts on Christmas. It will certainly set a mood. It’s reminiscent of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Yet this WAS Dickens’ inspiration:

First, there is the Rich Man – Ebenezer Scrooge – who sees his death, and there is a poor ‘man’ – Tiny Tim – who is going to die.

Second, it is made clear that like the Rich Man, Scrooge, beyond death is headed to torment in the afterlife.

Third, around the time A Christmas Carol was published, Dickens wrote a short biography of Jesus for his children, titled The Life of our Lord. The “Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man” was one of only eight stories that Dickens chose to include in that volume.

Fourth, a passage in a book titled, The Oxford Illustrated Dickens, mentions the Rich Man & Lazarus in a sentence together with Scrooge.

Fifth, and most significantly, the Sunday after Dickens was buried in Westminster Abbey, Dean Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, preaching on exactly this parable, spoke of Dickens as the “parabler” of his age. Stanley said that “By [Dickens] that veil was rent asunder which parts the various classes of society. Through his genius the Rich Man… was made to see and feel the presence of Lazarus at his gate.”

The story of the Rich Man & Lazarus is often called a parable. It isn’t. It doesn’t follow the rules of a parable:

For one, in a parable there are people or things that represent other things. In the Parable of the Sower, for example, the seed represents the Word of God; and the soil, the various conditions of the human heart. In the story of the Rich Man & Lazarus, everything is itself – not a representation.

For another thing, parables do not name their characters. If this was a parable, it was the only one Jesus told that used a proper name. Lazarus was a real person, and the description of him was his true daily life.
You may also have heard the Rich Man referred to as Dives, as if that was his name. Dives means wealthy. The ‘name’ was given to him by translators and commentators to further emphasize to readers that this is not a parable.

Jesus was talking with men from a sect of the Jewish religion known as the Pharisees. They considered themselves right with God because of their meticulous adherence to the written Laws of God. Their wealth was, to them, evidence that God was pleased with their devotion.

In one place we’re told that these guys were so meticulous about giving God 10% of their wealth that they gave 10% of their spices to God. Here is what Jesus said:

Matthew 23:23  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”

You see where Jesus was coming from. For all their claim to scrupulously keep the Old Testament Law of God, they were not right with God.

Lazarus was beyond poverty. He had to be carried to the Rich Man’s gate to beg. He was covered in foul sores from head to toe. The household dogs had it better than him. They, at least, did get table scraps. With a little seasoning, I might add.

It was unthinkable to a Law-keeping Pharisee that such a person could be right with God. His destitute condition was, to them, a sign of God’s displeasure. He was getting what he deserved.

Lazarus wasn’t taken to a place of rest and refreshment because he deserved it. He was taken there because, in spite of his miserable condition in life, he believed God.

How can I say that? I can say that because he was greeted by Abraham, and the place was referred to as Abraham’s Bosom. We are told in the Old Testament that Abraham “believed God,” and it was accounted to him as righteousness. Not by works of righteousness that he had done, but by faith, was Abraham justified by God to be taken to his rest. All those taken to Hades, to wait with with Abraham, must have like-faith. They are there by faith, not works.

Hades. It is described as a temporary abode for a person’s spirit when it leaves the physical body at death. But not everyone is in the same part of Hades after death.

Luke 16:24  “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’
Luke 16:25  But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
Luke 16:26  And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

The Bible is very informative regarding the afterlife. The moment you die, your spirit leaves your body. From the creation of the world until the coming of Jesus Christ, the spirits of all the deceased went to Hades:

One part is a place of bliss and comfort, called Abraham’s Bosom. It was called Paradise by Jesus, when He promised one of the thieves crucified next to Him that “Today, you will be in Paradise.”
The other part is a waiting room of unrelenting conscious torment.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after His death on the Cross changed the population of Hades.

Jesus is described in the Book of Ephesians as having descended there, and evacuated those in Paradise, taking them with Him to Heaven.

Subsequently, when a believer dies, he or she is said to be immediately absent from their body, and present with the Lord, not in Hades, but in Heaven.

Jesus left behind in Hades all those who were not right with God by faith. They wait there until the final judgment.

If you’re not a believer – Death abruptly ends your opportunities to have faith in Jesus and be saved. There is no second chance after death. When you die, you will go to Hades to await your final destination, which is Hell. The Rich Man, Dives, is still there.

Luke 16:27  “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house,
Luke 16:28  for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’

Among the many things we can glean from this is that the Rich Man understood that religion could not save anyone. It could not make a person right with God. He wanted his brothers to know that it’s “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).

Luke 16:29  Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’

Reading the Old Testament, it is abundantly clear that works cannot save you. Think again of Abraham, father of the Jews. He believed. It was by faith.

The Rich Man wanted Lazarus to preach; but he had already been a sermon. He had been a living sermon, in his suffering.

Here’s how: The Law that these Pharisees claimed to obey talks plenty about helping the poor and needy. Earlier we quoted Jesus saying that they, “neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”

The Rich Man had left “mercy” undone. While he weighed out his spices, to tithe, a fellow Israelite lay begging just yards away.

The very presence of Lazarus, and his treatment at their hands, condemned them as law-breakers. It revealed them as self-righteous, void of God’s righteousness.

Lazarus was thus called to a very hard ministry. That’s right; ministry. Do you ever think of him that way?

The Rich Man had guests all the time. Think of all the other Pharisees and scribes and visitors who would come to dine sumptuously with the Rich Man, and be confronted with Lazarus as a silent sermon.

What was his text? It could have been any number of passages, e.g., “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you” (Leviticus 25:35).

In life, Lazarus was carried. In death, he was again carried – but by angels. Are all believers carried? Probably not. I think Lazarus was carried after his death to remind us that after a believer dies, every pain and suffering, every sorrow and trouble, is immediately left behind. His being carried in like was overshadowed by his being carried to Hades.

Lazarus would no longer need to be carried, but he was carried one last time as a kind of representation of a life well-lived.

It’s not unlike what Bob Cratchit says quoting his invalid son, Tiny Tim: “He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see.”

Think of it as street theater. In the Old Testament, God frequently instructed His prophets to act out a scenario in public. Lazarus probably didn’t realize that he was a street theater Gospel preacher to lost Pharisees.

Luke 16:30  And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
Luke 16:31  But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”

The Rich Man reasoned that if Lazarus returned from the dead, his brothers would believe.

In what classic Christmas tale does a man return from the grave to warn his partner? Jacob Marley does in A Christmas Carol.

A lot of people demand a sign from God. It seems like it would be effective. It’s not. Just a short time after telling this story, Jesus did raise a man from the dead, another man named Lazarus.

The result was that the Pharisees and the other religious leaders of Israel began to plot more earnestly to kill both Jesus and Lazarus.

Ebenezer Scrooge sees Tiny Tim’s death, and his own death and destiny, and it stuns him to action. His reformation reminds you of the Grinch’s heart growing three sizes larger.

Here, sadly, is where Dickens falls terrifically short. Let me read to you from the end of his Christmas Ghost Story:

… to Tiny Tim, who did not die, [Scrooge] was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.

BTW: The Total Abstinence Principle has nothing to do with alcohol or the avoidance of other vices. It is abstinence from being bitter, mean-spirited, angry, dour, greedy, grasping, self-centered, and unforgiving. It is moral self-improvement.

As he ended, Dickens kept using the word “good.” Be good; do good works. Improve yourself. In the sermon preached eulogizing Dickens, the minister concluded that his greatest achievement was that, “the Rich Man… was made to see and feel the presence of Lazarus at his gate.”

That was the extent of Scrooge’s reformation. Be good. It is what every religion, or philosophy, or psychology, tells you.

There’s a rhyme that puts this into perspective:

“Do this and live!” the law demands,
But gives me neither feet nor hands.
A better way the spirit brings,
He bids me fly, and gives me wings!

Without the indwelling spirit of God, we lack the power to be good, or keep a program like the Total Abstinence Principle.

Sadly, if Scrooge were a real person, he’d die to find himself alongside the Rich Man, in Hades. No amount of good works, or self-improvement, can save you.

Was Dickens a Christian? Historians disagree. He certainly had Christian influences that come through his writings.

If he was a believer, he didn’t feel the need to stress repentance and the Cross. A Christmas Carol doesn’t point you to Jesus. Scrooge wasn’t saved from sin, but from cynicism.

Scrooge needed Jesus. He needed a conversion; to be transformed by God, not merely to reform himself. He needed to be born again by repenting of his sin and believing Jesus saved him by dying on the Cross.

Why is being a good person not enough to get you into Heaven? Because no one is a “good” person; there is only One who is perfectly good, and that is God Himself. The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The Bible also says that the wages of our sin is death (Romans 6:23a).

God took action to save us. While we were in our sinful state, Christ died for the unrighteous (Romans 5:8). By His death on the Cross, He exerts an influence that draws all men to Himself. He is the Savior of all men; but not all receive His salvation. Only those who believe.
Salvation is not based on our goodness but on Jesus’ goodness.

If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved (Romans 10:9).

This salvation in Christ is a precious gift, and, like all true gifts, it is unearned (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8–9). The message of the Bible is that we can never be good enough to get to Heaven. We must recognize that we are sinners who fall short of God’s glory, and we must obey the command to repent of our sins and place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

Christ alone was a “good” – good enough to earn Heaven – and He gives His righteousness to those who believe in His name (Romans 1:17).

Most of you have had your wills freed by God’s prevenient grace in order to receive God’s indescribable gift of salvation in Jesus.

Rejoice. Your conversion and transformation are the better ending to the story.

No matter your condition or situation, you are doing street theater out in the world. Your life is a sermon.

If you have not received the Lord… It is our prayer that this year’s celebration of His birth will mark your new birth.

Crazy Rich Pharisees (Luke 16:19-31)

Ask someone what is their favorite Christmas movie, and most will answer with one of the classics:

Its a Wonderful Life
Miracle on 34th Street
A Christmas Story
Home Alone
White Christmas
Elf
The Santa Clause

Inevitably someone will say, Die Hard. After all, it was Christmas when John McClain saved Nakitomi Plaza.

A lot of folks, however, object because they just don’t think of Die Hard as having the proper Christmas spirit.

Ask someone what is their favorite Christmas Bible verse, and most will answer with one of the classics:

Isaiah 9:6  For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Matthew 1:23  “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD, AND BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Luke 1:30 & 31 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.

John 1:14  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

What if I suggested the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus?

If you’re not immediately familiar with it, let me read a portion to give you the gist of it:

Luke 16:19  “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
Luke 16:20  But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
Luke 16:21  desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luke 16:22  So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
Luke 16:23  And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

I’ll bet none of your Christmas cards featured that parable. More than a few folks would object to that as a suitable text for Christmas. It seems to lack the proper Christmas spirit.

It might surprise you who did think of the Rich Man and Lazarus as an inspiring Christmas tale. None other than the man who wrote perhaps the most endearing Christmas fiction of all, Charles Dickens.

First published in 1843, it has never been out of print. There are umpteen dramatized or animated adaptations of it; there are new ones every year. I’m talking about, A Christmas Carol.

There is good reason to believe that the Dicken’s classic has its roots in the Rich Man and Lazarus:

First, there is a rich man – Ebenezer Scrooge – who sees his death, and there is a poor ‘man’ – Tiny Tim – who is going to die.

Second, it is made clear that Scrooge is headed to torment in the afterlife.

Third, around the time A Christmas Carol was published, Dickens wrote a short biography of Jesus for his children, titled The Life of our Lord. The “Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man” was one of only eight stories that Dickens chose to include in that volume.

Fourth, the Sunday after Dickens was buried in Westminster Abbey, Dean Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, preaching on exactly this parable, spoke of Dickens as the “parabler” of his age. Stanley said that “By [Dickens] that veil was rent asunder which parts the various classes of society. Through his genius the rich man… was made to see and feel the presence of Lazarus at his gate.”

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is, if you’ll pardon the pun, the Die Hard of the parables, in more ways than one.

From this day forward, every time you see, or read, a version of A Christmas Carol, it is my hope that you will think of the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus that inspired it.

By the way: Many scholars argue this is not so much a parable as it is a true account. They point out that it is the only time Jesus used real names – Lazarus, Abraham, and Moses.

The first thing I want to say is that the parable isn’t about being rich; it’s about being right – specifically, being right with God.

Jesus was talking with men from a sect of the Jewish religion known as the Pharisees. They considered themselves right with God because of their meticulous adherence to the written Laws of God.

For example, in one place we’re told that these guys were so meticulous about giving God 10% of their wealth that they gave 10% of their spices. Here is what Jesus said:

Matthew 23:23  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

You see where Jesus was coming from. Their problem wasn’t that they were rich; it was that they were not right with God.

Behind all this is a fundamental biblical principal. It was stated most clearly by the apostle Paul when he said, “We know very well that we are not set right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ. How do we know? We tried it – and we had the best system of rules the world has ever seen! Convinced that no human being can please God by self-improvement, we believed in Jesus as the Messiah so that we might be set right before God by trusting in the Messiah, not by trying to be good” (Galatians 2:16 MSG).

Are you trying to be good? Do you think that if you do more good than bad that you will be accepted into Heaven when you die?

Then you are the rich man in this Christmas tale. You need to be rich in faith. If you’re not, you are the poor rich man.

Let’s meet the rich poor man. Lazarus was beyond poverty. He had to be carried to the rich man’s gate to beg. He was covered in foul sores from head to toe. The household dogs had it better than him. They, at least, did get table scraps.

It was unthinkable to a Pharisee that such a person could be accepted into Heaven. His condition was, to them, a sign of God’s displeasure. He was getting what he deserved in their minds.

It wasn’t simply that the rich man lacked compassion. His works-based understanding of God’s Law encouraged him to despise Lazarus.

This story is not about being poor, either. It is about being poor in spirit. Jesus promised, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mathew 5:3). Lazarus’ afterlife destination proves he was indeed among the poor in spirit – he was one who was rich in faith in God to save him.

We read elsewhere in the Bible, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The poor rich man and the rich poor man died and both arrived in a place called Hades.
It is a temporary abode for your spirit when it leaves your physical body at death.

Luke 16:24  “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’
Luke 16:25  But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
Luke 16:26  And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

I find it interesting that the rich man knew Lazarus’ name. I doubt he knew it in life; but he knew it in the afterlife.

The Bible is very informative regarding the afterlife. The moment you die, your spirit leaves your body.
From the creation of the world until Jesus Christ, the spirits of all the deceased went to Hades – described for us here. It is divided by a chasm into two areas:

One is a place of bliss and comfort, called Abraham’s Bosom in honor of the father of the Israelites. It was called Paradise by Jesus.

The other area is a place of unrelenting torment.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after His death on the Cross changed the population of Hades. He descended there, and took those in Paradise with Him to Heaven. Now when a believer dies, he or she is said to be immediately absent from their body, and present with the Lord in Heaven.

Jesus left behind in Hades all those who were not right with God by faith. If you’re not a believer – When you die, you will go to Hades to await your final destination, which is Hell.

Death abruptly ends your opportunities to have faith in Jesus and be saved. There is no second chance after death.
The poor rich man realized it, and begged for his family on the earth:

Luke 16:27  “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house,
Luke 16:28  for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’

Is there really a place of torment? Is it forever? Speaking about Hell, John Walvoord wrote:

According to the Bible… Hell is just as real as Heaven. The Bible clearly and explicitly teaches that Hell is a real place to which the wicked/unbelieving are sent after death. We have all sinned against God. The just punishment for that sin is death. Since all of our sin is ultimately against God, and since God is an infinite and eternal Being, the punishment for sin, death, must also be infinite and eternal. Hell is this infinite and eternal death which we have earned because of our sin.

You don’t have to go there. In fact, God has gone to great lengths to keep you from going there. He has revealed Himself to mankind, and shown the way to Heaven.

Luke 16:29  Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’

Abraham’s testimony was that God has revealed Himself sufficiently for a man to have faith in Him, thereby entering Heaven after death and avoiding Hell. To an Israelite like the poor rich man, He had supremely revealed Himself in their Scriptures – what we call the Old Testament.

Today we have even more. We have the New Testament as well as the Old.

What about those around the world that have no Bible? They have the witness of God’s creation to their conscience. In fact, in one place God said He was the one Who scattered men everywhere in the hope they would seek after Him, and find Him.

God is not willing that anyone should arrive in Hades, or afterward be consigned to Hell.

Luke 16:30  And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
Luke 16:31  But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”

The poor rich man reasoned that if Lazarus rose from the dead, his brothers would believe.

In what classic Christmas tale does a man return from the grave to warn his partner? Jacob Marley does in A Christmas Carol. It’s abundantly clear that Dickens had this parable in mind as he wrote.

A lot of people demand a sign from God. It seems like it would be effective. It’s not.

Just a short time later Jesus did raise a man from the dead, another man named Lazarus.
The result was that the Pharisees and the other religious leaders of Israel began to plot more earnestly to kill both Jesus and Lazarus.

Scrooge sees Tiny Tim’s death, and his own death and destiny, and it stuns him to action.

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is meant to stun you to spiritual action.

The action isn’t to do more good works – like buying a turkey for the Cratchit’s. It is to realize that no amount of good works can save you, but that faith in the risen Lord, Jesus Christ, does.

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Call upon the Name of the Lord.
Then talk to someone you know who has identified themselves as a Christian.

Surveying The Lambscape

The opening scene is a bleak landscape of snow and ice. All you see at first is something rapidly burrowing towards you under the snow. It abruptly stops and a mound appears on the surface.

Some objects are then thrown out from underground: a bottle of sun tan lotion, a pair of sunglasses, a book titled Fun at the Beach, a folding chair, a beach umbrella, and a bucket of ice containing carrots.

Bugs Bunny jumps out, wearing a bathing suit, running, yelling, “Miami Beach at last!” But he’s not at the beach; he’s at the North Pole.

It isn’t long before he realizes that he “should have made a left turn at Albuquerque.”

Bugs Bunny arrived at the wrong destination because he took a wrong turn. Sometimes people arrive at the wrong destination because cities have the same name. Earlier this year, An 18-year-old Dutchman wanted to visit sunny Sydney, Australia, but ended up in chilly Sydney, Nova Scotia.

“I thought I was going to Australia, but that turned out a little different,” he said, in an interview.

“I saw the plane – and the plane was really small,” he said. “So I figured, would that make it to Australia? But afterwards, I checked the screen on the seat in front of me and I checked the flight plan and everything and then I saw all the flight plan was going to go right and up left. Yeah, that was about the time that I realized there was another Sydney.”

According to a travel website, some of the more well-known cities with the same name in different countries include:

London, Ontario & England.
Paris, Texas & France.
Panama City, Panama & Florida.
Cairo, Illinois & Egypt.
Athens, Ohio & Greece, and
Venice, Louisiana & Italy.

It’s harder to get to Miami than you might think. As of 2014, there are eleven states in America that have a city named Miami. Those states are Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia.

There are more than twenty towns named Moscow in the U.S.

Do you know the way to San Jose? That depends on whether you mean the city in California, or the capital of Costa Rica.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem… But there are two Bethlehem’s in the Bible:

The Bethlehem where Jesus was born is in the south, near Jerusalem, in the territory of Judah.

The other Bethlehem is in the north, near Nazareth.

The most famous Bethlehem is located in the hill country approximately 2,500 feet above sea level. Situated on the main highway to Egypt, it was specified variously as Ephrath (Genesis 35:16), Bethlehem Ephrathah (Micah 5:2), Bethlehem-Judah (First Samuel 17:12), and “the city of David” (Luke 2:4).

The wise men of the Christmas story arrived in Jerusalem after following a sort of supernatural GPS. They were looking for the King who had been born about two years prior. When asked where the prophets said the Messiah would be born, the priests and scribes of Israel were ready with an answer. It’s recorded for us in the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 2:5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
Matthew 2:6 ‘BUT YOU, BETHLEHEM, IN THE LAND OF JUDAH, ARE NOT THE LEAST AMONG THE RULERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’ ”

The Old Testament prophet they were quoting was Micah. If you turn to his book you read this:

Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

The King would be born in the Bethlehem in Judah, in Bethlehem Ephrathah, the one about five miles from Jerusalem.

Earlier in his book Micah further described Bethlehem Ephrathah:

Micah 4:8 And you, O tower of the flock, The stronghold of the daughter of Zion, To you shall it come, Even the former dominion shall come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”

According to early church father Jerome, and early church historian Eusebius, the “Tower of the Flock” was about a mile outside Bethlehem Ephrathah.

It translates from the Hebrew phrase “Migdal Edar” [mig-dawl ay-der] and means a watch tower of the flock.

This watch tower was used by the shepherds for protection from their enemies and wild beasts.

The Targum is an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible (Tanak) which was written during Israel’s seventy year captivity in Babylon. In it the rabbis added commentary to the Scriptures.

One such commentator, Rabbi Munk, paraphrased Micah 4:8 and Genesis 35:23 to say, “He spread His tent beyond Migdal Edar, the place where King Messiah will reveal Himself at the end of days.”

Well before the birth of Jesus the birthplace of the Jewish Messiah was clearly established.

The birth of Jesus was described by Dr. Luke in the Gospel bearing his name:

Luke 2:4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
Luke 2:5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
Luke 2:6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Joseph was up in the north, near Nazareth. Remember there was a Bethlehem near Nazareth. So Luke specified it was the Bethlehem in the south, in Judea, the city of David, where Joseph and Mary travelled and where Jesus was born.

The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem would probably go via Samaria and Jerusalem and normally take about four days on foot. Traveling with a pregnant woman, it could have taken a week.

The manger in which Jesus was laid may have been on the ground floor of the home of one of Joseph’s relatives. After all, Joseph and Mary travelled to Bethlehem because of the forced census in which you had to go back to your hometown.

Homes like this were common, in which the valuable barn animals were stabled safely indoors on the ground floor and the humans lived on a second floor.

Or it could be that Jesus was actually born among the flocks that were there near the Tower of the Flock, in a stable or a cave.

Either way you need to know something about those sheep in Bethlehem Epaphrath. According to Bible commentator Alfred Edersheim,

Migdal Edar was not the watchtower for the ordinary flocks that pastured on the barren sheep ground beyond Bethlehem, but it lay close to the town, on the road to Jerusalem. A passage from the Mishnah (Shekelim 7:4) leads to the conclusion that the flocks which pastured there were destined for Temple sacrifices…

This was not just any flock. Migdal Edar was the watchtower that guarded the Temple flocks of sheep that were being raised to serve as sacrificial lambs in the Temple.

The sacrificial lamb is a theme running all through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. In Genesis, in the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve one prohibition:

Gen 2:16  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
Gen 2:17  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Why give a prohibition? Because love cannot be forced; it must be freely chosen.

Adam and Eve chose badly. They died just as God indicated they would:

They immediately died spiritually, as you see their eyes opened to the fact they had sinned, and they therefore hid from God.
They began to die physically as sin brought decay and death into God’s creation.
They would have gone on to die eternally – separated from God forever in a place of conscious torment.

Their disobedience is called sin. Because they were our parents, we inherit a sin nature from them. It’s why people are born spiritually dead and physically dying.

It also means we will die eternally unless God intervenes.

God promised He would resolve their sin and death and give Adam and Eve and their descendants eternal life. He said He would come Himself, into our world, and act in our place, on our behalf.

Deity would add humanity to Himself. God would come in human flesh.

What would He have to do as the God-man to resolve sin and death and give them and their descendants eternal life?

God showed them right there in the Garden. He slew animals in order to provide clothing for them. Something or someone had to die in their place, as a substitute.

I suggest those animals were lambs because from that moment on the followers of God approached Him by faith offering lambs as a sacrifice.

The blood of animals could not take away sin; it was a temporary fix. It looked forward to a better, a final, substitute.

We get a glimpse at that final Substitute in another famous Bible story. In Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac, the son asked his father,

Genesis 22:7 … My father… Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
Genesis 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

It was a prophecy. “God will provide Himself the lamb.” God would Himself come and be the Substitute.

Jesus Christ – God in human flesh – was and is announced to the world as the Lamb:

When Jesus stepped forth to begin His ministry, John the Baptist declared to the crowds, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”
In the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ the apostle John sees Jesus in Heaven, a n the future, and calls Him the “Lamb that had been slain.”

Migdal Edar, the Tower of the Flock, was the place where lambs destined for the Temple sacrifice were born and raised. Generations of hereditary shepherds tended those sacred flocks.

The shepherds would separate the lambs, choosing only the perfect firstborn males to lead to Jerusalem. There the lambs would be purchased by those coming to offer sacrifice. Then the lambs would shed their blood and lose their lives as substitutes for those offering them.

The day Jesus died on the Cross, the very hour He hung there, as He dismissed His Spirit and declared, “It is finished!”, the sacrificial lambs from Migdal Edar were being offered in the Temple at the Feast of Passover.

Jesus was born in the very place sacrificial lambs were born. He died just as the sacrificial lambs were being killed.
God promised He would provide a lamb. He promised He would provide Himself the Lamb. In Jesus we Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

What a wonderful fulfillment of prophecy and promises we have in Jesus!

All of us, every human being, is born spiritually dead. We are all going to die physically one day. And if we die physically while remaining spiritually dead, we will die eternally. To die eternally means you will live forever separated from God and from everyone else in a place of aloneness, darkness, and suffering.

But you don’t have to die eternally! You can instead have eternal life. You can live forever in Heaven in a place specially prepared for you by a loving God.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God “gave” Jesus as the sacrifice, as the lamb. If you believe in Him, He takes your sin upon Himself and gives you salvation in its stead. You become born again, alive spiritually.

This Christmas, come behold the lamb. He is your lamb, sacrificed for you as your substitute.

Don’t be like those who knew where Jesus was to be born and took it for granted. Be like the wise men and the shepherds who understood the import and the impact of His birth.

There are two Jerusalem’s in the Bible:

There’s the Jerusalem we are all familiar with, the capital of Israel.

There’s the New Jerusalem, the Golden City, said to be coming down out of Heaven to hover over the earth to be the home of the saints.

We can use the two cities to illustrate our spiritual lives. One Jerusalem is earthly, of this earth, worldly, while the other is heavenly.

If you were to review your life, with its goals and goings, would it look more like you’ve booked a flight to the world? Or to Heaven?

Each of us must answer that for himself or herself… But it’s an important question.

The saints who have preceded us are described as looking longingly for the New Jerusalem, the city whose builder and maker is God, the Golden City.

It is my prayer that all of us who know Jesus would be lifting our gaze above this world, ready for eternity.

And that any of you who do not know Jesus would receive Him as God’s indescribable gift.

See Something, Say Something (Luke 2:8-20)

In the 1960’s Neighborhood Watch groups started popping up in the United States. The idea is not that citizens would become a vigilante patrol, but that members of a close community would have their eyes open to take note of suspicious or criminal behavior and communicate with one another what was going on, getting in touch with the police when necessary.

The Department of Homeland Security took the idea nationwide after 9/11 with their “see something, say something” campaign. They even trademarked the phrase. On their site they have a tagline that reads: “We all play a role in keeping our community safe.”

These days, smartphones have provided a modern spin on neighborhood watch programs. A new app called Nextdoor, as well as an officially branded “Neighborhood Watch” app are bringing the idea of seeing and saying into the 21st century.

In our text this morning we have the only eyewitness account of the night of Jesus’ birth. When I think about that, it’s kind of surprising! When you read the Bible you come to the conclusion that there are 3 moments in human history that are the most significant and the most necessary: The birth of Jesus, the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus. All of history, all of existence is composed around those 3 notes which together give us God’s melody of redemption.

And now, after thousands of years, that first moment had come. And to announce it to the world, God the Father chose a group of shepherds. Men who looked after sheep for a living. Theirs wasn’t a neighborhood watch, it was a livelihood watch. They would spend their days and nights looking for food and water for their flocks. Watching for predators. Keeping their eyes on the horizon to forecast the weather. Observing the flock and counting their sheep, checking their health and disposition.

These watchers were a great group to use as the first eyewitnesses of Christ’s birth, for a lot of reasons. But what stood out to me this week was the many phrases and terms that had to do with looking and seeing.

Verse 8: Keeping watch. Verse 12: You’ll find a Baby. Verse 15: Let’s go see this thing. Verse 17: When they had seen Him. Verse 20: the things they had heard and seen.

Now, the power of the Bible is not only that it reveals God, but it’s relevant for our lives. This passage is not only a chronicle, it is an example for us. As we see this story unfold we find that the tidings the shepherds received were not only for them, but they are for us. And as recipients, we are included in the continuation of their work. A magnificent, eternal version of see something, say something.

As we look through this story, let’s put ourselves behind the eyes of the shepherds and see what sort of wonderful things God was revealing and how that would change their lives forever.

We begin at verse 8, where we read:

Luke 2:8 – 8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

It is generally accepted that these guys would’ve been stationed at what is called the Tower of the Flock. It’s believed that these were the lambs that were raised for the Temple sacrifices. We’re not specifically told that, but it not only makes geographical sense, but also it makes a huge amount of theological sense. The final Lamb had come. The Lamb of God who would take away all the sins of all the world. And so it is altogether appropriate that the Lord would choose these shepherds to be the first to know that the Savior had arrived.

It’s hard to know exactly where they would be on the map, and it’s hard to know exactly the route that Mary and Joseph would’ve taken on their trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem (despite what tour guides would have you believe), but to me it is not at all outside the realm of possibilities that Mary and Joseph could have actually walked by these men and their flocks the day of Jesus’ birth. Whether that happened or not, these men had no idea that such a significant, world-changing thing was happening right in their midst. The Messiah, promised all the way back in Genesis 3, was finally arriving. God was going to break through in an incredible way, right near them. And He very much wanted them to know about it.

Luke 2:9 – 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

Now, I hope I don’t ruin any mental images you have, but it doesn’t seem that these angels appeared in the sky. Rather, we’re told here that the first angel stood before them. The shepherds who were up during that watch of the night were leaning on their staffs when, all of a sudden, a bright and shining angel popped up right next to them in all his brilliance and splendor. And it was a jolting thing. If you’re reading the King James Version you’ll see it says that the angel “came upon them.” The word there is a word for attack!

You know, God loves to surprise us. Often times it’s easy to think of God as this far-away personality who doesn’t want to be disturbed. But in the Bible we see that He loves to jump in. He’s startling people all the time. And in the Christian life we find that God still wants to surprise us with His presence. Surprise us with His power. Surprise us with a word of direction or preparation or preservation. Why? Because God keeps watch over His flock. And as we see with these shepherds, the Lord knows exactly where we are and how to get to us and He takes joy in jumping in.

As God’s glory surrounded these men, they were terrified and full of awe. This is always what happens in the Bible when an angel or God’s presence shows up. Because a real manifestation of the Lord’s power will immediately expose the fact that we are categorically un-glorious and unholy in comparison to Him. And so, the shepherds were greatly afraid.

Luke 2:10 – 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

When the angel says “I bring you good tidings”, the language there is that he has come to evangelize! He said, “I have a message that is not only incredibly good, but also incredibly important! And this message is not at all meant to be known only by you guys, but it is a message that must go out from you to all people.” We note that this global message was only delivered here. The angels had no other stops that evening. We’ll see that after this little meet-and-greet they leave and head back into heaven. Which means that the shepherds were given the heavenly responsibility to go and announce this message. It was the same with the disciples. Same with the prophets. It’s the same for you if you’re a Christian here this morning. A heavenly message, full of importance and joy, that we are responsible for.

We note also here the fact that the angel said “I bring you tidings.” News. Meaning that it was something these shepherds didn’t know. This essential, life-changing information was news to them. God give us a heart to reach those who have never heard the Gospel!

Luke 2:11 – 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

There it is. The message is a Messiah. What God wants us to know is that there is a Person who can deal with our sin and save us from death, and He is Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, laid in a manger, killed on a cross and risen from His tomb.

Now, think about this: These guys were shepherds. Shepherds who watched over the temple lambs, who were raised for sacrifice. Once the Messiah came and did His work, there was no longer a need for sacrifices. Meaning, this message was effectively going to put them out of a job! Their whole livelihood was going to be rendered obsolete once Jesus died.

What a great reminder that the Christ is not simply an addition to our lives. He’s not an extension of our own plan. He supersedes our thoughts and intentions and replaces them with Himself. He has the supreme right to redefine us and reassign us according to His will and purposes. But as He does so He gives us Himself. He was born to us. He was given for us. He was brought and delivered unto us that we might experience God’s salvation and peace and goodwill toward us.

The angel has revealed the Baby, and now gives them a hint about where He’ll be.

Luke 2:12 – 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

A sign, but no address. “Look for a Baby, but you don’t get the family name. This Child will clearly stand out because of the circumstances of His birth, but you are going to have to go looking.”

Notice also that the angel didn’t say Bethlehem. He said “the city of David.” Now, it was Jerusalem that was referred to as ‘the city of David” over 40 times in the Old Testament. And these shepherds were somewhere in-between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

I think this shows us a wonderful example for when we are following the Lord. Often, there will be some information about God’s plan for our lives or what He wants us to do in some situation. But what we’re given will require a few things. It will require we pursue the Lord. The shepherds were going to have to put their feet to the pavement and go find this Baby. Second, it will require that we probe the Scriptures for understanding. If a Jew knew their Scriptures, they knew that Micah had prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Both cities could be called the City of David. Jerusalem was the city he captured and made his great capital. Bethlehem was the city of his birth and where he grew up.

But when the shepherds are told, “Go find a Baby, somewhere, in the City of David.” They would need to choose to pursue. They would need to have probed the Scriptures and they needed the Lord to point the way. And the same is going to be true of our spiritual lives. We probe the Scriptures to discover God and His will for us. We pursue Him and follow after as He points the way by the leading of the Holy Spirit. It follows the same pattern we see exampled here in Luke 2.

Luke 2:13-14 – 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

The most monumental scavenger hunt in human history had just begun – but you know what – there was time for a worship service! There was enough time to sing to the Lord and magnify Him for what He was doing. The highest God was directing His infinite power and grace and goodwill all the way down to the lowness of mankind. And I love that the angels took a moment to praise. There’s always time to praise God and to thank Him for who He is and what He does. And we should follow their example and make it a priority to publicly worship God in whatever moments we can.

Luke 2:15 – 15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”

Just like that, the angels were gone. What an amazing thing that this heavenly army was not attending their King. Not because they didn’t want to, but because Christ came for mankind. He came for you and for me and it would be shepherds, not seraphim, who would first attend to Him.

Look at what they say here. They had heard, now they wanted to see for themselves. What an incredible contrast from the story we read in Matthew 2, when the Wise Men from the east come to Herod’s court. They say they’ve seen the sign. Messiah the King is born, they’ve seen His star. The chief priests and scribes come out, hear what’s said, tell them, “Head over to Bethlehem.” And then just go back home. But not these shepherds. They said, “If there is a Savior, I want to behold Him.” They weren’t going to squander or ignore what the Lord had made known to them. They were going to take the opportunity to sit at His feet, be in His presence, gaze upon Him and worship this Babe.

Luke 2:16 – 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

They rushed to the city. They came with haste. There was an urgency and eagerness to find the Lord.

I wonder how many people they woke up before they found Mary and Joseph’s stable? We know the city was packed with people. No room in the inn. They rushed over in the middle of the night. Pounding on doors. Peering into barns. Looking for this Baby. I imagine that just about the whole city was awake before they found the manger.

But then, they finally find them. And, let’s just take a moment to point out just what great troopers Mary and Joseph are in all this! When we had kids it was in the comfort of an air-conditioned hospital, with a staff of people waiting on us to make things go smoothly, and I’ll tell you this: I didn’t want strangers coming in and gawking at my baby!

But the shepherds tiptoe in and behold their Messiah.

Luke 2:17-18 – 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

“When they had seen Him.” What did they see?

They saw that this Baby, God come in human flesh, is like us. In particular, He was like them. No pomp. No palace. No prestige. He was there among the animals. There, accessible to strangers. Born into the filth of creation that He might deal with the filth of sin.

And from there they went once again house to house, undoubtedly sharing the personal experience they had just been a part of, but more importantly, they shared the saying which was told them. They went around, not promoting some emotional experience, but explaining a message. Telling the people of Bethlehem and beyond, “Here is what God has said. And here is how we know it to be true. And the angel told me to tell you that this message is for you too!”

These watchers had been shown something amazing. And they went out proclaiming.

Luke 2:20 – 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

They returned to their flocks. Some of them must have realized that their jobs were eventually going to be made obsolete. I wonder if that night was the last shift for some of them. And yet, they went with praise and filled with the joy of the Lord. And here’s what the angel didn’t say: He didn’t say, “Your job is being phased out, this is all going to burn, so just give up.” Rather, the way the story ends we see these guys returning back where they were but completely changed. Filled with the knowledge of God and doing His business as they carried out their regular lives. They made the message known widely. They fulfill a wonderful prophecy written in Isaiah 700 years before Jesus was born:

Isaiah 52:8 – 8Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, With their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye to eye when the Lord brings back Zion.

Isaiah 52:7 – 7How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

At the beginning, I said we should put ourselves behind the eyes of the shepherds and see what sort of wonderful things God was revealing and how that would change their lives forever. Hopefully, along the way we’ve caught a glimpse or been reminded that the Lord still speaks and surprises us. Their message and commission is our message and commission as Christians.

But, what if they had missed it? What if they responded the way the chief priests and scribes did? Shown the sign, given the Word of God, but it didn’t take root in the heart and didn’t put their feet on the pavement. Praise God that these men said:  Let us go NOW!

If you’re a believer here this morning, God still delights to bring you tidings and joy and opportunities to make Himself known to you and then enlist you to make the Messiah widely known. We don’t have to be a king from the east or a chief priest in order to be used by God or for God to speak to us. Anyone, from any sleepy cow town can do so as we live life in pursuit of God, probing His word, pointed in which ways to go by the Holy Spirit. But if we want to be like these shepherds, then we must be people who have heard from God and have seen Him work in our own lives. So what have you heard? What have you seen? These watchers were shown a great deal that Christmas night. We can see the Lord too by watching for Him. As Christians, we’re called to be witnesses in this world, but to be a witness, we must have seen something. We must know the One we’re testifying of and know what He has said. So, what about us? When is the last time we saw the Lord revealed in our lives? When is the last time we heard Him speak to us, not just generally, but personally?

Isaiah 52 opens up by saying, “Awake, awake Put on your strength, O Zion.” A great verse for us to remember often, that we might watch and be shown the great things the Lord has done. And, having seen something we then go on saying something.

But, perhaps you’re not a Christian here this morning. You’ve never repented of your sin and asked Jesus to be your King. This passage shows us that God has moved heaven and hearth not only to grant you salvation, but to let you know about it. He’s not hiding away from you. He has sent out His good news of grace, the glad tidings that the Messiah has made a way for you to be at peace with God and receive life everlasting. But it is a gift you must go get. You must lay hold of it by believing what God has said, and falling down at the feet of this Person, Jesus Christ. Born in Bethlehem. Crucified at Calvary. Raised to life and able to save you from your sins if you will call out to Him today.