CHRISTMAS EVE Sermon

"Go"
[Mark 16:14-18]
December 24, 2006 Second Reformed Church

Do you believe?

This morning we asked the question and said it was the most important question we will ever answer. Each one of us must look at the evidence, what God has said in His Word, the Bible, and see if it is true. Did God really Incarnate as a Little Baby about two thousand years ago -- this Baby Whose birth we celebrate? Did He grow up and live just like any one of us, yet never sin? Did He suffer and die and rise from the dead to pay the debt of everyone who would believe in Him, to credit those same ones with His Holy Life, and secure their salvation in ascending back to His Throne?

Do you believe?

After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, and then to the two men, Cleopas and Simon, whom He met on the road, and they all went back to the disciples and confessed their belief that Jesus is the Savior, risen from the dead. But the eleven, the apostles, they still didn't believe. They discussed what these reports might mean.

"And as they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, 'Peace to you!' But they were startled and frightened and they thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.' And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, 'Have you anything here to eat?' They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

"Then he said to them, 'These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.' Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and he said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins shall be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are my witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of the Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high'" (Luke 24:36-49).

Jesus appeared to the eleven. He invited them to touch Him and look at Him to see that it was truly Him. And He ate food to show them that He is a real human being. And then He went through the Scriptures with them, like He had gone through them with the men on the road, and He explained all the Scriptures and showed how they all pointed to Him and what must happen regarding Him for the sake of His people and to the glory of the Father.

And they finally believed. Have you believed? If you have, you have work to do, even this very night and tomorrow, on Christmas. Jesus commands us to go.

Jesus told the eleven, and the word applies to all of His disciples, including us, "Go into the world and preach the good news to all the creation." That doesn't sound shocking to us, but it would have been to them. The Messiah, the Savior, that Little Baby, so many people thought, was born a Jew for the Jews and the Jews alone. But Jesus corrects them here and elsewhere: the Good News of Jesus Christ is to be preached to every single human being, no matter what their origin or ethnicity. The Gospel is not restricted by race or color or background -- it is Truth truth to every human being and especially for everyone who will believe it.

And Jesus puts the Truth quite simply: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved and those who do not believe are condemned." The message is not complicated -- believe in Jesus Alone for salvation or be eternally damned. Believe, wear the signs, and receive the sacraments of being a Christian, live like a believer in this life, and be received into life eternal, or, reject Jesus, reject His Salvation, add something to Jesus, or choose something or someone entirely different, and you will suffer eternal hell forever. Go, tell the history of Jesus, and ask, "Do you believe?"

And again, we say, "Oh, that is very well for missionaries and ministers, but I am just a simple person with a simple vocabulary. I'm too old. I'm too sick. I don't speak well. Etc. Etc."

God is not stupid. We should all have bumper stickers that say that: God is not stupid. The God Who created you and has blessed you and preserves you by His Mighty Right Hand knows exactly who you are and what your situation is, just as He knew the apostles two thousand years ago.

To them Jesus said, "And these signs will accompany those who believe -- in my name, they will cast out demons, they will speak in different languages, and they will take snakes in their hands and if someone drinks something poisonous, it will not harm him, they will lay hands on the sick and their health will be restored."

God is well aware that there are people who are demon possessed, and demons must be exercised from people before they can believe. So, we have reports like this, "As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, 'These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.' And this she kept doing for many days. And Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.' And it came out of her that very hour" (Acts 16:16-18).

God is well aware that He shut down the building of the Tower of Babel by confusing the languages of the world -- that is, making many languages out of the one original language. So, at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, causing them to preach in Jerusalem, there was a problem, "When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appear to them and rested on each one of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

"Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, 'Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus, Egypt and the parts of Lybia belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians -- we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God'" (Acts 2:1-11).

And God is very well aware that divine intervention may be necessary to carry out the work that He has set before us, so we read, "After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta. The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on to his hand. When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, 'No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.' He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm" (Acts 28:1-5).

And God is also very well aware, that some people are so sick that they cannot hear the Gospel until they are healed: "Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, 'Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make you bed.' And immediately he rose. And all of the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord" (Acts 9:32-35).

Let me ask us on this Holy Night: Does every Christian have the ability to spontaneously speak in foreign languages, cast out demons, heal the sick, and survive being poisoned? No. Did every apostle have the ability to spontaneously speak in foreign languages, cast out demons, heal the sick, and survive being poisoned? No. Has every person heard the Gospel in his or her own language? No. Has every demon been cast out? No. Has every sick person been healed? No. Has every person who was poisoned been delivered? No.

Then what did Jesus mean when He said, "And these signs will accompany those who believe -- in my name, they will cast out demons, they will speak in different languages, and they will take snakes in their hands and if someone drinks something poisonous, it will not harm him, they will lay hands on the sick and their health will be restored"?

Simply this: God will provide us with everything we need to be able to preach the good news. Whatever you and I need to propagate the Gospel will be provided by God. Whatever way God has called us to tell others about Jesus, God will make sure that way is clear for us. That does not mean we will always accomplish what we think we need to get done, for ourselves or the Gospel. But God will not allow His Plans, His spreading of the Gospel throughout the whole world, to fail.

So what does that mean for us? We have no excuses. Go has told us to go and tell. You and I each have people and places to be for the Lord, and God has provided the way and the means for us. Go. If we believe, go.

If we believe that Christmas is more than just the celebration of another Jewish boy being born, then go. If we believe that God has raised Jesus from the dead, then go. Rest assured that God has provided for you and He will provide for you everything you need to accomplish His Purposes, so, confidently, go.

Let us pray:
Almighty God, Yours is the Power and the Honor and the Glory forever. We thank You for the gift of this little Jewish Boy, the Incarnate God, our Savior. We believe in His Gospel, we believe You are able to do all things, give us trust in You to go where You have called us. For it is in Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.