Reformed Wisdom

"Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones famously defined preaching as. 'Logic on fire!  Eloquent reason! ... Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire.'" -- Christopher Ash, The Priority of Preaching, 67.

Reformed Wisdom

"The golden calf was not atypical, but prototypical of human behavior." -- Christopher Ash, The Priority of Preaching, 53.

Reformed Wisdom

"If you line yourself up with this God, reality is on your side; if you set yourself up against him, you have reality against you." -- Christopher Ash, The Priority of Preaching, 49.

Reformed Wisdom

"Those who think this doctrine of authority puffs up the preacher have not begun to feel the sheer terror of being a preacher.  They think preachers want to be in the pulpit.  Well, some do.  But no preacher who wants to be in the pulpit ought to be in the pulpit.  Nobody who likes the limelight ought to be a preacher.  We do not want in our pulpits men like Diotrephes who loved to have pre-eminence, who couldn't wait to be given the microphone (3 John 9).  No, to be a preacher is one of the most deeply humbling experiences in the world.  Preaching drives us to our knees, puts gigantic butterflies in our stomachs, and makes us cry out, 'Who is sufficient for these things?'" -- Christopher Ash, The Priority of Preaching, 42.

Reformed Wisdom

"[Pastors] need to be set free to devote themselves to [labour at preaching and teaching], because it is a very demanding work.  It takes time, prayer, sweat, wrestling, pain, puzzling, hard thinking and perseverance."  -- Christopher Ash, The Priority of Preaching, 41.

Reformed Wisdom

"If I should climb up into the pulpit without having deigned to look at a book and frivolously imagine, 'Ah well!  When I get there God will give me enough to talk about,' and I do not condescend to read, or think about what I ought to declare, and I come here without carefully pondering how I must apply the Holy Scripture to the edification of the people -- well, then I should be a cock-sure charlatan and God would put me to confusion in my audaciousness." -- John Calvin in Ash, The Priority of Preaching, 41.

"And, Part 2" Sermon: Hebrews 11:35-38

“And, Part 2”

[Hebrews 11:35-38]

January 5, 2014 Second Reformed Church

            When we last looked at the book of Hebrews, we considered the first half of the paragraph we are in, in which the author of Hebrews brings his examples to a close, first by stating the names of a number of other faithful persons in the Bible – indicating that there are many more to whom we may look to see examples of faith, and then by listing types of things they did and endured.

            In the first half of the paragraph, the author of Hebrews looks at cases where faith led to victory:  “And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight” (Hebrews 11:32-34, ESV).

            Faith led these men and women to be victors – to conquer kingdoms, enforce justice, obtain promises, be safe among lions, escape death, be mighty in war, and see, as Paul relates his pleading with God, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (II Corinthians 12:9, ESV).

            The victories that these men and women achieved by faith were victories in God – in the Savior, Jesus Christ.  God’s Power is best seen through our weakness, and we ought to fight for God in the Power of the Holy Spirit, if we are to achieve God’s ends, and not in our own power, which will always fall short without God.

            The first half of verse 35 of this chapter is a transitional verse:  “Women received back their dead by resurrection.”  It is a transition from faith leading to victory to faith leading to misery.  We have both in this example:  women had people die – and, they received them back by resurrection.  Misery and victory in one.

            We think of the widow of Zarephath and her son, whom the prophet, Elijah, saved from famine by God’s Hand, only to have her son die.  Elijah pleaded with God, and God raised her son from the dead.  (cf.  I Kings 17).

            We also think of the Shunammite woman who had no son when the prophet, Elisha, visited her home.  Afterword, God blessed her by becoming with child and her son was born and grew.  When Elisha visited her some years later, she was a bitter woman because her son was sickly and about to die – and did die at the prophet’s arrival.  Yet, again, God raised her son.  (II Kings 4).

            Perhaps most famously, we think of the beloved friend of Jesus, Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha:  Jesus was notified that His friend, Lazarus, was very ill, and his sisters called Jesus to help him, but Jesus waited until Lazarus was dead before going to see him.  Upon arrival, Jesus asked Martha if she believed in the resurrection, and she said she believed her brother would be raised at the judgment – (Jews have always believed in a physical resurrection, just as we do).  But Jesus had something else in mind – that He is the Resurrection – and He raised His friend, Lazarus, that those in attendance would see the Glory of God.  (cf. John 11).

            These resurrections of those who died serve as a bridge from the victories of faith in the first half of the paragraph to the miseries of faith that we will now look at.  Let us understand that all these things are given to us to know and remember as encouragements to our faith, and a knowledge that faith may lead to victory or misery, depending on the Will of God.

            As we make this bridge, that is our first point this morning:  faith may lead to victory or misery.

            As we turn to look at the miseries of faith, we learn three more things this morning:

            Second, the devil can bring suffering upon us, but he cannot take our soul.

            Third, we are to stand by faith against anything the world, the flesh, and the devil bring.

            And fourth, misery may be for Christ’s Glory and our safety.

            Let us keep the rest of the passage before us as a whole as we consider these things:

“Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”

This text was written near the end of the first century when the persecution of the Roman Caesar, Nero, was in full force.  Nero was crucifying Christians, using them as sport – to fight lions and bears and gladiators as entertainment, and wrapping them in tar and linen and using them as human torches in his gardens.  The Christians of this time understood how horrible persecution could be – the extent to which they might suffer for their faith.  Jesus was not just being poetic when He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24b, ESV).

Crucifixion is still considered to be one of the cruelest – most painful – ways to die.  Jesus says to all we who believe by faith – your faith may bring you to being physically crucified – just like Jesus was.

They knew that people in their congregations were being tortured, whipped with the flog, stoned to death, sawn in half, cut in half with swords; some were mocked for their faith and lost public standing, some lost their clothes, their homes, their families; some went into permanent hiding for believing the Gospel.

I’m reading a book right now called, The Global War on Christians, which documents the persecution – and specifically the murder – of Christians for their faith over the past twenty years.  The author states that 85% of the current religious persecution in the world is against Christians and for the past ten years, approximately 100,000 Christians a year are reported to have been murdered for their faith.   How many have not been reported?

In Europe and North America, we may find our being public about our faith marginalized or ridiculed – many once Christian churches and denominations are becoming pagan from the inside as the faith is denied in order to be more acceptable, more modern, more in line with the current views in society.  But we don’t – yet – hear about Christians being put to death for their faith to any great extent.

We need to be aware of the suffering of our brothers and sisters around that world that we can pray for them and be ready to assist them if we are called to.  You may have family or friends in another country – or have come from another country – and know about Christian suffering there.  You may read a magazine like “Voice of the Martyrs” – it’s in Freeman Hall.  You may hear about suffering on the news – the persecution of Christians in Egypt in recent months, for example.  You may have suffered as a Christian – or you may yet suffer for your faith.  You may be put to death one day for professing faith in Jesus.

Many of us will be familiar with the Mason murders – “Helter Skelter.”  One of the initiation techniques that Manson used with his “family,” as he called them, was to have each one put a gun to their head, and then Mason would ask the prospective new member, “Will you die for me?”  And if they answered, “yes,” he would have them pull the trigger.  One of his former followers, Charles Watson, writes about this in his book, Will You Die for Me?  Watson is a Christian pastor now and his allegiance – to death – is now with Jesus.  That’s what Jesus calls us to – is it not? – “Will you die for Jesus?” – if that is your call in life?

If we only looked at the first half of the paragraph in our text, we would have much of the TV preaching of today – “if you have faith in Jesus, you will conquer kingdoms, enforce justice, become mighty, avoid death – and be healthy, wealthy, and wise.”  The lie of many TV preachers is that that is – at best – only half the story.  God may lead us to victory through faith, but He may also lead us to misery through faith – and we need to be strong and ready for either one as the Lord wills.  God calls Christians to be Christians is every possible state of living – rich, poor, healthy, sick, powerful, enslaved, and so forth – for His Glory.  Our primary purpose in life is to glorify God – and we do that by faith in various ways, as God chooses to use us.

The Christians of the first century – and Christians around the world today – are being slaughtered for their faith.  They needed to know – and we need to know – that faith may lead to victory or to misery.  Suffering and death does not mean a person is a Christian or that he has been deserted by God any more that a person being healthy, wealthy, and wise does.  God leads us by faith to all different places that He – and His Gospel – would be seen all the more clearly through us.  And we need to be ready – we need to be encouraged by these words and the examples of our brothers and sisters who have gone before us.

So, let us understand, second, this morning, that the devil can bring suffering upon us, but he cannot take our soul.  God may allow us to suffer horrifically or die for His Sake, but if we have faith in Jesus Alone for salvation, we shall not be lost – we will be raised to be with Him in the Kingdom, forever.  

            Paul writes about his suffering and the suffering of his fellow missionaries:  “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (II Corinthians 4:16-18, ESV).

            And we may read this Scripture and think, “Well, Paul must not have really suffered to dismiss his suffering as nothing compared with the glory of the Kingdom.”  But that is not true:

Paul was arguing against a group who called themselves the “super apostles,” as he wrote, “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches” (II Corinthians 11:23-28, ESV).

            Paul knew what is was to suffer as a Christian – to suffer for his faith – and after suffering all that he did for Jesus – he told the Corinthians that it was nothing – not because he was so strong – so macho – but because the horror, the pain, and the stress of what he endured was – truly – nothing compared with what is coming in the Kingdom.  Paul had been through horrible suffering – and he wanted other Christians to know that the worst we can suffer on earth will seem so small – so insignificant – when our eyes are opened in the fullness of the Kingdom.

            Be encouraged, brothers and sisters – no matter what you suffer for Christ here – our reward in the Kingdom is exponentially greater through Him Who saves us.

            Even if our persecution should end in death – even horrifically in death – not to dismiss that, because no one wants to die a horrible death – I don’t – know that your soul is safe with Jesus.  As He said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:28-33, ESV).

            And, if we falter and sin as we suffer and die – even then, do not lose hope – because Christ will not lose one of His own.  If you belong to Jesus – if you have confessed faith in Him – no matter how badly you slip in that moment – if you truly believe in Him – having received Him by faith – nothing shall ever separate you from His Love:

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39, ESV).

Beloved, if we suffer for our faith – and even if we die – that is not a sign that God does not love us.  We who believe that God came to earth in the Person of Jesus, lived a perfect life under God’s Law, died for the sins of all those who will believe, and physically rose from the dead and ascend back to His throne will always be loved by God – by Christ – we will never be lost – and we always have hope in Christ, even if it should get so miserable that we wished we would just die.

If you’ve been there, you understand.  If you’re there now – hold on to Jesus – look to Him and know that the devil can never take you from our God and Savior.  See me or another Christian for help and support.  And if it hasn’t happened yet, prepare yourself in case it does.  The devil wants you to believe that suffering for the faith is not worth it, that Jesus does not love His brothers and sisters for whom He died, that He will cast us away into Hell in the end – but it will never be!  As bad as it can get, we who believe are in Jesus’ Hands – the scarred hands of the Savior Who has chosen us to be His forever and died and rose so we will always be His.

And if you’re telling yourself, “it could never happen here – it could never happen to me” – look at history – look at our brothers and sisters around the world, and remember the words of Peter:  “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And ‘If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’  Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (I Peter 4:12-19, ESV).

Third, we should stand by faith against anything the world, the flesh, and the devil bring.

That means that when the whispers come into our ears to sin, we say, “no.”  We all experience this every day – every day we choose to listen and walk into sin, or by the Grace of God, take the way of escape that He always provides for us.  And every day, we shamefully choose to sin.

Join with me, brothers and sisters, in repenting of our sin – and recommit day by day and moment by moment, calling out for help from our God that we would not sin.  Consider what Jesus suffered for us and stop acting as though it was nothing.  But do not despair, for we are forgiven in Christ, so let us live by faith and respond in obedience.

It also means, as our texts says in verse 35, we “refuse to accept release.”   We may have occasion to be let free from jail, from persecution, from torture, from threat of death, if we just deny Christ – that happens in Muslim families – you are cut off – at minimum – if you confess Christ, but if you deny Him, you will be welcomed back.  But how can we who have seen the salvation of our God deny Him?  We may in the moment, but pray God that you turn back again, as Thomas Cranmer did during the Reformation.

Cranmer was Archbishop of Canterbury when he came to the Reformed faith, but when Mary ascended to the throne and demanded that all Protestants recant and embrace the Roman Catholic Church or be put to death; Cranmer signed a recantation of his beliefs.  But he repented and embraced Christ again, to Mary’s rage.

“Cranmer was told that he would be able to make a final recantation but this time in public during a service at the University Church. He wrote and submitted the speech in advance and it was published after his death. At the pulpit on the day of his execution, he opened with a prayer and an exhortation to obey the king and queen, but he ended his sermon totally unexpectedly, deviating from the prepared script. He renounced the recantations that he had written or signed with his own hand since his degradation and as such he stated his hand would be punished by being burnt first. He then said, ‘And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine.’ He was pulled from the pulpit and taken to where Latimer and Ridley had been burnt six months before. As the flames drew around him, he fulfilled his promise by placing his right hand into the heart of the fire while saying ‘that unworthy hand’ and his dying words were, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit... I see the heavens open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God’” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cranmer).

Let us stand strong in the face of opposition to our faith, refusing sin, refusing those who would call us to deny Christ, and, should we slip in weakness, run back to Him boldly, knowing, as our text says in verse 35, “so that they might rise to a better life.”

We can understand this in at least two ways:  it is better for us to suffer and die for Christ than to be released from our suffering as a heretic, and, it is better for us to suffer and die for Christ than to be released and suffer Hell.  In either case, death is preferable to denying Christ.

From “every day” sin to recanting the faith under persecution to standing among our friends and family and co-workers and all we may come in contact with to say that Jesus Christ is truth and Him Alone, let us stand against the world, the flesh, and the devil, and all they bring against us.

Fourth, misery may be for Christ’s Glory and our safety.

Our text talks about those who have lost homes, family, clothing, jobs, and so forth.  Some have been denied the pleasures and necessities of life, and even when this happens, we must stand firm in the faith.

It may be that we suffer the loss of comforts and stability for Christ’s Glory.

We remember a certain man Jesus met:  “As [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him’” (John 9:1-3, ESV).

Notice, it could be that our sin has made us ill or displaced us, but it could also be God’s way of showing His Glory, as it was in the case of this man born blind.  God planned for Him to be born blind that Jesus would heal him and receive glory for it.  It may be that we are ill or displaced that God could make things right with us to His Glory – or it may be that we suffer these things and will not be healed and whole in this life for His Glory:

As Paul wrote, “What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— “ (Romans 9:22-23, ESV).

Why are their people who fight against God and His Savior?  Why are there people who never believe and even persecute those who do?  Some Christians suffer at the hands of non-Christians to show the justice of God’s Wrath against those who never believe.

Others may lose their homes and clothing and be forced to live their lives in hiding or in exile or in refugee camps – as we see around the world.  This may be God’s way of protecting us from those who rage against Christians.

With the exception of the apostles, the Christians of the first century fled Jerusalem and settled throughout the world that they would be safe – and through such exile and diaspora – God spread the Gospel to the whole world.

How are we to respond to these things?  How are we to respond to the misery that faith may bring?

Remember that faith may lead to victory or misery according to the will of God.

The devil can bring suffering upon us, but he cannot take our soul.

We are to stand by faith against anything the world, the flesh, and the devil bring.

And misery may be for Christ’s Glory and our safety.

Let us prepare by knowing Him in Whom we believe.  Know Jesus.  Be sure you believe in the Gospel.

Pray for our brothers and sisters around the world as they suffer – and pray for each of us as we suffer and face whatever miseries might come our way for the sake of the faith.  Pray that we would all stand strong for the sake of Christ.

Pray that we would have the strength of faith to remove any minister who stands in this pulpit and speaks against the Gospel.

Pray that we would have the strength of faith to stand against our denomination – the Reformed Church in America – any time she calls us to speak against the Gospel.

And let us rest in comfort, knowing that Jesus will never leave us or forsake us; we are His forever, looking forward to that glorious and coming Kingdom.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we thank You for all the blessings we have received – even for life in the United States.  We ask that You would strengthen us in the faith as we look to history and to our brothers and sisters as they suffer in great ways all across the earth.  Open our mouths, and hear us as we pray that all of Your sons and daughters would stand strong in the faith to Your Glory, no matter what is brought against any of us.  And, if it is Your Will, give us strength to proclaim that Jesus is our Lord and Savior as we are committed to death for Your Sake, for in You Alone is there eternal life.  And it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

 

Reformed Wisdom

"The pulpit has authority.  If it has not, it is but a chair and not a pulpit.  It may discourse, but it does not preach.  But preach it must.  It speaks with authority."  P. T. Forsyth in Ash The Priority of Preaching.

Reformed Wisdom

"The Gospel is not really a document, but wishes to be a spoken word...  That is why it must not be described with the pen but the mouth..." -- Martin Luther, quoted in Ash, The Priority of Preaching, 34.

Review: "The Priority of Preaching"

Christopher Ash has written an excellent book in The Priority of Preaching.  Initially a series of lectures, he has reworked the material into a book of encouragement for preachers.

The introduction is addressed to discouraged preachers, and he gives an introduction to himself while arguing the preaching week after week is more significant than conferences, etc.  Ash’s heart is in the preaching of God’s Work.  His work derives from his exegesis of Deuteronomy.

In the first chapter he argues that “we must listen … to the Christian preacher because he is the prophet in our generation” (16).  He argues that Christian preachers speak for Christ and God as we preach the Word with borrowed authority from God – and he argues persuasively that the Word of God “lives” in being preached.  That is, the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God is the most effective manner through its preaching – rather than through reading or study groups. 

He warns preachers of short-cuts and commends us to first hear the Word and then listen to the witness of the Church.  Personal and mystical interpretations have no place – the Word is given to a people for a people.  And God sets the agenda of what is to be preached (41).

In the second chapter, he argues that “preaching transforms the church, God’s people transformed by the preached word of God” (46).  He argues that the themes of preaching (as found in Deuteronomy) are “the reality of God, the stubbornness of the people, the urgency of faith, and the wonder of grace” (48).  We must preach the reality of God and what He has said, argue against the stubbornness of the congregation – and our – remaining sinfulness, call us to faith NOW, and magnify the wonder of the Grace of God in all of this.

In the third chapter, he argues that “preaching … mends a broken world” (75).  Preaching, he explains, is God’s strategy for reassembling the world (78). 

This is live preaching – preaching to the assembly.  Preaching must be with people to hear it – not merely read or on tape or TV or radio.  It is when the people are together in assembly that the world can be healed by grace.  The preaching of the Word brings unholy people together before the Holy God in the communion of saints (92).  A natural accountability occurs among divergent people (98), for the Word is addressed to the Church (100), and leads us to obedience (101).  Through our obedience to the Word, as a group of unholy and different people as the Church, the world will look at us and understand that there is something to what we believe (103).  The world reads our community (104).

In the appendix, he argues for preaching through books, or at least through extended texts, rather than topically or just by one’s favorite verses.

He argues that the preacher must spend the bulk of his time in the Word, as he quotes John Owen, “Nor is it required only that he preach now and then at his leisure; but that he lay aside all other employments, though lawful, all other duties in the church, as unto such a constant attendance on them would divert him from this work, that he may give himself unto it….  Without this, no man will be able to give a comfortable account of the pastoral office at the last day” (109).

In the rest of the appendix, he explains that in preaching through books of the Bible, the preacher is more apt to be coherent and preach what God has said, rather than what he likes, and thus delivers the Whole Counsel of God – over time – to his congregation.

I highly recommend this book to encourage preachers and to get us to remember that we are in the employ of God, not the congregation, and our call is to preach God’s Word fully, confidently, and with authority.

January Sermons

I propose, D.V., to preach as follows this month:

1/5/14 Epiphany
 Hebrews 11:35-38  “And, Part 2”

1/12/14 Baptism of Our Lord

 Hebrews 11:39-40  “Nothing.  Better.”

1/19/14

 Hebrews 12:1-2  “Surrounded.  Run for Joy”

1/26/14 [congregational meeting and pot-luck]

 Hebrews 12:3-11  “Discipline and Sin”

"Faith in the Incarnate God" Sermon: John 1:1-18

“Faith in the Incarnate God”

[John 1:1-18]

December 29, 2013 Second Reformed Church

            This past week, Christians celebrated the birth of a baby boy, Yeshua ben Yoseph, better known to us as Jesus, Who was born to a virgin, named Mary, and the man she was engaged to, named Joseph.  We understand that He was a real human baby, born as human babies are born.  Yet, if that is all there is to the Person of Jesus – a real human being – even if He was born without Original Sin, even if He lived a holy life, He might be the top of the list of the heroes of the faith, but He would not be worthy of worship – for only God is worthy of worship.

            In fact, if Jesus was just a human – even a holy and perfect human – He would not be able to be the Savior, because the Savior not only have to merit a holy life, but He has to pay the debt for the sin of His people for us to benefit from it.  In other words, humans have two problems:  we have sin for which we must pay a debt to God and we have to live a holy life – a perfect life under God’s Law – if we are to be right with God.  It is not enough for us to be forgiven; we have to also be holy.  And it is not enough for us to be holy – going forward, we must also be forgiven.

            The only possible way for us to be right with God is if our Savior – Jesus – is both a real human being, so He could live under God’s Law and suffer the penalty for human sin, and the One True God, so He could live a holy and sinless life and survive the penalty for human sin – in One Person.  Jesus has to be both completely human and completely Divine – God – in the same One Person to be our Savior and for us to benefit from His salvation.

            That is why John is at pains in his Gospel to begin with a defense of Jesus’ Enteral Divinity – that He is God.  Matthew and Luke wrote their Gospels and included genealogies which showed that Jesus is a human – among other things.  John took up his pen to argue that Jesus is – at the same time – God.

            In these opening verses, we see:

            First, Jesus is called “the Word” by John, to argue that He is God’s full self-revelation.

            Second, John the Baptist, in the power and the authority of the prophetic office, declared – testified – that Jesus is God.

            And third, since Jesus is God, all those who come to Him by faith, are adopted as sons and daughters of God.

            John begins:

“In the beginning was the Word,”

The first readers of his Gospel would have immediately thought, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1, ESV).  The opening of his Gospel is written to very purposefully connect the Word with God in its opening phrase, and the first readers would have gotten the parallel immediately.  And so, Jesus is called “the Word” by John, to argue that He is God’s full self-revelation.

“and the Word was with God,”

With this image of God, the Creator, in mind, John explains that the Word was with God.  And the “with” that they would naturally assume in this context is that the Word was with God at the Creation.  The Word pre-existed the Creation.  Before time and space and all the created stuff that exists was made, God is and the Word is.  And, if there was any question as to what John was driving at, John wrote:

“and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”

 

Not only did the Word exists before all things were created, not only was the Word with God, but the Word is God, Himself.  The Word is God.  The Word is divine.  The Word is the One God, the Creator of everything that is.

Paul tells us the same thing, “[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:15-16, ESV).

And some will argue that Paul does not say the same thing, although he says that Jesus, the Son of God, created all things, he also says that He is the “firstborn” of all creation.  Doesn’t that make the Son of God less than God, a creation?  The answer is “no.”  In the context, the word that Paul uses means that the Son of God is God, yet, as a unique pre-existing Son, distinct.

How can the Son of God be the same One God and yet distinct from God?  How can God, if He is One, be with the Word?  This is part of the mystery of the Trinity.  The Nicene Creed states this:  “And in one LORD JESUS CHRIST, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God; Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten, not made, being of one essence with the Father;….”  How this is possible is a mystery; the fact that the Scripture teaches that the Father and the Son are the same One God, yet distinct Persons, is a truth that we marvel at and understand in some ways – such as the need for the Savior to be both wholly human and wholly God, but we will not indulge in speculating.

The Son is the Creator:

“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

The Son is the Giver and Sustainer of Life:

“In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

Paul quotes the poets of his day as he explains Who Jesus is with this reference:  “In him we live and move and have our being;” (Acts 17:28a, ESV).

Life comes from the Son – both the initial created life, and also the spiritual life that God gives us to be His people.  There used to be a theory called “spontaneous generation,” which stated that living things can just appear out of dead things – inert matter – but science has proven that false – life cannot just come into being out of nothing.  Life brings life into existence.  If God had not chosen to bring life into the Creation when He created, there would be no life in Creation.   And if God did not choose to raise dead sinners from the dead, they would remain dead.

The life that the Son gives is the light.  Light is necessary for life, both physical and spiritual.  Light causes growth and restoration. Without light, life would wither and die. 

John wrote in his first letter:  “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5, ESV).

Light also exposes the Truth.  John uses the images of light and darkness through his Gospel and letters to make the distinction between Truth – that which is of God – and darkness – that which is of sin and the devil.  God is Wholly, Holy Truth – in Him there is no lie or sin.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Here John is telling us that it is impossible for evil to overcome Truth.  God’s Word is shining in a world that prefers darkness – lies – evil, but the world and all its sin cannot obliterate or hide the Truth.  Everyone knows in their heart that something is wrong – humans are not naturally right with God – but our natural preference is to turn away from God and not seek to be made right.  As Paul quotes from the Psalmists, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.  Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.  The venom of asps is under their lips.  Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.  Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.  There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:10-18, ESV).

            Due to the sin of our first parents, all mere human beings since have been born with Original Sin – an inclination towards evil – the inability to please God morally.  That is not how we were created, and God remains – the Word remains – the Light Who cannot be overcome by our sin and Who, Alone, can remove the darkness from us and make us spiritually alive.

            And so John begins to show that Jesus – the Son of God – the Word – is God, Himself – having been with God in the beginning, not a created being, but the same Being as God, yet distinct in Person (somehow).  He is the Giver and Sustainer of Life, the One Who gives first and resurrected life, the Light Who illuminates reality – the Light, Himself, not One Who borrows Light from another, Who cannot be overcome by the darkness.

            For example:  not matter how dark a room you put a lamp in, the light still shines from the lamp.  Similarly, no matter how dark with sin and evil the world is, the Light of God is not overcome – He shines.

            Jesus is the Word of God – God’s full self-revelation to humanity.

            John then turns to a second argument for Jesus being God:  John the Baptist, in the power and the authority of the prophetic office, declared – testified – that Jesus is God.

            A true prophet was one who declared the Word of God to God’s people.  John the Baptist was a true prophet and only spoke the True Word of God.  He was recognized by the people – and the religious leaders – to be a true prophet of God.

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.”

In John the Baptist's role as prophet, he was given the honor of declaring and announcing that the Savior had come:  the Word of God had become a human being for the salvation of God’s people.  As John recorded, “The next day [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.” I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John bore witness: ‘I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God’” (John 1:29-34, ESV).

John explains that John the Baptist’s role was to be that of the prophet who announced the coming of the Son of God:

“He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.”

John the Baptist witnessed – or testified – in his prophetic office to the Truth of Jesus being the Son of God Incarnate – God come in the flesh.

However, just because the darkness cannot overcome the Light, those who are in darkness – who are spiritually blind – can deny the Light shines.  Those who are physically blind can deny there is light in a room, even when there is, so those who are spiritually blind can deny that the Son of God has incarnate – they can deny that the Light has incarnate – they can deny that Jesus is the Son of God Incarnate – the Only Savior, the God-Man.

“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”

This is one of the saddest statements in Scripture:  God had chosen Israel to be His people, yet they turned from God and chose to remain in spiritual darkness and fight against God and against the Light.  They tried to extinguish the Light as though He was a created thing and not God Himself.

Paul anguishes over this as he writes:  “I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

“But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring” (Romans 9:1-8, ESV).

Paul loved his biological brothers and sisters in Israel – all those biologically descended from Abraham – and he groaned that – if it were possible for him to save the biological children of Abraham, he would give up his salvation for their sake.  But he knew that wouldn’t work – it was never God’s plan to save all of biological Israel, but to save all those who believed in the Savior God would send – Who has now come into the world – the Child Whose birth we just celebrated – the Son of God Who came to earth in the Person of Jesus for all those who would believe, whether they were biological descendants of Abraham or not.

Paul explains this by pointing out that Ishmael was rejected, but Isaac was saved, even though they were both biological children of Abraham, and he goes on later to explain that – similarly – Esau was rejected and Jacob was saved, even though they were both children of Isaac.  Salvation is not by biological birth, but by spiritual adoption – by believing that God did come to earth in the Person of Jesus to save His people.

John explains this, thirdly, as we see that since Jesus is God, all those who come to Him by faith, are adopted as sons and daughters of God:

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

John explains that all those who receive Jesus by faith as Savior – all those who receive the Word, the Life, the Light, the Son of God come in the flesh in the Person of Jesus – all these – not matter what biological line they come from – “for by faith you have been saved” – these God gave the right to become the children of God.  What does that mean?

It means that they were not born the children of God, but they – we – were adopted as sons and daughters of God – we were legally made sons and daughters of God through our receiving Jesus by faith as our Savior.

Paul writes:  “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15, ESV).  And, “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith” (Galatians 3:26, ESV).

And James writes:  “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (James 1:18, ESV).

God the Father only has One Begotten Son, the Son of God, Who incarnate in the Person of Jesus, but through Jesus’ Incarnation, Life, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension, all who believe in Him by faith for salvation are legally adopted as sons and daughters.  We are brothers and sisters of Jesus, children of God, though only Jesus is God Himself.  If Jesus were not God, He could not make us sons and daughters of God – we would not be the adopted of the Father.

            And our reception of Jesus can only be through faith, which is the gift of God by which we receive God’s Word and believe it as wholly true, looking forward to the fulfillment of all that God has said with confidence and assurance. As John explained, “who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” – we are not saved by being biological descendants of Abraham, we are not saved by willing or choosing Jesus – because, as we saw Paul explain, “no one seeks for God” – but God chose us out of all of humanity and sent His Son – God in the flesh – to do all the work to make us right with God.  So our adoption is all of God and all of grace.  A most fabulous, incomprehensible gift of God.

            As John concludes this section:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.”’) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.”

Jesus is a real human being – just like all of us – and He had to be to take our place under the Law of God and then under the Wrath of God.  But, in order for Him to merit righteousness and to survive the Wrath of God, He has to be God as well.  Jesus, the Incarnate Word, is One Person, a real human being and God at the same time.  It was necessary that He be so to save us, and He is the wondrous gift of God to us on Christmas and Easter and every day of our lives.

Jesus was born a real human being that first Christmas – and most people in the world of every religion will agree that there was a real human being named Jesus, Who was a teacher and preacher in first century Israel.  Yet, John shows us that if that’s all Jesus is, it is not enough for us to be right with God.

In fact:

Jesus is called “the Word” by John, to argue that He is God’s full self-revelation.

John the Baptist, in the power and the authority of the prophetic office, declared – testified – that Jesus is God.

Since Jesus is God, all those who come to Him by faith, are adopted as sons and daughters of God.

And those are reasons we know that Jesus is both fully God and Man, the Only Savior.  And by God’s Grace, we have faith in the Incarnate God and receive His salvation.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, You are Wisdom, and our minds are too small to understand the depths and the riches of Your Mind.  Yet, You have indwelt us in the Person of the Holy Spirit, having raised us to spiritual life with Jesus, so now we have the Light and we know the Truth that is You.  Continue to help us to receive all that You have said by faith.  And help us to believe and tell that Jesus, our Savior, is a real human being and the Incarnate God.  For in Him Alone is salvation.  To Him be the praise and the honor and the glory for ever and ever.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

"The Faith of the Shepherds" Sermon: Luke 2:1-20

“The Faith of the Shepherds”

[Luke 2:1-20]

December 24, 2013 Second Reformed Church

            “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’ (Luke 2:8-14, ESV).

Shepherds. (cf. http://www.epm.org/resources/2008/Mar/11/shepherds-status/)

            I have a friend who is from Scotland, and he has shown me pictures of his homeland, including some of shepherds – guiding their sheep in beautiful pastures – very relaxing and pastoral.  Some of you may think of shepherds like that…but the shepherds we read about in the Gospel of Luke did not live in twenty-first century Scotland…

            God called Abraham to be the father of God’s people, and Abraham was a shepherd.  In the early years of Israel, they were a nomadic people and they were largely shepherds.  It was a position of esteem – providing food and sacrifices.

            However, once the people were in Egypt, they found themselves among an agricultural culture and people, who looked down on shepherds, because the sheep and the goats ate the crops, and the Egyptians did not consider sheep worthy to be sacrificed to their gods.

            After four hundred years in Egypt, Israel also adopted the view that shepherds were the lowest of the low – on the level of tax collectors and waste collectors – that was the view that was in place in first century Israel – shepherds were dirty bums, untrustworthy, people you wanted to stay away from. 

            It was assumed that shepherds were thieves – you didn’t buy things from them – they were dirty, uneducated, and underpaid.  They were also afforded no civil rights – shepherds were not allowed to hold public office or to be witnesses in court.

            Given this to be true, we might wonder why in the world God gave the Good News to the shepherds.  Why did they receive the revelation of the birth of Jesus?  Why were they the primary people to whom God revealed the birth of the Son of God – the Savior?  Why didn’t God reveal the Incarnation to the kings and prophets and priests of the land – people who would have been believed?

            As we review the text in Luke, one thing stands out to us:  the shepherds received the Word of God by faith – and we see this in at least six ways:

            First, the shepherds received the Word of God by faith in that they immediately went to Bethlehem: “When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened,” (Luke 2:15a, ESV).

            The shepherds heard the Word of God given by the angels that the Savior had been born in Bethlehem, and they received it by faith, and they went immediately to Bethlehem.  They didn’t debate the meaning of what the angels said.  They didn’t discuss whether it was true or not.  They didn’t think about the meaning of the words that were spoken.  They didn’t seek out officials to justify their faith in what they had heard.  They heard the Word of God by faith and any thought of who they were in the hierarchy of society was left behind, and they went immediately to Bethlehem.

            Would we have immediately left our work – our lives – and gone?  Perhaps we are thinking that it would never happen to us – we are too insignificant, but shepherds were the bottom of the barrel!  Surely, each one of us has or can be called up for jury duty – they could not, because they were so low in society.  Are we so quick to heard the Word of God and receive it by faith and go?  If we read or hear read or preached something from God’s Word, would we receive it by faith and go – willing to leave everything behind and not worry about ourselves or our previous understandings or our feelings, but just go, because God has spoken?

            Second, the shepherds received the Word of God by faith and confessed that the Lord God had revealed the Good News to them:  “which the Lord has made known to us” (Luke 2:15b).

            They shepherds immediately recognized that what the angels were telling them was the Word of God Himself.  Even in their low station, they knew the Word of God well enough that when it was spoken; they knew it was none other than the Word of God Himself.

            Do we recognize the Word of God?  Do we recognize when something has been read or preached from the Bible?  Do we know that it is the Word of the One Holy God, Who cannot change; the Only One Who can make us right with God and save us from His Wrath?  Or do we debate it?  Do we argue that these are modern times and we can’t believe God’s Word?  Do we argue that the Word of God must change for changing times?  Do we have more faith in Social Security than in the Word of God?

            Third, the shepherds received the Word of God by faith and went quickly:  “And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger” (Luke 2:16, ESV).

            They shepherds heard the Word of God and received it by faith and they left immediately and they went quickly!  They ran to the stable door.  They were so excited that the Savior had come that they ran and burst in to see – they had to see!  God has come to earth!

            The holidays can be a great time – having family around, but not everyone believes, and some families are fractured.  Presents are nice – especially books – but they don’t last eternity.  There’s a lot of traffic this time of year – what are we running to?  Have we found Something – like the shepherds – that is Eternal – exciting to the point of everlasting joy?  Are we afraid to say, “Merry Christmas!”?  Is He enough for us to run to?

            Fourth, the shepherds received the Word of God by faith and they testified to what had happened.  “And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child” (Luke 2:17, ESV).

            Can we imagine the scene?  Mary has given birth.  Joseph is with her, comforting her, and rejoicing in the birth of their Son, the One Who is called, “God with us.”  All of a sudden, the door flies open and these shepherds – these dirty, sheep-smelling guys, burst into the room – we have no idea how many there were.

            “This is Him!  This is the One the angels told us about!  We were in the fields, watching over our flocks – protecting them – and suddenly, the sky burst open, and the Glory of the Lord God shown down on us – we fell to the ground in fear – God had come into the presence of we humble shepherds!   But then, an angel told us not to be afraid – God was not coming to strike us down, but to reveal the arrival of the Savior to us, of all people.  He told us that the Baby had been born – God had come to earth in the person of a baby – your Son – the joy of all peoples.  He told us that the Savior had been born in Bethlehem – the Savior, the Christ, the Lord – our God – and he gave us the sign that He would be here – in a manger – in swaddling cloths.  Look!  The Savior has been born!  And we dropped everything and ran here, because we had to see – the Savior – the Savior – and the angel was joined with a great multitude, praising God for His Gift of the Savior.  And here we are.”

            The shepherds must have been about to burst – have you experienced that immense joy – where you could do nothing less than tell someone?  Have you ever just had to tell someone that Jesus has come – the Savior has come – there is hope for all those who believe in Jesus!?

            I fear that we don’t think we have the right words to say – that we won’t be convincing enough – that we’ll get ourselves into a conversation we won’t know all the answers to.  Perhaps you feel like a first century shepherd.  You know, those guys who ran to the manger and told what they had heard to Mary and Joseph.  Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will bring to our remembrance the Word that we have heard – that we would tell what we know and have heard.

            Fifth, the shepherds received the Word of God by faith and they were believed by the people they told.  “And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:18-19, ESV).

            The shepherds told Mary and Joseph – and they told everybody else.  We’re not told who the people are that they told, but we can imagine that with such great news, they told everyone they came in contact with – certainly on the way back from Bethlehem and from that day forth.  What they heard and believed by faith had a life-changing impact on them – as it does on all believers – does it not?

            We’re told that all those who heard the shepherds’ story “wondered.”  Did you ever wonder what that means?  Did the people hear the story and wonder what the shepherds had been drinking?  Did the people hear the story and wonder if the shepherds had been out in the fields too long?  The word means that they were amazed – they were filled with awe – the people who heard the Word of God related by the shepherds received it and were filled with awe – they couldn’t believe it – the Promise had come – salvation was being made for all those who would believe – the Evangel had come – the Good News had come – the Savior had come.  Amazing – worthy is our God to be worshipped!

            A willing heart that hears the Good News of Jesus Christ will be filled with awe – it will be led to worship.  Let’s not close our mouths when someone rolls their eyes or looks at us like we have finally gone over the edge.  Have you ever had the privilege of talking with someone about Jesus and seeing the Glory of God in their eyes as their heart receives Him by faith and rejoices?

            We’re told that Mary “pondered” what the shepherds said.  Have you ever pondered what that might mean?  Of course she did not doubt their message – she had received the Word of God by faith and believed and humbly received the Work of the Holy Spirit in her that she would bear the Son of God.  Here, what we are being told is that she preserved what the shepherds said in her mind – she memorized their account of the angels’ visit and announcement.   What an amazing story she had to tell Jesus as He grew up – the creatures of Heaven announced His Birth and revealed it to shepherds who came and visited Him as a baby.

            Sixth, the shepherds received the Word of God by faith and gave thanks and praised God.  “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them” (Luke 2:20, ESV).

            The shepherds received the Word of God by faith, they went to see the Baby, they told others about His Birth and they thanked God for revealing His birth to them – the lowest people of society – that they would be the first to know that God the Savior had come.  They praised God as worthy of all praise for His faithfulness in keeping His promise to send a Savior for all those who would believe.  They glorified God – telling all those they came in contact with about God and what He had done – revealing God for Who He is and praising Him for being God.

            And what about us this Christmas Eve?  Are we thanking and praising and glorifying God for Who He is and what He has done?  Are we unafraid to pray and to proclaim that Christ the Savior has come?  God is faithful.  God is merciful.  God is gracious.  God is good.  God is loving.  God is truthful.  God keeps His promises.

            But we still haven’t answered the question, have we?  Why did God reveal the birth of Jesus to shepherds – to people who would have been hard-pressed to find others that would believe them – especially anyone who mattered?  Wouldn’t it have made more sense for God to tell the kings and priests and prophets and have them come?  Wouldn’t the word have spread and been believed more readily if God had chosen someone important to reveal this Good News to?

            Paul gives us some insight into why as he writes:

            “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’  Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (I Corinthians 1:18-25, ESV).

            One reason that God revealed this message to the shepherds is that God wanted to put down the wisdom of humanity.  God wanted to show that salvation is by the wisdom of God and not by the wisdom of humans.  God wanted to reveal Himself in a way that would make no sense unless it was received by faith.

            And, if we’re thinking, “Well, wasn’t that a bad plan?  Wouldn’t God have achieved more by appealing to the wisdom of humans – by bringing His Son and Salvation into the world through a way that humans could naturally understand?”

            And there we prove Paul’s point:  the Incarnation is not the way that humans would naturally think would be the best way to make ourselves right with God, but God knew it was the best way – the only way – that would be acceptable – possible – in His Sight.

            Paul continues with more insight on this:

“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (I Corinthians 1:26-31, ESV).

Another reason God revealed the Good News of the birth of Jesus to the shepherds is the same reason that God uses people like me – and you – God wanted it to be obvious that the message and the Salvation came from God and not from the shepherds – or us.  God wanted to receive all praise for the Incarnation and for Salvation, and God accomplishes that by usually using people that are small in the world’s eyes.

Paul writes, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you” (II Corinthians 4:7-12, ESV).

Just one point here, which we’ve noted before – it’s easier to find a specific diamond in a litter box than in a box of diamonds.  And so God uses people in whom the Gospel will be easier to see.  If the king of Israel brought the angels’ message to Mary and Joseph, it would have been obscured by the king being there, but it shown brightly coming from the shepherds.

So, if you believe you are inadequate to tell others the Gospel – for whatever reason – very good!  Tell others, and it will be easier to see.

And if you have not believed the Gospel because of the sins of the Church or individual Christians or because you don’t want to be associated with shepherds and other losers like me – look beyond the messenger to the message.  Consider if you are right with God, and if not, what you might do to be worthy of God’s acceptance.  And if you understand that the answer is nothing – you can do nothing to make yourself right with God, hear the message again – that on that first Christmas, God began to fulfill His Promise to provide salvation for all those who will believe through a savior – through Jesus, the Son of Mary, the Son of God.

As Calvin wrote, “If then we desire to come to Christ, let us not be ashamed to follow those whom the Lord, in order to cast down the pride of the world, has taken, from among the dung of cattle, to be our instructors” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Luke 2:8).

            Brothers and sisters, God has sent His Son, Jesus, to be the Promised Savior.  Receive the Word of God by faith, immediately and quickly come to Him in your heart, confess that this is the Word of God, and then tell others, and thank and praise and glorify God.

            Let us pray:

            Almighty God, we thank You for the faith of the shepherds.  We thank You for revealing the birth of Jesus to them.  We ask that we would not be ashamed of them for their low station in society, and that we would not be ashamed of our natural abilities, but seek to tell others what we have received – what we have believed – that they, too, might come to faith in the Only Savior.  And may we be quick to give voice to You in thanks and praise and by glorifying You.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.