Matthew 1:18 – This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
19 – Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 – But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ?Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 – She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.?
John 10:10 – The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
If Bret Baier or Charlie Gibson had been living in 1809 I?m sure their evening news broadcasts would have concentrated on Austria because that?s where the attention of the entire world was that particular year. Everyone was focused on news about Napoleon as he swept across helpless hamlets like fire across a Kansas wheat field. In 1809, nothing else would have seemed half as significant as news of the diminutive dictator from France. From Trafalgar to Waterloo, his exploits filled the newspapers?so, in 1809 no one cared about anything else…least of all the BABIES that were born that year. After all, babies are born every day! There?s nothing really NEWSWORTHY in the birth of a child?or is there? Of course that?s not true?and 1809 is a great proof of this principle because a veritable host of world-changing thinkers and statesmen drew their first breaths that particular year. Here are a few examples:
- The great poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson began his life in Lincolnshire in 1809. Remember The Charge of the Light Brigade?
- Charles Darwin was also born that year in Shrewsbury, England. We all know of his contribution to ?science.?
- That same year, across the Atlantic, a baby who became one of our most famous supreme court justices, Oliver Wendell Holmes, cried out in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- A few miles away in Boston Edgar Alan Poe started his brief and tragic life.
- Here?s one more. A rugged log cabin in Hardin County Kentucky, owned by an illiterate wandering laborer, was filled with the infant screams of a newborn boy named Abraham Lincoln.
All that and much more happened in 1809 but no one really cared because in everyone?s minds the destiny of the world was being shaped on battlefields in Austria?or was it?
Charles Swindoll writes,
?Only a handful of history buffs today could name even one of Napoleon?s Austrian campaigns?but who can measure the impact of these other lives? What appeared to be super-significant to the world has proven to be no more exciting than a Sunday afternoon yawn. What seemed at the time to be totally insignificant was in fact the genesis of an era.?
Let?s take this principle a bit deeper?by turning the clock back 18 centuries more?to that pivotal year when the birth of a Baby led mankind to start counting centuries forward instead of backward. The people who lived that year didn?t care about the birth of babies anymore than they did in 1809. That just wasn?t their focus. I mean, who would have cared about the birth of a baby while the world was watching Rome in all its splendor? After all, the armies of this nation that was symbolized by the iron legs in Nebuchadnezzar?s dream?they marched across the world, conquering as they went. No one could stand in their way. Because of the unstoppable power of their legions the Roman Empire had grown until it covered most of the known world?and it was as vicious as it was vast. Political intrigue, racial tension, increased immorality, and the world-changing power that comes with enormous military might occupied everyone?s attention and conversation. That year, Rome was the focus of all the news. And Israel? Like so many other nations, it existed under the crush of Rome?s heavy boot. No one would have given that small, backwater region of the world a second thought. No?all eyes were on the WEST where Augustus, the cynical Caesar had demanded a census so as to determine the measurement to enlarge taxes. With his census in the news who would have been interested in a peasant couple making an 80-mile trip south from Nazareth on roads crowded with other census travelers? What could possibly be more important that year than Caesar?s decisions in Rome? Who cared about yet another Jewish baby, especially one that was born in the little town of Bethlehem?
Well, you and I know the answer to this question don?t we?! Quoting Swindoll once again,
?Without realizing it, mighty Augustus was only an errand boy for the fulfillment of Micah?s prediction…a pawn in the hand of Jehovah a piece of lint on the pages of prophecy. While Rome was busy making history, God arrived. He pitched His fleshly tent in silence on straw…in a stable…under a star. The world didn?t even notice. Reeling from the wake of Alexander the Great…Herod the Great…Augustus the Great…the world overlooked Mary?s little lamb. It still does.?
This Christmas season, when, as Swindoll says, the world continues to overlook Jesus? birth?I want us to strive to counter that mind set here at Redland by reminding ourselves WHY among all the events that fill the pages of history?why this particular birth is not only the MOST newsworthy event of all.
My inspiration for doing this comes from Dr. David Jeremiah?s little book, Why The Nativity?
During this season of advent we?ll seek answers to some of the questions Dr. Jeremiah raises in his book?answers that will help us to understand anew the significance of Christmas. For example: Next week we?ll focus on answers to this question: ?Why Did Jesus Come the WAY He Did?? Why would the Messiah come at this point in history? Why would He come to a little town like Bethlehem? Why would the King of Kings be born in a filthy stable? Why did he come the WAY He did? Then, on December 13 we?ll look for answers to this one: Why Must Jesus Come Again?? and what do we need to know about that future coming? How should it change the way we live? On December 20 our focus will be on understanding: ?Why Jesus Came to the People He Did?? Why Mary and Joseph? Why the shepherds? Why the wise men? And then, on Christmas Eve I?ll try to explain why Jesus?Almighty God in the flesh?why He came as a BABY.
But, today, as a foundation for the answers to all these other inquiries, we will focus on this question: ?Why did Jesus come in the first place??
Now?as a Christian?you may think the answer to this question is obvious so why bother with it in a sermon?but the fact is you may be asked this question out there in your particular part of the mission field. This Christmas season a friend or neighbor or co-worker may ask you to explain why you celebrate the birth of this particular baby and when they ask you need to be ready to give an answer for the reason for the hope that is in you. This Christmas you need to be prepared to use any God-given opportunity to explain why Jesus? coming is something that must not be overlooked?how and why it has changed the world and more importantly how it has changed YOUR world. So, let?s get to it. Why did Jesus come to earth? Why was He born?
One thing we should note is that apparently this FIRST question in our series is one of the FIRST questions Jesus Himself was asked. I say this because on at least THIRTEEN occasions in the Gospels, we find Him using the explanatory phrase,?I have come…?
- In John 5:43 He said, ?I have come in My Father?s name.?
- In John 6:38 He said, ?I have come to do the will of God.?
- In John 12:46 He said, ?I have come as a light to shine in this dark world.?
- Even as a little boy in the temple He told Mary and Joseph that He had come, ?…to do His Father?s business.? (Luke 2:49 KJV)
I could go on and on but suffice it to say that the repeated use of this phrase, ?I have come…? shows us that Jesus? sense of mission was obvious. Jesus knew there was a REASON for Him to have COME to our world.
By the way, ordinary people never speak of ?coming? to this world because to you and me this world is HOME. So when Jesus used this phrase He was using the language of a GUEST. He was talking like an AMBASSADOR would speak?one on a short but urgent assignment. He was speaking as Someone from somewhere else Who had come to our world with a purpose?a job to do.
Okay?back to our question?what was that job? What was Jesus? assignment? What was His Father?s business? Why did He come? There are several ways I could answer these questions?and we?ll touch on those other answers in weeks to come?but this morning I want to deal with three of the MAIN reasons Jesus came and here is the first.
(1) Jesus came to destroy the WORKS of the DEVIL.
As 1st John 3:8 puts it,?The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil?s work.? Now?the word for ?destroy? literally means ?to break or dissolve.? I think it?s interesting that it is paired with the word for ?devil? because that particular designation for our adversary literally means ?one who shatters.? Put it together and it says that Jesus came to BREAK the works of the one who BREAKS. He came to SHATTER the works of the one who SHATTERS.
This is WORLD-CHANGING news indeed because from the beginning of time, satan has made it his goal to shatter lives by pushing people further and further from God. His evil work started with the first two humans and it has continued down through the millennia as he has enticed people like you and me to embrace attitudes and behaviors that bring us nothing but pain and heartache. satan constantly whispers in our ears things that cause us fear?or entice us to do evil.
Do you know what I?m talking about? No need to AMEN or reply?because we all know what it?s like to be the victim of the devil?s work.
He is indeed our number one enemy?constantly prowling around like a lion seeking someone to devour. (1st Peter 5:8) and, as I said, all of us have felt his ?claws? on our lives. All of us have gone astray?all of us have yielded to his temptations in ways that have shattered hopes and dreams.
Well, as I said Jesus was born?He came to our world to foil the devil?s schemes?to defeat this bully that we all have to deal with. And because Jesus came to do that, I can have a different outlook on life?so can you. Because of Jesus? coming, satan?s desire for me need not be accomplished!
Do you remember how Martin Luther put it in his great hymn?
?The prince of darkness grim; we tremble not for him.
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure.
One little Word shall fell him!?
And what is that one little Word? JESUS! God-in-the-flesh to the rescue! Our Heavenly Father did not want satan, the enemy of our souls to destroy, thwart, or abort His purpose, plans, and desires for you and me. So He sent His Son to rescue us from the works of the enemy?to thwart his plan to shatter our lives, homes, and families. Colossians 2:15 talks about this victory Jesus came to win on our behalf when it says,?And having disarmed the powers and authorities [of satan], Jesus made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.?
One of my favorite parts of the film, The Passion of the Christ is at the beginning when Jesus is praying in the garden just moments before His arrest. Do you remember that dark, misty scene? satan is crouched nearby as Jesus prays?agonizing over the cross. As He prays, satan says things like, ?Do you really believe that one man can bear the full burden of sin? Of course not?besides saving their souls is too costly.? And then a snake comes slithering out of satan?s robes crawling along the ground toward Jesus. At that moment, Jesus prays His prayer of victory, ?Not My will Father, but Thine be done!? Then He stands and literally begins walking toward the cross but as He does He stomps that snake?crushing its head with His heel. I think this is not only a great interpretation of God?s promise to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?it?s also a wonderful symbol of what Jesus came to do for you and me. Jesus came to BREAK the works of the one who breaks.
Because of Jesus? coming?because of what He did on the cross?because of the empty tomb?we can have the power to say NO to satan. Thanks to Jesus? birth, satan?s work in our lives can be destroyed. But that?s not the only reason Jesus came.
(2) He also came to give our lives MEANING and PURPOSE.
Do you remember Jesus? words in John 10:10?the words we read a moment ago? Jesus said, ?The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.? Now?the Greek word here for ?life? is not ?bios? ?which means being alive as a feeling, breathing creature. No?the word John uses here is ?zoe? which is a stronger word and signifies an active, energetic life?a full life. John was saying that the life Jesus came to give us is an UNCOMMONLY abundant life. As he put it in John 1:4,?In Him?in JESUS?was LIFE?and that life was the light of men.? John was telling us that Jesus came to make possible the kind of life we all yearn for. And, let?s be honest, we do all yearn for more in this life. We have learned like Solomon that on our own, the best of life is nothing but chasing after the wind. Possessions, career success, fame?they all look great but they leave us feeling empty. Everything this world has to offer leaves us hungry and thirsty for something more?and satisfying that particular hunger and thirst is a second reason Jesus came. He came to make it possible for you and me to live a life that is rich and full. He came to show us how to REALLY live.
Kenneth Eaton writes,
?Jesus Christ is the great Animator. Like a skillful physician coaxing a patient back from the abyss of death, refusing to let him slip away into oblivion, giving him new heart and new hope, so Christ imparts new vitality to those whose lives He touches.?
Do you know what I?m talking about here? The life Jesus lives?well, in comparison life without Him is more like death than life! And?this too is world-changing news because, as I said, all people long for the abundance that comes from a life of MEANING and PURPOSE. We all have this inborn need to spend our days doing things of eternal significance?and Jesus alone makes that possible.
In short, Jesus invites us to a life that makes sense. Through His teachings, Jesus showed us the only workable strategy for living a happy and fulfilling life in this fallen world. And here it is. Jesus said the way to do this is to embrace an unselfish love for others instead of the inevitable emptiness of self-seeking. Jesus taught that us when we follow His example and devote ourselves to serving one another?life is fuller and more satisfying. And?ever since His birth, billions of people have followed His teachings on this subject. Relying on His indwelling power they have lived this way and have found it to be the only way to joy and peace?and ABUNDANCE. They have found that it really is more blessed to give than to get. Do you remember Jesus? words from Mark 8:35? He said,?If you insist on saving your life you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for My sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to REALLY LIVE.? (TLB)
In his book, It All Goes Back in the Box, John Ortberg shares the true story of a young man who is now known as Johnny the bagger. Johnny is 19 and has Down Syndrome. He works at a local grocery store bagging groceries. One day he went to a training event his store sponsored that was led by a motivational speaker named Barbara Glanz. Ms Glanz spoke about how people can make a real difference in the lives of others through acts of service. She described how every interaction with another person is a chance to create a memory, to bless someone?s life. Well, this inspired Johnny. Here?s an excerpt from Ortberg?s book that shows where that inspiration led:
?Johnny decided that every night when he came home from work, he would find a ?thought for the day? for his next shift [something like a Christian phrase or verse of Scripture.] It would be something positive, some reminder of how good it was to be alive, or how much people matter, or of how many gifts we are surrounded by. Every night his dad would help him enter the next day?s saying six times on a page on the computer, then Johnny would print fifty pages. Next, he would take out a pair of scissors and carefully cut three hundred copies and sign every one. The following day Johnny put the stack of pages next to him while he worked. Each time he finished bagging someone?s groceries, he would put his saying on the top of the last bag. Then he would stop what he was doing, look the person straight in the eye, and say, ?I?ve put a great saying in your bag. I hope it helps you have a good day. Thanks for coming.?
A month later, the store manager called Ms. Glanz and said, ?You won?t believe what?s happened here. I was making my rounds, and when I got up to the cashiers, the line at Johnny?s checkout was three times longer than anyone else?s. It went all the way down the frozen food aisle.? The manager said he got on the loudspeaker to get more checkout lines open but he couldn?t get any of the customers to move. They said things like, ?That?s okay. We?ll wait, We want to be in Johnny?s line.? One woman came up to the manager and said, ?I used to shop in your store once a week. Now I come in every time I go by?I want to get Johnny?s thought for the day.? Johnny is doing more than filling bags with groceries; he?s selflessly filling lives with hope. There is a reason Johnny?s lines are three times longer than anyone else?s. Our souls need to be fed just as our bodies do. Bodies are fed by protein and carbs; souls are fed by words. Of course what makes the words on the paper mean so much is who they come from. Words alone can come from fortune cookies. When people get them from Johnny, they are reminded of the beauty of one person forgetting his own limitations and seeking to make his life a blessing to someone else. By the way, a few months later, the manager called Barbara once again to tell her Johnny was transforming the whole store. He told her that, inspired by Johnny?s selflessness, when the floral department had a broken flower or unused corsage, they used to throw it away. Now they go out in the aisles, find an elderly woman or little girl, and pin it on her. The butchers started putting ribbons on the cuts of meat they wrap up for customers. The people who make their shopping carts are trying to make carts with wheels that actually work.?
Now think about that. Can you imagine how BLESSED Johnny felt to know he was making that kind of difference? Think of how ABUNDANT his life became! And think of this?if Johnny can bless an entire grocery store by the way he bagged groceries?what or who could you bless if you let Jesus empower you to live a life of selflessness and service to others? One reason Jesus came?was to help us experience the kind of abundant life that comes from embracing this Christlike attitude. I mean, Jesus can change your car-pool or your work place into a mission field. Jesus can help you see?people?s TRUE needs. He can give you the WORDS to share and the ACTIONS to do?that will meet those needs. When you rely on Him and serve others in this way you will experience an incredible sense of fulfillment. Because of Jesus? birth?you and I can live lives of ETERNAL significance.
So, let?s review: WHY DID JESUS COME? He came to destroy the works of the devil; He came to make it possible for us to live abundant lives…and I?ve saved the best for last…
(3) …because the MAIN reason Jesus came was to SAVE us from our SINS.
In Matthew 1:21 the angel said His name foretold His main mission. Remember? He said, ?You are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.?
I have really enjoyed our Men?s Fraternity meetings every Tuesday morning. The facilitator, Robert Lewis, is obviously gifted for ministering to men like myself. In fact, I would go so far as to call him?the Beth Moore of Men?s Ministry.? In our sessions this fall he?s talked each week about the unique wounds that all men grapple with in life and in sessions 11-13 he said that the basis or prime cause of all our wounds is SIN. He said,?Sin is the most profound ?wound? of all?it?s nature?not nurture.? And of course Lewis is right. We are all born with a bent toward sin. As Jeremiah 17:9 puts it,?Every human heart is full of deceit.? Job 5:7 says that because of this, every ?Man is born for trouble.? Galatians 5:19-21 expounds on this and says,?When you follow your natural inclinations you will always do evil.? (TLB) Romans 3:23 says,?All have sinned and DAILY fall short of the glory of God.? Romans 3:10-12 says, ?There is NONE righteous…no, not one!? I could quote Scriptures like this all day?and each of them would drive this point home further?that as Lewis puts it, ?We are all fallen and flawed creatures, at odds with our Creator and each other.?
So?the greatest enemy we all face is not satan?it?s ourselves?because as sinners we have this irresistible force inside?that pulls us to sin. We know it?s there?but on our own we can?t do anything about it. It always leads us to destruction?in short we need help. We are fallen and falling. It?s like that old hymn text puts it, ?I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more…? Well?that?s why Christmas is something to celebrate?because Jesus was born to save us from this sinking. As He said in Luke 19:10,?The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.?
Now?I know that phrase, ?save what was lost? may seem to be out-dated ? but it isn?t?because that?s what we all are without Jesus…we are LOST. I mean, in my mind this old-fashioned phrase is still relevant because it underscores the URGENCY that surrounded Jesus? mission. He came to more than save us. He came to RESCUE us!
This week the Adamses did a rare thing. Our entire family went out to see a movie. We saw the new Sandra Bullock film, The Blind Side. It was a powerful film?made so because it was based on a true story?the story of Michael Oher, a homeless young man from the inner city of Memphis, Tennessee. Michael was one of 13 children. He never knew his father because he was murdered when he was little and his mom was addicted to crack…so Michael bounced from foster home to foster home until he was 6, when he began to live on the streets and fend for himself…sleeping in any shelter he could find. A friend?s father arranged it so that Michael could attend Briarcrest Christian Academy…but years on the street had left him far behind his peers when it came to his studies. Plus?as I said, Michael had no where to live and the only clothes he had were the t-shirt and cut-off shorts he always wore and one extra t-shirt that he carried around in a little plastic bag. At night he?d wash his shirt in a sink at a laundry mat?and then toss the wet shirt in with someone else?s dryer load when they weren?t looking. He ate scavenged food and slept at the school gym because that was the only warm place he knew of.
One cold winter night the Tuohy family, whose children attended the same school, saw Michael walking down the street in his cut-offs and t-shirt. He looked pitiful standing there shivering in the cold and it was obvious that he needed rescuing so they invited him home. He spent Thanksgiving with the Tuohys. He slept on their couch one night then two…and before long he was like part of the family. They bought him clothes, gave him a room where he slept on his first bed, and hired a tutor to help him with his studies. They eventually adopted him as their son and helped him win a full-scholarship to Old Miss. Michael made All-American while playing for the Rebs….and this year he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens.
It?s amazing how his life has turned around. Michael says he came from a neighborhood where 0% made it out. His peers either died in drug or gang violence…or just continued to live in poverty?so if anyone needed saving?it was Michael Oher. Well, as I watched the film?it hit me that it is a picture of what Jesus did for me. You see?like Michael I was lost and needed rescuing. On my own merits?I was destitute. My situation as a fallen and falling being?my situation was hopeless. As the old song lyrics put it,?I was a sinner all covered with shame, lost and despised with no merit to claim. Some how God loved me in spite of my sin…SAVED me, redeemed me and cleansed me within.? I needed saving?RESCUING and that?s what Jesus did for me. He came and died on the cross for my sin?and God adopted me as His child.
I?ve spent the last 30 minutes or so answering a question?and in closing I want you to spend a few moments answering one as well. And here it is. To use another ?old-fashioned phrase? ? are you saved? Are you a Christian? Or?like I once was are You ?lost and despised with no merit to claim?? If your honest answer to this ALL-IMPORTANT question is, ?yes,? ? then I have literally WORLD-CHANGING news for you. Jesus Christ, God?s only Son came into this world for the express purpose of seeking you out. In fact, in His providence I believe He has brought you here today. All that is lacking for you to be rescued?forgiven?cleansed of your sin?is for you to use your God-given free-will to ask Jesus to save you. Won?t you do that today? Pray?right now?and admit to him that on your own you are a lost sinner in need of His forgiveness. Commit to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord…and come share that decision with me.
If that question doesn?t apply to you then here?s a second, ?Would you say that your life is a rich one?a fulfilling one?? Or… ?Is it empty?like chasing wind?? If your answer is more of the latter than the former?then I have WORLD-CHANGING NEWS for you as well. If as a Christian, you will start focusing on others…if you will follow Jesus? command and deny self?your entire life will change. The more you live this self-less way as a Christ follower?the more excited you will be to get out of bed every morning. So?if that describes your life?then why not make a commitment today to change the way you live? Remember, changing life is one of the reasons Jesus came!
If God is calling you to join our church family?and help us in sharing this GOOD NEWS with a lost and dying world, come forward. We?d love to have you at Redland.
As we sing?let?s all respond as God leads.