Connecting Christmas and the Cross

Luke 2:34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed".

In this fifth and final song of Luke's account of Christ's infancy, we are brought to that one word spoken by Simeon before he disappears of the pages of scripture and history: behold.  As we have noted in the last four blogs, this song has a title from the Latin Vulgate: "eius ecce" or (behold this).

The connection between Christmas and the cross
I find it interesting that the things spoken of here by Simeon have details that correspond remarkably to the time of Christ's crucifixion"

1. Behold This same word was spoken by Pilate when he presented Christ to the crowds who had been demanding his crucifixion.  In John 19:5, we read of how Christ, when led out before the crowds with a crown of thorns on his head, was heralded by Pilate with these words: "behold the man".

2. This child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel  Simeon reminds the couple that this beautiful child upon whom they gazed was born to bring salvation.  As a result of Christ's crucifixion, the temple system would fall apart, Judas would hang himself for his betrayal of Christ and the whole Roman empire would never be same. 

3. A sword will pierce even your own soul  These words would find their fulfillment as Mary, 33 years later, would be standing beneath the cross, gazing in grief strickeness at the mangled body of Christ in his humanity. (John 19:26-35)  Though the cradle at Bethlehem was heralded by angels as glorious, the shadow of the cross was never that far. 

Despite the grief that lined Simeon's words, hope could not be eclipsed.  For it was in the death of Christ in His humanity that the God of glory in His deity would be shown victorious over death, Hell and the grave. 

God's grace personified in Christmas

Luke 2:29-32 “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; 30For my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

The joy of unwrapped presents
I'm sure many of you reading today's blog have experienced the joy that follows the unwrapping of that favorite gift.  Seeing the very things you had been anticipating for weeks and months evoked an eruption of joy once you opened and unwrapped the treasures under the tree.  No doubt this is in a very small way pictures the type of emotions that welled up in Simeon when he beheld the Christ child.

The song that speaks of sweet release and fulfillment of God's promises
It has been eight days, and Mary and Joseph brought their son, Jesus, to the temple to have performed upon him the rites of the Old Testament circumcision.  From the very beginning of Christ's birth, the theme of fulfillment marks his life: fulfillment of prophecy, time and the law.  Themes such as these would accompany Him 33 years later to the cross.  In the Latin text the name of Simeon's prophecy is referred to as "nunc dimittis" (now release). 

The significance of Simeon's words
I love this title for it signifies the release from the confines of something.  The Lord had given Simeon a word that his life would not expire until He saw the salvation of Israel.  As in all of the five songs recorded here in Luke 2 and 3, this fourth song carries with it tremendous scriptural gold that points to Christ's identity as revealed by God's grace:

1. God's Grace brings freedom.  When Simeon saw the Christ child, he was "released".  When you and I by faith behold the Lord, we are set free.  We are free to truly fulfill everything God calls us to do when He is brought to us by the working of grace in our hearts by the Spirit of God. 

2. God's Grace brings faith  How did Simeon know this was the One whom He was looking for?  The text states in Luke 2:29 - "according to your word".  It is the word of God that the Holy Spirit uses to bring the faith needed to trust and rely upon the Savior. (Romans 10:17)

3. God's Grace goes from being a principle to a Person. Up until we are brought into contact with Christ by the convicting work of the Holy Spirit through the gospel, God's grace is a principle that we have heard about.  However Simeon beholds the very Promise that centuries had been predicted by the Old Testament Prophets.  God's Grace had truly appeared.   Grace goes from being a principle to a person; from a power of God working towards men to becoming a Person who would dwell among men.   

4. God's grace brings light into darkness  As Simeon rounds out this portion of His prophecy, He quotes from Isaiah 9:2.  In that same chapter we are given information regarding the human and Divine natures of the Messiah. (Isaiah 9:6-7)  God would send His Son into this world to bring light into the darkness of sinful man.  Unfortunately man unaided by grace shrinks from the light, and is not able nor desirous of receiving it (John 1:3-11). 

5. God's grace enables to hear God and believe.  Simeon, the speaker of this prophecy, has a name whose meaning is: "to hear God".  Though we never hear of this precious old saint of God ever again, the one thing he is noted for is that he not only heard God, he saw Him!  In human flesh He saw the creator of worlds. 

Would it be dear friend that the world's memory of you and I would be that we are people who heard and saw God by faith and yearned to live out the last of our lives to see Christ cherished by those around us. 

The Largest and Shortest Concert in History

Luke 2:13-15 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”   15When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”

The Glory of Christmas
Merry Christmas to those who are reading this blog today.  It will be another 11 years before we have Christmas occur on a Sunday.  Yesterday we began to look at the musical side of the Christmas story.  We noted two songs in Luke's record that spoke of Christ's coming: "The Magnificat" and "The Benedictus".  Today's blog features the third of five songs recorded by Luke in Luke 2:14, which in the Latin Bible would had begun with the first word "gloria" (hence its title in some of today's Bibles).  You may recognize that this word is where we derive our word "glory".  To glory in something means to think or regard someone or something with the highest thoughts possible.  No doubt, this shortest of the five songs tells us something profound about the night Christ in his humanity would be born.

It took all of Heaven to tell of His glory here on earth - The Biggest Concert Ever
The number of angels in Heaven, though not specifically given to us, are roughly revealed to us in scripture.  In passages such as Daniel 7 and Revelation 4 and 5 we discover that there are in upwards of 100 trillion angels sings praises to God, day and night. 

Now here on planet earth, we have over 7 billion people.  To just give you an idea of how big the heavenly hosts were, 100 trillion angels would be enough for every person on planet earth to have over 14,000 angels.  To put it in another perspective, in order to have a room big enough to accomodate 100 trillion people, you would need a room that would be over 60 million miles long and wide!

No doubt, what the Shepherds saw in the short burst of Heavenly glory would had no doubt frightened them.  The angelic host, bringing the news of the Savior's birth, would had stretched literally from Heaven to earth. 

This huge concert lasted less than five seconds
In the original Greek of Luke the angels sung 11 words.  Why so short?  If we know one thing about the God of the Bible, He can communicate an whole lot in a few words.  Moreso, if the glory of God, being refracted and reflected through these angels had been in that field any longer, the whole world and universe would had been destroyed!  Isaiah for instance tells of a vision He saw in Isaiah 6, where the foundations of God's throne room in Heaven "shook" at the singing of his glory by the angels.  So if the environment designed to withstand the continuous praise of God's glory could hardly sustain such glory, imagine the result for this world.

What did the angels sing?
This enormously short concert communicated an enormous amount to these shepherds.  When we unpack Luke 2:14, here is what we learn about the incredible good news brought that first Christmas night:

1. God's Glory in human flesh is mind blowing.  In the original language we could translate the first part of the angel's song as: "Glory is in the most high God".  These angels, as powerful and as smart as they were, marveled at the miracle that took place on that first Christmas night.  Their Creator was going to manifest himself as a creature.  The One whom they had worshipped as sharing the eternal undivided Divne nature with the Father and Holy Spirit would be revealed in frail humanity.  1 Peter 1:12 records that the angels are still blown away by what God did, for Peter writes at the end of that verse: "things into which angels long to look". 

2. God's Grace among humanity is most beautiful.  The next part of their song has these words: "and on earth peace".  When angels normally showed up in scripture, unless they specifically said so, their showing up usually meant judgment.  In a much lesser way, if I saw a row of police cars and firetrucks coming toward my house and pulling into my driveway, I would be alarmed, for I would wonder why it is they have come. 

However, if the police and fire rescue told me they had come to surround me to protect me from an approaching firestorm sweeping accross the county, I would find their flashing lights and blaring sirens most beautiful.  I would have no fear.  When Christ came that night, he was heralded by Heaven's Angelic Servant Squad!  He came to accomplish salvation that would shield all those who would believe on Him from the fiery wrath of God that is coming on this world. (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Peter 1:5; 2 Peter 3)  We can tell by the Shepherd's excitement that this news was beautiful to hear - God Himself has come to the rescue. 

3. God's Gospel announces salvation to all who by grace believe. The last part of the angels' song tells us: "among men with whom He is pleased."  How is a person made pleasing to God?  It is not by good moral living. (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Its not by keeping the ten commandments. (Romans 3:20)  Its not by going to church, being baptized, joining a civic organization or any other method of man's righteousness. (Isaiah 64:6).  There is only one way one can be pleasing in God's sight - be as good or as "much in the right" (i.e righteous) as God is! 

Now the Bible is pretty clear, there is no human being who could ever attain that level of moral and spiritual goodness.  However there is only one human being who was indeed as right as God - for He is God - that One is Jesus Christ.  Everything He merited before God can be credited to you when you by faith trust in Him.  That is what the angels were singing.  "On whom His favor rests" means that God's grace has come, calling out to you to believe on the One whom He sent. (John 3:16; John 17:3)

Therefore in order to receive everything that Christ ever accomplished into your life, there is only one means by which you can be declared "in the right" with God - faith alone.  That is not only good news, and not only great news, but that is news worth singing about!

Musical Christmas Eve

For the past 23 days we have been taking time to consider the true message and meaning of Christmas.  We have done so through the Bible's prophecies, pictures and patterns that outline the plan of God in Christmas.  We have crisscrossed our way back and forth between the Old and New Testaments - focusing more on the Preparation leading up to Christ's birth.  Christmas Eve is special - and so I thought what we would do today is to begin considering the role of Music in Christmas. 

The Praises of Jesus' birth in Luke
The infancy narratives in the first two chapters of Luke's Gospel record for us five songs and poems sung by various saints or angels that praise the arrival of God in human flesh.  The first two that we will consider occured right before Christ's birth.  They are found in Luke 1:46-56 and Luke 1:67-79. 

Strange names but Magnificent meaning
If you notice in some of your Bibles, these particular portions of scripture have weird sounding titles.  For instance the first song, the song of Mary, is called "The Magnificat".  The reason for this is because these are the first words of Mary's song as it is recorded in the Latin Bible - The Vullgate.  This was the version of the Bible used for 1,000 years in the Old Roman Catholic Church and the influence of that version carried over into some of the terms we use in describing details of the Bible.  "The Magnificat" is Latin for "The Exultation".  You may recognize from the word our English word "Magnificent".  No doubt, what Mary sings and Who she sings about is the one who is God, coming through her womb as a virgin born human being.

The second song in Luke's record is the song of Zecharias called "The Benedictus" (meaning blessed).  Perhaps you have heard of an opening prayer where the persons asks for God's blessing on a given event as being called a "benediction".  Like the first, the meaning is profound, in that Zecharias is praising God for his sending of the forerunner through he and his wife, Elizabeth.   No doubt, the events surrounding the Savior's coming into the world were indeed blessed! 

The Wonder of the Magnificat (Mary's song)
We can note three things about Mary's song in Luke 1:46-56:
1. The Savior in her womb is personally meaningful  Notice how often Mary uses the words "my" or "me" in 1:46-49.  Mary sees the profound significance of Christ's coming for her own life.  She has embraced everything spoken to her by the angel.  She has taken God at His word and is overjoyed at the fact that in her womb is the Living word. 

2. The Savior in her womb is powerfully Mighty  In Luke 1:50-53 Mary rehearses how this One in her womb Pre-existed as the God of glory throughout the history of the world.  He is Sovereign ruler over the nations. (Psalm 2).  He is God and God alone and will not share His glory with any other.  He knows how to deliver His people.  These ideas flow from Mary's lips as the Holy Spirit gives her utterance. 

3. The Savior in her womb is prophecy's fulfillment In Luke 1:54-55 Mary is thinking of all the times God promised and predicted the coming of Messiah.  From Abraham down to Malachi, God kept revealing how the Promise of Salvation would one day become the Person of salvation, born in due time.  For Mary, the literal fulfillment of that truth was now living inside of her. 

The Wonder of the Benedictus (Zechariah's song)
With Mary praising the wonder of Christ's soon birth, Zechariah too is praising God for the fact of the forerunner - John.  With only 6 months difference between their births, God's perfect timing was truly incredible.  This song is full of statements regarding God's promises and prophecies about salvation, redemption and the Light of Hope that is seen in the coming of Messiah.  The one who would announce that coming is spoken of in scriptures such as Malachi 4 and Isaiah 40.  Truly the power of worship was declaring that the plan of God in Heaven was getting ready to touch down here on earth.  It is not long, Christmas was almost here. 

The Scope of God's timing in Christmas

Galatians 4:4 when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,

God's big plans included all of history
How big was the scope of God's timing in the bringing about of the Son of God into this world?  When we consider the whole of history from Genesis up to the time of Jesus' birth, it is amazing to think about everything God orchestrated to make the entry of the Son of God into the world a possibility:

1. 3600 years from Genesis to Malachi.  From Adam to Noah = 1656 years.  From Noah to Abraham = another 350 to 400 years.  From Abraham to the end of Genesis = around 250 or so years.  From Moses' day in Exodus to David's time in 1 Samuel is around 400 years.  From David to Malachi's day is another 600 or so years.  God orchestrated the rise and fall of at least four world empires, countless wars and 109 prophecies in preparation for when He would come.

2. The silent years between Malachi and Matthew.  From Malachi to Matthew we see the word of God not being spoken.  Just because God hid His face did not mean His hand was not at work behind the scenes.  In this period of time, three world empires rose and fell.  At the ned of the Old Testament, Babylon was in power.  In 539 b.c she fell to the Medo-Persia Empire.  This empire, predicted and spoken of in Daniel 2 and 7, was the first to begin the practice of crucifixion. 

Next came the Greeks, under Alexander the Great in 333 b.c.  After conquering Persia, Alexander began his program of making the whole world like the Greeks.  Everyone under his domain would speak Greek.  This language would be the language of the New Testament.  The Jews also made the world's first Bible translation - the Septuagint, in 275 b.c.

Greece gave away to Rome and the Roman empire devised the 50,000 mile roadway system throughout the Medditeranean world called "The Roman Road". It would be quite useful, especially when the early church would come to spread the goodnews of Jesus Christ. 

Rome by Jesus' day was experiencing politcal unreast in the Holy land.  Power had changed hands, and populations of people were being redistributed.  This is what prompted Caesar Augustus to issue the decree for everyone to return to their hometown to be counted.  Because of that decree, Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, as predicted in the book of Micah.

3. The prophecies of the Old Testament. When you count up all of the prophecies that predict the first coming of Jesus Christ, the grand total comes to 109!  Some of these are so extraordinary, they are worthy of mention.  Genesis 49:10 tells us what tribe in Israel the Messiah would derive - from Judah.  Isaiah 7:14 tells us He would be virgin born, with Isaiah 9:6-7 revealing Him as both human and Divine.  Isaiah 53 reveals He would suffer and die, with Zechariah 12:10 using the term "pierced" to describe the marks on his hands and feet.  Psalm 22 unfolds the words He would speak on the cross and Micah 5:2-4 uncovers the place of His birth. 

All in all, God alone can cover the scope of the timing of events, peoples and places - for He alone is Big enough, Powerful enough and knowing enough to accomplish it.  If anything, the timing of Christmas shows us that salvation is of the Lord!

Christmas planned before Genesis 1:1

Galatians 4:4 "when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law"

When we look at Christmas - the concept of time plays a huge role in our thinking.  My children are finding time to be moving quite slowly right now!  They can't wait until Christmas morning!  We have some events going on in our lives that are making that Christmas day seemingly come quicker than we think.  Time is certainly a factor when it comes to planning Christmas.  But no one knew that more than God. 

God's Sovereign Timing for Christmas
God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit had determined the time in which the Son was going to enter History before the world was ever made.  Passages such as Acts 2:23-24 and 2 Timothy 1:9 speak of God the Father planning the cross, with God the Son agreeing with the Father to be the one to die upon it.  In Ephesians 1:11, we understand that the Holy Spirit was involved in this plan, agreeing to apply the benefits of salvation to all whom He would call and convict to believe on the Son. 

Before Genesis 1:1, there was nothing but God Himself.  The Trinity was not lonely.  God saw all of history in His mind.  He knew that the fall of Adam and Eve was going to occur and he knew that the cross would be necessary to redeem all of those whom He would call and convict to believe on Him.  The birth of the Savior was definitely pre-planned. 

Hebrews 10:4-7 records these words of Jesus, spoken in the eternal glory He shared with the Father:
         "Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,  “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU
          HAVE NOT DESIRED,  BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; 6IN WHOLE 
          BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE.
          7“THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME  (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS
         WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.’”

Jesus spoke these words while preparing to enter this world from eternity!  The appointed time for His arrival was set.  God alone could perfectly time time itself - For He alone is Sovereign (that is, in control of all things).  As much as Christmas speaks about God becoming frail humanity - it also points us to the Sovereign God who, along with the One who would become man, made Christmas possible. 

Who is Jesus in the geneaologies?

Luke 3:23 When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph . . .

4,000 years is a huge block of time.  Yet in Luke's account of Christ's geneaology, in a span of 15 verses, some 72 names, spanning a period from Genesis up to the time of Christ's birth are listed for us.  Called by some "the scarlet thread of redemption", the bloodline that extends from Adam and Eve down to Christ is shown here in Luke. 

Why is Luke's geneaology different than Matthew's? 
Three reasons can be given in answer to this question. 

1. Two valid ways of identification First, if you compare the two records, they not only differ in the amount of names, but in how they arrange the names.  Matthew's geneaology is taking you from Abraham up to Christ - an ascending geneaology.  Meanwhile Luke takes you from Jesus' birth all the way back to Adam - a descending geneaology.  Both types were valid ways of determining one's identity back in Bible times. 

2. Jesus is the True King and the New Adam.  Also too, Matthew presents Jesus as King, establishing Him as a legitimate heir to David's throne and as the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham.  Therefore there was no need to go back further than Abraham - for it would not had suited Matthew's purpose in what He was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  Luke on the other hand is presenting Jesus as the New Adam, the perfect man.  Thus it makes sense to show how He is related all the way back through Adam - since he is the one who came to represent Adam and his lineage on the cross.

3. Jesus is the literal and legal heir to the throneFinally, Luke is presenting Jesus' bloodline as it pertains to Mary's side, since Luke was demonstrating that Jesus had a physical bloodline connecting back to David, through Abraham, all the way back to Adam.  Though Mary Jesus received the bloodline from her that is directly connected back to David, thus qualifying Him as a physical heir to the trhone of David.  In Matthew's account, the concern was establishing Jesus'  as the legal heir of David's throne.  Thus Joseph was not nor did not have to be Jesus' actual father.  However he was Jesus' legal guardian, therefore Jesus was, touching his humanity, legally qualified to assume David's throne. 

Who is Jesus in the geneaologies?
Therefore we can conclude that Jesus Christ, as seen through the lenses of His genealogies, is the: True King (Matthew); the New Adam (Luke); The Fulfillment of Abraham's promises (Matthew); the Savior of Adam's race (Luke); the Messiah of Israel (Matthew) and the Savior of the World (Luke).