Nativity

By now, at this time in the Christmas season, I suspect that most of us have seen some form of the Nativity pageant in our church, or at a school performance, or on television.

a-wise-man-from-childrens-pagent — A wise man at our children’s Christmas nativity scene.

We have been told about the events that first Christmas Day over 2,000 years ago when the angels announced the birth of Jesus to the lowly shepherds who were tending their sheep in the field. The angels’ announcement is found in Luke 2:13-14 where we read:

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!”

The King James Version of verse 14 says “and on earth peace, goodwill toward men”.

The Jews wanted a prince to restore a peaceful kingdom to Israel, so this angelic hymn was, quite literally, music to their ears! Even today, many people believe that true religion must bring peace. And, this proposition would be true if the message of Jesus Christ was universally received. It cannot be argued that any system of laws could be more suited to living peacefully in human society than the Gospel of Christ.

And he [the man] answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he [Jesus] said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

Luke 10:27-28 [See also Matthew 22:37-41]

But, even a superficial glance at the daily newspaper shows, such love does not reign in our society or our world, and sometimes not even in our churches. Indeed, the fact of the matter is that love is all too often missing from our interactions with others. Road rage, murders, massacres, vehicles plowing down pedestrians, infants being shot while in a car seat in the family vehicle, people shot while praying in their church, wars and conflicts … and the list goes on. Hatred is everywhere and peace is hard to find.

Were the angels wrong when they said that this Babe would bring peace to our world? Absolutely not.

But, Jesus said that He did not come to bring “peace on earth”:

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

Matthew 10:34 and again,

“Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”

Luke 12:51

In these verses, Jesus is saying that He did not bring peace to the earth! This seems to be inconsistent with the angels’ message when He was born! But, the angels were not wrong or misinformed and Jesus was not ignorant of His mission. Quite the contrary. He did bring peace, just not the kind of peace that the people expected. The fact is that civil peace was not the purpose of the Babe’s birth.

In Matthew 10 and Luke 12, Jesus is talking about the dedication that following Him requires. It is not a shallow “liking” nor is it simply a willingness to do good things. He is also forewarning His followers that there would be persecution and that they needed to remain strong in their faith and dedication to Him. Indeed, following Him requires whole-hearted devotion, no matter what the cost, even if it involves persecution, even if it separates us from our family, even if it separates us from this life.

Matthew Poole, in his Commentary on the Bible, says this about Matthew 10:34-37:

Accidentally, through the corruption of men’s hearts, the consequent [result] of Christ’s coming into the world, and of his gospel coming into and prevailing in any part of the world, is (as Luke phrases it) “rather division”, which is here called a sword. Through men’s fondness of their idolatry, superstition, and lusts, and madness on them, their impatience of being outdone in religion and righteousness of conversation, the event [result] of Christ’s coming was division, wars, variances, … men taking up arms to compel all others to their idolatries and superstitions. And that natural antipathy [hatred] which men have to holiness, setting them at variance with [in opposition to] those who, embracing the gospel, live a life as becometh the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ,…

Jesus did bring peace. It was His heavenly peace for those who accept Him as their Savior.

Here are just a few of Jesus words giving His peace to His followers:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

John 14:27

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

What does this have to do with Christmas? A great deal! Civil peace is almost a fiction. Rather, the peace that our Lord brought was His peace, heavenly peace. It is the peace that allowed Jesus to willingly go to the cross, to experience excruciating pain and torture without retaliation, and even to forgive those who were mocking Him while they nailed Him to the cross.

For the believer, His peace is real … it is part of the fabric of our faith and it covers the believer even in times of great distress. It may appear that Satan and his forces are winning the cosmic battle over the earth. But this is only an illusion that Satan wants us to believe. (Remember Job? Satan had to get God’s permission to hurt him, all for God’s purposes of which Job was unaware.)

God, the Creator and Sustainer, the Almighty Immortal Sovereign Ruler is in control. Make no mistake — God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is in control. He was in control when Satan had to get permission to act and He has not changed. He sent Christ into this world to exhibit peace and to bring that peace to His people.

The Christmas carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” expresses the despair that the conflict in our world brings but God is neither dead nor sleeping. He did bring His peace into the world on Christmas Day, and He is still in control even 2,000 years later. Listen to the carol as sung by the group Casting Crowns on their album Peace on Earth.

Christian, take heart. Rely on Jesus Christ and His peace this Christmas and all year long. He will give you grace to endure that which comes your way. His grace was sufficient for the Apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 12:9) and it is sufficient for us today.

Father, I bow at this time of the year and thank You for the Gift brought to us through Your grace and mercy in the birth of Jesus Christ. When the sorrows of the world beset me, grant me the grace to rely on You in the sure confidence that even in times of difficulty, You are in control and I am in Your hand!

On the last day of 2015 we completed reading through the Bible with the concluding passage of Revelation 22, verses 20 and 21:

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

Baby Jesus — The Babe in the manger with Mary and Joseph caring for Him, with the animals looking on. A tree skirt my daughter and I made while she was in middle school.

Reading these words so soon after we celebrated the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day, we were reminded of the words written in Isaiah 9:6-7 where the prophet says:

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.

This passage in Isaiah was read at the Christmas Eve service celebrating the coming of the Child Jesus who was born long after Isaiah made this prophesy. The child born in the manger was the same person the Apostle John wrote about when he penned the words quoted above from Revelation 22:20-21.

John was one of Jesus’ disciples. He knew that Jesus had been crucified and died … he was standing at the cross when Jesus told him to care for Mary, Jesus’ mother. And, even before he wrote the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the last book in our Bible, John also knew that Jesus rose from the dead and had ascended to Heaven, our Savior and King. He also had confidence that Jesus would come again as He had promised. John 14:3.

So, what is Isaiah saying when he said that the government will be upon this Child’s shoulder?

For us, the concept of government does not necessarily carry connotations of security or permanence. Not only do we have elections with the associated change of personnel, there are upheavals in governments all over the world with various groups fighting for control. Indeed, permanence and righteousness in government is hard to find these days. So, what is the Scripture saying here

The Hebrew word translated in Isaiah 9:6 as government is transliterated as misrah which, according to Strong’s Number reference, has a definition in Hebrew of dominion and it comes from a root word which means to rule. Clearly, someone who rules, governs. But when “dominion” is incorporated into the meaning of “rule”, an entirely different picture is created.

The Reformation Study Bible says that these words in Isaiah 9:6-7 mean that “He will carry the burden of rule and authority.”

The Scripture allows for no change … full dominion and authority will be Christ’s. Isaiah does not say that He might rule for some period of time … he says that total dominion will be on His shoulder and his ruling dominion will not end. Whatever needs to be done, will be done. He has absolute supremacy in all things.

What does this mean? Simply put, it means that this ruler can handle whatever is happening in your life, because He is in absolute control.

Who will be doing this ruling? It is the Child for whom sovereignty is just one of His divine attributes. It is the Child who was born to us. It is the Child who has incredibly wonderful, powerful names:

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The Christian knows the Child by the name of Jesus.

The One who heals the sick. The One who takes our sins and burdens. The One who carried a cross and endured its torture and shame on our behalf. If you don’t know this Child, Jesus Christ, please take time at the beginning of this new year to find Him and respond to His call on your heart.

Christmas flower arrangement received from family.

As we look forward to 2016, may we pray along with Henri J. M. Nouwen:

“Lord Jesus, master of both the light and the darkness, send Your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear Your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look forward to Your coming among us. We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of Your kingdom. We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of Your presence. We are Your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To You we say, “Come Lord Jesus!”

Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

Revelation 22:20-21.