From a Manger to the Cross

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the Sunday after Christmas day, the 27th of December, 2020, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

I just love the Christmas story as the Apostle Luke wrote it.  The Jews expected their Messiah to come as a conquering hero, but it didn’t happen that way.  Just the opposite; He came as an innocent, vulnerable baby, attended to by cows and sheep and shepherds.  Mary and Joseph couldn’t even find decent lodgings for her to give birth in, and had to seek shelter in a stable.  And there the little Baby Jesus was born and laid in a manger, a feeding trough, the King of all kings.

Sometime later, we don’t know exactly when, a small group of very learned men, following a heavenly sign, traveled a great distance to see this newborn King.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Matthew recorded for us in the 2nd chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 12, and I’ll be reading this from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

--Matthew 2:1-12 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for giving us the very best Christmas gift ever!  Thank You for giving us Your own Son, who came humbly to live among us and teach us, and who died so that our sins might be washed away.  Thank You, Father, for loving us this much.  Please help us to better understand exactly what the birth and death of Jesus mean to all of mankind, and what His resurrection means for we who believe and follow Him.  And please, Father, protect us from all of the devil’s evil work in this world.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this day.  May we learn from the humble life Jesus lived and model our own lives after His.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

I may have told this before, and if so, please forgive me, but it doesn't hurt to hear it again.  There's a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged.  The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail.  Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper.  The ad read: "Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday.  All is forgiven.  I love you. Your Father."  On Saturday, 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers.

I can’t help but wonder how many people today are looking for forgiveness and love from their Father, their heavenly Father.  We really don’t have to look very far.  We don’t have to go anywhere at any specific time on a given day.  All we have to do is open our hearts to God’s Holy Spirit and say, “Father, forgive me.”

Jesus has already paid the price for our forgiveness, for our eternal life.  We just need to fully accept Him as Lord to accept God’s wonderful gift of forgiveness and love.  What can we do to help people understand that?

It’s hard to imagine any more humble surroundings for the Son of God to be born into this world.  A stable complete with animals and, I’m sure, their smells.  Lowly shepherds, following the directions of an angel, came to visit and see the holy Infant.

And then, according to Matthew, wise men came to see for themselves the King that had been foretold.  They brought expensive gifts, befitting a king.  When they bowed before the Christ child, they did not see the lowliness of it all.  They saw only forgiveness and love.  I believe the Apostle John describes why they could see this in his 1st letter to the early church, in chapter 4 verses 9 and 10…

9 God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. 10 This is real love — not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 

--1 John 4:9-10 (NLT)

Jesus came to us because His Father sent Him, because His Father loves us this much.  He came as one of us so we could relate to Him.  He came humbly, lived humbly, so that we could learn to be humble, too.  And He went to the cross humbly, willingly, to carry out His Father’s plan of salvation for mankind.

A common question is why did Jesus have to suffer so much and die the way He died?  Couldn’t God have accomplished His plan some other less brutal way?  The answer can be found in the words of the author of the letter to the Hebrews, chapter 9 verses 19 through 28…

19 For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool. 20 Then he said, “This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.” 21 And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship. 22 In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

23 That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.

24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. 25 And He did not enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. 26 If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, He has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by His own death as a sacrifice. 

27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, 28 so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for Him.

--Hebrews 9:19-28 (NLT)

God set the rules in place long ago: only the blood of an innocent, spotless lamb can redeem us of our sin.  Jesus remained humble, innocent, spotless, so that His sacrifice upon that cruel cross would cleanse us in the eyes of God.  One perfect sacrifice for all mankind – once, for all.

And all anyone has to do to benefit from God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice is to accept Jesus as their Lord!  Yet so many refuse to do so, even after hearing the Gospel, the Good News.  Why?  Why, oh God, are they so stubborn?  Why can they not see what we see?

A humble manger served our Lord as His crib when He entered our world.  A humble, rugged cross carried His mortal body to death.  But we all know that was not the end of the story.  Our Lord’s journey from a manger to the cross tells of our forgiveness and redemption.  His resurrection tells of our being raised again once this life is finished, so that we will have eternal life in heaven.  But that’s our story for Easter.

For now, let’s remember how the journey began, there in a manger, in a stable.  Let’s join those wise men who held what we might call the very first Christian worship service.  Let’s follow the example Jesus set by living our lives humbly, in service to our Lord.  And let’s try to get others to listen and grasp just what Jesus did for them, and why He did it.

This is the love of God, the love of Jesus.  And this is the perfect time to share that love.  For Jesus went from a humble manger to the cross just for us, for all of us.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, our Savior, the one true Son of God, the world’s only hope.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, it is so hard for us to understand why You love us enough that You would send Your only Son to serve as our blood sacrifice so we can be forgiven of our sin.  Thank You, Father, for loving us this much, for so great a gift!  We know there are many people who just don’t believe themselves to be worthy of that love.  And truly, Father, none of us are worthy, which is why Your love is even more remarkable.  Please, Father, help us reach out to those who do not believe.  Help us show them Your love through our humble service.  May they see You in our hearts.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be better, more faithful servants, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, how wonderful it would have been to sit among the shepherds that night when God’s angel suddenly appeared before them, announcing Your birth!  But in spite of that grand proclamation, Your birthplace was so humble.  Indeed, Your entire life on earth was lived humbly, right up to the cross.  Please, Lord, help us learn from Your life.  Help us to follow Your example.  And help us explain to others why You did all this, and how little is truly required of us to benefit from Your sacrifice.  Forgive us, Jesus, when we are too timid, or shy, or afraid to share the Gospel with this non-believing world.  Help us show them Your love in our love and service.  Give us Your heart for loving them.  Let us be Your hands to reach out and help them.  Strengthen us, Jesus, through these very difficult times.  And Lord, please heal those hurts that separate and divide us, even within Your church family.  Help us remain true and obedient no matter what we go through.  May our focus be more on the needs of others rather than on what this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.