MidTree Church
The sermon audio of MidTree Church in Harris County, Ga. BEHOLD // BELIEVE // BECOME
MidTree Church
The Cradle to the Cross: A Christmas Reflection | Pastor Will Hawk | December 1st, 2024
What if your nativity scene isn't telling the real story of Christmas? Join us on a journey to "Fix Your Nativity," where we challenge traditional depictions and explore the profound truths behind the birth of Jesus. Through a fresh lens, we reevaluate common misconceptions and dive into the authentic narratives found in Matthew and Luke. This transformative series invites you to reconsider each piece of your nativity setup, transforming them into powerful reminders of God's abundant grace. With resources like Bible Gateway's Christmas story timeline, you'll gain a richer understanding of how these biblical accounts intricately connect.
Journey through the loneliness and fear that marked the first Christmas, and discover how pivotal figures like Mary, Joseph, and Elizabeth navigated God's plans in solitude. As the holiday season becomes a whirlwind of activity, we reflect on the quiet moments that began it all, where God spoke individually to Mary and Joseph. By embracing these stories, we offer solace to those who feel alone during the festive season and open up a new perspective on spiritual connection and the formation of a larger Family in faith.
We also reimagine the birthplace of Jesus, examining cultural and biblical interpretations that challenge the idea of an innkeeper turning away Mary and Joseph. Delving into original Greek translations, we uncover a more nuanced setting, while exploring the roles of shepherds and Magi as they deepen the nativity story's faith-building moments. Finally, we contemplate the journey from sin to redemption, from the cradle to the cross, highlighting the profound theological concepts of adoption into God's family. Join us as we reflect on the true meaning of Christmas and the transformative journey of faith it represents.
If you want to learn more about the MidTree story or connect with us, go to our website HERE or text us at 812-MID-TREE.
Let me tell you what we're going to be doing this Advent. We're going to be, in a sense, moving away from Luke. In some senses we're not moving away at all, because the account of the Advent happens in two books of the Bible primarily, that is, matthew and Luke. And so we're going to be looking in Luke, we're going to be looking in Matthew, but I wanted to come up with a creative way for us to enjoy Advent this season. And I say that my wife has been saying for like three years Will will you please just do this? And after four years I succumbed and I was like, yes, I absolutely will. And so what we're going to be doing is a small series called Fixing your Nativity, to fix your heart on the true and better story. Out of curiosity, who has a nativity in their yard, in their house? Somewhere it's floating around? Okay, the vast majority of you guys. Okay, cool, cool. I'm not telling you you must have one to be a Christian. I'm just saying lots of Christians do.
Speaker 1:When I was a kid, every Christmas one of the gifts that I would open was I don't know how to pronounce it Fontini. One of the gifts that I would open was I don't know how to pronounce it Fontini, fontanini. Thank you, mom, who bought it for me. I would get one of these little like characters for my nativity right and now it's like our family nativity, which is really cool. I will say, mom, I didn't know you were gonna be here at service one, hi. I just want you to know I really appreciate those gifts, as I undo a lot of the work of what Fontanita has put in to the major. I just want you to know like I still very much appreciate it as I now go and say that's probably not the most accurate thing. So we're going to be working through that text in scripture and I just want to show you this is how many nativities we have in the hawk house. Every shelf has one, by the way, it is important that you know this. This is not because we knew this is what I was going to be preaching on. My wife has collected nativities like they're going to go out of style or as though they're going to be valued at bitcoin rates in the coming years. So if they ever become a currency, we are well set. And in those, let me say, can? I can say okay, some of them are like little kiddie ones, and then I I don't know where the one is. There it is. There's the one that my mom got me, the Fontanine. That's like the classic one, but I just want you to know that I am coming to you as someone who sees this a lot.
Speaker 1:Now let me tell you why I think this is a good thing for us to do. Number one, and I think very importantly, I want you to know the true biblical account. I want you to know what scripture actually says, because we have so many cultural myths. I want you to know what the Bible says. But the reason that I want you to know what the Bible says is I think the story is better. I think the true story has deep meanings that sometimes we can miss out on just because the little sheep is so cute and we just want to tuck it in real close to Jesus, who is the lamb of God, and we have these little moments as we are setting things up.
Speaker 1:Second thing is this I want you Christians in the room not assuming here Christians in the room. I want every Christmas this one and however many God graciously gives you, gives your family, gives your children, gives your grandmother, every one of them. I want the nativity to be something that captures not just your eyes but captures your heart for a theology of a story of a God who came humbly because he cares for you. I want us to tether this deep gospel truth to your nativity so that each year you're reminded about God's generous grace. And I think this is a very good conversation tool. I think one it's good for your own self-conversation as you look at it and you wrestle with your own sort of thoughts on Advent and Christmas.
Speaker 1:If you have children. I can think of no better way to lean into some really good conversations than for your kids all of a sudden, maybe after this Sunday, to say why isn't there anybody in the Advent? And what is Joseph doing on the kitchen counter? And you say, well, let me tell you. Or your guests come and they wonder why is it that the angel is there and it's not here? And the star is there and it's not here? Why does your nativity look so broken? Didn't you know we were coming over? Couldn't you have cleaned up a little bit? No, that's where I wanted the wise men at the top of the stairs. That's where I wanted them. Let me tell you why.
Speaker 1:Now the other thing is, I don't just want to skim. If there's something that I know about you as a people, you really love the Bible and you love the depth of the Bible, and so over the next few weeks, we are going to dig deep and I believe you're going to find some things that cause your heart to warm in all the right ways as we get ready for Christmas. So with that, let's go ahead and take a look. Let me just show you the Christmas story timeline. If you want to see this, I don't mind if you get on your phones, bible Gateway has this little timeline. If you want to know how all of the stories intersect from prophecy and New Testament, you can just get out and Google this and you'll be able to find the Christmas story timeline.
Speaker 1:But I just want you to see how it begins. We've got Joseph, we've got Mary, we have Elizabeth. Zachariah will come on to the same stage a few moments later with John the Baptist and we have the angel Gabriel. The story progresses this way Mary visits Elizabeth, an angel, where it will appear to Joseph. They'll travel to Bethlehem. Jesus will be born, presented at the temple. The Magi will visit Jerusalem and Jesus. They will leave to go to Egypt, to return to Israel and then eventually back to Nazareth.
Speaker 1:But the reason that I want to show you this timeline one, I think it's really, really cool. But two, I want you to notice this Christmas begins with people being very much alone. I just want you to notice that we slide from Thanksgiving so quickly into Christmas that we lump all four or five weeks together as family or relatives or time together, hustle and bustle, full tables, detailed meal lists and thoughts, travel plans. And I just want to steady your heart to begin like this Christmas. The very first one started with a man who felt very alone and confused, with a young lady who felt very alone and confused, with an old lady who was excited but also fairly confused, with her husband who was confused, and all of them trying to navigate.
Speaker 1:What is God doing? Let me pray for us, father, as we dive into this text. My greatest desire is that your spirit would dive in and among us, for the Christians in this room, looking at a text that many of us could quote, or at least quote pretty, pretty well, because we've heard it so many times. Would you, through your spirit, give us fresh eyes, fresh heart, give us this sort of spiritual posture, of leaning forward, because we are reading the infallible, powerful word of God, and not one piece of it, not one letter, not one syllable is wasted by you, and so I pray that it wouldn't be wasted by me and I pray that it wouldn't be wasted by us. Father, for those in this room who feel alone, for those who look at Christmas season with a bit of dread, I pray that, in the short time that we are going to spend together this morning, that you would begin to open their eyes, open their minds and open their hearts to see the way that you build family, family with a capital F, family not made by blood but made by a spirit. And just in this time, together, that loneliness would be used by you to drive us nearer to you, that we would have a greater love for you, that we would have a greater love for people who may be struggling with it as well. But, father, would you also show us how you have invited us guests to the table of a king, guests who did not deserve to be there. And I pray all of these things in Jesus' name, amen. All right, let's take a look, beginning in Luke, chapter 1, verse 26. I'm going to compare Luke 1 26 and Matthew 1 18, but let's just take a look here.
Speaker 1:In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed, to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said greetings, o favored one. The Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her do not be afraid, mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the most high and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father, david, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end.
Speaker 1:I'm just going to hit pause there for a minute. That's a mouthful for an angel to say when you're about a 14, 15-year-old little girl, trying to figure out what life is going to look like when you're betrothed, is not near you and all of a sudden this angelic presence shows up. And yet here is how Mary responds. And Mary said to the angel how will this be, since I am a virgin? And the angel answered her the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the most high will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. God sends this message to Mary when she is all alone, and the Bible tells us that she was fearful In some capacity. She is greatly troubled at this, but I want you to notice something else as well. Here is a story of Joseph, matthew 1.
Speaker 1:Now, the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way when his mother, mary, had been betrothed to Joseph. Before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit and her husband Joseph please don't miss this being a just man, unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. There are not many good men like Joseph on the planet now and, I think, probably much similar in this day and age. Joseph is raising his hand for a more difficult task. He is showing preference to someone that he thinks has absolutely wrecked his trust, someone who he loved, someone who must have deceived him. But as he considered these things. As he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.
Speaker 1:I just want you to notice this God could have sent this angel when the two of them were together. Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever thought about how much different Joseph's story would have been if he and Mary were going to Carabas just on a date, trying to do life together? Hey, looking forward to the season? How about you? Yeah, me too. You wanna go out? We'll get some noodles, it'll be great, yeah. And then, on the way they hop off their donkey and an angel shows up and he says hey, guys, just wanted to let you know. Here's the story. Have you ever wondered why God didn't do it that way? Why does he go to them when they are separate and when they are alone? Why is it that the thing that Mary and Joseph most have in common is that both of them, in some capacity, are troubled or fearful. Why, by the way? I'm realizing in this moment, with a new background, my pen is not nearly as effective as it used to be and half of you guys can't even see what I'm doing. So I'm going to try to figure this out on the fly, because we have a new background slide, since it's Advent. Let's see, that's thicker, that'll work. Trust me on this. She was greatly troubled, and Joseph is too. Why does Christmas start with people alone and why does Christmas start with people who are fearful?
Speaker 1:If you were to, if you were to describe Mary to someone and you had to come up with one or two words, you don't have to answer out loud. The last thing I want is people just yelling the word virginity at me while I'm up here. Okay, but if you were to try to describe Mary to someone using one or two words, I wonder what words you would use. I'll tell you. I don't want you to pick one or two. You see, when I read this story, I read so quickly through this that I get to Mary much faster than our text does.
Speaker 1:Here is how Gabriel presents this message. This is how God's word wants you to see Mary, and let me just give you a hint Her name is the last thing that comes up. Here's what the Bible actually wants you to see. The Bible wants you to see a virgin, and the reason that it wants you to see that is because you are going to watch in the days that, in the next three to six months forward slash 33 years. This one word is going to change the course of human history. It's not just a note. This is of cosmological, theological importance. Mary had to be a virgin for Jesus to be able to be both fully God and fully man, fully absorb the wrath of God and fully represent us as well. Before the Bible ever says anything about Mary, it says hey, I want you to notice this theological reality that God is stepping in, but he doesn't just step in there betrothed to a man the other thing is the timing of it all Betrothed to a man whose name is Joseph. Next week, we're going to be doing. A lot of this is going to be cleared and we're going to be doing the kids' telling of the Christmas story.
Speaker 1:It's probably my favorite Sunday of the year, whenever you give kids an opportunity to get on stage, one of two things happens. I think God is always glorified, I think it makes God smile, but you're raising your hand to sort of say let's see how this train wreck plays out. And look, I know half of you show up just to see it. Half of you guys go to those things to see if when the donkey walks across, it's going to make a mess on the floor and people are going to talk about it for two months. No, live donkeys. Forewarning.
Speaker 1:Okay, when we go and look at this, I'm willing to bet, although is there anybody in the room who's helping with the kids telling the story right now? Is there any? Or are they serving in men? Okay, amy, does Joseph have a line? I bet he doesn't. I bet he doesn't.
Speaker 1:In almost every Christmas play I have ever seen, a nameless innkeeper has more to say than the guy God picked to raise his son, and I just have a little bit of an issue with this. But we haven't even gotten to Mary yet. Joseph comes up before Mary does, betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph. As far as you know, if you're reading this for the first time, you don't even know Mary yet Joseph is the first one onto the scene. He's not a prop. We don't even know who's playing Joseph. We probably give that to the kid who's gonna wander off halfway through because it's not a speaking role.
Speaker 1:I could be wrong. I hope I'm wrong. I hope Joseph breaks into monologue next week and he's like oh Lord that you have given me such a burden and yet such a gift that I would. I hope it happens. I don't think it will, but here's what we have. Do you know that in scripture Joseph is called the father of Jesus? You know that Mary's not just called his mother, joseph is called his father because God didn't just choose Mary, he chose Joseph and his timing was perfect.
Speaker 1:Why? Why doesn't God send the angel to Mary before she's betrothed? Doesn't that make more sense? Why wait until the ring's on to say, hey, you're about to get pregnant and you're going to have to explain this. Why wait, or why not wait, until at least they're married? Then they don't have to worry about explaining it to family and to friends and to onlookers and to naysayers. Why bring it at the most difficult time? Because God is doing something that he doesn't want anyone to miss, and it's not just a virgin bearing a child. It's two people who are very much alone. It's two people who are very much alone, two people who are very much afraid. And can I tell you, lonely, fearful people make the best faithful people when we are most alone, when we are most fearful. And when you were a kid it was physical fear. When you get older it's social fear or future fear, but it's all the same thing. And God steps into that loneliness and he steps into that fearfulness and he says these are the people who will follow me best. So be careful that you not try to always get yourself out of fearful, lonely, faith-requiring situations.
Speaker 1:Jesus would have called Joseph Abba Before, probably before. He would have referred to his heavenly father as Abba in the text that we will see. He would have picked up a family vocation. He didn't just pick carpentry because it was the new cool thing on the block. It wasn't the computer science of their age, it's what his father did. He inherited the profession of his father who, by the way, was poor. He inherited the profession of his father who, by the way, was poor. God picked lonely, fearful, poor people to be the parents of the most important child that was ever born. We know they were poor, because it tells us in Luke 2 that all they could offer at the temple was a couple of turtle, doves or a couple of pigeons. According to Leviticus 12, that's what poor people gave. What's really brilliant, if you want to think about it, is they didn't realize that golden, frankincense and myrrh were on the way. It just hadn't arrived yet that God was going to send provision.
Speaker 1:Who might have taught scripture to young Jesus across a wood-shaving laden workbench? Joseph In Matthew 13,. This is how Jesus is known, is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary, and are not his brothers? James and Joseph, and Simon and Judas? And Mark will tell you that he has sisters as well. Russell Moore puts it this way Joseph's adoption and protection of Jesus is simply the outworking of belief. It may have never gotten easy for Joseph to explain Jesus to people, and yet he was his son. The text also tells us that he came from the house of David. This is Luke lining up the dominoes so that you can watch Isaiah, chapter 9, come to fruition. And then we read her name was Mary. This is how the Bible describes her.
Speaker 1:I'll go into that cosmological, theological, incredible thing, but what I want you to realize is that here are two people, and when you think of your nativity, christmas is not a scene, it's a story. And if here's what I'm about to ask you to do, I'm about to ask you to change your nativities up this Christmas, and I hope it yields you changing your nativities every single Christmas. And if there's a piece of tradition in you that is just going to die at that, it's not law. Okay, but if tradition is a bigger deal to you than scripture, we should have another conversation as well. Okay, christmas isn't a scene, it's a story. And the first Christmas begins with people who are all alone and likely struggling amidst severe loneliness. And I would argue this that if you can have a calendar where a little Santa head hops, if an elf can mischievously move through your house from shelf to shelf, I bet you could spend a little bit more than the five minutes it takes to set this up the way that you have set it up every year, except this year, the cow will be on the right and the sheep will be on the left.
Speaker 1:Fixing your nativity. Here's the first thing that I would do. I'm only going to give you two steps today. By the way, you'll get to six or seven by the end of the month. Step number one empty your nativity. And when I say empty it, I don't just mean the little drummer boy or the kid who has an accordion for whatever reason, who invites them to the birth of a child, right, like who wants them there in the first place, like can we just have a moment quiet? Nope, the accordion boy is here, mary, and here comes the little drummer boy. Aren't we all excited?
Speaker 1:The first thing that I would do is I would empty your nativity, I would put probably most of the pieces in a box for another week or so and I would put Mary on one side and I would put Joseph on the other. And when your children look and they say hey, mom, what's wrong? You finished dusting, but you didn't put things back together. Hey, dad, I think mom's having one of those Christmas-like things where she's losing it, for a moment you can say no, there's a reason that Mary's alone, there's a reason that Joseph is on the other side, because Christmas began with people who were very much alone. And if you ever feel alone and, by the way, let's be honest, we're not just coming in to the most wonderful time of the year. We're coming into the loneliest time of the year. I tell you this because about 45 minutes ago, an hour ago, I was on the other side. What time is it? Hour and a half ago, I was on the other side of that wall praying through prayer requests, and the first three I prayed through were praying for family members who had been lost in the past two or three weeks, which means some of you just had a first Thanksgiving without grandma. Some of you will be having a first Christmas without somebody that you love, and I just want you to know the Bible can handle your loneliness. God can handle your loneliness and if you will be mature about it, he'll not only handle it, he'll use it, he will grow you, he'll strengthen you. You will find new reservoirs of faith if you will lean into and not out of this loneliness. Let me prove this to you.
Speaker 1:Not only are Mary and Joseph alone. Elizabeth is alone. The Bible tells us that she's pregnant and she decides to hide herself. Anybody want to know how long she hides herself. Something like five or six months. While she's hiding herself and the Bible doesn't even explain fully why she's doing this she's 88 years old, with a baby bump. So you can speculate as you wish, but somewhere along the line she decided to recluse and to hide herself away. Well, maybe her husband will be a great comfort. He'll come and read scripture over her, speak warm words into her ears. Nope, he didn't trust God's word, so now he has become mute. He is alone, unable to speak to his wife.
Speaker 1:By the way, while this is happening, there's a guy named Simeon in Luke 2 who's hanging out I'm not joking waiting to die. That's basically what the text says. He has lived a full life, he's done everything that he desired to do, but God told him a promise that he would see the Son of God, the Messiah, who was coming before he died. So in his old age he's just hanging out at church all the time watching all the pregnant people, just being like maybe and I don't know about you, but I have had relatives in my life who knew the Lord, loved the Lord, got up in age and started saying I'm kind of just waiting to go home, I'm sort of tired of this place. And I'm not saying that Simeon, I'm just saying I've met people in a similar stage of life. Next to Simeon is probably Anna, who is very much alone because she's a widow, and she's been a widow for the vast majority of her life, had a meaningful marriage that was cut short. Why, you'll have to ask the Lord. But she ends up there waiting as well, and all the Bible tells us is that she is worshiping and fasting and praying. This single woman who hangs out at church, all of these people, probably mostly alone, but the Bible can handle that.
Speaker 1:Lonely moments around Christmas are not a mistake. They are not just the result of a broken world. They are a part of the story of a new family being created where loneliness won't and cannot exist. Psalm 68 tells us that God provides homes for those who are deserted. Some of you have done this. You've opened your home, you've invited, you've fostered, you've adopted or you've just let your children live with you out of your sheer grace for a long period of time. Right, can I tell you that Jesus had a father who was an adoptive father. Joseph would have seen Jesus as an adopted son. Psalm 34, 18,. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted. He saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, not the unrighteous. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, not the unrighteous. Yeah, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. Why does the story begin so lonely? Because that is where God moves most. Loneliness is one of the best places to be found by God. Notice how this played out for Joseph. We already talked about God's perfect timing here.
Speaker 1:Her husband, joseph, being a just man unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. I love this. But, as he considered these things, this is not a man who is moved by his emotion. He doesn't make rash decisions. He looks, he thinks, he reads, he prays. And in a situation where his family and the culture would have said, joseph, you just dodged a bullet, honestly, like I'm glad it happened before and not after you got married, it would have been a way bigger mess. He would have had so many voices saying, hey, pull the ripcord, eject, get out of the plane. He stopped to consider, by the way, that happened before the angel showed up. This is not an angel shows up and then he's like well, am I going to do what God just sent this miracle to tell me to do? I'm just stumped here. No, this is him, like you, with a situation that he cannot make sense of, saying God, what on earth am I going to do. And in that fear and in that loneliness, god shows up. He doesn't even visit Joseph first. He could have visited them together.
Speaker 1:Third thing that I will say lonely moments around Christmas are not a mistake. They're tucked in. Secondly, loneliness is one of the best places to be found by God. The third thing that I will tell you is this If you're not practicing solitude, I can't pick a better four or five weeks for you to do it. Solitude is a spiritual discipline.
Speaker 1:If you were to look at how Christians live their lives in years past, solitude was a regular thing like scripture reading, prayer and fasting. Time alone, just quiet, no phone, no notifications, no screens in front of you, just being alone with God and with your thoughts. Some of you in this room are forced into that more than you want to be You're like. Well, solitude is something that comes very easy for me. If that's you, I would tell you don't run from that. Lean into that. This is where we find God or, more aptly put, where God often finds us. But if you are in a season of life where being alone is a difficult thing, choose in these next weeks to fight for it. Put it on your calendar, schedule it. If you must Wake up a bit earlier, go to bed a bit later. This is not family worship time. This is not you reading the Bible with your roommate or with your wife. This is just you alone in a place where you can feel most alone.
Speaker 1:Step one empty out your nativity. Step two and this one's fun you need to put some walls on the stable. Now, I don't know how many of you guys had one. This is very similar to mine. Mine has a two-tier roof. Okay, so I've got that roof and then I got a little extra room for the animals off to the side. I know it must be nice, but in every nativity I've ever seen they have a wall in the back, no walls on the side and no wall in the front.
Speaker 1:Now, let's be honest, it would not be a very good nativity if it was a completely walled in box and you're like opening the door to see baby Jesus. I get, it Doesn't make for a good like peace, and we don't want to put walls on the side, because how are the little sheep going to see Jesus? How will he hear the music from the harpist or from the trumpet player, and why is there an entire band here for the entire season. I don't know, I would put walls on your stable Now. Why would I do that on your stable Now? Why would I do that? Here's why this, by the way, is one of my favorite things for you to change about your nativity, because I think it is one of the most deeply like, meaningful, draws me into the goodness of God Luke 2, 3 through 8.
Speaker 1:So Joseph considers these things, he remains with Mary and now all of these threads that started so very alone are going to begin, by the very hand and providence of God which was always his plan, by the way to be brought together and all went to be registered, each to his own town, and Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David. It's a big deal, by the way To be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth and she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. By the way, I'm not going to hit the shepherds this week, just know they're coming in a couple of weeks and in the same region there were shepherds out in the field. What I want you to notice are these two words of manger and inn when I tell you I want you to put walls on your and look, I know very few of you are going to go. Dwight would go down to the workshop. I would go down to the workshop. I understand that's probably not going to happen for many of you.
Speaker 1:Let me tell you why I think this matters. Number one like this doesn't even make sense. If you're a mom with a kid and you're married to Joseph, who the Bible has said is this exceptional man, you're gonna look at him like he has lost his mind. If you have a child and he says sweetie, here's what I'm thinking One wall and a roof, what do you say? What do you say? We're gonna sleep really well, it's gonna be quiet, wind is never going to. No, Like my kids go into the fort and build a better lean-to than we put Jesus in.
Speaker 1:Okay. Why does it matter? Well, I think it matters primarily because it's just not biblically accurate. See, what we have done culturally is. We look at the word manger and we look at the word inn and we look at Christmas stories and things that we've seen in the past and here's what we think. There's an innkeeper who, by the way, is my favorite and my favorite year was when Caden Crumpacker I think it was Caden, some of you remember this was the innkeeper and like Mary and Joseph are bringing baby Jesus and Caden goes there's no room off. You go and you're just like, does he have to be mean all the time? Like he's killing it. Right now Every room is full, right Like premium pricing in the Bethlehem Inn. I don't think he's that upset. What we do is we take these two concepts and we slam them together and it gives us a picture that the Bible actually does not. And here's what's great about this that loneliness is likely to end or at least change a lot right here.
Speaker 1:When Joseph, who is of the house and lineage of David, slides into Bethlehem, he would have been honor bound in that culture to find a family member. So if he's just going to the Bethlehem Inn, he is either being a sort of like a bad relative by sliding into town and then sliding out without telling family that you're there and we don't see that. In Joseph we see an honorable man. He would have been honor bound to go and find family and, with that family, to be welcome to them. They may not have known who he was, but all he would have to have done was say, hey, I'm Joseph, son of Jacob, son of Nathan, son of Eleazar, son of Elliot. And they would have said, joseph, welcome back to Bethlehem. I see that your wife is showing. Can we get you a place to stay outside, with animals and no walls? Welcome home.
Speaker 1:No, that's probably not what happened, although the first Christmas probably did include both joy at seeing family and difficulty in that same family. They might have had some questions. Joseph, I noticed there's not a ring on your finger and I notice that Mary has put on weight in a very odd place. If you're not married, how much of their family would have believed the story? The shepherds haven't made it yet, which means, once again, god could have made this easier, but he doesn't, because his greatest desire is to build faith in you, not create ease for you. Did the family buy their story Once the shepherds showed up? Did they then that these blue collar men all of a sudden began worshiping. Let's go and see what God has done Luke 2.15. They return glorifying God for what they had seen and heard when they walk into this place Luke 2.20. The reason I would tell you to put walls on your stable is because it probably isn't a stable. It also probably isn't an inn.
Speaker 1:I've pointed this out to you guys so many times. This is my favorite Bible reading plan. It's by a woman named Tara Lee Cobble. If you aren't checking it out, january tends to be a great time to start. I'm just throwing this up for you because this has been such a gift to me and I wanna point out to you something that she has pointed out. Now, if you didn't notice it in your Bible reading plan, you may have noticed it if you were to dig more deeply.
Speaker 1:If you have a study Bible, this is the study Bible I use. It's the ESV. Study Bible just means you paid an extra $20 to somebody at the bottom is explaining to you the stuff that is above. I highly recommend it. My two favorite are the ESV and the CSB study Bibles. This is the ESV.
Speaker 1:If you're reading it and I know y'all can't read all of this and you get all the way down to verse three, you'll see this little number three and the word in there. In italics it says or guest room. Let me tell you why I think this matters and why I think you should begin repicturing this in your mind. The in in Luke comes from. I'm going to give you a little bit of Greek. Okay, it's going to take all of two minutes. So if you're going to zone out, I'm just telling you I need 120 seconds of you hitting the swig of coffee and I promise you it is worth it.
Speaker 1:There are two times here that you're going to see the word in in the gospel of Luke. One in two seven, which I have just read to you. There was no place for them in the inn Pronounced here. I wrote it down katalima. Okay. I'm always upset when people come and tell me I say Greek words wrong. Okay, so I'm doing my best here. I could say Catalina dressing and 99% of you wouldn't even care. But for the 1% who does katalima, that means in our rendering in the other place that we see it the word in right here pendoheion.
Speaker 1:He went to him, bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn and took care of him. What is this? A story of the Good Samaritan? All right.
Speaker 1:What I want you to understand is Luke, who is a doctor, who is very good with terminology and is very educated, uses two different words here for the term in. There's one other time that he does this, and he does it in Luke 22, 11. Tell the master of the house. The teacher says to you where is the catalema, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples? Here is what I want you to realize this is the last supper Passover. This is Jesus being born in a manger.
Speaker 1:If Luke had wanted you to picture an inn, it makes more sense for him to use this word, but he doesn't. So it seems like what Luke, and therefore what God, wants you to picture instead is a room very similar to where Jesus had his last meal, an upper room, which means it was of a fairly wealthy person, which actually makes sense, because if I'm Joseph traveling to Bethlehem and I have a number of relatives and my wife is pregnant, do you know whose house I'm picking? The rich relative. That's where I'm going, because I don't want my wife sleeping in a lean-to next to a donkey, that's why. So I'm going to the richest uncle I've got, I'm going to the one who always gave me the best Christmas gift, and I'm showing up. Hey, it's Joseph. If you don't remember me, here's the lineage. Hey, I've got my wife. She's pregnant.
Speaker 1:Is there any place that we can stay? And he says, oh my gosh, I don't have any room in the guest room right now. This is how he arrives, coming into this place, looking for a place in the family home, and what probably happened was this the guest room was full. Why wouldn't it be? There was a census taken? Bethlehem is busting at the gills.
Speaker 1:Joseph shows up and knocks on the door and that relative, who probably didn't send them away, said ah, the best room for you is already taken for now. Can you just stay here when? Well, in the lowest floor of the house, most of which would have had a manger built into it because in cold winter nights the animals would have been brought in we probably don't have Joseph showing up and being shooed away from the Bethlehem Inn. We have him going to one of the wealthiest members of his family who is saying oh, we've already got Nana sleeping in the guest room. Can you just stay in the den tonight and, by the way, that's pretty convenient because that's where the manger is anyway, which would make for a really good makeshift cradle and they stay most likely with family, not outside. By the way, this also means you need to get rid of the idea of an angry innkeeper, and that's going to create problems for next week, and I realize that. Tell the master of the house. The teacher says to you where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples? Here is what we see.
Speaker 1:Jesus was the Lord of creation. Jesus was the Lord of creation. He was the King of kings. Yet in his first home and at his last meal he resided as a guest, because this never was his home, but from this place he would build a family and he would call them home. This is why Christmas starts with people very alone and lonely. This is why Christmas starts with so much fear and so much doubt, because the goal was never for God to get Jesus to sleep next to a donkey. The goal was for him to get them home, but not fully home, as a guest in a home, and then to look at you and I and say, if you can't see it. Yet you will Give it a few decades and you're going to see that the one who came and should have been on a throne of gold but is not. Instead, he has come as a guest, now looks at you and says you do not deserve to be brought into my home, but I will go and prepare a room for you. This is not what Jesus said to his disciples for you. This is not what Jesus said to his disciples. I will go and, through my own body and through my own blood, I will make you a guest into a home where loneliness goes to die, where a family is created that will never branch out or break.
Speaker 1:Nativity isn't just where we go to prepare hymn room. The nativity is where God went to prepare yours. Now, I told you I would close by explaining to you why the virgin mattered so much, this cosmological thing, and so I want to end with this as we get ready to come to the table. For those of you who are believers, this passage in Romans is explaining to you why, before we knew her as Mary, we knew her as virgin. Why is that the first tag that scripture gives her?
Speaker 1:Because, just as sin came into the world through one man, adam. Man, adam, and death came through sin. So death spread to all men, all mankind, because all sinned. This is your birthright, and it doesn't matter if you're a Christian, doesn't matter if you're a non-Christian, doesn't matter if you've been going to church your whole life or if you haven't walked into a church in 20, 30 years or ever. This is your heritage. One man, adam, who messed it up pretty bad and tucked into him and his DNA is this desire to grasp for things that are not his, not to come as a guest into a world that he didn't create, but to come as though he owned the whole place which, by the way, is the very nature of your own selfishness that you own the things around you, your own time, the people, the decisions that you make. And because of that, death spread to all men, because all sinned.
Speaker 1:But that isn't the whole story. It isn't a whole story because there was a cradle and because there was a cross. So, therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification for all men. This is the cradle and the cross. Jesus came for this one act of righteousness so that every one of your acts of unrighteousness could be paid for, and he painstakingly came, separate from his father, on a cross, all alone. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Speaker 1:Because the Christmas story starts with people who are alone and have every reason to fear, and the story of Christianity ends with somebody who is all alone and would have had every reason to fear, except he was righteous. So he died, and three days later God looked at that sacrifice and he said enough. And Christ rose from the dead and a family was born. A family was born not by blood but by faith. But to all who do receive him, who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
Speaker 1:Jesus knew what it was to be adopted, and if you know Jesus, you too will know what it's like to be adopted, because we are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And this is what we celebrate today that in all of the loneliness and all of the brokenness there's hope. That in all of the separation, god draws people near, in all of our desire to own our world. God says I've come as a guest and I invite you to come as one as well. But if you will come to my home, you will come to a family that never ends. Isn't this the greatest offer that we could be given? And it began many years ago, not in a golden cradle, but in a straw-filled manger, where God placed his son and invites you to become his son as well.