Christmas Brought Hope – Christmas
Brings Hope!
I Corinthians
5:7b; Luke 2:8-11
Introduction: Advent
is a time of looking back at hope fulfilled, Waiting, hoping, watching… For
four-hundred years the people clung to the words of the prophets, promising
that God would send a Rescuer, a Deliverer, a Savior. Then, in the events that
led to the birth of Jesus, the silence was broken and hope was realized. Christmas
brought Hope! The Word was made
flesh! It also brings hope, stirring in us the blessed hope of His
return. A familiar scene in the Christmas story is the announce-ment to the
shepherds in the Gospel of Luke. We read the story in Luke 2:8-11…
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night. 9
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone
around them, and they were filled with fear.
10 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I
bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Why did God send angels to a group of
shepherds to announce the birth of the promised Messiah? The answer to that
question is tied to the answer to a question we’ve been looking at all year in
the Gospel of Mark: Why did Jesus come?
The BIG Idea: Christmas means hope for those who
believe that Jesus came as their Savior, Sacrifice, and Substitute.
I. The Hope of Rescuer: God promised faithful humans, those who trust Him and take
Him at His word, that one day a Rescuer would come, Messiah, our Savior!
As our starting point, I’d like to look at I Corinthians 5:7b…
“…for indeed Christ, our Passover Lamb,
has been sacrificed for us…”
The context in I Corinthians 5, Paul is rebuking the church for their
tolerance of sin in their midst. He uses the analogy of Passover and unleavened
bread: As the leaven must be removed from their homes for the feast, so sin
must be removed from our lives and from the church. It is essentially a call to
holiness: Live in the light of your new
life in Christ! The first part of I Corinthians 5:7 says, “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a
new lump, as you really are unleavened…” Cleanse out the old that
you may be new, because that is what you really are! In other words, live
in the light of your position in Christ. This is the indicative and the
imperative of the Christian life that we have seen before. This is who you are,
this is what you have in Christ, now live in the light of that truth! It is our
response to what God has done for us in Christ. That title itself points
to our hope. God offered humanity hope from the time of the Fall.
In the context of the Fall, and God
pronouncing judgment, we also see, amazingly, grace, promise, hope. We read in Genesis 3:15,
“I will put enmity between you and
the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your
head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
That
reference to a promised “Seed” who would crush the serpent’s head and rescue
humans is carried through the Scriptures, like a “Scarlet Thread of
Redemption.” God’s promise to Abraham included reference to a multitude of
descendants, but as it was read by the NT writers, Genesis 22:17-18 also looked ahead to a specific One, to
a promised “Seed” (singular)…
17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring [seed] as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And
your offspring [seed] shall possess
the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring [seed] shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed, because you have obeyed my voice."
The Seed of Abraham! That
promise of a “seed” is reiterated to Isaac and to Jacob, and then we read in Genesis
49:10,
"The scepter shall not depart
from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes,
And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
Later David is told that He would have a
son, a descendant who would be the Son of God, and who would have an eternal
kingdom (2 Samuel 7:12-16 ). Aspects of that promise were never realized by the merely human
descendants of David. In fact, the story of the kings of Israel and Judah highlights
the failure of the kings – even the best of them fell short in some way. But
in the fulness of time God would send His own Son, born in the line of
David, who would be an ideal Son, the promised Son toward which all those
before alluded.
The promise of a Rescuer carried through the Scriptures and offered hope
to those who trusted in God through the ages. Though that hope got skewed for
many, focusing almost exclusively on military or political deliverance from
would-be oppressors, other images in the Scriptures could always point
thoughtful seekers back to our greatest need, that is, deliverance from sin and
the penalty of sin. The Kingship of Israel was always to represent and point to
the Kingdom of God. But the Scriptures also used other images to show that
God’s kingdom was not like that of the nations around them.
The Suffering Servant of Isaiah, the rejected and suffering
King of the Lament Psalms, and, as we’ll see, the sacrificial system
itself, pointed back to the first promise of a deliverer, the Seed of the
Woman promised in the context of the Fall, highlighting the problem of sin and
the need for someone to rescue us from the righteous wrath of God. And so, in
the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the
Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption
as sons! Christmas means hope for those
who believe that Jesus came as their Savior, Sacrifice, and Substitute. And so,
Hope was realized and the Savior came, bringing…
II. The Hope of Redemption: Christ came as Savior, and as Sacrifice, the Lamb of
God who would shed His blood to take away the sins of the world.
“…our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed…”
The text literally says, “…our
Passover…” but the ESV rightly makes it clear that is referring to the Passover
Lamb which is sacrificed for us. The necessity of blood being shed to
redeem sinners carries through the Bible. Sometime after the first Passover,
the principle would be stated in Leviticus
17:11,
“For the life of the flesh is in the
blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your
souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”
The
requirement of blood is well established in Scripture, and, as in the first
Passover, the principle predated the giving of the Law. Remember that first
Passover the Jews were still in Egypt, and the Law had not yet been given on
Mount Sinai! Even earlier we see the Patriarchs offering sacrifices to God,
as did Noah after the flood. In fact, Abel offered God “…the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had
regard for Abel and his offering…” (Gen 4:4). It may be that God had already taught Adam
and Eve, immediately after the Fall, that their sin required blood, a
sacrifice, when, as we read in Genesis 3:21, that
“…the
LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.”
Where did
those “skins” come from? The implication seems to be that God him-self
killed an animal to cover the nakedness of the fallen humans. The writer to the
Hebrews restates the principle when he said in Hebrews 9:22, “Indeed,
under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the
shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” In the very next
chapter he also addressed this question in considerable detail, making it clear
those sacrifices pointed ahead to something better, as we read in Hebrews
10:1-5…
For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of
the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are
continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have
ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no
longer have any consciousness of sin? 3
But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin every year. 4 For it is impossible for the
blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
"Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you
prepared for me…”
Why did Jesus come? Was the baby in the manger there to teach us
about morality or to show us God’s love? Well, yes, but the principal reason He
came was to deal with our sin problem by laying down his life, by sacrificing
Himself, for our sins. Every son and daughter of Adam, since the Fall,
has been born in sin. Spiritually dead, separated from God. He is the Lamb of
God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus came to redeem us, to make it
possible for us to be reconciled with God!
And so, Christmas means hope for those who believe that Jesus came as
their Savior, Sacrifice, and Substitute. He came as the promised Rescuer, the
Savior, which he accomplished as the Lamb of God, the perfect and final
sacrifice to which all other sacrifices pointed. And He did it for us, as our
substitute, taking the wrath that we deserved.
III. The Hope of Reconciliation and New Life: He was our Substitute,
bearing our sins, giving His life so that we could have new life.
“Christ,
our Passover Lamb, was sacrificed for us…”
There is a small variation in the text here which explains a difference
you see in the NKJV and the ESV. Some older Egyptian manuscripts don’t contain
the little prepositional phrase “for us”
at the end of the verse, whereas the majority text, which is mostly later, but
consists of thousands of manuscripts, has it. Based on the evidence, I think it
should be included, but it really doesn’t change anything either way. Since
Christ is described as “our” Passover lamb, of course He was sacrificed for us!
What the NKJV makes explicit is clearly implied in the ESV and other modern
translations.
Think back to the first Passover. The lamb was slain, its blood
put over the door and on the door posts. The blood meant life in that house.
The firstborn would be spared, covered by the blood of the lamb. The lamb
was essentially a substitute for the firstborn. Think back to the story of
Abraham and Isaac recorded in Genesis 22. God had told Abraham to do the
unthinkable, to take the son of his old age, the promised and beloved son,
Isaac, up on Mount Moriah, and then to sacrifice him, to offer him as a burnt
offering to the Lord! As we read Genesis,
we know the end of the story, and we can see that God was testing and building
Abraham’s faith. But Abraham didn’t know that. We pick up the story in Genesis 22:5-8,
5 Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; I
and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you." 6 And Abraham took the wood of the
burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire
and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father
Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He
said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt
offering?" 8 Abraham
said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my
son." So they went both of them together.
It seems Abraham had faith when he told
the young men that he and the boy would return to them, and when he told Isaac
that “God will provide for himself the
lamb.” The writer to the Hebrews says that Abraham believed, that if
necessary, God was able to raise his son from the dead. He had resurrection-faith!
But God intervened. Abraham had bound his son, placed him on the wood, and
raised the knife, ready to kill Isaac as God had commanded. But an Angel from
God stopped him, and…
“Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a
ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and
offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son…” (Gen 22:13).
The ram was offered in place of Isaac. A substitute. 2000 years later, in
that same place, another Son would be offered, as our substitute. You see, God
did not stay the executioner’s hand as Jesus was being sacrificed. God Himself
had provided the Lamb. He spared not the Son, but delivered Him up for us all.
That idea of a substitute taking the punishment that we deserved is clearly
implied in the sacrificial system. It is also spelled out explicitly by the
prophet Isaiah. See, for example, Isaiah 53:4-6…
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed
him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed
for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and
with his stripes we are healed. 6
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
That night on a Bethlehem hillside the angels announced to a
group of humble shepherds, “Behold, I
bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. Born to you
this day n the city of David is a savior, Christ the Lord!” Here they
were, guarding sheep destined for sacrifice in the Temple. Those sacrifices
were shadows and types, looking forward to the once-for-all sacrifice of the
Lamb of God. It was as though the Angel was saying to the shepherds, “Why stay
here guarding these sheep? Get down to Bethlehem and see the Lamb of God who
takes away the sins of the world!” Hope was realized in the birth of Christ!
What is God saying to me in this passage? Christmas means hope for those who
believe that Jesus came as their Savior, Sacrifice, and Substitute.
What would God have me to do in response to this passage?
1) Look back and consider why He came, fulfilling the hope of the ages! It is good to begin our Advent series
looking at hope fulfilled in His coming, with a reminder of why
He came. The babe in the manger came to be the Lamb of God, to rescue us
from the wrath we each deserved by being our substitute, the sacrifice for our
sins. He lived a sinless life, He
fulfilled all righteousness. When He began His public ministry at the age
of 30 or so, He showed through His teaching and through the miracles that He
did, His authority as the Son of God. And then, when the time came, when that
final Passover was at hand, He laid down His life for His friends.
Before He did, He shared a final Passover meal with His disciples, and
He gave new significance to it. Some time before, on the Mount of
Transfiguration, He had spoken about what was coming in Jerusalem with two men
of God from the past, Moses and Elijah. Luke’s account tells us they spoke
about His “departure” which He would accomplish in Jerusalem. That word
“departure” is the word, “Exodus.” As
God had led the people out of Egypt, set free after the first Passover, so
Jesus would set free a people for himself by shedding His blood for us.
2) As we reflect
on hope realized, the fulfillment of the promise in His first advent also encourages
us to look ahead with hope, a confident expectation, to the promise of His
return in glory. Let’s remember that today and worship Him together, as we
share the Lord’s Table, as we celebrate Hope realized, we show forth the Lord’s
death until He comes. That is our sure Hope - He will return as promised! AMEN.
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