Christmas 2022: Something Worth Dying For
“Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.” (Isa 9:7) “the incarnation may once more be adored not as a breathtaking “cosmological” event, but as Christ taking the way of poverty and forsakenness. The incarnated Word…was not subjected to God’s curse in order that he might take this curse upon himself” (Berkouwer)
Introduction
The secular world is at its blindest (Rom 1:21-23) at this time of the year. (Or, at Easter.) more attention is given to unbelievably trivial matters, like how to bake “roast potato Christmas trees” (https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/christmas-tree-potatoes/340a119e-b2f3-4a7c-8147-a62ee040ed7c), than to the coming of the everlasting kingdom of God (Luke 1:33), Whilst Western believers seem “asleep in the light” (Keith Green), an endless parade of worldy experts claim to be able to see apart from the Light coming into the world (John 1:9; 8:12). Until my prayer time this morning I thought I had no “Christmas message”. Then I sensed to communicate to two godly brothers, one “parked in retirement”, the other, considerably younger, wandering around rather aimlessly. I counselled them was to ask the Lord for “something worth dying for”. Given that by nature the Spirit must testify to Jesus’ death-and-resurrection (John 15:26), such a revelation must move all of us out of their ruts.
Seeing as a Son
Whilst Jesus was not a “religious” figure, his opponents, the scribes and Pharisees, were precisely that, for like the celebrities, influencers and Facebook devotees of today, their sense of honour depended upon public recognition. Jesus taught that they practised righteousness publicly “in order to be seen” (Matt 6:1, 5, 16). There are churches today who encourage attenders to start serving in the lowest place in order to be seen and elevated to “higher” positions. But in God’s kingdom order the lowest is the highest as the last is already the first (Matt 20:16; Mark 10:43-44)! (This is why Christ needed to start life as a newborn, rather than miraculously appear full grown.) Unlike us unfaithful fallen sons (Luke 3:38), as true Son of God, Jesus’ vision of the world and its’ destiny was totally centred and framed by a vision of his Father. His first and last words recorded words contain “Father” (Luke 2:49; 23:46). On Jesus’ lips “Father” represents something far greater than “God”, even God as the Creator of heaven and earth” (Gen 1:1). His perspective of life was limitlessly deeper than ours, for from conception he was angelically named as “holy—the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).
Worth Dying For
Nearly half a century ago I was involved in planning a Christmas street protest through the Adelaide CBD headed by the deliberately provocative banner, “Jesus was born to die.” Even then I couldn’t stand the commercial trivialisation of the memorial of the Incarnation of the Word. Whilst no longer believing that sin caused the coming of the Son into the world, for no finite cause can change an eternal God (e.g., Eph 1:3-4; 1 Pet 1:19-20; Rev 13:8), I still believe the message of the banner pointe din the right direction. Jesus came to do something much grander than forgiving our personal sin and “getting us to heaven”, he came to reconstruct creation through a transformation of his own identity as Son of God. As the new covenant Lord no longer remembers your sin (Jer 31:31-34), the day is coming when all recollection of the pains of this age will be permanently removed. ““For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.” (Isa 65:17 cf. Rev 21:1-5). This is the magnitude of the promise for which Jesus was born, and for which he died.
Conscious of his necessary destiny, “he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things…and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (Matt 16:21; cf. Luke 24:26), Jesus accepted the Father’s promise with joy in the Spirit, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father” (Luke 10:21-22). He knew his Sonship could only be expanded beyond the limits of present (fallen) time and space (Rom 8:21-22) through a dreadful descent into sub-humanity and exaltation to the right hand of power. The agony of the loss of the experience of his Father’s love, “My God…why have you forsaken me” (Mark 15:34), could alone open “the gate of glory” for fallen humanity. This alone was a purpose large enough worth dying for. The angelic joy at Christmas was enveloped in the majesty of such a realisation coming (Luke 2:13-14), and it was this immeasurable insight that gripped the first gospel bearers. This is Paul’s “unspeakable gift…the unsearchable riches of …. the breadth and length and height and depth… the love of Christ…all the fullness of God” (2 Cor 9:15; Eph 3:8,18-19). Through the baby in the manger, we see in Spirit the restoration of “all things” (Acts 3:21).
Return to the Glory
Seeing how much greater the Christ of the new creation is than the Jesus of ordinary “flesh” (2 Cor 5:16-17 cf. 1 Tim 3:16) we have a vision of the future immeasurably larger than anything that can be naturally “thought or imagined” (Eph 3:20). By his perfect sacrificial love, the Lamb of God has been placed by the Father “at the top and summit of being…with him and in him man [our humanity] is located in the very centre of all things!” (T.F. Torrance). This was why Jesus was born so long ago. That through “suffering” our Saviour (Matt 1:21) might re-enter “the glory” he had with the Father “from before the world began” (Luke 24:26; John 17:5). Knowing the greatness of such things we can never freeze Jesus into the harmless babe in the manger, for he is now the unparalleled “Lord of glory” whose appearance traumatised Saul, threw the beloved John to the ground “as though dead” (1 Cor 2:8; Acts 9:4; Rev 1:17) and “who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Phil 3:21).
Conclusion
Whilst created a “little lower than God” (Ps 8:5), idolatrous humans have turned Christmas into primarily a day to celebrate family life. Such can be times of deep pain (one of our children cut us off for 5 years), but can lead into complete healing through a fuller revelation of Immanuel “God with us”. Through the expansion of the humanity of the Son of God the original angelic promise (Matt 1:23) has become an unbreakable pledge given by the glorified Lord of all (Matt 28:20). This is the relevance of the gospel through the Christmas message. May we worship Jesus according to the true dimensions of his now exalted humanity, for this Jesus is always someone worth dying for.