Christ Church

Advent and Affliction

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INTRODUCTION

Over time, holidays take on a certain patina. Long usage and custom make this necessary, but it remains our responsibility to not allow such later accretions to overthrow or to reverse the actual import or meaning of the festival. In the case of Christmas, we have, quite obviously, the scriptural story of the birth of the Messiah, but we also have—do we not?—silver bells, softly falling snow, Hallmark movies, caramel popcorn, miracles on 34th street, fireplaces aglow, and various sorts of festive jello dishes. What are we to do with all of that? Well, enjoy them . . . but don’t let them become your teachers.

THE TEXT

“Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not” (Matt. 2:16–18).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

There may have been three wise men, we don’t know for sure. We guess at that number because of the three enumerated gifts mentioned—the gold, the frankincense, and the myrrh. At any rate, these wise men from the east showed up in Jerusalem and went and asked the king about the newborn king of the Jews These men are called magicians (magi), and were most likely Zoroastrian astrologers. They were from “the east,” most likely Persia (Iran), and they had seen a star in the east that had compelled them to come. Herod found out when the star had first appeared (most likely two years before) and he helped the magi out through summoning the chief priests and scribes, who referred the magi to Micah 5:2. They went on to Bethlehem, where the star identified the house where Jesus was, and there the magi adored Him, presenting their gifts. The wise men were then warned by God in a dream not to go back to Herod (v. 12). An angel then warned Joseph of what was coming, and so he escaped with his family to Egypt (vv. 13-15), which brings us to our text.

When Herod saw that the magi had made a fool of him, he got extraordinarily angry, and ordered all the boys in the area of Bethlehem to be slaughtered. This resulted in the fulfillment of a sorrowful prophecy from Jeremiah. The prophet spoke through the personified figure of Rachel, who lamented the loss of her children. That matriarch had been buried near Bethlehem—Gen. 35:19-20, near the border of Benjamin—1 Sam. 10:2.

BALAAM’S WORD

I may appear to be changing the subject, but not really, and only for a moment. Balaam was a true prophet, meaning that his gift of prophecy was genuine, but he was a true prophet without being a true man (2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11). He would not curse Israel for the Moabite king Balak, but he did give him some counsel on how to use his women to seduce Israel (Rev. 2:14). But before doing that, he uttered a prophecy that was likely contained within the researches of the magi.

“I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth” (Num. 24:17).

Balaam is not a Hebrew, and it seems to me that a record of his utterances could easily have been included in the kind of libraries that the magi would have been accustomed to use.

CHRISTMAS AND SIN

The presence of sin, and the reality of it, and the affliction and distress that sin always brings, is no refutation of the message of Christmas. Rather, Christmas is God’s answer to our sin. Jesus took on a human body, the body that Mary suckled, and laid in a manger, in order that He would be able to die. He was born to die. He took up a body so that He would have a body to lay down. He assumed mortality so that He could slay our mortality. This was in view from the very beginning.

“And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2:34–35).

When we look at Herod’s slaughter of the innocents, we see that the rebellion of man always wants to reverse the message of righteousness. Here in modern America, we are in the grip of the same Herodian delusion, and in our insanity, we also slaughter innocents. Herod, the Edomite king of Israel, turns himself into a Pharaoh, killing young boys for political reasons. Joseph was warned in a dream to flee from the new Egypt, which he did by fleeing to the old Egypt. Out of Egypt I called my Son.

A HARD HEADED NEW COVENANT

The chapter of Jeremiah that Matthew quotes as he records this awful crime is the same chapter where Jeremiah predicts the coming of the new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34). This glorious prophecy is cited several times in the book of Hebrews. In Hebrews 8:8-12, it is quoted in full, and in Hebrews 10, two key excerpts of it are cited (Heb. 10:16,17). These two citations, these two pull quotes, identify for us the heart and soul of the new covenant. These two tenets are the internalization of the law (Heb. 10:16) and God’s promise that He will remember our sins and iniquities no more (Heb. 10:17). The law of God is now written on our hearts and minds, and we are washed clean of all our iniquity.

And so, encouraged by these words, we return to Rachel, the inconsolable. God is the sovereign God over all things, including every form of all of our sin. He has prepared a covenant, a new covenant, one that takes the perverseness of the human heart into account. He has prepared a covenant that can etch the law of God on the adamantine heart of man, and He has also prepared the blood of the everlasting covenant, blood that can cleanse absolutely anything. And so what does the Word of God say to this Rachel? In the very next verses . . .

“Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: For thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; And they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border . . . Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; For thou art the Lord my God” (Jer. 31:16–18).

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The Sure Incarnation

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INTRODUCTION

This Psalm has three layers to it. The first is the one on the surface. David recounts a deliverance from one of his many trials, and his response of praise. The second layer is that David’s sufferings reflect the common plight of Israel as whole. Her history of exiles and returns, persecutions and deliverances, separation from and the reunion with Jehovah lie just beneath the surface of David’s story. But as we go deeper we see that David’s story, which is Israel’s story, is really the Messiah’s  story.

THE TEXT

I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD… (Psalm 40).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

In the midst of his distress, David waited for the Lord, crying out to Him; God heard his plea and brought him out of the pit (vv1-2). This deliverance springs forth into songs of thanksgiving, and fortifies his faith in God, rather than trust in man (vv3-4). This song of praise rehearses God’s marvelous works, which are innumerable (v5); and this gratitude for past mercies is the bedrock for present faith, which understands the true nature of sacrifice and offerings: obedience. The call to obedient service is pictured by the bond-servant’s ear being pierced (v6, Cf. Ex. 21:6).
Now, though he is king of Israel, David comes to the command of the Lord as a bond-servant would obey the master’s will with joyful delight (v7; Cf. Deut. 17:18-19). As king, he is steward of God’s law, and will preach righteousness in the congregation, without skipping a part (vv9-10).
Having presented himself in grateful service to the Lord, and obeyed the Lord’s command, he asks of the Lord a two-fold request: withhold not tender-mercy and let God’s lovingkindness and truth continually preserve him (v11). The reason for this request is “innumerable evils” (echoing God’s innumerable marvelous works in verse 5) surround him, and his iniquities abound to the point of despair (v12). Thus, he makes a plea for deliverance from all evils inward and outward (v13).
The prayer goes on to request the undoing of his enemies; that shame and desolation would come upon them (v14-15). While those who seek God as their salvation shall be vindicated, and thus their love breaks forth in song: “The Lord be magnified (v16).” The concluding verse highlights David’s humility, and his boasting in the truth that God thinks about him; the end of the psalm echos its beginning: waiting patiently for the Lord (v1) while petitioning God to not tarry (v17).

OBEDIENCE IS TRUE SACRIFICE

This psalm draws a contrast between David’s response to God’s law with Saul’s famous very pious disobedience. In 1 Samuel 15:22-23, we’re told of how Saul’s kingdom came to be doomed; this is how it came to be that David was anointed as king of Israel (1 Sam. 16:13).
The nub is that obedience to God’s Word was more important than vainglorious exhibitions of spirituality. Saul made sacrifices to seem very spiritual; but he disobeyed the primary task he’d been assigned. The Psalm reiterates this, that sacrifices aren’t what please the Lord in the first instance. Obedience, from the heart, is His delight. So as king, David knows that deliverance is of the Lord for those who delight in His law and obey it by glad trust in God’s will.

MESSIAH IN OUR MIDST

In Hebrews 10, we find a large portion of this Psalm (vv6-8), cited. We don’t typically think of Hebrews as being a book for Christmas messages, but the underlying doctrine of Christmas is God sending the Messiah in the flesh. This is the point made in Hebrews. Christ coming in a human body was a set aside the sacrificial system, because His body was offered that we might be sanctified once for all (Heb. 10:10).
David anticipates that when Messiah came, He would do so in a human body. At first blush, however, Psalm 40 and its citation in Hebrews 10 seem at odds with each other. The hebrew refers to having His ear pierced (or dug open) as a bond-servant (Ps. 40:6); but Hebrews (10:5) cites the LXX, which renders it, “a body hast thou prepared for me.” What are we to make of this? As with most of these seeming contradictions, we don’t need to make them enemies, because they are friends. As a servant, Christ obeyed by taking to Himself a body. Further, He came when told, obeyed by becoming the fulfillment of the entire sacrificial system.

NOT A DISEMBODIED INCARNATION

The doctrine of the incarnation is not an insignificant one. Man, left to his own imagination, tries to grab hold of all the stuff, or tries to escape stuff. At Christmastime, we celebrate the Incarnate Lord. God made flesh. The Logos manifest unto us. Heaven come to earth.
Earth is to be redeemed. Creation is to be saved, not discarded. Our bodies are planted like seeds, only to spring forth at the resurrection into everlasting glory. The pagans sought to escape from the material world through their vain imaginations. Still others sought to hold onto the world.
One is too thick. The other too thin. What we teach is that Christ came, in the flesh, to redeem creation, and thus ultimately to resurrect the whole thing into greater glory.
The practical application of this is do not shy away from all the gifts…and fudge…and wrapping every imaginable food in bacon…and more fudge. Recognize that all these gifts and blessings are shadows of the blessings which they will become in the resurrection.

FEET ON A ROCK

Christ, our Messiah, came to set your feet on a rock. He came, as the bond-servant king so that you might no longer be facedown in the mud of your sin, but stand erect and bold, fearless before the face of man and face to face––without any shame––with God Himself.

This cannot happen without God coming in the flesh, proclaiming in the midst of the congregation the righteousness of God. He came into our midst, as was foretold. And this is the ground of our salvation. This is the only place to find firm footing for faith. The Son of God became a son of man so that He could die in place of sinful man, and that you might also be risen with Him to a glorified earth. An earth which will be “more real” than this one. So celebrate with the stuff––here in the shadowlands––knowing that in Christ it shall all be made more itself at the resurrection.

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Part 4: A Theology of Christmas Presents

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Introduction

In the light of all the foregoing, we should therefore not be surprised when we find we must affirm the goodness of the material world. This should be obvious, but tragically many Christians find it easy to slip off the point. When the Creator God created and fashioned everything, it was His good pleasure to declare it all good or very good (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, and 31). In the second place, the Incarnation of Christ was a permanent reality. The second person of the Trinity took on flesh (Jn. 1:14) and dwelt among us. He will be Immanuel always. He is our priest forever, making intercession for us always (Heb. 7:25). And third, we were not promised immortal souls, but rather a resurrection from the dead. We will be embodied creatures forever (1 Cor. 15:12).

The Text

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:11–13).

Summary of the Text

The apostle Paul is thanking the Philippians for the financial support they had sent to him, but he hastens to add that he would have been alright regardless (v. 10). He was content before their gift arrived, and he was grateful and content after it had done so (v. 11). This is something that the apostle had to learn, and we may be assured that we must learn it also. But then when he starts to explain the lesson, we see how much we have to learn. He had to learn in both directions, and we tend to assume that we only have to learn in one direction. Paul had learned to be abased and he had learned how to abound (v. 12). He was instructed on how to be full and how to be hungry (v. 12). He had learned to abound and to suffer want (v. 12). He can do all things through Christ, the one who gives him strength (v. 13).

We think we need lessons for our afflictions, of course, but we assume that we have abundance nailed. We have that down. But I am afraid we do not. We must still learn contentment when we have never had it so good, and simply going without won’t teach us that.

Two Basic Errors

On the one hand is the error of the “health and wealth” preachers, those who say that godliness should be an automatic path to wealth (1 Tim. 6:5-6). On the other hand are an abundance of suspicious gnostic teachers, who despise the material world. If you let a devil teach you, what will he teach? “Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving” (1 Tim. 4:3–4).

“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17).

Learning Gladness and Gratitude Is No Trifle

“Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee” (Deut. 28:47–48).

When Israel went down in defeat before her enemies, why was this? When Israel was hauled off into exile, what was their sin? Their sin was an inability to rejoice in their stuff in the presence of God. The carnal heart cannot bring those two things together. The carnal heart wants to come to church and give the good Lord His due, and then sneak off to enjoy whatever idolatrous tidbits it can off on the side. But God will have none of it. He wants us to come before Him and rejoice in what He has given us there.

Faith is the Eye

But we are not to look at our faith through our goods. Rather we look at all our goods through faith. Faith is what sees. Faith is the eye. What we have, or do not have, is what we are supposed to see in faith.

Faith does handle adversity well. But faith also handles affluence well. We mark the great heroes of the faith for their accomplishments, some of which the world would call success and some of which the world would call humiliating defeat. What do we call it and why? We call it whatever faith teaches us to call it.

Sometimes faith subdues kingdoms, works righteousness, obtains promises, stops the mouths of lions, quenches fire, escapes the sword, grows strong when weak, became valiant in war, repulsed invaders, and received the dead back to life (Heb. 11:33-35a). And other times faith is tortured, mocked, scourged, imprisoned, stoned, sawn in two, tempted, slaughtered with the sword, wandered in the wilderness, impoverished, afflicted, tormented, and living in caves (Heb. 11:35b-38).

O So Merry and Bright

And so this is something we all of us must learn. The material world is good. The material world is very good. The stupidity of our sinfulness tried to wreck it, but despite our best efforts, has not succeeded. The world is broken, but still with plenty of goodness to go around. And the main thing that is wrong with it—look in the mirror—has been put to rights in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. He did that so that we might be recreated in His image.

“Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10).

So as you bake, and as you shop, and as you wrap, and as you smuggle contraband into the house, and as you decorate the tree, and as you set the table, and as you invite people over, and as you deliver cookies to friends, and as you tighten your belts this year, and as you give a lavish gift that is ten percent beyond wise, and as laugh over dinner, and as you come here to sing carols, remember that Christ is in all of it. All of Christ for all of life. As the poem by Hopkins has it, Christ plays in ten thousand places.

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Troubled Peace and Christmas

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The Texts

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet. 1:6-9).

“Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’ 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'” (Lk. 2:10-14).

“Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18 ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.'” (Matt. 2:16-18).

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7)

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Part 3: A Theology of Christmas Presents

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Introduction

As we consider the whole question of gift-giving at Christmas, we have been studying the background. What does the Bible teach about giving and receiving generally, and how can we apply these general principles to specific situations—like Christmas shopping and presents?

So we started with the ultimate gift of Christ, the unspeakable gift that God gave to us, and how that relates to the training God puts us through in order to equip us to imitate Him. We then moved on to the nature of giving, and how it was more blessed to give than to receive. But we also noted that to be blessed in giving is to be a receiver. And so this week we are going to examine the nature of receivingin greater detail. Next week we will look at the goodness of the material world.

The Text

“And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat” (Matt. 10:7–10).

Summary of the Text

Jesus was sending His disciples out on a preaching mission, telling them to stay away from the Gentiles and Samaritans for the present (v. 5). They were to go to the lost sheep of Israel (v. 6). The message they were to preach as they went was this—the kingdom of heaven is at hand (v. 7). They were told to give as they went in particular ways. They were to heal the sick, cleanse lepers, raise the dead, and cast out devils (v. 8). They were to do this in the spirit of “freely they had received,” so also they should “freely give” (v. 8). As their intake had been, so also their output should be. Jesus then tells them not to take any provisions along with them (vv. 9-10) because a workman deserves his pay. This is quite striking because Paul quotes this in his teaching on ministerial pay (1 Tim. 5:18). So Jesus is teaching His disciples a lifestyle of both giving and receiving and giving some more. This is like a reciprocating engine with plenty of fuel.

By Definition

We have already considered the fact that creatures are receivers, by definition. “For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7, NKJV). Ponder this. What do you have that you did not receive as a gift? And if that is the case, what is the ground for self-sufficient pride?

Gladness and Gratitude

There are many believers who are diligent in giving, but they have a very hard time in receiving anything—even thoughtful gifts. The initial impulse of self-reliance is good (Gal. 6:5), but the same passage also teaches us that we should bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2). This is like breathing in and breathing out. We receive, which means that we are enabled to give, which means we need to receive again. Allow me to say it again—we give to get in order to give again.

It is frequently the case that when people have real trouble receiving help from others, it is because of a hidden root of pride. Someone who gives all the time might simply be generous. But he might also be very proud. He wants to be the alpha, the ring-giver, the one who bestows. He is haughty. He might give everything to the poor, and still be a man of pride (1 Cor. 13:3).

What would you think if you got the perfect Christmas gift for your overly-pious son or daughter, and found that he had thrown it away without opening it? When you (understandably) asked about this curious behavior, he said that the only thing he really cared about was his relationship with you, and he didn’t want anything to get in the way of that relationship. Value the giver, not the gift, you see. You might reply, and you might even be peeved when you replied, that him throwing a perfectly good fifty dollar present away might conceivably interfere with your relationship. You might even have to prevent your wife from chasing him out to the trash cans with a belt in hand.

Golden Rule

This kind of thing is found everywhere in Scripture. I said in an earlier message that God gave us a set of training wheels in the tithe. But that is not the only training guide He has given us. He has given us our joy in receiving as a valuable indicator of how much joy for others we should seek in how we give to others.

The golden rule operates this way (Matt. 7:12). The second greatest commandment requires us to love others as we already love ourselves (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:39). Husbands are supposed to love their wives as they love their own bodies (Eph. 5:28-29). We are to extend forgiveness the same way we want to receive forgiveness (Matt. 6:14-15).

So one of the disciplines you should set before yourself in learning how to give is the discipline of setting your mind to rejoice in every gift you receive—every last one. Receive them with gladness. Receive them with gratitude. Receive them with humility. As you do, you are establishing a benchmark in your soul that will enable you to give to others as you ought to do. If you are a constant critic, with an eye always peeled for the inappropriateness of presents given to you, you are actually damaging your ability to give. How you receive illustrates for the principalities and powers what kind of giver you are.

The Headwaters of All Receiving and Giving

And the central place where we are being grown up into true givers is here, at the Table of the Lord. To be a true giver, you must become a true receiver. “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread” (1 Cor. 11:23). True receivers are being equipped to give. You are filled in this meal, and then sent out into the world in order to overflow.

You have been taught before that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not simply cognitive head knowledge. They already knew it was wrong to disobey God. And neither did it mean the experience of sin because God Himself had the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 3:22). Rather, the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was fruit that would equip them for dominion and rule, which is what they were destined for (1 Kings 3:10; 2 Sam. 19:35; Is. 7:14-16). Their sin consisted of grasping for that rule prematurely.

But here is the glorious thing. Adam disobeyed at that tree. The Lord Jesus obeyed on that same tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thus restoring all things, which includes restoring our access to the tree of life. And so we are summoned here every week to eat the fruit of that tree—His body which is broken for us. Receive it. And in the receiving we are equipped for dominion and rule, which is another way of saying that we are equipped to give it all away.

“Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (1 Cor. 3:21–23).

We have been given the world. Why did God do this? Why have we received the world? So that we might have the glory of giving it away. And whatever direction we look, whether behind or before us, we see Christ.

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