A Christmas Challenge

Divinity became humanity.

John 1:14…

The Word became flesh and dwelt[h] among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

So we have a big word here - Incarnation, and that's just a really fancy way of saying Jesus was fully man and fully God, and that's important to know. He was not half man and half God, or two-thirds God and one-third man, because if he was only partly, he did not have the authority and the power to do what he did. He did not have the authority to forgive sins if he were not fully God, but he also had no way of knowing what we actually walk through on a daily basis if he were not fully man. He went through it both. He knows what it's like to go through family struggles. He knows what it's like to experience temptation. And if you're like, “I can't get this off my back,” he's been there, y'all.

Hebrews 4:15 says…

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.

It is a great thing that he was fully God and fully man because he gets you. He gets you. He left a throne of heaven for a trough in a barn if you can even call it that. Divinity became humanity.

And then John has this really interesting closing thought to this verse. He says, “He's full of Grace and Truth.” And let me show you why that kind of stuck out to me. Let's read it without that part. Verse 14 could just read, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father.” Put a period there. That's a good theological statement. Nothing I just said would change from a teaching perspective on that verse. But he decides to end it with, “And by the way, he's full of grace, and he's full of truth,” because Jesus was the full expression of what grace and truth looked like, and he also experienced what grace and truth looked like.

If you want to see what grace and truth looked like, it collided at the cross, beloved. Grace and truth collided at the cross. If you want to see the love of God and the wrath of God towards sin, look at the cross. If you want to see how much God will go to chase you down, but if you want to realize what you are actually doing and the price for what your sin costs, look at the cross. Grace and truth collided at the cross.

Hebrews 9:22 says…

According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Do you realize Jesus entered a time in an era of human history where animal sacrifices were used as a symbolic representation of the forgiveness of sin? Because without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Because the wages of sin is death. That was true in the Old Testament, that's true in the New Testament, and that is still true today. The wages of sin is death.

And so the people back then, the Hebrew people, would sacrifice animals and kill them on an altar, not because somehow they magically got forgiven because a lamb's blood or a goat's blood could forgive them, but it was the picture that was leading up and pointing to the cross. Blood needed to be spilled. Blood for blood, life for life, and it collided at the cross. It was a picture leading up to Jesus.

The shedding of blood was needed. The wages of sin was death, and death had to be paid, because eventually, it could no longer be a symbolic payment. It had to actually be paid. Enter in Jesus. When Jesus came, it was paid past, present, and future, and that is a great truth. It was paid past for the sins of the people in the Old Testament who believed in God. It was paid presently for the people who were crucifying the Son of God at that moment. When Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do, “ can you imagine the people who repented saying, “I was a part of the people yelling, ‘crucify him.’” It paid for them, and the amazing truth is it pays for us today and for however many generations we have to come. It paid past, present, and future. Because this time, the blood being spilled was the blood of a lamb, but it was the perfect, blameless, unblemished Son of God.

John the Baptist says that later on in actually John chapter 1, when he sees Jesus, as Jesus starts his earthly ministry, John the Baptist goes, “Behold the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” John the Baptist had no idea how prophetic that statement was because he didn't get to see the crucifixion of Jesus. But we do know that he had some unmet expectations, too. John was confused when he was in prison, and so Jesus had to comfort him because John was like, “What's going on here? I thought you were the Messiah.” Yet, when John the Baptist sees him, he utters the words, “Behold the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” He had no idea how true that would be because when Jesus died on the cross, it really became, “It is finished.”

He came for us, knowing we would torture and kill him unjustly, so the payment for sin could be met.

Now, what is a greater scandal: Christ crucified, or humanity being able to be redeemed?

Have you ever thought of that? What's a greater scandal? Christ crucified, or humanity being able to be redeemed? Because two things happened in that moment that were not fair. Christ crucified and humanity having a shot at redemption by believing in Jesus Christ, and they can now have eternal life.

Make no mistake, that's an amazing truth, but that is not fair. The Son of God being crucified by the very people he created, who rebelled against him, and he's now willingly dying for them to pay their debt. Is that a greater scandal, or is it that the same people who crucified him can now have a relationship with God again and be called a child of God? Grace and truth collided at the cross.

So I have 2 really practical takeaways from this.

We were talking earlier this week in our sermon club, and Jeremy brought up an interesting point from this section. And it talks about when Jesus was being rejected, and Jeremy goes, “I wonder whom we rejected.” As we enter into this Christmas season, I ask you that question: Whom have you rejected? And maybe rightfully so, and maybe if hindsight's 20/20, you go, maybe I shouldn't have. Who are you seeing this Christmas that the honest truth is we all have that one person in the family? A 100% of families have dysfunction. News flash. Who's that one person that you're saying, “Man, I hope they don't enter into the conversation”? Maybe you invite them in. Who's that one person you're like, “Man, I hope they don't sit by me this Christmas.” Maybe you save them a seat.

And let me be very clear here, I am not asking you to change boundaries that you may have to protect your family and your children. I support those’; keep those. Maybe potentially you add more. What I'm asking you to do is what is the posture and attitude of your heart toward that person? Because you and I have no business rejecting someone made in the image of God.

I don't know what they've done. I'm not asking you to put yourself or your kids in a dangerous situation, but do not write them off. It is easier to write someone off than it is to keep them in. We know that. But you and I have no business rejecting someone made in the image of God. Much easier said than done. And as you go into that Christmas dinner, or whatever the case may be, don't do it for them, and don't do it for yourself because you will be disappointed because they may be the worst they've been in years. They may not care that you extended an olive branch. Do it as an act of worship because it will take the love of God to help you have that type of love. That is not a natural love. It is only a love of someone who says, “I know I've been redeemed, and I didn't deserve it, so I know they just as much are deserving as I am.”

Challenge number 2. I don't know how busy you are this Christmas, but if you're like probably most people, you're probably really busy. And Christmas is kind of weird this year. It falls on a Wednesday. I would tell you this and challenge you with this. In the week leading up to Christmas, take 2 hours and spend time with Jesus. Could be in the morning, could be in the afternoon, could be at night, it does not matter.

And you're like, well, why 2 hours? That's a lot. Because when I was praying about it, that’s just what came. And do not do this at all out of legalism, or because I have to do this, and I'm a bad Christian if I don't, or is this somehow God's gonna be more proud of me if I do this, and disappointed in me if I'm not? No. He's just worthy, guys. He's worthy of 2 hours. If you want to have a Christmas that you can focus on the real meaning of Christmas, spend 2 hours with the reason we celebrate it because Christmas will be crazy, and that's okay, and that's fun, and that's good. Be with your family and your friends, and go home exhausted and tired, but man, don't forget why we are celebrating this season when the Son of God entered into humanity and set out on a redemption and rescue mission for us. So spend 2 hours with him. Look at your calendars today. Look at it before you leave the parking lot. Do not give yourself the benefit of the doubt, or it'll be out of your mind. We all do it. Block it out. Put it on your calendar. Act like it's a work meeting. That's okay. You're meeting with an important person. And it can be read your Bible, journal, pray, listen to worship music, bundle up, and brave the cold. Maybe it can be a little bit of all that because you're like 2 hours is a lot of time. Absolutely. There's not a right way to spend time with Jesus.

And maybe you're like, man, I'm way too busy to do that. Can I practically say that maybe you should take something off your schedule? Honestly. And you're like, I may not have the authority to do that. Leave somewhere an hour early and show up somewhere an hour late. 2 hours. It doesn't have to be this quiet moment of sitting by the fire and reading your Bible. Like, that works great in Hallmark. That's not real life. We know that. It can be on the drive from one side of the town to the next side of town, and you're like, hey, in the middle of the chaos, we're gonna try to stop and do this thing, and it's gonna be the best hallelujah we have, and it's gonna sound kind of messed up and broken. Absolutely go for it. Spend 2 hours with Jesus this Christmas. Put it in your schedule. Block it out.