2022 Christmas Day
2022 Christmas Day
Old Testament: Isaiah 52:7-10
Psalm: Psalm 2
Epistle: Hebrews 1:1-6
Gospel: John 1:1-14
Sermon Text: John 1:1-14
Sermon Title: “The Word Became Flesh”
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
“Serve the Lord with fear and trembling”. (Psalm 2:11) “The Lord has bared His holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God”. (Isaiah 52:10) “Long ago … God spoke to our fathers through the prophets, but in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, by whom He also created the world”. (Hebrews 1:1-2)
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”. (John 1:1) “All things were made through Him”. (John 1:3a) “The world was made through Him and yet the world knew Him not”. (John 1:10b) “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth”. (John 1:14a) “Blessed are all who take refuge in Him”. (Psalm 2:12b)
The Scriptural account of the birth of the Christ is recorded in three of the four Gospels. Last Sunday, we heard the brief account from Matthew 1. Matthew 2 speaks of the Magi/Wise Men and then we will hear (also from Matthew 2) about Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus fleeing to Egypt to escape from the evil King Herod. Luke 1 records the angel Gabriel’s appearance to Mary and her visit with Elizabeth. Last evening, we heard the longer account of Jesus’ birth, involving the shepherds and angels, from Luke chapter 2. Finally, this morning, we have the account from the Apostle John; whose only direct words about the birth of Jesus are, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. (John 1:14)
This is the central verse in our Gospel text this morning; perhaps in the whole Gospel of John. Everything leading up to it explains who this Jesus is; whose birth we celebrate today. How “by taking on human flesh, God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, comes into the world that He created; graciously bringing deliverance from spiritual darkness” (and sin) and making all who believe in Him, “children of God”. (John 1:12b)
John begins his Gospel in the same way as the book of Genesis; “in the beginning”. “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus) and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God”. (John 1:1-2) Jesus is the Word and He has always existed; for in fact He was not just “with God”, He “was God”. (John 1:1b) The Psalm for Christmas day, which is a Messianic Psalm, a prophecy of Christ reads, “Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling … blessed are all who take refuge in Him”. (Psalm 2:11, 12b)
Not just at this time of year; but more so at this time of year; many critics of Christianity say that “Jesus never claimed to be God in the Bible”. This is either a blatant lie or sheer ignorance on the part of people who assert such things. For this is not the only place Scripture testifies to the deity of Christ; that He is true God as well as true man. “Long ago … God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, God has spoken to us by His Son”. (Hebrews 1:1-2a)
In John chapter 8, Jesus calls Himself “I Am” which is the Old Testament name of God. Jesus is directly called God by the Apostle’s Paul, Thomas and John. Jesus also possesses attributes and abilities that can only belong to God. According to Holy Scripture, Jesus is almighty, all knowing, eternal, present everywhere, worshipped by angels, and forgives sins. This is just a partial list.
Jesus is not a created being, He is also the creator, as John makes clear in the Gospel. “All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made”. (John 1:3) This is also affirmed in many places in Scripture, as Paul declared “By Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible … all things were created through Him and for Him”. (Colossians 1:16-17) The Epistle reading this morning also speaks of Jesus as One “through whom He also created the world”. (Hebrews 1:2b) The Holy Scriptures repeatedly testify to the fact that Jesus is true God.
“In Him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it”. (John 1:4-5) The darkness John speaks of is spiritual, which began with the fall into sin in the Garden of Eden. It describes the ignorance and blindness of the world; a world that does not recognize or even want to know their God, creator, and Savior. Despite the depths of our sin, the light of Christ has come and remains and the darkness cannot conquer/defeat it. As we heard in Isaiah’s prophecy last night, “those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them a light has shined”. (Isaiah 9:2)
The Word of God incarnate, Jesus, has come into this fallen world to bring life, eternal life to the world through His life, death, and bodily resurrection. As Jesus said of Himself, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6) and “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”. (John 8:12b) and “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in Me may not remain in darkness”. (John 12:46) As Isaiah also prophesied, “The Lord has bared His holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God”. (Isaiah 52:10)
Next the Apostle John mentions, John the Baptist saying “He came as a witness … He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light”. (John 1:7-8) At the birth of Jesus, “the true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him (as we heard earlier). (John 1:9-10a)
Despite this wonderful blessing of God becoming man in the person of Jesus, “the world did not (in fact refused to) know Him”. (John1:10b) Jesus even “came to His own, and His own people (the Jews) did not receive Him”. (John 1:11) The Gospels testify that many heard the preaching of Jesus and walked away unchanged. This was not because God did not desire them to be saved, for He “desires all to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth”. (1st Timothy 2:4)
Sadly, most of the world rejects the saving Gospel, the work of Christ Jesus for them. They chose to live in (and embrace) the darkness of this present world; reveling in rather than repenting of their sins; “but to all who did receive Him; who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of flesh nor of the will of man, but of God”. (John 1:12-13) “For no one can say Jesus is Lord, except in the Holy Spirit”. (1st Corinthians 12:3b)
This shows that there is nothing we can do to earn the forgiveness of sins and favor with God; He makes us His children strictly by adoption; which we receive “by grace, through faith”; “in the water and the Word. “When the goodness and lovingkindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit”. (Titus 3:4-5)
Jesus, who is true God, who has all of the attributes of God that we spoke of earlier; the one who created the world and all it contains; took on human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The reason for His birth was this; the creator suffered, bled and died for His sinful creation; for me, for you. As true God and man, Jesus atoned for the sins of the whole world and after a short rest in the tomb, rose bodily on the third day; conquering sin, death, and the devil.
Jesus is now and forever, true God and true man. He is present with us in His Word and Sacrament, offering the forgiveness of sins, strengthening of faith; life and salvation to all who repent and believe the Gospel. The Word who was “in the beginning with God and was God” (John 1:2) has “become flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14a) and is forever incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ. He is and remains our light, our life, and our salvation; “God with us”; now and for all eternity. Amen.
The peace of God …