I think quite like the music of Christmas is
there. What comes to your mind when you hear
that word Christmas? The university professor
in a large university here in the United States
several years ago asked the 40 students in his
class to write at the top of their paper Christmas.
And then he said, now I want you to write after
that word the very first thing that comes to
your mind when you hear it. He then collected
the papers, and there were the typical kinds
of responses that one might expect. Presence,
tree, carols, family. Interestingly, not a single
response came back. the birthday of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps that illustrates how cluttered the day
has become with cultural, traditional, and commercial
junk. Beneath the layers of tradition, some of
which have pagan roots, frankly, including the
day we celebrate, and beyond the blast and the
blair of modern commercialism, is this central
truth about Christmas, that it is the celebration
of the birth of the Christ. Actually, when one
says that English word, Christmas, he is employing
the name of the one the day commemorates. The
word Christmas comes from the word Christ, Mass,
M -A -S -S. And the word mass comes from a Latin
verb meaning to send. It's a derivation of that.
Thus, the word Christmas means Christ was sent.
Now as we consider the meaning of Christmas,
let's not overlook what Christmas means to the
one who himself is the reason for the season,
Jesus Christ. That is our theme for this morning,
the meaning of Christmas to God the Son. To him,
the meaning of Christmas might be summarized
in three words I'd like to put together in this
package this morning. Those words are commitment,
self -abasement, and identification. I invite
you to write those words down and think with
me as we open this package and consider the meaning
of Christmas to God the Son. The three words
again, commitment, self -abasement, and identification.
Open your Bible, please, to the book of Hebrews,
to the tenth chapter of the book. Let me say
first of all that to Jesus Christ, Christmas
means commitment. Commitment to His Father's
will, whatever the content. In Hebrews 10, the
writer quotes from Psalm 40, one of the Messianic
Psalms. Beginning in verse 5, Therefore when
he comes into the world, who is he? He is the
Christ who is mentioned earlier in chapter 9
and verse 28. When he the Christ comes into the
world, he says, Sacrifice and offering thou hast
not desired, but a body thou hast prepared for
me. In burnt offerings, in whole burnt offerings
and sacrifices for sin, thou hast taken no pleasure.
Then I said, Behold, I have come, in the role
of the book it is written of me, to do thy will,
O God." In that statement attributed to Messiah,
we have a pre -incarnate declaration. of his
intention to do God's will. That was his mindset
in his coming, and then throughout his entire
life's ministry. As he came into the world, he
said, I come to do thy will, O God. And then
we see that early on in his life, or even as
a child. in pre -adolescent age, our Savior was
with the leaders of Judaism in His day at the
temple. And there He confounded them with the
discussion that He was able to carry on, the
depth of His understanding of spiritual things.
You recall that when Mary and Joseph finally
found Him, for they thought they had lost Him,
they asked Him why He had done what He had. And
he said to them in way of a question containing
a slight rebuke, don't you know that I must be
about my father's things, my father's business
we might say. You see he had an understanding
even at that early age of his special mission
and his relationship as the unique son of God
the Father. And then in his ministry, he said,
my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me.
He said, I always do those things that are pleasing
in His sight and in His suffering for sin. I
remind you that in the Garden of Gethsemane,
as our Savior looked into the cup, containing
the iniquities of the world. He said, nevertheless,
not what I will, but what thou wilt, giving himself
over to that death. He found on that occasion
becoming sin to be a horror to his sinless soul,
but yet his mindset was the will of the Father,
whatever the content of it. It seems to me that
Christmas is a natural time for us who claim
to be Christians. to examine whose will we are
following too. Are we following our own wills?
Do we live out the song that Frank Sinatra loves
to sing, I did it my way? That's the whole thrust
of our culture. I'll live my own life. I would
rather do it myself. Get all the gusto you can.
Are we following our own wills? If so, then we
follow not in the steps of Jesus Christ this
Christmas. Because He came into the world to
say, the will of the Father, whatever the content.
Then we might also be living for the will of
others. For there are some of us that are absolutely
enslaved by what others say about us or think
about us. What they say or think determines what
we do and how we respond. We are so insecure
in ourselves that we look for clues and signals
in their face, the face of others or their words,
so that we'll know whether we're accepted or
approved or how to react or what to wear or what
to say or whether we should go. We wait for the
approval. of our peers and our co -workers and
live for the will of others. If we do, we're
not following in the steps of the Christ of Christmas
who came saying, Father, I delight to do Your
will, whatever the content. Our submission to
God's will is a decision that rightly comes Before
we know the content of God's will you see that's
when Jesus said this as he came into the world
He said before he started his earthly ministry.
I come to do your will Too often we try to make
God's will a bargaining chip and we say God I
will do your will if If you tell me in advance
what it is Or if you give me this I'll do that
But God does not bargain with His will. God wants
us to commit ourselves to His will in advance
of it. As the Messiah, that must be the predisposition
of our hearts. Lord, Your will in my life, whatever
the content may be. I know that there are some
of you who have done that. But there are some
of you who have never done that. I want to submit
to you that you cannot live under the Lordship
of Jesus Christ and have a question mark on your
life about whether you will obey what He tells
you to do. Jesus said, why do you call me Lord,
Lord, and do not the things that I say? If we
own Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord today, we
are saying in essence, Lord, your will, whatever
the content may be. As you and I come to Christmas
and we celebrate it with meaning, I hope that
we'll celebrate it with the same meaning that
it had to Him. That in our celebration we are
saying to our Lord, Your will, Jesus. Your will
in my life, whatever that means. If it means
going into the ministry. If it means teaching.
If that means going overseas as a missionary.
If it means being married. If it means being
single. If it means having children. If it means
having no children. If it means laying down my
life as a martyr. Jesus, your will, whatever
the content may be. What is the greatest fear?
that you have regarding committing yourself to
the will of God. Whatever that is, understand
that that fear does not come from him. It comes
from the enemy who does not want you to experience
the will of God. He wants to rob you of that
fulfillment and that sublimest of joy of doing
the will of God. Don't allow him to do that.
I urge you today, whatever that greatest fear
is that you have of God's will, to face that
head on. Today. So that you can go from this
day onward into the Christmas season with that
same spirit that our Savior had. I delight to
do your will, Father. Whatever the content of
it may be. Will you respond that way today? To
the will of God in your life? Secondly, to Jesus
Christ, Christmas means self -abasement. Self
-abasement for others welfare, whatever the price.
Turn back a few pages to the book of Philippians
in the second chapter, please, for the key passage
here. As we think about what Christmas means
to God the Son, we must include this thought
of self -abasement. Whatever the price, we are
urged in verse 5 of Philippians 2, have this
attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ
Jesus, who although He existed in the form of
God, did not regard equality with God a thing
to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the
form of a bond -servant, and being made in the
likeness of men, and being found in appearance
as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Therefore also God highly exalted him. and bestowed
upon him the name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow
of those who are in heaven and on earth and under
the earth, and that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father." Before his exaltation there was
humiliation. There was his willing self -abasement.
We learn in the first place here that Christ
existed in the form of God. Verse 6. That is,
He existed with the essential nature of deity
itself. Here we have a statement that affirms
what we call His pre -existence. That is, He
did not begin at Bethlehem, but He existed before
that. eternally before that, and he existed as
God of very God. However, his attitude was one
of willing sacrifice for the sake of others,
for the sake of you and me. If you have a Ryrie
Study Bible, you might be interested in the note
that goes with verse 6 at the bottom of the page,
where it describes this phrase, to be grasped
from verse 6, which says he did not regard equality
with God a thing to be grasped. Ryrie says this
verse may be paraphrased and say it this way,
who though of the same nature as God did not
think this something to be exploited to his own
advantage. You see, there's the point. As God,
he did not consider that position something to
exploit for his own advantage. In his self -abasement
or his self -humbling, he renounced all of his
self -interest. He laid aside his rights as deity.
And the Apostle Paul goes on in these verses
to describe to us three steps downward from his
exalted position as the majesty on high. These
steps, I think, challenge our human understanding.
We grasp these statements, trying to understand
them, but they're hard. But the first step downward
is found in what it says in verse 7. He emptied
himself. That's the real key thought here in
this whole text. He emptied himself. That does
not mean that he in any way diminished his deity.
He did not become less God than he was before.
But he made a choice on that day that he came
to Bethlehem. A choice to limit the prerogatives
that he enjoyed as God. He chose to set aside
his visible glories. and to allow that to become
veiled in human flesh. In so doing, he took upon
himself the essential nature of a slave, it says,
so that the great sovereign came into the world
humbled as a servant, as a slave. He laid aside
the prerogatives that he enjoyed as God. And
he, secondly, incarnated himself. He was made
in the likeness of men, it says. It says he was
found in appearance as a man. Now what that means
is that he was true man, fully human. But the
language leaves room for his being more than
that, for he was. For as well as being fully
man he was holy God But he incarnated himself
allowing that glorious deity to be veiled in
our humanity Step number three he sacrificed
himself He made the choice to be obedient to
the point of death even to the agonizing, shameful
death of the cross. Those are the three steps
downward of this one who abased himself. What
was his attitude about coming? Self -abasement.
Setting aside self -interest for the welfare
of others, whatever the price might be. So complete
was his renunciation of self -interest that he
gave himself completely, completely, for the
sake of others. Some unknown writer has put it
this way. He stepped from the measureless eons
of eternity into the confinements of time and
space. He laid aside the shining garments of
glory. to be clothed in the flesh of a helpless
infant. He left the immortal fragrances of heaven
for a world sick with the scent of mortality.
He turned his back on gem -studded mansions to
live where he had no place to lay his head. He
waved aside the Father's loving smile to walk
with men who spat upon him. He moved away from
a throne of honor to be nailed to a cross, which
was his curse. That was his willing self -abasement
and sacrifice for you and for me. As we come
to our own Christmas celebration on earth, how
can we think to celebrate Christmas and to forget
what it meant to him? How can we claim to celebrate
it and ourselves be living for ourselves and
to forget the welfare of others? That's why Paul
puts this particular doctrinal statement just
where he does in the book of Philippians. For
back up just a couple of verses to verse 3. For
he says to us, do nothing from selfishness or
empty conceit. But with humility of mind, let
each of you regard one another as more important
than himself. Do not merely look out for your
own personal interests, but also for the interests
of others. Have this attitude in yourselves,
which was also in Christ Jesus. You and I are
to imitate this attitude in action. Christmas
is a time of getting, but Too often we allow
the attitude of getting to dominate. That's because
self abasement runs counter to everything that
our culture preaches. Our culture says watch
out for yourself. Live for yourself. The ethic
that controls the culture of our world is duty
to self. The highest good you can do is what
is good for you. But Jesus Christ preaches just
the opposite of that. He says sacrifice yourself.
He says die to yourself. The world says duty
to self. Jesus says death to self. It is a message
that is absolutely contrary to what is preached
to us from every other quarter in this day. That's
why it's so hard for us to come to Christmas
without thinking of getting, getting, getting.
What does Christmas mean to the Son of God? It
means giving. Giving oneself for the welfare
of others, whatever the price may be. I'd like
you to look also at Romans chapter 15 as we see
another passage dealing with the same thought.
Romans 15 and verse 1. Now we who are strong,
that is, who are strong of conscience, ought
to bear the weaknesses of those without strength,
that is, the immature. the young, and not just
please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor
for his good, to his edification, for even Christ
did not please himself." How do we know when
our desires please ourselves or please Christ?
Does this mean that anything that would please
me must be laid aside and sacrificed? Is anything
that pleases me sinful? No. That is not the meaning.
How do we know when what we want is for our self
in a sinful sense, or if it's for Jesus Christ
and for ourselves, secondly, in a good and positive
sense? It seems to me that if our minds are saturated
with the Word of God, if we are living under
the control of the Holy Spirit, if what we desire
will bring true good to others also, then it
is not sinful self that is involved in our decisions.
That's why the psalmist was able to say as he
does in Psalm 34, Delight yourself in the Lord
and He will give you the desires of your heart.
That is because your heart will form desires
that are right if you're delighting in the Lord.
So that when there are desires within myself,
when I'm walking with God, those desires may
be fulfilled. And it's not sinful. On the other
hand, if I'm not walking with God, if what I
desire will ignore others' welfare or will hurt
others, if what I want to do for myself is for
my ego trip, for my pride, my selfish advancement,
then that self is sinful. And it needs to be
abased, it needs to be renounced. It seems to
me that an awful lot of the problems that we
confront in our world is rooted in this matter
of pleasing ourselves. So often that is the root
of marital problems. Husbands and wives wanting
to please themselves. and not please the other,
but please Christ. That's why roommates run into
problems. Isn't it interesting how God assigns
roommates? Even when you think you've got it
all figured out in advance. Even when you request
that person that you're living with and three
weeks later you've come to understand that other
person a whole lot better. So often the conflicts
of our lives come because we are not willing
to abase ourselves for the sake of others. Our
repeat is not always sinful to do what we want
to do. If we're walking with God under the control
of the Holy Spirit, if what we want to do will
really minister to others and be for their good,
then we need not be concerned about what we want
to do as being sinful. How wonderful to delight
ourselves in the Lord so that the desires of
our hearts are what God wants. And we agree together
and He fulfills those desires and we find what
we want to be what He wants and we're satisfied
and happy. What a great way to live. That's the
way Jesus lived. Because as He stepped out of
heaven to come down to this earth, as He laid
aside that crown as we sang earlier, and came
down, was born in that manger. That self abasement
was exactly what He wanted. That was the desire
of His heart. Why? Because He knew He was accomplishing
what the Father wanted, and He was accomplishing
our welfare. Now you go out and live the same
way. You treat others in your family the same
way. You treat your roommate the same way. Let
that attitude be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus. And seek the good of others and not just
yourself. The meaning of Christmas to Jesus Christ
involves self -abasement for others welfare,
whatever the price. Are you willing to pay the
price? Sometimes we say, oh yes, I'll live for
others. up to this point. Yes, Lord, I'll do
it, but I won't pay that price. The price that
Jesus was willing to pay for our good was his
own death, even the cross death. Will you choose
today to let Christmas mean to you what it did
to Jesus Christ? Will you choose to die to your
selfish self -interest? Will you nail to the
cross your self -centeredness? After all, that
self -centeredness that all of us struggle with
in the end only means a small life, a miserable
life. And yet we struggle to bring it to the
cross and to nail it there and leave it there.
But if Christmas is going to mean to us what
it did to Jesus, it has to include this element
of self abasement. Finally, to Jesus Christ,
Christmas means identification. Identification
with the world's wretchedness, whatever the burden.
He himself was born into a poor family of an
oppressed people. He was without personal or
original sin and absolutely unique in that sense.
And yet he took action in his life to identify
with sinners over and over again. That was why
he was baptized by John. That he might identify
with the sinners who needed to be baptized with
that baptism of repentance. That's why he chose
to live where he did in Capernaum, that he might
be located near sinners, both Jews and Gentiles.
That's why he touched the lepers, because he
was willing to identify with those who were unclean.
He associated with those that society of that
day called rejected. He was called a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief. He suffered as man.
He was willing to identify with the world's wretched
suffering. The sufferings that Jesus experienced,
writes Donald Cole. during his incarnation included
the internal and the external. Because he was
sinless, he could not experience such things
as pangs of conscience, delusions, anxiety, frustration
over not having his own way, or the torment of
hatred or revenge. Those kinds of sufferings
are due directly to sin. Yet no human being was
ever as sensitive to the suffering of others.
And that element of his nature caused him great
inner pain. Part of the pain and the sorrow of
Jesus' life was the fact that he identified with
you and me in our sin, in our wretchedness, in
our misery. Whatever the burden, he was willing
to associate with that, to identify with it,
even to the point of in the passion, fully identifying
with our sin. Donald Cole goes on to write, suffered
on our behalf. It satisfies the demands of the
law against us. Therefore he redeemed us from
the curse of the law. The law has no further
claims against sinners who turn to Christ in
faith. He further says, Christ assumed responsibility
for the wreck that mankind through sinning made
of itself and of the world. The sinless one was
treated as if he were sin, itself. He was treated
by God as if he were cursed. Such humiliation,
such intense suffering, such willing and loving
sacrifice. We ought to fall at his feet and confess
that he is Lord and Savior and all together lovely.
As the hymn writer puts it, whatever curse was
mine he bore, the wormwood in the gall. There
in that lone mysterious hour If you and I are
going to have the meaning of Christmas that Jesus
had, then we must be willing to identify with
those who are the rejected of our society, to
those who are called unclean, to those who are
the hurting and the searching. Around you students,
there is someone who falls into that category.
The one that is made fun of and mocked by others,
who's hurting inside, that one needs the touch
of Jesus through you. And in that office where
you work, dear lady, gentlemen, in that office
there is someone there who is hurting or who
is rejected or who is called not wanted or who
is searching. Those are the kinds of people that
Jesus identified with. He associated with them.
That's what Christmas means. He came down here
and associated with people like you and me and
our sin. As we come into Christmas, Let's approach
it with that same meaning that we will touch
the lives of others who need that touch of Him.
There may be a neighborhood family, or an abused
wife, or an abused child, or a homeless person,
or some victim of injustice that you need to
associate with, that you need to identify with.
So that Christmas can have the same meaning for
you that it had for Jesus when He identified
with us. Christmas has meaning to us because
of what it meant to Jesus. To Him it meant that
He was willing to do the Father's will, whatever
the content. Are you willing? To Jesus, Christmas
meant that He was willing to humble himself to
seek our welfare, whatever the price. Are you
willing to seek the welfare of somebody else
in the same way? To Jesus, Christmas meant that
he identified with the world's wretchedness and
sin that he might save sinners. Are you willing
to identify with the world's wretched and seek
to touch them for Christ? I want to ask you three
questions. Will you today commit yourself to
the Father's will, whatever the content may be
for your life? Though you don't know, of course,
what tomorrow holds, not to speak of that relationship
that you're in or those dreams that you have.
But however that turns out, are you willing to
say today on this Sunday before Christmas? that
you are willing to do the Father's will, whatever
the content? And are you willing to commit yourself
to the welfare of some other person in your life,
whatever the price may be? Are you willing to
humble yourself to abase what self wants in you
for the sake of another? whatever the price,
are you willing to identify with the world's
wretched whatever kind of a burden that may be
to you? To Christ, Christmas meant coming and
to you this morning, Christmas means coming to
this place of commitment. I'm going to ask you
to bow with me in prayer as we close the service.
Has there been some application that the Holy
Spirit has brought to your life as we've thought
about the meaning of Christmas to God the Son?
What is your response to that application? What
will you say right now? Lord, I pray that none
of us will be able to leave this morning without
making some application to our lives so that
as we celebrate Christmas, we'll be able to celebrate
it with something of the same meaning, Lord Jesus,
that it has for you. And we pray this in your
lovely name. Amen.