WEBVTT 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:04.339 If you really wanted to explain to someone that 00:00:04.339 --> 00:00:06.599 you loved them and you wanted to tell them how 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:09.839 much you loved them, how would you do that? We're 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:12.300 going to take a little poll and you're going 00:00:12.300 --> 00:00:14.859 to have some options and these are your options. 00:00:14.900 --> 00:00:18.140 How many of you would buy space on a billboard 00:00:18.140 --> 00:00:22.320 to tell them that? How many of you would send 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:26.179 a video to express your love? How many of you 00:00:26.179 --> 00:00:30.469 would hire a flower service to deliver? some 00:00:30.469 --> 00:00:33.770 flowers with that message. How many would send 00:00:33.770 --> 00:00:38.729 somebody else to go and tell them? Number five, 00:00:38.729 --> 00:00:41.329 the final choice. How many of you would go and 00:00:41.329 --> 00:00:45.030 tell them yourself? All right, number one. Who 00:00:45.030 --> 00:00:47.689 would be willing to rent space on a billboard? 00:00:48.350 --> 00:00:51.429 Anybody? Kind of creative way. I've seen that 00:00:51.429 --> 00:00:54.490 done, haven't you? Will you marry me? It says 00:00:54.490 --> 00:00:57.450 there along the highway. Who would be willing 00:00:57.450 --> 00:01:00.909 to send a video? Any takers on that one? That's 00:01:00.909 --> 00:01:03.109 kind of popular. Most people have video cameras. 00:01:03.969 --> 00:01:06.969 Well, what about sending flowers? It's a nice 00:01:06.969 --> 00:01:10.510 thing to do. Nice touch. There's a romantic over 00:01:10.510 --> 00:01:13.849 here. There's another one and another one. Who 00:01:13.849 --> 00:01:16.230 would send an emissary? You would send somebody 00:01:16.230 --> 00:01:18.989 else to go and tell them. That's what I feel 00:01:18.989 --> 00:01:21.870 about it too. Who would go yourself? You say, 00:01:21.989 --> 00:01:24.370 I want to take that message myself. Hey, that's 00:01:24.370 --> 00:01:26.969 good. Very good. You know what? That's exactly 00:01:26.969 --> 00:01:31.849 what God did. That's exactly what God did. He 00:01:31.849 --> 00:01:35.810 chose to come Himself to tell us how much He 00:01:35.810 --> 00:01:38.969 loves us, and He chose to do it in a wonderful 00:01:38.969 --> 00:01:44.450 way. Not by appearing in some manner that would 00:01:44.450 --> 00:01:50.409 frighten us or confuse us or overwhelm us, but 00:01:50.409 --> 00:01:55.909 He chose to do it by becoming one of us. The 00:01:55.909 --> 00:02:01.349 phenomenon that we call the incarnation. is filled 00:02:01.349 --> 00:02:06.670 with awe -inspiring wonder. And it rightly produces 00:02:06.670 --> 00:02:11.569 a reverence for God in our lives when we begin 00:02:11.569 --> 00:02:14.550 to grasp what it means. Open your Bible with 00:02:14.550 --> 00:02:17.710 me to John chapter 1 as we think about the glory 00:02:17.710 --> 00:02:22.169 of Christmas and this morning the glory of Christ's 00:02:22.169 --> 00:02:28.919 incarnation. John chapter 1 verse 14. The Word 00:02:28.919 --> 00:02:32.780 became flesh and made His dwelling among us. 00:02:33.780 --> 00:02:36.879 We have seen His glory, the glory of the one 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:40.979 and only who came from the Father full of grace 00:02:40.979 --> 00:02:46.719 and truth. Consider with me this morning three 00:02:46.719 --> 00:02:51.080 wonders of the Incarnation which disclose to 00:02:51.080 --> 00:02:56.139 us the glories of Christ, the wonder of its mystery, 00:02:56.349 --> 00:02:59.569 the wonder of its design and the wonder of its 00:02:59.569 --> 00:03:03.349 disclosure. First, the wonder of its mystery. 00:03:04.490 --> 00:03:07.490 John chapter 1 verse 14 gives us the essence 00:03:07.490 --> 00:03:11.050 of it. And what a mystery this is when it says 00:03:11.050 --> 00:03:18.849 the word, the logos became flesh, became incarnate. 00:03:20.870 --> 00:03:24.129 This is absolutely unique in all of human history. 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:28.099 There is nothing that approaches the substance 00:03:28.099 --> 00:03:32.879 of what we read in this verse except here. It 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:36.919 is the claim that God literally, historically, 00:03:37.259 --> 00:03:42.560 and genuinely became a human being. When John 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:45.259 writes this, it's not an accident. He's writing 00:03:45.259 --> 00:03:48.960 by the inspiration of the Spirit, and as he writes 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:52.460 it, he is addressing one of the false teachings 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:56.780 that was prominent at the end of the first century. 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:00.800 It was called Gnosticism. And among their many 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:05.439 different weird ideas, they had the idea that 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:10.960 all matter, material things, are evil. Spirit 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:14.099 is good. Matter is evil. That was the teaching 00:04:14.099 --> 00:04:18.879 of the Gnostics. And so, God, who is spirit and 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:22.480 therefore good, could not become human because 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:25.860 to become human was to become evil. They denied 00:04:25.860 --> 00:04:30.759 that Jesus was genuinely human. John addresses 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:34.019 this in beginning his gospel, but I want you 00:04:34.019 --> 00:04:37.480 to look back at his first epistle toward the 00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:39.480 end of the New Testament because as John writes 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:44.839 this brief book, he addresses it even more forthrightly. 00:04:50.269 --> 00:04:56.189 Chapter 1 of 1 John, beginning with verse 1. 00:04:56.629 --> 00:05:00.610 Now remember, the Gnostics teach that anything 00:05:00.610 --> 00:05:04.829 material is evil. Therefore, Jesus Christ could 00:05:04.829 --> 00:05:08.209 not have been a real human being. He appeared 00:05:08.209 --> 00:05:12.829 human, but he wasn't truly human. Notice how 00:05:12.829 --> 00:05:17.069 John confronts this. That which was from the 00:05:17.069 --> 00:05:20.600 beginning. Have we ever seen that before? That's 00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:23.620 how he starts the gospel, isn't it? In the beginning 00:05:23.620 --> 00:05:27.240 was the Word. Now he says, that which was from 00:05:27.240 --> 00:05:32.759 the beginning, which we have heard, which we 00:05:32.759 --> 00:05:36.620 have seen with our eyes, which we have looked 00:05:36.620 --> 00:05:41.879 at and our hands have touched, was Jesus a phantom? 00:05:43.259 --> 00:05:47.339 Did he only appear to be human? John says, with 00:05:47.339 --> 00:05:50.100 all of the senses that we have in our human bodies, 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:54.600 we give witness that Jesus Christ, who was from 00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:58.360 the beginning deity, that is, the pre -existent 00:05:58.360 --> 00:06:04.139 Christ, was literally human. This we proclaim 00:06:04.139 --> 00:06:07.610 to you concerning the Word of Life. the life 00:06:07.610 --> 00:06:10.529 appeared. We have seen it and testified to it 00:06:10.529 --> 00:06:13.449 and we proclaim to you the eternal life which 00:06:13.449 --> 00:06:17.069 was with the Father and has appeared to us. We 00:06:17.069 --> 00:06:20.430 proclaim to you that we have seen and heard so 00:06:20.430 --> 00:06:24.910 that you also may have fellowship with us." John 00:06:24.910 --> 00:06:27.670 is emphasizing that with all of the senses of 00:06:27.670 --> 00:06:31.410 being a human they perceive that Jesus was just 00:06:31.410 --> 00:06:38.149 like them. So again in chapter 4 of this epistle. 00:06:39.110 --> 00:06:41.829 He says this, beginning in verse 2, This is how 00:06:41.829 --> 00:06:45.769 you can recognize the Spirit of God, says John. 00:06:46.889 --> 00:06:49.589 That is, the Spirit of God speaking through someone. 00:06:50.430 --> 00:06:54.170 Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ 00:06:54.170 --> 00:07:00.209 has come in the flesh, that he's human, is from 00:07:00.209 --> 00:07:04.230 God. But every spirit that does not acknowledge 00:07:04.230 --> 00:07:08.149 Jesus, is not from God, this is the Spirit of 00:07:08.149 --> 00:07:14.529 the Antichrist. So John says to deny that Jesus 00:07:14.529 --> 00:07:19.449 Christ is God come in the flesh in true humanity 00:07:19.449 --> 00:07:25.629 is to join with the Spirit of Antichrist. The 00:07:25.629 --> 00:07:29.889 wonder of this mystery that Christ as the Word 00:07:29.889 --> 00:07:34.860 of God became flesh and made His dwelling among 00:07:34.860 --> 00:07:38.839 us. I want you to notice in the Gospel of John, 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:42.379 the first chapter, that he puts it in verse 14 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:46.480 that the Word became flesh. Notice the contrast 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:51.319 with verse 1. In the beginning was the Word, 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:56.139 not became the Word, was the Word. The Word already 00:07:56.139 --> 00:07:59.839 was when the universe was brought into being. 00:08:00.939 --> 00:08:05.939 But now he says, at a point in history, that 00:08:05.939 --> 00:08:13.279 same word that always had been became. He became 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:20.720 flesh. As Galatians 4 .4 says, the son was born 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:26.040 of a woman. This was in fulfillment of what Isaiah 00:08:26.040 --> 00:08:31.860 the prophet had foretold. shall conceive and 00:08:31.860 --> 00:08:40.220 bear a son." The ovum of Mary was united with 00:08:40.220 --> 00:08:45.200 its 23 chromosomes to 23 chromosomes that were 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:49.659 male, created by God. United within her womb 00:08:49.659 --> 00:08:55.039 in the conception. So that Jesus Christ is the 00:08:55.039 --> 00:09:02.220 virgin born. Word become flesh, the mystery of 00:09:02.220 --> 00:09:07.460 that. Dr. Arthur Pink says he became what he 00:09:07.460 --> 00:09:12.159 was not previously, never ceasing to be all that 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:18.879 he was before. In contrast to his prior appearances 00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:23.620 in human history, when he temporarily assumed 00:09:23.620 --> 00:09:28.350 the form of man, but was not genuinely human. 00:09:29.090 --> 00:09:34.450 Now the Son of God becomes human. This is not 00:09:34.450 --> 00:09:38.169 a theophany, an appearance of God, as when He 00:09:38.169 --> 00:09:41.009 appeared in the Old Testament, such as to Abraham 00:09:41.009 --> 00:09:47.070 in Genesis. But now He becomes human Himself. 00:09:48.750 --> 00:09:52.250 What is the mystery of this? Well, beyond the 00:09:52.250 --> 00:09:55.549 biological aspect of it and how that could be. 00:09:55.669 --> 00:10:00.409 We have the theological aspect. How deity could 00:10:00.409 --> 00:10:05.450 be joined to humanity? In church history, as 00:10:05.450 --> 00:10:09.110 theologians have tried to explain this, some 00:10:09.110 --> 00:10:13.190 false ideas have arisen. And again and again, 00:10:13.309 --> 00:10:16.809 the church has risen up to answer those. But 00:10:16.809 --> 00:10:19.870 the truth about it can be found in a very simple 00:10:19.870 --> 00:10:25.740 phrase and expression. And that expression is, 00:10:25.940 --> 00:10:29.379 it was accomplished. The mystery of this union 00:10:29.379 --> 00:10:32.519 between God and man was accomplished by what 00:10:32.519 --> 00:10:36.960 is called the hypostatic union. You say, well, 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:39.360 let the theologians have that one. Well, they 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:42.000 will. But it's a good one for you to write down 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:44.480 on the margin of your Bible beside verse 14. 00:10:45.720 --> 00:10:49.559 Hypostatic. That's a combination of two Greek 00:10:49.559 --> 00:10:52.539 words that means when they're put together mean 00:10:52.539 --> 00:10:56.860 to stand under something. When it's used as an 00:10:56.860 --> 00:11:00.679 adjective, such as hypostatic union, it means 00:11:00.679 --> 00:11:03.840 that what we're talking about here is the foundational 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:08.820 union between God and man. And here's how it 00:11:08.820 --> 00:11:12.580 is described in one theological dictionary. It 00:11:12.580 --> 00:11:15.620 says it is a theological expression that refers 00:11:15.620 --> 00:11:20.690 to the dual nature of Christ. God the Son took 00:11:20.690 --> 00:11:25.289 to himself a human nature, and he remains forever, 00:11:25.710 --> 00:11:31.149 true God and true man, two natures in one person, 00:11:32.230 --> 00:11:37.769 forever. The two natures remain distinct without 00:11:37.769 --> 00:11:41.750 intermingling, but they nevertheless compose 00:11:41.750 --> 00:11:47.820 one person, Christ, the God -man. Now, to some 00:11:47.820 --> 00:11:50.460 people that is just theology that blows over 00:11:50.460 --> 00:11:52.740 the head. Let me tell you that that is theology 00:11:52.740 --> 00:11:55.159 that every Christian ought to be able to express 00:11:55.159 --> 00:11:59.539 in his own words. Because what we are talking 00:11:59.539 --> 00:12:02.940 about is an absolutely essential doctrine of 00:12:02.940 --> 00:12:07.580 the Christian faith. Through this foundational 00:12:07.580 --> 00:12:11.440 union, the hypostatic union between God and man, 00:12:12.500 --> 00:12:18.009 the Word became flesh. John Walvard, former president 00:12:18.009 --> 00:12:21.269 of Dallas Seminary said, though Christ sometimes 00:12:21.269 --> 00:12:24.409 operated in the sphere of his humanity, and in 00:12:24.409 --> 00:12:27.370 other cases in the sphere of his deity, in all 00:12:27.370 --> 00:12:30.470 cases what he did and what he was could be attributed 00:12:30.470 --> 00:12:34.250 to one person. Even though it is evident that 00:12:34.250 --> 00:12:36.610 there were two natures in Christ, he has never 00:12:36.610 --> 00:12:42.830 considered a dual personality. You and I have 00:12:42.830 --> 00:12:48.059 one nature, human nature. Jesus Christ had two 00:12:48.059 --> 00:12:54.360 natures. He was God, undiminished. He was man 00:12:54.360 --> 00:13:02.279 without sin, united in one person. And so we 00:13:02.279 --> 00:13:04.980 see sometimes him acting out of his humanity 00:13:04.980 --> 00:13:10.539 as when on the cross he said, I thirst. But on 00:13:10.539 --> 00:13:13.480 the same cross, we see him acting out his deity 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:17.269 when he says, Father, forgive them. They know 00:13:17.269 --> 00:13:22.769 not what they do. Or we see him coming to that 00:13:22.769 --> 00:13:26.830 well in Samaria and it says that he sat down 00:13:26.830 --> 00:13:32.169 there being tired. There's his humanity. But 00:13:32.169 --> 00:13:35.090 a few moments later as God he was telling this 00:13:35.090 --> 00:13:37.610 woman who came out of the city of Sychar all 00:13:37.610 --> 00:13:44.330 about herself. We see Jesus asleep in the boat. 00:13:44.600 --> 00:13:48.340 He was weary from the pressure of all of the 00:13:48.340 --> 00:13:51.740 people who had been around Him. And there on 00:13:51.740 --> 00:13:53.940 the Sea of Galilee, in the midst of the storm, 00:13:53.980 --> 00:13:59.980 He is sleeping because He is man. He grew weary. 00:14:01.500 --> 00:14:05.259 But being awakened as God, He stills the storm. 00:14:05.419 --> 00:14:13.779 Peace! Be still. And so in this one unique person, 00:14:14.860 --> 00:14:22.080 There are two natures, deity and humanity. Isn't 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:27.340 that a wonder? The wonder of the mystery of the 00:14:27.340 --> 00:14:30.620 incarnation. You say, why is this so important? 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:36.799 In order to be the mediator between God and man, 00:14:37.659 --> 00:14:42.799 Jesus Christ had to fully and perfectly represent 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:49.820 both God and man. And so, being God and man united 00:14:49.820 --> 00:14:54.220 forever, he is today the one and only mediator 00:14:54.220 --> 00:14:59.620 between God and man. Mary does not qualify. The 00:14:59.620 --> 00:15:05.200 saints do not qualify. There is no mediator but 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:09.059 Jesus Christ between God and man because he is 00:15:09.059 --> 00:15:16.230 God and he is human. The mystery. The wonder 00:15:16.230 --> 00:15:19.830 of the mystery. Consider with me, secondly, the 00:15:19.830 --> 00:15:23.809 wonder of its design. Again, in John chapter 00:15:23.809 --> 00:15:29.590 1, beginning in verse 15, it says, John testifies 00:15:29.590 --> 00:15:31.870 concerning him. Now, this is not the apostle 00:15:31.870 --> 00:15:36.450 John. This is John the Baptist. He cries out 00:15:36.450 --> 00:15:40.509 saying, this was he of whom I said, he who comes 00:15:40.509 --> 00:15:44.799 after me has surpassed me. because he was before 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:49.740 me." What is John expressing here? The pre -existence 00:15:49.740 --> 00:15:53.279 of Christ that we studied last week. You see, 00:15:53.320 --> 00:16:00.460 John was six months older than Jesus. John had 00:16:00.460 --> 00:16:04.620 been in Elizabeth's womb six months when Jesus 00:16:04.620 --> 00:16:07.259 was conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary. He 00:16:07.259 --> 00:16:10.789 was born six months before John. But John says 00:16:10.789 --> 00:16:17.009 here, He was before me, and therefore He has 00:16:17.009 --> 00:16:24.950 surpassed me, though He comes after me. From 00:16:24.950 --> 00:16:27.450 the fullness of His grace we have all received 00:16:27.450 --> 00:16:31.250 one blessing after another. For the law was given 00:16:31.250 --> 00:16:34.389 through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus 00:16:34.389 --> 00:16:39.889 Christ. No one has ever seen God But God, the 00:16:39.889 --> 00:16:45.710 one and only, who is at the Father's side, has 00:16:45.710 --> 00:16:49.509 made him known." Here we have the wonder of the 00:16:49.509 --> 00:16:52.669 design of the incarnation. What's it all about? 00:16:54.049 --> 00:16:58.389 Well, the Word came to disclose God to humanity. 00:17:00.190 --> 00:17:04.069 George Eliot, whose pen was a pen name for Mary 00:17:04.069 --> 00:17:08.720 Ann Evans, she wrote these words. Sometimes, 00:17:08.819 --> 00:17:13.039 words are made flesh. They breathe upon us with 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:16.279 warm breath. They touch us with soft, responsive 00:17:16.279 --> 00:17:20.400 hands. They look at us with sad, sincere eyes, 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:24.319 and they speak to us in appealing tones. They 00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:30.099 are clothed in a human soul." Will you take those 00:17:30.099 --> 00:17:35.200 words written by George Eliot? and apply them 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:38.799 in a unique way to Jesus Christ. He is the Word, 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:43.819 the very thought of God. He is God telling us 00:17:43.819 --> 00:17:51.759 how much He loves us. He is the expression of 00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:57.019 all that God is in the warmth of human flesh 00:17:57.019 --> 00:18:03.339 and human eyes and human words. That's the wonder 00:18:03.339 --> 00:18:08.740 of the design. God is invisible. The essence 00:18:08.740 --> 00:18:13.180 of God has never been seen by any man, for man 00:18:13.180 --> 00:18:17.500 cannot look upon God and live. The essence of 00:18:17.500 --> 00:18:22.220 His glory is so extraordinary and so magnificent 00:18:22.220 --> 00:18:25.420 that for a man to look upon it would destroy 00:18:25.420 --> 00:18:30.519 him. Even the Old Testament appearances of God. 00:18:33.430 --> 00:18:39.490 were veiled appearances of His glory. The glories 00:18:39.490 --> 00:18:43.490 of the invisible perfections of God, however, 00:18:43.869 --> 00:18:47.950 have now been made visible this time in human 00:18:47.950 --> 00:18:52.990 flesh in Jesus Christ so that we can see the 00:18:52.990 --> 00:18:57.349 glory of God without being destroyed. We see 00:18:57.349 --> 00:19:03.640 it in Him. This verse says that He has exegeted 00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:09.279 God. He has made Him known. This same word is 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:14.339 used in the book of Acts. For example, when Paul 00:19:14.339 --> 00:19:17.759 and Barnabas were at the council in Jerusalem 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:21.660 in Acts chapter 15, it says that they stood before 00:19:21.660 --> 00:19:24.799 these other believers and they narrated the events 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:28.079 of the first missionary journey. They laid them 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:30.940 out in order. They narrated them. Same word is 00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:36.380 here. Jesus Christ has laid God out for us so 00:19:36.380 --> 00:19:40.740 that we can understand God. We can see God and 00:19:40.740 --> 00:19:47.079 hear Him in the warmth of human flesh. Jesus 00:19:47.079 --> 00:19:52.460 tells us the story of God's true nature through 00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:57.349 His words and works and life. Why did He tell 00:19:57.349 --> 00:19:59.789 us this? Well, it's more than for information. 00:20:01.849 --> 00:20:04.269 Jesus didn't simply give us this information 00:20:04.269 --> 00:20:07.089 so that there could someday be theological seminaries 00:20:07.089 --> 00:20:11.890 to dissect God. He gave us this information so 00:20:11.890 --> 00:20:16.750 that we might be redeemed. So that understanding 00:20:16.750 --> 00:20:20.430 God's love, we might believe on the Son and be 00:20:20.430 --> 00:20:23.910 saved. Turn over a page or two in your Bible 00:20:23.910 --> 00:20:29.390 to John 3. You know well verse 16. Let's go on 00:20:29.390 --> 00:20:33.549 to verse 17. For God did not send His Son into 00:20:33.549 --> 00:20:37.410 the world to condemn the world, but to save the 00:20:37.410 --> 00:20:41.809 world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is 00:20:41.809 --> 00:20:45.650 not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands 00:20:45.650 --> 00:20:49.269 condemned already, because he has not believed 00:20:49.269 --> 00:20:54.720 in the name of God's one and only Son. Here we 00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:57.319 have the wonder of the design of the incarnation. 00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:00.880 It was so that we might know God's expression 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:05.900 of love toward us. And having come to understand 00:21:05.900 --> 00:21:10.819 that, that we might believe on Him for the salvation 00:21:10.819 --> 00:21:15.400 of our souls. And so we have the wonder of the 00:21:15.400 --> 00:21:18.259 mystery of the incarnation, the Word becoming 00:21:18.259 --> 00:21:22.990 flesh, and the wonder of its design. that God 00:21:22.990 --> 00:21:27.950 might tell us the message of His heart that He 00:21:27.950 --> 00:21:33.170 wants us to be saved. Thirdly, we have the wonder 00:21:33.170 --> 00:21:36.910 of its disclosure. Because you see, what was 00:21:36.910 --> 00:21:41.029 initially hidden in that baby born in a manger 00:21:41.029 --> 00:21:49.339 was eventually disclosed little by little. You 00:21:49.339 --> 00:21:51.460 see, when the shepherds came to the manger that 00:21:51.460 --> 00:21:54.319 night in Bethlehem, they did not see a baby there 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:57.460 with a halo around its head like is depicted 00:21:57.460 --> 00:22:02.460 in so many pictures and artist concepts of the 00:22:02.460 --> 00:22:05.920 evening. When they looked at the baby, they saw 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:10.359 a baby. Now they knew who he was because the 00:22:10.359 --> 00:22:15.339 angels have said he is Christ the Lord. But there 00:22:15.339 --> 00:22:18.009 was nothing physically about him that would have 00:22:18.009 --> 00:22:22.809 said he's something other than human. And the 00:22:22.809 --> 00:22:25.130 same is true all the way through his growing 00:22:25.130 --> 00:22:32.950 up years. But it came to pass that he began his 00:22:32.950 --> 00:22:36.109 ministry at a wedding feast in Cana. And only 00:22:36.109 --> 00:22:41.170 John tells us about this occasion. He says the 00:22:41.170 --> 00:22:46.190 Word became flesh and he lived among us. And 00:22:46.190 --> 00:22:50.049 we beheld his glory. Now look in John chapter 00:22:50.049 --> 00:22:55.029 2 for a moment. We won't have time to read about 00:22:55.029 --> 00:22:58.190 him changing the water into wine on this occasion. 00:22:59.890 --> 00:23:02.730 But that's what he did. And in verse 11, John 00:23:02.730 --> 00:23:07.190 puts this comment with it. This, the first of 00:23:07.190 --> 00:23:11.640 his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana 00:23:11.640 --> 00:23:17.359 of Galilee. He thus revealed His glory and His 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:25.000 disciples put their faith in Him. Jesus now begins 00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.819 to draw back the curtain just a little bit so 00:23:29.819 --> 00:23:33.759 that His glory can be seen. in what he's going 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:37.339 to do. And now John begins to unfold through 00:23:37.339 --> 00:23:40.839 carefully selected teachings and miracles that 00:23:40.839 --> 00:23:44.440 he draws from the life of Jesus. He unfolds the 00:23:44.440 --> 00:23:48.619 glory of Jesus and all the witness to who he 00:23:48.619 --> 00:23:51.920 was and the glory gets brighter and brighter 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:55.680 and more apparent and more visible until we come 00:23:55.680 --> 00:23:59.799 to John chapter 11 and the climax of his miracles. 00:24:01.480 --> 00:24:10.980 It is the raising of Lazarus from the dead Look 00:24:10.980 --> 00:24:16.079 in verse 38 Jesus once more deeply moved came 00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:21.740 to the tomb of Lazarus By the way as man he wept 00:24:21.740 --> 00:24:27.140 here Now as God he is going to raise the dead 00:24:29.330 --> 00:24:33.529 Take away the stone he said But Lord said Martha 00:24:33.529 --> 00:24:36.589 the sister of the dead man by by this time. There's 00:24:36.589 --> 00:24:42.490 a bad odor For he's been there four days And 00:24:42.490 --> 00:24:45.150 Jesus said did I not tell you that if you believed 00:24:45.150 --> 00:24:51.049 you would see the glory of God So they took away 00:24:51.049 --> 00:24:54.210 the stone and Jesus looked up and he said father 00:24:54.210 --> 00:24:56.269 I thank you that you have heard me and I knew 00:24:56.269 --> 00:24:59.279 that you always hear me But I said this for the 00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:01.900 benefit of the people standing here, that they 00:25:01.900 --> 00:25:05.859 may believe that you sent me. And when he had 00:25:05.859 --> 00:25:09.960 said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, Lazarus, 00:25:10.019 --> 00:25:14.839 come out! And the dead man came out, his hands 00:25:14.839 --> 00:25:17.940 and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth 00:25:17.940 --> 00:25:21.200 around his face. And Jesus said, take off the 00:25:21.200 --> 00:25:25.339 grave clothes and let him go. Here we come to 00:25:25.339 --> 00:25:30.279 the climax of his miracles. as He presents Himself 00:25:30.279 --> 00:25:36.819 as the Word come in the flesh. We've seen His 00:25:36.819 --> 00:25:40.759 glory, says John, and here is the climax of that 00:25:40.759 --> 00:25:43.420 glory being revealed, and what is the result? 00:25:44.559 --> 00:25:47.299 Verse 45 says, Many of the Jews who had come 00:25:47.299 --> 00:25:49.859 to visit Mary and who had seen what Jesus did 00:25:49.859 --> 00:25:53.420 put their faith in Him. But some of them went 00:25:53.420 --> 00:25:57.099 to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had 00:25:57.099 --> 00:26:02.220 done. And so they called for a meeting. And what 00:26:02.220 --> 00:26:05.539 a meeting it was as they began now to plot the 00:26:05.539 --> 00:26:09.519 death of Jesus. You see, they rejected His glory. 00:26:11.740 --> 00:26:15.779 It was through that rejection, His suffering 00:26:15.779 --> 00:26:20.599 on the cross, His death, and then His own resurrection 00:26:20.599 --> 00:26:24.480 from the dead that His glory was fully demonstrated. 00:26:24.539 --> 00:26:29.559 He is declared to be the Son of God with power 00:26:29.559 --> 00:26:34.920 by His resurrection from the dead. John says 00:26:34.920 --> 00:26:42.460 we have seen His glory. The wonder of its disclosure. 00:26:43.140 --> 00:26:49.700 For years it was kept veiled as Jesus grew to 00:26:49.700 --> 00:26:55.250 manhood. And then, little by little, and increasingly 00:26:55.250 --> 00:26:59.589 more, that glory was revealed until in the end, 00:26:59.809 --> 00:27:04.069 He stands as the resurrected Son of God, the 00:27:04.069 --> 00:27:09.589 Word become flesh, here to redeem the world. 00:27:12.470 --> 00:27:16.309 The incarnation was intended finally to reveal 00:27:16.309 --> 00:27:20.480 Christ's glory through the cross. What are the 00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:23.579 unusual means of disclosure that through this 00:27:23.579 --> 00:27:27.339 instrument of suffering his glory might be fully 00:27:27.339 --> 00:27:34.140 known? The incarnation veiled his glory in sinless 00:27:34.140 --> 00:27:39.140 humanity so that eventually he could fully reveal 00:27:39.140 --> 00:27:45.720 his glory through his glorified humanness. And 00:27:45.720 --> 00:27:50.029 he stands today at the Father's right hand. He 00:27:50.029 --> 00:27:52.710 stands there absolutely unique in all of the 00:27:52.710 --> 00:27:56.349 universe. There is no one like Him. He is there 00:27:56.349 --> 00:28:01.849 as the God -man. He is glorified man, standing 00:28:01.849 --> 00:28:06.910 before God. And He is there as the first fruits, 00:28:07.289 --> 00:28:10.769 which means He stands there representing all 00:28:10.769 --> 00:28:14.490 of those who believe on Him, guaranteeing that 00:28:14.490 --> 00:28:16.950 one day all of those who believe on Him will 00:28:16.950 --> 00:28:26.519 be with Him. glorified also in heaven. To me, 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:30.400 this ought to create reverence in our hearts 00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:35.700 for God. It ought to require of us an attitude 00:28:35.700 --> 00:28:41.200 of trust, surrender, and devotion. It seems to 00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:46.109 me that once we grasp the incarnation in its 00:28:46.109 --> 00:28:50.509 mystery, in its design, in its disclosure, in 00:28:50.509 --> 00:28:55.609 the wonder of it all, that we can never be quite 00:28:55.609 --> 00:29:00.369 the same again, understanding what God has done. 00:29:02.329 --> 00:29:04.450 He came that He might tell you that He loves 00:29:04.450 --> 00:29:13.990 you. Back in 1879 at Christmas time, A reporter 00:29:13.990 --> 00:29:17.809 for a Boston newspaper was walking along the 00:29:17.809 --> 00:29:20.490 street and he saw three little girls standing 00:29:20.490 --> 00:29:22.869 in front of a store window that was full of toys. 00:29:24.349 --> 00:29:28.589 One of them was sightless. And her two friends, 00:29:29.029 --> 00:29:32.430 one standing on each side of her, were trying 00:29:32.430 --> 00:29:36.369 to explain to her what the toys looked like. 00:29:38.309 --> 00:29:42.600 Well, this man had never thought before. how 00:29:42.600 --> 00:29:45.319 difficult it would be to try to understand what 00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:47.259 something looks like that you've never been able 00:29:47.259 --> 00:29:51.819 to see. And so the incident caused him to write 00:29:51.819 --> 00:29:53.920 an article that became rather famous in that 00:29:53.920 --> 00:29:58.859 day in the newspaper. Well, this reporter was 00:29:58.859 --> 00:30:03.559 an agnostic, but was assigned a few weeks later 00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:08.599 to go to a meeting being held by Dwight L. Moody. 00:30:09.819 --> 00:30:13.660 His purpose in going was to hear the evangelist 00:30:13.660 --> 00:30:16.980 and to find some inconsistency in his message 00:30:16.980 --> 00:30:21.000 that he might exploit. What surprise it was to 00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:23.880 him when he heard Moody refer to a newspaper 00:30:23.880 --> 00:30:27.759 account of three children. To illustrate a spiritual 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:32.660 truth, Moody said, including the illustration, 00:30:33.319 --> 00:30:36.519 just as the blind girl couldn't visualize the 00:30:36.519 --> 00:30:40.900 toys, so an unsaved person cannot see Christ. 00:30:41.130 --> 00:30:46.009 in all his glory. The man who had written that 00:30:46.009 --> 00:30:48.470 very newspaper story, who had come to that meeting 00:30:48.470 --> 00:30:52.950 a skeptic and an agnostic, suddenly realized 00:30:52.950 --> 00:30:56.329 that he was like that. That he was blind to the 00:30:56.329 --> 00:31:00.089 glory of God. And God in that simple way opened 00:31:00.089 --> 00:31:03.809 his heart and he received Jesus Christ as his 00:31:03.809 --> 00:31:08.970 Savior. You cannot see the glory of the incarnation. 00:31:09.900 --> 00:31:15.299 until you know Christ. Would God open your heart 00:31:15.299 --> 00:31:18.039 today to see it? To believe on Him so that you 00:31:18.039 --> 00:31:21.220 can see it and understand the wonder of it all? 00:31:21.500 --> 00:31:28.660 Let's pray. With our heads bowed and our hearts 00:31:28.660 --> 00:31:35.339 in quiet reverence before God. Have you trusted 00:31:35.339 --> 00:31:39.950 the Savior, my friend? Oh, what God has done 00:31:39.950 --> 00:31:45.109 to tell you that He loves you. He sent His own 00:31:45.109 --> 00:31:51.970 Son into the world, becoming flesh like us, to 00:31:51.970 --> 00:31:54.670 go to the cross and die and suffer for our sins, 00:31:54.829 --> 00:31:58.029 be raised from the dead so that we might be saved 00:31:58.029 --> 00:32:01.910 from death and sin and see and experience the 00:32:01.910 --> 00:32:06.980 glory of God. He did that for you. Will you give 00:32:06.980 --> 00:32:09.119 Him your heart today? Will you open your heart 00:32:09.119 --> 00:32:12.819 and receive Him as your own Lord and Savior? 00:32:13.960 --> 00:32:20.319 As an act of faith, believing Him? I hope you 00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:24.059 will right now. Take this moment to do that. 00:32:25.819 --> 00:32:30.059 Lord Jesus, I receive you. I understand who you 00:32:30.059 --> 00:32:33.740 are and what you did for me. Come into my life. 00:32:34.200 --> 00:32:43.279 Save me. and show me the glory of God. And all 00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:45.440 those of us who've done that, some of us many 00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:48.039 years ago, that the incarnation might be fresh 00:32:48.039 --> 00:32:50.859 this Christmas, that the wonder of it all may 00:32:50.859 --> 00:32:54.359 touch our hearts anew. Lord, work in us that 00:32:54.359 --> 00:32:58.299 it may be so, that we having understood something 00:32:58.299 --> 00:33:03.839 of the glory of Christ's incarnation may not 00:33:03.839 --> 00:33:10.029 go away the same people as we came in. Amen.