WEBVTT 00:00:01.580 --> 00:00:06.200 During Christmastime in 2012, in the middle of 00:00:06.200 --> 00:00:09.160 Times Square where millions of people walked 00:00:09.160 --> 00:00:12.460 and shopped and where so many would gather to 00:00:12.460 --> 00:00:18.699 watch the ball drop to usher in 2013, there was 00:00:18.699 --> 00:00:23.280 a billboard that said, keep the merry, dump the 00:00:23.280 --> 00:00:27.519 myth. Above the words keep the merry was a picture 00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:31.829 of Santa Claus. Above the words dump the myth 00:00:31.829 --> 00:00:36.409 was a picture of the crucified Christ And this 00:00:36.409 --> 00:00:39.909 billboard was put up courtesy of a group called 00:00:39.909 --> 00:00:45.270 American atheists Is something that strikes a 00:00:45.270 --> 00:00:49.450 little bit closer to home The assistant to the 00:00:49.450 --> 00:00:53.969 bishop of a major Protestant denomination Who 00:00:53.969 --> 00:00:58.590 himself was an ordained minister? Was once commenting 00:00:58.590 --> 00:01:02.229 on the biblical accounts of Jesus birth when 00:01:02.229 --> 00:01:06.469 he stated in his blog I Believe the stories are 00:01:06.469 --> 00:01:14.670 made up They are myth We expect atheists to reject 00:01:14.670 --> 00:01:18.150 Jesus, but we have to shake our heads in amazement 00:01:18.150 --> 00:01:22.049 as some who call themselves Christian pastors 00:01:22.049 --> 00:01:25.840 not only question the virgin birth, but also 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:31.719 reject the Bible's truth outright. However, this 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:38.400 sort of rejection of Jesus is nothing new. In 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:42.000 his own day, Jesus had to contend with the Pharisees 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:44.340 and the teachers of the law, those who should 00:01:44.340 --> 00:01:47.780 have best known the signs of the promised Messiah, 00:01:49.239 --> 00:01:53.680 calling him a heretic and a liar. and trying 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:57.180 to undermine his ministry and his teaching in 00:01:57.180 --> 00:02:03.900 every possible way. Within the early church, 00:02:05.239 --> 00:02:07.760 there were those who really did not understand 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:11.659 who he is. In the third century of the church, 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:14.240 for example, the divinity of Christ was being 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:19.240 challenged by a heresy known as Arianism, which 00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:24.509 wrongly taught that there was a time when he 00:02:24.509 --> 00:02:29.889 was not. The Arians claimed that Jesus was merely 00:02:29.889 --> 00:02:33.550 a created being, a most excellent created being 00:02:33.550 --> 00:02:39.090 to be sure, even godlike in some respects, but 00:02:39.090 --> 00:02:45.289 not true God. And it was because of this false 00:02:45.289 --> 00:02:48.879 teaching. that concerned Church Fathers gathers 00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:52.219 together at Council in Nicaea to address the 00:02:52.219 --> 00:02:57.919 deadly heresy of Arianism. If that teaching continued, 00:02:58.120 --> 00:03:00.979 it would possibly destroy the foundation of the 00:03:00.979 --> 00:03:05.139 Christian Church. And so they wrote a beautiful 00:03:05.139 --> 00:03:09.180 confession defining the person of Christ, the 00:03:09.180 --> 00:03:15.340 union of his divine and his human nature. It 00:03:15.340 --> 00:03:20.280 is something that, as I sadly just demonstrated 00:03:20.280 --> 00:03:26.060 to you, can sometimes become rote. It's just 00:03:26.060 --> 00:03:30.819 something we say in church. But in reality, if 00:03:30.819 --> 00:03:33.740 you look at their words, if you look at the Apostles' 00:03:33.900 --> 00:03:36.240 Creed that we all confess together this morning, 00:03:37.500 --> 00:03:41.379 those are the very answer to the question. When 00:03:41.379 --> 00:03:45.250 somebody says to you and me, Who do you say Jesus 00:03:45.250 --> 00:03:51.030 is? We don't have to stumble for an answer We 00:03:51.030 --> 00:03:55.729 can say along with them That we believe in one 00:03:55.729 --> 00:04:00.030 Lord Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God 00:04:00.030 --> 00:04:03.229 Begotten of his father before all worlds God 00:04:03.229 --> 00:04:07.250 of guide God light of light very God of very 00:04:07.250 --> 00:04:12.270 God begotten not made Being a one substance with 00:04:12.270 --> 00:04:18.160 the father who for all men, for all men in our 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:21.040 salvation, he came down from heaven and was incarnate 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:23.680 by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was 00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:27.680 made man. Even if you stumble through it just 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:31.139 a little bit, that is still the answer of what 00:04:31.139 --> 00:04:34.540 we believe as to who Jesus Christ is. That is 00:04:34.540 --> 00:04:38.339 the answer that you have to provide to the world 00:04:38.339 --> 00:04:42.980 when they raise that question. These modern and 00:04:42.980 --> 00:04:45.439 historical examples of unbelief acknowledge the 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:48.899 truth of God's Word recorded by the Apostle John. 00:04:49.139 --> 00:04:53.180 The light shines in the darkness, but the world 00:04:53.180 --> 00:04:58.800 has not understood it. The light of the world 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:02.459 baffles the darkness. It baffles the atheist. 00:05:03.259 --> 00:05:07.360 It baffles the liberal theologian. It baffles 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:10.529 the non -Christian religious leaders. It baffles 00:05:10.529 --> 00:05:17.589 the outside observer. God in the virgin's womb. 00:05:18.870 --> 00:05:24.870 God born just like you and me. God beaten, bleeding, 00:05:25.269 --> 00:05:32.730 and crucified. God dead and buried. Words, water, 00:05:33.110 --> 00:05:36.949 bread, and wine. We see God in these things? 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:44.459 in our own darkness, in our weak and sinful human 00:05:44.459 --> 00:05:49.019 wisdom, we struggle to grasp it sometimes, to 00:05:49.019 --> 00:05:53.600 understand Jesus, the Christ, the Word made flesh. 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:59.259 So it is good for us to have and to believe the 00:05:59.259 --> 00:06:03.040 clear confession of faith that the Church Fathers 00:06:03.040 --> 00:06:06.959 crafted for us under the guidance of the Holy 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:12.199 Spirit. And in a way, it's good that things like 00:06:12.199 --> 00:06:16.660 this billboard and this blog happen each Christmas. 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:20.819 It's good to be confronted by the atheist's anger 00:06:20.819 --> 00:06:24.779 and the myth mongering. It's good to have to 00:06:24.779 --> 00:06:27.819 deal with the majority of the world who do not 00:06:27.819 --> 00:06:32.860 believe that the Bible is God's holy and unchanging 00:06:32.860 --> 00:06:38.180 truth. And they try to twist it into what they 00:06:38.180 --> 00:06:42.730 want. for their own purposes. It's good because 00:06:42.730 --> 00:06:48.129 it causes you and me to think more deeply, to 00:06:48.129 --> 00:06:54.110 focus more clearly and then to speak boldly about 00:06:54.110 --> 00:06:57.750 our God. And what better time is there to do 00:06:57.750 --> 00:07:00.089 this than during the Christmas season when the 00:07:00.089 --> 00:07:02.949 world has just tried to celebrate something they 00:07:02.949 --> 00:07:05.269 don't understand and now that it's three days 00:07:05.269 --> 00:07:07.810 later has already put it away in the boxes in 00:07:07.810 --> 00:07:14.060 the attic. three days ago. What better time is 00:07:14.060 --> 00:07:17.519 there than this time when we as believers celebrate 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:21.720 the miracles of God on that first Christmas morning? 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:25.959 And yes, you did hear correctly, I said miracles, 00:07:26.420 --> 00:07:31.600 plural. There are two great Christmas miracles 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:36.300 presented in this text from the Apostle John. 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:42.129 One, is that the Son of God became man. And the 00:07:42.129 --> 00:07:47.569 other is that because He did, men can become 00:07:47.569 --> 00:07:53.209 the children of God. At Christmas, we celebrated 00:07:53.209 --> 00:07:56.329 the day mankind first heard about the arrival 00:07:56.329 --> 00:07:59.750 of a long -awaited Messiah on the earth, the 00:07:59.750 --> 00:08:03.810 day God's promise from the Garden of Eden was 00:08:03.810 --> 00:08:09.050 fulfilled, the day God began his revelation of 00:08:09.050 --> 00:08:14.129 himself through his beloved son. And every day 00:08:14.129 --> 00:08:17.670 since, God has been revealing himself to us through 00:08:17.670 --> 00:08:22.870 his word and through his son. Today, we hear 00:08:22.870 --> 00:08:26.370 God remind us that he sent light and life into 00:08:26.370 --> 00:08:29.569 the world. And it is confirmed in those marvelous 00:08:29.569 --> 00:08:33.529 words from our gospel text. The word became flesh 00:08:33.529 --> 00:08:40.639 and made his dwelling. Among us The word became 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:45.840 flesh The word who was in the beginning the word 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:51.299 who was God The word who was with God the word 00:08:51.299 --> 00:08:56.399 through whom all things were made The Greek word 00:08:56.399 --> 00:09:01.740 that st. John used for this word is logos Greek 00:09:01.740 --> 00:09:04.559 philosophers thought of logos as the principle 00:09:07.920 --> 00:09:11.179 underlying and unifying the universe and giving 00:09:11.179 --> 00:09:16.440 it order. John borrowed that thought from Greek 00:09:16.440 --> 00:09:18.960 philosophy and used it in a totally different 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:23.759 way. He took that term and he transformed it. 00:09:24.740 --> 00:09:27.000 He tells us that what holds the universe together 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:32.179 is not a principle, rather it is a person. It 00:09:32.179 --> 00:09:37.429 is this one that he calls the logos, the word. 00:09:38.610 --> 00:09:41.350 It is this person of the Trinity distinct from 00:09:41.350 --> 00:09:44.129 the Father and yet one with the Father in the 00:09:44.129 --> 00:09:50.450 Godhead. It is he who created and upholds everything. 00:09:51.889 --> 00:09:56.350 Our Lord Jesus Christ. The word made flashes 00:09:56.350 --> 00:10:00.110 much more than he would appear to the human eye. 00:10:01.110 --> 00:10:09.009 While he is fully man. The word bears all the 00:10:09.009 --> 00:10:12.809 attributes of deity wrapped up in the physical 00:10:12.809 --> 00:10:18.330 nature of a man. Jesus is all of the things that 00:10:18.330 --> 00:10:22.669 John tells us he is and necessarily so because 00:10:22.669 --> 00:10:28.070 this is what we need. Hebrews 2 tells us since 00:10:28.070 --> 00:10:31.029 the children have flesh and blood, he too shared 00:10:31.029 --> 00:10:34.000 in their humanity. so that by his death he might 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:37.139 destroy him who holds the power of death, that 00:10:37.139 --> 00:10:40.379 is the devil, and free those who all their lives 00:10:40.379 --> 00:10:42.779 were held in slavery by their fear of death. 00:10:43.820 --> 00:10:46.759 For this reason, he had to be made like his brothers 00:10:46.759 --> 00:10:49.580 in every way, in order that he might become a 00:10:49.580 --> 00:10:52.279 merciful and faithful high priest in service 00:10:52.279 --> 00:10:55.600 to God, and that he might make atonement for 00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:59.220 the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered 00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:02.059 when he was tempted, he is able to help those 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:08.799 who are being tempted. Only God could rescue 00:11:08.799 --> 00:11:13.360 us from our plight. Only the one who is true 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:18.320 God and true man could accomplish our salvation. 00:11:20.220 --> 00:11:23.159 Those who say that it is only a myth that God 00:11:23.159 --> 00:11:25.799 was born as a little child and grew up to be 00:11:25.799 --> 00:11:28.519 our Savior by suffering and dying on a cross 00:11:28.519 --> 00:11:32.830 and then being raised from the dead. Those who 00:11:32.830 --> 00:11:35.950 shout their skepticism at the top of their lungs 00:11:35.950 --> 00:11:40.009 or plaster their opinions of unbelief on billboards 00:11:40.009 --> 00:11:46.970 for all to see are completely wrong In fact, 00:11:46.970 --> 00:11:52.769 they are dead wrong They are dead in their sin 00:11:52.769 --> 00:11:58.570 dead in their unrighteousness dead in their denial 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:03.659 And that is not what God wants for any man or 00:12:03.659 --> 00:12:07.580 woman God loves all human beings and he desires 00:12:07.580 --> 00:12:10.580 that they should be saved from that death by 00:12:10.580 --> 00:12:14.379 hearing his word of truth And by coming to the 00:12:14.379 --> 00:12:17.480 saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and 00:12:17.480 --> 00:12:21.320 Savior of their lives And so he calls people 00:12:21.320 --> 00:12:24.279 like you and me to faith by the power of his 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:29.220 holy word and his Holy Spirit and he calls us 00:12:29.159 --> 00:12:36.100 to proclaim this truth to a darkened world. So 00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:38.399 it is good that we are given this opportunity 00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:41.440 at Christmastime to share with those who are 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:44.919 still shrouded in darkness that a great light 00:12:44.919 --> 00:12:49.700 has come into the world. It is good that we have 00:12:49.700 --> 00:12:52.679 this opportunity to bear witness to our wonderful 00:12:52.679 --> 00:12:57.279 Savior, this Word Become Flesh, who loves them 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:03.710 yesterday today and always It is good that we 00:13:03.710 --> 00:13:05.789 have this opportunity to tell the world that 00:13:05.789 --> 00:13:09.129 Christmas is not only about the Son of God being 00:13:09.129 --> 00:13:14.110 born as a man It is also about the sons of men 00:13:14.110 --> 00:13:19.610 being born as children of God This passage of 00:13:19.610 --> 00:13:22.809 John is perfect for us to share with others during 00:13:22.809 --> 00:13:26.769 this Christmas season nowhere else are these 00:13:26.779 --> 00:13:29.419 Profound mysteries of the Christian faith expressed 00:13:29.419 --> 00:13:34.399 more deeply and Yet more simply than they are 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:38.919 here in this passage For here we find that wonderful 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:43.000 astonishing truth of what really happened on 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:47.679 Christmas Day The eternal God who created all 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:51.080 things came in the flesh to be the Savior of 00:13:51.080 --> 00:13:56.159 all men There is nothing more profound and mysterious 00:13:56.440 --> 00:14:02.220 than this. And yet it is put so plainly in John's 00:14:02.220 --> 00:14:06.379 Gospel. It is like the greatest Christmas present 00:14:06.379 --> 00:14:10.460 in the entire world being wrapped in a brown 00:14:10.460 --> 00:14:15.080 paper wrapper. So I encourage you to memorize 00:14:15.080 --> 00:14:17.700 these verses and be ready to share this gift 00:14:17.700 --> 00:14:20.480 with those around you who are still in darkness. 00:14:21.419 --> 00:14:26.419 Help them to unwrap and to enjoy this great treasure 00:14:26.419 --> 00:14:30.419 of life so that they will know this miracle is 00:14:30.419 --> 00:14:35.200 for them. That because of the great love and 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:38.440 the saving work of our Lord Jesus Christ, the 00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:43.059 Word made flesh, they too can become the children 00:14:43.059 --> 00:14:49.059 of God. Amen. And now may the peace of God which 00:14:49.059 --> 00:14:51.399 passes all understanding keep your hearts and 00:14:51.399 --> 00:14:54.360 minds through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:14:55.159 --> 00:14:55.600 Amen.