Sometimes good news can feel a bit like indifferent news or maybe irrelevant news.
So when that friend of yours comes to you to let you know the good news that they have won the lottery,
there's a part of you, the good part, that says, I'm really happy for you, and you mean it genuinely.
But there's the more honest part of you that sits there and says, well, that's good news for you, but that's irrelevant for me.
You know, it's external news, maybe.
Good news would be, hey, you've won the lottery and you're going to give me half.
Or good news would be, you've won the lottery and I have as well.
You know, it was a syndicate ticket or something like that.
Good news can sometimes feel like irrelevant news if it feels like news that has nothing to do with you.
Doesn't matter how good it is, if it doesn't connect to you, it falls into that category of kind of irrelevant, kind of unimportant,
and you kind of feel a bit ambivalent towards the whole thing.
Now, is it possible that that's where Christmas sits for some of us?
Now, you've been through plenty of Christmases.
We pull them out every year.
It happens.
It's unavoidable.
There's bits of it that you know are good.
You know, there's family time, which might be good or bad.
There's overeating.
There's all the fantastic things.
Even the Christian part of Christmas, it's a good story.
I mean, we've been doing dramas about this year after year.
We never get tired of it.
We wheel it out.
We invent extra animals to be part of the nativity because it is such a good story.
It's good, but it kind of feels like this separate story.
It kind of feels like it's a story over there, maybe a story for the world, but it's not a story for me.
It's not good news for me specifically or personally.
I mean, this story has everything.
It's got scandal pregnancy.
It's got refugees.
It's got angel messengers.
It's got a virgin birth.
It's even got attempted genocide in there when Herod tries to kill all the babies.
But for such a great story, it still feels like kind of someone else's news.
It feels like a story.
It doesn't feel like something that makes a difference to me.
Even the miracle of Christmas, that God became human, feels like it's a story.
But we need to ask the question as we come to Christmas, as we hear a story that we've heard a thousand times,
as we sing carols that we've sung over and over,
as we remind ourselves of this incredible narrative of these incredible miracles,
we need to ask the question, why Christmas?
Why did God do this?
Because then we're maybe just a small chance of recognizing that this is not irrelevant for anyone.
This is not indifferent for anyone.
As Steve has already encouraged us, you can't respond to the Christmas story with apathy or disinterest.
It's either the best news in the world or the scariest, most condemning thing that's going to make you respond in anger.
We need to ask the question, why?
Why would an infinite God, who is all-powerful, who existed before the creation of the world,
who has no beginning and no end, who created everything that we see, feel, hear, taste, touch,
why would that God choose to become a baby?
For a good story?
The answer that Hebrews 2 is for you.
Not for generally people, for you.
The whole Christmas story, the miracle of God becoming a baby, becoming flesh, is for you.
I just want to focus on one verse from that Hebrews 2 passage that was read out, verse 17.
And I'll get Laura to throw it on the screen again.
For this reason, this is the explanation, this is the answer.
For this reason, he had to be made like them, fully human in every way,
in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God,
and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
The context of Christmas helps us answer this question.
The context for Christmas, the context for Jesus, the context for God becoming flesh,
is separation, is gap, is distance.
The reality of God and creation is that from the beginning, it's been a progressive separation
and not an accidental and intentional, willful rejection of God.
So those that were created have consciously and actively and increasingly made the decision
to reject God, to ignore him, to pretend like he doesn't matter.
That's the context of the world into which the baby Jesus is born.
But it's not just a world context, it's a you context.
So as you come to Christmas this year, and as you come to Christmas every year,
you've got to come understanding that the context into which you hear this message
that God became a human is a context of you in separation from God,
of you distanced from God.
You cut off from God, cut off from his goodness, cut off from his grace, cut off from his love.
God is holy and powerful, you are not.
God is pure and just and good, you are not.
There is a gap, a chasm that cannot be crossed.
That's the context for Christmas.
A God who is good, a God whose blessing and love is desirable,
and then you, who doesn't deserve it, who can't attain it, who can't get it,
no matter how much you want it.
The context for Christmas is gap, is distance, is separation.
And into that gap, God expresses his heart.
God expresses his desire to have relationship with people like you and me who do not deserve it.
Christmas is God saying, I love you in spite of the fact that you don't deserve it.
In spite of the fact that the gap is your fault.
You're the one who distanced yourself from God.
You're the one who rejected him.
But Christmas in that manger is God saying, I love you enough to cross that divide.
And he crosses it by sending Jesus to connect us to him.
To be a merciful and faithful high priest.
Now I want to stop on that word for a sec,
because priest is a word that might have some baggage in it for us.
When we think priest, I don't know what your picture is.
It might involve fancy outfits.
It might involve some sort of primitive tribal thing
where the priest is somehow elevated and removed from the riffraff like the rest of us.
We have this potentially distorted idea of what a priest does and how a priest functions.
But really, what a priest is, is a mediator, a go-between.
A priest's job is to bring two parties that are separated by something together.
That's how a priest functions.
Priests identify with both parties so that the two parties can come together.
That's all a priest is.
We don't need to worry about any of the other things.
And so here in this verse, Jesus is human.
He's like us.
In order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God.
So he's the one that steps into the gap and takes a pure, holy, majestic, powerful, just, pure God
and can connect him to an impure, powerless, disobedient, sinful person like me and like you.
See, priests identify with those they represent.
And this priest, Jesus, identifies with the Father who sends him.
He comes as the one who can offer mercy.
And to do that, to be someone who can offer mercy, he has to be the one who's been wronged.
He has to be God.
God's the one who's been wronged.
God's the one who's been ignored.
God's the one who's been rejected.
And so for a priest to be able to offer mercy, he has to be the one who's been wronged.
So if I was to punch Nick in the face right now and Steve said, you're forgiven, that's very nice.
But Steve's not actually in the position to offer mercy.
The one who's been injured, attacked, wronged is the only one who can offer mercy.
The issue in our separation between us and God is that we have rejected God.
And so only God can offer mercy.
This has been the problem with most problem priests throughout human history.
Is they can represent us because they're like us.
But they can't stand in the position of God and offer mercy.
Because they're not God.
They haven't been wronged.
They can't adequately represent him.
And even if they were to say that they could, how would you have confidence that their words of forgiveness,
their communication that you had been given mercy was legitimate?
How would you have any confidence based on the words of somebody just like you,
imperfect,
to then go and face up to a perfect God?
Jesus had to be God to be able to be the priest that could offer mercy.
And mercy was what was required because the gap issue
was a judgment issue.
The context of Christmas is a judgment context.
The reason Jesus had to be not only a priest who was merciful and faithful,
but also the one that would make atonement for sins or make payment for sins,
is because sin is the problem.
Sin is the thing that had to be dealt with.
Sin is the reason there's a gap.
Now, when we think about sin, we might instantly think about the obvious sins.
We go straight away to drugs and sex and power and all those sorts of things.
But really, what the Bible says sin is, in Romans 1, is a failure to glorify God.
It's a failure to love him the way he deserves.
It's a failure to recognize that he is God, we are not.
A failure to recognize that he is creator.
He has the right to be in charge, to be in control.
A failure to give him the authority and honor that he deserves.
And in its place, to give ourselves authority that is not ours.
The result of rejecting one in authority is judgment.
That's what happens.
If you ignore the police out of some weird warped sense of entitlement
that somehow you should be in charge and they should not,
the result will be judgment, will be consequence.
When you reject one in rightful authority, the result is judgment.
And the judgment that we experience for our rejection of God is distance.
It's the inability to even come to him anymore.
Which is why there are things wrong with our world.
This week, as you no doubt read the papers,
as we see people being murdered just for living in a city that some other people want,
the reason for that kind of suffering and injustice
is because we have rejected the one who is rightfully in authority.
And the judgment we've received is he said,
okay, see how you go.
See what happens when you're in charge.
And even as we begin to realize that it's not working,
things should be different,
the gap continues to be a gap that we cannot cross ourselves.
Judgment is the distance.
Christmas.
And so Christmas is Jesus coming
to be our substitute,
to make the payment that needs to be made for our sin,
to close the gap between us and God.
Christmas
is God taking a step towards you,
even as you've been backpedaling through your life.
Christmas
is God saying,
I love you,
while we're still saying,
stay away.
Christmas
is you in your most disobedient moment,
receiving affection
from a loving Heavenly Father.
Christmas is God's first move
in bringing wayward children back to himself.
The baby in the manger is God's step,
not just towards the world,
towards you.
You've got to catch this.
If Christmas has just become that thing
that we celebrate every year,
you've got to listen again.
The why of Christmas,
the why of every miracle
that we will celebrate
in the next week and a bit,
is you.
Is God saying,
I love you,
even though you don't deserve it.
Jesus is the priest
who can give us access to God
because he comes from God,
he speaks on God's behalf,
he's God's chosen representative and priest.
He's the one who can offer mercy.
But there's two halves to it.
He can represent God,
but more than that,
because he becomes a baby,
because he becomes a human,
he can represent us too.
If he was just from God,
that would be fantastic.
It would be amazing
that God would choose
to express his love like that.
But a priest needs to be able
to represent both parties.
Needs to be able
to draw them together.
That's why he had to be made like us
in every way.
Not human-like,
not human-ish.
Human.
Helpless.
Hungry.
Tired.
Tempted.
As God's representative,
he takes the first step towards us,
towards bringing us back
into a relationship with God.
And as a human representative,
as your representative,
he brings you the rest of the way.
He represents you in his life,
perfectly obedient to his heavenly father,
and he represents you in his death.
Where he makes payment for your sin,
for my sin.
Christmas,
God becoming a human,
is why Easter works.
The payment required for human sin
is human death.
The substitute necessary
is like for like.
You on the chopping block,
him on the chopping block.
For Easter to be hopeful,
you need Jesus to come as a human
in the manger
on that very first Christmas night.
Only one who is like us
could represent us.
Only one who is like us
can take our place
and pay the price
for sin and death.
It is true that hope
is born at Christmas.
Hope for more than your existence
right now.
Hope for a world
where there is no more Aleppo.
No more war.
No more suffering.
No more injustice.
Hope is born on that night
because finally the means
of fixing those things
can be brought near
through Jesus.
Hope for your own life
where there is not
suffering,
where there is not
discontent,
where there is not depression,
where there is not loneliness,
where there is not unemployment.
That is only possible
in the power of a God
who can deal with all the things
that cause that in our life.
With a God who can give us
the certainty
of his unconditional love,
his goodness
and his provision.
Hope for you
is born at Christmas.
Hope for the world
is born at Christmas.
If Christmas is indifferent news,
you haven't understood it.
I remember,
I've shared with those of you
who have been around here
a few times
that I'm on a journey
from Grinch
to Christmas enthusiast.
And some parts of Christmas,
not all parts of Christmas,
some parts are still
a little bit annoying to me,
but one of the things
that used to really anger me
at Christmas
was walking through the shops
and when I say Christmas,
I mean like late July
when they start playing
Christmas carols.
And I'd be wandering
through the shops
and I'd hear a song
like the one we just sung,
O Holy Night.
And there was a part of me
that went,
oh man,
what an incredible truth
that Christ is born,
that heaven is offered,
that forgiveness is available,
that God shows mercy
to people like us.
And then I'd look at
all these people around me,
either oblivious
to the fact the song's playing
or tapping their feet
or humming along,
oblivious to what the song
is saying,
completely indifferent
to the reality
that is being proclaimed.
See, Christmas is hopeful
and or offensive.
See, the necessary context
for us to understand Christmas
is the offensive message
that you are cut off from God.
That's what we celebrate,
that there is grace
and hope in Jesus
because we know
we need grace and hope
because we know
we don't deserve it.
And so,
I used to get agitated
because I would look
at these people
who are oblivious
to the fact
that they are
right now
sitting under
the judgment of God,
right now deserving
of the judgment of God,
just like I am.
But they are oblivious
to that fact.
And so,
the message
that the God
who has rightful authority
over them,
rightful punishment
for them,
the message
that that God
has chosen
to love them anyway
means nothing
to them.
And it used to make me
so angry
that you watch
carols in the domain
and people
who,
you know,
have no idea
who Jesus is
or what he does
just,
you know,
smile and happily
sing along
about the saviour
of the world.
He's saving us
from judgment.
I feel like I want
to write a carol
about judgment
so that people
can catch it
just for a second.
If Christmas
is indifferent
to you,
if it's just
another thing
that comes around
annually in the year,
I don't think
you've got it.
You know the story,
you know the details,
but I don't think
you get the why.
I don't think
you understand
the heart of God
on display.
Christmas is God
bridging a gap
that you made.
Christmas is God
stepping towards you
even though
you don't deserve it.
The real miracle
of Christmas
is not so much
what happened,
it's a miracle,
but the real miracle
is why it happened.
The miracle
of Christmas
is that God
is making a way
for you to be
friends with him.
God choosing
to show mercy
to a world
that's rejected him.
In the manger
is an invitation
for anyone
who will respond
to find mercy,
forgiveness,
hope,
and peace
in a relationship
with the God
who rules all things.
Christmas is truly
the day that hope
is
and can be
born for you.
If you're
somebody
who's been
following Jesus
for a while,
I want to
encourage you
this Christmas
to focus
on the why.
Focus on
what Christmas
tells you
about how God
feels towards you.
Enjoy the
nativity,
celebrate the
miracle of
the virgin birth,
the star in the sky,
the wise men.
It is all
miraculous,
but focus
on the miracle
that God
shows you
mercy
when you don't
deserve it.
That God
pays his cost
so that you
might know
what it is
to be loved.
And if you're
not a Christian,
maybe you're
a guest here
today because
it's Christmas
and church
seems like
the right place
to go at Christmas,
I want to
encourage you
to look at
the story
again and
understand that
it's more
than a story.
It's God
speaking to
you.
It's God
doing something
for you.
It's
ultimately
God's
invitation
to you.
In Jesus
is the
offer of
mercy,
forgiveness,
hope,
and peace
to anyone
who would
respond.
Thank you.