We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church.
This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication,
redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church.
Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org.
The Old Testament reading for tonight, a reading from the prophet Isaiah, chapter 9, verses 2 through 7.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shone.
You have multiplied the nation. You have increased its joy.
They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
For the yoke of his burden and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken, as on the day of Midian.
For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult,
and every garment rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born.
To us a son is given.
And the government shall be upon his shoulder.
And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end.
On the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness,
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
The grass withers and the flowers fade.
But the word of our God stands forever.
This is a reading from the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 2, verses 1 through 12.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod,
Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked,
Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews?
We saw his star when it rose, and have come to worship him.
When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
When he had called together all the people's chief priests and the teachers of the law,
he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.
In Bethlehem in Judea, they replied,
For this is what the prophet has written.
But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.
For out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people, Israel.
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
Go and search carefully for the child.
As soon as you find him, report to me,
so that I too may go and worship him.
After they had heard the king, they went on their way,
and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them
until it stopped over the place where the child was.
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary,
and they bowed down and worshipped him.
Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod,
they returned to their country by another route.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Merry Christmas to you all.
It's very good to see you tonight.
If you are coming tonight with a family member or a friend as a guest,
I want you to know that you are very warmly welcomed here.
This is a mixed crowd spiritually
in that some of us are exploring Christianity
and the claims about Jesus Christ or by Jesus Christ for the first time.
Some of us are reengaging with the church and with Christian faith
after a season away because of the pandemic
or because of a move or some other challenge in your life.
Some of us are here tonight to worship Christ.
We have settled Christian beliefs and values.
Some of you are here tonight because a family member or a friend invited you
and your being here tonight is the main Christmas present you're giving to them.
And so we want to say that we're truly glad that you've come.
Whether you identify as a skeptic or were raised in another faith,
you're a spiritual seeker or someone who's exploring Christianity,
it's important, I think, for all of us to know why it is
that 2.3 billion people around the world are celebrating the birth of Christ tonight.
To know what those people believe and why.
So at a minimum, we can be culturally literate
and have some intelligible conversations over this holiday season.
That's my minimal goal, but I do hope to do more than that tonight
to perhaps awaken faith and kindle some hope and love in you as well.
This past month at Christ Church, we've been exploring various carols of Christmas,
some of which we just sang.
And our final carol tonight, you can see printed just after the gospel text,
it opens with this question,
What child is this?
And the answer in the first stanza is this,
this is Christ the King,
whom shepherds guard and angels sing.
And what that tells us is that
the real meaning of Christmas is about a royal birth.
It's about a coming monarch.
It's about the arrival of a sovereign.
And I want to draw our attention back to that Old Testament lesson
we just read from the prophet Isaiah,
who's speaking and writing 700 years before this birth,
and he's foretelling the coming of the Messiah,
this anointed king.
And he says there in Isaiah 9, 6,
I encourage you to look at it again,
he says,
For unto us a child is born,
and to us a son is given.
He says there will be a child
that's born from a human mother,
and who will also be a son given from God.
So who is this human-born child?
Who is this God-given son?
And what will he come to do?
And I want to just explore that question tonight
through this Christmas carol
and through this scripture that inspired the carol.
So allow me to read this carol once again.
If it's not fresh for us,
I'll read it for us.
What child is this who laid to rest
on Mary's lap is sleeping,
whom angels greet with anthems sweet
while shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King
whom shepherds guard and angels sing.
Haste, haste to bring him laud,
the babe, the son of Mary.
Why lies he in such mean estate
where ox and lamb are feeding?
Good Christian fear for sinners
here the silent word is pleading.
Nails, spears shall pierce him through.
The cross be born for me, for you.
Hail, hail, the word made flesh,
the babe, the son of Mary.
So bring him incense, gold and myrrh.
Come, peasant king, to own him.
The king of kings salvation brings.
Let loving hearts enthrone him.
Raise, raise a song on high.
The virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy, for Christ is born,
the babe, the son of Mary.
I just want to explore this carol
and reflect on it for a moment.
Going through these three stanzas,
I want to just say that the child is a king,
the king is lowly,
and his kingdom is forever.
The child is a king,
the king is lowly,
and his kingdom is forever.
First of all, the child is a king.
The prophet Isaiah says there in 9 verse 6,
he says the government will be on his shoulders.
This child that's coming is going to bear
executive authority and power.
He's going to exercise sovereignty and supremacy.
And we all know, you know,
if you've seen the crown,
you have to, when you enter a royal court,
you have to abide by protocol
protocol for her majesty or his majesty.
And so what is the throne name
of this king who's coming?
How does this,
what should we be calling him?
And how does this indicate
the nature of his coming rule
and his reign?
And so the prophet Isaiah
answers that question for us.
He says,
his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
His name stands for who he is
and what he does.
And so first of all,
we learn here that the coming king
will be a wonderful counselor.
Wonderful here in Hebrew,
it has a sense of supernatural
or wonder working.
In the Bible,
God and God alone
is the wonderful counselor
because he sees the end
from the beginning.
He created the world after all
and he has a supernatural plan
to save it.
He's got a wonder working program
of redemption
for all the nations of the world.
And so it seems here
that God,
the wonderful counselor,
is entrusting his eternal counsel
to his Messiah.
And this Messiah will come
and he will bring this supernatural plan.
He will bring this wonder working program
to the world.
And when he does that,
he will be the wisest,
the greatest,
the final word
that God has ever given to humanity.
He'll come
and he'll teach authoritative truth
about God
and about the human heart
and about the deepest problem
of our world.
And it will be said of him,
in him are hidden
all the treasures of wisdom
and of knowledge.
He'll be the wonderful counselor.
But in this coming king,
we not only have
a wonderful counselor,
we have the mighty God.
This child born of a woman
will also be like
the God of Israel.
He'll be as mighty
as the one who created the universe
with a word saying,
let there be light
and bang,
there was light.
He will be so powerful.
He'll be as powerful
as the one
who delivered his people
from slavery
and oppression
in Egypt.
Right?
Because that's what mighty means.
Mighty refers to
this strong warrior,
this champion
who fights
and wins battles
on behalf of
and in place of
his people
to set them free
from bondage
and from their enemies.
So in the Messiah,
this mighty God will come
and he will have power
to put this wonder-working
counsel of God
into effect.
He will have an authority
to execute God's
eternal plan
of salvation,
this program
of redemption
to set people free.
This coming king
is the wonderful counselor.
He's the mighty God
and it says
he's also the everlasting father.
When the Messiah comes
as the wonderful counselor
with plans
for the whole wide world
and when he comes
as the mighty God
with divine power
to set human beings
free from their bondage,
he will make us
God's children
and he will exercise
God the Father's
goodness and care
for his family.
He'll protect
and provide
for his people
as a father protects
and provides
for his children.
This coming king
will be
the wonderful counselor,
the mighty God,
the everlasting father,
and he'll also be
the prince of peace.
He's a monarch,
he's a sovereign
who is able to bring
peace and prosperity
to his dominion
and in particular
this Messiah
will bring shalom
between God
and human beings.
Though we ignore God,
though we disregard God,
though we resist God,
though we oppose God,
though sometimes we're even
hostile to God
as an enemy,
this prince of peace
is coming
to reconcile us
to God.
Question,
what child is this?
Answer,
this,
this is Christ,
the king,
this child born
of a woman,
the son given
from God,
the one who will bear
the government
of the universe
on his shoulders,
this king
with four names.
Ultimately,
every knee
is going to bow
before him
and every tongue
is going to confess
that he,
the wonderful counselor,
mighty God,
everlasting father,
prince of peace,
is the Lord of all.
And that's why
this carol says,
haste, haste
to bring him laud,
the babe,
the son of Mary.
In other words,
don't hold back.
Don't hold back
in bringing him
your praise
and your worship
tonight
and in this Christmas season
and the rest
of the short time
that God gives you
on this earth.
The child is a king.
And more than that,
the child is a king
but the king
is lowly.
The king
is lowly.
Stanza two
of our carols says,
why lies he
in such mean estate
where ox and lamb
are feeding?
In other words,
why is this child
who's born,
this son who's given,
this king with four names,
why in the world
is he in a manger?
Why is he in an animal
feed trough?
Why is he not
in a palace
on a grand estate
encircled by magistrates
and military generals
and world class scholars?
Why isn't he in a place
that's more fitting
for a king
of this stature
and of this nature?
Why is he born here
in obscurity
among the working class?
Now,
on the way
over here tonight,
I saw a car
with a bumper sticker
that said,
elections matter.
And,
as I think you know,
there's an election
coming up in 2024.
And I'm sure
that's why you came tonight
to hear me
talk about politics,
right?
Right?
Politicians
over the course
of this next year
on the left
and the right
are going to present
themselves
with great fanfare
as the answer
to all of our problems
and as the key
to all of our prosperity.
And as they do that,
they're going to project
an image of strength
to us.
They're going to project
an image of competence
and charisma
in an effort
to win our votes.
But I want to point out
tonight that God's ways
are not our ways
or God's ways
are at least not
our politicians' ways.
Because what's
the characteristic mark
of this Prince of Peace's
rule and reign?
From day one,
he's marked
by lowliness.
He's marked
by humility.
He's marked
by downward mobility.
Not only
does this Messiah
leave behind
his heavenly glory,
not only does he
stoop down
to veil himself
in human flesh,
and not only
does he lower himself
into this manger throne,
but he lives
a whole life,
a whole lifetime
of lowliness.
And that lifetime
of lowliness
climaxes on what?
On a Roman cross.
The ultimate symbol
of lowliness,
of humiliation,
the ultimate declaration
that he is,
in fact,
a nobody
and a nothing.
Some of you might say,
well,
bah humbug to
all of this talk.
Why in the world
would you sour
the happiness
of Christmas
by singing
this line,
nails,
spears,
shall pierce him
through the cross,
be born for me,
for you?
Why can't you just
leave that
to a good Friday?
You're kind of like
the Grinch,
just stealing
and ruining
our Christmas.
Just let us enjoy,
just for tonight,
a sentimentalized
and sanitized
version of Christmas
with this cute,
cuddly little baby
Jesus.
Don't we all want
that a little bit?
No nails,
no spears,
no cross,
no blood,
no death.
But friends,
that would cut
the heart
right out of Christmas.
We would be
forgetting why
the world
needed a Messiah
to be born at all.
This Christmas carol
is reminding us
that the Prince of Peace
was born to die.
And the way
that this Prince
will bring peace,
the way that he
will reconcile
us to God
will be to take
our place
as our substitute
on that cross.
That's why
the Prince of Peace
came,
not to bring
judgment upon us,
but to bear
judgment for us
so that we
don't have to.
If you know
anything about
the prophet Isaiah
and you read
the whole of his work,
you eventually,
after you read
Isaiah 9,
you eventually
come to Isaiah 53
where the prophet
says this,
he,
this child to be born,
the son to be given,
this king with four names,
he,
was pierced
for our transgressions,
he was crushed
for our iniquities,
the punishment
that brought us peace
was on him,
and by his wounds
we are healed.
It's because we all,
if we're honest
with ourselves,
have transgressed
God's moral law
of love
that we deserve
to be pierced.
But,
the good news
of Christmas
is that our
Prince of Peace
who lies here
in such mean
a state
has been pierced
for us instead.
That because
we are guilty
of iniquities,
that's an old word
that means
because we're guilty
of injustices
toward one another
and toward God.
We deserve
to be crushed,
but the good news
of Christmas
is that our
Prince of Peace
here in this lowly
manger where ox
and lamb are feeding,
he's come to be
crushed instead
of us.
You see this connection
between Isaiah 9
and Isaiah 53?
Our Prince of Peace
bore our punishment
so that we can have
the peace.
He got the wounds
so that we could get
the healing.
And we must not
sever this link
between Bethlehem
and Golgotha,
between his cradle
and his cross
and between
the peace that we get
and the punishment
that he got.
Nails,
spears
shall pierce him
through the cross
be born for me
for you.
That line
does not ruin Christmas.
That's what gives
Christmas its power
and its glory.
Because this
wonderful counselor,
this mighty God,
this everlasting
father,
this prince of peace
who has the name
above every other name
has come in such lowliness,
such humility,
such downward mobility
that's like nothing
the world has ever seen
from any other politician
or any other king.
Amen?
The costliness of his birth,
the sacrifice of his death,
the peace and the reconciliation
with God
that he came to win for us
is worthy of our praise.
And that's why this carol says,
hail, hail,
the word made flesh,
the babe,
the son of Mary.
To hail
means to greet someone
with enthusiastic
approval and acclaim.
And I hope you've come
to do that tonight.
This lowly king
who began in a place
of such mean estate
where ox and lamb
are feeding
and this lamb who,
this lowly king
who deliberately went
to this place
of nails and spears
and a cross for you,
he's worthy
of our enthusiasm.
He's worthy
of our approval
and our acclaim
and our worship tonight.
So the child is a king,
the king is lowly
and just one last thought
is that his kingdom
is forever.
His kingdom is forever.
Look at stanza three
of our carol
that we're going to sing
in a moment.
It says,
so bring him incense,
gold and myrrh,
compesant king to own him.
The king of kings salvation brings,
let loving hearts enthrone him.
And this refers
to the gospel of Matthew
where these magi from the east,
these wise kings,
these Gentile philosophers
came to this manger
and to this cradle
and it says
in the gospel of Matthew
that we read a moment ago
in chapter two,
verse 11,
it says,
when they saw the child,
Jesus,
they bowed down
and they worshiped him.
Now what's happening
in that moment?
These kings from the east,
they've spent their whole lives
studying world history
and they know
that kingdoms rise
and then kingdoms fall.
They've seen the pattern
that every other king
that's ever ruled,
their rule and their reign
is necessarily episodic
and necessarily insecure.
They've learned
that empires
are always emerging
and then disappearing.
They flow
and then they ebb
and they know
that all the peoples
of the world,
all the nations
of the world
are longing
and they're waiting
for a king
who will come
to do something
about this world.
A king that will come
to do something
about this place
of deep confusion
and disorder
and war
and strife
and strain
and cruelty
and pain
and suffering.
And when they finally
get to the cradle
of Christ,
it says that they bowed down
and they worshipped him.
Why did they do that?
Because they've met
the child to be born.
They've met the son
to be given.
They've met the king
with four names.
They've come
and they've encountered
this one
of whom it's foretold
in Isaiah chapter 9
verse 7.
It says,
of the increase
of his government
and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign
on David's throne
and over his kingdom
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on
and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
What a contrast
to every other kingdom
and every other rule
and reign.
Can any of us
even dare
to imagine tonight
what it would mean
to live
in a society
of justice
and righteousness?
What must it be like
to dwell
in a kingdom
that's run
by just procedures
which reflect
righteous principles?
Can you imagine that?
It says,
of the increase
of his government
and peace
there will be
no end.
This is not
a temporary kingdom.
It's not going
to triumph
for a little while
and then fall
and then be overthrown
like every other kingdom.
No, this kingdom
that's being established
is firmly established
and it's going
to go on increasing
until it occupies
all the space
in the universe
until this king
comes to rule
over all
and to banish
all that's evil
all sin
and all death
until he comes
to reorder
our entire cosmos
and what will
be the result
of his rule?
Stability.
Security.
Of the increase
of peace
there will be
no end.
There will be
an endless sharing
among us
of shalom
and wholeness
and well-being
and fulfillment
and that,
my friends,
is going to happen
on a coming
future day.
His kingdom
is never going
to come
to an end
and unless
you and I
become a citizen
of his eternal kingdom
we don't have
much of a future.
In fact,
we don't have
a future at all
and so the question
tonight is
how do I
get into
and how do I
live in his kingdom?
And the answer
is this line
we're about to sing
where it says
the king of kings
salvation brings
let loving hearts
enthrone him.
And I want to invite
you to just do that
this Christmas
whether that's tonight
or over the next
12 days of Christmas
to take your place
at this manger throne
to come to the cradle
of this king
and to bring him
gifts that are
worthy of a monarch
to bring this sovereign
the kind of things
that he deserves
not least
the gift of your heart
and the gift
of your allegiance
and all of your affections
because there's no
greater Christmas present
than receiving this king
with four names
and there's no
greater present
that you could give him
than to give him
your very self.
And so friends
I want to say to us
let us enthrone him
with loving hearts tonight
and let's praise him
from a glad
and a full heart
and let's celebrate
his birth
with everything
that we've got
and let's go out
from here
and live as people
who follow
in the lowly way
of our king
and go out
to spread
the peace
of our prince of peace
and his eternal kingdom
to everyone
we encounter.
And let's sing this carol
together
from a place
of deep conviction
and faith.
If you believe it
I invite you to stand with me
and we're going to offer
this carol
in the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.