Jesus Is No Longer A Baby
12/22/02
To truly understand Christmas we must see Jesus in all His glory.
2 Cor. 5:16 (NASB)
“Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even
though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this
way no longer.”
I am not a scrooge, I am not anti-Christmas. I enjoy the Christmas season, I enjoy the
cards, sharing gifts, and looking at the lights.
I have watched Christians who rebel against the Christmas
season and I understand why, but that approach seems to have no value in
furthering the gospel.
But, by the grace of our Lord Jesus, I need to share a very
sensitive, yet critical message that God has put upon my heart.
“Jesus Is No Longer A Baby”
Let’s look again at the verse I previously read…
2 Cor. 5:16 (NASB) “…even though we have known Christ
according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.”
Christmas has a great way of creating a spirit of passivity about
the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the seriousness of truly knowing Him!
I‘m not even speaking about the blatant cover up with Santa Claus
and tinsel, but there is a subtle passivity that the message of Christmas
portrays to the world.
Lawrence Richards said it so well:
Babies are cute. They are not
supposed to inspire awe.
Perhaps that’s one reason why
people find it so easy to trivialize Christmas. Baby Jesus, lying helpless in
the manger, can be viewed with mild affection. Folks can smile down at Him, and
then move on to the real business of the season—shopping, vacation, being with the
family, sending cards that say “holiday greetings” and so are unlikely to
offend with an overly religious message.
Despite what people may assume, Matthew wasn’t interested
in having us meet “Baby Jesus.” We know, because over and over this Gospel
writer quoted from the Old Testament. And the passages he selected and
applied directly to Christ are passages that insist we see not an Infant but a
King; not a Babe, but the Master of the universe.
Again I want us to listen to this verse…
2 Cor. 5:16 (NASB) “…even though we have known Christ
according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.”
After the message of the birth of Jesus Christ, it is never
mentioned again!
Jude 1 (NASB)
“Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James…”
Jude could no longer see Jesus in
the role of his earthly brother!
What if we started celebrating “Veterans Day” with a
cartoon character--Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse!?
Ÿ When it’s Martin Luther King day we
honor Martin Luther King!
Ÿ When it’s Lincoln’s birthday we honor
Abraham Lincoln!
Ÿ When it’s Washington’s birthday we honor
George Washington!
Ÿ When it’s Columbus day we honor
Christopher Columbus!
Satan has so cleverly covered up the fact that Jesus Christ
came to this earth to die a horrible death for our sins with Santa Claus and
the powerful act of the resurrection with the Easter Bunny!!
I would like to add something to what Oswald Chambers said…
Very few people really understand the
reason why Jesus Christ was born. If
sympathy is all that human beings need, then His mission on earth was absurd
and there was absolutely no need for it.
What the world needs is not “a little bit of love,” but major surgery.
This is the reason Jesus came as a baby…
Heb. 2:17 (NASB) “Therefore, He had to be made like His
brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the
people. 18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He
is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
Christmas should bring us to our knees!
Jesus came the first time as the “Lamb of God” He is coming
a second time as the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah!”
Heb. 9:27 (NASB)
“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes
judgment, 28so Christ
also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second
time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await
Him.”
The apostle John knew all about the birth of Jesus Christ,
but I believe this is the impression that stayed with Him…
Rev. 1:9 (NASB) “I, John, your brother and fellow partaker
in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was
on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of
Jesus. 10I was in the
Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound
of a trumpet, 11saying,
“Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to
Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to
Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
12Then I turned to see the voice that was
speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; 13and in the
middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe
reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. 14His
head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like
a flame of fire. 15His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been
made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many
waters. 16In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a
sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
17When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead
man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the
first and the last, 18and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am
alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.)
The reason for the Incarnation, the reason Jesus was born,
lived, died, and rose again, is that you and I might escape the punishments
described in Revelation.
He was born that all who believe might pass from the
darkness into the light, from death to life, from anguish into joy.
Read Rev. 8-9
Christmas is about rescue, it’s about salvation, deliverance,
grace and mercy!
Praise God for Christmas.
Praise Him for the Incarnation
for the Word made flesh.
I will not sing
of shepherds watching flocks
on frosty night
or angel choristers.
I will not sing of stable bare in
Bethlehem
or lowing oxen
wise men
trailing distant star
with gold and frankincense and
myrrh.
Tonight I will sing
praise to the Father
who stood on heaven’s threshold
and said farewell to His Son
as He stepped across the stars
to Bethlehem
and Jerusalem.
And I will sing praise to the
infinite eternal Son
who became most fine
a Baby
who would one day be executed
for my crimes.
Praise Him in the heavens.
Praise Him in the stable.
Praise Him in my heart.
Joseph Bayly