A Christmas Eve Meditation

While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” Luke 2:6-14

Intro: Something ordinary was going on in Bethlehem

A woman was giving birth to her first child – a son
– she is young, she has made a long journey, and she is far from home
• now she caresses and nurtures this new life
– I wonder if she is holding on to her awareness of the supernatural presence
• or is she preoccupied with exhaustion, busyness, and the ordinariness of it all?
• has she momentarily forgotten the angel and what he said?
◦ I wonder if she could use a reminder right about now?

Meanwhile, in the same region, something extraordinary was going on
– if you lived in that culture and at that time
• and you were responsible for making a big announcement,
◦ shepherds would be the least likely audience you would choose
◦ the are not the spokespersons in the Bible — not like priests or prophets
• but in the heart of God, they were the perfect candidates
– some biblical heroes were shepherds before becoming prophets, priests or kings
• what God loved about shepherds was their care for their flock
◦ God had little interest in leaders who used people to create armies, build empires and enrich themselves
◦ he loved the good shepherd who would willingly lay down his life for the sheep
• a poet-shepherd from Bethlehem wrote,

The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul . . . (Psa. 23:1-3)

◦ it was an analogy that God was pleased to adopt for himself

So the shepherds outside Bethlehem were graced with a revelation
– this is fitting, because Luke takes special interest in outcasts
• he emphasizes the way Jesus associated with the non-religious, diseased and sinners
– maybe, when shepherds barged in on Mary and Joseph with their story of angels,
• Mary was reminded of the miracle she was living
◦ maybe she was reawakened to the supernatural
• we know, at least, she recorded all these things in her heart’s journal

Now I will come to the point

There are four statements In verse 7 I want to emphasize:

1. she gave birth
2. her firstborn son
3. wrapped Him in cloths
4. laid him in a manger

– simple and straightforward, right?
• but now I will jump to the end of the story
◦ Joseph of Arimathea received permission to bury Jesus’ body
• in Luke 23:53 there are four statements I want to compare and contrast with Mary

1. Mary gave birth, this Joseph took it down–i.e., Jesus’ corpse
2. it (not a baby, not even a person, but a body)
3. and wrapped it in a linen cloth 
4. and laid Him, not in a manger, but in a tomb

– Luke has taken the same actions from the birth scene and applied them to the burial scene
• in fact, he is deliberate in tying the two ends of the story together
(notice also how his story begins in the temple in Jerusalem and ends there)

There is something else I want to show you
– the shepherd’s were frightened with a great fear when the angels appeared
• they were told about Jesus and that they could find him
– there are four statements in verse 12 I want to emphasize:

1. you will find
2. a baby
3. wrapped in cloths
4. lying in a manger

◦ a manger would be a familiar landmark for the shepherds
◦ in itself, it indicated to them where they should look

Again, I am going to jump to the end of the story (Lk. 24:1-9) Continue reading →

“Propheteering”

Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Matthew 7:15

Intro: Last week, Jesus left us at a crossroads

One road was broad and led through a wide gate to destruction
The other road was narrow and led through a small gate to life
– someone listening to Jesus might ask,
• “If the roads are that obviously different, how could we go wrong? How could there be only a few who find it?”
• that is the question Jesus answers in this passage
◦ some people out there are selling the broad road as the true road
– the problem of false prophets is addressed many times in the Old Testament

Thus says the LORD of hosts,
“Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you.
They are leading you into futility;
They speak a vision of their own imagination;
Not from the mouth of the LORD” (Jer. 23:16)

• Jesus warns the crowd that this will continue to be a risk for them

“Beware of the false prophets”

Notice the animal metaphor that Jesus uses to illustrate the risk
– compare this with his warning to the disciples before deploying them:

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. But beware of men (10:16-17)

• this is a similar analogy with reference to animals
◦ but in spite of the potential danger of aggressive wolves,
◦ it’s men that pose the greatest threat
• Jesus is watching out for his followers; he is warning them
– in the 1960’s and 70’s, many Christians wanted to learn about biblical prophecy
• they wanted to know how the world was going to end
◦ and if they could fulfillment of Bible predictions in the daily newspaper
• the disciples were curious too about when the end would come and what signs would precede it
◦ when Jesus answered their questions, the first words out of his mouth were:

See to it that no one misleads you (Mt. 24:4)

• isn’t that interesting?
◦ his first concern was that their fascination over fulfilled prophesy would be used to deceive them
◦ this is an ongoing danger that Jesus saw as a serious threat

Sheep appear harmless, vulnerable, fragile
– a perfect disguise for deadly religious predators

To conservative Christians, the danger is false doctrine
– but that is not always the case — the person who brings the message can be false
• false prophets can talk about God while promoting themselves

Many popular teachers make bold promises when selling people on their books, seminars, conferences, and recorded messages. They advertise their literature and lectures as providing buyers with the biblical principles necessary to divorce-proof their marriages; drug-proof their children; make rapid and pain-free progress in their spiritual journey; or attain all the material wealth every Christian should enjoy. Their spiel is so authoritative and promising, it is difficult to resist the broad path they promise the Christian consumer.

• more than once, prophets and people conspired substitute easy bromides for hard truth

An appalling and horrible thing
Has happened in the land:
The prophets prophesy falsely . . .
And My people love it so! (Jer. 5:30-31)

You must not prophesy to us what is right,
Speak to us pleasant words,
Prophesy illusions (Isa. 30:10)

– the truth about the false prophets: inwardly they are ravenous wolves
• “inwardly” has been one of Jesus’ main points in the Sermon
◦ he has been continuously probing our hearts
◦ and he will carry this on through the remainder of his ministry
• we have to look inward to find the real person

Jesus changes the metaphors to plants and trees

You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
So then, you will know them by their fruits Matthew 7: 16-20

The question now is, How can we recognize the false prophet? Continue reading →

We Can Do this the Easy Way or . . .

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8

Intro: Working our way through a passage like this,

We have to occasionally step back to see the whole canvas
– otherwise we lose perspective
• a couple of verses in today’s reading are familiar–even famous
• but they are usually quoted in isolation from their setting
◦ because their perspective is lost, we lose some of their meaning
– so stepping back to what we’ve seen over last few weeks:

1. The first half of chapter 6: we do not need to be hypocrites
   ◦ because our heavenly Father knows our devotion to him
   ◦ and that alone is what matters
2. The second half of chapter 6: we do not need to be anxious
   ◦ because our Father, who cares for birds and flowers, knows our needs
3. In first six verse of chapter 7: we do not need to judge others
   ◦ today we learn why

We can go to God with every need or concern

What motivates someone to critique and condemn another person?
– many do it to feel better about themselves
• perhaps because they feel:
◦ deeply insecure
◦ socially awkward, unable to connect face-to-face
◦ unimportant and overlooked
• perhaps they assume that exposing the flaws of others:
◦ improves their social status
◦ gives them power or influence
– I’ve know judgmental people who are trying to prove something
• not just they are right (e.g., doctrinally) and others are wrong
◦ but to prove that they are experts and therefore important
◦ they create the impression that people should listen to them
• then there are those with an inflated ego
• narcissists really believe they are better than everyone else

Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant [“puffs up” in KJV], but love edifies (1 Cor. 8:1)

We do not need to equalize social imbalances by judging others
– or build ourselves up by putting others down Continue reading →

It Really Is That Simple

Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1-2

Intro: At first, it seems like Jesus jumps to an entirely different subject

In fact, he is continuing to develop his theme of superior righteousness (Mt. 5:20)
– he is still concerned with the spirit of God’s law and our inner lives
• what he moves to in this passage is another way this applies to our lives
• Jesus covered two issues in chapter 6:
◦ hypocrisy: a potential problem we may have with God
◦ anxiety: a potential problem we may have with “things”
– now he covers a new issue
• judging: a potential problem we may have with other people

The Greek word translated “judge” is krino and has lots of meanings
– separate, evaluate, discern, condemn
• knowing how to interpret it depends a lot on the context
• in this instance Jesus says, “Don’t do this,” which indicates something that is always wrong
◦ so perhaps he is saying, “Do not condemn others”
◦ it is not our job to separate sheep from goats
◦ or decide whether a person stands or falls before God (Ro. 14:4)
– we can immediately dismiss the idea Jesus forbids making any kind of judgment
• such as the judicial system, discerning whether a person is safe or someone is telling the truth
◦ these types of judgments have the support of scripture
• if we keep in mind the whole sermon, the Lord’s concerns include:

• Not evaluating or forming opinions of others without compassion for them
  ◦ we have been instructed to love even our enemies
  ◦ certainly we are not to identify someone’s error or wrong doing without love
• Whatever we discover about others, we must be ready to show them mercy
  ◦ we are to be peacemakers
  ◦ the goal of confronting someone is to be reconciled to him or her (cf. Mt. 18:15)

A couple of interesting facets of this chapter’s text:

1. We will find echoes of the beatitudes in it
   • for example: “Blessed are merciful … the pure in heart … the peacemakers”
   • what we have learned already is elaborated and reinforced
2. We will find it is filled with metaphors
   • balance scales, a speck and a log, animals, a gate, a vine, etc.
   • metaphors add artistry to a speech
   ◦ and they assists our understanding through analogies
   ◦ but metaphors also create challenges for interpretation

1-2, The flip-side of “Blessed are the merciful . . .” (5:7) Continue reading →