Advent 2021: Christmas Eve

Introduction 

We love watching Christmas movies as a family: Home Alone 1 and 2, Santa Clause, Four Christmases, and of course, Will Ferrell’s Elf. Pastor Kevin hates the movie Elf. I thought he was the only human on the planet that hated Elf, until Brittany Ankerman told me at our flock Christmas party that she hates it too. A Will Ferrell movie that we usually don’t associate with Christmas is the 2006 classic Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. There’s a scene in Talladega Nights where Will Ferrell is saying grace over dinner and he begins his prayer: “Dear baby Jesus; 8 lb. 10 oz. baby Jesus.” His wife rebukes him saying that baby Jesus grew up and had a beard. Will Ferrell responds that he likes baby Jesus the best and when she says grace she can pray to whatever Jesus she wants to.

The scene is absurd but it’s not too far from how our culture, and even many Christians, think about Jesus around Advent and Christmas. To many, Christmas Eve is about the little Lord Jesus away in a manger, no crying he makes. But that is not the Jesus announced by the angel in the pericope that Zack just read. The angel declares:

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2.10-11).

As we light the Christ candle tonight our Christmas Eve homily will be on this three-fold description of baby Jesus. He is our savior, who is Christ the Lord. Those are our three points. First what does it mean that Jesus is our savior? Second, what does it mean that Jesus is our Christ? And finally what does it mean that Jesus is our Lord?

Jesus Is Our Savior

First, what does it mean that Jesus is our savior? The mission of Jesus throughout all of redemptive history has been, as Matthew 1.21 puts it, to save his people from their sins. All of the types and shadows throughout the Old Testament have been leading us to this moment: Israel being brought back after 70 years in exile; Daniel being saved from the lions den; David being saved from the hands of King Saul; Ruth’s redemption by Boaz; the Exodus; Noah’s salvation from the flood, to name a few. The promise of salvation from sins can be traced all the way back to the protoevangelium the first gospel, in Genesis 3.15.

After Adam sinned YHWH cursed the serpent and promised: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” This baby Jesus is the seed of the woman, who has come, as the Nicene Creed puts it, “for us and our salvation.” He is the one, as we confessed earlier in the Apostles’ Creed, who was, “Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.” A couple of years ago Pastor Kevin and I were meeting with someone who was friends with a pastor of a local mega church. He told us that in the pastoral meetings at this local mega church the pastors were debating whether or not they needed to affirm the virgin birth of Christ. They were worried that it would be too offensive to people so they considered dropping the Holy Spirit conception and virgin birth of Christ.

They can do so, if they want, but they will no longer be Christian. It is imperative that we confess the Holy Spirit conception and virgin birth of Christ because without them we have no savior. Because Jesus was conceived by the Spirit and born of the virgin he has no sin nature. Because he is truly God and truly man, he can save us from our sins.

Salvation is completely the work of Christ from start to finish. Theologically, when we speak of salvation we’re talking about three phases: justification, sanctification, and glorification. Justification is the doctrine of how people are made right with God an Protestants have always taught that people are justified by faith alone.

Justification comes through the gospel. The gospel is the announcement of the good news of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a truly human life, yet without sin (Hen 4.15). Jesus’ sinless life earned our righteousness before God. Then on the cross Jesus bore the wrath of God for our sins. Jesus was our substitute, paying the penalty for our sin. On the cross God pour out every drop of wrath he had for our sin. And when Jesus resurrected on Easter Sunday it was the verification that our sins were paid for.

In order for Jesus to be your savior, in order to be justified, you must place your faith in Christ alone. The Reformed tradition has always defined faith with three facets: knowledge, ascent, and trust. You must know all of the facts of the person and work of Christ. The gospel is not a fairy tale; it is not a list of ethical demands; it is an announcement of an historical event. Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

But knowledge is not enough. You must also assent that these facts are true. And then you must place your trust in the person and work of Christ. You must lay the full weight of your hope in the gospel. The first question in the New City Catechism is, “What is our only hope in life and death?” The answer, “That we are not our own, but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God, and to our savior, Jesus Christ.” Will you accept the greatest Christmas gift you ever can? Will you repent of your sin and trust in Christ?

If you will, you will be justified. But not only will God justify you; he will sanctify you. Sanctification is the process of salvation wherein, after justification, God keeps you until the day of resurrection and makes you more like Jesus every day. Like justification, sanctification is the work of Christ. If you trust in Christ, the Father will give you the Holy Spirit who will seal you for the day of redemption. He will progressively make you holy through the Word and the Sacraments. This is not works-based salvation. You don’t do good works so that God will be pleased with you. In Christ God is pleased with you, so do good works!

Sanctification leads us to the final stage of salvation: glorification. Glorification is the doctrine that when Christ returns he will raise you from the dead, declare you righteous, and bring you into the new creation to live forever. In the new creation you will never sin and never desire sin. I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this because Pastor Kevin will preach on glorification this Sunday. For now suffice to say that Christmas is eschatological. This baby is the King of the universe who will, as CS Lewis said, “make everything sad untrue.”

Jesus Is Our Christ

Not only is Jesus our savior, Jesus is our Christ. Christ is not Jesus’ last name. Jesus’ mailbox in Nazareth did not read, “Christ, Jesus.” Christ is not his last name. It’s his title. The Greek word, Χριστὸς is a transliteration of the Hebrew word, מָשִׁיחַ, which means, “anointed one.

There were three anointed offices under the old covenant: the prophet, the priest, and the king. When the angel declares that this baby is the Christ, he’s announcing that this baby is the final prophet, priest, and king of God’s people. Jesus is our new covenant prophet. Hebrews 1.1-2 says, 

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 

John 1 says, in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is the final prophet of God who speaks exclusively through the Scripture. This is why we must hear sermons at church every week. This is why it is imperative that we read, study, and memorize the Bible. Jesus speaks exclusively through the Scripture. Give yourself to the Bible.

Not only is Jesus our prophet, but he is also our priest. Hebrews 3.1 calls Jesus the high priest of our confession. Hebrews 7.25 says that he lives to make intercession for his people. Jesus sits now at the right hand of the Father and applies his atoning work to his church moment-by-moment. Jesus not only forgives your sins when he saves you, but he continues to forgive your sins every time you confess them. We hear the pardon of the gospel every week here at Christ Community Church: If you confess your sins [Jesus] is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1.9). Confess your sins to your great High Priest.

Jesus is the new covenant prophet, the new covenant priest, and he is the new covenant king. Revelation 17.14 calls him the King of kings. Jesus is sitting on the throne of David right now ruling over his world and his church (Ps 110). We are not waiting for Jesus to rule. Jesus has been ruling for 2,000 plus years. The Dutch Reformed theologian Abraham Kuyper said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” Submit to the rule of Christ the King!

Jesus Is Our Lord

Jesus is our Savior. Jesus is our Christ. And finally, Jesus is our Lord. The Greek word for Lord here in Luke 2.11 is κύριος. It is used in the LXX to translate the covenant name of God, יְהוָ֥ה.. The angel is declaring here that Jesus is YHWH; the covenant God of Israel.

Jesus is the God who created the heavens and the earth in Genesis 1-2. Jesus is the God who led Israel out of slavery in Egypt (Jude 5). Jesus is the God who sent Israel into exile when they would not repent of their idolatry and Jesus is the God who graciously brought them home from exile after 70 years. There is no distinction between the Old Testament God and Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8.58). Jesus is YHWH. 

Jesus is the only Lord. Luke gives us some historical irony here. Zack read from Luke 2.1 where Caesar Augustus decreed a registration in the 1st century. This is why Joseph took his virgin bride to Bethlehem. That same Caesar proclaimed himself to be divine and demanded that people worship him. Later Herod announced himself to be savior and lord of the people. But the angel declares that this baby is savior and Lord.

Some Christians have taught that you can accept Jesus as savior but not as Lord; that there can be carnal Christians who take Jesus as savior but not as Lord. This is not what the Bible teaches. Jesus is Lord; no one can make him Lord. The issue is not whether you make Jesus Lord. Jesus is Lord; the issue is whether or not you acknowledge him as Lord. All true Christians acknowledge Christ as Lord.

Christmas teaches us a holistic understanding of the Lordship of Christ. The gospel is not a “get out of hell free card.” Kathy Keller, the wife of Tim Keller says, “The gospel doesn’t just give us the right to wave our born again certificate and spout all the doctrine we know. The gospel frees us to do good works.” The gospel permeates every area of your life. Jesus cannot be sectioned off for the Sunday portion of your life; every second of every day Jesus reigns over your life. Every dollar you spend; every decision you make must be weighed in light of the Lordship of Christ. This baby is YHWH. He is the Lord of creation and redemption.

Conclusion

I think it’s safe to say that Ricky Bobby is not our authority on the incarnation. 8 lb. 10 oz. baby Jesus is not the full story. Jesus is our savior, who is Christ the Lord. Dorothy Sayers gives us a better understanding of the incarnation in her book, Creed or Chaos. This is what Sayers wrote about the incarnation of the Son of God:

“For whatever reason God chose to make man as he is— limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death—[God} had the honesty and the courage to take His own medicine. Whatever game He is playing with His creation, He has kept His own rules and played fair. He can exact nothing from man that He has not exacted from Himself. He has Himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair and death. When He was a man, He played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worthwhile.”

Jesus got in the mud for us and thought it worthwhile. O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.