The last two weeks we’ve been exploring in some depth who Christ is and in summary I think we can affirm with the rest of the orthodox church the statement from Chalcedon which in summary states Jesus is fully God, fully man and fully united. This means that Christ having two natures is still one person and it is this one person, Emmanuel, God with us that we celebrate.
How does this work? Scripture doesn’t say, tradition doesn’t teach, it’s a divine mystery. It’s mysterious how God came united with humanity and in one person became the Christ. I affirm with Paul who writes in 1 Timothy 3:16, “Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.”
But, what is the purpose? What is the mission of the Christ child? Luke tells us in chapter 2:22-28.
Holy to the Lord (Luke 2:22-26)
They brought Jesus up to Jerusalem, which is the beginning and the end for Jesus. Jesus is brought up to Jerusalem.
The next time he comes his parents bring him and many of these same temple attendees would marvel at his knowledge.
Then the devil takes him up to Jerusalem in Luke chapter 4.
But, Jesus is always being taken up to Jerusalem until Luke 9:51 when it says, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.”
When the time comes for his mission, no one has to take him. He goes to Jerusalem.
But here they are bringing him for a different reason. (Luke 2:23-24)
They brought him up so that he would be dedicated to God, his own son. They offer sacrifice so that the son would be dedicated to the Lord.
In Number 3:10-13 we see that God required the firstborn to be dedicated to him and that as a substitute he accepts the Levites as his own. So, Jesus a non-Levite was atoned for by sacrifice. They come to offer sacrifice for the ultimate sacrifice.
The sacrifice they made was only a foreshadowing of the great sacrifice to be made. Here he who was God, was dedicated to God.
Then there’s this character Simeon, who rushes in scoops up baby Jesus and makes this bold prophecy.
The Holy Spirit guides the faithful to Christ, Simeon so guided went to Jesus and recognized him instantly as the Messiah.
There was another man in Jerusalem, in Luke 22:66-71, and we see that the High Priest and the temple interrogated Jesus. Asking the Messiah, “Are you the Messiah?” They just couldn’t see, they hadn’t surrendered themselves to Holy Spirit the way Simeon had.
It is the same Holy Spirit who guides Christ in his ministry, what was the secret for his perfection in humanity? The Holy Spirit who descends as a dove at his baptism and at the baptism of all who come to Christ.
It is the Holy Spirit that makes us holy to the Lord. Jesus was holy to the Lord, set apart for the Father’s work. It was his Spirit that comes on every believer and enables them for what Christ called, “greater works than these.”
Salvation for Humanity (Luke 2:29-38)
Salvation is what we focus on but it starts in the heart of God, not with humanity. God’s plan has always been for: salvation, inclusion of the Gentiles, and the glory his people. Christ is not disconnected from the OT God, he is the fulfillment of God.
Next year we are going to explore more fully the connection between the God of the Old Testament and the New Testament as we talk about worship. Our theme is, “The Heart of The Offering,” and will explore a lifestyle of worship.
Simeon is restating what God had already foretold in Isaiah 49:6
Since Abraham and God’s plan of salvation was revealed he has desired to bring salvation to all humanity. This is why he told Abraham that all nations of the world would be blessed through him. (Genesis 12:3)
How does this plan work out?
Jesus is to be a sign that is opposed, Christ will reveal/judge, but before that a Cross.
A sword will pierce Mary’s soul as a spear pierces Jesus’ side. But the crucifixion can wait, the baby is here now and that is a cause for joy.
Jesus is a cause for joy
In the midst of fasting and prayer the devout see Christ and have great joy. And as Jesus reminds us you cannot fast while the bridegroom is with you, perhaps that is why so many of our more liturgical brothers and sisters in the faith consecrate these days as feast days, a high holy party in his presence.
Joy is in his presence, if only we can recognize him the way Anna & Simeon did.
This idea that Jesus was a man who attained God consciousness is a very old theory which has gained popularity today. It is a heresy that remains vital and deadly as a subtle poison that sneaks in among God’s faithful. Of the few challenges to Christ’s identity the last few weeks I think this one is the most prevalent today among spiritually minded people.
Some offer popular alternatives to the incarnation making Jesus either…
1. A prophet teaching how to worship God – a man enlightened from above.
The problem with this view is that Christ claimed to be so much more than an enlightened teacher of prophet.
Throughout the gospels Jesus makes radical claims like in John 14:6 where he says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
C. S. Lewis has wisely observed that the claims Jesus made we only have three alternatives, he must have been: a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord.
When you make claims to deity you can’t be an enlightened teacher, you can only be what you say you are or something far worse and possibly sinister.
What a shame it would be to have Western Civilization’s ethical code based on a man whose mind was warped or who was the worst kind of liar.
Yet, many today accept that Christ was simply an enlightened teacher like many others. These views do not wrestle with scripture and take a very light Jesus from the gospels.
An example of worshipping God – a man ascending to godhood.
This view places Jesus a bit higher on the spiritual totem pole and essentially states that Jesus was an overachiever.
According to this view Jesus did such a good job of being human that God looked down and said, “Man, I wish he was my son.” And then adopted Christ to be his. Traditionally this adoption takes place at the baptism of Christ. Where God overcome with emotion makes Jesus his adopted son.
The problem with this view is that it disregards Christ’s role in Creation, something I believe the divine plural of Genesis 1 where it says, “Let us make man…” It disregards John 1 which speaks to the pre-existence of Christ and his eternal nature.
It makes Christ less than God and nobody less than God could bridge the eternal gap between humanity and him. Not even an overachiever.
Scripture reveals the God who invites us into his presence for worship – a God descending with grace.
The incarnation rejects the idolatry of humanity.
The problem with both of the previous views is that they place the highest regard and honor upon humanity. That somehow humans are the greatest beings in existence above all! That if humanity would work together we could make heaven on earth and put god out of a job.
The downfall to that is that humanity is not that good. Genesis 6:5-6, “5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”
It’s funny how history runs in cycles, so many would be messiah’s in Jesus’ day thought that they could think they would build the kingdom of God. Jesus rejected that and said, “No, we don’t build it with force.” Even in recent memory so many optimistic believers thought that with the progress of society God’s kingdom would be built and then WWII, Hitler and the Great Depression destroyed their beliefs.
Many during this time lost their faith in God, because they had confused humanity with God! The answer for salvation and society is not humanity, but Christ. He is the one who saves.
The incarnation recognizes the importance of humanity to God.
What is there to celebrate about a man clawing his way back to a divine God who remains aloof from creation? The true glory of Christ is that God descended the staircase of divinity and took on humanity.
Jesus is the eternally existent and eternally begotten Son of God.
1 John 5:20 affirms Christ’s sonship, his oneness with the Father and his eternal nature.
Jude 25 affirms that Jesus existed before all time.
It is this eternally existent and begotten son who descends into humanity. Why? John 3:16, “For God so loved the world.” To what end? To teach us about love, “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.” (1 John 3:16)
You see, it is the love of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ that saves us…not our own self-improvement.
Yes, Jesus came to teach us, but he also came to save us.
We talked a bit about this today, but this article by J. I. Packer on Christianity Today is a great resource about the incarnation. Packer lays out a very solid argument for the orthodox understanding of the eternal incarnation of Christ. View this article, “Good Question: Incarnate Forever” by clicking here.
