THE CHRISTMAS STORY IN 4 WORDS
I LOVE the Christmas story. And so it’s a little bit ironic that Pastor Mike asked me to teach this morning’s Christmas message from John 1. Cuz if you recall… John Chapter 1 is the Christmas story with no Joseph, no Mary, no Bethlehem, no star, no angels, no manger, no stable, no shepherds, no wise men, & NO BABY!!! But, this IS the Christmas story none the less! None of the things that we think of when we think of Christmas, instead… the entire Christmas story is summed up in 4 little words. The Word Became Flesh.
· None of the details of the newborn baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes, and yet wrapped up in those 4 little words is the entire reason that we celebrate Christmas! THE WORD BECAME FLESH!
o God became a man. The infinite became finite. The eternal one entered time. The invisible became visible. The unknowable made Himself known!

WHO OR WHAT IS THE WORD?

o John 1:1-4
“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

In the beginning was the Word… Does that verse remind you of anything? For me, my mind instantly jumps to Genesis 1:1. The very beginning of the Bible. “In the beginning, God…”
o ‘The Word’ was preexistent. The Word was not created. In the beginning WAS the Word!! And who else was preexistent before creation but God alone? Which is precisely the point that is being made. The Word WAS God.
o V. 1 & 2 continue to hammer this point home. Not only was the Word preexistent before creation, but also… “the Word was WITH God, and the Word WAS God. He was in the beginning WITH God.

-So He was WITH God, & He WAS God. Which was it? Was He WITH God, or WAS He God? And the answer is Yes! And as hard as it is for us to wrap our heads around this concept, V. 1 gives us a clear picture of the Trinity! Fully God. Fully man. Completely separate persons of the Trinity, and yet 1 United God! He was WITH God in the beginning, & He WAS God!
o V. 2 continues to hammer home the idea that The Word IS God by explaining His role in creation… “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”

-The Apostle Paul put it this way…
o Colossians 1:15-17- “15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

o The Word IS the Creator God! ALL things were created BY Him and FOR Him. In Him ALL things hold together! He is the God of the universe! But, if you’re not completely sure yet as to the divinity of “The Word’, then check out V. 4…

o John 1:4- “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

“In Him was life”. Did you know that even with all of our scientific advancements and modern technological breakthroughs today, that we still can’t create life? We can put a man into outer space, we can create cars that drive themselves, and computers that think for themselves, but we still can’t create life! Only God alone can create life! ‘The Word’ is the source of Life. The Giver of life. The AUTHOR OF LIFE! “In Him was life! and that life was the light of men.” Jesus repeatedly told us this truth by the way.

o John 14:6 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

o John 8:12- 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The Word is God! The preexistent God before creation. The creator God through whom ALL things were made. The source and the giver of life!

o John 1:14- “14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

-I love the way Eugene Peterson puts it in his version “The Message”. He translates this as “The word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood”. Then it says…

-WE HAVE SEEN HIS GLORY! Over and over John is emphasizing repeatedly that JESUS IS GOD! GOD MADE FLESH! WE HAVE SEEN HIS GLORY!

-Question… Why say ‘The Word’? Why not say in the beginning was Christ or Jesus? Instead, the word used here is the Greek word ‘Logos’. ‘Word’. And this word Logos had significant meaning for both the Jews and the Gentiles. The Jews and the Greek Gentiles both had very different ideas about God. And so what is interesting here is that with one word, (Logos) John was able to communicate clearly to both the Jews and the Gentiles in a way that they could both clearly understand!

o To the Greek mind, the ‘LOGOS’ was some kind of impersonal cosmic force that brought design to the universe. They believed in intelligent design, but did not believe in a personal God. Instead, they believed in kind of an ethereal abstract force that was the source of all creative power. Source of wisdom & knowledge & intelligence.

-By using the word ‘Logos’ John is communicating to the Gentile world that… this force of the universe, this ‘logos’ is a person! This ‘logos’ became a man! The force of nature put on skin and made His dwelling here among us! When John spoke of the ‘Logos’, he was communicating something very profound to the Greeks of that day.

o To the Jew the ‘Logos’ was even more significant! Over and over throughout the pages of the Old Testament you see this terminology. The Word of the Lord came to them. The word of the Lord came to the prophets. The word of the Lord came to so and so. Etc. The idea always being that God was revealing Himself… revealing His person, revealing His nature, revealing His will, revealing His wisdom, revealing His truth. The word of the Lord was the power of God!

o Even the creation account emphasizes the absolute power of God as demonstrated through God’s spoken Word! (Genesis 1)
-V.3- “And God said, Let there be light...”
-V.6- “And God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters...”
-V. 9- “And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place...”
-V. 11- “And God said, Let the earth sprout vegetation...”
-V. 14-“And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night...”
-V. 20- “And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures...”
-V. 26- “Then God said, Let us make man in our image...”

-And God said! The Word of the Lord is the power of God unleashed. When God speaks, things happen! The Word of the Lord in the Jewish mind was the expression of the true and living God of the Old Testament. And now John is emphasizing that Jesus is that Word! The power of God made known! Check this out…

o Hebrews 1:1-3a- “1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 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. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power…”

·John is saying that God is now incarnate. The expression of God’s nature, will, wisdom, truth, is embodied! God became a man! The story of Christmas in 4 little words. The word became flesh!

·So that’s the story of Christmas! God became a man! The eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, God of the universe that we can’t possibly fathom or wrap our heads around, became a person. The unknowable made Himself known!

A GOD THAT DESIRES TO BE KNOWN
possibly the most wonderful aspect of the Christmas story is that this eternal God that created the universe and knit you together in your mother’s womb; the eternal God that knows EVERYTHING there is to know about you was not content just knowing about you, but desires to be know BY you!!!

“HE is the image of the invisible God!” Want to know what the eternal God of the universe is like? All you have to do is look at Jesus! He is the image of the invisible God! The unknowable made known! The Christmas story in 4 words. The Word became flesh!

HOW DOES THIS IMPACT MY LIFE?
That’s great that I understand the true meaning of the Christmas Holiday, but how does that TRUTH impact my day to day actions?
o Does it mean that we just need to remember the real reason for the season and try not to get caught up in all of the commercialization?
o Does it mean that we better read the Christmas Story every year and avoid stories about Santa, Elves, and reindeer?
o The story of the baby Jesus is wonderful, but how does that effect my life?

-The answer is this… It should affect our lives because we’re called to follow in Jesus footsteps. Check this out… this is one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture. And what’s interesting, is this is not a “Christmas Verse”. This is an “Easter Verse”. These are Jesus words to His disciples when he appears to them AFTER the resurrection.

o John 20:21- “Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

-Jesus greets the disciples with this seemingly meaningless common little greeting, “Shalom”. Peace be with you. And this was a common greeting back in their day, but I don’t want us to skip this, because I think on this day, it was anything but common…
o First off… Imagine the scenario. Jesus was brutally beaten and killed in front of you. His body was prepared for burial. Wrapped in burial cloth, and put down into the grave under a giant rock. Days ago!!! And now… it says that Jesus “appeared to them” and says “Shalom”. Essentially… “Oh hey… Peace guys!” Like I said, I can guarantee that this greeting was anything but common to them on that day!!! I am quite certain that the disciples had their mouths hanging open!

o Here’s what I truly love about Jesus greeting on that day.

-Remember that this is the first time he’s spoken to his disciples since the cross!
-Don’t forget that scripture tells us that because of sin that we enemies of God.
-It was Christ’s work on the cross that reconciled man back to God.

o Ephesians 2:14a-16 “For he himself is our peace… and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”

· So don’t miss this. Jesus seemingly common little greeting is actually the understatement of the ages! Jesus' greeting was also a proclamation of what he had accomplished! For the very first time since the fall of man, there was now peace between God and man. Jesus, the Prince of Peace had risen! “Peace guys”!

THE CHRISTMAS STORY BECOMES A CALLING

o John 20:21- “Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

-The question for us is this… what did Jesus mean by that? Obviously, we can’t descent from heaven and set aside our divinity. Of course we can’t all be born in mangers. So what does Jesus mean when he says “as the Father has sent me, I AM SENDING YOU?”

-This is important for us to understand because this is where the rubber meets the road. This is where hearers become doers. This is where the story of Christmas became the story about how I reached my neighbor with the good news of Jesus!

-“As the Father has sent me, I’m sending you” What does that mean for us? Lets look at a couple more verses together…

o Luke 19:10-10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

-Why did He come? To seek and save the lost. Question. Do you have a heart for the lost? How about your friends and family that don’t know Jesus? Who’s your one? That’s what we’ve been talking about through this entire “For the One” series.

-Jesus is calling us to follow in His footsteps. In the same way that he moved into the neighborhood, we are supposed to reach out to our neighbors! We’re supposed to be salt. We’re supposed to be light!

o Matthew 20:28- 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

-Why did Jesus come? To serve others & to give His life away for others! Remember how Paul put it?

o Philippians 2:7- 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

-How did Jesus come? He came as a servant! The God of the universe humbled Himself and made Himself a slave!!!

-Don’t forget that it was at the last supper that Jesus got up from the table and proceeded to kneel down and wash the feet of his disciples. The job of a servant or a slave. And do you remember what He said?

o John 13:14-15- “14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”

-For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you! Sounds a lot like “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you”, doesn’t it?

-This is where the Christmas story is a call to action. “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you!”

o It’s a call to follow in the footsteps of our Lord! It’s a call to go to the lost. It’s a call to reach out to your neighbors. It’s a call to step into the lives of broken people and to love them like Christ loved us! It’s a call to serve others. It’s a call for us to share our lives with hurting people just as Jesus stepped into our world and made his dwelling among us!
The Christmas story is a call to action. Who is your one?

NO TRAINING REQUIRED
-You know what I love about this call to action? It doesn’t require any special training! It doesn’t require a course in Apologetics or a Bible College degree. It doesn’t require Seminary to love and to serve! Any of us can love and serve our neighbors today. No training required!
-As the Father has sent me, I am sending you!