Uncommon Eternal Interests.

Day #12:  “Closing: Keep CHRIST in Christmas”</big>

Just some closing thoughts…

After 12 straight days of attempting to immerse myself into the story of the very first Christmas, I’ve learned a lot, been blessed by a wide variety of new life lessons, seen some things in the Nativity Story that I had never seen before, and spent a lot more time on my laptop and consequently a lot less time surfing.  (Apologies to the Redondo, Manhattan, Sunset, and Seal Beach city treasuries for my financial absence in your parking meters.)

But the greatest lesson that I walk away with from this 12-day journey is that this holiday means nothing without Jesus at the center of it.  This holiday is emptied of its power, significance, and wonder when we try to make it about anything else but the Christ child coming into the world to save us.  It’s like celebrating Thanksgiving with turkey and all the food, but minus the vital and most important part about being thankful and looking upon life with grateful eyes.  It’s like going to a birthday party and completely ignoring the birthday boy.  (If anything, that’s just bad etiquette.)

On the contrary…

Every present that we open ought to remind us of the greatest present we’ve ever received — Jesus.  A baby that would be born to die for our sin.  And we ought to really try our best to direct our hearts in that way, because, speaking from my own personal experience, our hearts are prone to wander and lose focus very easily.

On Christmas, set your heart, not just on gifts, but on THE GIFT.

The greatest gift is and can be ours — achieved by the simple act of faith:

All of your wrongdoing is completely pardoned.

All of your rule breaking behavior has been completely absolved.

The penalty and debt that you owe — Poof!  Gone!

Entrance to Heaven is yours, free of charge!

When God looks at us (from a point of justification), He sees complete righteousness.

An intimate relationship with the God of the universe is ours forever.

Now that’s a gift.

This year and for the rest of your years here on earth:  Keep CHRIST in Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone.

[Matthew 2:10-11]

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.  And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.  Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

“What the heck is Myrrh?!”

This was one of the memorable questions one of the Catalyst kids threw out when we were watching the movie “The Nativity Story” on Wednesday.

Along with Gold and Frankincense, these 3 gifts presented to Jesus would be predictive and extremely revealing of the person that He would become.

Gold is clearly the currency of royalty.  Jesus would be a king.

Frankincense is a glittering, odorous gum used in the incense that was offered up on the altar.  Jesus would be a pleasing sacrifice unto God.

But what the heck is Myrrh?

Well, Myrrh is a sap contained in the perfume used to embalm dead bodies.

Probably the most impending of the three, this gift would be predictive of a death that Jesus would suffer.

He would be a king (Gold)… whose life would be a pleasing offering to God (Frankincense)… and He would suffer an undeserved death (Myrrh).

Granted, this foreshadowed picture of the Messiah’s life was definitely a confusing one.  But in hindsight now, we can see how all the pieces would come together.  His death would be the culminating point of Jesus’ earthly life — for it would be the greatest and clearest expression of love for mankind.  He would die and shed His blood to pay the penalty for our sin.  He would have to die in order to make salvation possible for us.

Jesus, though ultimately a king whose life would be spotless and perfect, would willingly lay down His life to save us.

Myrrh — it would play a role at the BEGINNING of Jesus’ life as well as at the END of it.  Thank you Jesus for Myrrh.  Without it, we wouldn’t know the sweet taste of salvation.

[Luke 2:4]

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.

It’s famous worldwide now, even heavily commercialized — they sell Nativity wood carvings by the thousands there.

But before Jesus was born, Bethlehem was a nowhere town.

It was off the beaten path.

It wasn’t on the map.

It was a shanty town — a little, insignificant community that people prior to Jesus’ birth cared very little about.

(It reminds me a lot of Carson actually, where I live and where my church Catalyst is located.  A tiny town not really on anyone’s radar.  “Where do you live?”  “Carson.”  “Where in the world is that??”  “Kinda in between Torrance and Long Beach.”  “Ohhhh, yeah, I know where Torrance and Long Beach are at!”)

I realized this first hand during my trip to Israel with 20 classmates two years ago.  “We’re going to Bethlehem today,” the tour guide told us.  I was extremely excited.  BETHLEHEM!  It had taken on such grand proportions in my eyes.

But as we were driving over there in our great big tour bus, two things immediately struck me about it.  The first was how off the main road it was geographically.  During the bus ride, I was able to strip away all the modernity of it — the signs, the paved roads, the stoplights — and was able to catch a picture of it in Jesus’ day through imagination.  I realized that nothing would have really led into it except some small tiny side roads.  It literally was “off the beaten path” in Israel.  The second thing that hit me about it was how insanely tiny it was.  Located in the hill country of Judah with a very small population, Bethlehem was an ant compared to all the other famous cities in Israel.

Bethlehem is gigantic in our eyes today, but it was as small and insignificant of a city as you could get.

Yet a surprising and somewhat mysterious prophecy in Micah 5:2 grants a special privilege to this nowhere town.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

   who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

   one who is to be ruler in Israel,

whose coming forth is from of old,

   from ancient days.

This was not a mere human being described here.  This person’s “coming forth is from old, from ancient days.”  The figure pictured here would be none other than Israel’s long-awaited Messiah.  And considering the town’s pre-Jesus status, the reactions would have been predictable.  “Bethlehem??  Really??  Not Jerusalem?  Not even Gibeah or Bethel??  You can’t be serious.”

Why Bethlehem?  Of all the historic, well-known places to choose from, why a nowhere town “too little” in most eyes?

Because the Messiah’s entrance would be humble.

And He was not even born at a dignified place in this nowhere town.  He was born in a manger… with animals… and their smells… and their noises.  The promised Messiah would make His GRAND ENTRANCE into a nowhere town at a nowhere location within that nowhere town.  His coming would be humble.

Finally, one more amazing dot to connect about Bethlehem that still blows my mind today.  Bethlehem in Hebrew is a compound of two words: “beth-lehem” (more properly pronounced more as “beyt-lechem”).  It literally means “house of bread” in Hebrew.  Think about it.  Bethlehem — the perfect birthplace for the Messiah Jesus, who is called the “bread of life” (John 6:48).

Out of the “house of bread” comes the “bread of life.”

[Matthew 1:21]

… you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

“JESUS”

There’s no other name that does more in the human heart.

No other name known to man brings about the same depth, extremity, and variety of emotion.

No other single name is more delightful, beautiful, and awe-inspiring; even dreadful, frightful, and hated.

The mere mention of it can cause people rapturous joy and delight.

Or severe feelings of antagonism and bitterness.

It’s a POWERFUL name.

For the Christian believer, it’s the most beautiful name that exists.  For each person that has experienced the joy of His freely given salvation, the name of Jesus has the wondrous ability to bring about intense adoration, admiration, and awe from the deepest recesses of the human heart.

I’ve been extremely fascinated by names lately.  (Case in point: Day #2!)

And the etymology of the name of “Jesus” is immensely fascinating and beautiful.

(Etymology is just a fancy term which means “the historical origins of a word.”)

Prior to the coming of Christ, “Jesus” was a name given to Jewish sons in anticipation of God’s future salvation of mankind through the awaited Messiah.  It literally means “The Lord Saves!” or “The Lord is Salvation!”   And it’s the Greek from of the Hebrew name “Joshua.”  Now I always thought the buck stopped there in terms of its origin.  That was always as far as I would ever hear explained in sermons or Bible Studies.

Surprisingly, it turns out that its roots run EVEN deeper.  Check it out…  The name “Joshua” finds its origins in another Hebrew name:  “Hosea” (phonetically changed by Moses in Numbers 13:16).  And this name comes from the root word “yasha” which means “to be saved or delivered.”  Now what’s super interesting is trying to figure out where the first part (the prefix) of Hosea’s name comes from.

Option #1 is the definite article heh which would give Hosea’s name the meaning of “The Salvation” – indicating that this is the right and true way of salvation.

Option #2 is the exclamation ho, which communicates something along the lines of “Aye!”  According to one commentator, the name Hosea would then be a strong declaration of one’s own rescue:  “Yo! Saved!”

All in all, either interpretation centers profoundly on some great declaration about SALVATION.

So “Ho-yasha” turned into “Hosea,” which turned into “Joshua,” which turned into “Jesus.”

What significance does all of this have?  Well, it’s this:  The concept of a rescuing God was completely foreign to most people in Jesus’ time.  The Greek and Roman pantheon of many gods was looked upon, for the most part, in fear.  Because even slight disobedience would merit divine punishment and anger, their notions of deity did not include the virtues of compassion and caring pursuit of mankind.  And definitely not love.

But when the promised Messiah finally arrived, his name was “JESUS!”

And everyone was to know it!

“Jesus!” — “The Lord Saves!”

To hear the name “Jesus” was to hear the sound of hope and the sound of coming rescue.

To hear it was to hear the sound of care and the sound of divine love for man.

In a single name, it indicated rescue, pursuit, and compassion on the part of God.

Jewish minds, especially, would realize:

“His name is JESUS!”

“Messiah has come TO SAVE!”

“Messiah has come TO RESCUE!”

“Messiah has come OUT OF LOVE!”

It would be powerful for us this Christmas, and forevermore, to read into His very name the same meaning and rich history that Jewish ears heard it with: “Jesus!” – “The Lord Saves!”

[Matthew 1:18]

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.  When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

This passage has been labeled by some as “The Angelic Announcement of the Conception of Jesus.”

AMAZING.  Jesus is conceived.

Wait, wait, wait.  Reflect on that for a bit.

Think about how profound this moment is.  God.. becomes.. man.

He walks in our shoes.  He puts on our flesh.  He is tempted.  He gets hungry.

The Infinite becomes finite.

The Unlimited makes Himself limited.

The Unbounded Spirit subjects Himself to His own laws of physical nature and human biology.

GOD — the sovereign Creator of all things seen and unseen: galaxies, stars, planets, animals, our souls — becomes a fetus 2 millimeters long, about the size of the tip of a pen.

Enough said.  That’s enough to blow my mind for a good while.

[Matthew 1:18-25a]

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.  When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.  And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.  But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

       “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

        and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son.

Who knows how the news was first broken to Joseph?  Maybe Mary told him.  Maybe he saw her expanding stomach and had to approach her about it.  Maybe he wrestled with a load of doubt for a while, seeing as how the time of this passage is 4 months into her pregnancy (“No, she can’t be pregnant”), before he realized that people’s gossip-fueled comments were actually true.  The Bible doesn’t say.

It just tells us that Joseph responded with intent to divorce.

Gentlemen, imagine the scenario with me, if you will, and put yourself in Joseph’s shoes.  You’re a young Jewish man, ready to marry, and things are already rolling along well.  According to proper Jewish custom, your parents have already selected an amazing girl for you to be pledged to.  You’re quite the happy camper.  But things aren’t official just yet.  First, it’s the betrothal period, where official arrangements have to be made and a prenuptial agreement is drawn up before other witnesses in the community (good ol’ Nazareth).  There’s a little bit of a logistical runway before the marriage actually takes off.

Now you weren’t considered technically married during this betrothal period, so sexual relations were still definitely off limits.  However, the union was official enough during betrothal so that any outside sexual unfaithfulness was to be considered nothing less than adultery.  One of the highest offenses, it was punishable by death by stoning.  And then BAM, you find out that the woman pledged to you, that you have been set in your heart to marry, is pregnant.  The weight of it crashes your ship onto intensely emotional rocks.

All that floods your head is, “She cheated on me.”

As far as you know about biology, pregnancy happens only through sexual relationship.  Pregnancy means sex, and sex means she’s cheated.  Period.  End of story.  No explanation, even from your wife-to-be herself, could convince you otherwise, right?  She’s guilty of adultery and this potential marriage already needs to come to an early end.  Divorce time.

Honestly, it would take a sign from God Himself to keep you in this union.

So enter in an ANGEL.

I’ve always admired how Joseph responds, even BEFORE the angel of the Lord makes his grand appearance.  He looks out for himself, but he also looks out for her.  He wants to safeguard his own righteous standing, but at the same time, he doesn’t want her to get slandered and defaced in the public square.  So he resolves in his heart to divorce Mary “quietly.”  That single word speaks VOLUMES to me.

Did you catch it?  Cuz it’s easy to miss.

“Quietly.”  There’s a large amount of mercy and compassion here.

Joseph could have gone the route of vengeance, revenge, and justice.  He could have outed her wrongs and exposed her wrongdoing, giving her the punishment that she deserved.  But he chooses the way of mercy; compassionate, kind mercy.  “Alright Mary.  No harm, no foul.  I’ll just exit stage left.  I wish you the best.”  Written all over this Christmas story of GIGANTIC MERCY — Jesus the Messiah coming to save us from our sins — are other very beautiful, but smaller instances of mercy.

Lesson learned:  The Christmas story is all about the wonderful act of MERCY — both great in scope, and small.  So in the spirit of Christmas, let mercy, kind and compassionate, cover over those stinging wrongs and long-time held grudges that our hearts can harbor towards other people.  Maybe we’re flying down the runway towards Christmas harboring some degree of hate and resentment against people we feel have done us wrong.  Let’s take our cue from a kind, compassionate, and  mercy-filled Joseph… and from the mercy-filled God that would steady his emotions and keep him in the marriage.

[Luke 1:46-55]

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

   For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

   and holy is his name.

And his mercy is for those who fear him

   from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

   he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

   and exalted those of humble estate;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

   and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

   in remembrance of his mercy,

as he spoke to our fathers,

   to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Mary’s song of rejoicing is traditionally known as “The Magnificat.”  (I guess if there’s any song that deserves to be named all fancy-like, it really should be the one sung in celebration of the Christ child!)  The resplendent title actually comes from the opening word in the Latin Vulgate translation: “magnifies.”  As its name so aptly indicates, it’s a song centered on celebrating, praising, and magnifying the Lord for the miracle of the Messiah finally breaking into the limited confines of human history.

And staying true to the Messiah’s deep Old Testament roots, her song is completely filled to capacity with OT concepts and phrases.  Mary was clearly a young God-fearing woman who really possessed a deep knowledge of the Scriptures.  Even just a cursory understanding of the OT background of her Magnificat will yield an extremely rich and deeper appreciation of her lyrics, I think.  So check it out!

Mary’s song strongly parallels Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2:1-10.  The connection and common thread?  An extremely blessed, surprise pregnancy of a very godly son!

Hannah’s story is a wonderfully redemptive one.  She was a woman of barren womb, taunted and teased, whose broken-hearted, desperate prayer for a child had been heard by God.  The condition?  If God would give her a son, she would devote him entirely to the Lord.  He grants her prayer and she sings in complete celebration!  I could only imagine the joy.

It’s not too far-fetched to think that Mary’s song contained the same intensity of jubilation, if not more.  Both women begin their songs with declarations of joyful praise to God which find their origins not just on their lips, but within their hearts and souls.  This is DEEP joy — a deep celebration of the human spirit towards an infinitely generous God.

It’s the kind of joy that someone drowning speaks with afterward on shore to his or her rescuer.

Deep, sincere, ecstatic, overflowing with gratitude, infinitely thankful.

And then their songs continue on further into the realm of divine admiration.  Both women then go on to speak of the rescuing and redeeming heart of the Lord ( … He has “exalted those of humble estate” and “filled the hungry with good things”), praising a God whose heart beats for the downtrodden and whose eyes are always aware of the hungry.

One solid phrase to sum their songs up?  Hmmm, I’d say…

Overflowing, grateful joy (1) over God’s redemptive action in sending the Messiah, (2) over His redemptive action in their individual lives, and (3) over God’s redemptive character in general.

Therefore, in keeping with this model of praise, our own personal songs should sing of the Messiah who has rescued us, as well as the wide variety of other ways that God has rescued us throughout our lives.  We would benefit greatly from writing out and singing our own personal “Magnificats” this Christmas.  “My soul magnifies the Lord…”

[Luke 1:34-38]

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God.  And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.  For nothing will be impossible with God.”  And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary is just told that she would be a mother, even in her virgin state.  Her reaction is IMPORTANT.  As a general rule of thumb, initial reactions towards events are extremely telling about a person’s heart.  Unlike Zechariah’s doubtful comment, Mary’s response to the miraculous news is simply a curious and inquisitive one.  She only wants light on how God will accomplish this crazy wonder.  The answer comes: the Holy Spirit of God will bring it about.

A couple of really quick observations:  (1) What shows through most is her humble submission towards God’s great plan for her life: “Let it be to me according to your word.”  Wow.  Admirable.  And (2) interestingly enough, the word for “overshadow” in the Greek signifies the holy, powerful, and intimate presence of God — the same word used in all three accounts of the Transfiguration to describe the consuming cloud in which God dwelt!  The Holy Spirit would overshadow Mary in a way that was completely FULL of the presence of God.

Now this passage contains one of the most powerful and reassuring statements in all of the Scriptures: “Nothing will be impossible with God.”  Taking context into consideration, this statement looks back on the two miracles of pregnancy between Mary and Elizabeth.  In other words, God’s power is demonstrated in two instances of pregnancy that were otherwise biologically impossible.

What does this tell us?  Well, it tells us that God is sovereign.  And that God is mighty.  It tells us that He can work outside of the box and that the laws of nature, which govern our known world, have no potential whatsoever to limit or restrain Him.  Zealous proponents of Science, throughout the years, have tried to foster a mindset in which the laws of nature are our highest authority and that we must bow our knee to their demands.  God completely shatters that TWICE in the Nativity story events timeline.  This is a tiny glimpse of God over and above nature; the picture of a God for whom doing the impossible is mere child’s play.  For all of us, (and this is a new approach even for me; one of which I’ve rarely heard) Christmas should evoke a sort of admiration about the very POWER of God.

If anything, this season, a proper Christmas prayer should be lifted up to the throne of God which admires Him specifically for His free sovereignty and mighty power.  I realize that this approach to the holiday is unique and novel, but seeing how central these qualities of God are in the Nativity story, I’d like to make a motion to institute them back in.  In the popularized picture of Christmas, it’s so often left out of our observations of this holiday.  We tend to celebrate Christmas stripped almost entirely of the realization and recognition of the power of Almighty God.

This year, may one of our Christmas anthems include the declarative cry that “nothing will be impossible with God!”

[Luke 1:31-33]

—- This one goes out to all the prophecy nerds! —-

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

It’s almost as if God set this one up specifically for the doubters, the questioners, and the critics.  The good news of “Messiah is here!” would soon be reverberating throughout the civilized known world.  What a massively MONUMENTAL declaration.   Granted, any news of that magnitude almost needs to be met with a certain degree of skepticism.  God knew that people, myself included, would demand with hesitant hearts, “Can I see some ID, please?”    And praise God, He would happily give it to us.

Many different Christmas movies portray Mary as a mother-to-be whose understanding about the child within her was not entirely put together from the very beginning, but was progressive and developing, pieced together bit by bit until the light bulb turned on and she understood fully.

I’ve always been influenced by this perspective on the Nativity story, so when Catalyst did a live play of the Nativity story last year, we portrayed Mary in this way – a young woman still trying to figure things out as time went on.

Ever since then, I’ve wondered if this was really the case. 

How much did Mary comprehend about this miraculous pregnancy from the start?  Was the angel Gabriel’s announcement vague enough so as to leave some elbow room for mild doubt and confusion?  Could she have at all thought that this child within her womb might just simply be some sort of unique human being, and not the promised divine Messiah?

How detailed was the identification?  After reading it again, the answer was mind-blowing to me:  It was EXTREMELY SPECIFIC.

The Messiah ID Card came to us in the form of fulfilled prophecies of ages past, putting our skeptical hearts at ease.

“Son of the Most High.” This was the name for the one true God, first used all the way back in Genesis 14:18-22 where Melchizedek, king of Salem, identifies Yahweh as “God Most High.”  It was near impossible that Mary would have missed the messianic significance of this phrase.  That her baby was to be called the “Son of the Most High” indicates His equality with Yahweh.  In Semitic thought, a son was a spitting image of his father, and the phrase “son of” was typically used to refer to a male who possessed his the qualities of his dad.

“Throne of his father David.”  Hundreds of years prior to the Messiah’s birth, God promised David in 2 Samuel 7:12 that one of his own offspring would become a great ruler.  Though no specific capacity of authority is made explicit, David is told that he would rule over his own kingdom.

“Reign over the house of Jacob forever.” Going even further back, by way of a dream in Genesis 28:12-15, Jacob is promised by God Almighty the following: “in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”  In other words, from the house and familial line of Jacob would arise a specific person who would somehow and in some way be a global blessing.

“Of his kingdom there will be no end.” One of the other famous promises in the Davidic covenant made by God was this one: “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever”  [2 Samuel 7:13].  For Jewish hearts, this signaled a mighty Messiah whose reign would be everlasting and eternal.

Looking back at Luke 1:31-33, I realized that Mary, as a faithful Jewish girl, would have definitely understood that the angel was speaking of none other than the Messiah of God that had been promised for so long.  My old perspective has been blown out of the water.  Cue in the paradigm shift.

So this Christmas season, put your doubting heart at ease, simply believe, and then celebrate in the Christ child.   It’s UNMISTAKABLE that it’s truly Him.  Because He is the perfect fulfillment of all the prophecies of ages past, we can be sure that His ID card says “Messiah” on it.

[Luke 1:26-30]

FINALLY!  The moment humanity had been waiting in total anticipation for.  Fast forward 6 months from John’s birth.  It was now time for the promised Messiah to arrive!  But first, the announcement:

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.  And the virgin’s name was Mary.  And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”  But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.  And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

What does it take to get to be the mother of the Messiah — the Savior of humanity that history would revolve around?  What kind of credentials do you have to have?  What kind of spiritual resume does one need to possess?

One specific line that powerfully grabbed my attention while reading through the Nativity story this year that I barely even noticed in years past was the angel Gabriel’s initial salutation to Mary.  His very first words to her:  “Greetings, O favored one…”

Wait.  Stop.  Think about that for a second.  He calls her “favored.”

Favored by who?  The angel Gabriel?  Nope.  Angels were simply messengers.  This was truth coming down from the almighty message-sender Himself.  She was favored by the Most High, the Alpha and the Omega, the Great I Am!  Out of all the women that could possibly have been chosen to carry for 9 months and give birth to the Savior of all humanity, Mary, individually and specifically, was favored BY GOD.

And just to make sure the point is not lost on surface-readers like myself, her favored status is emphasized again just two verses later:  “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God” [verse 30].

“Hold up, hold up!  Real quick – doesn’t there seem to be a bit of a contradiction here in the Bible?”

We’re told multiple times in the Scriptures that God does not show favoritism [Acts 10:34, Romans 2:11, Galatians 2:6] to people.  BUT we are also told in the Scriptures that God shows favor to certain individuals.

Showing favoritism sounds a lot like showing favor.

But is there any difference?  And if so, what is it?

Well, showing FAVORITISM is an immensely different enterprise from showing FAVOR.  They’re worlds apart, even though they seem like siblings when rendered in the English language.  (In fact, in Greek, they’re two entirely unrelated, distinct words altogether.)  Showing FAVORITISM involves relating to someone according to some unfair standard of biased pre-judgment.  A God who loves all would never do that.  Showing FAVOR, on the other hand, is simply goodwill expressed toward certain individuals who have demonstrated themselves worthy of receiving it.  A sovereign God has the license to relate to His creation in this way.

Favor is justly earned while favoritism is unjustly shown.

Now the really important question to ask in response to all of this is, “How does one get onto God’s favor list?”  Boiled down to a question that sounds a lot less intimidating: “How does one live in a way that is pleasing to God?”

Well, we already got a hint of it earlier on in the Nativity story events.

The Bible straight up tells us the reason why Zechariah and Elizabeth qualified in God’s sight to be the birth parents of John: “they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord” [Luke 1:6].

How does one earn favor from the Most High?  It’s all about OBEDIENCE – to God and His commands.  Those who are obedient and live righteously before Him are the ones that shall receive God’s favor.

Now subtly tucked away in this passage is a beautiful note of encouragement for all the young hearts out there.  There’s a false way of thinking that often circulates in many Christian circles that a person essentially doesn’t become useful or effective for God’s Kingdom until adulthood, and therefore doesn’t even really show up on God’s radar screen until the later years of life roll around.  But here’s the insane historical fact in all of this:  Mary couldn’t have been older than 12-14 years of age – the traditional age of arranged marriage for young Jewish women.  She was young – much younger than most pastor-preachers, Bible study teachers, and worship leaders out there in churches today.

Yet, even in her young age, she demonstrated herself to be faithful, obedient, and righteous before God.  Yes, at 12-14, Mary was already divinely FAVORED.  Talk about an accomplished adolescent!

To all the young hearts out there, God sees your obedience.  Take Mary’s example and start your journey of faith early on in life.  Seek to please God wholeheartedly even in these years of your youth.  There’s no need to wait until “later on” to start living for Him completely!

And for those of us just a little past that age range, let’s passionately seek out God’s favor this Christmas!  How do we go about doing that?  Once again, we OBEY!  Our love for Christ is demonstrated in our obedience to Christ [John 14:23].  Plain and simply put, part of having the “Christmas spirit” this season is to live obediently before God – to follow and keep His commands, fueled by a deeply sincere love for Him.  Then He will look upon us in FAVOR!  Can you think of a greater gift to receive this season than that?  I can’t.

“What’s in a NAME?”

[Luke 1:57-66]

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.  And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.  And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.”   And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.”  And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called.  And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.”  And they all wondered.  And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.  And fear came on all their neighbors.  And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?”  For the hand of the Lord was with him.

What’s super interesting to notice is how REALLY insistent they were on naming him “John.”  It almost even seems as if Zechariah’s silence was conditional on this special child being named properly.  (Cuz immediately after the child’s name was confirmed by old Zeke, he could speak & hear again!)

Names meant a whole lot.  Especially back then.  In Jewish culture, a person’s name wasn’t just a nice sounding assortment of letters.  It actually meant something!  It was literally a phrase.  And it was indicative of the future person that individual would one day become.  (I’ll never forget how cool it was during my younger years to discover that Eve’s name actually meant “mother of all the living.”)

Now it was Jewish custom to name a son after his father or grandfather, especially if the name carried with it a good reputation from his predecessors.  And Zecariah was a revered priest of the nation of Israel.  He certainly qualified.  Therefore, John was supposed to be a junior.  So when Zechariah and Elizabeth opted to change direction, the decision was of course met with a little bit of shock (verse 59).  But God apparently had specific, intentional plans for what his name would ultimately be.

And his name, in and of itself, would tell us A LOT about Christmas.

The name “John” literally means “The Lord is Gracious.”  Before JESUS (which is a derivative of Joshua, meaning “The Lord Saves”), there was JOHN.  What’s the significance of all this?  Well, plain and simply, it’s the order.  First, “The Lord is Gracious,” and then “The Lord Saves.”  It’s the graciousness of God (defined as “unmerited, unearned benevolence, kindness, and compassion”) which prompted Him to save us.

You see, it was a completely aberrant concept in the Ancient Near Eastern world to think of God as a divine being who looks down upon humanity and experiences the sentiment of wanting to give abundantly to His creation — without them having even earned it.  Why?  Because God was often thought as a lightning bolt-sender; a strict disciplinarian only interested in punishing humanity for its excessive wrongdoing.

BUT… John’s name, in and of itself, was a banner flying high, declaring to all, “The Lord is Gracious!”  “Messiah is coming soon!”  “Watch out for Him!”  “A gift from Almighty God!”

So it’s the GRACIOUSNESS OF GOD from which Christmas comes!  To put it another way, it was His graciousness which fueled God to even send His Son into the world in the first place.  Christmas finds its origins in God’s GRACE and its derivative, His graciousness.

Desire to adopt the “Christmas spirit” this year, too? Then we should approach everyone we see with graciousness — an unmerited kindness toward and unearned compassion for all that we encounter this season.  And on top of that, let’s set our hearts to do some Selah-style reflection on the graciousness of God in sending His Son into a broken world — as well as all the other forms that His divine grace takes on in our lives.

A Reflective Walk Through the Nativity Story

For the Next 12 Days, Culminating on Christmas;

My Attempt to Rediscover the Christmas Spirit This Year!

Day #1

“Reminder: Christmas is RADICAL”

[Luke 1:5-25]

The Christmas story actually begins a bit earlier than most people realize – before the wise men, before the shepherds, before the manger, even before an angel told the good news to a young virgin named Mary. It begins with a couple unknown even to most people really familiar with the basic Nativity story. It begins with Zechariah and Elizabeth, whose old-age union would miraculously bring forth a special son – John.

In God’s great big plan of saving the world, before there was the “Prepared-For One,” there was the “Preparer,” whose job it was to set the tone first. Before Jesus, there was John the Baptist. His job description? “To make ready for the Lord a people prepared” [Luke 1:17].

“Wait. So Jesus needed a hype man? Really?”

Now this whole concept might seem pretty unnecessary to us today, but wait. Think about it. Maybe it’s not so foreign after all. In most parades, who comes first? The celebrity guests, the pageant queens, the famous guest marshals? Nope – it’s the marching bands setting the mood, the interesting floats causing initial wonder, and the baton twirlers getting the onlookers pumped up. At a concert, are the headlining performers the first act to hit the stage? No way! That’s what the less famous opening acts are for. The best highlights are saved for later, when the crowd is finally ready – both in anticipation and emotional state! Same thing with Christmas. The world wasn’t ready for Jesus just yet. God knew that. So He cues in John first, whose main job it was to “prepare the way of the Lord” [Luke 3:4].

Check out the miracle story of John’s birth:

[read Luke 1:5-25 fully – it’s only 20 verses!]

 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. (Luke 1:5-7)

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. (verse 13)

And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” (verse 18)

And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” (verse 20)

A little big of historical background for ya.  This was nothing less than the HIGH POINT of Zechariah’s career as a priest. There were 24 divisions of priests – hundreds of them in Israel. And during the holy days & festivals, all of the priests came together to serve.

During the regular weeks of the year, however, each division got to serve in the temple twice a year, for one whole week. And when their division was on duty, an individual priest, chosen by lot, was selected to enter into the temple and offer up the incense to God. Now this could happen only ONCE in a priest’s lifetime, since there were so many priests.

This was Zechariah’s big moment. And it was in this special moment that God, through an angel, delivers to him the crazy news of a future son, which, at this point in old Zechariah and old Elizabeth’s lives, was a biological impossibility. So unfortunately, Zechariah doubted. He rejects the miraculous promise of the divine revelation.

Why? Because it seemed too RADICAL to him to be true. It was too EXTREME for his heart to really believe.

So Zechariah doubts and his reward is a 9-month enforced silence.

And think about it!  This was only the pre-miracle! If one couldn’t believe that a woman well past her age of fertility could get pregnant by the power of God, how much less a young girl that was a virgin?

Here’s the sad realization that hit me when I was reflecting on this passage last night:

We have domesticated Christmas. We’ve stripped out the radical, extreme nature of it and made it a “nice” holiday. Christmas has become easy to digest, palatable, marketable, and consumer friendly. It’s become much… too… normal. Much… too… routine. And if it has become both normal and routine in our minds, then it has completely lost significance in our hearts. I feel that part of having the Christmas spirit is believing that God can do, was willing to do, and has done something completely RADICAL on the timeline of history. We ought not to forget that Christmas is, in its very nature, EXTREME.

We need to reorient ourselves back to remembering just how mind-blowing the first Christmas events were. It blew an old, righteous priest’s mind right into the realm of unbelief.  It was that extreme.  For us nowadays, Christmas has become too mundane, routine, and ordinary. And as such, it has lost its impact and power on our hearts.

No longer is Christmas looked on in WONDER when we make it about trees, snow, sleighs, and reindeer. It’s sweet and sentimental, yes. It’s pleasant, definitely. But we need to stay true to original form. The first Christmas wasn’t merely “pleasant.” It was a new and powerful movement of God; it was RADICAL. After all, Christmas is the story of God INVADING miraculously into man’s day-to-day existence.  And the radical, extreme nature of the holiday should remind us of the radical, extreme God that we serve, who ought never to be thought of in our minds as either “domesticated” or “nice.”

For those who desire to be like Jesus Christ, it plain & simply involves SERVING OTHERS.  There is NO shortcut around this one; no get-out-of-jail card here; no fast route to sanctification; no easy discipleship in this.  Hands must get dirty, sweat must pour, & humility must conquer pride.  Dirty feet must be washed, diseased hands must be held, & hungry mouths must be fed.  The lordship of Christ in our lives means nothing less than picking up & taking ownership of our own TOWELS (John 13:4-5).

Sincerely,

Dave (a fellow towel boy)

At Catalyst LTM, we’re currently going through a topical series called “WAKE UP!” on Sunday nights.  I always describe my sermons as “boomerangs” which get thrown out & then turn back around with faster speed, hitting me with harder force than I think they sometimes hit anyone else.  As the lead “shepherd” (i.e., pastor) of Catalyst, I felt convicted that this was a necessary subject to address since our typical modern-day perceptions of discipleship & what it means to follow Jesus are often times watered down & diluted.  Especially in today’s American church.  I needed to hear this again.  I needed to be reminded of what following Jesus Christ really truly consisted of, not what the popular perception of it was.  Especially impactful to me was the truth that at the heart & core of discipleship lies suffering & death (in a symbolic sense).  So as I crafted the discussion questions for all of Catalyst’s Fusion Groups (small groups) this week, I realized that they’re extremely important for any self-labeled Christian to consider.  So I thought I’d share them with you all!

FUSION GROUP QUESTIONS:  The Cost of Following Jesus (aka. “Watered Down Discipleship)

Introduction:  Doing anything well takes a lot of effort & time.  It tends to always be a demanding uphill climb that is RARELY easy.

What activities/hobbies/goals/adventures have you found this to be true of in your own life?

Do you think a lot of people today come to Jesus & expect it (i.e., following Him) to be easy?

Why do you think that’s so (…since that’s not the case with most things in life)?

Are these unrealistic expectations?

Greeks defined discipleship as being purely INTELLECTUAL.  You sit under the teaching of Plato, Aristotle, or Socrates & learn all that you can.

Jews added on another aspect to their definition of discipleship – RELATIONAL.  A young Jewish boy would go through 3 different “Beths” (“houses” of learning) & would memorize the entire Old Testament by the ripe old age of 14!  Then, to close off his learning, he would leave his town, live with & enroll himself under the discipleship of a well-respected Rabbi.

What amazes / appeals to you about these above forms of discipleship?

Jesus included these two values (INTELLECTUAL & RELATIONAL) in His concept of discipleship, but He took it even further.

Re-read Mark 8:34-37 together as a group.

Remember the structure:  It’s 1 main statement followed by 4 explanatory “For..” statements.

What’s the bigger situational / emotional context of this – Jesus’ teaching on discipleship?

(Look at the preceding verses in Mark 8.)

In one sentence, Jesus connects discipleship / following Him with suffering, sacrifice, & even death.  What relevant application does this hold for us – people who want to follow Jesus Christ & become more like Him?

How should we now view discipleship in light of this unsettling passage?

In what ways does modern-day Christianity tend to attempt to remove pain & suffering from the discipleship process?

What else do we learn about following Jesus from the other explanatory statements?

Read Jeremiah 18:1-10, James 1:2-4, and/or Romans 5:3-4 and discuss the value of suffering.

Hope you’re blessed by some of these thoughts, concepts, and questions & that it more importantly causes you to re-examine Jesus’ radical call to discipleship in Mark 8!