Back to Bethlehem

“Back to Bethlehem”

Christmas Day is now 5 days behind us, and another 360 days in front of us.

We’ve worshiped, we’ve partied, we’ve eaten, we’ve laughed, we’ve traveled, and we’ve given gifts to and received gifts from those we love.

How many of you are wearing or carrying some article of clothing, jewelry, or accessory you received as a Christmas gift this week?

The pageants are over. The Christmas specials on TV are finished. The Christmas music has stopped playing, or soon will stop, and we’re back to our “regular” entertainment.

Not long now and the decorations will be taken down and put away until sometime late next year. The boxes will soon be ready to put up in the attic (at least, that’s the way it works in our house.)

Perhaps you’ve already started thinking about how you might do things differently next Christmas. The Ashley family discussed buying up Christmas wrapping paper at the deeply discounted prices we are expecting to see in the next several days, and putting the Christmas gift wrap tote back in the attic fully reloaded for next year. We have submitted the suggestion to the family rules committee for review and are awaiting their decision.

Kelly’s already begun planning how she will decorate the house for Christmas next year.

But first, there’s another year’s calendar between now and then.

This first Sunday after Christmas for me is always difficult. Turns out that maybe I’m a “Twelve Days of Christmas” kind of a guy after all. I’m not quite ready to let go of Christmas, and not quite ready to begin the New Year.

But that’s what I have to do, and that’s what you have to do. I have to put Christmas behind me and walk forward, a day at a time, until I find that Christmas is directly in front of me again.

I have to go on from here and carry the lessons of Christmas with me across the days, the weeks, the months ahead.

The Christmas story that we’ve read offers us four different stories of how people encountered the newborn baby of Bethlehem, and then put their Backs to Bethlehem and went forward from there.

So today’s message is called “Back to Bethlehem.” Not so that we would return to Bethlehem again—not yet. If God delays his return another calendar year, and chooses to leave us here on Earth long enough, then we will return to Bethlehem again in another 11 months.

But for now, we must turn and put our backs to Bethlehem, and go forward.

Consider these examples:

Luke 2:15-20—The Shepherds

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

1.          The shepherds came and saw, then they left and they told abroad what they had seen. They have given us a great example—that’s what we are all supposed to do. Come and see, stay awhile and worship, and then go and tell—all the while glorifying God for all that we have seen and heard, which has been told to us about the Son of God.

Luke 2:25-35—Simeon

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: ²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. ³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation, ³¹ which you have prepared in the sight of all people, ³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” ³³ The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

2.          Simeon had waited long to see the Promised Messiah. God had told him that he would live to see the Messiah. Once he met the baby Jesus, he declared that he was ready to depart from this world, having been satisfied. Now, I’m not saying that the experience of Christmas ought to create a death wish in us. Rather, the lesson here is, now that I have met the Christ, the Savior of all humankind, I am at peace with God and ready to meet Him, at whatever time and in whatever manner He may choose.

Matthew 2:11-12—The Magi

¹¹On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. ¹²And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

3.                      The Magi came, found Him who they sought, worshiped, gave gifts, and then they left “by another route.” I’ve preached on that text in the past, and it’s a favorite thought of mine. Now that I have met Jesus, everything in my life is different. Every route is different, because Jesus Christ has made all things new. I am a New Creation in Christ. The old things have passed away; and behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live; yet, not I, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Matthew 2:13-23—Joseph and Mary

¹³ When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” ¹⁴ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, ¹⁵ where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” ¹⁶ When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. ¹⁷ Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: ¹⁸ “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

¹⁹ After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰ and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” ²¹ So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, ²³ and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

4.          Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus fled Bethlehem, and fled their homeland altogether, escaping to Egypt ahead of Herod’s butcher squad. They certainly put their Backs to Bethlehem in one big hurry. Their story reminds us of a very important, and often painful, lesson. Now that I have met the Lord Jesus Christ, and now that I have declared my allegiance to Him, most of the world is NOT going to love me and celebrate my newfound faith.

In fact, Jesus said that the world is going to hate me, but I shouldn’t take it personally, because the world hated, and hates, Him. The world, or more particularly, the evil, godless, demonic world system, called in Scripture by the name “Kosmos”, represents all that is opposed to God. It is subject to the prince of this present age—the Devil, and his minions, the demons. They are called “rulers, authorities, the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

So the apostle John warns us NOT to love the world, nor the things in, or of, the world. 1 John 2:15.

For Joseph and Mary, Bethlehem was no longer safe. So they put their backs to Bethlehem and fled. As far as we know, they never went back to Bethlehem, because when it was safe for them to return from Egypt, they returned, not to Bethlehem, but to Nazareth in Galilee.

All of these people shared a moment in history that changed them for eternity. But they all went on from that day, and lived another day, as well.

Everyone in the Christmas story who came and saw Jesus lying in a manger left. None of them stayed in that place for very long.

We often spend too much time looking back at moments in our lives that define us. We’re reluctant to leave and move on. Maybe we’re not sure where to go, or what to do next.

But this is certain: we cannot stay where we are indefinitely. We need to turn away from yesterday and face what God has for us today, and look ahead to where God wants us to go tomorrow.

I do not know where the year ahead will lead us. There are many questions ahead; questions for which I do not yet have answers.

“Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand, but I know Who holds tomorrow, and I know He holds my hand.”

“Fear not tomorrow. God is already there.”

"Fear Not Tomorrow" as performed by The Collingsworth Family

I don’t know how it will end. Perhaps I won’t see another New Year’s Eve. Maybe our Lord will return before the year 2019 is complete.

But I do know that I cannot stay here where I am right now on the brink of New Year’s Eve 2018. It’s cold out, but it’s not cold enough to freeze time.

I have to put my Back to Bethlehem and go forward another step. I hope that you will do the same.

The Ultimate Miracle

Christmas 2018

What follows is the text of the Christmas Eve "Meditation" I prepared for, and delivered on, Christmas Eve 2018 at the Community Baptist Church in Wappingers Falls, New York.

If you want to LISTEN to the message as it was delivered live, click HERE.

(The following scriptures were read by various readers:)

Reading #1     John 1:1-5, 9-14 (NIV)

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. ¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Reading #2     Galatians 4:4-5 (NIV)

⁴ But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

Reading #3     Matthew 1:18(a) (NIV)

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about:

Reading #4     Luke 2:1-4 (NIV)

¹ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register. ⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.

Reading #5     Luke 2:4-7 (NIV)

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

 Reading #6     Luke 2:8-14 (NIV)

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Reading #7     Luke 2:15-20 (NIV)

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

There you have it. The story of Christmas, as told by the original tellers: the Evangelists Matthew, Luke and John. We didn’t consult with Mark because Mark has nothing to say about the birth of Jesus—he begins his story with Jesus already at adulthood and his baptism by John the Baptizer.

According to these witnesses, God did something that had never been done—not before, and not since. It’s what I’m calling “The Ultimate Miracle.”

God became a man. Infinite strength put on weakness. Power became fragile. Mighty became meek.

There’s a line from a Christmas song recorded by The Statler Brothers decades ago that keeps running through my head:

“We always knew men went to heaven, but now God had come to Earth.” (To listen to this song click here:  "Who Do You Think" by the Statler Brothers)

The OT prophets said that it would happen, and that it would happen just this way.

Isaiah said that a virgin would conceive, and give birth to a son, and he would be called “Immanuel, which means ‘God with us.’” (Isaiah 7:14)

He also described a child to be born, a son to be given, and that his name would be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

The prophet Micah spoke of a place for the Messiah’s birth: Bethlehem Ephrathah. He described the one who would be born there in a curious expression: “whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2)

The King James Version translates it this way: “Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

This baby, born in Bethlehem under unusual circumstances and stressful conditions, was no ordinary baby.

The Christmas story is a sweet story all by itself. It has all the components for a Hallmark Hall of Fame drama:

·    An unlikely mother,

·    an unwilling and uncertain father.

·    An unexpected law requiring an inconvenient journey.

·    An unwelcoming reception in an unprepared village.

·    An uncomfortable accommodation in an unconventional maternity suite.

Doesn’t it just figure that God would do something in just the opposite way that we might expect?

But this story we’ve been reading and singing about is not just a sweet story of the underdog overcoming adversity to live happily ever after!

This was no unfortunate series of events, or a collection of convenient coincidences.

This was God’s Master Plan! It all happened EXACTLY the way He designed it to happen “from of old, from everlasting.”

And it’s not just the remarkable birthing story that is compelling.

A friend posted this on her Facebook wall:

 “The inevitable conclusion of the Christmas cradle is Calvary's cross.”

 The sweet story of the birth of a baby boy in Bethlehem makes for good storytelling. But this is not just a good story to tell. It’s not just a bedtime story to tell our children, or something to show in pageants, to sing about in songs, to smile and nod with bowed heads.

This story is the Saving Story—the story of the Savior who came to live among us and then die for us.

Our response to this story calls for more than smiles and nods of appreciation. Our response to this story must be a broken-hearted, grateful appreciation of the truth. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

The sweet baby Jesus is the Savior of all humankind. Do you know Him only as the Baby Boy of Bethlehem, or do you also know Him as the Suffering Servant, your Substitute in Judgment, the Self-Sacrificing Savior? Do you know Him as the Resurrected and ever-living Son of God?

Will you offer Him a gift tonight? What can I give to Jesus? What gift could I present to Him? What do you give someone who owns the Universe?

There is but one thing that God wants, and it is the one thing He will not take unless it is freely offered. He wants you. All of you. Your heart, your body. Your strength. Your affection. Your devotion. Your willing service. Your worship and adoration. Your fellowship. He wants your trust.

I tell you—He is deserving of all of this from you and from me, and more.

If you have never before offered yourself to God as a willing gift, why not now? I tell you from my own experience and from the testimony of a great multitude of those who have gone before us: you will not be sorry that you decided to trust Jesus with your all.

The Ultimate Miracle is still being performed: the Saving of Many Souls alive.

Why not you? Why not now?