Emmanuel: God With Us

Well, it didn't take too much to convince me to Adopt a slightly different topic than would normally be scheduled for Matthew 24. Especially since I'm preaching next week. So I think brother Callahan will be up in the morning maybe I don't know we'll see he could be off taking Dominion over the earth and And killing some other type of animal that we have not eaten on a Sunday evening yet.

Who knows it's a possibility but You never know there. At least I didn't bring any bear meat back from Alaska. We didn't have any bear tacos for the next Fellowship meal you can take some some delight in that I suppose but Thinking that it is the 18th of December.

Most folks will have some opportunity of gathering with people over the course of the next week. That you normally don't have during the course of the rest of the year. Some will be family members some will not be family members.

You know all depends. Some will be believers many will not be believers. And no matter what your tradition is around your house and your family at this time of year It is that one time of year when? For a brief period of time.

There might be an opportunity Rather naturally for things to be discussed concerning who Jesus Christ was this is the one time of the year when Even country music stars say the name of Jesus in a non-profane way so You can actually raise the subject without necessarily automatically getting shut down in in the process the problem is there's a lot of Misunderstanding there is a lot of fiction That exists out there that might get in the way of your having an opportunity to say something meaningful in The brief period of time that we might have let's face it.

Some of you who are older can think back to younger days when people to each other Didn't just you know didn't sit in a room ago, you know see. Almost on cue. I mean I did not pay anybody to do that, but Everyone's grabbing their phones now turn off silent quick quick quick, you know I love those phones where people haven't figured out the silent button and they hit the volume.

You know like that anyway. Remember those days when when people actually I honestly believe that if we did a study We would see that Actual conversations between most human beings Have gotten shorter and shorter and shorter over the past number of decades as our attention span has.

What's that talking about? Gotten much shorter as well. Squirrel squirrel. Exactly right. Yeah, you do that way too. Well, that's the squirrel. It's true, I mean that's the way we are and so the problem is for a lot of people today.

You have this amount of time to say something before they're looking for a new topic to shift the conversation over to and. So it really takes some effort on our part to say something Meaningful and they can actually catch the attention and and so on so forth.

The Virgin Birth, the Incarnation, and the Scandal of Christmas

So what I wanted to do This morning is do something very practical over the next 40 minutes and that is look at some barriers that might be in the way and look at some scripture passages that you might want to be familiar with to Speak with someone concerning what it is Christians believe about this person Jesus Christ and the fact that we we don't believe II we believe.

What you see? Well, we believe part of what you see in that manger scene. If they've got the wise men there and then that was a couple years later I I know it makes it a lot more interesting to have the wise men there, but that was that was like two years later.

But but we believe that he was born as a child. That he actually came into this world that he that he was truly a human being. But we believe much more than that and that's where the problem lies is that a lot of people want to keep him just there in the cradle and don't want a Jesus that goes beyond that because a Babies and mangers are not at all Scary or challenging and The baby in the manger is safe as long as you don't really Understand what it is we believe about that baby in the manger who he really really was and That's scandalous to the world because we really do believe that he was the God man.

The God invaded his own creation into the the modern scientific mind. That is just such a scandal. How can you believe something so foolish as that? But let me set aside There. Let me let me mention one thing to sort of put it aside Before we look at John chapter 1 if you looking for a place to turn your Bible you can turn there.

We'll get there in a moment. Many people will tell you Conversation stoppers right off the right off the bat. We'll tell you know, we all just know that's. And there are many Christians who will say this as well all this really is.

All this celebration really is is evidence that the early Christians were willing to take any story that was floating around out there and pull them all together and cobble them together and Make up their religion.

Of there are people who will say that Jesus was a myth that he didn't exist. It is I will inch I will note in passing. It's interesting note that Bart Ehrman one of the leading critics of New Testament Christianity Is coming out with a new book that will only be published in as an e-book.

There will be no paper version of this which is very very interesting. The fact that a major publisher would do that Indicates that Text readers book readers are becoming almost ubiquitous. There's a Kindle.

Oh, is that a Kindle or nook? Yeah, there's there see no one's here and no one's to be listening to this. Anyways, okay. Yeah, I'm giving a bunch of Kindles for Christmas. Yeah anyways They're becoming ubiquitous and he's coming out of the book and it is his book on the Existence of Jesus he he mocks people who say Jesus did not exist.

He said well, of course he existed, but there are a lot of people who want to say it. Well, no, Jesus never existed he was a myth based on Osiris and Horus and Dionysus and Mithra and and all the rest of this stuff and I don't think we've watched it yet.

But in fact, I know we haven't in fact I haven't brought in one of my debates for a long time now to watch. I Apologize for that because some of them I think would be worthwhile but I did a debate with an atheist about a year and a half ago on whether Jesus was Made up of all these mythologies and things like that one of the favorite ones around this time of year is You will hear people say and I've heard I've heard Christian pastors say this well that December 25th thing we all know that's just we all know that couldn't possibly been the date because Actually, what that was was that was the celebration of the Sun God and and and in Mithraism.

Okay, and the Christians just took that over and turned it into a Christian celebration. And then you get the Christians who go. Yeah, that's what happened. But you know We were just going Sun s you and Sun so and isn't that wonderful and lovely and that's all hold hands and that kind of stuff.

Little bit of a problem Historically unfortunately with that The earth's anybody know the earliest date that we can find in the extant records that Christians associated with the birth of Jesus. What's the earliest date that we can find in the extant historical records?

That Christians associated with the birth of the Messiah anyone. No one knows really. No one will guess not not a single. Yes. Is there anyone out there? Are you all a anyone? It's a nice nice March. I come out December.

No, no, no looking for a specific date. It's January 6th. Now. What is significant about January 6th anyone? Come on, mr. Callahan, you know January 6th, what's the date of Christmas in Eastern Orthodoxy?

January 6th. January 6th, and how many days is between? December 25th and January 6 all days of Christmas. Okay, it was a lengthy peace period and January 6 of the earliest date that we have and So you have a 12-day celebration December 25th people will tell you ah, but you see Mithra was born on December 25th, too, and they just stole that from Mithra ism.

What was Mithra ism? Maybe anybody hear a former Mithra it. Just you know anybody I don't want to cause any former Mithra it to stumble today, but I Didn't think there were any because it doesn't exist anymore.

Mithra ism was a was a religion that was primarily Associated with the Roman army. The Roman Roman soldiers really liked Mithra ism. And it came out of the east and it moved into into the Roman Empire and people like to draw all sorts of parallels between Mithra ism and Christianity and Unfortunately again a lot of our young people will go off to some of you young folks can go off to university and college.

And you're going to have Brilliant PhDs saying in front of you saying that everything you believe about Jesus was actually stolen from the Mithra cult of the Romans. The problem is the Mithra ism really did not there's no evidence in Mithra ism became overly popular until after the time of the New Testament.

So they started hard for the New Testament writers to be barred something that no one really cared about the time. But it came in at around the same time as Christianity a little bit afterwards into into the Roman Empire and in point of fact we don't have any evidence of December 25th having anything to do with Mithra ism and so after Christians are talking about December 25th for the birth of Jesus.

So when people say oh, it was stolen from the Mithra cult, which is more likely Mithra ism, which was associated with Rome. What happens as Rome begins to decline guess what happens Mithra ism. It begins to decline as well, especially since it's associated with the Roman army the Roman army is shrinking.

Not good for Mithra ism. Okay, and they didn't have any you know Church growth movements emerge. Like that in Mithra ism, so it just sort of died out, but will it be more likely that a syncretistic cult?

Would grab hold of stuff they see in an ascending religion and what's happening with Christianity after the after 313 and it becomes Legal and in 325 council I see a Constantine claims to be a Christian.

It's on the ascendancy and you got a dying out religion, and it's trying to find ways of keeping itself going. What's more likely that it's gonna borrow from the popular stuff or the one that's getting more popular.

It's gonna borrow from the dying stuff. I Mean really when you think about it. It's not too much of a brainer. But not too many people even bother to take the time to think about this you just see it repeated over and over and over on TV and all the rest of stuff one other thing before we get to John one and that is the dating of things people go.

So still you Christian don't you know that it's cold in Israel about this time here. And then that means there wouldn't be any any lands out in the field see the shepherds wouldn't be out abiding with their flocks by night.

Well, actually the sacrificial flocks stayed out all year, but that's another issue what is interesting is a couple years ago I Unfortunately the stuff is written in books that almost no one ever reads.

Except weird people like me and and I ran across this book on on Ancient calendars nice. I'm not talking about the ones you put on the wall. Here were the Roman soldiers or you know that kind of calendar.

But how they did things because remember we have a nice standardized calendar now, but they didn't back then for example most of you know that. The date that the year of the birth of Jesus We think is zero but actually that doesn't work because it has to be about three or four BC because Herod croaked about that and It's off by about that much because the Gregorian calendar Julian calendar you know people didn't have the kinds of Astronomical ways of observing things we do today to keep track of time and stuff like that and so there was lots of different calendars back then and people.

You know the the Jewish calendar you'd put in a month every few years to make up for the. The fact it was a lunar calendar, so it was much shorter. The Islamic calendar to this day is lunar and they do not add in anything and so there a year for them is much shorter.

It's 11 days shorter than ours, and they don't make up for it, so it just it keeps moving. Ramadan for example keeps moving 11 to 12 days forward in our calendar every year. And so when they talk about something that took place 1 ,300 years ago in their calendar.

That's not 1 ,300 years ago in our calendar, so you've got to actually go online and find calculators. You can figure out what the dates were and stuff like that which of course before online meant something very different.

Anyway there were these different calendars and and all the rest of stuff so I was reading this book, and there was a an article in it by a Guy I got a lot of respect for as a historian and researcher by name Roger Beckwith.

That's not Francis Beckwith. That's Roger Beckwith different Beckwith. He wrote the book the Old Testament canon the New Testament Church if you ever want to read I mentioned it. I think a couple weeks ago everyone want to read a rather thick but pretty comprehensive book on What the canon of the Old Testament was for the New Testament Church?

His book is the is the book to read on that it's like I said not light and enjoyable reading. But it's it's good stuff anyways. He wrote this chapter in this book Relating to The time of the birth of Jesus, and he approached it from way I'd never I never even heard anyone talk about it before but what he did is he went back into the records because this is before the destruction in the temple in Jerusalem and Looked at when priestly families Were ministering in the temple.

Because they had a rotation they had a specific rotation of when the priestly families would would minister in the temple and And Why would that be relevant to us? Think with me for a moment what how how could how could that be relevant to the timing of the birth of of Jesus?

What's the connection to a priestly family anybody? This is where I actually make you think I'm not gonna Just don't stand up here and yammer at the whole time Zechariah priest and what happens with Zechariah he's ministering in the temple, and he has a vision and he struck dumb and Who is who is Zechariah?

He's the father of John the Baptist and we do know exactly what the time frame is between John the Baptist's birth and Jesus's birth. His wife's pregnancy and Mary's pregnancy right and so what he does is he traces when Zechariah's Clan family would have been ministering in the temple at that time and then you just Do the nine-month bath.

From there, and he came to the conclusion that the most likely period of time was the end of December. Now you can't get well 1234 a .m.. On you can't you can't quite get that specific and Given them none of my kids came anywhere close to when they were supposed to come you've got those those factors as well.

But there's that's that kind of stuff never even gets mentioned what she's here. It's just ah it's just a pagan cult above. Keep that in mind that even when you hear that from from Christians. There's more information out there.

And the the professors at the universities just love that set up out and they never mention any of that kind of stuff. How many of them even know about it probably not many at all? But it's thrown out there and a lot of Christians are left sort of cowering and going.

I hadn't thought about that and so on so forth now you have the opportunity. Maybe no one has brought up the alleged pagan stuff and Someone says well Why do you celebrate? Or why do Christians even find significant the birth of Jesus because if he was just a prophet then I suppose you know like you know my birthday was yesterday, and I had a few people to say you know happy birthday and la la la and.

But you know so what. Same thing with the same thing with with prophets. You know. Is it really all that important? Why would anyone really really well? Where would you want to go? Couple places I would suggest to you now.

Obviously in our society if you pull out the ESV study Bible. Well, let me tell you. So now out this huge massive things comes. It's twice the size of Codex Rigotonius it really is it doesn't look nearly as old as Codex Rigotonius, but.

It's it. They even have one is that the full study Bible it doesn't look all as big as some of them. Well yeah, yeah, I know I Realize that but I've seen some of those and they're just the thing. It's just I See I can tell who carries one because they walk like this.

You know it's just things are huge, but you go whipping that thing out and You might have 30 seconds in our culture today, so. Great advantage if you actually happen to have these texts memorized. Which I would highly recommend to you.

The Eternal Word in John 1

Prologue of John. Prologue of John. Let's take a look at it. John 1 1 we all know the text right hopefully most of us if we've been Christians for any period of time at all we've Just by general exposure have memorized John 1 1.

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. John starts his gospel off talking about the Word and That's not a book. This Word is personal in the beginning was the Word as far back as you want to push the beginning the Word already existed.

The Word is eternal. The Word has eternally been in relationship with God and the Word is as to his nature deity not a God but Deity and This Word was in the beginning with God all things were made through him and without him was nothing made and So he is involved in the creation of all things.

Now why would someone find that to be relevant why you have to make a connection quickly if someone were to say What about what about the birth of Jesus our Christians? So excited about you might say well we believe as the Gospel of John says In the beginning was the Word and the Word is with God and the Word was God.

Those opening words tell us that the Word was eternal. The Word was eternally in relationship with the Father and the Word was as to his nature deity and the amazing thing is see what I did. There I've said the three things that I've made the assertions.

He was involved in the creation of all things, but now I have to keep the attention and say and the amazing thing is that that same gospel goes on to say in verse 14 and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and So this this excitement on the part of Christians is Through the fact that we believe that one who Existed eternally and literally through whom everything came into existence that this one Became flesh did not cease to be the eternal word.

That's the logos in case you're wondering. Please do not mispronounce it as logos or Logos especially if you want a logos, I'll let you that's the modern Greek pronunciation. I'll let you get away with that.

Whatever you do. Don't say logos that kid. This is not possible. You hear folks say that is. So like you said, okay, imagine chalkboard. Okay, only the old people are going. No young people going what?

You can't use the fingernails on a chalkboard illustration with young people anymore because they have never seen a chalkboard. Can you imagine that folks some of you folks my age and older isn't it sad?

Have you ever seen a chalkboard you have seen a chalkboard? You guys have some chalkboards and still hasn't ever pulled your fingernails down a chalkboard. Not anymore. One time was enough wasn't it? Oh, yeah.

Yeah, well there you go, okay, but a lot of places have gotten rid of chalkboards they're gone so that's a great illustration that unfortunately doesn't work all that well anymore, but The the the insistence has to be immediately this word entered into invaded.

What he himself had made He is the creator. He is the one through whom all things were made and then he became like he did not cease to be the eternal word he became flesh and dwelt among us and that's what we're saying and we have to realize that's an amazing amazing claim and There are a lot sadly made the people were talking to they may even be a part of churches where they don't believe that anymore.

I mean I we drive I drive across Indian School Road To get here, and I know I drive past a church. That's gonna have a candlelight service on Christmas Eve. But I know they don't believe this they don't believe literally that God Became flesh just don't believe it.

The Eastern churches. You know it's interesting that some of the differences between the Eastern and Western churches. The Eastern churches very much focus upon the Incarnation from our perspective almost to the detriment of the centrality of the cross.

But of course from our perspective we have to remember That without the Incarnation the cross would not be what we believe it to be. In other words if Jesus was not the God man if Jesus is not the eternal logos made flesh.

Then the nature of the cross has to change once you lose Who Jesus was once you lose the hot you know John starts his gospel off with this so we read all the rest of his gospel in light of these statements.

This this Jesus was the word who became flesh. That's why at the end of John what does Thomas say when he sees the resurrected Lord my Lord and my God. And Jesus does not rebuke him he Identifies his statement as a as a confession of faith.

But that cross Once you abandon The view of Jesus as the God man Emmanuel God with us the word become flesh, then you've got to do something different with the cross. Its significance has to change it is a man a creature only whether a Perfect creature or a highly exalted creature or whatever else.

He's still a creature and so the death that is being died has a different nature in liberal Christianity because of the abandonment of the view of who Jesus is and you end up with all the Lesser theories of atonement.

So back to our our conversation. You assert who the word is and then you say and the amazing thing is the word Became flesh and dwelt among us. And you might see something like this you might say have you ever do you remember the Christmas plays?

I remember I'm so old now that we did Christmas plays in public school. Can't do that anymore. I don't think very much and you actually had to quote from the Bible. So there might still be some people you're talking to you can at least they have you ever been to a Christmas play or something like that and You you hear the story about how in the days of Caesar Augustus a decree went out that all the world should be taxed.

Just some questions about what all the world meant there. I don't really don't think Caesar sent off a decree to gnome Alaska said you're gonna be taxed out there there's there was a there is a contextual meaning as to what that actually meant and and that's the lots of historical stuff that we can get into about that, but The point is that Luke Places these events in time.

Remember what Luke also says and when Quirinius was governor Syria and and all this stuff that let's face it most the time. We just sort of go. Yeah, really. Yeah, okay. Yeah Quirinius. Yeah, sure. He's a great guy.

What we that's the stuff where our minds to sort of skip over that and our minds should not skip over that. Because what's going on is the writers are placing the events of Jesus life including his birth In time in space one of the things that the pagan gods and the devotees of pagan gods never did Was try to associate the events of the lives of those deities with ascertainable historical events that could be checked out because myths don't work well that way and.

So it would sort of be in a general time frame, you know. Long ago in a galaxy far far away, you know that kind of thing. That's the easiest way to start a fictional story you don't want to tie it to something where someone go gives me but There's really no room for that because we know this was going on and that was done.

No, the writers of the gospel all the time. This is one of the major major major differences. Heard the Gnostic Gospels, you know the Gospels written over a hundred years later by people who thought Jesus was just sort of a phantom and didn't have a real body and and people writing on talking about the Gnostic Gospels all the time and there are people trying to put the Gnostic Gospels in the Bible and all the rest of stuff you look at them and There are telltale signs.

These are works of fiction from a hundred plus years later. Because they their authors do not attempt to put Jesus into Into first century Judea. They're not saying he was here and then it took him so long to travel to here which happens to be remember John 11 Jesus is in one place and People come and Lazarus is gonna die and he waits and it takes him a certain amount of time to get there.

Well, if you figure how long it takes to walk, that's how long it takes to get there. You can you can figure these things out. It's not only you can also check out how they use names and place names and all the rest of stuff.

All those Gnostic Gospels the writers didn't know anything about how far it was from here to here. They didn't know the names the towns the cities. They didn't know how people called each other by names back then none of that stuff.

There's someplace else Writing a lot later and they're just making stuff up as they go along the gospel writers give clear indication. They were there. They were in that place. They knew how people talk.

They knew how long it took to get from one place to another. I mean if someone was narrating something here in Phoenix. You know about how long it takes to drive from Peoria to Scottsdale or something like that depending on the time of day.

But if someone lives in New York, they've never been here. How are they supposed to know? I mean, I suppose they get online or something like that. But that kind of that kind of information was not available back then there wasn't any online so there's all this information that Tells us that the the writers of the New Testament, they're not making up a myth.

Because when you write mythology, you don't write it the way they did. They were writing in the time period and what they were saying. This is the great scandal. What they were saying was Emmanuel God with us in the promise back in Isaiah.

Was that God is on our side. God is with us. God is amongst us. We are worshiping the one true God. But now it has come to the greatest fulfillment in the word became flesh and dwelt among us Emmanuel God literally with us and we really mean that that's what happened.

And so what that means is that little baby in the manger as cute as he might be Was Truly born he didn't just beam in there and When I say that I'm talking Quite directly about the Roman Catholic concept and if you know Roman Catholic dogma you know, there's something called the perpetual virginity of Mary and That they accept.

I cannot tell you how many times just over the past Four months I have seen people defending the Roman Catholic system quoting from a book called the protea Vangelium of James. The protea Vangelium of James now, what the world is that?

It's an off the gospel in essence. It's a Gnostic work from the second century and it's the origin and source of the concept of perpetual virginity of Mary. And in essence, there is no real birth of Jesus.

According to protea Vangelium of James he beams out. I mean, let's use the Star Trek analogy here because it's the closest thing I can come up with he he does not born like a child is born even though Isaiah said a Child will be born to us.

It uses the natural terms there. That's not what happens according to protea Vangelium of James because well, they're Gnostics and that's way too fleshy and Jesus. Jesus isn't really fleshly. So he just sort of more and and I don't know if you had the sparkly things like you have in Star Trek.

It depends on which Star Trek version you're looking at actually because there's different types of transporter beams. And shall we discuss that. I guess I know all the different types of transporter beams.

But anyways It just and he's there and and there's there's there's none of the associated stuff that comes along with birth. Which is a messy process. There's no birth, how can you call him the God man?

How could you even tell the difference. God just sort of I mean could could Jesus have just beamed down from heaven as a fully grown 33 year old man and just Sort of you know beamed out the further cross and then allowed himself to be crucified.

I Would say no because he truly wouldn't have been the God man and he certainly would not have fulfilled God's law for us in that sense. But anyways, he's truly born. We really believe that that was a baby that was born in that manger and He grew up.

The Bible says he grew in stature better have. I mean, I'm sure he was full-grown as a carpenter son of a carpenter and he was yay big when he was born and yet. And this is the amazing thing. We believe he was the God man not 50 God of 50 man.

He was the God man. Remember how many months ago it was we went over the different errors Concerning the person of Christ and people who mix them together. Remember you ticking is the Manapola remember all that stuff.

You probably don't but that's okay. You can go back and review that sometime in the future, but all the various errors that people have had 100 God 100 man one person two natures and so absolutely unique.

There's never been anyone like him. There never could be anyone like him again the incarnation is absolutely unique and what you can do if you still have someone's attention at that point and they're they're not laughing or something by that point is To directly go to the cross from there I've mentioned before but it obviously had a real impact on me.

But many many moons ago before we came here When we were at a very large Southern Baptist Church in the not to not very far from here I remember one Christmas There was a choir number and We had a incredibly talented vocalist black vocalist named Ruby.

Oh could she sing. Wow what a voice and And There was a song I've not found that I really should do a little harder searching I bet you I could track it down now since almost all music is becoming available online anymore Called the shadow of the cross and What we did I was involved actually doing this was we cut out we put on one of the lights a cutout of the of the cross with red and We actually had that laying across the manger scene and the whole song was about how You have to remember that the reason for that birth From the very beginning the shadow of the cross Was across that child because what did Jesus say it is necessary that I go to Jerusalem.

I must go to Jerusalem. I must be handed over to the leaders. I must be Killed buried rise again the third day. This was all a part of God's plan. This was all a part of God's decree and the connectedness between the incarnation and the cross you can go there very very quickly and Say you see the reason that this incarnation is so vitally important is Because what it tells us about the sufficiency of his work upon Calvary's tree Upon the cross you can go right into the need for a perfect sacrifice and the law of God and the fact that we have broken that law and there there must be There must be some way of having peace with God and the only way that God has provided for peace with him is through this one Jesus Christ and That he has provided that perfectly that that to me obviously would be the the direct direction to to go.

Now obviously there can be all sorts of Objections that are raised and on another text. I didn't I didn't end up getting to it but another text that is I think a tremendous incarnational text that we've gone over a number of times in the past, but is the Carmen Christi Philippians chapter 2 verses 5 through 11 and so if there is an interest on the person's part of Well, that's interesting, but you know I had a friend once who Said that Jesus said the Father is greater than I am how do you understand that because it meant that that may end up bringing all these these questions Bubbling up to the surface.

There's the opportunity to Enter into those things and to address those questions and One of the things that I think sometimes Causes us to hesitate a little bit before we go into a presentation to even present the Gospels because of a fear on our part of Not being able to answer some of those questions.

Don't don't be fearful. It's a amazing how many times the Lord will bring to mind Things that you have heard in the past. Certainly it should be things that we are seeking to be prepared and to be ready to be used of the Lord.

That's why scripture memorization is such a such an important thing, and I would so highly recommend it to you but Don't let that keep you from opening your mouth in in testimony. And so if someone raises a question like that I Think all of us should be able to answer John 14 28, which is what that text was by the way almost in our sleep.

Because so many people quote the Father is greater than I am. Is that the whole verse almost just reading the verse is enough Jesus talking to the disciples about his going back into the presence of the father, and it says if you had loved me You would have rejoiced.

But I told you I'm going back in the presence of the father because the father is greater than I am. So what does that mean well here he is? Walking the dusty roads of Galilee. He's constantly surrounded by his enemies.

He's constantly having people twisting every word. He says Surrounded by the the sick and the lame having to having to cast out the demons as well as dealing with the hypocritical leaders of his own of his own people and So he says I'm going back in the presence of the father.