The Darkness Has Not Overcome the Light

The Incarnation of the Word and the Christmas Gospels

Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith.

Alone.

And now, here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg.

The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the first chapter. 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 he knew her not until she had given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus. This is the Gospel of the Lord.

The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the second chapter. In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was the governor of Syria, and all went up to be registered, each to his own town.

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, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth, and she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.

And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you was born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is well pleased.

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste, and they found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen as it had been told them. This is the gospel of the Lord, the holy gospel according to Saint John, the first chapter.

The Light Shines in the Darkness

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God, and all things were made through him. And without him was not anything made that was made.

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him.

He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. And we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and.

Truth.

This is the gospel of the Lord. In the name of Jesus, amen. So earlier today, it's weird doing church kind of in two installments, you know, you sit there and go, what is going on here? Earlier today in my sermon for Advent 4, same day, isn't that interesting?

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Voila. All right.

So earlier today, we talked about the fact that Jesus is the prophet promised by Moses. Well, actually, God promised the prophet through Moses, said he would raise up a prophet like him. We got to listen to this fellow.

Well, you'll note then that Jesus has appeared, and when Jesus appeared and when he was talking about the importance of the words that he was given by God the Father, he went into a little bit of a mini discussion about humanity's paternity.

And we noted that what Jesus had to say about humanity's paternity wasn't exactly flattering. Because of sin, we have all fallen short of the glory of God. And as a result of that, Christ can legitimately say of all of us that we were under the dominion of darkness and that we are of our father, the devil.

Children of Light by Mercy, Not Works

But we heard way, way better words, way better words than that in our texts today. In fact, in our gospel text, which is just one of the most beautiful texts in all of Scripture, we hear that to all who did receive Christ, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

That's not a right given to all of humanity. Each and every one of us born dead in trespasses and sins. Not a single one of us deserve that. But this is the joy of Christmas. And you'll note that in our epistle text from our third reading, it said when the goodness and the loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us.

Not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his mercy. God is rich in mercy. God is rich in lovingness, in loving kindness and in goodness and in grace. And you'll note that despite the fact that humanity has fallen wickedly, yet Christ has chosen, our God has chosen to tabernacle among us.

That was the wonderful turn in the Old Testament reading from Moses setting up the tabernacle to this John text. And the John text says, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.

I cannot read these words without knowing the Greek behind it. I've said it so many times, it's like tattooed on my heart and in my brain. And arche en halagas, kai halagas en proston theon, and kai theos en halagas, in the beginning was the word.

And this is going all the way back then to the book of Genesis and invoking some of the themes from the book of Genesis and teaching us through the gospel of John to reconsider some of the things that we see going on in the beginning portion of the book of Genesis.

Genesis 1, 1 reads, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Barashit bara elohim et ha'shamayim va 'et ha 'eretz, it says in the Hebrew. The earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the Tohom, the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

And here's what it says, and God said, let there be light.

And there was light.

And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness and God called the light day and the darkness he called night and there was evening and there was morning the first day.

And we see then here that John chapter one teaches us to read Genesis in a completely different way. So there is the chaos of the creation. God created the heavens and the earth, but it started off as one big old mess of complete.

Chaos.

There's water.

There's the deep. There's the Tohom. There's the tohu v 'bohu in the Hebrew. If you can read it, it's amazing. And you'll know in the middle of that chaotic darkness there, the Spirit of God is metaconfetting.

He's hovering over the face of the Tohom, over the deep, over the waters. And then God says, let there be light.

And there was a light.

And these themes now come trickling into the New Testament and they're rearranged for us so that we can consider then how amazing the incarnation is, the birth of Jesus Christ. Two of the gospels give us a nativity narrative.

Matthew and Luke tell us about the birth of Christ. John goes all the way back to the beginning and he talks about the birth of the universe, which I think is fascinating, right? And so he says, in the beginning was the Word.

The Word was with God and the Word was God. And Jesus is that Logos who is God and who is with God. And he was in the beginning with God and all things were made through him, through Jesus. In other words, who was the one speaking there in Genesis that said, let there be light?

It was Christ himself. All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that was made. He is our great God and Savior. He is our Creator. He's our Redeemer. He's come to save us, right?

And so in him was life. And the life, listen to the words, the life was the light of men. You know, darkness is not a very fun thing. Have you ever had one of those times when you've been afraid of the dark?

I have to admit, there's been a few times I've been afraid of the dark. And I'm not talking about when I was a kid. I'm talking about when I was adult. Circumstances were such that things were sus. They were sketchy outside.

I felt that there was danger and things like this. And when the lights are off, you know the evil is lurking and you're afraid of it. You hear a crash downstairs, a boom, a smack. You're not sure what it is and you think the evil is afoot.

And what is the first thing you do when you hear something like that? You quickly run and you turn on the lights. Yeah, evil flourishes in the dark. Indeed, it does. But you'll note that Christ is our light.

In him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. And so now the light of Christ shines from the manger, from Bethlehem to the cross.

And now from his ascended, glorified, risen from the grave body, he continues to shine forth. You'll note that Jesus, now that he's been crucified, died, buried, and then resurrected from the dead and ascended into heaven, whenever he appears, he appears as what?

Light.

And I think about that old apostle Paul before he was the apostle Paul. He was Saul of Tarsus and he was out there determined to extinguish the light of Christ by persecuting Christians, gathering them up, rounding them up, beating them, flogging them, murdering them, putting them in prison, making them suffer for their confession of Christ.

And what happened to old Paul? The darkness of his sin while he was heading to Damascus, the light of Christ shone upon him. And indeed it blinded him, but it also gave him sight to see the truth. The darkness has not overcome the light and the darkness will never overcome the light.

Even if the world goes to hell in a handbasket and we head into the darkest of the darkest days before the return of Christ, understand this, the light of Christ will continue to shine. And then when it is at its darkness, Christ's sign in the heavens will shine forth and the whole world will see it.

And how much do you want to bet that that sign is going to include a little bit of light, right? And so then John goes on to talk about John the Baptist. There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. And here's the wonderful bit is that although John the Baptist is the true forerunner of Christ, we are able to take up his same message in our own mouths.

The message of repentance, calling people to repent of their sins, to straighten their paths, to make themselves ready for the appearing of Christ. We can join in John's ministry by taking up that message ourselves.

And the text says he was not the light, but he came to bear witness about the light. Just like you are not the light, I am not the light. I'm just the current pastor of Kongsvinger, and there will be others after me.

And that's just how this goes. Unless Christ returns on next Thursday, that's what we should expect. But I'm not the light. You're not the light. We all are now bearing witness about the light, and that is the light of Christ.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, yet the world didn't know him. That's how dark the darkness of sin is.

When the light of Christ shines into the darkness and into our darkness, we sit there and say, would you please turn off the light? I can't sleep here because the light is shining. That's the point. You're not supposed to be sleeping.

The light of Christ is shown upon you. Wake up from the dead, you sleeper. Jesus is here. That's what that light is, and don't call it annoying. It's glorious. He came to his own people, but his own people did not receive him.

Many of his own people still do not receive him to this day. But hear again those words. To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. In fact, Christ himself has delivered us from the dominion of darkness.

He delivered us through the preaching of the gospel, through the waters of baptism. He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and made us all children of the light, children of the kingdom of light.

His glorious kingdom. That's what Christmas is really all about. Those who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Who were not born, who were born not of blood.

That's right. You're not a Christian because your parents were Christians. Nah, that's not how this works. Okay, just because two Christian parents come together and conceive a child doesn't mean that genetically that that person then is a child of light.

No, far from it. They're still born dead in trespasses and sins. Nor were they born through the will of the flesh, nor the will of man. In fact, you were not born of God because you made a free will decision.

The scripture is clear here. Who were not born of the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but you were born by the will of God. Remember the command of God that Christ says in John chapter 12 is this eternal life.

And so we, because God has willed us to be his children, we are. And we thank God for this great, amazing, glorious gift. Indeed, when the goodness and loving kindness of our God appeared, he saved us.

He saved you. He saved me. And so the word then goes on. The word became flesh and Jesus tabernacled among us. Better translation of that word, by the way, because when you see that Christ tabernacled among us, then we understand what that tabernacle from the from the Torah is really all about.

It's a foreshadowing. It points us to Jesus. It's the type and shadow. Christ is the substance. He has come to dwell among us. And you'll note that Christ led the children of Israel, pillar of fire by pillar of smoke by day, pillar of fire by night.

He led them through the wilderness to the promised land. And now Christ leads us, leads us through the darkness of the wilderness of sin to the real promised land, his kingdom, his kingdom of light. And he knows the way.

And so we are now here tonight to hear his voice, to consider the glory of Christmas, to consider the goodness and kindness and mercy and grace and loving kindness of our God as we head to our promised land, the new heavens and the new earth.

The word became flesh and tabernacled among us. And we have seen his glory, glorious of the only son from the father, full of grace and.

Truth.

That's what Jesus is all about.

Is he not?

He's full of grace and he's also full of truth and a world full of darkness and lies, the opposite of grace, meanness and murder and hatred and discord and lies. That's what our world is full of. And we've participated enough in that ourselves.

Christ is here full of grace and truth. And he is the one who ranked John the Baptist and he has come to save us. I think back to those words in the hymn that we just sang, talking about how Christ, when he first revealed his sacred face.

Now you and I haven't seen it, but the shepherds saw his sacred face. Mary saw his sacred face. The apostles have seen his sacred face. Someday you will see it too. So as we celebrate the incarnation of Christ, let us again focus on the great battle between darkness and light that hasn't, that light has won and darkness can never defeat.

And how now we, as we consider again, the mysterious yet amazing birth of Christ, the texts that we're so familiar with, how Mary and Joseph get to Bethlehem and there's no room for them in the Cataluma.

And so they have to, Mary has to give birth to Christ and of all places, a place where animals live and eat. And Christ's first cradle is a manger. When we consider all of this, know this, it has everything to do with the goodness and loving kindness of our God and Savior in his appearing.

He has saved us. That same Jesus who was laid in the manger later goes on to be nailed to the cross so that he can bleed and die as your substitute. The spotless lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

He took up within himself the darkness that you and I have created so that we now can be children of light. It's a glorious message, something to consider in the cold, dark night of this time in December as we are all huddled up in our homes because of the foul weather.

Oh, that foul weather is a great reminder of the consequences of our sin.

Yeah.

And having to shovel that snow, keep that in mind. It's a, it's a penalty. It's a consequence of sin. But all that being said, as we are being, as we are locked up and considering the cold and the difficulty and how bad the weather is outside, know then that we have this light of Christ shining to us today through his word.

And this word is good. And you and I, because of this, we are saved. In the name of Jesus. Amen.