“Why He Came” – FBC Morning Light (12/25/2023)
A brief bit of encouragement for the journey from God’s Word.
Today’s Scripture reading: Zechariah 11-12 / Revelation 18
Music: “Joy to the World” – https://www.yourclassical.org/episode...
Transcript
Well, Merry Christmas to you, and to yours. I trust you're having a wonderful Christmas celebration already today, and perhaps you're getting this first thing in the morning before the celebration begins.
If so, I hope you have a wonderful day. If you've tuned in later in the day because of the busyness of the morning,
I hope it's been a good day for you, and that you have had and are going to have a
Christ -centered Christmas celebration. On this Christmas Monday, I think it would be helpful for us to remember why there was this advent of Christ, why
Christ came. We get an indication of that reason in our
Bible reading for today. Today we're reading in the next to the last book of the
Old Testament in Zechariah, and specifically chapters 11 and 12, and then we're also reading in the book of Revelation.
I want to focus on just this one part of a verse in Zechariah 12 and verse 10, where Zechariah is actually prophesying of the second advent of Christ.
When he comes, he says, in that day, he says, I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication.
Then they will look on me whom they pierced. They will look on me whom they pierced.
Yes, he says, they will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for him as one grieves for a firstborn.
They will look on him whom they have pierced. On this Christmas day, that reminds us of why the
Lord Jesus came in the first place. He came to be pierced.
He came to die. This is a great day of celebration. It's a day of joy and rejoicing, but why?
Why are we joyful? Why are we rejoicing in the birth of this baby
Jesus? Is it simply because a baby was born? No. Millions and millions of babies have been born, yet we don't have global celebrations for the birth of all of those babies.
Families celebrate the birth of their own, but not globally for every one of them. But why this one?
Because this one is Jesus, the one who saves.
How did he save? How does he save us? He saves us by giving himself to be pierced.
He was bruised for our iniquities, the prophet Isaiah tells us.
Here, Zechariah says that the time is coming when Jesus, who came the first time and then died on a cruel cross because of being pierced by those he came to save, he will come the second time.
When he comes, those who have pierced him will mourn. They will weep and they will mourn.
On this day, let's pause and reflect. We thank the Lord Jesus for coming into this world, for taking upon him the robe of flesh, for God becoming man in a most humble way, born in a manger, to live a life that would be a life of servitude and humility.
He took upon him the form of a servant, made in the likeness of men.
And why? To humble himself and become obedient unto death, even the death on a cross, even being pierced.
So, thank the Lord for our scripture reading today, reminding us and putting into perspective our
Christmas celebration. The Savior came. Praise the Lord. Joy to the world.
The Lord has come. I trust the rest of your Christmas celebration will be a joyful one, and that God will bless you richly as you celebrate together in this time of remembering and reflecting upon the coming of Jesus and why.
I hope you have a wonderful day. May the Lord bless you. Let's close in prayer, shall we? Our Father and our
God, we do thank you today for the Lord Jesus Christ and his coming, and thank you that our
Savior came knowing full well that what was lying ahead of him was a life on this planet of humility, of service, and ultimately of being pierced.
Thank you for his condescension, his humility, his sacrifice for us.
Bless these thoughts to us today, we pray in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. God bless you and have a wonderful Christmas.