Advent 2019 (Pt. 3)
Text: Isaiah 9:2-7, Luke 2:4-12
This morning we’re returning to our Advent series… and we’re going to be looking once more at Isaiah chapter 9, but also I’m going to have you turn to Luke 2 as well…
And while you’re opening your Bibles up to Isaiah, let me just remind you of what we’ve said so far. First of all, we looked at how this world is in darkness because of sin. Sin has corrupted all of creation. Every aspect. That’s why we have natural disasters, it’s why things break down and wear out. It’s why we have crime and corruption, and violence and perversion. And it’s rampant. And the Bible uses the word “darkness” as a picture of this… And the Bible tells us that sin… this darkness… it’s not only all around us – it’s IN us. Man is born in sin. We are born enemies of God. Our minds, our desires, our thoughts, our will – it’s all corrupted and polluted with sin.
But on the second Sunday of Advent, we talked about light… and how light drives out darkness. And I said to you, that Christmas is kind of like God flipping on the light switch. Because Jesus is the Light of the World. He doesn’t just “bring” light – HE IS LIGHT. When Christ comes, He drives out the darkness, and He drives darkness away. Because light and darkness can’t occupy the same space. So that’s what Christmas is… it’s God sending the Light of the World, INTO the world, in order to drive darkness OUT of the world.
So let’s go ahead and read Isaiah 9:2-7 and I pray that the Lord will speak to you through His Word this morning and that His light will shine upon each one of us today (READ TEXT).
Now Isaiah is writing this between 730 and 750 years before Jesus would be born. He’s a prophet, and he’s speaking from the Lord. And he’s writing to God’s people about a time, when God would intervene in human history in way like He had never done before. So it wasn’t going to be like God bringing light through a pillar of fire during the Exodus… it wasn’t going to be like the light of God’s glory filling the temple. This was going to be completely different. This was going to be the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Adam and Eve in the Garden, after the fall… This was the Seed of the woman who was going to crush the head of the serpent under His feet… this was going to be the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham in Genesis 26:4 when He said, “… in your Offspring, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” It was going to be the fulfillment of the promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:16 where God promised King David that his offspring would have a “throne forever.”
And so Isaiah is reminding God’s people of these promises, and he’s speaking of that, and he’s saying, “God hasn’t forgotten… and it’s going to happen. He’s going to send the promised Messiah… the Seed of the woman… the offspring of Abraham… a King who would rule and reign forever, and of Whose kingdom there would be no end.”
But look at what else Isaiah says… Verse 6 “For to us, a Child is born, to us a Son is given.”
This Messiah is not just going to appear on the scene as a mighty warrior, charging into battle. He’s not like the old gun-fighter who just shows up in town; takes out all the bad guys, and then tips his hat to you as the credits roll up. He’s coming as a baby. Isaiah actually talked about this before in Isaiah 7:14 (READ). So Isaiah was saying that this Savior, this Messiah who was to come, was going to come as a baby – born of a virgin. And of course that’s exactly what happened. Let’s look at our passage from Luke (READ Luke 2:4-12).
Now when you think about it – this is utterly amazing!
The One who is to come… the One who is going to rescue God’s people, and set all things right, and shine His light upon them… He’s going to come as a baby. He’s going to be born as a man.
And make no mistake about it – Isaiah has rescue in mind as he’s writing this… He’s writing this right before the Assyrians are going to come and conquer the Northern Kingdom of Israel. So the people he’s writing to have just a few years before they are defeated, and enslaved.
And if you read through Isaiah and some of the other prophets… they talk about things like this, and basically they say, “It’s going to happen… it’s going to suck… it’s going to be bad. But you’re going to suffer, and you’re going to be conquered, and you’re going to be enslaved, and persecuted, and you’re going to have to endure hard times… but God hasn’t forgotten His promise. God hasn’t forgotten that He is going to send a Savior, who is going to rescue His elect, and redeem them, and deliver them, and drive out the darkness, and make all things new, and right, and as they’re supposed to be.”
And Isaiah is basically saying, “But it’s not going to be the way that man expects it to be… because YOU ARE going to be conquered and enslaved. So it’s not going to be in your timing or in your way of doing things… NO… God is sending the Savior, and He’s going to come as a man – a human being… He’s going to come as a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes. His first bed is going to be a feeding trough. His first experiences in this world are going to be the sounds and smells of a barn, and barn animals. He’s going to be rejected, because people will say they have no room for Him or His earthly parents at the inn, and He’s coming, to set you free FROM SIN! He’s coming to drive out spiritual darkness! He’s coming to redeem a people for Himself, who will enjoy eternal life in a New Creation. In this world you will have trouble… but be of good cheer, because this Savior that God is going to send… He is going to overcome the world.”
So God’s way isn’t to look down from heaven and say, “Oh, there’s a lot of poverty on the earth, let’s send a Savior who is going to re-distribute wealth to the poor and downcast.” Nope… That’s not God’s way… God doesn’t look upon humanity and say, “Whew boy, there’s a lot of injustice on the earth, let’s send down a ‘woke’ Social Justice Warrior Messiah to educate everyone about racism, and feminism, and Critical Theory.” God doesn’t do that… God doesn’t use or employ man’s methods and man’s philosophies… He doesn’t say we have to use Critical Theory and Critical Race Theory, and Intersectionality to transform society. Instead God sends a Savior who JOINS us in our poverty and our suffering. God sends a Savior who is going to suffer injustice and persecution, and who is going to endure the pain and hardship of life on this earth. And Jesus isn’t going to just “identify” with man.
HE BECOMES MAN.
JESUS CHRIST IS FULLY MAN AND FULLY GOD. That’s why He alone is our Mediator!
Turn with me to Hebrews 2:14-18 (READ).
Now turn over a few chapters to Hebrews 4:14-16 (READ).
The answer to man’s problems… the answer to wickedness, and injustice, and the ills of society are not found in worldly philosophies and worldly means. They are found in Christ. And as the Word of God fills your heart and your mind, it transforms you, it sanctifies you, it renews your mind, it cleanses you, it drives the darkness out. But as the Word of God is kept from people because we’re now going to try man-made, liberal, progressive, woke, Marxist philosophy… then guess what happens? Darkness grows in the culture, and in society, and in the hearts of individuals. Because those things have no light in them… they are just more darkness. Some people can call it light all they want, but it’s just more darkness… just more darkness to obscure the truth. But when the Light comes. It exposes it. It drives darkness out. That’s why the devil doesn’t want the Church to preach Christ… he wants the Church to use Critical Theory… That’s why the devil doesn’t want the Church to believe that God’s Word is enough… instead you have to have all kinds of other things… he wants you to trust in pragmatism, and man-made philosophy, and anything and everything other than God’s Word.
Go back to our text in Isaiah and look at what he says in verse 6 – This Son who is given… This Child who is born… He’s not just some philosopher… He’s not just some warrior king…. He’s the WONDERFUL COUNSELOR – in other words Jesus has the solution to all our emotional and psychological needs… why? Because He’s also THE MIGHTY GOD… He’s the EVERLASTING FATHER, the PRINCE OF PEACE. In other words, This Son who is given is God… He’s everlasting, eternal, from age to age… and He’s the Prince of peace. You can’t know peace unless you know Christ.
Not real peace, and not lasting peace… and certainly not peace with God.
So when the angel appeared to the shepherds in Luke 2 and made his announcement, it wasn’t saying to them, “God is sending you someone who will give you your best life now.” And it wasn’t saying that “God is sending you a guide who can show you how to get back to God.”
The angel said that God was sending a SAVIOR! And that’s important to understand… because most religions have a sort of prophet or guru who says, “Here’s the way to work yourself back to God.” And then they start telling you about all these religious things you can do, and all these good works you can do, and all these formulas and rituals and practices and behaviors and sacrifices you can do… it’s basically works and behavior modification. But the angel didn’t come with a prescription. It came with news – GOOD NEWS!
God has not forgotten us. God has not forsaken us. God has not walked away and turned His back and said, “I’m done with sinful man.” Instead; God has come to us, as one of us, in order to do EVERYTHING necessary to save us, redeem us, and restore us back into fellowship and relationship with Himself. Jesus didn’t come to say, “Here’s what you do.” He came to do it Himself for us!
Isaiah says, “For to US a child is born… to US a son is given.” The angel in Luke 2 says, “For unto YOU is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” So think about what that means for you and me today. God became a man… that means that this same God who created all things… who is transcendent and far above all things… who is omnipotent and omnipresent, and omniscient, and eternal… He truly understands what you’re going through as a human being. He truly understands what it means to be oppressed, and to suffer, and to endure pain and hardship. He knows what it’s like to be abandoned, and to be crushed by injustice, and to be tortured, and to even die. Are you poor? Jesus was poor… He was born in poverty… and He died, not even having His own grave to be buried in. Are you suffering physically? Jesus suffered unthinkable pain in his body… He was hungry, He was thirsty, He suffered excruciating pain on the cross.
Church Christmas is about Christ… it’s about God, who came down to rescue us. Who came down to endure everything and more that we could ever endure. It’s about God, who came down to take on our darkness, and to take it upon Himself, and die in our place, for our sin, in order to show us that we are loved beyond anything we could ever even understand. It’s about our God who was became a man, and who has experienced all that we ever could… from the trivial irritations of life, to the difficulties of hard work, to the want of comfort, to the pain and humiliation, and even death that we all face.
So here’s the application for you and me this morning, and it starts with a question: If Christmas really did happen… If God really did become a man 100% God, 100% man, and He came here in order to fulfill the Law on our behalf, and then die for our sins, in our place, so that we could be forgiven, justified, and reconciled to God. Then you can’t be neutral about that. You can’t ride the fence. You’ve got to either be all in or all out. Because just as sure as God kept His promises to send Jesus during the First Advent… He’s also promised that Jesus is coming again! Except this time, He’s not coming as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. He’s coming as the conquering King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He’s coming for His bride who has dressed Herself in white… And He’s coming to not only drive out the darkness – but to obliterate it!
CLOSING
