There’s probably no one here who is not familiar with Clement Moore’s famous poem …
“T’was the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.”
It’s become a traditional Christmas Eve piece.
Yet, few people know that the Book of Hebrews also contains what is known as the “true rendition” of the story; “The Night before Christmas.”
This passage is one of the most intriguing passages in the Bible because it contains the words that Jesus communicated to God the Father on the day Jesus left heaven to come to earth to become the Savior of the World.
In Hebrews chapters 8 and 9, we have captured a glimpse of Jesus after His visitation to earth and have seen Him now, serving as the High Priest, making intercession for us in the heavenly tabernacle.
Yet, Hebrews chapter 10, now rewinds the story line and takes us back to the night before Jesus left His heavenly home and came to earth to become the Savior of the World. It helps us capture a glimpse of Jesus before His visitation to earth -- it literally lets us in on the conversation Jesus had with the Heavenly Father before coming to earth.
This story is more than a story from someone’s imagination; it is revelation from God. The Bible tells us that it really happened. Here we have a record of the conversation God’s Son had with God the Father on that first Christmas Eve.
Let’s focus specifically on Hebrews 10: 5-7 and let’s listen to Jesus words Jesus said before coming to be born as a baby in Bethlehem.
“Therefore, when He (Christ) came into the world He says, Sacrifice and Offering You have not desired but a body you have prepared for me; in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sins you have taken no pleasure, then I said, Behold I have come ( in the scroll of the book it is written of Me) to do your will, O God.” Vs. 5-7
Transitional Sentence: In this passage we are reminded of what God provided for us through Jesus. What did God provide for us through Jesus?
I. He Provided A Body to Die For Us
vs. 5- “But a body you have prepared for me....”
Explanation:
In verse 5, before Jesus was born, He said something very intriguing. He said: “A body you have prepared for me...”
In this passage we are reminded that Jesus was God and with God from the very beginning. John 1:1 says: “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
This passage tells us that God who is a Spirit; was given a body. Jesus is deity wrapped up in humanity. The little baby of Luke 2, is the great God of Genesis 1. On Christmas God took on a body through the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus clearly communicated that he was God. Have you read how He introduced himself? He said in John 8:58 that he preceded Abraham saying: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
How did Jesus see Himself? He saw Himself as God with a body. Why a body?
He explains it when He says: “Sacrifice and offerings you did not desire.” Vs. 5 What does this mean?
Some people could take this statement of Jesus and say: “This means that the Old Testament sacrifices were inappropriate yet this is not what it means. It means that the Old Testament sacrifices were inadequate and incomplete.
In verse 1 we are reminded of this fact as we read: “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come are not the very form of things, can never by the same sacrifices which they offer year by year make perfect those who draw near.” vs. 1
They were not wrong, but were a preview of the perfect sacrifice that was to come.
They were a glimpse, a foretaste, and a glimpse of the true sacrifice of the body God prepared for Jesus to sacrifice on the cross for you and me.
Illustration: Going to the movies to watch the previews
Do you like to go to the movies?
When we go to the movies, we go for the “Feature Presentation.” Yet, what we have to endure is the “previews.” Often, we sit there for 45 minutes of previews.
Can you imagine someone going to the movie, only to leave after the previews? Can you imagine someone saying: “I saw the previews, that’s enough for me.”
That would be crazy wouldn’t it?
Application:
The writer of Hebrews is speaking to people who had heard about Jesus’ sacrifice of Jesus, but were rejecting, walking away, and ignoring what He did on the cross.
This reminds me of the old story of John Griffith.
John Griffith was in his early twenties. He was newly married and full of optimism. Along with his lovely wife, he had been blessed with a beautiful baby. He was living the American dream. But then came 1929—the Great Stock Market Crash—the shattering of the American economy that devastated John’s dreams. The winds that howled through Oklahoma were strangely symbolic of the gale force that was sweeping away his hopes and his dreams.
And so, brokenhearted, John packed up his few possessions, and with his wife and his little son, headed East in an old Ford Model A. They made their way to the edge of the mighty Mississippi River and found a job tending one of the great railroad bridges there.
Bridge John Griffith raised
Day after day, John would sit in the control room and direct the enormous gears of the immense bridge over the mighty river. He would look out wistfully as bulky barges and splendid ships glided gracefully under his elevated bridge.
Time passed and son Greg turned eight years old and his little son, would work shoulder to shoulder with him in the bridge as his Dad pressed down the huge lever that raised and lowered the vast bridge. As he watched, he thought that his father must surely be the greatest man alive. He marveled that his Dad could singlehandedly control the movements of such a stupendous structure.
Yet, in faithful day before they knew it, Noon time had arrived. John had just elevated the bridge and allowed some scheduled ships to pass through. And then taking his son by the hand, they headed off towards lunch and losing track of time he and his son were startled back to reality by the shrieking whistle of a distant train. Looking at his watch in disbelief, John saw that it was already 1:07. Immediately he remembered that the bridge was still raised and that the Memphis Express would be by in just minutes.
Quickly, John leaped to his feet, jumped onto the catwalk and ran light lightning to take hold of the controls but in an instant his eyes moved downward, he saw something so horrifying that his heart froze in his chest. Below him in the massive gearbox that housed the colossal gears that moved the gigantic bridge, was his beloved son. Apparently Greg had tried to follow his dad but had fallen off the catwalk. Even now he was wedged between the teeth of two main cogs in the gear box and he had a decision to make: “Would he lower to bridge and take the life of his precious son, or would he refuse and send the 400 people on the Memphis Express to their death?
John buried his face in his arms and lowered the bridge and as the train passed by he saw the conductor glancing nonchalantly as his large vest pocket watch. Ladies were already sipping their afternoon tea in the dining cars. A small boy, looking strangely like his own son, pushed a long thin spoon into a large dish of ice cream. Many of the passengers seemed to be engaged in idle conversation or careless laughter.
No one even looked his way and John cried out: “Don’t you know what I’ve done for you? Don’t you care? Don’t you see. I gave my Son for you.”
Transitional Sentence: In this passage we are reminded of what God provided for us through Jesus. What did God provide for us through Jesus?
II. He Provided a Volunteer to Take The Place of You and Me
Vs. 7- “ Then I said, Behold I have come ( in the scroll of the book it is written of me) to do your will, O God.”
Explanation:
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem we were given all the evidence we’d ever need to know that God really loves us.
John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son....”
God the Father wanted to redeem you and me and God the Son, Jesus Christ, volunteered to come for you and me.
Jesus was not a victim; He was a volunteer-- therefore, God gave Him a body so it could be crucified for you and me. God entered a human body to become the instrument of man’s atonement. He took on a body to die for you and me.
In the Old Testament sacrifices, the animals were not volunteers. They were raised, brought, prepared, and bound. The lambs of sacrifice had their legs and feet bound. The priests forced them to the altar.
In the Old Testament we meet a volunteer. God needed someone to go preach judgment and Isaiah said: “Here I am Lord; send me.” Isaiah 6:6- It was difficult for Isaiah to volunteer. It was a difficult task.
Yet, here Jesus is pictured as being like Isaiah. God the Father asks: “Who shall I send?” and Jesus raises His hand and says: “Here I am, send me.” Isaiah went to preach judgment, but Jesus came to provide atonement.
Jesus agreed to come do something even more difficult; and only Jesus could do it, Jesus came to do what only He could do. He voluntarily came to do several things:
a) He volunteered to do what had been written in the scriptures- In verse 7 he says: “in the
scroll of the book it is written of me.” Jesus knew what Psalm 22 says, which amazingly
describes crucifixion 100’s of years before anyone was ever crucified. He knew Psalm 22 was
about Him. So on that night before Christmas; Jesus declares: “I have come...”
b) He volunteered to do what was willed by the Father- In verse 9, he said: “Behold I have
come to do your will.” In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus said: “Not my will but thine be
done.”
Isaiah 53:10 says: “It was the Lord’s will to crush him.” God the Father’s will was that Jesus
the Son be crushed for your sin and my sin so that we could be saved and Jesus voluntarily
said : “Yes to His Heavenly Father.”
In Hebrews 8 & 9 we see what Jesus is doing right now as High Priest in the tabernacle of
heaven; yet Hebrews 10 rewinds us back to see Jesus when He first tabernacle with us. We
are taken back to Christmas to see why Christ came.
God the Father send Jesus, and Jesus came voluntarily.
Illustration: What is Ben Franklin known for?
What is Benjamin Franklin known for? The creation of a means to lasso and harness electricity and put it to use right? Some of you might be thinking, “No he’s the guy on the $100 bill. ?
We think of him as the guy with the kite with a key dangling from it don’t we? But did you know he did a lot of other things to? He also created bifocals. Today, if you have bifocal or progressive lenses to see- thank Ole’ Ben.
But also, he was known for creating America’s first volunteer fire department. To enlist people as volunteers he had a little quote that is now a famous quote. It goes like this: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
With this statement he brought together a group of 30 men in 1736 to form the Union Fire Company to prevent massive fires in Philadelphia.
Application:
Yet, the greatest volunteer was Jesus. He came to rescue and redeem. He came to sacrifice Himself so we could be saved.
All of this was motivated by God’s love for us as He sought a volunteer, the only one would could save and redeem, and Jesus stepped up and stepped down from His heavenly place and entered a virgins womb, to enter a body that would be bruised, beaten, and crucified ---only to raise again from the dust of a borrowed tomb, raised, and ascended to enter into the Heavenly Tabernacle and place His own blood on the altar of sacrifice to satisfy the sin debt of you and me.
I’m so thankful Jesus volunteered to do what no one else could do for you and me.
Transitional Sentence: In this passage we are reminded of what God provided for us through Jesus. What did God provide for us through Jesus?
III. He Provided An Offering For Your Sin
vs. 10- “ By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Explanation:
Why did Jesus come? The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus came to become an offering.
The focus of Hebrews 10 climaxes in a focus on Jesus being an offering. Often, when we think of an offering we think of “a collection.” In some church experiences a “collection plate” is passed.
Illustration: I’m in the plate
Growing up in church, one story that made its rotation in the Sunday School literature was the story of a boy that was picked up for Sunday School on a bus. He didn’t know a lot about Jesus but one Sunday he heard the message and it burned deeply in his heart.
As the collection plate came by, the boy took the shiny collection plate and stood in it and said: “Jesus, I don’t have anything to give you but me.”
I often wondered if that was a true story. I liked the story and it spoke to me, but I always wondered what that boys name was and what came of his decision that day.
Application:
Nonetheless, I do know one story that I guarantee you is 100% true-- when Jesus came, be became an offering, a payment for sin for you and me.
Verse 10 says: “ By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Why did Jesus come? He knew before He was born that He was coming into the world to offer Himself as an offering for the sacrifice for sin.
Why did Jesus come? Why was he born?
1. Some say Jesus came to heal. That’s true in a sense.
2. Some say Jesus came to teach us about God. That’s also true in a sense.
3. Some say Jesus came to be an example on how to live. That’s also true in a sense because He
He was an example in the way that He lived. He was perfect. He knew no sin.
Yet, Jesus could have done all of those things without becoming a human being.
In the Old Testament God often appeared as the “Angel of the Lord.” Therefore, since Jesus is God we realize that Jesus could have come as the “Angel of the Lord.”
He could have come to earth as the “Angel of the Lord” and healed, taught, and given an example of how to live, but there’s one thing that He could not do as the Angel of the Lord- He could not become an offering and die for our sins.
You can’t separate Christ’s advent and Christs atonement.
Hebrews 10 focuses on the offerings offered to God for sin.
Verse 4 proclaims: “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
Verse 11 says: “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.”
Yet, there was an perfect, permanent offering for sins and if was the offering of Jesus as verse 10 says: “ By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Vs. 10
You can’t separate Christmas and Calvary. Without Christmas Calvary was impossible and Christmas happened because of Calvary.
It was there that an offering was made for the sin of you and me.
Conclusion:
Do you know why this happened?
It was because this needed to happen:
He came to give Himself, willingly to do for us, what we could not do for ourselves. Jesus came to be a sacrifice for our sins. The question to the Hebrews is the same question that I ask you today: “What will you do with Jesus?”
