One of the most beloved characters of the Bible are angels.  People love angels and many of us have shown our love for angels over the years by purchasing angel merchandise.  There are collectable figures of angels, costumes with wings, t-shirts, greeting cards, jewelry, and more.  There are movies and television series about angels.  There is even a major league baseball team using the angel’s theme.  There is a field of study called angelology, that is a branch of theology that explores the nature, existence, and role of angels in religion.  We try to soften the shock of someone’s death by saying things like, “I guess God needed another angel,” suggesting that when someone dies, they are taken to heaven to become an angel.

          People’s fascination with angels is not entirely new.  Ancient people, including the Pharisees that we read so much about in the gospels, believed in angels.  The Sadducees did not believe in angels.  The Dead Sea Scrolls teach us that the Jewish people of Qumran, called the Essenes, were also believers in angels.  An so Judaism, at the time of Christ’s birth, had a rich and some conflicted history of beliefs in angels.

Last year, we did a six-week Bible study on angels.  Today, I will spare you the details about how much of our beloved understanding of angels conflicts with what the Bible says about angels.  Instead, I will share with you the conclusion of our study that an angel is a heavenly being created by God who can interact with humans on earth.  Angels’ purpose is to carry out the expressed will of God. And just before Jesus’ birth angels had several interactions with humans, and then after Jesus’ birth the angels became silent.  What is the significance of angels in the story of Jesus’ birth and what is the significance of their absence in the gospel story itself?  What relevance do angels have to our life today as Christians? Let’s begin looking at these questions with the first angelic appearance in the birth of Jesus.  And our principal guide today will be the gospel writer Luke.

          Luke began the announcement of Jesus’ coming with a visit by the angel Gabriel to an old priest named Zachariah.  The visitation came about while Zachariah was performing priestly duties alone in the Temple. “12 When Zechariah saw him [the angel], he [Zachariah] was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth” (Luke 1:12-14a).  A bit later in their encounter, “18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”  19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news” (Luke 1:18-19).  And from this exchange we see that an angel came to reveal to Zachariah the coming birth of Zachariah’s son, John.  This exchange affirmed that Gabriel stood in the presence of God and was sent by God to speak and tell Zachariah some good news.  The angel was a messenger sent specifically at the will of God. This encounter shows that an angel-human encounter sets up a three-step procession.  First, God sends an angel.  Second, the angel performs.  And third, the person benefits.  This is the role of the angel.  God sends. The angel performs.  A person benefits.

          Luke gave us another exchange with the angel and the young woman, Mary.  “God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you…31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. ” (Luke 1:26b-28, 31-32).  34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:34-35).  Again, we see the three step procession of an angel-human encounter. God sends the angel. The angel then performs.  And finally, the person benefits.

          But here, in this encounter, Luke revealed to us an important distinction and that was that there are angels and there is the Holy Spirit.  And that there is a substantive difference between an angel and the Holy Spirit.  With Mary the angel reveals good news to Mary that she has found favor with God and that Mary will bear a son who will be called the Son of God.  Mary asked how this will happen since she is a virgin. Here the angel revealed that something as miraculous as a virgin birth is beyond the will of God for an angel. Such a miracle required God’s Holy Spirit.  This reveals to us that a Holy Spirit-human encounter is different from the angel-human encounter because instead of three steps in the procession, a Holy Spirit-human encounter sets up a four-step procession.  First, God sends his Holy Spirit, as he does with an angel.  But in the second step, the Holy Spirit enables the person to perform.  Third, the person performs.  And fourth, the person benefits.  Unlike an angel, the Holy Spirit empowers people to act in accordance with the will of God.

          Luke has revealed something important for us here.  An angel is sent to tell us something.  But the Holy Spirit is sent to enable, to empower us, to do something.  And this emphasis on the enabling power of the Holy Spirit was prominent in the gospel message of Luke itself where the enabling power of the Holy Spirit is recorded 12 times, and the announcing activity of an angel appears only twice.  While the presence of angels cannot be dismissed, it is the power of the Holy Spirit that enables us and gives us strength.

          Finally, Luke gives us one more angel-human encounter in the story of Jesus’ birth.  “8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them [the shepherds], and the glory of the Lord shone around them [the shepherds], and they [shepherds] were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them [the shepherds], “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host [an army of angels] appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:8-14).  Here again, we see the three-step procession of an angel-human encounter.  God sends. The angels perform.  The people benefit.

          The announcement this final time was that the Christ born.  And it was such a dramatic announcement.  The glory of God, a brilliant dazingly white light shown in the darkness and enveloped the shepherds.  Multitudes of angels, a literal army of angels, appeared in the sky shouting and singing as in one voice, “Glory to God in the highest heaven!” It was a shock and awe moment of sight and sound.  Oh, what a heavenly powerful moment in the history of the world.  And then, the silence and darkness returned to the shepherds.  The angels as unexpectedly as they had arrived, just as suddenly left and went to heaven.  The mission of the angels was completed, and they were gone. 

From this point of Jesus’ birth story until Jesus’ resurrection, there would be no more angel-human encounters.  There is never a story of an angel telling anyone about Jesus in the Gospel or in the New Testament letters.  Immediately after the birth Christ, revelations about Jesus shifts from angelic telling to Holy Spirit enabling.  Let’s look at the first example Luke provides for us.

The baby Jesus was only a few days old and “Joseph and Mary took him [Jesus] to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord” (Luke 2:22b).  “25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He [Simeon] was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him [Simeon] by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he [Simeon] went into the temple courts” (Luke 2:25-27a).  It was there in the Temple; Simeon saw Jesus and was enabled by the Holy Spirit to know that Jesus was the Messiah.  There were no angels here telling Simeon, there was the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.

Other than a brief story of Jesus at the Temple at age 12, Luke shared nothing of Jesus’ life from just days after birth until Jesus was 30 years old.  There was nothing.  No angels came to remind people of Jesus.  Why is that?  Because the role of announcing Jesus was given to John who was enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit to preach and proclaim the truth of the coming Messiah. John baptized people who wanted to repent of their sins.  Luke wrote,” 21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he [Jesus] was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him [Jesus] in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22).  Luke was showing here again that the message of Jesus Christ was one of the highest order involving the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Luke then recorded for us that, ”1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil” (Luke 4:1). The movement of the story was now under the purview of the divine spirt of God, not angels, and the first thing that was to happen before Jesus’ public ministry was a spiritual battle with an angel, a fallen angel, named Lucifer or Satan.  Three times this fallen angel tempted Jesus, and three times Jesus refuted the enticement of the angel with the word of God.  What then was being revealed here?  Once again, an angel can only perform or inform but cannot enable. Satan enticed Jesus toward sin but lacked the power to enable Jesus to sin.  Jesus being divine himself and empowered by the Holy Spirit was thus enabled to withstand the temptation of Satan.  As much as we love angels in our culture, angels cannot enable us to follow the will of God.  That can only be done by the truly divine, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

When the temptation of Jesus was completed, Luke wrote, “14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside” (Luke 4:14).  When Jesus arrived at Nazareth, his hometown, where he preached this message, “18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).  Again, there is no mention of angels, there is only the divine power of God himself, his Son, and his Spirit who can inform and enable.

          The story of the gospel of Luke continued that Jesus went through Judea and Galilee shared the good news, taught with authority that amazed the people, cured illnesses, and drove out demons who had to shriek out, “You are the Son of God!” (Luke 4:41). And all these activities were intended to enable the people to see and know that Jesus was the Son of God.  This continued until Jesus the Messiah was taken into custody and executed by cruel men who refused to acknowledge what had been clearly revealed to them.

          Then surprising to all, God raised Jesus from the dead.  And now it was time for the angels to return.  Luke wrote that women had gone to Jesus’ tomb early in the morning and found the stone rolled away from the entrance and the tomb empty.  “4 While they [the women] were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning [angels] stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they [the women] remembered his [Jesus] words.”  (Luke 24:4-8a).  What is important here is that the angels offered nothing new to the testimony about Jesus or the gospel message.  The angels only reminded the women of the words of Jesus.  They did not add or take away from the testimony of Jesus.

          What then do we make of angels and their role in the birth of Christ?  I think there are two things we should consider.

First, the angels served as God’s messengers that Christ was coming but they were not greater than Christ himself.  No one worshipped the angels and neither should we.  Christ is superior to the angels and our worship should be given only to him.

Second, angels are important instruments of God’s plan.  Of this, there can be no doubt.  However, people are important instruments of God’s plan as well.  And when people have been enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit to do God’s will, wonderful things can happen.  You and I are important parts of God’s plan to share the good news of Christ.  And God has seen fit to send us out as his messengers enabled by the Holy Spirit to do so.  Jesus said to his disciples, who now include you and me, “25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

You and I are instruments of God enabled by the Holy Spirit to proclaim without fear the words of Jesus, the Son.  This is why the angels are silent.  Let us then be the messengers of the our Lord and the Lord of the angels themselves.  Amen and Amen.

Christmas Eve is such a moment of excitement mixed with traditions.  The younger you are the more excited you are by the gifts that await.  When I was a young child, we could open one present on Christmas Eve; that was our family tradition.  My wife’s family had a tradition of going to the midnight candlelight worship service. When they returned home, they would have a sandwich made with Italian sliced meats.  Christmas Eve is just a wonderful time of anticipating the next day, Christmas Day.

Did you ever wonder why we have Christmas Eve at all?  For that matter, did you ever wonder why we have Christmas Day at all? How did it come to be that either of these days are part of what excites us and has become such an incredibly significant part of our lives?  What is the source of such excitement, wonder, and celebration?

Now, you might be sitting there thinking to yourself, “Pastor, isn’t it obvious that we have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day because these are the days we celebrate Jesus’ birth?”  And my reply to that question would be, “No.  Not really.”  The origin of celebrating Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is quite different and is rather simple.  Christmas Eve and Christmas Day exist only because Jesus died and then arose from the dead.  You see, without the death and resurrection of Jesus, there would be no story about his birth.  The Apostle Paul wrote, “14 If Christ has never been raised, then the message we tell is worth nothing. And your faith is worth nothing. 15 And we will also be guilty of lying about God, because we have told people about him [God], saying that he [God] raised Christ from death… 17 And if Christ has not been raised from death, then your faith is for nothing; you are still guilty of your sins. 18 And those in Christ who have already died are lost. 19 If our hope in Christ is only for this life here on earth, then people should feel more sorry for us than for anyone else” (1 Corinthians 15:14-19).

You see friends, without the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we would never have even heard of Jesus, and so we would not be here this evening.  Without Christ, life would not have changed from the way it was in ancient time.  Life was cheap and expendable, and without Christ it still would be so.  Babies, especially girls, were routinely abandoned, and the same would happen now without Christ.  Women were property.  Slavery was everywhere and was considered acceptable.  Charities and charitable hospitals would not exist. The strong would dominate the weak. Democracies would not likely exist. And these are just some of the cultural issues we would face.  Worse still is that we would have no hope in this life or for the next.  Everything would be quite bleak.  And all this bleakness began to change because Jesus died and was raised from the dead.  Once that happened, then the disciples were excited and energized to share the testimony of Jesus and compile the gospels including how Jesus was born. No one was recording Jesus’ life as he lived it; the record of Jesus was only created after his resurrection.  And Paul told us why that was the case.  Paul said, ““14 If Christ has never been raised, then the message we tell is worth nothing” (1 Corinthians 15:14).  The story of Jesus, absent his resurrection, would never have been told at all.

And so, the story of Jesus birth, the real reason any of us is here today, begins at the end.  We are here because Jesus died and arose again.

The Gospel of Matthew introduces us to the coming birth of Christ but does so by highlighting to us the grave risk that Jesus faced death before he was even born. Jesus was almost not born at all. Matthew wrote, “18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:18-19).  The Law of Moses required that virgins engaged to be married who became pregnant should be put to death along with the man who impregnated her.  Joseph was faced with publicly showing Mary was pregnant, though she was not married.  This could well mean death for Mary and the unborn child she carried.  But an angel spoke to Joseph, assuring him the baby was from the Holy Spirit and that Joseph should not fear bringing Mary into his home. Joseph obeyed the angel’s command. Instead of the death of the unborn Jesus there would be life.  This was the first instance in which death was reversed to life.

Not long after Jesus’ birth, wisemen came from the east seeking Jesus one born the king of the Jews.  After being led to Bethlehem the wisemen found and worshipped the baby Jesus.  “13 When they [the wisemen] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he [the angel] said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”  14 So he [Joseph] got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt…16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under” (Matthew 2:13-14, 16).  Instead of the death of the child Jesus, there would be life.  This was the second reversal of death to life.

After Jesus had called his disciples and they began traveling together. “23 Jesus got into a boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him [Jesus], saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”  26 He [Jesus] replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm” (Matthew 8:23-26).  Instead of the death of those in the boat, there would be life.

The leader of a synagogue approached Jesus one day saying, ““My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him” (Matthew 9:18-19a)… 23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up” (Matthew 9:23-25).  Instead of the death of a little girl, there was life.

          Finally, “38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left” (Matthew 27:38)…45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”.  47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”  48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”  50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit” (Matthew 27:45-50).  Death came to Jesus.  Death upon the cross.  Jesus’ body was buried in a tomb.

          “1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the [Jesus’] tomb…5 An angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen…8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him” (Matthew 28:1, 5-6, 8-9).  Instead of death, there was life.  The resurrected life of Jesus.  The stories of Christmas and Easter are inescapably linked.  One story informs the other.  And what those two stories teach us is that we should have hope. For in the coming of Jesus, is for us the great reversal of death to life. 

The resurrection of Jesus, later celebrated as Easter, so overwhelmed the lives of Jesus’ followers that with the leading of the Holy Spirit, they began to then chronicle Jesus’ life.  Two men, Matthew and Luke, sought to retrace the circumstances of Jesus’ life back to his birth giving us the nativity or Christmas stories.  The resurrection of Jesus led to the story of his birth.

In those two stories, we would find in each a Roman ruler, a king named Herod, Chief Priests, the upset city of Jerusalem, angels, men named Joseph, a cave, new life, cloths, spices, a woman named Mary, and of course, Jesus.  These are just some of the obvious links between the stories of Christmas and Easter.

          As we look at the Christmas story, we see the Roman ruler, Caesar Augustus, directing the movement of people through a census.  We find the Jewish King Herod the Great and so too the city of Jerusalem upset at talk of a Messiah.  We find the Chief Priests of the Jews providing religious instruction about the Messiah in ways that benefit them.  In the Easter story, we see Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, directing people. We find Herod Antipas and the city of Jerusalem upset at talk of a Messiah.  And, of course, we still find the Chief Priests providing the moral instruction to governing officials.  These people, the Romans, kings, and priests, in both the Christmas and Easter stories represented themselves as the elite, the proud, and the very best people of political and religious society.  They lived expecting all things to happen through their will.  They would determine the course of human events.  But the story these people might expect to play out was changed when God decided to act. 

We see in the Christmas and Easter stories that God acted and sent angels as His messengers to the humble people of the land, not to the elite, to announce His decision to change the course of human history.  God was not then and is not now interested in using the proud to make Himself known for the proud are not interested in knowing God. 

For the Christmas story, God sent an angel who said “Fear not, I bring you good news a child, a son, is born, a Savior, for all the people.  His name shall be Jesus.”  A man named Joseph became responsible to protect Jesus’ body and he would do so within a stable, a cave carved into the rock.  The angel invited those hearing this announcement to find the baby wrapped in cloths.  Some of those seeking Jesus, brought with them spices including myrrh. 

For Easter, we see in death, another man named Joseph became responsible to protect Jesus’ body and Joseph of Arimathea would do so in a cave carved into the rock.  In Easter, we see the angel returned and said, “Fear not, I bring you good news, the savior has been resurrected.”   The angel invited those hearing this announcement to find where Jesus once laid wrapped in cloths.  Some of those seeking Jesus, brought with them spices including myrrh.  New life, however, was not found among the dead but he who had risen was moving among the living.  For the Messiah had come just as God had promised and nothing on earth then and nothing on earth today can change God’s plan.  The humble then and now are overwhelmed by the good news of Christ but that same news humbles the proud.  Let’s us be humbled by what God has done.

Finally, the Christmas and Easter stories are linked because they record that only one person was present for both.  That person’s name was Mary.  Mary, Jesus’ mother, would be the sole witness to the entirety of Jesus’ conception, birth, life, ministry, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension into heaven.  Let that sink in for a moment.  No other human had been granted such favor by God.  In the Gospel of Luke, we have a song from Mary placed chronologically prior to Jesus’ birth.  Knowing Mary’s role in the Christmas and Easter stories, her song seems just as appropriate upon Jesus’ resurrection as it does upon his birth.  Listen to Mary’s words:  

“My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.  From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me — holy is his name.  His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.  He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.  He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.  He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” (Luke 1:46-55, Selected)

The stories of Easter and Christmas are inescapably linked.  One story informs the other.  Christmas exists only because of Easter.  Without the death and resurrection of Jesus, there would be no story about Jesus’ birth.  This Christmas let us remember that God was the agent behind all the characters and all the movements in the Christmas and Easter stories.  His motivation was simple: He wanted to show the world, to show you and me, how much He loved us and wanted us to be free from sin.  That is His gift to each person who love his son. It is the gift that changes your life, if you open it.  This Christmas be humble in heart and receive not only the joy found in the birth of Jesus in the stable but more so find joy in the rebirth of Jesus from the tomb. Amen and Amen.

Think for a moment about the stories you have been told about your own birth.  Are there any stories about your birth that explained why you were born that year and not at another time?  Are there any stories about your birth that explain why you were born in the town, city, and country of your birth and not somewhere else?  Are there    stories that explain the political circumstances of your family at the time you were born?  The answer to these questions is probably not.  The circumstances, setting, and location of our births are not remarkable except for our immediate families.  There was no global or political significance to when we were born or where we were born.

Now think about the stories you have been told about the birth of Jesus.  Are there stories about the timing of his birth, the location of his birth, the political circumstances when he was born, the global significance of his birth? The answer is yes to all those questions as well as many others.  There has been no one else in the history of the world where the circumstances, setting, and location of their birth mattered like it did in the case of Jesus’ birth.

Two weeks ago, we spoke about how a baby, named John, was born to a very old priest, Zechariah, and his equally old wife, Elizabeth.  And John was born for the purpose of announcing the coming of Jesus.  No one else was born before us to announce our coming and that did not happen to anyone else, ever.  Last week, we spoke about how a man named Joseph, learned that his wife to be, a virgin, was pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit with a child, and Joseph was to name that baby, Jesus.  None of us were born of the power of the Holy Spirit and that did not happen to anyone else, ever.  This week we will speak about how the acts of kings and emperors were used to set the circumstances, setting, and place of a Jesus’ birth.  No king did anything about our birth and that did not happen to anyone else, ever.  Next week we will speak about how angels filled the sky to announce the birth of Jesus. Again, there were no angels in the sky when we were born and that did not happen to anyone else, ever. 

So, this week, what then was it about Jesus’ birth that dealt with kings and emperors, the heads of government?  And how did the way those powerful people were dealt with signaled the way Jesus would handle all kings.  Two gospel writers, Matthew and Luke, painted the backdrop of Jesus’ birth for us with imagery of one king and one emperor.  Let’s deal first with the emperor, Caesar Augustus.

  Luke began the story of Jesus’ birth by putting Jesus’ birth on the global stage. Luke wrote, “1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.  4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child” (Luke 2:1-5).

Caesar Augustus was the first person named emperor of Rome and was the leader of the world’s first superpower.  Augustus’ empire stretched over some 2 million square miles across the continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa.  With a world population then estimated at 300 million, 45 million inhabitants, 15% of the world’s population, lived in Augustus’ empire.  But only 4 million inhabitants were citizens with rights.  Augustus had several titles and proclamations of interest to us today.  Augustus was called “the Son of God,” “The Savior of the World,” and that Augustus’ birth was said to bring forth “glad tidings” to all mankind.  It was Caesar Augustus who ordered a census, a counting of the inhabitants of the empire. And this census caused Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem to be counted, just at the time Mary was about to deliver her first born child, Jesus.  An angel had already told Mary that Jesus will be called “the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).  We would read a bit later in Luke that an angel told shepherds that this Jesus was ‘born a Savior,” and that Jesus’ coming would bring glad tidings that will cause great joy for all the people (Luke 2:10-11).  Right way, we see that Jesus’ birth is a confrontation to the glory heaped upon or demanded by Augustus, the most man in the world.

Secondly, and curiously, Luke seemed to bring an unnecessary level of detail to the circumstances and setting of the story of Jesus’ birth by saying the census and birth happened when Quirinius was governor of Syria. That seems like an odd and very specific detail.  What is contributed here by that information?  On a global scale, Luke’s detail offers nothing.  However, to Luke’s original readers in Israel, that little detail about the census and Quirinius meant everything.  The census occurring when Quirinus was governor of Syria happened near the end of the life and rule in Israel by King Herod the Great.  Not long after the birth of Jesus, Herod died, and Herod’s son, assumed control over Judea, while other sons of Herod controlled Galilee.  Not long thereafter, Herod’s son was stripped of his rule over Judea.  Instead of being Judea being ruled by a Jewish king, Judea would be ruled directly by a Roman governor.  The rule of Judea directly by Romans was humiliating to the Jews and viewed as an affront to the sovereignty of God.  As a result, direct Roman rule fostered great anger and a rebellious spirit within Judea that continued throughout Jesus’ ministry and his death at the hand of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.  Luke was reminding his readers that Jesus came just prior to the humiliation of the Jews by Rome.  Luke was laying the groundwork that the coming of Jesus was very much about the battle of empires and kingdoms.

Now for his part, Matthew brought to view of his readers the ending days of King Herod, the King of the Jewish lands.  Matthew wrote, “1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”  3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him” (Matthew 2:1-3).

At this time, Herod was king of Judea because Caesar Augustus appointed him king.  Herod was not Jewish by birth but had converted to Judaism when his father did so. Herod was severely paranoid and was suspicious that everyone was trying to remove him from the throne.  In his paranoid state, just within his own family, Herod murdered his brother-in-law, his wife, and three of his sons.  Now the magi, people from the east, people from the lands of Abraham’s origin, come to Herod seeking the one born the king of the Jews.  Herod was greatly disturbed and so was everyone else who had any sense.  Why these details in this story of Jesus’ birth necessary?  I believe these circumstances, settings, and time were told by Matthew to remind his readers of the difference between a corrupt earthly king and the kingship and kingdom of Jesus.

Unlike our own personal birth stories, the birth stories of Jesus Christ were recounted in a way to bring emphasis to the life story, ministry, and mission of a new king, Jesus, and to show that circumstances, setting, and timing of Jesus’ birth were not random or of no consequence.  Everything about the birth stories of Jesus has consequence to it.  So let’s complete our look then at the consequences, the so what, of Jesus’ birth as it relates to kings and kingdoms.

One of the features common in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke is that each records that some of Jesus’ earliest words dealt with kingdoms. After Jesus was baptized, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness.  There Jesus fasted and was then tempted by the devil.  At one point, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.  The devil then said, “9 All this I will give you,” he [the devil] said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”  10 Jesus said to him [the devil], “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only’” (Matthew 4:9-10 & Luke 4:6-8).  The incitement of Satan to Jesus was worldly, all its kingdoms, but taught the following the will of God alone would allow entry into the greatest of all kingdoms. 

“17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’” (Matthew 4:17).  Jesus had begun proclaiming a message about the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God was close at hand, meaning it would come into existence in their lifetime.

It was dangerous for Jesus, a Jew, to speak about a new kingdom, a new king, while in the lands of Judea that were no longer under a Jewish king but under a Roman governor.  There were people seeking to stir people up to rebel against the Romans and bring into power a Jewish king. In fact, one time, after Jesus had fed the 5,000 people, a great crowd came toward Jesus seeking to make Jesus king by force (John 6:15).

Historians tell us the rebellious people of Judea believed paying taxes to the Roman authorities was an act against God.  And so, these rebellious people would attack other Jews who paid taxes to the Romans.  The rebels would steal the wealth of the tax paying Jews and destroy their property. The religious leaders themselves hoped the issue of paying taxes would help rid them of Jesus.  Luke wrote, “21 So the spies [of the religious leaders] questioned him [Jesus]: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 23 He [Jesus] saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”  “Caesar’s,” they replied. 25 He [Jesus] said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s. and to God what is God’s” (Luke 20:20-25).  In trying to trap Jesus with the Romans or with the rebels, Jesus escaped both and highlighted again there were two kingdoms.  One kingdom was earthly and the other was spiritual and eternal.

  That kingdom, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, was a very different sort of kingdom.  It was not a kingdom that existed by conquest of its citizens.  Its citizens had to choose to enter the kingdom.  The kingdom of heaven that Jesus proclaimed was kingdom for the poor, the humble, the righteous, the afflicted, not a kingdom of the wealthy, proud, and self-sufficient (Matthew 5:3, 10).  The kingdom was for those who served their brothers and sisters who could not repay them (Matthew 5:19).  To enter the kingdom of God one must do the will of God, otherwise they would be denied entry (Matthew 7:21).  The kingdom of heaven was not new because those who would be found in the kingdom included Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matthew 8:11).

People wanted to know what this kingdom of God was like?  To what shall it be compared to?  Jesus said, “21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough” (Luke 13:21).  Just a touch, a small presence of the kingdom of God, would change for good and for the better everything it touched just like a small amount of yeast changes for good and for the better a large measure of flour.  The kingdom of God was one that could not be measured by square miles of territory or by number of inhabitants divided between those with rights and those without rights.  It was an eternal kingdom lived for a short time here on earth following the will of God and then lived eternally in God’s presence.  It is a kingdom one could not be born into through their mother and father. It was a kingdom in which one must choose to be born again by the spirit and the word (John 3).

What do we make of this confluence of events surrounding the birth of Jesus into the global stage of kings and emperors and different types of kingdoms.  We could say that three individuals lived at the same time.  Two were adults and one was a baby.  Two were politically powerful and one was not.  The politically powerful were named Augustus and Herod.  Both have been largely forgotten and their kingdoms no longer exist.  One, the baby, Jesus, is known on all seven continents and changed the world and continues to change the world daily through the people, the men and women, of his living and eternal kingdom. 

Jesus said this would be the case.  Jesus was confronted the face of political power in Judea in a man named Pontius Pilate from the Roman kingdom.  Jesus stood before Pilate just days after people welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem with songs declaring that Jesus was the king of the Jews.  Now, the Jews religious leader had turned the song of the people into a murderous accusation against Jesus before Pilate.  The leaders screamed out, “He says he is the king of the Jews, but we have no king but Caesar.”  Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”  34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”  35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”  36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”  37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.  Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:33b-37).

Jesus came into the world and was born into a time of upheaval and passions over earthly kingdoms.  He was born at a time to correct the notion that any human could be the Savior of the World or that one could take upon themselves the title of the Son of God.  For the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven is not of this world.  And the truth, the good news, is that Jesus came to lead us into that kingdom, by coming to believe and follow the truth, that Jesus is the only Son of God and that he died to cleanse us of all unrighteousness that could keep us from entering the kingdom. 

Jesus said, “Every on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37b).  So let me ask you a question about your relationship to Jesus and his kingdom.  Here is the question, “If I died right now, my level of confidence that I would be in the kingdom of heaven is?”  Got the question?  Now choose the number that reflects the level of confidence you have for your answer. Choose any number from 0 to 10, where 0 means “I know I will not be in the kingdom of heaven” and 10 means “I know I will be in the kingdom of heaven.”  And you can choose a number from 1 to 9 as an expression of confidence if you’re not sure if you will be in the kingdom.  Got your number?

          Here is the thing about this pop quiz.  Even though there are eleven numbers we could choose as an answer: 0,1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10.  There are actually only two answers to this question.  There is 10, meaning, “If I die right now, I will be in kingdom of heaven” and every other number that says, “If I die right now, I am not entirely sure I will be in the kingdom heaven.”  Every other number, other than the number 10, expresses some doubt about your destiny. Friends, Jesus did not come that we might doubt less about our salvation and destiny.  Jesus came that we would know.  The gospel writers were not inspired by the Holy Spirit to tell us the good news that we might doubt less about our salvation and destiny.  The gospel writers were inspired by the Holy Spirit that we would know.  The Apostle John summed it up this way, “13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).  We want to know that we are saved and that our eternal destiny with God in his kingdom is assured.  We want to live every day with the answer 10 resounding in our minds, “I know my Savior, He knows me, and that He will never leave me nor forsake me!  And I know my place is with Him in his kingdom.”  You are not here to learn how to be a citizen of this country.  You are here because Jesus wants you to choose to live his kingdom under his kingship. Please, open your hearts and enter his kingdom.  Amen and Amen.

            The announcement of the coming birth of Christ for a person, a man named Joseph, initially came with suspicion, disappointment, a sense of betrayal, and the dread of a violent and very public death of the child’s mother, Mary. We know the story well, do we not? The story of Joseph and Mary?  Perhaps we do and perhaps there are some parts of it that we do not but need to know.

          The story of this announcement and subsequent birth of Jesus is found in the Gospel of Matthew. The story consists of just eight verses. The story comes after 17 verses detailing the genealogy of Joseph beginning with Abraham.  The story of the birth of Jesus is remarkable because of what it says and because of what the story does not say.  We will look deeper into what it says but let’s consider for a moment what this story does not say.  The story does not tell us anything about a Roman census causing Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem.  The story does not contain anything about an innkeeper, stable, manger, and there are no shepherds. In fact, the only person in the story is Joseph.  Mary is mentioned but she has no part in the story.  And the same is true for Jesus, mentioned but he has no part in the story. In the story, Joseph, the only person in the story, says nothing.  He only sleeps.  An angel speaks to Joseph while Joseph sleeps but the angel is not seen.  If the children’s Christmas pageant was based solely on this story, we would only need one child and a narrator.  The only acting the child would need to do would be to pretend to take a nap.  Yet, despite the lack of characters, changes scenery changes, and the absence of dialogue, the eight verses Matthew wrote about the announcement and birth of Jesus are packed with human drama of suspicion, disappointment, a sense of betrayal, the dread of a violent and very public death of Mary, and spiritual insight into the work of God. In fact, the absence of all the other elements was purposeful.  Matthew wanted to strip everything else from the scene so as to focus the story to be on the conflicts that Joseph faced.  For it would be in the conflicts that Matthew would foretell the nature of the full gospel story about the Messiah, named Jesus.

          Let’s look at what Matthew said happened.  “18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph” (Matthew 1:18a). Joseph and Mary’s father had met and discussed Mary becoming Joseph’s wife.  The two had entered into a formal contract to make Joseph and Mary a married couple.  At that point, the Joseph and Mary were legally bound together, and that contract could only be broken by divorce or death.  At that moment, the couple could not live together until Mary and her family had completed her preparations for the wedding and Joseph had secured a suitable place for the couple to live.  Until the formal wedding ceremony, Mary would live with her father and there was to be no sexual contact between Joseph and Mary.

          But.  There is always a but.  “But before they (Joseph and Mary) came together, she (Mary) was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18b).  We have quickly entered a crisis in the story.  Mary, pledged to Joseph, was now pregnant.  This should not be so.  The narrator, Matthew, tells us that the pregnancy occurred through the power of the Holy Spirit, but there is no indication that Joseph understood that was the case.  The pregnancy of a woman pledged to marriage was a very serious situation.  There was, of course, the natural response of suspicion, disappointment, and a sense of betrayal.  But in this case, the Law of Moses carried with it a death penalty for Mary. The Law stated, “23 If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, 24 you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the young woman because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you” (Deuteronomy 22:22-23).  Joseph, not knowing of the intervention of the Holy Spirit, would be required under the Law to make a very public spectacle of Mary and that Mary could be killed along with the baby she was carrying.

          Matthew then shifted our focus from the crisis to the nature of Joseph, who had to make the decision on Mary’s fate and the fate of her unborn child.  “19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he [Joseph] had in mind to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19).  Joseph knew what the Law required, Mary’s death, and Joseph feared disobeying the Law as well as obeying the Law.  Joseph being a righteous man struggled to expose Mary to death because the words of the Law also said that God had placed before him death and life and that he should choose life.  How then could Joseph choose life and yet uphold the Law?  And so, Joseph thought that divorcing Mary as quietly as possible might accomplish something of under the Law while also saving Mary’s life and the life of her baby.  Joseph thought he had solved his dilemma.

          But.  There is always a but.  “20 But after he [Joseph] had considered this [a quiet divorce], an angel of the Lord appeared to him [Joseph] in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20). God had revealed to Joseph that Mary’s baby was conceived supernaturally by the Holy Spirit and not by some other man. This should resolve Joseph’s suspicion, disappointment, and sense of betrayal.  Moreover, the angel said Joseph should lay aside his fears and take Mary as his wife.  Joseph was not to publicly accuse Mary.  Joseph was to publicly affirm Mary.  There was to be no divorce.  There was to be a wedding ceremony.  There was to be no death of mother and child, there was to be the birth of a child and Joseph, acting as the child’s father, was to name the child, Jesus.  Joseph, a righteous man, was to learn that righteousness sometimes was more costly than following the legalisms of the Law.  For in righteousness, there may be persecution and accusations, but there will be no fear of God.  Proverbs 28:1 says, “The righteous are as bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1).  Joseph was being called to be incredibly brave.

Matthew wrote, “24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus” (Matthew 1:24-25).  Joseph emboldened by God’s message, fearlessly took Mary home to be his wife and she gave birth to a son whom Joseph named, Jesus.

          And there we have a very short story about the birth of Jesus, told entirely from the perspective of Joseph, who would appear, slept through most of the story.  What was Matthew focused on in this story?  In a word, Matthew was focused on righteousness. Matthew wanted his readers to know that he would share in the remaining gospel account that righteousness and not legalism was at the heart of the relationship with God.  Righteousness speaks to the inner being of the person and is valued over the outward appearance of meeting the letter of the Law.

          How did that idea of righteousness play out balance of the Gospel of Matthew?  First, Jesus inaugurated his ministry by being baptized by John.  When Jesus approached John for baptism, John paused and said he, John, needed to be baptized by Jesus.  But Jesus said, ““Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented” (Matthew 3:15).  Jesus was setting the example for his followers to choose to be publicly baptized as a sign of inner renewal and commitment to follow the pathway of God.

          Jesus then began his active ministry with the Sermon on the Mount.  There Jesus said, “6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).  If people desire the righteousness of the Lord as strongly and as often that they desire to eat and drink, then God will bless them with hearts able to receive and display righteous thoughts, words, and actions.  And that God would bless those who were persecuted for acting righteously.  For Jesus said, “10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10).

          Jesus affirmed that righteousness was the heart of his message when he said, “20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).  Jesus again confirmed that righteousness was the pathway of life.  Jesus said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33a).  Again, in Matthew 13:43, Jesus said, “Then the righteous will shine line the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  Whoever has ears, let them hear” (Matthew 13:43).  And again, “This is how it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous” (Matthew 13:49).  Finally, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).  Matthew would provide us a gospel about righteousness from the announcement of Jesus’ coming to the climax of his death upon the cross.

          The time, setting, and circumstances of the birth announcement of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew through the story of a righteous man named Joseph, told with all other elements removed, brought immense attention to the thrust of gospel message. Jesus came to call the sinner into righteousness that they could have eternal life.  What then does it mean to be righteous?

          We might think of righteousness this way.  Righteousness is being in the state as you ought to be.  There is a correctness of thinking, your emotions, your words, and your deeds.  You are authentic to the way you are supposed to be, and you have integrity because the ways you think, speak, and act are consistent.  You do not think one way, speak a different way, and act, perhaps differently than you speak or think.  In righteousness, you are as you ought to be.  But there is always a but.  But who determines how you ought to be?  As Jesus used the term righteous, he, of course, was referring to God’s view of how you ought to be.  God made humanity right.  We were made free, fearless, unashamed, content, happy to be in fellowship with God, and happy in fellowship with others.  We were in the state as we ought to be because we were right with God. Righteousness, the way one ought to be with God was not to be found in temple or other religious practices.  And it is still not to be found in church or religious practices.  Righteousness is following the commands of God without needed to do it in some legalist manner but in a manner that shows a deep understanding of the purpose of those commands.

Jesus was sent to earth that we would choose life. Jesus came that he could lead us into righteousness, transforming us into the people we ought to be, the people God always intended us to be.  The gospel of Mark tells us what Jesus did.  The Gospel of Luke tells us how Jesus felt.  The gospel of John told us who Jesus was.  But the Gospel of Matthew told us what Jesus said, and Jesus had a lot to say about what it means to live a righteous life.  Let’s give ourselves a gift this Christmas season and read the words that Jesus said that we could come to know life as it ought to be – lived in the righteousness of God.  Amen and Amen.

We are entering the time of reflection on the birth of Jesus. We will sing of peace on earth, joy to the world, and good will toward men.  But those positive feelings of peace, joy, and goodwill were not part of the earliest story of Jesus’ birth.  The story of Jesus’ birth, told in the Gospels, is one often presented as one of conflict, suspicion, and heartache.  The less positive feelings with the story of Jesus’ birth came about because Jesus’ birth involves the overturning of human thought about religion, the Law, world order, and human understanding of the heavenly realm.  I want us to begin looking at the challenging story of Jesus’ birth with the overturning of human thought about religion.  And to begin that conversation we start with the story of a priest found in the earliest gospel story about the birth of Jesus.

The story of the priest, a man called to represent the people to God, is found in the Gospel of Luke.  The story of this priest began with some intimate information about the priest’s wife, and the priest’s duties in the Jerusalem Temple.  Luke’s opening words have much to do with the entirety of his gospel including how the gospel story ends. 

How did Luke begin?  Luke began this way with the briefest description of the priest.  “5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old” (Luke 1:5-7).  Like any good storyteller, Luke invited his readers to step out of their personal life and to enter the lives of other people. Here Luke has invited us into the life of the priest, Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth.  And Luke began by telling us that Zechariah and Elizabeth are very old, and they have experienced a lifelong conflict.  Elizabeth has not been able to conceive a child, something both Zechariah and Elizabeth have desired since the beginning of their marriage. Quickly we know something intimate about this couple and, while we know it is present, Luke concealed from us the couple’s private pain of being childless.  We know too that despite their private pain, the couple remained publicly blameless and devoted in observing all the religious commands.

Our storyteller Luke then shifted perspective a bit and instead of telling us further information, Luke invited us to look through a window and to see a scene from the couple’s life as it played out.  “8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.  11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him [Zechariah], standing at the right side of the altar of incense.  12 When Zechariah saw him [the angel], he [Zechariah] was startled and was gripped with fear.” (Luke 1:8-12).  We now see Zechariah not just as a husband to his wife, Elizabeth, but as an active priest, dressed in appropriate robes and head covering.  We observe Zechariah going through the precise steps of the priesthood, being chosen by lot, entering the Temple at just the right time of the day, doing a precise religious tradition of burn an incense composed of a precise formula of ingredients. Zechariah was at the altar of the Lord in a holy space immediately adjacent to the Holy of Holies, a place only the high priest was permitted to enter once a year.  The two holy spaces were separated by a heavy curtain of precise fabrication.  At this very same moment Zechariah was igniting the incense, worshippers were gathered to offer specific memorized prayers to God.  As Zechariah burned the incense and the smoke arose from the altar, we have a visual representation to the prayers of the people rising toward heaven.  This scene was repeated twice a day, every day. Luke has brought us into a religious experience.

As the smoke of the incense ascended toward heaven, Luke showed us something unexpected, an angel of the Lord descended from heaven into the Temple of the Lord and appeared precisely at the righthand side of the altar in full view of Zechariah.  The appearance of anyone else in this holy place, let alone an angel, brought out a natural human response from Zechariah, one of overwhelming fear.  In great fear, we will either flee from the scene, fight that which causes us to be fearful, or we will freeze in place.  Zechariah was frozen in place unable to move.

Luke has taken us from coming to know this very old couple, resigned to their lifelong private pain of childlessness, and brought us to the grandeur of the Temple, the very heart of religious life, and now has brought into our view a majestic heavenly being, an angel of the Lord.  We are drawn into the story seeking to understand why these elements have been brought together.  Why Zechariah and Elizabeth?  Why the Temple at time of burning of incense?  Why an angel?

The angel wasted none of our time.  “13 But the angel said to him [Zechariah]: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John” (Luke 1:13).  The angel’s words are a shocking reversal of Zechariah’s and Elizabeth’s lifelong private pain.  The tension we felt in the opening of the story has been released, Elizabeth will be barren no longer.  But we wonder, why was it necessary for God to resolve such a private pain, to give an answer such a private prayer, in the Temple itself, while Zechariah engaged in priestly duties?  There must be some greater significance to time, place, and circumstances of the announcement than an answer to a private personal prayer.  And there was.

The angel said to Zechariah, “14 He [John, your son] will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he [John] will be great in the sight of the Lord. He [John] is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he [John] will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He [John] will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he [John] will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:14-17).  The announcement by the angel to Zechariah now was much more than the joy of happy parenthood.  The child of Zechariah and Elizabeth would become a joy for many. The message was the fulfilment of promise of God to do two things.  We talked about these things last week with the promised made by God 400 years earlier as revealed by the prophet Malachi.  First, there was the promise to bring forward a messenger who would announce that the Lord Himself was coming to his own Temple.  And second promise was that the Lord would come. Zechariah’s son, John, was the messenger who would turn the minds, changed the mental state of the people from what they believed, to now knowing the truth.  And while John would usher in a change of heart of the people, John was to be a preparer and not the object of hope.  That role, the bringer of hope, would be filled by another, the Lord himself.

The promise of God through Malachi to send a messenger and to come Himself to the Temple was made on a backdrop of a priesthood that had become corrupt.  It was a priesthood of beliefs in their own traditions, not the commands and revelations of God.  It was a priesthood of immoral behaviors, not one built upon righteousness.  And Zechariah, while one of the best priests because he was blameless and devout, lacked an understanding of God.  “18 Zechariah asked the angel, ‘How can I be sure of this [the birth of my son]? I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years’” (Luke 1:18).  Zechariah, the priest, was asking “How can I be sure that what you are saying is true?” The doubting about God, about the messenger, about the Messiah had begun by the priesthood with the first words uttered following the announcement God was now fulfilling his promise.  Even Zechariah, as publicly blameless and devout a priest as there could be, was nevertheless an unbeliever.  Zechariah was looking for some sort of “sign” that would authenticate what the angel has told him is truth and not a lie.

The first announcement of the coming Messiah being made to a priest, while performing priestly duties at the altar in the Jerusalem Temple now makes sense.  It makes sense because the time, place, and circumstance of the announcement set the stage for a much broader story than a childless couple becoming pregnant.  The story Luke foreshadowed through Zechariah was one of unbelief and conflict by the priests.  It was a story of demands for signs not just from the angel but later from the Messiah to authenticate the truth.  It was a coming story about the human desire to place emphasis on the traditions of religious practices over the commands and love of God.  It was a coming story of the love of the Temple over the God whose Temple it was.  It was a coming story of the frustration of heaven that those of earth would be so unbelieving.  We see this last point made in response to Zechariah’s demand for a sign from the angel. The angel said to Zechariah, “19 I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent…because you did not believe my words...” (Luke 1:19-20).

The conflict begun at the altar in the Temple with a priests would continue throughout the Gospel of Luke.  The Messiah, Jesus, God Himself, would tell his followers, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Luke 9:22).  We would read about the near relentless assault by an unbelieving priesthood against Jesus:

• “19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him [Jesus] immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them” (Luke 20:19).
• “2 And the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus” (Luke 22:2)
• “54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest” (Luke 22:54)
• “10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there [before Pilate], vehemently accusing him [Jesus]” (Luke 23:10).
• “20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him [Jesus] over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him [Jesus]” (Luke 24:20).

Luke’s announcement to a priest, Zechariah, was foretelling that the unbelief of the priesthood which began with the first announcement of coming Messiah and would continue until priests had managed to killed the Messiah.

And then there was the Temple, the pride and joy of the priesthood. This was the place of the announcement and the place of unbelief.  Luke would later tell us about the battles waged within the temple:

• “9 The devil led him [Jesus] to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down from here’” (Luke 4:9).
• “45 When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling” (Luke 19:45).
• “47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him” (Luke 19:47). 
• “5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 ‘As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down’” (Luke 21:5-6)

Luke’s announcement in the Temple was foretelling that the unbelief would turn the Temple into a place of spiritual battle.  And that that battle would rage from the first announcement of coming Messiah and until the death of the Messiah.

But then at what seemed to be a defeat of the Messiah by the priests with Jesus’ crucifixion, Luke foretold the true, good news ending of the story.  Luke wrote that on that dreadful day of Jesus’ crucifixion, “44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last” (Luke 23:44-46). “And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.”  The curtain that separated Zechariah in the holy place of the altar of the Lord from the Holy of Holies, the place of the announcement of the coming Messiah, that same curtain, was torn in two.  With the death of the Messiah, the curtain was torn open.  The priests had their sign.  The story was not over.  It was not even close to being over.  The tearing of the temple curtain was a sign that the death of the Messiah opened the pathway of the people to the eternal living giving God bypassing the human priesthood and bypassing the practices of men in the Temple.  The people would have but one priest, Jesus Christ.  The people would no longer have need of a temple for God could be freely worshipped through his son, Jesus Christ, anywhere, anytime.

How do we know the significance of the curtain being torn?  Because Jesus, the Messiah, arose from the dead and spoke to his disciples and “45 Opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He (Jesus) told them (his disciples), “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:45-47).  The living Messiah had done it all.  He was superior to the priesthood and the Temple itself.  His death and resurrection is for all nations a signal that ultimate conflict with sin had been won and the forgiveness of sins was now offered to all who would believe.

This is the good news of the first announcement of the coming Messiah.  We have a new high priest, Jesus Christ, who will intercede for us at that throne of God. Amen and Amen.

The Bible teaches us that God has used a variety of ways to speak with humanity.  God spoke directly to some people like Adam, Eve, and even their son, Cain.  For other people, God spoke with an angel such as Abraham, Hagar, and Moses.  And still others, God spoke through humans, men and women called out by God to be prophets.  And a prophet was charged to speak to God’s people the words God would give them.  Usually, the words God gave the prophets were a call for the people to repent from their sinful ways.  Prophets did not have many friends.

Today, our Scripture reading is from the prophet, Malachi.  Malachi in Hebrew means “My Messenger,” or “My Angel.”  Much of the book of Malachi is an indictment against the priesthood of Israel.  Immoral behavior, adultery, divorce, falsehood, fraud, and sorcery were rampant with much of the sinfulness coming from the priests themselves. Intermarriage between the Jews and the pagans, something prohibited under the Laws of Moses was regularly occurring.  And the traditions of the people were becoming more important than the commands of God. In Malachi, Chapter 2, verses 7 and 8 speak to the problem, “7 “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth. 8 But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the Lord Almighty” (Malachi 2:7-8).

We can well understand that a serious moral problem with the religious leadership, here the priests, does significant harm to the spiritual life of the people.  We know that is true from modern day experiences that have become public.  The sexual perversions of Roman Catholic priests have caused unimaginable pain to their victims and enormous harm to the church and its teachings.  Just this year, a dozen high profile pastors of megachurches in Texas alone, were forced to resign due to improper behaviors leaving behind more incalculable harm to their victims and more damage to the message of the church.

The key message of Malachi was that the religious heart of the nation of Israel had become indistinguishable from the sinful world around it.  In a word, the priesthood and religious life of Israel, had become corrupt.  Once again, we see that when it comes to corruption, no one should say of people, an organization, or a thing that it is only “a little corrupt.”  Something is either corrupt or it is not.  This is why the Bible teaches that if we break one part of the Law, we have broken the whole Law.

Let me give you an illustration of this point about corruption. Let’s suppose you say to me, “I am thirsty.”  And let’s suppose I have a cold bottle of water.  And let’s suppose in response to you saying, “I am thirsty,” I say to you, “Here is a nice cold bottle of water.  Please take it.”  So far, this seems like a reasonable solution to the current conditions.  But.  There is always a but.  But as you begin turning the top of the bottle, you become aware that the bottle, although full, had already been opened.  And so, you ask me, “Pastor, did you already open this bottle?”  And I reply, “Yes, I did.  The bottle was sealed when I received it but the bottle was not quite as full as it could be so I added just a tablespoon of water to make the bottle full.” Seems a bit odd.  But then I add, “And the only water I had available was just a tablespoon that came from the toilet.”  So, you are thirsty, and you have a 16-ounce bottle of water that has a tablespoon of corrupted water from the toilet.  Are you going to drink it?  Of course, not.  Why not? Because once corruption entered the clean water, none of the clean water was clean any longer.  The entire bottle became corrupted, and it is no longer fit to drink.  This was the point of charge in the Book of Malachi against the priests.  The priests were corrupt and were corrupting everything they touched.

In many ways, the situation painted by Malachi seemed hopeless. When something becomes corrupt, it cannot change itself, it cannot clean itself up, because it is corrupt.  What can be done?

God revealed through Malachi His plan for redemption.  Malachi wrote, “3I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty” (Malachi 3:1).  God promised that the pathway to righteousness would be marked by two specific events.  First, God would send a messenger.  This messenger would bring forward the news that a new covenant of God was announced. And once that message had been announced then the Lord Himself would come to His Temple.  In Chapter 4, Malachi explained, “5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes” (Malachi 4:5). Elijah was a prophet of great importance to the people of Israel.  The only other place in the Bible where this Hebrew phrase means to “prepare” or “clear obstacles” is in Isaiah 40:3-5: “3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.  For the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 40:3-5).  The imagery being conveyed here is that a roadway has been made level and straight for a majestic king to travel.  And so, God promised a prophet, a messenger, to come to announce the arrival of God Himself.

The arrival of God Himself would be the second event in the restoration of Israel.  But the coming of the Lord was not without a warning.  Malachi spoke, “2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver” (Malachi 3:2-3a).

The arrival of the Lord was expected to be indeed a great event because it would usher in a new covenant and new era with God.  But the arrival of the Lord would not be without chastisement, not without removal of corruption, especially for the priesthood. The priesthood would be refined to remove the impurities from it.  Malachi likened it to putting fire to silver to cause that which is not silver to separate or using a very strong soap to remove the stains from a garment. Continuing with our illustration of the bottle of water, it would be a time when the water and not just the bottle itself would be subjected to treatment to remove the contaminants or the corruption.  Sin, the corruption of all life, would be addressed.

These are the promises of God spoken through his prophet Malachi. A messenger would come in advance of the Lord, a voice calling in the wilderness, “Make way for the Lord.”  Then would come the Lord Himself to refine the priesthood, deal with the spiritual corruption, and draw the people to God. These were God’s words.  And then God went silent.

There were no more prophets bringing God’s word.  Just silence.  There were no signs from heaven.  Just silence.  There was no voice calling in the wilderness.  Just silence.  A year passed.  Then two years passed.  Then ten years passed.  Just silence. Then 40 years passed.  Then 100 years passed.  Just silence.  Then 200 years passed, then 300 years passed, and then 400 years passed.  No prophets.  No voices.  Just silence.

Most people dislike silence because it can feel unsettling. Silence forces us to confront our own thoughts and emotions without the distraction of background noise.  Silence can lead to feelings of anxiety, discomfort, or even boredom, especially in social situations where silence might be interpreted as a negative sign or lack of connection.  Whenever there is silence in a situation, most people tend to fill that gap believing the worst of the one who has suddenly become silent.  But here is the truth.  Silence can also refine us.  Silence can cause us to examine ourselves and see what is wrong with us.

For 400 years, God remained silent.  For context, it was about 400 years ago that the Pilgrims landed in what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts and would later celebrate their Thanksgiving Day feast of which we too will participate in on Thursday. Four hundred years is quite a long time. There are different ways to calculate how many generations there are in 400 years.  In general, we would be talking about 14 generations in 400 years. That would mean your (11) great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents were alive when the Pilgrims landed.  Do you know anything about your people from 400 years ago?  Of course we don’t know these people.  Of course, we don’t know what our people looked like or what they sounded like.

In the 400 years of silence, the people and nation of Israel experienced many things.  Of course, there were wars.  Of course, there were dynasties of kings.  There were high priests.  The Pharisees and Sadducees we read about so much in the Gospels came into existence during those 400 years.  The two groups fought with each other and at times killed each other in great numbers seeking to gain some advantage.  But through all this tumult and chaos, through all 14 generations spanning 400 years, one thing remained the same, God’s Word.  The whole story of God and His promise of sending a messenger and the Lord Himself coming to refine and set things straight and true remained the same.

This coming of the messenger and the Lord we now call Advent, awaiting the arrival, is what we will celebrate over the next 4 weeks.  We who are now 86 generations removed from God’s promises still have them before us in the Bible.  The promises of God have not changed except that God broke his silence and sent His Son, called Emmanuel, God with us, as He had promised.

What then do we take away from this encounter with Malachi and all that has transpired since he served as God’s prophet?

I want to begin with this thought.  In spending some time of silence, I concluded that I was fortune enough to know both of my parents.  Some people are not so fortunate.  Of my grandparents, I only ever met one of them, my maternal grandfather.  The other three grandparents had died before I was born, as was the case with all my great grandparents.  I have only one or two items in my possession once used by my grandfather and nothing from any generation earlier than him, or from any other grandparent, except for one thing.  They all had a belief in God, and they all raised their children to know the God of the Bible, the God of Malachi, the God of the promised Messiah. Was their faith extraordinarily deep or remarkable?  I would not know.  But their belief and faith were strong enough, were vital enough, to want their legacy, the inheritance for their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren whom they would never meet to have the knowledge of the promises of God.  To have the knowledge of God that leads to faith in God, to salvation through Christ whose coming we will celebrate in the weeks ahead.  That is generational wealth, a generational inheritance, of untold riches.  Perhaps the passing on of our faith is the only real inheritance that we can hope will be gifted to our unborn generations.  So, I want to encourage parents, grandparents, and great grandparents here today, to think about the opportunities you have to gift your children and grandchildren.  We all will certainly want to give them something they will enjoy this coming season.  But are we also gifting them our joy in God’s promises?  Is there anything about our faith, our testimony, that we are gifting them that breaks through the noise and chaos of this world and causes them to wonder and be in awe of God?  Are we giving them anything from the promises of this season that they can also gift to their children and grandchildren?  It is popular for Christians to say, “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.” But is He?

Not everyone been so blessed with generational wealth of belief in God handed down to them.  There are many spiritual orphans.  A couple of years ago, a man, not of my family, whom I have known for many years said to me, “I consider you one of my spiritual sons.”  Why did he say that?  He said that because he had gifted me, had invested in me his faith experience in the hope that I would be enriched by it and that I would pass it on to others, whether the others were my children or not.  Everyone here, whether you are a parent or not, can have spiritual daughters and sons.  You can invest and enriched others with your testimony, with your knowledge of God’s faithfulness and promises.  To do that, we have to make Jesus genuinely the reason for the season.

For the final point, I want to return one last time to our bottle of water, the bottle cannot redeem itself and become pure again.  And we know we are like this bottle because we cannot redeem ourselves either.  We cannot wish for or will away the sin in our life.  Removing sin, removing corruption from our life, can only be done by the promised one of God, Jesus.  And the knowledge of those promises can only be found in God’s Word and made real to others in the living testimony of God’s people.  We have a great opportunity before us to gift others with the joy of the Jesus, the reason for the coming season.  Shall we who have been redeemed do that?  Amen and Amen.

          Our nation is rapidly approaching the day on which we celebrate Thanksgiving. It is supposed to be a day set aside for giving thanks for the blessings and provisions of the last year.  But on Thanksgiving Day we tend to eat so much food the one would think we believe all provisions for the coming year were unlikely. 

We know that the original American Thanksgiving began in Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts.  The Pilgrims of Plymouth Thanksgiving was primarily a celebration of a good harvest with enough food to get through the winter.  Harvest time, of course, is a gathering of what has matured from seeds planted earlier.  Harvest is the time in which the fruit of one’s efforts are realized and brought together, hopefully in abundance.

          Our Scripture reading today from the Gospel of John speaks about a harvest in another context.  The scene comes from the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John centers around a water well and focuses primarily as an interaction between Jesus and a Samaritan woman.

          Now at one time, there were no Samaritan people. The people of the region of Samaria were, at one time, all Hebrew who had settled in the lands promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The Hebrew people flourished in wealth and population.  The Samaritans, as they would become known, were primarily descendants of two of the twelve tribes of Israel, namely Ephraim and Manasseh.  The Hebrews or the Jews of Israel were exiled by the Assyrians after the fall of the northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE.  That was true expect for the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.  For the most part, those people remained and over time, intermarried with foreigners. These people became known as Samaritans. They held to the first five books of the Bible and worshipped at their own temple on Mount Gerizim.  The people of the other ten tribes of Hebrew people believed Samaritans were essentially pagans because they lacked the purity of God. A feud began between the Hebrews, the Jews, and the Samaritans after the Jews returned from captivity.

Therefore, the Scripture scene of Jesus in Samaria was unusual, unexpected for the original readers.  And this scene in Chapter 4 between Jesus and the Samaritan woman came immediately after a nighttime encounter between Jesus and a Jewish religious leader, a man named Nicodemus, a Pharisee, in Chapter 3. The encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus revealed a resistance and unwillingness of the Jews to believe that Jesus was God’s anointed messenger of salvation.

Now, in Samaria, a land considered pagan by the Jews, Jesus met at noontime with an unnamed Samaritan woman. The contrast between Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 of John could not be greater.  The Gospel writers often used comparative stories between men and women, Jews and pagans, to highlight the principles of faith.

Today, we will start about halfway into the exchange between Jesus and the Samaritan woman.  Jesus and the Samaritan woman were alone.  Jesus had told the woman all about her background, including her five husbands and that she was living with a man to whom she was not married.  The woman understood and professed that Jesus was a prophet of some sort.  We come now to verse 25, where the Samaritan woman explained that she was aware that God would send his Messiah to set things right.  “25 The woman said, ‘I know that Messiah” (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us’” (John 4:25). The Samaritan woman believed in God’s promise to the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, meaning to both the Jews and Samaritans, that God would send a prophet greater than Moses to set things straight and bring all the people back to Himself.

In response to the woman’s faith, Jesus declared to here, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he” (John 4:26).  Jesus had revealed to the Samaritan woman that he was God’s chosen One, the Messiah who would reveal Truth to all people.  In that moment, we wait expectantly for the woman to respond to Jesus’ world changing words that he is the Messiah. But immediately following Jesus’ announcement, the scene was interrupted by the return to the well of Jesus’ disciples from the nearby Samaritan village.  They had gone there in search of food. 

We read, “27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” (John 4:27).  While words were not spoken, my guess is that the disciples’ body language and facial expressions said all that needed to be said.  This woman should not be here!  Upon the return of Jesus’ disciples, John wrote, “28 Leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town” (John 4:28a).  We do not have any benefit of further conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman because of the interruption of Jesus’ disapproving disciples.  From this point to the end of the story, John then jumped back and forth between Jesus and his disciples at the well and activities in the Samaritan village.

We would read, “28 Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city.”  The woman returned to the city of her home and presumably the city that the disciples had just visited for food.  Continuing with the Scripture, “She [that is the woman from the well] said to the people, 29 ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’  30 They [that is the people she spoke with] left the city and were on their way to him [Jesus]” (John 4:28-30].  The woman had returned to the Samaritans of the town and giving testimony about her encounter with Jesus.  Her words were stirring the hearts of the people, and the people of the Samaritan village began making their way to the well in the hope of seeing Jesus, this Messiah. There is a sense of anticipation among the Samaritan people.  Could it be that at long last God’s Messiah, the one who would come in righteousness to settle all the important questions and usher in a new era with God was finally here?  The villagers could not wait for an answer, and they hurried to the well.

          At the same time as the story of the woman and the villagers was unfolding, the separate story with Jesus and his disciples was unfolding rapidly.  We would read, “31 Meanwhile his [Jesus’] disciples urged him [Jesus], ‘Rabbi, eat something.’  32 But he [Jesus] said to them [his disciples], ‘I have food to eat that you know nothing about.’  33 Then his [Jesus’] disciples said to each other, ‘Could someone have brought him food?’  34 ‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work’” (John 4:31-34).  The faces of disapproval that had been on Jesus’ disciples when they returned to the well to find Jesus with the Samaritan woman now showed confusion and being puzzled.  What was Jesus talking about?  Did Jesus have a secret stash of food or had someone else delivered food to him? What is this food that we don’t know about?

          Jesus sensing their confusion offered a parable of sorts.  Jesus said, “35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor” (John 4:35-38).

          Jesus drew on words familiar to his disciples that there are four months between planting the seeds and harvesting the fruit or grains of the earth.  But Jesus said, “Look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvest now!”  I believe when Jesus told his disciples to look around Jesus was pointing back in the direction of the town to see people heading their way, to the well, to see and meet the man their believed was the Messiah.  The same village the disciples had just left without exciting or interesting anyone in meeting Jesus was now emptying out and coming toward Jesus.  Seeing this, Jesus said, “38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor” (John 4:38).  Jesus was making clear the food, the sustenance of life, is not found in the market, it is found in the work done because of God.  And that work is to bring the harvest of souls into the kingdom of God.

So how can we apply this passage to our lives?  I think there are three things for us today.

First, and most importantly, we have Jesus’ testimony that he is the Messiah.  Why should we accept what Jesus said about himself?  Let’s consider this.  Jesus would later be brought to trial before the Jewish religious leaders.  At that trial, Jesus would again give testimony that he is the Messiah.  The trial erupted into an angry uproar at Jesus’ claim and the religious leaders condemned Jesus to death because he claimed to be God’s Messiah.  The religious leaders, the best and brightest in all Israel, believed that in sentencing Jesus to death that they were acting as the guardians of faith, standing for purity, and that God would be happy with their behavior. After Jesus’ execution upon the cross and burial in a tomb, God raised Jesus from the dead.  The resurrection of Jesus was the most dramatic way that God could have taken to affirm Jesus’ testimony that he is the Messiah and declare to the Jewish religious leaders that they were completely wrong about Jesus. So our first point is that Jesus is in fact God’s Messiah.  Of that, we can be sure.

Second, we learn that every person has a longing, a yearning to have an inner peace and wholeness.  This is true for you, for me, and for the woman at the well.  We see through the woman at the well that to make herself feel whole she engaged in marriage after marriage and then with an intimate relationship with a man that she had not married.  But her inner longing was not and could never be satisfied by another person.  The woman’s testimony was that when the Messiah came then things would be made right.  And she was right.  After understanding Jesus was the Messiah, the woman at the well was joyous and understood that Messiah she met at the well knew everything about her.  She was now satisfied, and her inner longing had been met.  You and I have that same inner longing for peace within ourselves.  Some of us have pursued getting that longing satisfied through intimate relationships, through one activity or event after another, through social media, through work, or through the continual and unending accumulation of stuff.  None of it satisfies our inner longing.  Only the acceptance of Jesus as not just the Messiah but as Lord and Savior of our life can bring about the inner peace and satisfaction we desire, we need.  Has your longing been satisfied by Christ?

Finally, we learn from this story that the fields are ready for harvest.  Today, perhaps more than ever, there are multitudes of people, friends, family, neighbors, who may know the name of Jesus Christ but have no real idea of what it means that he is the Messiah.  In that little Samaritan village, those closest to Jesus, his disciples, could only manage to buy food from the people who needed to know the Messiah.  It took a woman, who felt her life changed by Christ, to invite her friends, family, and neighbors to come to know Christ.  People need to know the Lord and they need to know that you love them enough that you want them to share His Good News with them. Invite those who do not know God to join you in your joy for God.  Invite those who have become separated from the church to return.  With Advent approaching, we are entering a time of year in which the hearts of the people are stirred toward God.  Those seeds have been sown and it is up to you to reap the harvest.  Invite those you know to join you at church.  If your food is to do the work of Christ, think how blessed and thankful you will be if God works through you to bring another soul to salvation or to bring a wounded Christian back to church. 

We should rejoice and be thankful that we know Jesus, that our longings have been satisfied, and that we have shared with those people closest to us that Jesus is truly the Savior of the world.  Amen and Amen.