The Crib, the Cross, and the Crown
(Luke 2:11-12; Philippians 2:6-11; Rev. 5:11-12)
Introduction: How many of you have heard of Dr. Seuss’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”?
Christmas came “without ribbons...without tags...without packages, boxes or bags...He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t
before. ‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store.’ ‘Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.’”
One of the most interesting things about the story is what it does not say. It doesn’t say anything about Christmas. We get the message that Christmas is not about cookies, lights, music and toys, but Dr. Seuss left us on our own to answer this question: If Christmas were stripped of all the things that we usually associate with it like the sights and sounds, would we still celebrate it? And what would we celebrate?
I. The Reality: Jesus Christ Condescended – He Came
The birth of Christ was not an isolated event in history but was the fulfillment of God’s promise and the climax of God’s redemptive plan.
• Look at Luke 2:15, you can see there what it says: “When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.’” “This thing that has happened.”
We’re dealing with history. The angel announced it to the shepherds, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). John proclaimed it, “And the Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). Christ came when the world was ready for his coming. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son...” (Gal. 4:4). The fact that he was sent shows that he existed before he was bornin Bethlehem. His sending from heaven thus declares his divine nature. When the time had fully come, the eternally divine Son of God came down from heaven into the world.
ItwasarrangedbytheFather–GodtheFatherdeterminedwhenGodtheSonwouldcome “to save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21) and “give all God’s children their inheritance.”
ItwasagreedtobytheSon–(Philippians2:6-8)“Who,thoughhewasintheformofGod, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
The one who made the heaven and the earth was born in time and space, fulfilling the words of the prophets, bringing light into our dark world and giving life to a dying world. No wonder the heaven explodes in praise. The angelic armies give glory to God in the heavenly realm, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:13); Why?
Because the eschatological peace, the peace promised in the Lord’s covenant with Israel is now being realized (Eze. 34:25, 37:26; Isa. 9:6; Mic. 5:4).
In the Incarnation, God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ to offer us the:
A. The Gift of Forgiveness B. The Gift of Fellowship
“So, there is a gift that we all need (Rom. 3:23; Rom. 6:23 - Forgiveness) and without that gift no other gift matters and the second gift can't be enjoyed. You can't enjoy fellowship with God without forgiveness. And the second gift is the gift that we all ought to want, and without it, we cannot be what we were created for.” (Alistair Begg)
How will he do that? Look at Luke’s descriptions.
He is the Savior – He came to Redeem
HeistheMessiah–HecametoRevealGod
He is the Lord – He came to Rule
Illustration and Application:
Jonathan Edwards “The Admirable Conjunction of Diverse Excellencies in Christ Jesus”
There is an admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies... what seems incompatible for us “Infinite highness and infinite condescension” They do meet in Christ...
To take our nature upon himself to become one of us so that he can become one with us, such a conjunction of infinite highness and infinite humility in one person and so he is altogether beautiful.
II. The Reason: Jesus Christ was Crucified
And yet that wasn’t it. Even that wasn’t as far as He would go. He would go further than that, wouldn’t He, in His humiliation? And Luke tells us at the end of his gospel that, “He humbled Himself to the point of death.” Paul said the same thing, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8).
What God is showing is just how far He’ll go to seek and save us; just how much He loves you, because He will give His Son, His only Son. That’s the wonderful grace of Jesus. That’s the amazing love of Jesus.
Listen to Keith and Kristin Getty’s song, “His mercy is more”
(Verse 3) What riches of kindness Christ lavished on us
His blood was the payment, His life was the cost We stood ‘neath a debt we could never afford Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
Jesus went from the crib to the cross. That is the cost of Christmas.
What does it mean for Jesus to be a Savior? What does it mean for
Jesus to be the Christ? The true message of Christmas takes us from
the cradle all the way to the cross. And that may seem to you an unusual move
to be talking about the horror of the cross instead of talking about the baby
Jesus lying in a manger. But it could not be more important. It could not be more important for us to understand that while the nativity scene is, no doubt, more “instagrammable,” more “Christmasy,” that the first advent of Christ is really insensible apart from the cross. “Why lies He in such mean estate where animals are feeding?” That’s the question. Why was he born there? Why did Jesus took the form of a “slave”? What is really happening here?? Apart from the cross of Christ in Golgotha, the birth in Bethlehem will not make any sense.
“Jesus did not fear to embrace the mission upon which He is sent, He humbled himself in obedience, even to the dreadful cursed death of a cross, in the perfect security of His equality with the Father, in the fellowship of the Trinity, He submits Himself cheerfully to the plan of God.” (David Strain)
And so Jesus came, born that first Christmas – “He was born under the law so that he might redeem those who were under the law” (Gal. 4:4), “so that he might seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10); For “He (the Son of man) came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). When the “hour” has come, “he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). On the Cross he cried out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” The work having been fully completed, having faithfully fulfilled the Father’s will and that the mission was now accomplished, Jesus exclaimed, “tetelestai,” which means “It is finished” (John 19:30).
The nativity story in Luke speaks of the uniqueness of Christ as the head of NEW CREATION. Clearly in Luke’s genealogy Jesus is portrayed as the “Last Adam.” “Jesus’s entire obedience is the ground for believers’ justification today” (Brandon Crowe). It is the entire obedience of Christ that saves.
As Calvin observed, “From the time when Christ took on the form of a servant, he began to pay the price of salvation in order to save us.”
Similarly, Geerhardus Vos said, “The suffering of the Mediator does not date from the end of his stay on earth. His entire life was a continual suffering.”
Illustration and Application
Anselm of Canterbury (11th Century) – “Cur Deus Homo?” (Why the God-Man?) Why did
God become a man? Anselm answered simply, “You have not yet considered the heavy
weight of sin.”
If you understood sin, then you will understand why God went to such extreme, such
lengths to secure our deliverance.
When Jesus died on that Cross: He bore our griefs. He carried our sorrows. He was
wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. He was chastised for
our peace. He was scourged for our healing.
• •
That’s what Christmas is about. That’s why it’s worth celebrating. “Has your debt been paid? Have you taken God’s Christmas gift, His own Son Jesus Christ, by faith? Is He
yours? Are you His? What a Savior we have in Jesus. Take Him. He is for you.
III. The Result: Jesus Christ was Crowned
Paul in Philippians 2:9-11, brings into view what appears to be the most natural possible result of Christ perfect, sinless and selfless obedience.
“Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
And what the apostle is saying here is that Jesus himself has fulfilled all of the obligations of the covenant that God has made with the OT saints, and God has given him not only a great name, but the greatest name! “The name that is above every name!” This reminds us of the frequent events of naming in the OT. Beginning in the Garden, God creates and names (Tower of Babel, Abraham, Isaiah 56:5, God promises to give an “everlasting name” to those who hold fast His covenant).
Illustration and application: (Most of you probably know the story of Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia – “The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe)
• A magical land “where it’s always winter but never Christmas.”
• But Aslan was “on the move,” and as he was, Narnia began to thaw. The snow begins to
melt.
• When Jesus takes the throne the “thaw begins,” and continuous even now as he reigns the
snow is melting. That’s what John sees. He sees what the only hope of the world is in the coronation of the lamb of God and notice the new song:
“Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
Our Response
“What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits toward me”
No one who comes close to Christ ever stays the same. Those who encountered Christ:
Immediately worshipped
Inspiringly walked
Intensely witnessed
May you all have a truly blessed Christmas as you enjoy all of God’s gifts and blessings to you, which are ultimately centered in Jesus, our Savior!
