Christmas Perspective: When you anticipate the glory of our Christmas celebrations each year, remember, it is only glorious now because suffering came first. When I remember this annually, I will be able to persevere through each year’s necessary trials and suffering as I await the future glory.
3 necessary and surprising aspects of suffering that Jesus fulfilled on the first Christmas for His people
I. Grief Because of the Status of Exile (Matthew 2:18 - “weeping”)
Matthew 2:17-18 - Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be comforted, because they were no more.”
II. Ridicule Because of the World’s Rejection (Matthew 2:23 - “Nazarene”)
Matthew 2:23 - …and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
“About 100 B.C., a small clan of newly returned Jews from Babylon settled there and gave it their family name, Natsara. These were the Natsoreans, a Judean family that proudly identified its Davidic lineage and spoke of itself as “the Branch Clan,” apparently in strong identification with prophecy. The people in this town had the idea that Messiah, the Branch, would be born from among them. Meanwhile, those who knew them often scoffed. To other Jewish people in larger, older cities, the Natsoreans must have seemed silly in their assumed self-importance. Their little town could not have seemed more distant from the glories of the Davidic Kingdom in ancient days. Nathanael, upon hearing from his brother that he had found the Christ (John 1:46), asked, ‘Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?’ (Ronald B. Allen, Does Anything Good Come from Nazareth? Kindred Spirit, 23/4 (Winter 1999), p.11)
Isaiah 53:2-4 - For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried…
Hebrews 2:17-18 - Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. (cf. Mark 9:12)
III. Hope Because the Path of Suffering Is Not the End
A. God turns exile into restoration (context of Jeremiah 31)
Jeremiah 31:15-17 - Thus says the Lord, “A voice is heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” Thus says the Lord, “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears; for your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord, “And they will return from the land of the enemy. “There is hope for your future,” declares the Lord…
B. God turns the ridiculed one into the one in whom we find refuge (“Natser,” “Nazerene,” cf. Isaiah 11:1)
Isaiah 11:1-2 - Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch (“Natser”) from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
Merry Christmas Faith Church Family! I am extra joyful that God would allow Christmas to fall on Sunday this year so that we could gather a church family to praise God and give him our thanks and shower him with our love and adoration. I know it is good for our hearts and the hearts of our children to wake up and to immediately focus on the Giver of every good and perfect gift that comes from above and the greatest gift of our Triune God, Our Heavenly Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.
One of my Christmas memories as a child was waking up extra early before everyone in the house. While it was still dark and sneaking down our wooden stairs, and just laying down under the freshly cut Christmas tree, with all the gifts around my 5- or 6-year-old body, like a starfish (in you are from CA like me), or Snow Angel, and staring up from the floor through the tree with all the lights, and ornaments, and shiny tinsel, and just waiting thinking this is going to be the most glorious day ever.
I have always thought of Christmas as the most wonderful time of the year…
- The feeling of being home
- Being with family or friends
- The sense of peace of not working or being done with classes
- The joy
- The gifts
Christmas songs speak of this glory of Christmas…
From secular songs that speak of getting your fix of Christmas—
“I need a little Christmas”
To Christian songs that speak of “Joy to the world” now.
The opening song of Faith’s Christmas Cantata spoke of Christmas being the best time of all.
I want to thank you Faith Church family who served so well this Christmas season
Stewardship Celebration, TOC, CFE, LN, Christmas Cantata, Winter Break
All ways we were seeking to share the joy of good news of Jesus Christ with others.
I have always thought of Christmas as the most wonderful time of the year…and the “glorious Christmas” depends on family being there, the amount of material gifts, or circumstances being just right.
Now if you have been following our Christmas series of fulfillments in Matthew, you may be already thinking this morning, “I know where Pastor Birk is going—“He is going to crush my Christmas happiness. I knew it.”
Well possibly just for a moment…But wait to the end of the passage.
There is a reason for why our Christmas celebration is filled with joy, the feeling of being home, a sense of peace, and the desire to give gifts.
It’s not because the first Christmas story of Jesus was filled with peace, feasting, and beautifully decorated trees.
We live after the first Christmas and after Jesus’s redemptive work. The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ shifts our entire perspective.
The character Mr. Tumnus, in the book series Chronicles of Narnia, describes the world of Narnia before the coming Savior’s work as, “It’s always winter and never Christmas”
Our view of Christmas is glorious and beautiful precisely because without Christ our lives were always winter.
So, this morning I want to give you a gift.
This morning, the gift is this—a perspective.
- A perspective to have at Christmas from now on---until those who are in Christ— meet Jesus.
- A way of viewing Christmas that can annually reorient your life and spur you onward to loving Christ more.
Christmas Perspective: When you anticipate the glory of our Christmas celebrations each year, remember, it is only glorious now because suffering came first. When I remember this annually, I will be able to persevere through each year’s necessary trials and suffering as I await the future glory.
Or, I celebrate Christmas now, because there was a long season of winter first.
This perspective will help us encounter the seasons of life filled with suffering even through the Christmas season.
- The widow whose Christmas is not the same anymore because they are suffering that their spouse is no longer with them.
- Those divorced who feel like their family is split and they are suffering exile from the family.
- The parents who gather around the table, but their children are gone or grown up.
This morning I want you to hear a testimony of how this Christmas perspective helped Dave and Becky Arthur through a difficult Christmas season of suffering.
Testimony
David:
We love the Christmas season. It’s a time of celebration and get-togethers, gift giving and rejoicing in Jesus coming to earth.
But amidst all the elegant decorations, beautiful, gift-wrapped presents, and perfectly decorated Christmas trees, it’s easy to forget that the first Christmas was filled with uncertainty, pain and suffering for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
Last Christmas, we had a shocking reminder of how God can use a suffering Christmas to be a Christmas where he takes what the bible would call our “light and momentary afflictions” and works them out to achieve for us an eternal weight of glory.
Last year, God allowed us as a family to experience a Christmas of less-than-ideal circumstances. As we’ve shared in the past, Becky has walked a path of suffering since her cancer diagnosis in 2019. Early in December last year she was set to have surgery to help resolve a complication that came about from her cancer treatments.
We had no idea that this would result in a second emergency surgery for Becky just a week after we came home from the hospital and would result in us spending another 21 days in the hospital literally fighting for Becky’s life.
And that meant missing Christmas, New Year’s, and our daughter’s 5th birthday.
Becky:
During these physically painful, miserable, and sad moments, there were points when we felt so dry spiritually. We had to cling to what we knew of God and NOT how we felt in the moment. We repeated to ourselves Romans 8:28 as well as other passages and just had to choose to trust that He was working out a plan for His Glory and our good. We were clinging to the little bite size portions of what we KNEW to be true during suffering like,
1. Suffering is only temporary even though it doesn’t FEEL that way right now,
2. God is GOOD,
3. He is our Provider,
4. He is loving,
5. GREAT is HIS faithfulness.
While my brain was in la-la land from all the side-effects of medicine and pain, I was blessed by the gift of godly music. Staying engaged and focused while listening to podcasts or sermons was difficult. One Sunday, I confess, I fell asleep watching Pastor Viars’ Christmas sermons online (?). The one thing that constantly helped calm my body and spirit was rich, truth-telling music and that sustained me through those dark, dark days.
David:
During a Christmas of suffering God never let us forget or lose sight of His love and care for us as demonstrated through the relentless support, care, and love from His people. Because of how suddenly Becky ended up back in the hospital and the fact that we don’t have much family here in town, one dear church family took our kids into their family and let them live with them for over a week until Grandma could make it.
Other friends wrapped all our kids’ Christmas gifts, cleaned our house, made meals, threw our daughter a beautiful birthday party and even sent decorations to make Becky’s hospital room more festive and fun.
Becky:
The suffering of our last Christmas gave us a very tiny glimpse into our Savior’s love for us. Jesus was a man of sorrows from the beginning. God’s plan was for Jesus to live amidst and identify with His people’s suffering. That’s why there was no elegance or beauty about his birth.
It’s also amazing the perspective last Christmas’s suffering has brought to this current season. While weeping may last for the night there is joy in the morning. I’m feeling a taste of that “joy in morning” this Christmas. I have felt an excitement and giddiness about Christmas that I’ve never had— and it’s not JUST because I get to be back with my babies this holiday season 😊—although that reunion is a big part of it.
This Christmas we have returned to serving together as a family in the Living Nativity. I was able to return to worship team and continue to be part of the Taste of Christmas. We are, of course, thankful for the gifts of health and being together, but more importantly we are grateful to grow in our adoration of our suffering Savior and the hope He gives us during this Christmas season.
Even if God chose to have every Christmas be one of suffering, it still wouldn’t diminish the glory that is to come. I am so, SO thankful to be physically ABLE to participate in all Christmas things, knowing that these current earthly Christmas celebrations are just shadows of a great joy to come.
Merry Christmas Faith Church Family and Thank you for your tireless support over these past years.
Did you hear their Christmas perspective because of Christ?
- Even if God chose to have every Christmas be one of suffering, it still wouldn’t diminish the glory that is to come
- The perspective last Christmas’s suffering has brought to this current season. While weeping may last for the night there is joy in the morning.
This morning we will conclude our Christmas series entitled
5 Fulfillments of Christ’s birth that bring Joy
And on Christmas day we come to a passage filled with suffering, but springs forth with hope and joy as well…
The Surprising Fulfillment of Hope through Suffering on the First Christmas
Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 2:18–23
That is on page 2 in the back section of the bible in the chair in front of you.
Our Christmas series has been following some of the fulfillment promises, that the Gospel of Mathew has been presenting.
We come to our final portion in Matthew’s presentation of Jesus’ birth.
The Christmas story this morning picks up with baby Jesus, the rightful King, God in the flesh, the pure one born of a virgin, the one who will save his people from their sins and having to depart from his people because of jealous King Herod.
Let’s begin for sake of context with the passage that Pastor Viars spoke about last night beginning in verse 13.
The Word of God tells us…
13 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt (I’m not hearing many joyful Christmas bells are you), and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him. (Wow…if this is the hap happiest time of the year…..I wonder what the other 364 days look like?!)”
14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt (Talk about a Christmas journey—fleeing your home because of a tyrant trying to murder babies).
15 He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” (Mary and Joseph, had to had vivid memories not just of the angelic announcements, the mystery of the virgin birth, but a horrendous time of upheaval in their life because of this baby’s birth—talk about trauma).
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. (One question: Do we need a little of this Christmas? To get our fix here? Surprisingly the answer will be yes…cf. Dave and Becky Arthur testimony. )
17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
And she refused to be comforted,
Because they were no more.”
Because of the phrase “weeping for her children,” it is very natural to think about this prophecy as one fulfilled in the slaughter of the babies, and the inhabitants of Bethlehem mourning over their children. But that is not the primary fulfillment.
The weeping is actually associated with another child that is very much alive.
We will talk about that in a moment.
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said,
20 “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.”
21 So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. (Wow, in the Chronicles of Narnia remember Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee,
23 and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
On this Christmas morning over 2000 years later let’s explore…
Three necessary and surprising aspects of suffering that Jesus fulfilled on the first Christmas for His people
The first necessary and surprising aspect of suffering that Jesus fulfilled on the first Christmas for His people is…
I. Grief because of the status of exile (Matt 2:18 - “weeping”)
Exile is a being in the condition of separation from one's native country and home. You are prevented from being their for possibly a variety of reasons. In Jesus’s case it’s because of the plan of God to fulfill the Scriptures and because Herod is seeking to kill Jesus, the King of the Jews.
The grief of exile. Sadness from being prevented from being home.
I had a Christian friend share with me how painful it is for them to be a Christian and no longer welcomed home. He was barred from being home.
Another friend shared with me how its like they are left alone on island at Christmas.
How can God’s grief because of the status of exile for Jesus provide us hope?
Matthew quotes Jeremiah 31:15 in this text of His Gospel.
17Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she refused to be comforted, Because they were no more.”
Matthew’s Jewish audience and today’s careful bible students would have known about this important chapter of Jeremiah 31.
For the moment, here is what we need to know, God’s people nearly 600 years prior to this even were in their homeland.
Then, a foreign invader came, and took them captive and hauled them off to the empire of Babylon.
Ramah, in our text, “say Ramah,”
Ramah was the place where the Babylonians gathered the young Jewish men, chained them up, and marched off to Babylon from their home land—very likely never to see them again.
Rachel, the mother of the nation of Israel, “say Mama”
Mama’s weeping, is a metaphorical way of saying, the nation of Israel weeps over this great tragedy of their young being hauled off to exile…most likely never to be seen again.—“they are no more”
Who is this passaged being applied to though…is it the children who are slaughtered?
Are the children in exile? Remember Matthew’s gospel is primarily about Jesus. Last night we already heard from Pastor Viars Matthew quote Hosea in verse 13 when talking about how Israel, described as God’s Son, was called from exile in Egypt and God preserved and saved his people through the suffering of exile.
Jesus is identified as the Son of God, the True Israel going through the same pattern, identifying with his people.
So, I do not think that this passage is primarily about the infants in Bethlehem, although that is a grievous thing.
Who is in exile?…the Son of God, Jesus!
In this case, it was not a foreign nation that sent Jesus into exile.
What is more surprising….the reason for his exile was a threat from his own people and within his own land.
In this case God will use a period of exile in a foreign nation, of Egypt, to bring about the preservation and salvation of his people.
Here is my point, the first Christmas, was filled with grief, weeping, because God’s own people, did not recognize him and it was necessary for the King of King and Lord of Lord’s to go into exile and suffering…..
Why….Why did the first Christmas have to be that way?
Why was the first Christmas always winter and not “Christmas”
So, the first necessary and surprising aspect of suffering that Jesus fulfilled on the first Christmas for His people is…grief.
The second one is also surprising and does not seem to a joyful fulfillment.
II. Ridicule because of the world’s rejection (Matt 2:23-“Nazarene”)
When tyrant King Herod died, an angel told Mary and Joseph to go back to their homeland. But they did not end up in the capital-city area where the elite, the kings ruled and reigned.
Because of ongoing threats, they ended up back in Nazareth.
Matt 2:23 and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
The Gospel account of Luke in chapter 2:4 appears to indicate that Nazareth was Mary and Joseph’s home village.
Mary and Joseph could trace their lineage back to the Jewish family tribe of Judah and specifically to David who had been born in Bethlehem, their current location was Nazareth.
There is no specific prophecy in the OT that mentioned the Messiah would be related to the town of Nazareth.
So, what is with Matthew saying that Jesus would fulfill the prophecy that he would be called a Nazarene?”
Dr. Ron Allen, Dallas Theological Professors said of the town of Nazareth,
About 100 B.C., a small clan of newly returned Jews from Babylon settled there and gave it their family name, Natsara. These were the Natsoreans, a Judean family that proudly identified its Davidic lineage and spoke of itself as “the Branch Clan,” apparently in strong identification with prophecy. The people in this town had the idea that Messiah, the Branch, would be born from among them. Meanwhile, those who knew them often scoffed. To other Jewish people in larger, older cities, the Natsoreans must have seemed silly in their assumed self-importance. Their little town could not have seemed more distant from the glories of the Davidic Kingdom in ancient days. Nathanael, upon hearing from his brother that he had found the Christ (John 1:46), asked, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” - Ronald B. Allen “Does Anything Good Come from Nazareth?” Kindred Spirit, 23/4 (Winter 1999), p.11
Well as Dr. Ron Allen mentioned and history attests, Nazareth became a place of derision.
Meaning the Messiah’s life would be characterized by ridicule and rejection.
They were the looked down upon.
People in Jerusalem looked down on people of Galilee. Well, the people of Galilee looked down on the people of Nazareth.
like Nathaniel said in John 1:4—“Can any good thing come from Nazareth?”
This then is consistent with the anticipation of the OT like Isaiah 53:2–4…
2For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
3He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
The point is that “Nazareth” was a place that was despised. To be called a Nazarene was a derogatory comment.
Jesus grew up in the despised town of the despised region of his people and homeland.
Why? Why did the first Christmas have to be filled with this kind of suffering of grief in exile and ridicule?
Why was the first Christmas always winter?
Christmas for Jesus had to be one of “suffering”
The answer is in Isaiah 53:4—Surely our griefs, our sorrows he carried.
To be truly a savior of mankind, he had to become like mankind in every way and walk in our paths.
To identify with his people as the perfect sympathizer
the perfect substitute in our place, and the perfect Savior of our sins.
He had to walk the path of alienation and exile.
He had to walk the path of ridicule.
Hebrews 2:17 states,
Hebrews 2:17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. (cf. Mark 9:12)
- Jesus knows well the path of suffering with David and Becky’s lost Christmas
- Jesus knows the sorrow of death with the loss of your loved one.
- Jesus knows the pain of alienation, what it’s like to be separated from family or friends.
- Jesus knows the hurt of trying to help others only to be met by rejection and ridicule.
The first Christmas had to be this way for Jesus fulfill the Scriptures and the plans of God to be a sympathetic Savior and Helper.
I do not know exactly what you have gone through this last year, but “Jesus knows”
It’s surprising and necessary for the first Christmas to be filled with the suffering of grief and ridicule.
For those of you saying, thanks Pastor Birk, Merry Christmas! Great Christmas message talking about the slaughter of babies, grief, and rejection…
Well, God intends hope and joy to spring up in our hearts through these fulfillments because they are about Jesus.
III. Hope because the path of suffering is not the end
Matthew intentionally selected his suffering prophecy fulfillments to highlight that the path of suffering is not the end. If you know pattern of the story.
There may be weeping in the evening, but joy comes in the morning.
God turns exile into restoration (context of Jer 31)
I mentioned that the Jeremiah 31:15 passage that Matthew quotes about Rachel weeping is in the famous chapter of Jeremiah 31.
The chapter is all about hope. Turn over there in your bible to Jeremiah 31 (page 561 in OT front seciont. The title for the chapter is “Israel’s mourning turned to Joy!”
God is making a New Covenant with His people!
Jer 31 is all about Hope. Matthew quoted one of the only negative verse in Jer 31knowing that his Jewish audience knew the significance of the rest of the chapter.
Jer 31:15 Thus says the Lord,
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
She refuses to be comforted for her children,
Because they are no more.”
16Thus says the Lord,
“Restrain your voice from weeping
And your eyes from tears;
For your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord,
“And they will return from the land of the enemy.
17“There is hope for your future,” declares the Lord,
Matthew, right after explaining Jesus went into exile….and how sad that was….what does Matthew say….Jesus returned.
I think Matthew is trying to prepare all of us for something greater this exile, grief, ridicule beginning from the start of Jesus life is the beginning of many fulfillments of the Scriptures that will take place through Jesus’s earthly ministry.
Eventually, Jesus’ suffering would become so bad that all hope would seem to be lost as he was crucified in the place of sinners, died and was buried.
Jesus would not just be exiled to a distant land but he would be exiled to the grave, so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.
But if your remember this…friends, suffering is not the end of the path….remember…Jesus would return….three days later he rose again…
This is the hope…there is the joy…Therefore we can celebrate and rejoice at Christmas even through suffering, because we know have our Savior Jesus!!!
Furthermore….
B. God turns the ridiculed one into the one in whom we find refuge (“Natser,” “Nazerene,” cf. Isaiah 11:1)
In the popular conception Nazareth, was the backwoods, despised place….but at the same time…that clan that had settled there that resulted in Mary and Joseph, was indeed from the clan of Judah, from the lineage of David.
And what had God promised in the OT?
Isaiah 11:
1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch (“Natser”) from his roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
The ridiculed one that all despised, would become the branch, the stem of Jesse, the promised Davidic ruler, that God would cause to grow into a tree under which all people would find their refuge.
The path of suffering though filled with grief and ridicule does not end there for Jesus or for his followers.
God turns the grief into Joy
God turns the ridicule into Glory
The stone whom the builders rejected became the stone on which God’s house is built—the chief corner stone
The most sorrowful of all men, has become the most joyous.
The least has become the greatest….
Since the first Christmas was the worst of all winters as we think about what Jesus Messiah endured, even our suffering Christmas’s can be turned to Joy like David and Becky shared in their testimony
The glory of this Christmas is nothing compared to what God has coming…
Christmas can help us hope for our home in heaven.
Christmas Perspective: When you anticipate the glory of our Christmas celebrations each year, remember, it is only glorious now because suffering came first. When I remember this annually, I will be able to persevere through each year’s necessary trials and suffering as I await the future glory.
Pray.
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