LANGUAGE:
Christmas Is About God Speaking
(Hebrews 1:1-3)
In a few short weeks we will be celebrating Christmas 2022. This will be my 78th Christmas celebration. And I want you to know that Christmas still brings a sense of wonder, mystery, astonishment, and awe … and I might add, aggravation and stress. As I ponder the Christmas season, I find it to be a jumble of emotional contradictions. There is the hustle and bustle with gifts to buy, trees to decorate, and family gatherings filled with joy and laughter, with emotions dancing on mountain peaks. And then there are those in our midst wrestling with grief, depression, discouragement, wading through darkness with a sense of worthlessness . . . and the list goes on.
Have you ever wondered where God is when your life seems all twisted up, more crooked than my grandpa’s hands? You see, before there were milking machines, cows were milked by hand. Grandpa had done it for so many years that his fingers were bent in such a way he could never get them straight. In Ecclesiastes, we read – “What is crooked cannot be straightened . . . (1:15). It doesn’t take much to notice that Christmas season is a twisted mess. I find Paul’s words in Philippians 2:15 just a tad humorous—we celebrate Christmas, the spoken Word of God, in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.
In Luke 4 Jesus entered the local synagogue and read from Isaiah 61:1-2(ESV) 1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor . . .
The point for us is: without God there can be no Christmas. In Luke 1 we’re told that it was God who sent an angel, first to Zechariah, and then 6 months later to Mary. This is the most fundamental fact about Christmas--without God Christmas has no meaning.[i]
Let’s pray -- Heavenly Father, may Your Spirit guard our hearts in the midst of the temptations of the season. May in some way we get a glimpse of that glorious gift You gave 2000+ years ago. During this season may we pass our time in such a way that we proclaim the true tidings of comfort and joy to all we encounter. Amen
Well, here we are at December 4, 2022, the gateway to Part 1 of the greatest event ever to occur on the face of this earth. As I ponder this Christmas, I am drawn to the opening verses of the letter to the Hebrews. Join me by opening your Bibles to Hebrews chap 1, vs 1-3. We not only need to hear the reading of God’s Word, we need to see it with our eyes, touch it with our fingers, and imprint it on our minds by taking notes. Follow along as we read it together.
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. [Hebrews 1:1–3(ESV)]
For many of us Christmas 2022 begins with setting up the tree in our living rooms the day after Thanksgiving. However, for us Christmas 2022 actually started sometime back in January. You see, for the last 10-11 months we have been buying gifts in preparation for December 25th. But to be truthful, our shopping isn’t totally done. We have gifts that are still being made. But my point is, we’ve been planning for December 25th for some time.
And that’s what God has been doing. Look at v1(NASB95), God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
You might be interested in knowing that Genesis, the Gospel of John, and Hebrews all start off with God.[ii] V1 tells us that God has been doing more than acting as a movie director, shouting ‘action’ and ‘cut’ behind the scenes. He’s been casting the vision, keeping the vision alive, and making the decisions since the beginning of Genesis 1.
There have been times in my short life that I have cried out to God, If I could only hear your voice. Say something. My cry to hear the actual voice of God is laughable when I come to the opening words of Hebrews where we read these words, God spoke long ago to the fathers and prophets. According to v1 God has been speaking for a long time.
The point is, since the beginning of time He has had a personal and emotional connection to the story line. He has not been silent through the ages, and He means to connect with us.[iii] I love how John Piper sums it up: There is a God who speaks that we might know him and love him and live in joyful obedience to him. God has been speaking. Notice He spoke.[iv] And this time He spoke thru His Son.[v] John 1:14, And the word became flesh and dwelt among us.
How did God speak?
Don’t miss these opening words: God has been speaking since the days of the fathers and prophets in many ways. The point is, there has been a lavish variety of God’s communication. He communicated His desires and direction through chosen inspired individuals. 2 Peter 1:21(NASB95) tells us that no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. And He spoke in many and various ways, meaning here and there, now and then, to some a few words, and to others long dissertations. [vi] God spoke in the past in many ways, in bits and pieces.
Chuck Swindoll writes: Some were vocal words of comfort or warning. Some were written expressions, some came in dialogues and discussions, and some through discipline[vii] The point is, God has been speaking for a very long time about Christmas. Was anybody listening?
But now V2(GW) God takes His communication to another level, from multiples (the prophets) to singular through his Son. God’s communication now becomes highly personal. He now speaks thru His Son. And this is the beginning of the Gospel story. In Luke 1:26-27 we’re told that “it was In the sixth month (that would be the sixth month of Zechariah/Elizabeth’s pregnancy) the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, v27, to a virgin named Mary. And he tells her, v31, that you will conceive in your womb and bear a son.”
God spoke to Mary, telling her she would have a role in His vision. Totally stunned, and she responds to Gabriel, How can this be, since I have not been with a man. The point here is, she understood how babies were made. They don’t just happen. Gabriel answers, v35 (GW) “The Holy Spirit will come to you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy child developing inside you will be called the Son of God. John 1:14 (NASB95) the Word became flesh . . .
Weeks later Joseph finds himself speechless. Mary is pregnant with child, and he knows the child is not his. And 19Joseph, an honorable man (Matthew 1:19–22 (GW)) not wanting to disgrace Mary publicly, decides to break their marriage agreement secretly. 20 While planning the breakup, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said to him, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 ‘And’ all this happened so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet ‘would’ come true:
The writer of Hebrews tells us that this was God speaking to thru His Son. With impossibility-working-power—the power of the Most High—taking the place of a human father—pure, virtuous, holy, unseen, mysterious—causes Mary to become pregnant with the Son of God.[viii] John 1:14, The Word became flesh ‘and blood’ and ‘came to’ lived among us. ‘He is the one’ God appointed heir of all things. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David, 33 to be the king of Jacob’s people forever, and his kingdom will never end.” [Jn 1:14 (GW) Heb 1:2, Lk 1:32–33 (GW) ]
Listen carefully, Hebrews is telling us that Christmas is about God speaking. And it is His passion that we focus all our attention and all our affection on this final and decisive Word spoken to us in His Son in these last days.[ix] Let’s take a closer look at what the writer of Hebrews tells us. In these last days God has spoken to us in His Son . . .
First, notice that He has appointed His Son heir of all things.
His Son takes away our sins: Matthew 1:21, “You shall call his name Jesus for He will save His people from their sins.”[x] Not Mohammed, Krishna, Buddha, Sun Myung Moon, but the Son of the Living God. Romans 5:8(ESV) but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.[xi]
Second, His Son is the radiance of the glory of God. Prophets of days past reflected God’s glory like the moon reflects the light of the sun. But Hebrews tells us that God’s Son is like the sun in our world. He is light and life.[xii] John 1:4 (NASB95) In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. John 8:12 (NASB95) Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
Third, The Son typifies the character of God. V3, He is the exact representation of God’s nature. John 14:8–9 (GW) 8Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will satisfy us.” 9Jesus replied, “I have been with all of you for a long time. Don’t you know me yet, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father. John 10:30, I and the Father are one. John 1:14 (NASB95) we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Fourth, The Son brings the solution to our sin problem. V3, When he had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Mark this down: It is the passion of God that we focus all our attention and all our affection on Jesus because He has dealt with our sin problem in it’s totality. The Gospel Story places great emphasis on the name Jesus. In Matthew the angel tells Joseph, He will save His people from their sins. The pronoun ‘He’ (autos) is emphatic. John 1:29 (NASB95) He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world![xiii] The point is, it is He, the Son of God, who will save us from sins grip, Satan’s dominance, and the coming of God’s judgment.
“Therefore, Phil. 2:9-10, God highly exalted Him, His Son, and bestowed Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of His Son, Jesus every knee should bow…”. As one writer states it, the name of Jesus is like honey in the mouth, a melody in the ear, and joy in the heart.[xiv] I love the way Charles Wesley sums it for us:
Jesus! ‘is’ the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
‘His Name’ is music in the sinner’s ears,
‘His Name is’ life, and health, and peace.[xv]
As we wrestle with America’s Christmas traditions, wade thru the shopping crowds, and long for the ‘good-ole-days’, let’s keep this truth uppermost in our minds, in these last days God has spoken to us in His Son. There’s a finality to those words: God spoke directly to us through His Son in these last days.
In a few short weeks our floors will be covered with torn wrapping paper, Christmas loot piled at our feet, followed by the family singing the clean-up song.[xvi] Before we undress the tree, shelve the Christmas music, I want to challenge us tune our ears in on this powerful word—in these last days God has spoken to us in His Son. There’s a sense of finality caught in those words.
What is really at stake here for us is, are we listening? The truth is, God wants us to ‘listen’ to him until we get a grip of the glory that produces an awe-filled joy we can’t help but express in praise.”[xvii]
In the Gospel story Jesus is repeatedly heard saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”[xviii] In the last book of the Bible, at least 8 times we read, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says . . ..”[xix] Like the original audience of Jesus’ parables’, we are called to “Listen up! Pay close attention!” God has spoken!! In Mark 9:7, the disciples were standing on the Mount of Transfiguration, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, Hear Him!
One Commentator writes: God's voice bids us to listen to Jesus’ voice as it is His voice. Listen to Him.
All that God has to say to us is wrapped up in one word: Jesus. Not just any Jesus, but the Lord Jesus revealed in the New Testament writings. As it was said to the Philippian jailer in Acts 16, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.”
As we go this week let’s remember Christmas is all about God ‘who’ has spoken to us in His Son whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the world. Listen to Him.
Romans 10:9–11 (NASB95) 9if you confess with our mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
As we transition and take a seat at our Lord’s table, let me encourage you to remove the distractions so you can listen to God. He is not silent, He has spoken to us in His Son. Are you listening?
Let’s close in prayer -- Heavenly Father, thank you for your indescribable gift. You sent Your son on a mission to redeem those who are lost, and we are all lost. The darkness is great, but the light you sent is greater. If it had not been for Your great love that compelled You to come and redeem us, today many of us would still be lost in sin. But because You loved us so much, You sent Your Son to this earth to purchase our salvation. The Lord Jesus came with a definite plan to save us from Your wrath and hell’s eternal damnation. Thank You so much for this indescribable gift of life. Thank You for loving us enough to shed Your glory and become a man so You could pay for our sins and save us to the uttermost! Amen.
[i] John Piper, The Child to Be Born Will Be Called Holy — the Son of God,
https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-child-to-be-born-will-be-called-holy-the-son-of-god. Francis Schaeffer, He Is There and He Is Not Silent, https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/77367-he-is-there-and-he-is-not-silent “The strength of the Christian system — the acid test of it — is that everything fits under the apex of the existent, infinite-personal God, and it is the only system in the world where this is true. No other system has an apex under which everything fits.That is why I am a Christian and no longer an agnostic. In all the other systems, something 'sticks out,' something cannot be included; and it has to be mutilated or ignored. But without losing his own integrity, the Christian can see everything fitting into place beneath the Christian apex of the existence of the infinite-personal God who is there (p. 81).”
[ii] Leon Morris, “Hebrews,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 12 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 12. God is constantly before the author; he uses the word sixty-eight times, an average of about once every seventy-three words all through his epistle
[iii] See Psalm 19, Romans 1 17-20
[iv] John Piper, In These Last Days, God Has Spoken by a Son (Hebrews 1:1-4), https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/in-these-last-days-god-has-spoken-by-a-son
[v] Cf., Matthew 21:33-46Matthew 21:33–34 (GW) 33 “Listen to another illustration. A landowner planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, made a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to vineyard workers and went on a trip. 34 “When the grapes were getting ripe, he sent his servants to the workers to collect his share of the produce . . .
[vi] https://www.preceptaustin.org/hebrews_11-4 polumeros. It means part by part, fragmentarily. The word points to the fragmentary character of former revelation --it came in multiple segments or portions, in many ways, in various manners. God spoke a word here and there, now and then, some at one time, some at another, to some a few words, to others many. 1 Peter 1:10–12 (NASB95) 10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, 11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.
[vii] Chuck Swindoll, The Preeminent Person of Christ (Fullerton, CAL. Insight for Living, 1989), p11.
[viii] John Piper, The Child To Be Born Will Be Called Holy The Son Of God, (Luke 1:26-38) https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-child-to-be-born-will-be-called-holy-the-son-of-god
[ix] Mark 12:30–31 (NASB95)30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ 31 “The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
[x] Isaiah 43:11 - “I, even I, am the Lord and beside me there is no Savior.”
[xi] John 17:3 (NASB95) 3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
[xii] John 1:1–4 (NASB95) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
[xiii] Isaiah 53:7 (NASB95) 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. The fact that God Himself has provided the offering that atones for our sin is part of the glorious good news of the gospel that is so clearly declared in 1 Peter 1:18-21: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”
[xiv] David MacLeod, You Shall Call His Name Jesus, https://concerninghim.com/call-his-name-jesus/
[xv] Charles Wesley, Jesus The Name That Charms Our Fears, https://hymnary.org/text/jesus_the_name_that_ charms_our_fears
[xvi] Clean up, clean up. Everybody, let's clean up. Clean up, clean up. Put your things away. Clean up, clean up. Everybody, let's clean up. Clean up, clean up. Put your things away. Clean up, clean up. Everybody, let's clean up. Clean up, clean up. Put your things away. Clean up, clean up. Everybody, let's clean up. Clean up, clean up.
[xvii] Cf., Jon Bloom, The Most Repeated Command in the Bible, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-most-repeated-command-in-the-bible
[xviii] Matthew 11:15 (NASB95) “He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew 13:9 (NASB95) 9 “He who has ears, let him hear.” Matthew 24:15 (NASB95) 15 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), Mark 4:9 (NASB95) 9 And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Mark 4:23 (NASB95) 23 “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
[xix] Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 13:9
[xx] Alexander Maclaren, ‘This Is My Belkoved Son: Hear Him’ (Mark 9:7) https://biblehub.com/library/maclaren/expositions_of_holy_scripture_d/this_is_my_beloved_son_.htm