Sermon Tone Analysis

“When Christ came into the world, he said,

‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,

but a body have you prepared for me;

in burnt offerings and sin offerings

you have taken no pleasure.

Then I said, “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,

as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.”’”

[1]

The best attested birth in the history of the world is that of Jesus of Nazareth.

Though no physician attended the birth, all mankind knows that something momentous occurred under those leaden Judean skies the night He was born.

Though no birth certificate is registered in musty files hidden in some political capital, His birth was noted in the annals of Heaven itself.

Though no showers honouring the birth of this child were given for the mother, yet the birth was acknowledged by both poor and rich, by rude shepherds and polished magi.

Scofflaws would have us believe that this birth which we celebrate is nothing more than a fable.

Modern mockers would relegate this most meaningful event to mere myth much as we have fairy tales about Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.

The ignorance of such hecklers is revealed when they attempt to discredit the Word of the Living God.

They assert that His birth is known to only two writers—Matthew and Luke.

Knowledgeable readers realise the fallacy of this position, for the birth of this One is well attested throughout the whole of the written Word.

Among the places where the birth of Messiah is acknowledged is a brief passage in the Hebrews letter.

The writer of the letter cites THE FORTIETH PSALM, a prophecy relating to Messiah, in order to present the biblical faith of Christians as seen through the eyes of Messiah.

I recommend to you that the verses of our text have ever presented Christmas according to Jesus.

*THE CHRIST DID COME INTO THE WORLD.*

The first truth attested in this passage is that Christ did come into the world.

A man named Jesus of Nazareth did walk the dusty Judean roads.

He did preach a message of righteousness, calling men to faith in the Living God.

Those who knew Him best received Him as the promised Messiah.

John says of Jesus, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” [JOHN 1:11].

The Christ was born under the law, a reference to His heritage as a Jew [GALATIANS 4:4].

Jewish society was not unaware of the promised birth; even the chief priests and teachers of the law knew where Messiah was to be born [see MATTHEW 2:3-6].

They knew the timing of His birth!

Their knowledge failed to equip them to look for His arrival.

They would have been thrilled to receive One who would affirm them and exalt them, but a Saviour who would fulfil prophecy was not at all welcome.

You need to know that if the Christ has not come He shall never come.

The whole of the Old Testament points to His coming.

From the protoevangelium to the last prophetic word delivered by Malachi, God points to the coming of His Anointed One.

The whole account of humanity narrows and narrows to a point finer than the point of a spear until it focuses on a young Jewish girl.

When our first parents sinned and plunged the race into rebellion, God in mercy promised that the Seed of the Woman would crush the serpent’s head [see GENESIS 3:15].

As we trace the promise of God we see His sovereign choice of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob to form the lineage of the Messiah.

The lineage of the Christ veers to include Judah [GENESIS 49:10] and through Judah we are introduced to Boaz who married Ruth who bore Obed, the father of Jesse who was the father of David.

David received the promise that the Anointed One would be one of his descendants [2 SAMUEL 7:11b-16].

Carefully, ever so carefully, God superintended the lineage and recorded that lineage in the accounts given in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Joseph was a descendant of David through Solomon [see MATTHEW 1:1-16] and thus any child who bore his name would hold legal claim on the throne of Israel.

Mary was also a descendant of David through Nathan [see LUKE 3:23-37] and therefore avoided the curse placed on Jehoiachin, also known as Coniah [see JEREMIAH 22:24-30].

Thus, Jesus of Nazareth had both legal and theological claim to the throne of David.

Any scholar could have verified that the firstborn son of this young woman would hold a strong claim as the Messiah, and the claim was only validated through wedding Joseph.

Moreover, the location of the birth of the Anointed One was known to Jewish sages.

When Herod asked the chief priest and the teachers of the law where the Christ was to be born, they did not plead for time to return to musty tomes where they might study what had been written.

Immediately they responded that the child would be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet Micah had prophesied in his ancient prophecy [MICAH 5:2].

These scholars even knew the time of His birth, for Daniel had accurately prophesied the time when He would present Himself [DANIEL 9:25, 26].

Perhaps it was Daniel’s prophecy which disturbed these scholars and caused them to discount the coming of the Messiah.

Daniel prophesied His presentation, but he also indicated that the Anointed One would be cut off.

The words are strongly suggestive of One who surrenders His life instead of conquering the enemies of the state.

The scholars appear to have been looking for a political entity instead of anticipating a theocratic reign.

They thought as mere men, failing to see the beauty and the glory of God in presenting this Messiah as a sacrifice for sin.

This is the message of Christmas which is lacking in far too many churches even in this day remote from His birth.

The Christ was presented so that He might give His life as a sacrifice for sinful man.

That is the message which Jesus Himself, speaking through the words of our text, would emblazon across skies growing ever darker as sin seemingly grows more powerful in this day.

*GOD BECAME MAN.*

What transformed this brief life from being just that of another unknown Jewish prophet to One who divided all human history is the fact that He was unique.

I don’t say that this Jesus was unique in the sense that He was a good man or even that He presented a challenging message.

He was man—indeed, He was perfect man.

He thirsted and hungered and knew fatigue; but He was so much more than mere man.

This One was also very God.

He was the unique God-man.

This Jesus is very God.

Throughout the Word of God He is presented as God.

He called God His Father and religious Jews understood that by that statement He made Himself equal to God [see JOHN 10:22-33].

There is not a hint of arrogance either in His repeated conversations with the Father or in His intimacy with God the Father.

This One demonstrated power over creation, revealing His divine nature.

He walked on the water, calmed raging storms, turned water into wine and multiplied loaves and fishes so that thousands were fed.

The record stands that He is God of creation.

When John the Baptist was in prison and discouraged he dispatched some of his disciples to verify the identity of Jesus.

When they inquired of Jesus as to His identity, He said, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.

And blessed is the one who is not offended by me” [MATTHEW 11:4b-6].

Without question, Jesus is God with power over the body of man.

Confronted by the powers of darkness this Jesus freed men, women and children held captive by demonic powers [cf.

MATTHEW 8:31; MARK 16:9; LUKE 9:42].

He is God over the world of spirits.

By His resurrection, He is “declared to be the Son of God in power” [ROMANS 1:4], and He has received authority to judge all mankind [JOHN 5:24-30].

If He is God over nature and God of the human body and God of spiritual beings, should it be thought a surprising thing that He is able to forgive sin?

Indeed, this One is granted authority to have life in Himself [see JOHN 5:26].

Perhaps you recall the incident recorded of one particular time when Jesus did forgive sin.

It was in Capernaum where Jesus often resorted.

A crowd had surrounded the house in which He was staying.

Some men carrying a paralysed friend tried to enter into His presence; but because of the crush of people they could not get the paralysed man near Jesus.

So they broke through the roof and lowered their friend on his bed through the roof right into Jesus’ presence.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

“Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ‘Why does this man speak like that?

He is blaspheming!

Who can forgive sins but God alone?’

And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, ‘Why do you question these things in your hearts?

Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Rise, take up your bed and walk?”

But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— ‘I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home’” [MARK 2:5-11].

His disciples worshipped Him as God.

When Thomas at last saw the Risen Saviour he cried out, “My Lord and my God” [JOHN 20:28]!

This was not simply an exclamation or an oath such as thoughtless people might utter in this day.

Thomas was a Jew; he would never blaspheme by misusing the Name of God.

He was confessing that Jesus was very God!

The magi worshipped the babe in the manger [MATTHEW 2:11] as did His disciples when they witnessed His power over nature [MATTHEW 14:32, 33].

Those who were healed often worshipped Him [e.g.

JOHN 9:35-38].

The women who witnessed His resurrection worshipped Him [MATTHEW 28:8, 9].