Crashing through Barriers

Why do you think Matthew started his Gospel with a boring list of so-and-so begat so-and-so? Consider just the women mentioned in this genealogy. There are four of them before you get to Mary. Matthew introduces their glorious Messiah.. as descending from two harlots, one born out of incest and an adulterous. They are the only four ladies mentioned in the genealogy other than Mary.

He came crashing through the barriers that said, “You have to be born spiritually out of the ‘right kind’ of people.”

And today, he comes crashing through barriers you’ve erected, too. The barriers that place God in a nice comfortable corner where you can keep an eye on him. He breaks down those excuses that say, “God, you can’t use me. You can’t love me. I’m a sinner.”

God built a monument to grace on that genealogy. That’s why you shouldn’t shy away from admitting your past for what it was. It can be a monument to God’s grace in our lives. That’s when God can use us the most- when we realize who we are, where we come from, and how much our lives are dependent on God's grace—on receiving it and giving it to others.

Don’t hide from the past and pretend it didn’t happen. By admitting who we are and acknowledging how God completely changes us, he can bring us further than he could otherwise and use us more.. just like those people in the genealogy.

You stack up a row of harlots and liars and murderers and cheaters, and what do you have? You have Jesus. That’s the way God works.

Stephen Goforth

Missing the Miracle

He looked like anything but a king. His face is prudish and red. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. And he is absolutely dependent upon Mary for his well-being.

Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter. This baby had overlooked the universe. The rags keep him warm were the robes of eternity. His golden throne room had been abandoned n favor of a dirty sheep pen. And worshiping angels had been replaced with kind but bewildered shepherds.

Meanwhile, the city hums. The merchants were unaware that God has visited their planet. The innkeeper would never believe that he had just sent God in to the cold. And the people would scoff at anyone who told them the Messiah lay int he arms of a teenager on the outskirts of their village. There were all too busy to consider the possibility.

Those who missed His Majesty's arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts or malice; no, they missed it because they simply weren't looking. Little has changed in the last two thousand years, has it?

From God Came Near by Max Lucado

A Christmas Quiz

1. What did the angels sing to the shepherds?

2. In what direction did the Wise Men see the star in the sky?

3. Where did the wise men go to see the baby?

4. How many wise men were there?

5. In which season of the year was Jesus born?

6. What did Mary ride on to Bethlehem?

7. What did the wise men ride on?

8. In what country did the Christmas tree originate?

9. In what century did Christmas celebrations begin?

10. Was there ever an original, real Santa Claus?

11. What Christmas tradition commemorating the birth of Jesus did St. Francis of Assisi begin?

12. What is frankincense?

    a. a precious metal

    b. a precious fabric

    c. a precious perfume

    d. an Eastern monster story

13. What is Myrrh?

    a. an easily shaped metal

    b. a spice used for burying people

    c. a drink

    d. aftershave lotion

14. Did Jesus tell us to remember his birth?

15. What did Jesus tell us to remember?

The Answers

The Son of David & Abraham

"A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham."

The first verse of the New Testament tells us the baby born in the manger is the son of David who's the son of Abraham.

Now, who exactly was David? From the Old Testament we know that David was an adulterer, murderer, a polygamist, bad father, his hands were so bloody that God wouldn’t let him build the temple. His son Solomon did that. Solomon was a polygamist, a man full of futility and focused on pleasure.

He’s the son of Abraham. From the Old Testament we know that Abraham was a liar who disbelieved God and committed adultery. His son was Issac - a liar and idolater.

David and Abraham. Two sinners who’s seed was the son of God. One fathered the nation of the Messiah. One fathered the royal line.

When people who've done terrible wrong allow themselves to be used by God and take part is His greater plan, amazing things can happen!

Reasonable Evil

A couple of old-time Baptist deacons approached me after seeing a performance of an Easter drama that I had written about Judas Iscariot. I expected complaints. The focus was on what might have caused the disciple to turn against Jesus. One of them said, "What Judas did really made sense. It was the reasonable thing to do."

They got it. The bad guy doesn't always wear a black hat, yell at old ladies, or steal treats from little children. Judas might have done what seemed reasonable to him. Perhaps he thought giving Jesus a little shove would force the reluctant king into taking his rightful place. What seemed like the right thing to do could have been completely wrong.

Evil doesn’t always show up in outrageous clothing. An obvious temptation is not nearly as difficult to brush aside as an evil that approaches us clothed in common sense.

Stephen Goforth

The shepherd who didn’t go to the Manger

Imagine that one of the shepherds telling the story about angels appearing to him in the fields, telling him about the Christ child—but not going to the stable to see the child (Luke 2). 

“Grandpa! Tell us the story of the angels again.”

“Well, there I was out in the field … angels appeared.”

“And what was the baby like?”

“Oh, I never went to see the child.”

Hard to imagine, right? The angels’ appearance was just the beginning. How could the shepherd not have gone into the more? How could he have been satisfied with just that first exhilarating experience? He shouldn’t have been. And neither should we.

Stephen Goforth

Fists pounding the hard earth in agony

Looking through the shadowy foliage of Gethsemane, we don't see the classic portrait of Christ, rendered by the artist. We don't see Him in a snow-white robe kneeling beside a big rock, hands peacefully folded, with a look of serenity in His face as a spotlight from heaven illuminates His golden-brown hair. Instead, we see a man flat on his face, fists pounding the hard earth in agony. We see a fact stained with tears and dirt, hair matted with sweat, facial muscles contorted in  pain like the gnarled, twisted olive trees looking on. God was never more human than at this hour. Have you been in the dark garden of Gethsemane? Betrayed by  a friend? Deserted by those around you?  Felt abandoned? Lonely? The next time you think no one cares, pay a visit to Gethsemane and see the man of sorrows. Because seeing God like this does wonders for your suffering. 

Charles Swindoll, For Those Who Hurt  

He Came… to Give

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. -Mark 10:45

When Jesus took the time to explain his reason for coming among us, he was simple and direct: to serve and to give. Not to be served. Not to grab the spotlight in the center ring. Not to make a name or attract attention or become successful or famous or powerful or idolized. 

Charles Swindoll, Improving Your Serve

She Wrapped Him in Swaddling Clothes

And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them (Luke 2:7 NIV)

“She wrapped him in cloths.” Literally, he was wrapped in strips of cloth to kept him warm. The old King James translation uses the memorable phrase “swaddling clothes.” It’s still practiced in some countries today.

Did he cry? Do you think he cried? When you think of the manger and the child, do you imagine him crying?  

Mary put diapers on God.

The mention of a manger is where we get the idea he was born in a stable. Often, stables were caves, with feeding troughs for animals.. mangers. It was probably dark and dirty. This is not the way the messiah was expected to appear. How often our expectations and God’s reality are not in sync. How often he appears in unexpected places.

Stephen Goforth

Jesus Chose the Gritty

The Scriptures are filled with the ruggedness and struggles of actual life. But in our teaching of the gospel we have sweetened or repressed the universal human qualities of our Lord’s stories almost beyond recognition. Jesus evidently talked about the things like people’s sexual escapades and crooked business deals to illustrate his message about the reign of God. And he furnished additional wine for at least one celebration. Read the parables. With the whole of human behavior from which to select, Jesus chose the gritty, earthy areas of life to illustrate the way God loves people. He was real! He expressed his own uncertainly and doubt in the midst of his faith. And he got very angry. Jesus talked about the same deep separation, dishonest and inner restlessness we experience in modern life. I had always heard the church saying the God prefers the poor, the despised, and the weak… Religious people have difficulty admitting that (Jesus) prefers sinners to the righteous. Those who call themselves righteous are not free from it but have repressed it. Those called sinners are aware of their guilt and are, for that reason, ready to receive pardon and grace.

Keith Miller, The Becomers