A Haunted Christmas: The Gospel According to Nehemiah.

God, thank you so much for your presence.

God, thank you for your word, the Bible.

And as you have throughout the history,

throughout time, you've spoken to your people.

God, I pray that once again you would speak to us,

that we might not just hear my words today,

but that we would actually hear from you.

Those who know you and are so familiar

with the Christmas story

might have a fresh encounter with you.

And that those who are still wrestling or struggling

or just not even believing that you're real.

God, in your love and mercy,

would you do what only you can do

and reveal yourself to us,

that every one of us in this room

would know you personally and intimately

in a way that sets us free and brings us to life.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Please be seated.

Have you ever walked into a room

in the middle of a story

and found that what you're hearing

is extremely bizarre?

And you kind of like make a face

or maybe you say something

and they're like,

oh no, you don't understand.

And you realize that

coming into the middle of a story,

you've misunderstood what you're hearing.

Or have you ever thought that

you found that you really thought

you totally understood what was happening,

but then once you find out that,

again, you walked in the middle of a story,

that there's actually so much more depth

and vibrancy to a story

than you thought you knew.

Well, that has definitely been

a real experience for me.

And I believe it's actually an experience

that every one of us experiences

every year at Christmastime,

though many of us don't even know it.

And that's because if you were to ask someone,

what's the beginning of the Christmas story?

They might start with the angel

appearing to Mary

and telling her about

how she is soon to conceive

a miraculous child, God's own son.

Or maybe those who really know their Bibles

will start with the scene

where Mary's cousin-in-law was in the temple.

He's a priest.

An angel comes to him

and tells him about his wife

coming pregnant with John the Baptist

as the child.

So there might be various ways

that you start the Christmas story,

but we always start with the New Testament,

with the Gospels accounts.

However, if that's how we tell the Christmas story,

we're actually starting

in the middle of the story.

And as a result,

either we're misunderstanding

what the Christmas is all about,

or though we might get it,

it is so much smaller

than the real vibrant story of Christmas

if we were only to start at the beginning.

And so today I'm going to be preaching

a Christmas message

from a page of the Bible

that I've never heard

a Christmas message from.

So if you have your Bibles,

turn to Nehemiah 13.

You might have trouble finding it.

No shade thrown your way.

Nehemiah is found

in the first half of the Bible,

a bit before Psalms.

It's before Job.

It's before Esther.

Right before Esther.

You can find it.

Or you can just go to the index

at the start of your Bible.

It's a rare book.

What you might not be familiar

with the fact that Nehemiah,

though it's in the middle

of the Old Testament,

it's actually the final pages

of the Old Testament.

The Old Testament has historical books,

and it has poetry,

it has prophecy,

but Nehemiah is the final,

it takes place as the final moments

in the history of the Old Testament.

So the final words of Nehemiah

are the final moments

of the Old Testament.

And so I'm going to be preaching

from the final moments

of the book of Nehemiah,

which is the final moments

of the Old Testament,

but if we're really going to try

to start not at the middle

of a story,

we really should back up

to the very beginning.

Many of you will be familiar

with the account

that the Bible tells us,

that at the very beginning

of a time,

there was a being named God

who created the universe.

And he created it

in perfect harmony,

that there was no decay,

there was no despair,

there was no death.

Everything was in harmony.

But humankind rebelled

against this good and loving God,

and in so doing,

we broke the universe,

and introduced decay,

and grudges,

and gossip,

and lies,

and mistrust,

and even death.

And that not only

did we break the universe,

but in our rebellion,

the good and loving,

just judge of the whole earth,

God,

pronounced judgment

and a curse

upon all that is.

But beautifully

and mercifully,

in the very moment

that he pronounces this curse,

judgment upon the universe,

he gives a promise.

He promises that he will

restore harmony

to the earth.

We get this little glimpse

of this promise.

And then as the story,

the true story

of the Bible unfolds,

you see that God

brings more and more clarity

as to how he's going to

restore harmony

and love to the world.

Part of the breaking

of the universe

was in our rebellion,

in our sin against God,

because he's pure

and we've defiled ourselves,

there's this distance

between us and God.

That before,

humankind used to walk with God,

but now he's invisible to us,

for he's too pure

for our broken eyes to see.

And so as the story

of the Bible unfolds,

we see,

and this isn't myth

or legend,

but we see in real history

that God called

a people to himself,

a people group,

the people of Israel.

And he gave the people

of Israel

his holy ways

of harmony and love.

And more than anything,

he not only gave them

his ways,

his good laws,

he not only gave them

a good country to have,

but the most significant

and special thing,

most magnificent of all,

which made them

the holy people,

is that he gave them

his presence.

And so in the center

of Israel,

there was a temple.

And in the temple,

there was not an idol

to remind them of a God,

but rather the very presence

of God himself

in a very thick and real way.

And yet the people of God,

the people of Israel,

as you can read

through the Bible,

they continue to rebel

against them

and defile themselves

and do horrific things.

And they end up

offering children

burning up the children

as a worship to God,

which is a horrific,

ungodly practice.

And they do all manner

of evil things.

And God is a good God,

a just God.

And so he continues

to call them

to turn away from that.

And as he does,

he warns them,

if they are not

to walk in God's ways

of love and harmony

and justice,

that he will punish them,

that he will remove them

from their land,

that he will take away

his presence from them.

And over time,

he finally did that.

And it's recorded in history

that the Babylonian kingdom

ripped the people of Israel

from the land,

took them from Jerusalem,

and they destroyed the temple.

And it's recorded for us

in the Bible

that God removed his presence

from the temple,

from his people.

But along the way,

even in the warnings

of judgment,

even before judgment came,

God includes in those warnings

his tender love

toward them

and all the earth,

saying that even though

he would judge them,

even though he would punish

the people of Israel,

he will restore

not only the people

of Israel to the land,

but also that he will bring

healing to the whole earth.

And most significant of all,

that he will restore

his presence to his people,

that he will bring the people

back to Israel,

and that he will restore

his presence in the temple

and throughout all the earth.

And so along the way,

we finally get to the book

of Nehemiah,

the final historical book

in the Bible,

in the Old Testament,

and what we see here

is that there are

three great leaders.

First Zerubbabel,

then a man named Ezra,

and then Nehemiah,

of whom this book is named.

Zerubbabel was a priest

and he helped rebuild

a broken temple.

And then Ezra was a scribe

and he helped call the people

back to holiness

and to knowing God's ways.

And then came Nehemiah.

He's the most vibrant of all.

And he helped them rebuild

the wall of Jerusalem.

And he not only helped them

rebuild the wall

to reestablish the city of God,

but he calls the people

to holiness.

And this book is so upbeat.

If you haven't read it,

I recommend it.

You see that in record time

the people come together

and rebuild the wall.

And then he calls the people

back to the holy feasts

and they have this incredible,

massive celebration

of the Passover.

And he calls the people

to repentance.

And the people,

with one voice,

confess their sin.

It's beautiful,

it's humble,

and it's holy.

And then the people

not only confess their sin,

but they covenant themselves

afresh to God

and say,

God, we will follow you.

We will observe your holy ways.

We will do the Sabbath

and we will love you.

And they turn away

from their defilements.

And there's so much hope.

And if that's not enough,

the people gather together

and they sing worship.

They declare their love for God

through song.

And it's so loud.

It says that the noise of Jerusalem

was heard very far away.

That's how loud they sang.

Thank you.

And so,

there's so much hope.

And then we come

to the final pages

of this hope-filled book,

the final pages

of the Old Testament.

And yet,

it all just crumbles

in Nehemiah's hand.

Nehemiah discovers

that the priests,

that people aren't giving

to the priests

in the temple

the food that they're deserved.

And so the priests

have gone away

and that the temple

is forsaken

and that the people

aren't following God's ways.

And he begins to panic.

Verse 10,

Nehemiah writes,

I also found out

that the portions

of the Levites

had not been given to them

so that the Levites,

the priests,

and the singers

who did the work of God

had fled each to his field.

So I confronted the officials

and said,

why is the house of God forsaken?

And I gathered them together

and set them in their stations.

Go down to verse 14.

Remember me,

oh my God,

concerning this

and do not wipe out

my good deeds

that I have done

for the house of my God,

the temple,

and for his service.

In those days,

I saw in Judah

people treading wine presses

on the Sabbath.

They're violating the Holy Sabbath.

Down to verse 17.

Then I confronted

the nobles of Judah

and said to them,

why is this evil thing

that you are doing

profaning the Sabbath?

What is this evil thing

that you're doing

profaning the Sabbath?

Did not your fathers

act in this way

and did not our God

bring all this disaster

on us

and on this city,

Jerusalem?

Now you are bringing

more wrath,

more judgment

on Israel

by profaning the Sabbath.

He continues on

writing about

the horrific things

going on

and how he's trying

to fight against it.

In verse 25,

he writes about

how the people

of God

have married foreigners

who do not believe

in God

and this is one

of the practices

that actually led

originally to them

being removed

from the land

and he's panicking

over seeing the people

turning back

to these evil things.

In verse 25,

and I confronted them

and cursed them

and beat some of them

and pulled out

their hair.

He didn't just

pull on their hair,

he pulled out

their hair

and I made them

take an oath

in the name of God

saying,

you shall not give

your daughters

to their sons

or take their daughters

for your sons

or for yourselves.

Did not Solomon,

king of Israel,

sin on account

of such women?

Among the many nations,

there was no king

like him

and he was beloved

by his God

and God made him

king over all Israel.

Nevertheless,

foreign women

made even him

to sin.

Shall we then

listen to you

and do all this

great evil

and act treacherously

against our God

by marrying foreign women?

You hear Nehemiah's

heart is in his throat.

You hear the panic

in his voice.

He's yelling

at the people.

He's seeing these people

turn from sin

and walk in God's ways

and rededicate themselves

and rededicate the temple.

Yet he just sees them

turning again

to these evil,

defiling practices.

He's tried so hard

and he's yelling at them.

He beats them

and he pulls up their hair.

You'll see

if you read through

the whole chapter

in this whole book

that multiple times

he forces the people

to divorce these people.

They weren't supposed

to marry.

And as you're looking

at Nehemiah,

you must be asking

the question,

is this how a man

of God acts?

And the answer is no.

He actually,

in his zealousness

to try to make

the people holy,

he actually starts

himself sinning.

In no place

does the Bible

commission a man

or a woman of God

to be pulling out

people's hair

or to be beating people.

In fact,

the book of Malachi

is the book of prophecy

that takes place

at the same time

as this.

And Malachi,

God through,

the prophet,

is actually saying,

guys,

stop doing divorce.

This is unholy.

And yet,

you see Nehemiah

forcing the people

to divorce

in his zealousness

to try to make them holy.

See that Nehemiah

is going beyond

God's ways

and actually turning

from God's ways

and trying to turn

the people to God.

He's panicking,

he's freaking out,

and he's doing things

he shouldn't.

What's happening?

Well,

I mentioned that so much

of this book

is hope-filled,

but there's actually

a moment

that if you and I

aren't familiar

with the true big story

of the Bible,

we might miss.

But the people

would not have missed it.

You see,

among all the hope

and the joy

that they have rebuilt

the city,

that they've rebuilt

the temple,

and that they dedicate it

to God

and commit themselves

to him.

And if you're not

familiar with the Bible,

or even if you are,

but whatever,

you may have missed

the fact that even

as it sounds all happy

and you keep reading,

there's actually

this haunting moment

that they're still

in the midst of

when things begin

to crumble.

But it's a haunting

moment that they're

even in the midst of,

even while they're

feasting

or while they're singing

and making such noise

to God.

And the people,

the Jewish people

who were reading this

would not have missed it.

And that's because

centuries before

when they built

Solomon's temple

and Solomon,

the leader,

like Nehemiah,

the leader,

Solomon dedicates

the temple to God

and there's this

rush of wind

and this thick cloud

of God's presence.

It's hard to explain,

but it's like there's

this thick fog

that comes into the temple

and it's holy

and the people

can feel

and get this glimpse

of the presence of God

and King Solomon,

the great king

and everyone else,

falls on their faces

in worship.

King Solomon acknowledging

that there's a king above him,

God the king.

And it's this holy,

sacred,

special moment

that they record,

they write down,

eyewitnesses write down.

And that's what they expect.

And they expect it

not just because

it happened before,

but because in the prophecies

and before this,

God said that he would

restore the people

to Israel,

that he would rebuild

the temple,

reestablish Jerusalem,

but most important of all,

he would return his presence

to the temple,

to Israel,

to the earth.

And so they've done everything,

they've seen it,

the people came back

to Israel

and they rebuilt the temple

and all that stuff,

every part of the prophecy

has come true

except for one,

the most important thing,

the presence of God.

They rededicate the temple,

this is the moment

that they were waiting for,

for God's presence

to rush in

for that thick cloud

that descended in the past.

But nothing happens.

And they continue on,

they sing

and it's recorded for us

to the beautiful noise

of their singing

filled Israel,

but where's God's presence?

This is the most significant thing.

Where is God's presence?

And so if you go back

to verse 11,

so he confronted the officials

and said,

why is the house of God forsaken?

You hear panic

in Nehemiah's voice.

Why is the house of God forsaken?

And on first reading,

it sounds like he's simply speaking

of how they have neglected

the house of God.

But the people

who were first reading this,

the Jewish people

would hear in this as well,

why is the house of God forsaken?

Of the presence of God.

That's the thing

that causes the most panic

for Nehemiah.

Where is the presence of God?

A temple without God's presence

is just an empty room.

Where is the presence of God?

What you see

as you read through this book,

Nehemiah,

the final pages

before the New Testament,

is that the people

have tried so hard.

Nehemiah and the people of Israel

have tried so hard

to be moral.

They've tried so hard

to obey God,

to be good people,

to be religious people,

and yet you see it crumbling

that these people

who have promised

to not marry the pagans

have once again

started marrying pagans

and having sexual relations

with them.

And the people

who've covenanted

to obey the Sabbath

are now forsaking the Sabbath

and they're neglecting the temple

and they're just,

despite their best efforts,

perhaps you can relate to that.

You've promised yourself

to do better.

You've promised yourself

to not turn to

whatever dirty habits.

You've promised yourself

not to gossip

or tell lies.

You've promised yourself

to be more holy

and yet you find yourself

returning to defiling things.

We try so hard.

And the pages of Nehemiah,

the pages of the Old Testament

end with this.

Thus I cleanse them

from everything foreign

and I establish the duties

of the priests and Levites,

each in his work.

I provide for the wood offering

at appointed times

and for the first fruits.

Remember me,

oh my God, forget.

And it ends.

It doesn't end with

the people walking in holiness.

It ends with Nehemiah's effort.

I did this and I did that.

Remember me, God.

As it ends,

there's this hauntedness,

this question

that remains unanswered.

Where is God's presence?

That is a question

they would have been asking

those days following

the dedication of the temple.

And a question

that continues to be asked,

unanswered,

as those days turned into months,

turned into years,

turned into decades.

And finally,

four centuries go by.

The people of Israel

had been used to

the voice of God

through the prophets

and the poets

and through the

anointed kings sometimes.

Always God had found a way

to break through

their defilement

and break through

their busyness

and to speak into their lives.

And yet here,

as they're waiting

for God's presence

to return,

there's no cloud,

there's nothing,

nor is there a voice,

nor is there a prophet

or a seer

or anything,

and they wait.

It was in that context

of brokenness,

in that context

of the people's best efforts

that are still

not good enough,

trying to be holy

but defiling themselves,

trying to be moral

but still failing

themselves and God.

Silent,

panic,

waiting,

where is God?

That the Christmas story

bursts open.

That there is a priest

who's in the,

in a sense,

in the empty temple

in a temple

without the thick presence

of God

and he's just doing his job

as they've done for years

in silence,

not expecting God

to ever speak

and all of a sudden

this angel shows up.

They haven't seen angels

in centuries.

This angel shows up

and speaks of this

miracle son

named John the Baptist

who's going to prepare

the way for the Lord.

And then months later

an angel shows up

to Mary

and says that she will

have a son

to name him Jesus

because he will save

the people from their sin.

And then an angel

shows up to Joseph

and says

that this son,

one of his names

he will be called

is Emmanuel,

God with us.

that is the name

that is the answer

to the question

where is God's presence?

We find there

that this baby Jesus

is not simply a prophet

nor will he be

some moral teacher

but that he is

the son of God,

God himself.

That as,

that Jesus the baby

is brought into the temple

for dedication

that that is the moment

long foretold

where God comes back

into the temple.

And you can see it

where there's Anna

the prophetess

and,

and Simeon,

Simon

as they wait.

They've been waiting

for years,

praying,

praying,

waiting for God's presence,

waiting for God's presence.

And you can read about it

in the Christmas story

where they rejoice.

They hold the baby

and rejoice

that God has come back

to the temple.

That it's not a cloud

or some kind of

inanimate matter

like that

but it's actually

God himself.

Jesus,

Emmanuel,

God is with us.

That's the context

of Jesus.

That's the context

of the Christmas story.

That's the miracle

for all of you

with nativity scenes

in your homes

of the little baby

in the manger

that it's God

has come

not just to Israel

but to the earth.

That people,

as people walk

with Jesus

through Israel

that they are once again

walking with God

as we used to do

in the garden.

And you can read

through the gospel stories

the teachings of Jesus

as he once again

declares and reveals

God's holy ways

and moral laws

and the ways of harmony

and love and justice.

But if you simply

were to end the story there

then just as you

started the Christmas story

in the middle

so we end the story

before it ends.

Because the reason

for Jesus

to enter into the earth

not just like a cloud

but as a human

is because God himself

had decided

just as it was prophesied

at the beginning

of time

that he would crush

our enemies.

That he would

defeat death

through his own death

on the cross.

That he had come

not simply to teach us

moral laws

but to bring

our forgiveness

our reconciliation

to God.

Peace on earth.

that God had come

to die on the cross

and then

because he is

the very author of life

he could not stay dead

but he came back

to life

and he lives today.

That's the context

of the Christmas story.

There are some of us

perhaps many of us

in the room

that are living life

like in Nehemiah chapter 13

Nehemiah 13 · chapter mention

where we are trying

so hard

to be good people

we're trying to

even be holy people

we promised ourselves

to do better

some of you are making

New Year's resolutions

where you're promising

yourself to do better

this year

you'll finally

hit the gym

this year

you'll finally

stop this bad habit

whatever it may be

we're trying so hard

but you must

I must

we must

hear

the beauty

of the Christmas story

that God

himself is with us

every religion

every religion

whether it's Islam

with it's five pillars

Judaism with it's

613 laws

is about

doing enough good

to climb our way

up into heaven

in Islam

you must follow

the five pillars

they're all good things

do these five pillars

and if you do these things

you can earn your way

up to heaven

it's like every good thing

you do is like

a rung on a ladder

you're trying to climb

or Judaism

the 613 laws

you do these things

and if you do them

well enough

it's like you're

climbing a ladder

or the eastern philosophies

they're not so much

about what you do

but learning to think

in an enlightened way

it's not so much

about your moral deeds

as much as your

your enlightened thoughts

your enlightened thinking

and if you can

if you can learn

to think right

it's like every right

way of enlightenment

is like another rung

on the ladder

you can climb your way

up into nirvana

to heaven

in a sense

even in those of

us in the room

who might be

secular atheists

you're not

it's not heaven

you're climbing to

but success

and everything you do

all your achievements

and your degrees

and your philanthropy

and all the good stuff

it's like you're trying

to climb your way

out of meaninglessness

into significance

but if you and I

are honest

and the Bible

is very honest

our best efforts

all every step

on the ladder

it's like the

rungs and ladders

break before us

and we slip down

and we climb

and we try

and it breaks before us

and the ladder

we cannot climb

that ladder

up to heaven

that our greatest

achievements

still leave us

feeling empty

and that our best

habits

and our best

success

it still crumbles

in our hands

our lives are like

the book of Nehemiah

where we try so much

and we do some things

that we still find

ourselves with

an emptiness inside

and so many of us

in this room

are exhausted

from trying so hard

to climb to heaven

and this is where

you and I need to hear

the Christmas story

the true story

of Jesus

that what separates

Christianity

from all other

religions and philosophies

is that it's the only one

that says

you don't climb to heaven

but that heaven

has climbed down

to us

that the gospel

that Jesus

turns the ladder

on its head

instead of us

climbing up

heaven climbs to us

that Jesus

the Christmas story

is about God

climbing down

into the brokenness

and decay

despair

and even death

of the human condition

that it's not about

what we try

to do

but it's what

he has done

and that's where

Christianity is not

about

a new way of thinking

even if it changes

our way of thinking

and it's not about

a moral code

although there's

moral things in it

but at the heart

of Christianity

at the heart

of the Christmas story

is not a philosophy

but rather

an event

it's news

something has happened

and the thing about

news

an event

is that it's true

regardless of how much

you believe it

or how you feel about it

the reality is that

Christianity isn't about

getting you to think

differently

but rather

the fact that

God himself

has come into the earth

in the story of Christmas

that it's true

he's come into the earth

and that there's

eyewitness accounts

there's good historical evidence

that God himself

that Jesus

died on a cross

and came back

from the dead

and so all that's

left for us to do

is nothing

but receive

his presence

nothing

but to receive

his forgiveness

and so in a few minutes

we're going to have

communion

where we're going to be

remembering Jesus'

death and resurrection

and I want to invite you

to

as you come up here

to take communion

to forsake that

effort

that trying to

do enough

to get God

to like you

and to receive

his love

to receive

his forgiveness

some of us

you're not out of place yet

you're not a Christian

you're wrestling

with these things

I want to invite you

I want to challenge you

that there's a better way

than just trying

really hard

to live a good life

that the only way

to live a life

that's so fully alive

the only way

to live a life

where you're

at peace

with others

and yourself

is to

have peace

with God

and the only way

to peace

with God

is to receive

his forgiveness

by asking him

for it

he's already

provided

forgiveness

we just need

to ask

and finally

it should

break our hearts

those of you

who have received

the forgiveness

of God

those of you

who are Christians

it should break

our hearts

that there are

so many people

who are living life

as if it's still

the time of Nehemiah 13

who are living life

as if God hasn't

broken into the earth

who are exhausted

there's still so many

who are exhausted

by trying so hard

I want to especially

highlight the fact

that the majority

of Jewish people

around the globe today

are like

Nehemiah 13

and the years following

where they're still

waiting

waiting

with panic

and exhaustion

waiting

for God

to come back

to the earth

waiting for the presence

of God

to come back

they've missed

the fact

that he already has

that the Christmas story

is the climax

of all that there is

about

for the Jewish

it's the climax

of creation

it's the climax

of what it means

to be Jewish

that God has come

and so I want to

invite the

musicians

to come back

to the stage

and we're going

to sing a Christmas

song many of you

know well

O Come O Come

Emmanuel

and ransom

captive Israel

I want to invite

you to sing

this song

as a prayer

of intercession

both for Jewish

people who don't

know the promised

Messiah

as well as for

any of your friends

or family

who just don't

know that God

has come back

to earth

in the body

of Jesus

and so I want

to invite you

to stand

I'll say a prayer

and then we'll sing

God thank you

that you love us

way too much

to be content

to just watch us

from a distance

but that you have

broken into

human history

in real time

in real space

2,000 years ago

that you came

to earth

as Jesus

that you did

what we couldn't do

living a perfect life

and that you

gave your life

for us

on the cross

and have come

back to life

and that today

we're not here

to simply remember

a great teacher

of the past

but to be

in your very

presence

and so

God I pray

that in your love

and tender mercy

that you would

lead us

in the fullness

of what Christmas

is all about

you bringing

us

peace with God

your very presence

may we treasure that

more than anything else

and may we live

in the rest

that that brings

in the name

of your son

Jesus we pray

amen

all love

so

to be

and

listen

to