Jesus comes to a world seeking prophets or enlightenment

Father, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us gently this morning.

Father, some of us are missing loved ones.

Some of us are missing loved ones on the other side of oceans, in fact.

Father, pour out your Holy Spirit upon our loved ones, wherever they are today.

Pour out your Holy Spirit.

Make them, help them to come close to Jesus on this, the season when we remember his birth.

And Father, we ask that you would pour out your Holy Spirit upon us

as we remember his coming into this world, born in Bethlehem,

on his way to Calvary to die on the cross, to make us your children by adoption and grace.

Father, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.

And this we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Please be seated.

So one of the things which is a bit different,

if you've never been to one of our Christmas Eve or Christmas services,

one of the things which is a bit different here is because we don't have child care.

I think we have partial child care today, don't we?

So it's a bit where you guys get to act as if there's no child care.

So one of the things we do is I show some videos to intersperse with the sermon

because even though God bless me with nine children, I suck at kids' talks.

I don't know why, but I just do.

Actually, I can do sort of one, and then I can't do them very regularly.

My imagination just doesn't work that way.

So I show some videos to break things up.

And just to get the sermon sort of started,

we're going to watch a video called Jesus versus Santa.

As many of you know, this July, you folks partnered with me

to be able to go with SIM, a missionary organization,

into Angola for several weeks.

And one of the privileges I had while I was in Angola was to speak to a semi-nomadic tribe

that up until a few years earlier had been one of the unreached people groups on the planet,

unreached by the gospel.

And, you know, you folks, I'm sure, were praying like crazy.

I was praying like crazy all the time that I was there

because I had never preached with a translator before.

And when I was preaching to this semi-nomadic tribal group on the edge of the Kalahari Desert,

I had to have a double translator, one into Portuguese and one into the tribal language.

And, you know, one of the things that it really brought home to me

is that when you're trying to talk about Jesus

and you're trying to share the good news about Jesus,

it's hard to break into the cultural categories.

You only have the words that they have.

And how do you sort of take the words that they have

and their categories of thought

and try to communicate something which is just different?

And we don't tend to think of that as being a problem here in Canada.

But I think that's actually, I think it's a pretty brilliant video

that in many ways when people in our culture think of God,

they think of something really like old St. Nick or Santa,

somebody who's distant, somebody who's watching to see whether we've been naughty or nice,

somebody who we occasionally want to do business transactions

with to get good stuff.

And it's so sort of common in our culture

that there's all these expectations about what God is like

that we can sort of forget that we can think we're talking to people about God,

about Jesus, about Christmas, but we're really not.

They're interpreting and hearing everything within certain types of categories

and in certain types of just ways of understanding.

So if we think, it's one of the things, if you think about it,

those of you who are Christians who are here,

if you go back and you read the Bible, it's really interesting

because if you think about it, the Bible was written,

the New Testament was written when nobody had a Christian memory.

Like most of the New Testament was written to people

who their experience of God was idols.

And they had other categories as well,

but they had their own set of categories.

And it's really, really interesting that

how is it that the New Testament writers

tried to bridge the gap between how people thought all around them

and them trying to talk about something like the birth of Jesus

and what it means.

And so, you know, if you hear, listen with me,

read along with me for the first few verses of John chapter 1

John 1 · chapter mention

because John, one of the original apostles,

he's going to write an intimate biography of Jesus

so that people can know Jesus.

That's what he's going to do.

And so, you know, he didn't have a computer

where he can cross things out and everything like that,

you know, just, you know, backspace and delete

and move things around, right?

He had to work with parchment.

And so every word has to count.

We don't know if he made a few little rough drafts

on scraps or on sand or with chalk or something

before he committed it to paper,

but he had to really think about this, think about Jesus.

And the first 18 verses of John's gospel,

it's known as the prologue.

John's sort of setting the stage to introduce Jesus.

And so it's very interesting that he uses categories

like light and darkness and word and enlightenment

and prophets or oracles.

It's another way of understanding what a prophet is, an oracle.

And these are all sort of categories

that people are used to in the ancient world,

whether you're Jewish or whether you are pagan.

You know, many of the people,

if you were in Rome or in Greece

or in what we now call Turkey,

you could go and you could hear a prophet

or a prophetess speak.

They would be as if they were an oracle,

channeling the very words of God.

And it was very common that you would go

and you would seek enlightenment.

In fact, in our age, when we think of it,

you know, what is the main rival

for the Christian faith in much of the world?

It is the religion of the prophet.

And in Ottawa, not many people like the prophet,

but in Ottawa, people seek enlightenment.

They seek enlightenment through yoga.

They seek enlightenment through a guru.

They seek enlightenment in a more secular way

through science, through reason,

through poetry, through good music.

It's a type of a category

by which we try to understand our lives

and seek to improve our lives,

either by listening to the voice of a prophet

or seeking some type of enlightenment.

And that's exactly,

it's in those categories and terms

that John begins to introduce Jesus.

But as soon as he does that,

he's going to mess with it

because he's going to try to get us

to realize that the problem is

how we think.

Like this just in the verse,

in verses four through nine of chapter one,

it says,

in him was life

and the life was the light of men.

Now you think about that for a second,

the light of the human race.

That just sounds exactly like enlightenment.

What we seek,

we seek the light of reason.

We seek the light of beautiful music,

of aesthetic experience.

We seek the interior light

for those of us who think

that there's some light

or some spark of the divine within us.

And then it even goes on,

it sounds just like a greeting card.

It sounds like it's just very optimistic

in the way that Justin Trudeau

could go with something like this.

Donald Trump could go with,

I suppose,

something like this.

The light shines in the darkness

and the darkness has not overcome it.

It sounds like the fact

that reason will prevail over barbarism,

that beautiful music will prevail

over things which are tacky,

that the light of compassion

will prevail over hatred.

And then all of a sudden,

when he's using these categories

of enlightenment,

all of a sudden he switches

and it's as if he's talking about prophets,

which is sort of the other way

which we,

throughout all of the religious history

that we've gone,

trying to understand things.

Look, in verse 6,

there was a man sent from God

whose name was John.

He came as a witness,

to bear witness about the light

that all might believe through him.

So this next video,

it's a beautiful little video,

sort of talks a bit more

about how we sort of,

things happen in our lives

where we,

and in this particular case,

God is going to speak to us

by his word

and it's going to sort of

mess us up

because the problem is

how we sort of are interpreting

what happens,

not actually what God

is going to see

or God's going to do.

This is sort of

a little bit of a way into that.

If you could play the next video,

that would be great.

So,

if maybe the problem is us

and it's,

if you're here

and you're not a Christian,

one of the things

that you might find

very surprising

about Christians

is that we aren't aware

of the fact,

we Christians aren't often

aware of the fact

that we complain to God

that he doesn't act

in the way

that we want him to.

You'd think that we Christians

would just learn

to listen

to what God says

about himself

and accept it

but instead

we're sort of

always complaining

that he's not

sort of fitting

within our categories.

So,

you know,

just look at the way

John is going to

introduce Jesus

and on one hand

he's going to use

this prophet of,

these categories of prophet

and enlightenment

but he messes

with our head.

so just,

you know,

if you'd follow along

listen to,

listen to how,

what God

through his servant

John

and his word

does.

Listen to,

begin at John

John 1:1

chapter 1 verse 1.

In the beginning

was the word

and the word

was with God

and the word

was God.

He was in the beginning

with God.

I talked about this

last week.

It's a very strong

statement that Jesus

is God

because we're going

to see later on

that the word

becomes flesh.

It's the way

of introducing Jesus.

Two different persons

but just one God.

It's a very,

very powerful statement

but I talked about it

last Sunday.

We'll just keep going.

All things were made

through him

and without him

was not anything made

that was made.

That the word

is uncreated.

He is the beginning.

He is eternal.

In him was life

and the life

was the light of men.

The light shines

and the darkness

and the darkness

has not overcome it.

In verse 14

it's going to show

that this is all

referring to Jesus

but then look at this

huge jump.

How is Jesus

calls John the Baptist

the greatest of the prophets

and the last of the prophets.

Here we have Jesus introduced

and all of a sudden

we have John.

All this wonderful language

for Jesus.

Listen to how John

is introduced.

There was a man

sent from God

whose name was John.

If you could put up

the first point

Andrew

Jesus is not a prophet.

He is introduced.

He is uncreated light

made flesh.

John is going to try to say

we're going to try to think

of Jesus like a prophet

like a good man

like a good teacher.

It's a very common way.

It's a very common thing

for people to say

Christians suck big time

but Jesus was pretty good.

But John is going to say

that category is closed.

Jesus is not a prophet.

He is uncreated light

made flesh.

Continue reading with me

in verse 7.

He came as a witness

to bear witness

about the light

that all might believe

through him.

That is through

John the Baptist.

John the Baptist

he was not the light

but came to bear witness

about the light.

John the Baptist

is a witness

and the word witness

here is from the law court.

Somebody who is going

to give true testimony

in things which matter

before the courts.

And then verse 9

it could sound like

something that

it sounds like

the force.

It sounds like

Star Wars

the force.

It sounds like

the way people

talk about energy

being throughout

everything

and everywhere.

There was

verse 9

the true light

which gives light

to everyone

was coming

into the world.

And it has this

I mean if we just

stop there with the Bible

it would be like

people who love

classical music

would love this.

People who love reason.

People who love science.

People who love yoga.

People who love mysticism.

All of them

would applaud this.

It could be a greeting card

which is sent out

to everyone.

But then he goes

and messes everything up.

The true light

which gives light

to everyone

was coming into the world.

And then listen

to verse 10.

He

the true light

is a person.

He was in the world

and the world

was made through him

yet the world

did not know him.

Notice that

in verse 10 again.

He

him

him

to be able

to know

a person

he came

to his own

and the word

their own

means he came

to his

it's referring

to Jesus

coming to Israel

his own place

he comes

to his land

he comes

to his

his temple

he comes

to his priests

he comes

to his rituals

he comes

to his own

and his own

people

did not receive him.

So here's

if you go up

the next point

Andrew

you know

earlier

it talked about

how in verse 4

and 5

in him was life

and the life

was the light

of men

the light shines

in the darkness

and the darkness

has not overcome it

this text

is going to tell us

that some light

comes from darkness

I'm going to talk

about it more

in the weeks

to come

the gospel

of John

is often used

as a prime

example

by Jewish

people

as an example

of anti-Semitism

because of the way

that John

will use the word

the Jews

and we'll talk

about this more

in the weeks

to come

as we go

through John's gospel

but the one thing

I want you to understand

is John was Jewish

Jesus was Jewish

all the apostles

were Jewish

and he wasn't

anti-Semitic

in fact

what John

is saying here

is that the very

best religion

the world

has ever seen

rejects Jesus

every time

you see the word

Jews

in the gospel

of John

think of

the pinnacle

of religion

and spirituality

he uses it

as a type

of a symbol

and he's saying

in a sense

even the pinnacle

of religion

is in the way

of darkness

and there are

many people

who claim

that they've

given themselves

to the light

but light

can emerge

from darkness

just as we know

that those

who can call

themselves

oracles

and prophets

emerge not

from the true

light

but from darkness

to lead us

into deeper

darkness

or keep us

in darkness

if you could put up

the next point

Andrew

all true light

comes from God

but as John

is going to reveal

as the book

progresses

but not all

light saves

only the true

light

made

flesh

saves

all true

light

comes from

God

but not

all light

saves

only the true

light

made flesh

saves

one of the

wonderful

mysteries

in the

scriptures

made clear

in the

gospels

in the

new

testament

is this

mystery

of common

grace

there is a

light of

reason

there is a

light of

aesthetics

there is a

light of

beauty

there is a

light that

we can see

just in the

created order

there is a

light that

God constantly

shines

book of

Romans

says

there is

always enough

revealed about

God

through a

whole range

of means

that in

the last

day no

one will be

able to

stand on

their hind

legs and

complain about

God that

he did not

give them

enough information

to know about

him

no human

being will be

able to

make that

claim

but reason

does not

save

religion

does not

save

spirituality

does not

save

music

does not

save

mysticism

does not

save

yoga

does not

save

the only

thing that

saves

is the

true light

made

flesh

let's

pause

and see

another

this is a

beautiful

simple

video that

sort of

just draws

connections

it sort of

looks a little

bit like

light

which is one

of the

reasons I

chose it

it's called

silent night

what the

bible is

saying

if you could

put up

the next

point

Andrew

when it

says

in the

beginning

was the

word

and the

word

was with

God

and the

word

was God

he was in

the beginning

with God

all things

were made

through him

and without

him was not

anything made

that was made

in him was

life

and the

life

was the

light

of men

when it

talks about

in verse

10

he was in

the world

and the

world was

made

through him

yet the

world did

not know

him

he came

to his

own people

and his

own did

not receive

him

but to all

who did

receive him

who believed

in his

name

he gave

the right

to become

children

of God

who were

born not

of blood

nor of the

will of the

flesh

nor of the

will of

man

but of

God

and the

word

became

flesh

and dwelt

among

us

and we

have seen

his

glory

glory

as of the

only

son of

the father

full

of grace

and truth

the bible

is saying

is that

uncreated

light

made flesh

lay in

the manger

uncreated

light

made flesh

lay in

the manger

the next

point

Andrew

please

and the

bible

is saying

when it

says in

verse 9

the true

light

which gives

light to

everyone

was coming

into the

world

uncreated

light

made

flesh

died

on the

cross

to save

those

in

darkness

uncreated

light

made

flesh

died

on the

cross

to save

those

in

darkness

and

John

here

isn't

you know

it's funny

there's a lot

of debate

among scholars

about

John

how smart

he was

and how

well educated

he was

because

from the

historical

records

we know

that he

was a

fisherman

there's

debates

about how

literate

he is

I mean

I don't

know whether

he was

literate

before he

became a

follower of

Jesus

and became

a Christian

or if

just as

often happens

throughout the

history of

the world

the coming

of the

gospel

being received

into a

person's

life

creates a

desire for

learning

and a

desire to

know

and maybe

he learned

how to

read as

an adult

and learned

how to

write as

an adult

before he

was able

to write

this simple

but very

profound

gospel

but it's

not just

an academic

exercise

for John

listen again

to verse

11

the tragedy

that Jesus

comes to

his own

and his own

people

did not

receive him

but here

then verses

12 and

13

this begins

to begin

a theme

that the rest

of John's

gospel is

going to

keep going

that it's

not just

an academic

thing

it's not

just to

say how

odd of

God to

have done

such remarkable

things

but to all

who did

receive him

verse 12

but to all

who did

receive him

who believed

in his name

he gave

the right

to become

children of

God

in other

words he

gave

it's through

receiving

Jesus

and John's

going to make

that clear

throughout the

rest of his

gospel

it's

believing

in him

that he

is God

with us

that he

is God

who saves

that he

is the

Messiah

the

anointed

one

the one

promised

by God

for centuries

and centuries

that God

would send

to deliver

human beings

that somehow

or another

we have to

receive him

and by

believing in

his name

it's a matter

of trusting

in him

that if

we

receive him

and believe

in his

name

he

we become

adopted

by God

and then

in verse 13

we're born

not of

blood

and in the

original language

actually it's

plural

bloods

in other

words it's

not by

genealogy

I don't

become a

Christian

because my

parents were

Christians

I don't

make

made right

with God

because I

had the

right last

name

the right

type of

parents

nor of

the will

of the

flesh

in other

words it's

not that I

can just

declare by

myself

that God

has to

adopt me

and I

can just

declare by

my own

willpower

that by

my own

willpower

I am

going to

somehow be

born again

by my

willpower

my effort

nor of

the will

of man

in other

words an

institution

can't do

it you

can't go

and be

dumped in

some water

by some

old guy

or some

young guy

or you

can't go

through some

smudging

ceremony

or any

type of

institution

nothing

of the

will of

man

whether it's

an institution

or an

individual

neither

just by

my own

personal

one

nor by

my

heritage

none of

these things

will make

me adopted

by God

nor will

any of

these things

do what

only God

can do

which is

in some

way

create me

anew

create me

as a new

person

the inside

at a

spiritual

level

only God

can do

that

and I

cannot do

it by

genealogy

nor by

my willpower

nor through

any human

institution

but of

God

only God

can do

it

only God

only God

God

put up

the next

point

faith

always

aims

in other

words

what the

Bible

calls

believing

which can

also be

called

faithing

it's

not just

that somehow

I have to

screw up

some type

of emotional

feeling

within me

or just

have some

type of

burst of

optimism

or

it's

nothing

like that

it's just

a very

very common

everyday

thing

that we

are always

trusting

something

trusting

in

something

hoping

in

something

and

we just

have this

category

of human

beings

that this

thing of

being able

to trust

or lean

on

it aims

at things

might aim

at ourselves

a lot

of times

I'm going

to be able

to do

this

I have

faith

in myself

but it

might be

that we

have faith

in an

institution

or we

have faith

in a

method

or a

process

but faith

this human

faith

always

aims

and

what

John

is saying

is this

thing

which aims

that just

trust

we're made

to trust

we're made

to lean

on something

we're made

to rely

on something

that what

we need

to lean

on

is

well

let's look

at this

final video

and then

I'll share

the final

point

if you could

put up

the final

point

Andrew

only God

can adopt

me and

make me a

new creation

and I can

only receive

this by

faith

that's what

we remember

today

only God

can adopt

me and

make me a

new creation

and only

I and I

can only

receive this

by faith

so what

do we

remember

you know

I used

to sort

of be a

little bit

rankled

by secular

Christmas

now I'm

quite comfortable

with secular

Christmas

those of you

who read

my blog

and I

had another

thing just

put on the

Gospel Coalition

website

and you

know

all around

us people

are celebrating

family and

hope and

optimism

and love

and kindness

and you

know what

that's we

should just

you know

we should

go ahead

and say

way to

go have

a great

Christmas

but the

thing about

us who

are Christians

is we

remember

today

this

unbelievable

great gift

this

spectacular

mystery

which is

not contrary

to reason

but when

our reason

meets it

all we can

do is

receive it

and stand

in awe

and wonder

that uncreated

life took

flesh

an uncreated

life

was laid

took flesh

and laid

in a manger

and died

on a cross

taking upon

himself

our darkness

that we

by faith

in him

that we

by faith

in him

may walk

with uncreated

light

light

in our

daily lives

now

and into

all eternity

uncreated

light

made flesh

we remember

that today

and we

remember it

with joy

because

I can do

my day

with uncreated

light made

flesh

who died

for me

so that I

can be

God's

child

by adoption

and grace

and his

powerful

power

could you

please stand

let's just bow

our heads

in prayer

father thank you

for Jesus

thank you

father

that

while he

spoke true

words of

you

he is not

just a prophet

he doesn't

fit into those

categories

father

but that he

is uncreated

light

made flesh

and we

thank and

praise you

father

that it

can be

hard

for us

to figure

out

what

different

types

of

lights

are true

and what

come

from you

we give

you

thanks

and praise

father

that by

keeping

our eyes

on

Jesus

uncreated

light

made

flesh

born

in a

manger

died

on a

cross

risen

from

the

dead

that

father

we

can

begin

to

discern

which

lights

are

really

darkness

in which

light

really

comes

from

you

we

ask

father

that

you

help

us

to

be

disciples

of

Jesus

who are

gripped

by this

gospel

story

and as

we are

gripped

by this

gospel

story

that we

are

learning

day

by

day

to

walk

with

Jesus

and

live

for

your

glory

father

all

these

things

we

ask

in the

name

of

Jesus

your

son

and

our

savior

amen

off

out