What Child Is This?

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The Old Testament reading for tonight, a reading from the prophet Isaiah, chapter 9, verses 2 through 7.

Isaiah 9:2–7

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shone.

You have multiplied the nation. You have increased its joy.

They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

For the yoke of his burden and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor,

you have broken, as on the day of Midian.

For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult,

and every garment rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for the fire.

For to us a child is born.

To us a son is given.

And the government shall be upon his shoulder.

And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end.

On the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness,

from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

The grass withers and the flowers fade.

But the word of our God stands forever.

This is a reading from the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 2, verses 1 through 12.

Matthew 2:1–12

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod,

Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked,

Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews?

We saw his star when it rose, and have come to worship him.

When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

When he had called together all the people's chief priests and the teachers of the law,

he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.

In Bethlehem in Judea, they replied,

For this is what the prophet has written.

But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.

For out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people, Israel.

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.

He sent them to Bethlehem and said,

Go and search carefully for the child.

As soon as you find him, report to me,

so that I too may go and worship him.

After they had heard the king, they went on their way,

and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them

until it stopped over the place where the child was.

When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary,

and they bowed down and worshipped him.

Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod,

they returned to their country by another route.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Merry Christmas to you all.

It's very good to see you tonight.

If you are coming tonight with a family member or a friend as a guest,

I want you to know that you are very warmly welcomed here.

This is a mixed crowd spiritually

in that some of us are exploring Christianity

and the claims about Jesus Christ or by Jesus Christ for the first time.

Some of us are reengaging with the church and with Christian faith

after a season away because of the pandemic

or because of a move or some other challenge in your life.

Some of us are here tonight to worship Christ.

We have settled Christian beliefs and values.

Some of you are here tonight because a family member or a friend invited you

and your being here tonight is the main Christmas present you're giving to them.

And so we want to say that we're truly glad that you've come.

Whether you identify as a skeptic or were raised in another faith,

you're a spiritual seeker or someone who's exploring Christianity,

it's important, I think, for all of us to know why it is

that 2.3 billion people around the world are celebrating the birth of Christ tonight.

To know what those people believe and why.

So at a minimum, we can be culturally literate

and have some intelligible conversations over this holiday season.

That's my minimal goal, but I do hope to do more than that tonight

to perhaps awaken faith and kindle some hope and love in you as well.

This past month at Christ Church, we've been exploring various carols of Christmas,

some of which we just sang.

And our final carol tonight, you can see printed just after the gospel text,

it opens with this question,

What child is this?

What child is this?

And the answer in the first stanza is this,

this is Christ the King,

whom shepherds guard and angels sing.

And what that tells us is that

the real meaning of Christmas is about a royal birth.

It's about a coming monarch.

It's about the arrival of a sovereign.

And I want to draw our attention back to that Old Testament lesson

we just read from the prophet Isaiah,

who's speaking and writing 700 years before this birth,

and he's foretelling the coming of the Messiah,

this anointed king.

And he says there in Isaiah 9, 6,

I encourage you to look at it again,

he says,

For unto us a child is born,

and to us a son is given.

He says there will be a child

that's born from a human mother,

and who will also be a son given from God.

So who is this human-born child?

Who is this God-given son?

And what will he come to do?

And I want to just explore that question tonight

through this Christmas carol

and through this scripture that inspired the carol.

So allow me to read this carol once again.

If it's not fresh for us,

I'll read it for us.

What child is this who laid to rest

on Mary's lap is sleeping,

whom angels greet with anthems sweet

while shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King

whom shepherds guard and angels sing.

Haste, haste to bring him laud,

the babe, the son of Mary.

Why lies he in such mean estate

where ox and lamb are feeding?

Good Christian fear for sinners

here the silent word is pleading.

Nails, spears shall pierce him through.

The cross be born for me, for you.

Hail, hail, the word made flesh,

the babe, the son of Mary.

So bring him incense, gold and myrrh.

Come, peasant king, to own him.

The king of kings salvation brings.

Let loving hearts enthrone him.

Raise, raise a song on high.

The virgin sings her lullaby.

Joy, joy, for Christ is born,

the babe, the son of Mary.

I just want to explore this carol

and reflect on it for a moment.

Going through these three stanzas,

I want to just say that the child is a king,

the king is lowly,

and his kingdom is forever.

The child is a king,

the king is lowly,

and his kingdom is forever.

First of all, the child is a king.

The prophet Isaiah says there in 9 verse 6,

he says the government will be on his shoulders.

This child that's coming is going to bear

executive authority and power.

He's going to exercise sovereignty and supremacy.

And we all know, you know,

if you've seen the crown,

you have to, when you enter a royal court,

you have to abide by protocol

protocol for her majesty or his majesty.

And so what is the throne name

of this king who's coming?

How does this,

what should we be calling him?

And how does this indicate

the nature of his coming rule

and his reign?

And so the prophet Isaiah

answers that question for us.

He says,

his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

His name stands for who he is

and what he does.

And so first of all,

we learn here that the coming king

will be a wonderful counselor.

Wonderful here in Hebrew,

it has a sense of supernatural

or wonder working.

In the Bible,

God and God alone

is the wonderful counselor

because he sees the end

from the beginning.

He created the world after all

and he has a supernatural plan

to save it.

He's got a wonder working program

of redemption

for all the nations of the world.

And so it seems here

that God,

the wonderful counselor,

is entrusting his eternal counsel

to his Messiah.

And this Messiah will come

and he will bring this supernatural plan.

He will bring this wonder working program

to the world.

And when he does that,

he will be the wisest,

the greatest,

the final word

that God has ever given to humanity.

He'll come

and he'll teach authoritative truth

about God

and about the human heart

and about the deepest problem

of our world.

And it will be said of him,

in him are hidden

all the treasures of wisdom

and of knowledge.

He'll be the wonderful counselor.

But in this coming king,

we not only have

a wonderful counselor,

we have the mighty God.

This child born of a woman

will also be like

the God of Israel.

He'll be as mighty

as the one who created the universe

with a word saying,

let there be light

and bang,

there was light.

He will be so powerful.

He'll be as powerful

as the one

who delivered his people

from slavery

and oppression

in Egypt.

Right?

Because that's what mighty means.

Mighty refers to

this strong warrior,

this champion

who fights

and wins battles

on behalf of

and in place of

his people

to set them free

from bondage

and from their enemies.

So in the Messiah,

this mighty God will come

and he will have power

to put this wonder-working

counsel of God

into effect.

He will have an authority

to execute God's

eternal plan

of salvation,

this program

of redemption

to set people free.

This coming king

is the wonderful counselor.

He's the mighty God

and it says

he's also the everlasting father.

When the Messiah comes

as the wonderful counselor

with plans

for the whole wide world

and when he comes

as the mighty God

with divine power

to set human beings

free from their bondage,

he will make us

God's children

and he will exercise

God the Father's

goodness and care

for his family.

He'll protect

and provide

for his people

as a father protects

and provides

for his children.

This coming king

will be

the wonderful counselor,

the mighty God,

the everlasting father,

and he'll also be

the prince of peace.

He's a monarch,

he's a sovereign

who is able to bring

peace and prosperity

to his dominion

and in particular

this Messiah

will bring shalom

between God

and human beings.

Though we ignore God,

though we disregard God,

though we resist God,

though we oppose God,

though sometimes we're even

hostile to God

as an enemy,

this prince of peace

is coming

to reconcile us

to God.

Question,

what child is this?

Answer,

this,

this is Christ,

the king,

this child born

of a woman,

the son given

from God,

the one who will bear

the government

of the universe

on his shoulders,

this king

with four names.

Ultimately,

every knee

is going to bow

before him

and every tongue

is going to confess

that he,

the wonderful counselor,

mighty God,

everlasting father,

prince of peace,

is the Lord of all.

And that's why

this carol says,

haste, haste

to bring him laud,

the babe,

the son of Mary.

In other words,

don't hold back.

Don't hold back

in bringing him

your praise

and your worship

tonight

and in this Christmas season

and the rest

of the short time

that God gives you

on this earth.

The child is a king.

And more than that,

the child is a king

but the king

is lowly.

The king

is lowly.

Stanza two

of our carols says,

why lies he

in such mean estate

where ox and lamb

are feeding?

In other words,

why is this child

who's born,

this son who's given,

this king with four names,

why in the world

is he in a manger?

Why is he in an animal

feed trough?

Why is he not

in a palace

on a grand estate

encircled by magistrates

and military generals

and world class scholars?

Why isn't he in a place

that's more fitting

for a king

of this stature

and of this nature?

Why is he born here

in obscurity

among the working class?

Now,

on the way

over here tonight,

I saw a car

with a bumper sticker

that said,

elections matter.

And,

as I think you know,

there's an election

coming up in 2024.

And I'm sure

that's why you came tonight

to hear me

talk about politics,

right?

Right?

Politicians

over the course

of this next year

on the left

and the right

are going to present

themselves

with great fanfare

as the answer

to all of our problems

and as the key

to all of our prosperity.

And as they do that,

they're going to project

an image of strength

to us.

They're going to project

an image of competence

and charisma

in an effort

to win our votes.

But I want to point out

tonight that God's ways

are not our ways

or God's ways

are at least not

our politicians' ways.

Because what's

the characteristic mark

of this Prince of Peace's

rule and reign?

From day one,

he's marked

by lowliness.

He's marked

by humility.

He's marked

by downward mobility.

Not only

does this Messiah

leave behind

his heavenly glory,

not only does he

stoop down

to veil himself

in human flesh,

and not only

does he lower himself

into this manger throne,

but he lives

a whole life,

a whole lifetime

of lowliness.

And that lifetime

of lowliness

climaxes on what?

On a Roman cross.

The ultimate symbol

of lowliness,

of humiliation,

the ultimate declaration

that he is,

in fact,

a nobody

and a nothing.

Some of you might say,

well,

bah humbug to

all of this talk.

Why in the world

would you sour

the happiness

of Christmas

by singing

this line,

nails,

spears,

shall pierce him

through the cross,

be born for me,

for you?

Why can't you just

leave that

to a good Friday?

You're kind of like

the Grinch,

just stealing

and ruining

our Christmas.

Just let us enjoy,

just for tonight,

a sentimentalized

and sanitized

version of Christmas

with this cute,

cuddly little baby

Jesus.

Don't we all want

that a little bit?

No nails,

no spears,

no cross,

no blood,

no death.

But friends,

that would cut

the heart

right out of Christmas.

We would be

forgetting why

the world

needed a Messiah

to be born at all.

This Christmas carol

is reminding us

that the Prince of Peace

was born to die.

And the way

that this Prince

will bring peace,

the way that he

will reconcile

us to God

will be to take

our place

as our substitute

on that cross.

That's why

the Prince of Peace

came,

not to bring

judgment upon us,

but to bear

judgment for us

so that we

don't have to.

If you know

anything about

the prophet Isaiah

and you read

the whole of his work,

you eventually,

after you read

Isaiah 9,

you eventually

come to Isaiah 53

where the prophet

says this,

he,

this child to be born,

the son to be given,

this king with four names,

he,

was pierced

for our transgressions,

he was crushed

for our iniquities,

the punishment

that brought us peace

was on him,

and by his wounds

we are healed.

It's because we all,

if we're honest

with ourselves,

have transgressed

God's moral law

of love

that we deserve

to be pierced.

But,

the good news

of Christmas

is that our

Prince of Peace

who lies here

in such mean

a state

has been pierced

for us instead.

That because

we are guilty

of iniquities,

that's an old word

that means

because we're guilty

of injustices

toward one another

and toward God.

We deserve

to be crushed,

but the good news

of Christmas

is that our

Prince of Peace

here in this lowly

manger where ox

and lamb are feeding,

he's come to be

crushed instead

of us.

You see this connection

between Isaiah 9

and Isaiah 53?

Our Prince of Peace

bore our punishment

so that we can have

the peace.

He got the wounds

so that we could get

the healing.

And we must not

sever this link

between Bethlehem

and Golgotha,

between his cradle

and his cross

and between

the peace that we get

and the punishment

that he got.

Nails,

spears

shall pierce him

through the cross

be born for me

for you.

That line

does not ruin Christmas.

That's what gives

Christmas its power

and its glory.

Because this

wonderful counselor,

this mighty God,

this everlasting

father,

this prince of peace

who has the name

above every other name

has come in such lowliness,

such humility,

such downward mobility

that's like nothing

the world has ever seen

from any other politician

or any other king.

Amen?

Amen?

The costliness of his birth,

the sacrifice of his death,

the peace and the reconciliation

with God

that he came to win for us

is worthy of our praise.

And that's why this carol says,

hail, hail,

the word made flesh,

the babe,

the son of Mary.

To hail

means to greet someone

with enthusiastic

approval and acclaim.

And I hope you've come

to do that tonight.

This lowly king

who began in a place

of such mean estate

where ox and lamb

are feeding

and this lamb who,

this lowly king

who deliberately went

to this place

of nails and spears

and a cross for you,

he's worthy

of our enthusiasm.

He's worthy

of our approval

and our acclaim

and our worship tonight.

So the child is a king,

the king is lowly

and just one last thought

is that his kingdom

is forever.

His kingdom is forever.

Look at stanza three

of our carol

that we're going to sing

in a moment.

It says,

so bring him incense,

gold and myrrh,

compesant king to own him.

The king of kings salvation brings,

let loving hearts enthrone him.

And this refers

to the gospel of Matthew

where these magi from the east,

these wise kings,

these Gentile philosophers

came to this manger

and to this cradle

and it says

in the gospel of Matthew

that we read a moment ago

in chapter two,

verse 11,

it says,

when they saw the child,

Jesus,

they bowed down

and they worshiped him.

Now what's happening

in that moment?

These kings from the east,

they've spent their whole lives

studying world history

and they know

that kingdoms rise

and then kingdoms fall.

They've seen the pattern

that every other king

that's ever ruled,

their rule and their reign

is necessarily episodic

and necessarily insecure.

They've learned

that empires

are always emerging

and then disappearing.

They flow

and then they ebb

and they know

that all the peoples

of the world,

all the nations

of the world

are longing

and they're waiting

for a king

who will come

to do something

about this world.

A king that will come

to do something

about this place

of deep confusion

and disorder

and war

and strife

and strain

and cruelty

and pain

and suffering.

And when they finally

get to the cradle

of Christ,

it says that they bowed down

and they worshipped him.

Why did they do that?

Because they've met

the child to be born.

They've met the son

to be given.

They've met the king

with four names.

They've come

and they've encountered

this one

of whom it's foretold

in Isaiah chapter 9

Isaiah 9:7

verse 7.

It says,

of the increase

of his government

and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign

on David's throne

and over his kingdom

establishing and upholding it

with justice and righteousness

from that time on

and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty

will accomplish this.

What a contrast

to every other kingdom

and every other rule

and reign.

Can any of us

even dare

to imagine tonight

what it would mean

to live

in a society

of justice

and righteousness?

What must it be like

to dwell

in a kingdom

that's run

by just procedures

which reflect

righteous principles?

Can you imagine that?

It says,

of the increase

of his government

and peace

there will be

no end.

This is not

a temporary kingdom.

It's not going

to triumph

for a little while

and then fall

and then be overthrown

like every other kingdom.

No, this kingdom

that's being established

is firmly established

and it's going

to go on increasing

until it occupies

all the space

in the universe

until this king

comes to rule

over all

and to banish

all that's evil

all sin

and all death

until he comes

to reorder

our entire cosmos

and what will

be the result

of his rule?

Stability.

Security.

Of the increase

of peace

there will be

no end.

There will be

an endless sharing

among us

of shalom

and wholeness

and well-being

and fulfillment

and that,

my friends,

is going to happen

on a coming

future day.

His kingdom

is never going

to come

to an end

and unless

you and I

become a citizen

of his eternal kingdom

we don't have

much of a future.

In fact,

we don't have

a future at all

and so the question

tonight is

how do I

get into

and how do I

live in his kingdom?

And the answer

is this line

we're about to sing

where it says

the king of kings

salvation brings

let loving hearts

enthrone him.

And I want to invite

you to just do that

this Christmas

whether that's tonight

or over the next

12 days of Christmas

to take your place

at this manger throne

to come to the cradle

of this king

and to bring him

gifts that are

worthy of a monarch

to bring this sovereign

the kind of things

that he deserves

not least

the gift of your heart

and the gift

of your allegiance

and all of your affections

because there's no

greater Christmas present

than receiving this king

with four names

and there's no

greater present

that you could give him

than to give him

your very self.

And so friends

I want to say to us

let us enthrone him

with loving hearts tonight

and let's praise him

from a glad

and a full heart

and let's celebrate

his birth

with everything

that we've got

and let's go out

from here

and live as people

who follow

in the lowly way

of our king

and go out

to spread

the peace

of our prince of peace

and his eternal kingdom

to everyone

we encounter.

And let's sing this carol

together

from a place

of deep conviction

and faith.

If you believe it

I invite you to stand with me

and we're going to offer

this carol

in the name of the Father,

Son, and Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Amen.