Exordium
In the Gospel of St. Luke, we learn of a man named Simeon who was righteous and devout. He is one of many who had been waiting for the “consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). A man who was hanging on God’s promise of forgiveness and salvation through the coming Messiah. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he saw the fulfillment of God’s promise to send the Messiah—the Christ. So, imagine his utter joy when the Holy Spirit led him to see that the Child Mary brought to the temple forty days after his birth in accordance with the law of Moses was no ordinary child! He was the long foretold and awaited Savior.
Like the shepherds, I can see Simeon hastening to see this Child because we are told that he took him up in his arms and blessed God, saying, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:29–32). With these words Simeon commits himself into the Lord’s hands. He can die in peace because he holds in his hands the one who has power over death. This babe born in Bethlehem is the Savior of the world, the light of all peoples!
By God’s grace, we join with Simeon in heart and voice. The Lord’s salvation has been brought to you through the water and the Word in Baptism, imparted to you in the words of absolution, and even more intimately, in the Lord’s Supper where we hold in our hands the very body and blood of Jesus, the promised Savior of the world, to eat and to drink under the bread and wine, which gives us the forgiveness of sins, life, and eternal salvation. Because we have received this great gift, we, like Simeon, can depart in peace. We can leave this service—we can leave this life—knowing that whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s and that nothing can separate us from his love—not sin, not the devil, and not even death itself!
This is why the birth of God’s only begotten Son is so important for you and me! It gives us hope for this life and the life to come! Therefore, let us rise and sing with joy in our hearts our festival hymn #142, “Rejoice, rejoice this happy morn!”
Rejoice, rejoice this happy morn!
A Savior unto us is born,
The Christ, the Lord of glory.
His lowly birth in Bethlehem
The angels from on high proclaim
And sing redemption’s story.
My soul,
Extol
God’s great favor;
Bless Him ever
For salvation.
Give Him praise and adoration!
John 1:1–14
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 any thing made that was made. 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.
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. He was not the Light, but came to bear witness about the Light.
The true Light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people 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 from the Father, full of grace and truth. (ESV)
He Became Our Brother!
In Christ Jesus, who became our Brother, so that we might become children of God, dear fellow redeemed!
As most of you know, I am the youngest of seven siblings. While siblings are sometimes your toughest critics and greatest causes for vexation (especially, when you are young), siblings are truly a great blessing. One of the blessings of having siblings is that you always have someone on your team. When I was growing up, we would often play pickup games of football, softball, and kickball in the ball field in town with lots of kids. I can remember the excitement I had as a little boy when one of my brothers would occasionally jump into one of these games. While I would never admit it to them, they were much stronger, faster, and athletic than me. So, when they joined my team, I knew that we would win no matter what the current score was. I would shout either out loud or in my head, “That’s my brother!”
On Christmas, we celebrate our heavenly Father’s gracious giving of his only begotten Son, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, to become our Brother. “The Word became flesh.” Who is he? He is the Word who was with God in the beginning; there was never a time when he was not. He has always existed from all eternity. And this Word who was with God, was God. Through the Word all things were made in heaven and on earth. He is almighty God, who came to bring life and light to all people. The one who came to become our Brother, to join the team of our human race, was the almighty, all-knowing, all-present Son of God, Jesus Christ.
The Word of Scripture is clear—Jesus Christ, who became man, is true God. And that is a tremendous comfort for you and me! We needed Christ on our team, because we weren’t playing any childish game. It was a fight over our body and soul. Our enemies were none other than sin, death, and the devil. You and I were hopeless against them. Despite man’s naïve and wrongful thinking that he is “not that bad,” Scripture says we were dead in trespasses and sins. A dead man can’t do anything—and neither can we when it comes to our salvation. We were hopeless and helpless. Our sins are too great. If it depended on us, then death in hell would be our lot because the devil had us beat.
But Jesus intervened. He became man. He became our Brother. He joined our team so that we might not be beat. But this battle could not be won like most earthly battles. To save us from our sin, he needed to live a holy life in our place and suffer the punishment that our sin deserved. He endured defeat on the cross—so that we could gain the victory. Even as a Child born in a manger, this was his mission. He came to atone for the sins of the whole world, so that we might have peace with God. As true man he took our place and as true God his sacrifice was able to pay for the sins of the whole world. He rose triumphantly on the third day, so that whoever believes in him shall not die, but live eternally with him.
The manger, cross, and empty tomb. For you and me—that sentence overflows with joy and peace. It’s our reminder that Christ joined our team and has won the battle. By God’s grace, all those who believe in Christ will be saved.
Yet, John also laments, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.” Many of Jesus’ own people, descendants of Abraham, did not receive him as their Savior. Through pride and unbelief, they rejected him as the Messiah, their Savior and Lord.
Today many also do not receive Christ. In unbelief they throw away the victory that he has won. While there are many reasons why people lose the precious treasure that Christ offers, I’ll boil it down to four. The first is that some do not believe that Christ is real. This is a shallow reason, because there is no real historian who questions the legitimacy of Christ’s birth, life, and resurrection accounts. The people in the ancient world were just as cautious about imposters as we are today. Unlike all other religions, Christianity is based in history—he was born when Cyrenius was governor of Syria, he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, these details, along eye-witness testimony, should shred all doubt about the historical reliability of Christ’s life.
The second reason people do not receive the Christ is that they are unwilling to admit their dire need of saving. Whether it be pride or work righteousness, they do not want Christ to be their only hope. The Pharisee inside us does not want to admit that our sins deserve death and hell. It’s offensive to the old Adam in us.
The third reason is that people love their sin more than their Brother. They are so enraptured with it, that they refuse to repent of it and cling to Christ. The devil knows he has been defeated and so it’s no surprise that he vies for our fear, love, and trust—making something or someone, our idol. He tempts us to love darkness more than light.
The final reason some do not receive him as their Brother is because they are worried that they are too far gone. They are in despair. They see their sin and weakness and have believed the devil’s lies that their sin is too great. Sure, they believe Christ died for some, but not me.
You could maybe describe these last three as sibling dysfunction. We view Christ as a competitor rather than one who came to save us. We can be tempted to think that life is better without Christ serving as our captain and leader, mistaking darkness for freedom. Or we fall for the devil’s lie that he only came for some—just the worthy.
But these concerns are addressed in our lesson. Do you see what Christ did for you? Do you see how he left his eternal glory to be born in lowliness in a manger with cloth and hay? He did it so that he could accomplish your salvation. He did it so that you could experience the joy of heaven—where there is no darkness. He partook in our suffering, death, and hell so that we may partake in his glory, life, and heaven. We are made heirs of heaven, children of God, by the will of God who works faith in us through Word of God. We couldn’t save ourselves or come to God, so God came to us and makes us children of God.
While not all siblings get along, Jesus is full of grace and truth. If you are worried about your sins, take heart, that Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
If Christ is on our team, we need not fear. There is no sin too great which he has not beat. What’s more, since he became our Brother, we have comfort as we face every trouble in this life. No matter the troubles you are going through right now, no matter the suffering you are enduring, no matter the challenges that lie ahead—Christ is on your side! He will never leave you. He will always be near you. He comes to give you comfort and strength in his life-giving Word and Sacrament.
This is why the angels rejoiced! They knew what the birth of this Holy Child meant for the world—for you and for me. The Word became flesh. May we also behold his glory and ponder all these things and keep them in our hearts always. The birth of Christ makes all the difference, so let’s shout for joy that he became our Brother! Amen.