The Meaning of Christmas

[00:00:01] Welcome to the Pursuing Faith podcast where we explore questions of faith, doubt, and life.

[00:00:11] I am your host, Dominic Done.

[00:00:18] Welcome everyone and Merry Christmas!

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[00:01:12] This last season, I've been sharing with you some messages from the Gospel of John.

[00:01:18] And in this episode, I want to look at the Christmas story through John's eyes.

[00:01:24] And if you've spent much time in the Gospels, you know by now that he approaches it in a completely different way from the traditional nativity scenes that's found in Luke or Matthew.

[00:01:35] So I hope this message encourages you and inspires you.

[00:01:40] What makes the Gospel of John so unique is that John isn't so much concerned about the facts of Christmas.

[00:01:56] He leaves that to Luke and Matthew.

[00:01:58] John is more concerned about the meaning of Christmas.

[00:02:01] So what he does, you'll notice there in John 1, there's no mention of the manger or the wise men.

[00:02:06] But what he does do is he takes this concept of God becoming man and he begins to unpack it for us in our own lives personally and theologically.

[00:02:17] Now, there's a world of difference between knowing the facts of something and knowing the meaning of something.

[00:02:24] I don't know if there's any fans of Stranger Things in the house this afternoon.

[00:02:29] But my theory is this, that those who like Stranger Things, they like it for two reasons.

[00:02:33] Number one, the music, which is unbelievable, right?

[00:02:36] But secondly, because it reminds you of your 80s childhood.

[00:02:42] Now, I grew up in the 80s, which probably explains a lot.

[00:02:46] And when you're watching it, it's kind of like seeing disturbing flashbacks of your childhood.

[00:02:53] And all these things come to mind in memory of what it was actually like to live in the 80s, whether it was wood-paneled housing or big hairstyles or toys like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

[00:03:07] And you watch that, you're like, oh my gosh, I grew up in that.

[00:03:11] And that explains why I've got so many issues today.

[00:03:14] But you have that level of meaning and it adds kind of a depth to the story.

[00:03:20] And in many ways, that's what John is trying to do here.

[00:03:23] John is taking the facts of Christmas, the story that we all know well, and he tries to explain to us what it means for our life.

[00:03:31] Now, notice how John begins.

[00:03:33] John says that the Word became flesh.

[00:03:38] The New Testament was written in the Greek language originally.

[00:03:43] And the word for word is the word logos.

[00:03:46] Let me hear you say logos.

[00:03:49] And logos is where we get our English word for logic.

[00:03:53] We use it in math, we use it in science, we use it in the arts, et cetera, philosophy.

[00:03:58] But in the ancient world, logos was so much more than just a word.

[00:04:04] Logos was an all-of-life philosophy that initially was started by this guy named Heraclitus.

[00:04:13] Now, Heraclitus, this may ring a bell if you're taking philosophy classes right now.

[00:04:17] Heraclitus was the guy who said that you can't step into the same river twice.

[00:04:22] And what he meant by that is that the world is in constant flux and change and chaos.

[00:04:27] Everything is constantly transforming before our eyes.

[00:04:32] And yet, Heraclitus said that even though there's chaos everywhere, above all the chaos, this overarching principle,

[00:04:41] that this energy that holds all the universe together, he said it was called a logos.

[00:04:48] So there's chaos, but logos is holding it all together.

[00:04:53] It's like The Last Jedi, that scene of Rey and Luke practicing on some distant remote planet,

[00:04:59] which looks remarkably like Northern Ireland, right?

[00:05:02] And he tells her about the force, this energy that pervades all of the universe.

[00:05:08] In many ways, that concept goes way back to the ancient Greeks.

[00:05:12] Heraclitus, he's like, yep, that's the logos.

[00:05:15] It's this energy holding everything together.

[00:05:17] Now, notice what John does.

[00:05:19] John is so brilliant.

[00:05:20] He's so subversive.

[00:05:22] He's writing to this Greek audience and he's saying, okay, let's start with what you believe is ultimate reality.

[00:05:29] Let's start with what you believe is the nature of the universe.

[00:05:33] He says, okay, let's use the word logos.

[00:05:35] He says, in the beginning, verse 1, was the logos.

[00:05:38] And so far, the Greek audience would have been like, yes, of course, we believe that,

[00:05:43] this energy holding everything together.

[00:05:45] But then in verse 14, he drops the bomb.

[00:05:49] He says, the logos became flesh.

[00:05:53] And if we could go back in time and put ourselves in the sandals of that original audience,

[00:05:58] this would have been absolutely jarring, shocking.

[00:06:01] We couldn't believe what we're hearing because their belief about the logos is that it was unknowable.

[00:06:06] It was untouchable.

[00:06:08] You couldn't have a personal relationship with the logos, absolutely impossible.

[00:06:12] And yet here, John is saying, no, the logos became a man.

[00:06:17] The logos became flesh on the very first Christmas.

[00:06:22] Now, let that sink in for a second.

[00:06:25] God became a man.

[00:06:28] God, who is infinite and all-powerful and knows everything, all-loving, who is omniscient, omnipresent,

[00:06:37] this God stepped into the human story.

[00:06:41] This God experienced what it means to be human, pain, loneliness, racism, oppression, poverty, a heart that aches.

[00:06:54] Jesus experienced all of it.

[00:06:57] Augustine, who was a fourth-century theologian, he said this.

[00:07:00] I love this quote.

[00:07:01] He said, man's maker was made man that he ruler of the stars might nurse at his mother's breast,

[00:07:09] that the bread might hunger, the fountain thirst, the light sleep, the way be tired on its journey,

[00:07:15] that truth might be accused of false witnesses, the teacher beaten with whips,

[00:07:20] the foundation be suspended on wood, the cross,

[00:07:24] that strength might grow weak, that the healer might be wounded, that life might die.

[00:07:33] The word became flesh and it dwelt among us.

[00:07:38] But here's the question.

[00:07:39] If Matthew and Luke are concerned about the facts of Christmas

[00:07:43] and John is concerned with the meaning of Christmas,

[00:07:46] then what does this actually mean for our lives today to say that the logos became flesh and dwelt among us?

[00:07:53] A few thoughts and then we're gonna go back to singing.

[00:07:55] First of all, what John is saying, number one, is that God understands you.

[00:08:02] That this God who came to earth on Christmas isn't just some deistic, unknowable, untouchable God

[00:08:11] like the gods of the ancient world.

[00:08:13] No, this God, he understands us.

[00:08:16] He recognizes our pain.

[00:08:18] He empathizes with our weaknesses.

[00:08:22] In Hebrews chapter four, verse 15, it says,

[00:08:24] for we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weakness,

[00:08:29] but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are.

[00:08:34] Yet he did not sin.

[00:08:35] Think about that.

[00:08:36] The temptations, the struggles that we face, the things that we're going through even today,

[00:08:42] the things that are gonna face us.

[00:08:43] The author of Hebrews says that he's been there and yet he did not sin.

[00:08:48] Therefore, let us approach God's throne of grace.

[00:08:52] How?

[00:08:53] With confidence, with confidence so that we may receive mercy

[00:08:57] and find grace to help us in our time of need.

[00:09:02] Notice how the author of Hebrews puts it.

[00:09:04] He says, we have a high priest who can empathize with our weakness.

[00:09:09] He doesn't say who can sympathize with our weakness.

[00:09:12] There's a huge difference, right, between empathy and sympathy.

[00:09:16] Sympathy is just, oh, I feel bad for you.

[00:09:18] I'm sorry you went through that.

[00:09:19] Sorry for your loss or whatever.

[00:09:21] And sure, that helps.

[00:09:22] It's a kind gesture.

[00:09:24] But empathy goes way beyond that.

[00:09:26] Empathy says not just I feel bad for you.

[00:09:30] Empathy is I understand you because I have been there too.

[00:09:37] There's a reason that Jesus is called wonderful counselor

[00:09:42] because the best kinds of counselors in life are not those who just give good advice

[00:09:47] but those who can relate to your story.

[00:09:52] Jesus has been where you are.

[00:09:55] He can understand what you're going through.

[00:09:58] C.S. Lewis said that friendship is born the moment you meet someone and you say,

[00:10:03] oh, I didn't know that about you.

[00:10:06] You've gone through that too.

[00:10:09] The power of empathy.

[00:10:11] Someone told me a story not too long ago of a guy who was out on its safe way,

[00:10:17] and his little 3-year-old boy was just freaking out, just losing it, screaming, total tantrum.

[00:10:22] If you have kids, you know what I'm talking about.

[00:10:24] And he, this father, he's trying to handle it in a really mature way,

[00:10:29] and he's like, okay, Billy, just hold on.

[00:10:32] You can do it.

[00:10:34] Calm down, Billy.

[00:10:35] A few minutes later, the kid's still screaming.

[00:10:37] He's like, just take a deep breath, Billy.

[00:10:39] It's okay.

[00:10:40] They get to the cash-out register, and he's like, come on, Billy, we're almost there.

[00:10:44] Just a few more minutes.

[00:10:45] You can do it, Billy.

[00:10:46] Just hold on, Billy.

[00:10:47] And finally, he makes it on his safe way, and he's unloading his kid into the car,

[00:10:52] and he puts the groceries in the car, and this guy comes up to him, a stranger,

[00:10:55] and he's like, oh, my goodness.

[00:10:57] I just saw how you handled your son.

[00:10:59] He said, let me just say that was incredible.

[00:11:01] I have a 3-year-old son too, he said.

[00:11:03] And just the way you did that was so mature.

[00:11:05] The way you cared for Billy, the way you loved Billy, the way you talked Billy

[00:11:09] out of the situation.

[00:11:10] And the guy just, the father looked at this guy, and he's like, well,

[00:11:13] I don't think you understand.

[00:11:15] I'm Billy.

[00:11:16] If you don't get it, we have a prayer room afterwards, and we'll open it up.

[00:11:24] Right?

[00:11:25] That's the power of empathy.

[00:11:26] When you can look at the father of the 3-year-old, and you're like,

[00:11:31] I get what you're going through.

[00:11:32] I understand.

[00:11:34] I have been there too.

[00:11:36] Brothers and sisters, whatever you're facing today, whatever you're going

[00:11:41] through, whatever chaos is in your life, you have one who understands

[00:11:47] because he has been there too.

[00:11:50] God understands you.

[00:11:52] Secondly, though, John takes it deeper.

[00:11:54] He says not only does God understand you, but God is with you.

[00:12:00] Notice this phrase.

[00:12:01] Again, we sing this in church.

[00:12:03] If you've heard the Christmas story, you're familiar with it.

[00:12:06] Or if you've read the Gospel of John, you've maybe read this hundreds of times.

[00:12:09] And it's a phrase, though, that is simple but loaded with theological depth.

[00:12:14] He says, we have seen his glory.

[00:12:15] The word glory in the Hebrew language, I know it looks like kabod,

[00:12:19] but it's actually pronounced kavod.

[00:12:22] Let me hear you say kavod.

[00:12:25] Kavod means weight, substance, presence.

[00:12:30] Other translations say heaviness, which will be many of us after Christmas

[00:12:35] meals tomorrow, right?

[00:12:37] It's this essence.

[00:12:39] And it goes all the way back, not just to John, but John is pulling from a well-known

[00:12:45] passage in Exodus 33, if you're taking notes.

[00:12:49] Exodus 33, Moses is on a mountain, and Moses has one prayer request.

[00:12:54] He has one thing on his Amazon wish list.

[00:12:57] He's like, God, this is what I want more than anything.

[00:13:00] I want to see your glory.

[00:13:03] God, I've heard about you.

[00:13:06] I've seen evidence of your power.

[00:13:09] I've witnessed you part the Red Sea.

[00:13:13] But God, I want to go deeper.

[00:13:15] I don't want to just know about you.

[00:13:17] I want to know you.

[00:13:18] Show me your glory.

[00:13:21] Show me your kavod.

[00:13:24] I know that many of us today, we're in that place.

[00:13:26] We're like, I've heard the stories.

[00:13:27] I've read the Bible.

[00:13:29] I've been to church.

[00:13:30] But there's a longing in your heart for more of God.

[00:13:33] Show me your glory.

[00:13:34] God, I ache for you.

[00:13:36] Like David said in the book of Psalms, as the deer pants for the water, so thirsts

[00:13:41] my soul for the living God.

[00:13:43] Show me your glory.

[00:13:45] And God says to Moses, well, I'd like to, but the only problem is if I showed you my

[00:13:51] glory, you'd die.

[00:13:52] So this is what I'm going to do.

[00:13:53] I'm going to pass behind a rock, and you'll get a glimpse of who I am, just an echo, a

[00:13:58] fragment of who I am.

[00:14:00] And then, Moses, you'll be able to experience me, but it won't be the whole thing so you

[00:14:04] don't die.

[00:14:05] And you know the story, Moses, he watches and the glory of God passes by.

[00:14:08] And even though it was shielded by a rock, he still came down the mountain transformed.

[00:14:17] For thousands of years, the cry of the human heart is God, show us your glory.

[00:14:23] God, we want to know you.

[00:14:25] We want to experience you.

[00:14:26] It's the ache of poets.

[00:14:28] It's the song of the oppressed.

[00:14:30] God, show us your glory.

[00:14:32] Reveal yourself to us.

[00:14:34] Make all things new.

[00:14:35] We want oppression to cease.

[00:14:38] And here, John says that it's no longer about us going up the mountain to try and find the

[00:14:44] glory of God.

[00:14:45] It's not about us trying to find that ultimate fulfillment and ultimate reality.

[00:14:49] It's God coming down to us.

[00:14:52] It's God revealing himself to us.

[00:14:54] The glory has come to you.

[00:14:58] So what does that mean?

[00:15:00] It means that the message of Christmas, the message of Christianity is you don't have

[00:15:04] to keep searching for God.

[00:15:06] God has come to you.

[00:15:08] You just need to open up your heart and let him come inside.

[00:15:12] Jesus said, I stand at the door of your heart and I knock.

[00:15:15] If you just come in, I will dine with you.

[00:15:18] There is fellowship.

[00:15:19] There is intimacy.

[00:15:20] God is crowding at the door, pushing against the hinge.

[00:15:24] He wants to get in.

[00:15:25] His presence is all around us.

[00:15:29] It's like the air that you breathe and all you have to do is inhale.

[00:15:34] And this is so important because we live in a culture, we live in a time when culture

[00:15:38] says that fulfillment is always around the next corner.

[00:15:43] Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

[00:15:47] But the problem is with the pursuit of happiness is that happiness is always just outside of

[00:15:52] your grasp.

[00:15:53] You won't ever get it.

[00:15:56] If I just get a new house, I'll be happy.

[00:15:58] If I get a new car, I'll be happy.

[00:16:00] If I get a new job, I'll be happy.

[00:16:02] If I just get married, I'll be happy.

[00:16:04] And if she gets a job, then we get the house.

[00:16:06] Then I'll be happy, right?

[00:16:08] But happiness, if we're trying to pursue it, will elude us.

[00:16:12] But if we simply open ourself to God and the presence of Jesus, it will fill us.

[00:16:19] God is here.

[00:16:21] This is not just some distant relationship.

[00:16:24] Some of you maybe are in a long distance relationship, and that can be hard.

[00:16:28] And I think back to when I was dating my wife, Elisa, and there were times when she'd be

[00:16:33] away or I'd be away or whatever.

[00:16:35] And she'd write me letters.

[00:16:36] If you're born before 1995, you're like, what's a letter?

[00:16:39] And I remember getting them, and it was so precious to me.

[00:16:43] I'd read it, and I'd reread it and read it a third time.

[00:16:47] I'd look up the words in the Greek and Hebrew, right?

[00:16:49] It was just so meaningful to me.

[00:16:51] And yet, when I actually saw her, it was a completely different level.

[00:16:57] God with us is not just God sending a book down from the heavens.

[00:17:02] It's God saying, I am here now with you.

[00:17:05] God understands you.

[00:17:07] God is with you.

[00:17:09] The word became flesh.

[00:17:11] We have seen his glory.

[00:17:13] But there's one last thing, and then we'll keep singing.

[00:17:16] God is for you.

[00:17:20] God is for you.

[00:17:22] There's a difference between just being with someone and being for someone.

[00:17:28] You can be with people.

[00:17:29] It's called a city.

[00:17:30] But being for someone is a community.

[00:17:34] God is for you.

[00:17:36] He's full of grace and truth, John says in 114.

[00:17:40] Now, there's all kinds of, we could spend hours just on this point.

[00:17:43] But notice the word full.

[00:17:44] It means abounding.

[00:17:46] It means overflowing.

[00:17:47] Grace, it means radical kindness, peace, and joy.

[00:17:52] Truth is translated as ultimate reality.

[00:17:55] What is John saying?

[00:17:56] He's saying when the logos, the word became flesh, and we saw his glory,

[00:18:01] he satisfies us in the deepest way.

[00:18:03] But not only that, he came to lavish his presence and his grace and his truth

[00:18:09] and his heart and his beauty and his shalom and his justice upon your life.

[00:18:17] Now, this isn't religion.

[00:18:19] Religion says you have to do all of these things in order to get to God or the gods.

[00:18:23] And maybe the god or the gods will forgive you, but they're really upset with you.

[00:18:26] No, the God of the Bible, the God of this first Christmas says,

[00:18:29] I love you with an everlasting love.

[00:18:32] There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Jesus.

[00:18:37] Nothing can separate you from his love.

[00:18:39] Neither height or depth or angels or principalities or powers,

[00:18:42] nothing can separate you from the love of God which is in Jesus our Lord.

[00:18:48] This is the gospel.

[00:18:50] And yet, isn't it true that Christians of all people and churches sometimes

[00:18:55] have done a really bad job of living out and communicating this love?

[00:19:00] I mean, just look at how we're perceived culturally or in our own city.

[00:19:05] Sometimes people look at Christians as, well, they're just judgmental

[00:19:08] or they're cynical or they're bitter.

[00:19:10] We don't really want to hang out with Christians because they just are going to judge my life.

[00:19:15] A few years ago, I had a chance to drive across the country.

[00:19:19] And it's really fascinating the places you'll see when you drive across the country.

[00:19:23] There are parts of our country like, whoa, I had no idea.

[00:19:26] And there's, on these drives, I've kind of taken this hobby of when I see

[00:19:31] an interesting church sign, we've all seen them,

[00:19:34] the whole culture of church signage.

[00:19:37] I'll take a picture of them because some of them are so weird, honestly,

[00:19:41] and so off and so bizarre, and in some cases, judgmental.

[00:19:47] Here's a few of my favorite church signs.

[00:19:51] God saw you do that.

[00:19:54] Now, can you imagine?

[00:19:56] At this church, you wouldn't even need to have a sermon because everyone just comes

[00:20:00] in feeling horrible, right?

[00:20:02] There's the prayer room, right?

[00:20:04] Okay, here's another.

[00:20:05] Don't let worries kill you.

[00:20:07] Let the church help.

[00:20:10] Okay, here's another.

[00:20:12] Church parking only.

[00:20:14] Violators will be baptized.

[00:20:17] Oh my goodness, that's so welcoming.

[00:20:19] This is my favorite one.

[00:20:20] Do you know what hell is?

[00:20:21] Come hear our preacher.

[00:20:23] Some of you are like, yep, Dom, because I've heard you preach before, right?

[00:20:29] And so for many people, that's their impression of Christianity.

[00:20:32] That's their impression of what church is.

[00:20:35] And yet, that is not the God of the Bible.

[00:20:38] The God of the Bible says, I'm full of grace and truth.

[00:20:42] I've come to adopt you as my daughters and my sons.

[00:20:46] You are welcome into my family.

[00:20:48] And all you have to do is just open the door of your heart.

[00:20:52] Let me come in.

[00:20:53] Let me heal you.

[00:20:54] Let me restore you.

[00:20:55] Let me set you free because if anyone is in Jesus, the old is gone,

[00:21:00] and all things are made new.

[00:21:04] I know that some of us, the cynical side of me is like, well,

[00:21:07] how do I know that's true?

[00:21:08] I mean, it sounds great.

[00:21:09] He's full of grace and truth.

[00:21:11] But how do I know that this is reality?

[00:21:13] Here's how we know.

[00:21:14] Check this out.

[00:21:15] It's because this God didn't just send his son to earth, a logos becoming flesh

[00:21:19] who dwelt among us, and we saw his glory full of grace and truth.

[00:21:23] This God walked where we've walked.

[00:21:26] He was tempted in every way, and yet without sin, he healed, he forgave,

[00:21:30] he shared, he taught, he loved.

[00:21:33] He gave himself.

[00:21:35] This God became weak and vulnerable and killable, betrayed with a kiss,

[00:21:44] nailed to a wooden Roman cross, giving his life, giving his all.

[00:21:50] Why?

[00:21:51] The Bible says he took our sin, and he nailed it to the cross with him.

[00:21:56] You see, when the Bible says you're forgiven and you're the righteousness

[00:21:58] of God in Christ Jesus, this isn't like some cheap grace thing.

[00:22:01] Oh, it's okay.

[00:22:02] You're forgiven.

[00:22:03] Just go live how you want to live.

[00:22:04] No, our sin cost Jesus the ultimate price.

[00:22:07] He gave everything.

[00:22:09] He laid down his life.

[00:22:11] He was pinned to the cross so that we may become what God has called us to be

[00:22:18] so that we may be forgiven, so that we may be healed.

[00:22:22] He took our sin, and he gave us redemption.

[00:22:26] He took our past, and he says, now you can be born again.

[00:22:31] He took all of our junk, and he says, here's my righteousness.

[00:22:35] He gave us all the ways we've messed up our story, and he says,

[00:22:39] let me write a new story in you.

[00:22:42] That is the message of Christianity, and that is the message of Christmas.

[00:22:49] It's what John is saying in John's gospel, and that, brothers and sisters,

[00:22:54] is what we are called to now live and be in our city.

[00:22:58] I close with this verse, 1 John 4.

[00:23:00] Same John who wrote the gospel of John.

[00:23:02] I think he ties it all together.

[00:23:04] He says, in this, the love of God was revealed among us

[00:23:09] that God sent his only son into the world so that we might live through him.

[00:23:17] Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

[00:23:33] This has been a Pursuing Faith podcast.

[00:23:35] If this ministry has encouraged you in some way,

[00:23:38] would you consider leaving a review on iTunes or your favorite podcasting platform?

[00:23:44] That would help a ton in getting the word out.

[00:23:47] Also, if you want to partner with us or see what we're up to,

[00:23:50] check out our website, pursuingfaith.org.