Saturday December 24, 2011

Read Luke 3; Isaiah 40:3



Let’s do some detective work even though we have said quite categorically that this Jesus narrative is not a detective book or mystery novel. The writers want us to understand as soon as possible who Jesus is.



But let’s put the jigsaw pieces together so we can understand more correctly who Jesus is. Turn to Isaiah 40:3 and notice that it’s the same quote as used in Luke 3. Isaiah 40:3 prophesies that someone will come along declaring and making the way for the Lord.



Now I want you to notice the word Lord in vs 3. Notice that it’s spelt in capitals? It’s LORD, not Lord. The capitalised word Lord is a simple way of representing the personal name of God Almighty. In Hebrew it’s Yahweh. Some older Bibles have Lord written as Jehovah.



Now here’s where we have to get our detective hats on. Back in Luke’s gospel when John the Baptist comes along telling everyone about Jesus, he quotes that passage in Isaiah 40:3. He is crying out ‘prepare the way for the .....’. What word goes there? Lord! Can you see what John the Baptist is saying? Can you hear what Luke’s gospel is saying? Jesus is God come to us. Jesus is the one who is the exact representation of God’s being. Jesus is God in flesh. When Jesus comes to us, God Himself comes to us.



In a few short words we have a major clue as to the identity of Jesus. He is God! He is the Lord. He often made such a claim. See John 10:31-33. People recognised Him as God. See John 20:28. The Bible writes about Him as God. John 1:1. The overwhelming testimony is that Jesus is God come to us.



But some people will tell you He wasn't God. He was only God’s son. They might say He was only a good teacher. They might say He was a myth or a legend, or the stories grew up and evolved to saying that He was God. You need to ask yourself, ‘Who will you believe, the Word of God or some guy that has an axe to grind?’



Christmas time is a time when we celebrate, not some fat man in a ridiculous red suit trying to come down your non existent chimney to give presents to only your good children, but to celebrate the love of God. He chose to come to us in the person of Jesus, to rescue us, to bring us to God and to allow us to re-enter a relationship of peace with God. Christmas time is a time where you can receive the greatest present of all - the gift God gave you of His Son, the Saviour. Christmas time is a time of love because God has poured out His love onto the world. God, through Christ Jesus, has broken into our brokenness to bring healing, wholeness & dignity.



Prayer:

As Christians celebrate the meaning of Christmas, pray that God would bring many non-believers into our churches to hear the wonderful truth behind the glitter and hype the world portrays as Christmas.