CHRISTMAS SERMON

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVI, Issue 21, 23 December 1925, Page 4

CHRISTMAS SERMON

PREPARATIONS FOR INCARNATION OF JESUS CHRIST.

f (By Itev. A. A. Murray.)

You will find -ray text in Galatians, chapter IV., verse 4: “But when the fulness of time was come God sent His Son, made of a woman, made under the law.” At the right moment God sent forth His Son to be the Saviour of the world. It lias often been asked why God did not send Him sooner. Why should thousands of years have elapsed before He came? My answer is: the world was not ready for Him. When Solon was asked why- he did not give the Greeks better laws his reply was they were not ready for them. Now it is interesting and instructive to notice the wonderful preparation that was made for the first advent of Jesus Christ into this world.' No such long and careful preparation was made for the coming of any .other person. Who ever heard of preparation reaching back four thousand years for the advent of a mere mortal? Yet such was the preparation made for the arrival of Jesus Christ in human flesh. This fact alone ought to impress us with the fact of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. I.—Now in the first place, let us notice that there was a Predictive Preparation. Jesus Christ came into the world in fulfilment of a long series of detailed predictions. The first and foremost prediction was that of His true humanity. He was to come into the world through the avenue of a woman’s life. “The seed of the woman shall bruize the serpent’s head.” The race was early taught to look for the Saviour, not as an angel from heaven, but as a child born of woman. So early was this promise grasped that when Cain was born live exclaimed: “I have gotten a man, even the Messiah.” Again, it soon became known that this Itedeemer was to descend from Abraham. “And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth bo blessed.” Don’t let us despise and persecute the Jewish race. We have that race to thank for every line and word of the Bible, “h'or to them were committed the oracles of God,” and but for their zeal and love for the Scriptures they might have been completely destroyed and lost. As time went on the world was prepared for the advent of one who was to be born of a virgin. To Isaiah the prophet came the startling information : “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel.” In other words God told the prophet that He was going to provide a Itedeemer apart from the agency of a man. So then our Lord’s true and perfect humanity; in fact His virgin birth, was a well established fact of prophecy and ought to have been understood bj' the Jews of that time. Then the world was prepared for the sufferings and vicarious death of the Messiah. “By his knowledge my righteous servant shall justify many; for he shall bear their-.iniquities.” Had the Jews known their Scripture they would have recognised the Messiah when He came. Then they were prepared for the arrival of a Divine Messiah, God’s Eternal Son. For did not Isaiah tell them: “His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace?” So then it should not have been passing strange to the Jews when Christ said: “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father, I and my Father are one.” Then it was predicted of Him that He should be a great King and that He should sit upon the throne of His father David and reign over the house of Israel. Every necessary detail in His life was predicted so that the Jewish nation might know Him when He came, and tick off as it were every item on the divine programme as it was fulfilled by Him. How wonderful then was the predictive preparation for the advent of Jesus Christ. It covered a period of four thousand years. Even the hour of His arrival was predicted so that if the Jews had looked up their chronology they would have known the day and the year of His coming. LINGUISTIC PREPARATION. In the second place there was a linguistic preparation. While God was preparing the Jewish nation by prophecy for Christ’s incarnation, He was also preparing the way linguistically for the message of Christ to be given to the world. Greek culture and language had sent its ramifications out far and wide. And the most perfect and beautiful language in the world was becoming universal. Under the military achievements of Alexander the Great Greek culture had been spread throughout the then known world and a perfect vehicle was prepared for the Christian message. The Greek language is one of the richest, if not the richest language in the world. Our mother' tongue is barren in comparison with it. Take for example the English word “world.” In the Greek it has four

equivalents. And in many other respects it is wonderfully rich and expressive. When the richest and most perfect language was universally known God came forward with His Son, and with the message of grace. So that today wo have our New Testament in the richest and finest language the world has ever known.

GOVERNMENTAL PREPARATION. Then thirdly, there was a governmental preparation. The Roman Government with its military power and discipline—with its law and order—was everywhere. Courts of justice were established in every Roman colony and garrisons in every town and city. While Christianity was not sanctioned by law, nevertheless, when religious troubles arose the Apostles had the protection' of the State. You remember how" powerfully safeguarded Paul was on the occasion of his being taken to Caesarea to escape the Jewish attempt on his life. The bodyguard consisted of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and spearmen two hundred—four hundred and seventy soldiers all told. Rome did things handsomely. But for this Paul would have been killed early in his ministry. Think too of the wonderful roads and bridges constructed everywhere—the roads were made irrespective of cost. The shortest route from point to point was tlieir chief concern. It mattered not what hills of rock had to be encountered; Rome cut roads through them. All this made it comparatively easy for the messengers of the Gospel to do their work. Then Rome put down brigandage and highway robbery and thus made it comparatively safe for travellers to pass through the country, of course, there was occasionally a hold-up by robbers, but this sort of thing’ was reduced to a minimum. Paul does speak of being “in peril by robbers.” Then Rome swept the sea of pirates and piracy. Of course, if one went beyond the jurisdiction of Rome, say as far as the Indian Ocean, it was probable he would encounter pirates, but when the Roman banners waved there was no piracy to speak of. In all this we see the hand of God preparing the way for the advent of the Saviour and the proclamation. of the Christian message.

' RELIGIOUS PREPARATION. Then, fourthly, there was a religious preparation. The religion of the Jews was not copied from the heathen as destructive criticism would have us believe. It was divinely given. All the sacrifices and offerings—the priesthood and its many duties were all divinely commanded—nothing being left to man's suggestion. The shedding of animal blood and the forfeiture or animal life which took place daily was intended to bring home to the people the heinousness of sin. “The wages of sin is death” was forcibly brought before the people. The idea of substitution—the innocent dying for the guilty—was a daily lesson taught to Israel. Then the High Priest who alone could approach God, and then not without blood, was intended to teach the people the idea of God’s holiness. Alan’s sin, God’s holiness, and the way of approach to God through blood were the cardinal truths God intended to teach Israel, and was a necessary preparation for the reception of Christ. Or, as Paul puts it, “the law was our schoolmaster up to Christ.” Or, as it is well put in Hebrews, these things were “a figure for the time present, in which were offered both gilts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience, which stood only in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of reformation.” Then, again, God had to teach His people the fact of their own worthlessness and inability" to keep His commandments in their own strength. . That many of the spiritual in Israel saw Christ typified in all these sacrifices is perfectly clear from the words of Christ: “Abraham saw my day and was glad.” “Aloses esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt; for lie had respect unto the recompence of the reward.” And so through hundreds of years God was preparing His people religiously for the incarnation of His son.

In conclusion, let us notice, the reception accorded Christ by His people. One would have throught that, after such preparations for His advent, and after such detailed information regarding His person and worth, the Jewish people would have received Him with open arms. But they were so blinded by bigotry, pride, and self-righteous-ness that they utterly failed to recognise Him when He came. Although He proved Himself to be the fulfilment of prophecy, yet they ignorantly rejected Him and put Him on a cross of shame. Yes, they were a religious people, but their religion was a dead, formal thing; a thing that blinded them to the truth and worth of their Messiah. But oh! let me make tliis a personal matter. What is your attitude to this wonderful Saviour? You may have religion, but have you Christ? You may be a church man, and may repeat the Apostles’ Creed, and may be punctilious in the performance of religious rites and ceremonies, but have you Christ

in your heart as your Saviour?' Do you know anything about His saving, restraining, sanctifying and up-holding power in your life ? If not than I beseech you at this •Christmas tide to make Him your Saviour and Lord. Emulate the example of the wise men from the East, who came to Him and presented their gifts of gold and myrrh and frankincense. You can bring Him a gift too. That gift is your life—that life of yours with all its latent possibilities you can lay at His feot. You may not have silver and gold to givo Him, but you have sometlfing far more precious. You have your life and that you may give to Him to be renewed, to be transformed, and to be used in His glad and glorious service. Saul of Tarsus placed his life at the disposal of Christ and he became the greatest man the world has ever known. What you can be and what you can accomplish for Him depend upon the measure of your surrender and abandonment to Him. GIVE WHOLE-HEARTEDLY. Let not this Christmas season pass by without giving yourself whole-heart-

edly to Him for service or for sacrifice, He is worthy. Let me close by giving you this beautiful poem:— What shall I bring to the Saviour? What shall I lay at His feet? I have no glittering jewels, Gold frankincense so sweet. What shallT bring to the Savour? Lips His dear praises to sing. Feet that will walk in the pathway. Leading to Jesus our King.. What shall I bring to the Saviour? Love that is purest and best. Life in its sweetness and beauty. All for His service so blest. Gifts to the Saviour I’m bringing Love’s richest treasures to lay Low at His feet with rejoicing. Ere yonder sunset to-day.