December 25: Saviour
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.”
Merry Christmas! Today we culminate our celebration of the birth of Jesus as we remember him as our Saviour. Let’s begin by seeing that great scene of the angels appearing in the fields in Luke 2:8-14:
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
If you have ever sinned against God, you need a saviour. Whether or not you truly realize it, your greatest and most tangible need right now is not money, health, a new job, a new partner, new kids, new circumstances or even a restful holiday after a big year, it’s the need to be made right with your creator. You have an almighty sin problem that threatens to destroy you. But the good news of great joy that the angels were speaking of in that field is that Jesus is your great and final solution to your sin problem.
It was his love for you that brought him to earth, and his love for you that took him to the cross. God has intervened in human history and your very life to get your attention, to shake you awake from your slumber and to show you amazing grace! Undeserved and unearned, but yours all the same. Take hold of it today! It is truly the most wonderful thing to know the present and active pleasure of God over your life. There truly is “peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
This Christmas day, let us rejoice and let us believe the good news! in the words of Frederick Buechner: “Turn around and believe that the good news that we are loved is better than we ever dared hope, and that to believe in that good news, to live out of it and toward it, to be in love with that good news, is of all glad things in this world the gladdest thing of all. Amen, and come, Lord Jesus”.
December 24: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
When my daughter was born, I was so incredibly excited to share the news with the world. She came three weeks early and so it was a bit of a surprise to all. But once she had come, we couldn’t wait to announce her arrival to anyone who would hear the news. In Isaiah 9:6, we read of a birth announcement with a difference: it is an announcement made in advance. And not just that, it’s seven hundred years in advance! God is able to do the undoable, and promise the unpromisable!
And in this birth announcement we find a wonderful promise. We read of a child who is to be born, but not just any ordinary child. Consider the names he is given! Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Each of these give us an amazing insight into who this child would be and become for the world. He would be the Wonderful Counsellor, full of wisdom, love and strength for weary souls. He would be Mighty God, not weak and helpless but powerful and able, with nothing standing outside of his ability to change or correct. He would be Everlasting Father, filled with a deep fatherly love for his children even as he is loved by his Father. And he would be Prince of Peace, the bringer of permanent and lasting resolution to the raging chaos of the universe. His reign will be marked by a sense of pure rightness – things as they truly should be, indeed, things as they were created to be. Nothing in all of existence can compare to the good news of this birth announcement. This Christmas Eve, take a moment in prayer. Pray through each of those four titles, and thank Him for all he is.
December 23: Mediator
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
When I find myself contemplating the meaning of Christmas, I imagine baby Jesus. He is wrapped in a blanket and sleeping in his mother’s arms. She just sits there; gazing at this little miracle God has given her. I wonder did she have any idea that this baby, so tiny and fragile was her only hope of being reconciled to God?
When God lead Israel out of Egypt, the people had seen his power on display. But they were afraid and so requested that Moses be an intermediary between them and God (Exod. 20:18-20). They knew intuitively that entering the presence of an utterly holy God would result in death given their fallen nature. In the Law of Moses, only Priests from the tribe of Levi could minister in the Temple, and the High Priest alone could enter the Holy of Holies. It was here that the priest would offer sacrifices to God each year on behalf of Israel. But there was a problem. The priests themselves were sinful by nature and they would still eventually die. The priests had to first make atonement for their own sins before they could act as mediator between God and Israel (Hebrews 9:7). What God’s people needed was someone without sin, who could mediate on their behalf forever and offer a perfect sacrifice. What was needed was a once-and-for-all type sacrifice.
In 1 Timothy 2:5, Paul writes, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” For those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, He is their mediator. He fulfilled the office of priest forever. In him you have become a child of God and he intercedes on your behalf to the Father. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice and his resurrection declares that in him, the Father’s just wrath had been entirely satisfied. Whether Mary knew it or not, she was tasked with raising the child who would be her perfect and eternal mediator. Just as Mary was, we also fall short of the glory of God. Today, you need Jesus to be your mediator too.
December 22: The Lion of Judah
“Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Jesus is the Lion of Judah. A lion is a wonderful image to capture the qualities of Jesus. He is fierce. He is king. He is full of strength, power, beauty and honour. He is lionhearted. Every admirable quality you have ever noticed in another person are possessed in full by the Lion of Judah. But what’s amazing about Jesus is he’s not just a collection of extremes, but of perfections. We admire him for his glory, but all the more because his glory is so coloured by his humility. We admire him for his strength, but all the more because his strength shines brightest through his “weakness” on the cross. We admire him for his unwavering commitment to truth, but all the more because of his grace. We admire him for his justice, and yet so much more because of his mercy. We admire him for being the conquering lion, but all the more so for being sacrificial lamb. What a saviour and king!
Today’s verse from Revelation 5:5 begins with a consolation: there is no need to weep anymore! Why? Because the Lion of Judah has victory! He has conquered your enemies of Satan, sin and death. Our lionhearted saviour has crushed and will crush every sad thing and make it untrue. In your life, you need to know this is true. Your circumstances cannot thwart him. He will overcome. He alone is the Lion of Judah.
December 21: The Resurrection and the Life
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
Death is a grim reality of life. No one is getting out of this thing alive. One out of one die, it is the great levelling statistic of the human existence. In John 11, Jesus hears of the death of his friend Lazarus. When he arrives at the town of Bethany, Lazarus had been dead four days, and it is here that we find the bibles shortest verse: “Jesus wept”. He was not above or uninterested in the grief of the family in mourning. To the contrary, he joined them in their grief. And yet Jesus had a plan. Watch this conversation between Jesus and the sister of Lazarus, Martha in John 11:23-27:
“ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
Martha’s response is one of faith – she believes that Jesus is who he says he is! But Jesus was not just talking about the last day, he was talking about doing a miracle then and there on the spot. He went to the tomb and called out: “Lazarus, come out!” (11:43), and called his dead friend to life. It was a great miracle! Lazarus was raised to life again! Take a moment to think about the life of Lazarus after that day. What do you think you could ever have said to him after that day to scare him? What could you have said to leave him anxious and concerned? What could ever unnerve him? He had received life directly from Jesus hand, what could shake him? And yet Lazarus is no longer walking the earth. He would still one day die. And yet he could face next death with one firm and certain truth in his bones: Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Charles Spurgeon said that “we believe that every death-bed is a resurrection; that from every grave the stone is rolled away.” Because Jesus came, we get to face the grave with that same kind of confidence of Lazarus. He has conquered death! He is the resurrection and the life.
December 20: I Am
“Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’”
“I am hungry!” If you’re a dad, then this phrase is the kind of pun setup you simply cannot pass by; cue the groaning of your offspring. If you’re meeting someone and they ask you about yourself, we tend to respond with something along the lines of “I am a <career choice>”. Such as ‘I am a cleaner,’ ‘I am nurse,’ ‘I am retired,’ or ‘I am a member of the defence force.’ I am or we are something.
Jesus made an immense claim when he told the Pharisees, “I am.” We find ourselves waiting for the something to come next. It almost comes across a little strange that the Pharisees don’t reply with, “I am… what? What are you?” But there is no something. Jesus is revealing that he is God eternal - the indescribable, incomparable God who was and is and is to come. Nothing comes next. Jesus, who is called I am, simply is. For beings such as us who are described by other things, activities and dependencies, it’s a difficult concept to wrap our minds about.
Jesus calling himself “I am” has strong connections to God’s revelation to Moses. That Jesus is I am means that he is beyond comparison: there is none like him, and particularly, none who can stand against him. What this means for his many promises is that none can stop him from enacting them or fulfilling them. That Jesus is I am means that in his all-sufficiency, we can rest and take heart. Knowing that if, for nothing else, all we have is God, then we have all we need (Ps 16:5-11). What this means from Christmas to the Cross to our own conviction and consecration is that the power of God at work is unstoppable, utterly dependable and always for good.
Moreover, I am has immense ramifications for our sense of identity. He is the something that comes next in our own ‘I am’ statement; to the Christian, he is the core of our being (Col 1:15-23). Stretch your mind and soul to contemplate the magnitude of Jesus being I am. Then understand that, I am lives in you (Col 1:27). Because Jesus is I am, and I am has made us his, we can confidently declare and take comfort in the truth that “I am his”.
December 19: Cornerstone
“For in stands in Scripture: Behold I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.”
Many of us are not builders, and likely none of us have taken the effort to rebuild any ancient structures. Because of this, the cornerstone metaphor is perhaps lost in the sea of more relatable titles for Jesus. Albeit not perfect, but a helpful comparison in a modern context is a load bearing wall, or a wall that bears the weight of a home. Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith, and without Him, our house, or our faith, simply cannot stand. Do you think of Christ as your very foundation as you walk with Him? We are all at times tempted to put Jesus second to even the good things that God has blessed us with, but when we put other things as our foundation, we will face disappointment and disillusionment. In Hebrews 4:16, we are invited to “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and grace to help in time of need.” As undeserving of this as we are, the promise of God is that we won’t be put to shame if Jesus is our cornerstone.
Have you accepted the grace that Jesus died for? He offers it to you freely although it cost him his life. Walking in God’s forgiveness means we will not be put to shame now, or when we stand before Him face to face. Our God who shows us such kindness by being mindful of us, and although He is so high above us, he takes our shame so that we do not have to carry it. As we contemplate Christmas, let us lay aside our gift lists, decorations, and to do lists to remember who sets the standard by which we direct our steps. Jesus alone is our stable cornerstone, He alone is the solid rock by which we can stand and will not be put to shame.
December 18: Advocate
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”
Jesus Christ is our advocate, what a wonderful truth. Not only did our Jesus leave his heavenly throne, to expose himself to this corrupt world, to live as a human, to face temptation, persecution and trials, to die the sinners’ death that we should have died, but because of his great power he rose again, and now sits at the right hand of the Father, where he is now the ruler of all (Rev. 17:14). But here is the amazing part. Right now, he is using his position of power at the right hand of the Father for your benefit and good. You have someone who is always speaking on your behalf to the Father, advocating for your place as an adopted child in God’s family, interceding for you in a way that you cannot, in a never-ending, loving, sacrificial and altogether perfect way.
What does this mean for you? It means that you can have full assurance of your faith. It means that you can know that God’s love for you is not dependent on you being a “successful” Christian. It means that for all eternity, you will have always have Jesus Christ lovingly interceding for you. It means that on this side of eternity you never have to worry about whether you will find favour with God when you meet him, and it means that you are promised eternal joy in paradise with him.
Today, pray that God would help you find joy and overwhelming peace in this fact, and that he would protect your heart against Satan’s lies and fears in your heart that this might not be true for you. Also take the time to pray that those around you who don't have this assurance that they would come to know Christ as their advocate.
December 17: The Vine
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
Every good green thumb knows that it all starts with the soil, then the roots, then the base of the plant, and then the branches. To get the beautiful flowers and fruit, we must start at the roots. And as any indoor plant enthusiast like myself knows, this is harder than it looks. Now much like the poor plants in my home, we as humans often fail to flourish, we often wilt, not knowing our place, our role and our purpose in life. Lucky for us, Jesus does not leave us in the dark.
He tells us, we are branches. As much as we like to think we are, we are not the vine, or the roots or the soil. On the contrary, we depend on the vine. We need it to flourish, and even to survive. In this passage, Jesus says He is the vine. He sustains us, He helps us flourish, He helps us regain our strength when we’re beginning to wilt. We thrive when we are connected to him. If we are in Christ, we will never die an eternal death. He promises to sustain us until we meet him in heaven, and then for eternity (John 14:3). Everything that we need, we get from him.
This truth is what empowers us, not our sinful attempts to do life without Christ. Paul in Philippians 4:13 says that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. You cannot, without the strength of Christ, love your spouse, your children, your difficult co-worker or neighbour, or that friend who is hard work. You cannot support your loved ones when they are struggling, you cannot cope with chronic disease or death, you cannot read your bible and pray in a way that is fruitful, or have the energy to meet the demands of this life. But with Christ, and by Christ you can. Jesus promises you fullness of joy and help in this difficult life. You cannot live without Christ, but my goodness, you can LIVE with Christ. He is the vine. You are the branches. Abide in him both now and forever.
December 16: The Author and Perfecter of Faith
“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
In Hebrews 12:2, the author writes of looking to Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith. This description of Jesus carries with it two incredibly rich parts. Firstly, Jesus is the Author of our faith. This echoes the life-giving truths found in Ephesians 2:8-9 which says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast”. Our faith is the one condition for salvation and it was authored by Jesus and given to us by him as a free and undeserved gift. God designed salvation in such a way that all glory is his alone. We are recipients of his grace, which rightfully fills us with gratitude-filled worship and praise for his great love and mercy. Because he is the author of our faith, we can truly love God and take pleasure in him. Just as an author gets credit for his masterpiece, so Christ gets glory for our very faith!
The second part is that Jesus is the Perfector of our faith. God himself came wrapped in flesh and opened himself up to the limitations of man (John 1:14). He was tempted in every way we are, suffered as we do and yet Jesus lived perfectly in submission to the will of his father. He alone was truly righteous. In him we are justified, and his perfect righteousness is ours by faith in Jesus (Rom. 5:1). Jesus is the author and perfector of our faith. He holds the pen of history, our lives, and our very faith. Salvation is of God alone, authored and perfected by Jesus Christ.
December 15: The King of the Jews
“And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’”
One of the greatest ironies of the life of Jesus is summed up in this verse. He was crucified under a sign reading: King of the Jews. This sign was clearly one of intended mockery. “We all know very well”, they were thinking, “that although this man Jesus claimed to be something of a king, he is clearly not”. In their minds, they were being cruelly ironic with the sign. “Of course this is no king! Look at him up on that cross! What kind of king ends his life in such disgrace?” But the greater irony at play is that they were actually right, Jesus was the King of the Jews. The man mocked as king, is in fact the king. And he’s not just king of the Jews but Lord over all. His kingship extends not just over the nation of Israel, but the universe. It extends over the soldiers who crucified him, the Pharisees who conspired against him, and the crowd who mocked him. And us – you and me.
But perhaps what is most poignant in this scene lies deeper. You see, it was precisely through his horrendous torture and death on the cross that this king was establishing his eternal kingdom. Isn’t that amazing? It was in his own death that Jesus was making the ultimately deathblow to Satan, sin and death. D. A. Carson writes: “Christians would speak, with profound irony, of Jesus reigning from the cross.” It is precisely through the weakness of the cross that God’s wisdom and power is most ultimately displayed. There is one final layer of irony in this scene. Matthew 27:41-42 writes: “So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.” But again, in their mockery they spoke better than they knew, because Jesus, in refusing to save himself, was saving others. If he had saved himself, he couldn’t have saved others, and it was precisely by not saving himself that he saved us. Carson concludes: “It was not the nails that held Jesus to that wretched cross; it was his unqualified resolution, out of love for his Father, to do his Father’s will – and, within that framework, it was his love for sinners like me. He really could not save himself.” Praise God for the sacrifice of the King!
December 14: The First and the Last
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
At this time of year, we focus on the Christmas accounts, soaking in the nativity narrative of the gospels. And the Christmas season quite rightfully celebrates that time in history when God’s plan of redemption became that much more real to us through his physically involving Himself in His creation. But we know that the redemption story stretches beyond this pivotal historical moment. It stretches back beyond the foundations of the world into time eternally past. It stretches forward to the close of human history and into time eternal to come. In the closing verses of the book of Revelation, John repeats a defining statement four times, one that defines the identity of our Saviour. It was common that Jewish rabbis would use the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet to denote the whole of anything. This claim “I am the Alpha and the Omega” is Jesus’ declaration – He is the whole of the story. The whole of our salvation, the whole of our hope and expectation.
He is the Alpha and Omega; preeminent as the first, present for eternity past. Present before creation, and the God of creation. He was present in creation. God come as man, to be born in a lowly farmer’s shed, unheralded by the world, denied by most.
He is the First and the Last; come to live the perfect life in obedience to the Father to offer Himself on a cross. He has resurrected, and ascended to Heaven where he awaits the end of this present creation, leaving us the Holy Spirit until that time.
He is the Beginning and the End; present for eternity to come whose actions will be the last. He is bringing salvation for those who have obediently responded to who He is.
This Christmas season, let us celebrate Jesus, God the Son with us, the baby in the manger, the one who would eventually offer Himself on a cross. But let us not diminish our understanding to a historical narrative. He is the whole of the story, but the whole story goes far beyond the Christmas season. Is He your purpose, your hope, your whole story? And does your whole story reside within Him?
December 13: Redeemer
“‘And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,’ declares the Lord.”
Jesus is our redeemer; what a relief! We as humans love the idea of redemption, and can spend a lot of our time and energy trying to redeem ourselves. Second chances, New Years’ resolutions, apologies, “if I do it again, I’ll do it better”, “if only I could have that time over again, I would do things differently”, and on it goes. We have made many movies where we use time travel to go back and fix our mistakes, only to realize this is pointless and futile. Well, thank goodness we have a redeemer in Jesus Christ! He HAS changed the course of our history when he died on the cross. He was the only ever perfect human. He didn't need second chances, he didn't need to do things over, he did them perfectly the first time. And through His perfect life, death and resurrection, he has redeemed our whole past, all of our mistakes, all of our sins. He has given us a second chance, at no cost to us. He died the death that we should have died, in order to redeem our lives and redeem our relationship with him.
But he doesn't stop there, oh no. Jesus death and resurrection for us, and the Holy Spirit in our lives, means our sins and mistakes can be redeemed in this life. Our broken relationships, our bad behaviours and habits, our sinful thoughts, everything that is touched by sin in our life, Jesus has the power to redeem, to use for his glory, to fix what sin has broken. He redeems what we never could in our own effort. He cares deeply for your heart, he WANTS to redeem your life. Let him into your heart and your relationships. Let Him do his powerful work of redemption and be filled with joy over what he can do. By God’s grace, your life can be a testimony to God’s redemptive power.
December 12: The Door
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
“Open, close, open, close…” This game can and will go on for a long time in our house with a busy toddler exploring and testing every kind of available door. Cupboard doors, kitchen doors, oven doors, sliding doors… from a very young age we seem to inherently know the fact that doors lead us somewhere, or provide us access to something that was previously unattainable. Jesus tells us, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). He is speaking here about sheep in a sheepfold, explaining how there is only one gate or door for the flock to enter safely inside. Anyone who is seen to be jumping the fence or climbing in another way would simply be a thief or a robber coming to harm the sheep, not the trusted shepherd or gatekeeper standing guard. Likewise, Jesus is the only way by which we can enter God’s family and become part of the flock. Our world tries to sell us so many other ways to find peace, contentment, joy and life in everything else when all we truly need is Christ.
Do we view Jesus as our door? Or are we listening to other voices, teachings, or people that try to convince us otherwise? Jesus promises us that through Him, we will “have life and have it abundantly” (v10). Only He can satisfy our wandering hearts and give us an abundant, overflowing joy that prevails even through the toughest challenges of life. He is the Good Shepherd who leads us out to rich pasture and is the ultimate Door that swings wide to welcome us in. An old hymn “Come Thou Fount” put it beautifully: “Jesus sought me as a stranger wandering from the fold of God. He, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood”. He has come to give us life and life to the full.
What a wonderful promise.
December 11: Messiah
“‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ).”
Growing up, I had always just assumed that Christ was the surname of Jesus. Christmas was the day we celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, as opposed to say John Smith or David Bowie (which I could only assume would have been called Smithmas and Bowiemas if they were a thing). But Christ is not the surname of Jesus, although it is frequently paired with his first name in both Scripture and tradition. No, as today’s verse implies, Christ is a title. It is a translation of the Jewish Messiah in the common Greek language of the Roman Empire at the time. Both words basically mean “Anointed One”, referring to the foretold king who was to come and rescue God’s people. Therefore, to say that Jesus is the Christ, is to say that he is God’s chosen one who has come to usher in the new age of the Kingdom of God.
“We have found the Messiah!” says Andrew to is brother Peter at the start of John’s gospel. “We’ve found him!”. What an amazing thought! Can you image the excitement of the disciples as they came to grips with this? Can you imagine all that was running through their minds as they thought through the implications? But the disciples didn’t have a clue exactly what Jesus was really up to. They had understood the Messiah to be a political saviour, one who would rise up to power and overthrow the rule of foreign powers, particularly the Roman Empire. But Jesus had other plans. He wasn’t going to rule through military might, but through suffering. He wasn’t going to lead a rebellion against earthly empires, he was going to set in motion the destruction of the empire of spiritual darkness: Satan, sin and death. He wasn’t going to conquer through strength, but in his death. Jesus subverts all expectation as the saviour. He might just subvert yours this Christmas.
Are you paying attention to what Jesus is really doing this Christmas or just following your own expectations? If you pay attention and open the door to him, you might just be surprised what he’ll do in your life.
December 10: The Word
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Here at the very start of John’s gospel we encounter one of the Bible’s most amazing statements. It is full of world changing potential and power, brimming with significance and purpose, and thick with divine mystery. Here we meet the Word. This one who was in the beginning, with God, and even is God. John here is referring to Jesus, as we see clearly in his later summary in verse 14: “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.” This eternal, pre-existent Word became flesh, and even lived among us. J.I. Packer reflecting on this said: “The really staggering Christian claim is that Jesus of Nazareth was God made man … The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation.” This is the very heart of everything that we celebrate at Christmas. The wonder of the incarnation; the Word become flesh!
But what about this enigmatic title: The Word?Why not the deed, or the thought, or the feeling? All of these are inadequate. Deeds can be misinterpreted, thoughts can lack impact on real life, and feelings, well, they’re as fleeting as the wind. Jesus is called the Word of God because Jesus is Himself the final and decisive message of God to the world. Want to know what God is like? Look at Jesus. He himself is the fullest and most glorious truth of God. He is God’s very Word, His self-disclosure. This Christmas, don’t forget the momentous impact of this. God has spoken, and he has spoken clearly through his Son Jesus. Are you listening?
December 9: The Bread of Life
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
We like to fill our stomachs when hunger strikes, but how do we respond to a spiritual hunger? The incorrect response that can trap us is the action of filling this spiritual hunger with thoroughly unspiritual things. We turn to worldly things to try and fill this hunger which turns out to be the work of vanity. From experience, many of us would know that this hunger won’t be satisfied with the temporary things of this world no matter how much ‘stuff’ we try to fill it with. That’s where the good news of Jesus comes.
When Jesus says that he is the “bread of life”, he is making us a promise. First, he saying that he is the eternal food that the Father has sent, which then leads to his claim that those who go to him will be forever satisfied in their eternal needs. How, then, do we eat this bread of life and find satisfaction? We do this through regular fellowship within our church, the regular preaching of the word, the regular reading of the word and prayer. These “rhythms of grace” which God has given to His Church are to make us ‘full’ so that we would be completely satisfied in Him, instead of spending our life hopelessly searching for things that will perish (John 6:27).
Coming to this time of Christmas we are led to remember that Jesus is the Bread of Life. He makes a promise that those who follow after him will be full and satisfied in the ways that matter most: spiritually and eternally. Those who go to Christ will find a perfect, eternal and enduring spiritual satisfaction. Let us put down the things of vanity, and seek what is enduring, for only the bread of life will truly satisfy.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, you have promised us that if we believe and come to Jesus, we will no longer be thirsty or hungry, but have everlasting life in you. Would you reveal to me today where I might be trying to replace you with things that are only temporal, and lead me to give up those things that perish. Help me pursue you alone as the source of my true joy. Would you be all satisfying and all sustaining to me. Amen.
December 8: Lamb of God
“ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
We looked yesterday at Jesus as the King of Kings – that he is Lord of all and reigning over all things. Today we consider its stark counterpoint, and in doing so, see how they shine together all the more brightly, like a gleaming diamond on a dark velvet cloth. For the story does not go that the King of Kings stayed safely in his throne room, but that he ventured forth into his fallen kingdom on a rescue mission. The King of Kings came to give himself, to rescue and redeem his children as the Lamb of God.
In the Old Testament, once a year on the Day of Atonement, two lambs would be set aside: one as a burnt offering, and the other (the scapegoat) would have the sins of the entire nations confessed over it, and sent away into the wilderness, symbolizing the removal of sin by blood and by substitute.
John the Baptist, upon meeting Jesus declares to the crowds: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John was exactly right. That’s why he had come. He came to take it all away. All your guilt, all your shame, all the stains sin has left on your heart and soul. All the evil you’ve done and evil done against you. Psalm 103:12 says that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” He’s come to wash it all away. The Day of Atonement was about the day Jesus would come, not once a year, but once for all time as the perfect sin offering to take away sin.
Hanging on the cross, Jesus says: “It is finished” (John 19:30). The Day of Atonement is done. John Stott wrote: “as we face the cross, then, we can say to ourselves both, “I did it, my sins sent him there,” and “He did it, his love took him there.” He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He did it for you.
December 7: King of Kings
“These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”
Did you know that your eyes have never seen anything or anyone that God Himself did not intimately create? Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Jesus “is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Take a look around the room. Everything in your vision exists because he says so, and would collapse in moment if he ceased his active sustaining. All of reality hinges on the “word of his power”. Furthermore, it all exists for one reason: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” (Col. 1:16).
At Christmas time we tend to celebrate and emphasize the humble humanity of Jesus. That is good and right! We absolutely should do that. We should marvel that the Son of God took on flesh and entered into the chaos of human existence – not as God masquerading as man, but truly man! But we should never forget who Jesus truly is. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Abraham Kuyper famously said: “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”
Jesus is king of it all, and nothing in our world is outside of his kind kingly rule: not our houses, our cars, our relationships, our socks, or our wallets. He’s king of it all. And he’s king of you. This Christmas, don’t forget who it is being born in that stable. Don’t let the wondrous beauty of the nativity scene rob you of the even greater and glorious reality behind it. He’s no mere cooing baby boy. He is the sovereign Lord who cries out over all of creation: Mine! Will you bow your knee at his throne today?
December 6: The Good Shepherd
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
We can see throughout the bible many different stories of shepherds. Perhaps one of the most well-known being David, the shepherd boy who fought the giant Goliath and became king. He later pens Psalm 23, rich with imagery of the Lord being his Shepherd – leading and guiding (v2), restoring (v3), and walking beside him even in the face of death (v4). These are words from a man who knows firsthand what it is to be out in the fields day and night, caring and protecting his flock at all costs. He knows what it means to seek and find those sheep that are lost.
In the account of the first Christmas story we see more shepherds watching their flock by night who are heralded by angels to go and see the baby Jesus. They meet the newborn Jesus and then return to their fields glorifying and praising God for what they have seen, the “Saviour, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). These shepherds were pointing us to the greater Shepherd. Jesus himself proclaims, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep” (John 10:11). What comfort we can find in this humbling reminder that our relationship with God is not of our own doing.
We are the lost sheep and He is our seeking Shepherd. We are helpless, weak, defenseless, and prone to wander but by his deliberate grace we are safely and securely His in and through all circumstances. We need to be rescued, redeemed and restored and like sheep, we are incapable of achieving this on our own. Jesus is the perfect Shepherd who made the ultimate sacrifice to give us life in his place. He protects us from harm, he knows us completely and calls us to know him too.
One final picture found in Revelation 7:17 declares this same caring and gentle Shepherd as our conquering King. It is a beautiful paradox that sees Jesus, the Lamb revealed to be The Shepherd, sitting in might and glory on the throne in heaven where he will defeat every power of darkness known in this world and wipe away every tear! May Jesus our Good Shepherd be your comfort, your guide, your rescuer, redeemer and King!