Take Another Look at God’s Christmas Gift!

Christmas Day, 12/25/16
Hebrews 1:1-9


Take Another Look at God’s Christmas Gift!
I. His Son, fully God himself
II. His Son, our Savior from sin
III. His Son, our guarantee of glory


Odds are you didn’t receive exactly the same gifts this Christmas as you did last Christmas. There may be some repeats. And that’s fine, especially if they are consumables such as good things to eat. Most of the gifts you received were not repeats.

But can you imagine receiving exactly the same gift Christmas after Christmas? I suppose that would be fine if it were a brand new vehicle, but I’m not sure you have someone in your life that can afford to lavish you with such a gift on a yearly basis. Let’s imagine a little more practically, shall we? Imagine, ladies, receiving a mixer for your kitchen every single year. Even before you get to your third Christmas, you’d be thinking, if not saying, “The last thing I need this Christmas is another mixer.” Or, imagine, men, receiving a cordless drill for your workshop Christmas after Christmas. It’s true that with each new year the features on a cordless drill change and improve, but who needs one every year for Christmas? You’re thinking, “I’ve got one already; that’s enough.”

But I don’t hear any of you saying that to your God. And even though I can’t read your minds, I’m sure you’re not thinking it either. Just what am I talking about?

Well, for the vast majority of you, if not all of you, this is not your first celebration of Christmas as a Christian. In fact, it might be number 40, 50, 60 and beyond. Every Christmas you’ve celebrated as a Christian you have paused to worship your God, and that worship has focused every Christmas on praising and thanking your God for his Christmas gift to you—his Son, Jesus, wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger. It’s the same gift year after year. But not a single one of us minds that. Not a single one of us is muttering under our breath, “Jesus…again.” None of us would be so brazenly ungrateful and so spiritually tactless as to even suggest to God that we really could use something else this year. And that’s because every one of us realizes Jesus is just the gift we need. It’s the gift we need the most every day of our lives. So this Christmas morning let’s take another look at God’s Christmas gift as we ponder our Savior as described for us in the opening words of the Letter to the Hebrews.

Part I.

Your identity in our modern world is critical. Your bank, your airline, your employer, your computer and countless other entities all want to be sure that you are in fact you. And that’s because unscrupulous people are always trying to steal your identity.

Your Savior had identity issues as well. It wasn’t that anyone was trying to steal his identity. It was that they were denying his identity. As soon as he began his public ministry he faced rejection of who he was, most notably by his enemies. It even caused them to crucify him. And when he rose from the dead three days later, they still denied his identity.

Sadly, it’s still occurring today, right now, even as we speak. Do those people who deny him realize what’s at stake? Obviously not. That’s why it’s so critical to see Jesus for who he truly is.

We know who he is. That’s why we’re here. But let’s take another look at it. Listen again to the opening words of our text. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” That’s the truth we just confessed minutes ago in Luther’s explanation to the 2nd Article. “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father…” The miracle of Christmas is that the eternal Son of God took on human flesh and blood and yet he still remained fully God, “the exact representation of his being.” If he’s anything less than God, then we’re wasting our time, we’re venerating a fellow sinner, and an imposter at worst. If fact, if he isn’t true God we sinners are forever condemned. But glory to God in the highest, this gift from God is God himself.

Take another look at God’s Christmas gift. It’s his Son, fully God himself.

We’re spiritually thrilled to be able to confess the Child of Bethlehem to be God himself. That truth is the very foundation of our Christian faith. It’s why we’re eager to celebrate his birth. He’s not just some other child. We know that. We confess that. We believe that. But we struggle with that. We believe him to be our Creator and Redeemer, but so often we struggle to place ourselves under him. We’d rather do things our own way. And at the other extreme, our worries about countless issues in our lives make the claim that even though he is true God, what we’re facing is beyond him. But those are exactly the reasons why God gave us his Christmas gift. We so desperately need a Savior from sin and Jesus is that Savior. Take another look at him—God’s Christmas gift to you!

Part II.

It’s important to have a purpose in life, to know why you are here in this particular place at this particular time, to be engaged in the effort to make this world or someone’s life a little better.

If that’s the case with us, then it’s infinitely more so with God’s Christmas gift to you. And that’s exactly what we see from the life of Jesus. Already at the tender age of 12 he knows what his purpose is as he spends three days in the Temple apart from his parents. As he begins his earthly ministry as an adult, he knows where he’s headed—to a hill outside Jerusalem. As the fulfillment of his work on earth comes closer, the Bible states that he resolutely set out for Jerusalem. He told his disciples exactly where he was going and why.

The writer of Hebrews states it like this, “After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Jewish religious life was filled with daily purification rites. As burdensome as they were, God intended them to be a reminder of what the Savior would do for them once for all. At Bethlehem God put that saving plan into motion. He sent his Christmas gift to the world. Jesus was that gift. His sacrifice on the altar of Calvary’s cross was the only sacrifice needed for the purification of the world’s sins. His resurrection from the dead and his ascension to the right hand of God are our guarantee that all sins are paid for. His saving work is perfectly complete. There’s nothing left for us to do. That makes him our perfect gift.

Take another look at God’s Christmas gift. It’s his Son, our Savior from sin.

Today is one of those magical days for so many people. It’s the one day of the year when most things seem to go right, when life is enjoyable, we’re with family and friends, celebrating the birth of our Savior. How much better can it get? But there will be small reminders that all is not well—the stresses, the pains, the things or people that are missing. And all too soon after today the harsh realities of life will return. All of these are the reminder that nothing in this life is as it should be. All of life is marred by sin. But that’s what makes God’s Christmas gift so helpful, so useful, so priceless. Jesus came to do one thing—win our forgiveness, to set us right with the holy God, to wash our sins away and make us holy before our God. There is something perfectly right in your life—it’s your full and free forgiveness. Jesus won that forgiveness for you. Take another look at God’s Christmas gift and be filled with peace.

Part III.

Last night we heard how one angel announced the arrival of God’s Christmas gift to the shepherds then how the sky was filled with angels singing praises to God.

The writer to the Hebrews concludes this text before us with one reference after another to those angels. Why?

For one reason only. He wants his readers of every age to know that Jesus is superior to everything. Among the things that God created, who or what is greater than the angels? They live before the face of God in glory that we can’t imagine. They’re his powerful messengers who do his bidding. So what’s the writer’s point?

As great as angels are, they fall far below God’s Christmas gift. The writer quotes verses from Scripture to show how angels worship and serve Jesus, not the other way around.

And one day, you and I will join them, living in glory before our God, standing around the throne of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, and joining all the angels and all the saints in heaven in praising him.

God the Father sent the world his Christmas gift so that we could reach that heavenly goal. Our God has accomplished his saving purposes in you. What a blessing that, out of the worlds billions of people, you know and believe that the Child of Bethlehem is your Savior from sin! That means you will join your Lord in heaven.

Take another look at God’s Christmas gift. It’s his Son, our guarantee of glory.

In all your life’s uncertainties and disappointments, may that guarantee of glory fill your heart with Christmas peace and joy. Take another look at God’s Christmas gift! Do it every day of your life! Amen.