I love Christmas. I enjoy hearing about the experiences of Mary and Joseph, the Shepherds, the Angels, and the Wise Men, but most of all, I delight in hearing the Biblical account of the birth of Jesus, who was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger.

There is one aspect of Christmas; however, that saddens me. It has nothing to do with the Christmas story itself, but rather with the fact that so many don’t understand who the One born in a stable and lying in a manger is and what He came to do. It is only when we understand Christ’s identity and purpose in coming that we can really appreciate the deep meaning of Christmas. Who is Jesus? What did He come to do? It is sad that so many leave Jesus in the manger in their minds, giving no more thought to who He really is. It is sad that so many think of Him only as a babe in a manger. Jesus is much more than a babe in a manger.

Read John 1:1-18

Who is Jesus and what did He come to do?

Why does John refer to Jesus as the Word? I believe John used this name to describe one of the key purposes in Jesus’ coming to earth and taking on human flesh. Similar to how words express thoughts, Jesus, the Word, is the eternal, full expression or communication to us of who God is and what He is like. Homer Kent, former president of Grace Seminary, captures well the significance of Jesus being called the Word. He writes:

"…Just as words are the expression of thoughts, so to call Christ the Word was to regard him as the communication of the Divine Wisdom, the personal revelation of the truth of God…He did not merely tell God’s truth. He was the truth (John 14:6)…Jesus Christ is God expressed in genuine human flesh, and has embodied in his own person the fullest revelation of God to man" (Kent, Light In The Darkness, pgs. 25-26).

Jesus is the Word, the revealer or communicator to us of what God is like.

Jesus is eternal.

Jesus already existed and was present in the beginning with God when creation began. John doesn’t say that in the beginning the Word began, but that the Word already "was" in the beginning. Like God the Father, Jesus is eternal. He has always been.

Jesus is both equal to and different than the Father.

"And the Word was with God and the Word was God." This brief phrase communicates two important truths for us to understand about Jesus.

Jesus is not the same person as the Father is.

Jesus is described as being "with God." Jesus and God the Father are not the same person. They are personally different. Jesus and God the Father are two distinct persons who together with the Holy Spirit form the Godhead. In other words, the Bible reveals to us that God is one being who eternally exists as three persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Though Jesus is distinct from God the Father personally, He is no less God than the Father is. What God was in terms of His being, Jesus, the Word, was. Jesus has all of the attributes the Father has. The Father is God. Jesus is God. God the Father and God the Son are equally God.

Jesus had an active role in creation. Nothing was made without His involvement. Absolutely everything that was created was made through Him. John makes it clear that Christ Himself must be uncreated and eternal since He personally was involved in creating everything that came into being.

In Jesus is life. He is the source of all life. All life stems from Him. Apart from Jesus, the Creator of life, there is no life. Jesus created all life as we have just observed in John 1:3.

Jesus, who is the source of all life, is also the source of all light. Light is equated here with knowledge of God. The life Jesus gave when He created provided revelation as to who God is. People willfully rejected the light of revelation through creation, which brought progressive darkness until people were ignorant of God. People were in the dark.

Jesus, who is God, came in the flesh so men might see who God is and come out of ignorance or darkness and into knowledge or light. Jesus’ light shines in a dark world that is blinded by sin and ignorant of God. Christ’s light continues to shine in the darkness, dispelling ignorance of God by showing people who He is. In spite of the light Christ reveals, people don’t grasp it. They aren’t able to understand the light of Christ.

Not only did Jesus reveal light, but John the Baptist was also sent from God to testify regarding the light. John was sent to prepare the nation of Israel for the coming of the One who would reveal God to them. John’s purpose was to point people to Christ and lead them to believe through Him. John was not the light himself, meaning that he was not a revelation from God. Rather, he came only as a witness of the light to introduce the One who would reveal God to man.

John bore witness to the fact that the true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. John directed people to Jesus, the source of the knowledge of God. John testified to those who had groped in the darkness because of their ignorance of God that they would soon have light so that they could know God. The light of course came when Jesus took on human flesh and came into this world as a man.

While light was available for all to see, most did not grasp it. In spite of the light John testified to and Jesus, the Light, revealed, people were not able to get it. Those who did not understand the Light did not recognize or receive Christ—they responded to the light with tremendous resistance, rejecting Christ.

The entrance of light into the world when Jesus took on human flesh was unrecognized by people in general. Mankind, lost in sin, was unresponsive to the Light whom God had sent. Even though the world was made by Jesus, it failed to recognize its Creator.

Even the Jews, Jesus’ own people did not receive Him.

Illustration: A poor family was farming some land during the Depression. There was one son in this family, and his parents wanted the best for him. So they scrimped and saved so they could send him to college. After he had been gone for a year or so, his parents, who loved him very much, wanted to see him again. Again, they saved, sold some things, and went to visit their son. They arrived on campus, poorly dressed in their farm clothes. Seeing their son with some other boys, the father ran over to him. "Son, son, it’s your father," he said. The son looked at his father without showing any sign of recognition. The father said again, "Son, it’s your father and mother. We’ve come to see you." The boy, perhaps embarrassed by his parents’ poverty, turned to the other students and said, "I don’t know who he is. He must be crazy" (Hughes, John: That You May Believe, page 26).

Just as the parents’ own son did not receive them, the Jews, Jesus’ own people did not receive Him. As God’s chosen nation and as the recipients of God’s revelation in their Scriptures, they of all people should have received Jesus, but it was they who crucified Him. For four hundred years, the Jews had not heard a word from any prophet. They were looking forward to revelation from God. They were also looking forward to their Messiah who was revealed in the prophecies of Scripture. However, when Jesus, the Messiah, the Revealer of God came, they rejected Him.

The world and the Jews did not grasp the light. Instead of receiving Christ, they tried to eliminate Him and put His light out. In their attempts to rid themselves of the light, the Jews crucified Jesus. However, Jesus rose from the grave and His light continues to shine. The darkness was not able to overcome the Light. The Light prevails. Despite all the rejection, resistance, and unbelief of some, Christ’s light continues to shine, giving us opportunity to receive Him ourselves.

In spite of the rejection of people in general, some receive Christ. Not every one of Jesus’ contemporaries rejected Him. Not everyone today rejects Christ. There are those who respond to the Light by receiving Him. How is it that a person receives or accepts Christ? We don’t have to guess. John clarifies this point for us. "Yet to all those who received him, to those who believed in His name…" We receive Christ by trusting in Him.

What does it mean to believe in Christ? To believe in Christ is to trust in Christ. It is to rely or depend fully on Him to forgive our sins, to make us God’s children, and to give us eternal life. When we trust in Christ, we trust His merits alone and not in our own merits. Just as we trust a chair to hold us through no effort of our own, so we must trust Jesus Christ to get us to heaven through no effort of our own. Through trusting in Christ, we become part of God’s family—we become His children.

Which group of people do you find yourself in this morning? Are you in the group of people that has rejected Christ by refusing to receive Him through trusting in Him? OR Are you one of those who has received Christ by trusting in Him?

I believe that there are many in this world who are rejecting Jesus and are completely unaware of their rejection. If you were to ask them if they were rejecting Jesus, they would probably deny it. Just the same, when we examine their response to what Christ has revealed to us through the Word of God, we see that they are in fact rejecting Him. Allow me to explain.

There are many who say that they accept Christ. However, when you ask them this question: "Have you come to a place in your spiritual life where you know for certain that you have eternal life, or is that something you would say you’re working on?" They will answer that they are working on it and trying hard to do better. They will mention things like going to church, being moral or religious, being a good person, and being kind to others as the basis for their hope of eternal life. Some will say that they are trusting in Christ in addition to their works to get to heaven. Those who give these types of answers are reflecting the fact that they are rejecting Christ. Christ clearly reveals to us that it is by trusting in Him alone that one receives eternal life. When we trust our works in whole or in part, what we are doing is rejecting Christ.

There are others who are relying on a personal experience as the basis of their hope for eternal life. They prayed a prayer or walked an isle or signed a card. Evangelist Larry Moyer tells the following story from an outreach he had in Texas. Larry asked a teenager why he responded to his message. He said, "I’ve come to realize that I need to be saved." Larry then asked him to tell him a little about himself. He replied, "When I was very small, I bowed my head and invited Christ into my heart." Larry said to Him, "Now let me ask you something extremely important. Have you been trusting Christ or have you been trusting a prayer to save you?"

His reply was distressing. "I did not even know Christ died for me. I thought God liked that prayer so much that if you simply said that prayer, you’d go to heaven. I’ve never understood you have to trust Christ to save you." A prayer does not save us, walking an isle does not save us, signing a card does not save us, faith in Christ is the only way to receive Him and the eternal life He gives.

Nothing we do will get us to heaven. If receiving eternal life required our performance, none of us would make it, as God’s standard is perfection. No matter how hard we try to be good enough, each of us has sinned and fall short when measured by God’s standard of perfection. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Our sin brings a terrible consequence. Because God is holy, He cannot overlook the smallest degree of sin. Our sin, no matter its extent, whether our sins be many or few, brings the consequence of death or separation from God. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death…"

The Bible warns us that after we die, we have an appointment with God for judgment. Hebrews 9:27 says, "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment."

Now since it is true that all people have sinned, and that the penalty for sin is death or separation from God, and that the day is coming when people will be judged…This does not paint a very bright picture, does it?

If we can’t make it into God’s family by the works we do because none of us is perfect, what is required to become a child of God and receive eternal life? We must trust Christ.

Consider what Christ did as the demonstration of God’s love for us. Romans 5:8 tells us, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us."

The story is told of a 29-year-old apartment manager who was sitting outside when a man began firing a gun into the pedestrian-filled sidewalk. In an attempt to shield a three-year-old boy from the hail of bullets, the manager grabbed him and ran back into the building. Carrying the boy, he ran up a flight of stairs before collapsing from two bullet wounds in his chest. A policeman exclaimed, "He brought the boy out of the line of fire and died because of it." (Larry Moyer, Why Should You Get In, Gospel Tract).

The apartment manager died so that a three-year-old boy might live. The Bible says Christ took the penalty we deserved for our sin, placed it upon Himself, and died in our place. Three days later Christ came back to life to prove that sin and death had been conquered and that His claims to be God were true.

If we can’t make it into God’s family by the works we do, what is required to be able to get to God and receive eternal life? We must receive Christ by believing in Him or trusting in Him.

There was a gentleman years ago who had been aboard the ship Christina which sank in the Caribbean, causing more than 300 to drown. When asked how he managed to survive the tragedy, He explained that on the ship there were hundreds of boxes being taken to the next island. When the ship overturned, the boxes remained floating on the surface of the water. He pulled a box under himself and was saved. He did not trust in Himself to stay afloat, but depended on the box to save him. Had he trusted in his own strength, he would have drowned with the people who perished on that day. Similarly, we need to recognize that nothing we do can get us into God’s family and bring us eternal life. We must instead place our trust in Christ alone as our only way into God's family. The moment we do, God will give us eternal life as a free gift and we will be His forever. (Larry Moyer, Why do You allow people to suffer? What would God say?, Gospel Tract).

There are many who will quickly affirm that they believe. When asked if they believe that Jesus is God or if they believe that He died for their sins and rose again, they will say, "Yes, I believe." Believing that these things are true is both necessary and important. However, belief that brings eternal life is more than intellectual acknowledgment to facts revealed about Christ in God’s Word. The Bible clearly teaches that it is necessary that we believe in Him, meaning that we need to trust in Him to forgive us our sins and give us eternal life. Until we trust in Jesus, we have not become a child of God, no matter how many of the facts from the Bible we believe are true.

The Jews believed that physical birth into the Jewish nation was sufficient to guarantee any Jew a right to the kingdom of God. The Jews considered themselves to be children of God because they were natural descendants of Abraham. In contrast to this thought, John said that the only one’s who are God’s children are those who put faith in the person of Jesus Christ. The Jews did not become children of God by natural descent, nor did human birth guarantee their entrance into Christ’s kingdom, instead they had to be born of God through trusting in Jesus Christ to become God’s children.

Application: Some today mistakenly think that they are children of God because they were born into a Christian home with Christian parents. John makes very clear that being a child of God is not the product of natural birth.

In order to become God’s children, we must make a personal decision to trust Christ. We do not become God’s children on the coat tails of our parents’ faith. Have you personally trusted Christ, or have you been leaning on your parents’ faith? You must trust Christ yourself if you are to be born of God as one of His children.

Jesus became flesh. That is, He took upon Himself a human body—He became a man. He did not cease to be God. Rather, Jesus added the condition of humanity to what He already was—deity. In order that we might know God, Jesus, the Word, who Himself was God, came and lived in the presence of men, that we might see what God is like.

Jesus made His dwelling among us. Literally, he tabernacled or lived in a tent among us. There is a clear allusion here to the Old Testament where we learn of God’s glory dwelling in the tabernacle or temple. God’s presence with His people was made manifest by His glory dwelling in the tabernacle and later the temple. God’s glory departed from the temple as the result of Israel’s unfaithfulness. God’s glory returned for people to see in the person of Christ.

Just as a person in the Old Testament would go to the tabernacle and later to the temple in order to see what God is like, so too could a person learn what God is like by going to see Jesus when He lived on this earth. Christ, the One and Only, through His miraculous deeds, His transfiguration, and His attributes or characteristics displayed the glory of God the Father.

All of God the Father’s fullness dwells in Jesus. He is full of grace and full of truth. It’s interesting to observe that in the Old Testament when Moses requested that God display His glory to him, God replied to Moses that He would make His "goodness" pass before him. As He passed by, God declared, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." Likewise, Jesus who displays God’s glory is full of grace. He gives matchless mercy and favor toward men. He is also full of truth to trustworthiness. In other words, He fully displays God’s faithfulness or fidelity to His promises.

The eternality of Christ is again affirmed in the prologue to the book of John by John the Baptist’s testimony concerning Christ. John said of Jesus, "He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me." Even though John was older and started His ministry before Jesus, He recognized Jesus’ superiority, as He is the eternal God.

Jesus reveals God’s abundant grace.

All the grace that the Father gives is revealed in Christ. "From the fullness of grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

A better translation of John 1:16 is, "For out of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace." The fullness of God’s grace is revealed in Jesus. From Jesus, in whom the fullness of God dwells, we learn that God gives grace heaped upon grace. God’s grace in Christ is abundantly adequate. F.F. Bruce compares the grace of God revealed in Christ to an ocean from which we can draw with one wave of grace being replaced by a fresh one without ever diminishing the supply and without any limit to that supply.

John contrasts for us the Mosaic Law with the new revelation in Christ. While even under the Law truth and grace were revealed, that Law could only foreshadow the fullness of grace and truth revealed in Christ. It was only when these characteristics of God became embodied in human flesh when Christ came that we were able to realize the fullness of God’s grace that is made available to us.

Application: So many are waiting to receive Christ because they don’t think that they are good enough. They don’t think that they can ever become a child of God because of all of the terrible things they have done. The grace of God revealed in Christ is abundantly adequate no matter the extent of our sin. The grace of God revealed in Christ is something that is undeserved by definition. Grace is undeserved favor. There is not one person who deserves God’s favor or kindness. No matter what we have done, if we trust in Christ, we will be forgiven by the grace of God. Don’t think you need to somehow be good enough. Don’t think you are so bad that you have surpassed what God can forgive by His grace. Trust Christ, and by God’s grace you will be forgiven of sin and He will form in you a new and transformed life.

"No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known."

Although no one has been able to see God and live to tell others what He is like, Jesus has come to reveal His nature to all men. Jesus is much, much more than a babe in a manger. He is God, made man, to reveal to us what
God is like. He has explained God or made Him known. If a person rejects Jesus and what He has revealed, they also reject God the Father, because Jesus is the One who is the Communication of God to us. Don’t reject Him. Trust Him and become one of God’s children.