|
Introduction
Has there ever been a time when
there has been as much spiritual
confusion and openness of aggressive
atheism and humanist teachings? As
it is, I wonder “How long before the
Christmas Carols will be totally
stopped being played in the malls?”,
when those who have “manger scenes”
will find objecting neighbors, and
the only ones who get excited at
Christmas will be children and store
owners. We live in a world of
falsehood and counterfeit, and
perhaps the question comes: “Is
there any light at the end of this
tunnel?” Thank God we have a case
history where things were just as
black, and suddenly the Light
beamed. That which I speak of is
the era before the Lord came into
this world.
The Darkness and Falsehood of The
Ancient World
|
When our Lord was born there had been in recent centuries three
major world powers, and a fourth was ruling. They was Babylon,
Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Under their domination,
especially under Rome, there had been an attempt by Satan to
counterfeit the person and position of Christ. Unwittingly, but
under Satanic influence, there was an ongoing attempt to
counterfeit the millennium when Christ will reign as the
Governor among the nations (Psa. 22:28). Rome had created a one
world empire which was centralized in one man, the emperor. The
emperors had given themselves titles of deity and were
foreshadows of the beast with his name of blasphemy (Rev. 13:1)
and the scarlet woman (Rev. 17:3). |
|
|
a) |
Julius Caesar was called “God and Sovereign, Saviour of human
life” |
|
|
b) |
Augustus was called “God’s Son” |
|
|
c) |
Domitian was called “Lord and God” |
|
|
d) |
Augustus, Claudius and Nero were called “Saviour of the world” |
When these men wrote, their writings
were called “gospels”, and when one
of then arrived anywhere it was
called a parouisa and his visit an
epiphany. The emperor was a false
Messiah and false God. Yet God took
this very system (for He is the
sovereign God) and used it to
fulfill His purposes. Rome gave a
decree for taxation for the
fulfillment of the scriptures as to
where the Lord would be born (Mic.
5:2; Lk. 2:1-7). Rome also held the
power of life and death (Jn. 19:10),
and it was by the Roman manner of
death the Lord died.
The Distinction Between His
Condescension and Incarnation
|
The coming of the Lord into the world involved two “steps”. The
first being His condescension and the second His incarnation.
This is taught by Paul. |
|
|
a) |
When he wrote: “He made Himself of no reputation, and took upon
Him the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:7), that was His
condescension. |
|
|
b) |
The following words: “Was made in the likeness of men” (Phil.
2:7), that is His incarnation. |
It is
impossible for us to grasp what was
involved in either of these steps,
but several years ago a very vivid
illustration was given to me. I was
working with some farmers in the
canola fields and my “job” was to
make sure the stalks fell into a
huge basin in which there was a
giant fast turning rooter which
pulled the stalks up into another
container. Suddenly I saw a little
creature. It was not beautifully
colored but gross looking. Then a
thought came to me. What would it
take for me to take its place, for
me to become that little insect, for
me to limit myself to its level, yet
with the knowledge that in doing so,
I would die in its place? I watched
and in an instant it was gone.
I
had neither the ability nor the love
to take its place. Christ had both
the ability to become human and the
love which caused Him to became a
human being, to take my place, and
suffer in my stead. That’s love for
“love seeketh not her own” (1 Cor.
13:5).
As I say, it is impossible for us to
appreciate what He left, for when
Paul was caught up to the third
heaven and heard “unspeakable
words”, that is, human language
could never describe that which he
heard (2 Cor. 12:4).
|
When our Lord came from glory: |
|
|
a) |
He left a world of perfect government for a world of bias, and
swaying of opinion because of friendships, associations, or
personal ambitions. |
|
|
b) |
He left a world of purity of activity for a world of deceit and
illegality. |
|
|
c) |
He left a world of unchanging perfection for a world where
compromise was the norm. |
|
|
d) |
He left a world of settled purity for a world of upheavals due
to the wickedness of the human hearts. |
|
|
e) |
He left a world of recognized worthiness for a world where he
would be shamed, mocked, and treated with distain. |
|
|
f) |
He left a world of immeasurable riches for to live in a world of
poverty, hardship, and
low class environment. |
|
|
g) |
He left a world of peace and harmony for a world of hatred,
spite, and selfishness. |
|
|
h) |
He left a world of supreme fellowship for a world where He would
experience animosity and aloneness. |
|
|
i) |
He left a world of life for a world in which He would know
suffering and death. |
|
|
j) |
He left a world of joy for a world in which He would know sorrow
and grief. |
What this
meant to Him, and what it cost Him,
we shall never know.
No Room In The Inn - The Outside
Place
Luke wrote and
informs Theophilus that the baby
would be wrapped in swaddling
clothes and lying in a manger (Lk.
2:7, 12), and it would be a sign!
The angel says: “this shall be a
sign unto you; Ye shall find the
babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,
lying in a manger” (Lk. 2:12).
Those of us who have had anything to
do with new babies know that almost
immediately after they are born they
are snuggly wrapped giving them the
sense of security, and keep them
warm. So what was so special about
the baby wrapped in swaddling bands,
and lying an a manger? What was it
a sign of? Luke does add a
statement which perhaps gives a
little light: “there was no room for
them in the inn” (Lk. 2:7). To my
understanding it was a sign of that
which was to come. He and those
associated with Him would always be
on the outside, “He came unto His
own, and His own received Him not” (Jn.
1:11). He would forever be on the
“outside” place, thought of as one
out of His mind by His family
(Jn.7:5); the attitude of the
leaders would be: “Come, let us kill
Him” (Mk. 12:7); those who
associated with Him were to be cast
out of the synagogue (Jn. 9:35).
Finally, the writer of the Hebrews
informs us that He: “suffered
without the gate” (Heb. 13:12), and
encourages us to: “Go forth
therefore
unto him without the camp” (Heb.
13:13). Sometimes people can make
an individual feel utterly worthless
and not wanted. It is exceedingly
hurtful to be made to feel uncared
for and despised. For One who cared
and loved as the Lord did, longing
to gather the people under His
wings, and it was not just that they
would not, but hated Him, that must
have deeply hurt. When I was a
little child I was taught a little
hymn:
No room for the baby in Bethlehem’s
inn, only a cattle shed
No room on this earth for the dear
Son of God, nowhere to lay His head.
Only a cross, did they give to my
Lord, only a borrowed tomb
Today He is seeking a place in your
heart
Will you still say to Him, “No
room”.
It was a
dreadfully sad state of ignorance
when people in Bethlehem were
unaware of what was happening just a
short distance away. Humanity
totally oblivious that the greatest
event in human history was taking
place so close to them. In that
stable a baby boy was born, and that
baby was the Hope of Israel (Acts
26:6); the Consolation of Israel (Lk.
2:25); the Desire of all
nations (Hag. 2:7); the Governor who
will rule (shepherd) My people
Israel (Matt. 2:6); the Dayspring
from on high (Lk. 1:78); Emmanuel
(Matt. 1:23); the last Adam (1 Cor.
15:45), and the second man (1 Cor.
15:47). They did not even know it.
He was outside the inn, rejection
consciously or unconsciously was to
be His life’s experiences.
The Swaddling Clothes
To me the
swaddling clothes have profound
truths. I am reminded of the other
time His body was wrapped ( I know
it is a different Greek word but my
thought is on the fact of wrapping),
it was when he was prepared for His
burial (Matt. 27:59; Mk. 15:46; Lk.
23:53).
Again when I
think of the swaddling, it reminds
me of the words of God to Israel: “I
swaddled you” (Lam. 2:22; Ezek.
16:4). What a glorious reality this
is. The God of glory who had seen
Israel as a new born babe had been
cast out, concerning them God says:
“Thy navel was not cut, neither wast
thou washed with water to supple
thee; thou wast not salted at all,
nor swaddled at all. None eye
pitied thee, to do any of these unto
thee, to have compassion upon thee;
but thou wast cast out in the open
field” (Ezek. 16:4-5). Then God
took them up and made them beautiful
(Ezek. 16:6-14). The swaddling God
became the swaddled baby!
Down from His Glory
Ever living story
My God my Savior came
And Jesus was His name
Born in a manger
To His own, a stranger
A Man of sorrows, fears and agony
Without reluctance
Flesh and blood His substance
He took the form of man
Revealed the hidden plan
Oh, glorious myst'ry
Sacrifice of Calv'ry
And now I know Thou wert the great
"I am"
The Earthly Beginning of The
Fulfilling of The Divine Counsels
When the Lord
came into this world possessing the
body prepared for Him (Heb. 10:5),
the communications in the counsel
chambers of heaven began their first
active step on earth for the
fulfilling of those purposes.
Christ said:
“I come to do Thy will” (Heb.
10:9). It is a beautiful picture of
one who, having been called, is
standing ready to serve, then
speaking to another says: “Here am
I”. Isaac said this to Abraham
(Gen. 22:7); Moses to God (Ex. 3:4);
Samuel to the Lord (1 Sam. 3:4); and
Isaiah to God (Isa. 6:8). However,
when these men said: “Here am I”,
they did not know what lay ahead,
and whither they would be able to
fulfill that which lay ahead. The
Lord knew what lay ahead and yet He
stood in readiness and said: “I come
to do they will”. He was fully
committed to it and this was the
first earthly step.
How glorious
is the miracle which enabled Him to
become human, and yet never ceasing
to be the fulness of the Godhead
(Col. 2:9. Or who can comprehend the
wonder of His living life and never
using His deity to assist in any
activity, always submissive to the
will of God and dependent on the
Holy Spirit, never to use His deity
to anesthetize any physical pain or
suppress the severity of any
temptation. Paul summed it up by
saying: “Love seeketh not her own,
suffereth long and is kind” (1 Cor.
13:4), and as the glory of this
dawns on our hearts then the
automatic response is:
Oh, how I love Him
How I adore Him
My breath, my sunshine
My all in all
The great Creator
Became my Savior
And all God's fullness
Dwelleth in Him.
. . . . Rowan Jennings
|
