A good scavenger hunt depends on mystery. If you’re handed the exact location of the prize right at the start, the excitement is gone.
In one sense, Paul tells us a mystery in Ephesians, chapter 3, that is no longer mysterious. God has already revealed it. Through the apostles and prophets, inspired by the Holy Spirit, the secret has been made known and written down for us. We are not left guessing about God’s plan.
And the mystery Paul describes sounds surprisingly simple: Through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:6). Jews and Gentiles are brought together . . . . as one in Christ. That’s the mystery?
Yes. In Paul’s day, it was shocking. Centuries of separation and suspicion stood between these groups. Yet the gospel of Jesus Christ tore down those barriers. In the early church, people of many nations were united by a shared hope in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection from the dead, and new life in Christ.
The gospel remains a mystery to many today. It’s a mystery to those who believe salvation must be earned, who keep certain people “outside” the reach of God’s Word because of race or lifestyle, or who expect Jesus to always look impressive by human standards.
But truly knowing the mystery means something different. It means recognizing that we are all in the same “sinner boat,” all outsiders who are brought in by grace alone. It means resting in the peace that if Christ’s promise is for the world, then it is also for you.
You know the mystery. Now, like the apostle Paul, make it known.
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 3:6
“Silent Night” was written originally in German by Joseph Mohr, with music composed by Franz Gruber. The carol was first performed on Christmas Eve in 1818 at St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria. Legend says the church organ was broken, prompting Gruber to compose a simple guitar accompaniment. Subsequently accompanied by many instruments and translated into many languages, the text paints the picture of the incarnation. The last phrase is repeated, so in the second stanza we hear it twice: “Christ the Savior is born!” Every word of that phrase is significant, and every line of the Christmas carol describes a Bible truth. We use the beloved hymn to ponder the profound message of the Twelve Days of Christmas.
A Christmas That Is Merry
Merry Christmas to you and your family in the celebration of Christ’s birth! May your “merriness” be the same as it was for Jesus’ mother: … my spirit rejoices in God my Savior (Luke 1:47). God has come near to us with his grace and truth. As you gather with loved ones, joy and peace are yours in a confident faith in your Savior.
Paul opens his letter to the Romans with a confession that says two big things about our Savior: “regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David … Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:3-4). In those two verses are both Jesus’ humility and his glory.
Jesus entered history through a human family. As a descendant of David, he shared our flesh and blood, our limitations and suffering. This humility matters, but also his glory as God matters. This is the good news – that the right person was born to take on, but also get rid of, our burden.
Many people are willing to accept the first part. Jesus was a real human being who . . . . lived about 2,000 years ago. He taught wisely. He showed compassion. He left behind good sayings about love. But it doesn’t stop there. This same Jesus was “appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead.” He is beyond a teacher. He is our Lord.
The Christian writer, C. S. Lewis, famously pointed out that we can’t say, “I accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but not as God.” Jesus did not give us that option, and neither does the Bible. If Jesus is not God, Christmas isn’t Christmas. Grace isn’t grace. Because only a perfect God can make a perfect sacrifice.
A full Christmas keeps both truths. It rejoices in Jesus as a little baby and confesses him as the risen Lord. He was born of David, yet reigns forever for us and all who believe.
3 … regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 1:3-4)
I’ve stood on mountain peaks and looked out over breathtaking views. A few times I’ve admired the Yucatan jungle in Mexico from the top of a Mayan pyramid. In moments like that, joy comes easily. But I rarely feel that same joy when I’m tired, thirsty, or standing in a barren, parched place. And certainly not when my knees are trembling in fear.
Life feels “desert-like” on many occasions. We walk through times of dryness and weakness in relationships, health scares, and spiritual struggles. Isaiah invites us to see what our eyes can’t naturally see – the hidden glory of the Messiah’s reign. Jesus’ kingdom among us may look unimpressive on the surface, like a wilderness, but his Word brings life wherever it goes.
Look closely, Isaiah says. The desert is already beginning to bloom. You taste this refreshment every time God . . . . speaks forgiveness to you in his Word, every time you receive the Lord’s Supper and are renewed by the life Christ gives. You are already a new creation in him, and the Holy Spirit is faithfully at work making your life blossom no matter what you see around you.
Isaiah also speaks of a highway, a safe, holy road reserved for the redeemed. You walk this Way of Holiness because Jesus has made you clean in baptism and purchased you with his sacrifice.
Go to the Messiah. Fix your eyes on Christ. In him, there is singing in the desert. And in him, you will enter Zion with everlasting joy. Sorrow and sighing will be gone forever, and songs of gladness will rise without end.
1 The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. … But only the redeemed will walk there, 10 and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. (Isaiah 35:1-10)
Arguments at home, frustrations at work, tension in our communities, divisions in our nation. Conflict seems to meet us at every turn. After a while we almost grow used to it, because it is so common.
“That’s just the way life is,” we say.
But wouldn’t it be wonderful if conflict didn’t have to be the norm? If the things that wear us down, worry us, or keep us up at night were simply gone?
Many people worry – some are even terrified – about the end of time. But for those in Christ, Scripture invites us to see it differently. In him, the end will be . . . . the moment when we finally witness the end of all conflict.
We can’t count on human institutions to bring this peace. Even God’s own people, Isaiah says, had become like a tree cut down to a stump, lifeless because they had walked away from his covenant. Yet from that stump a shoot would grow. A Root from the line of Jesse. A King from David’s family. Jesus.
His kingdom is unlike anything we know. “The wolf will live with the lamb” (Isaiah 11:6). Other wild animals become gentle. A child leads them. No more danger, no more fear, no more conflict.
This is why Jesus, the Root of Jesse, came into our world. By his sacrifice and resurrection, he gives forgiveness and new life. And forgiven, we know our future is secure in a kingdom where peace reigns forever.
Don’t let conflict consume you. It is temporary. In Christ, a resting place awaits, and it will be glorious (Isaiah 11:10)!
6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. 10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. (Isaiah 11:6,10)
Do you remember the feeling when someone important is about to arrive at your place? It’s a mixture of anticipation and excitement and nervousness. Did you make all the correct preparations? Will the person be happy to see you? When and how will the person arrive? Will there be any surprises?
During these weeks before Christmas, we anticipate the imminent arrival of Jesus. He’s an important person! We are about to celebrate his birth. He could return on judgment day at any time. But in worship we realize that he impacts our lives when the Bible is read and when the sacraments are administered. Suddenly we feel the excitement of an imminent arrival.
We usually connect the Last Day with pictures of power: the heavens disappearing with a roar (2 Peter 3:10); the Son of Man on the clouds of heaven arriving with angels and a loud trumpet call (Matthew 24:30-31); God on his white throne opening the books to judge (Revelation 20:11-15). This is certainly how it will be as Scripture tells us.
Have you ever thought of the Last Day as God coming to wait on you? Luke 12:37 gives us that unique image. Jesus will return as the Master of the entire world. Then he will change into servant’s clothes. We will recline at the table. The Lord of all will begin to serve those who are believers.
God encourages us to long for his appearing. What better way to do that than to let us know that he himself will give us the banquet of joy and peace in his mansions! There is nothing to . . . . be concerned about for those who live by faith in Christ. God will humbly serve his people the reward of grace.
While we wait, we are the servants. We are to be dressed and ready with our lamps burning (Luke 12:35). We have lives filled with distractions like never before. The same technology that makes our lives easier in some ways makes our lives more difficult in the sheer volume of messages and sales pitches and opinions that impact us. How are you actively taking on the command to be dressed and ready? Can you push aside a good number of the distractions that keep you from deeper faith and knowledge of the Word? Can you be more alert and watchful in temptation and more confident in your eternal hope in Christ?
God is the first to wait on us. He offered his life for our eternal salvation. He brought us into his family through the Spirit. Be ready! Hold on in faith to God’s promises of grace. Then when he returns, he will wait on you again with the great blessings of heaven.
It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them (Luke 12:37).
