Christmas Week 2
As we continue to look into the beauty of the incarnation, what we find is not a distant God who doesn’t care about our lives, but One who dwelt with man so that He could redeem them, YES!, but also so that He could experience humanity in its fullness. Hebrews 4:14-16:
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
In other words, we have a High Priest, Jesus, who IS able to sympathize with our weaknesses. To ready our minds and hearts for what I believe the Lord has for us this morning, here’s a short list that I’ve borrowed from Erik Raymond from a blog post on Gospel Coalition:
“He was homeless (Matt. 8.20). His family thought he was crazy (Matt. 12.46; Mk. 3.21; Jn. 7.5). His best friends turned their back on him (Matt. 26.56). One of his closest confidants sold him to be killed for pocket change (Matt. 26.46-50). He stood face to face with the devil and endured all of his demonic tricks (Luke 4.1-13). He dealt with death (Jn. 11.1-45). He endured gossip and slander (Matt. 12.24; Jn. 8.52). He endured suffering for righteousness’ sake (Jn. 15.20). He was shamed publicly (Mk. 14.65). He endured periods of hunger (Mk. 11.12ff). He received criticism of his ministry (Jn. 5; Matt. 12). His theology was mocked. His message was rejected. His preaching was critiqued (Luke 4 ). His disciples didn’t “get it”. He endured complete and utter separation from God so that you would never, ever, ever have to!!”
I want to look a little closer at a few of these, especially the ones that I believe might resonate the most for what we experience as well.
Big Idea: The Incarnation means that God is able to empathize with our pain.
Kids - God knows how we feel!
1. Loss (Sorrow) - Lazarus - John 11
I’ve experienced a few tragic losses in my life. Maybe you have as well. When I was first starting out in Student Ministry, a really close friend of mine from High School died from substance abuse. When I was nearing the end of my time in Student Ministry, one of our core students, a junior in high school, tragically and suddenly passed away. Over a month ago, a friend of many in this room passed away while playing an indoor soccer game. I’m sure many in this room have experienced the tragic loss of a loved one. And whether it’s expected or not, the pain of losing someone is a difficult thing to deal with.
In John chapter 11, we see Jesus lose a close friend of his, a man named Lazarus. Go ahead and turn over to John 11. In this account, we find a man named Lazarus, and we find out that he is the brother of Mary and Martha. We also see a close relationship between Jesus and these 3 siblings. Look at verse 3 (Read) and verse 5 (Read). Skip a few verses down to verse 14 (Read). So this man who Jesus loves has died.
Now, Jesus and His disciples have come to Bethany, and the traditional period of mourning is still underway. I want you to see how Jesus responds, and the words that John uses as he writes this account. Read vs. 32-36.
Deeply moved - The Greek word here implies a deep anger against something. Jesus was enraged in spirit. Why? Most commentators would agree that his anger was directed at the effect of sin that causes death.
Troubled - Visibly agitated or disturbed.
And then Jesus wept. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be “a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief.” He felt sorrow and grief, and when overcome with emotions, he wept. We see the sisters and the hired wailers weeping loudly, but this is a different verb than what we see from Jesus. The verb used here simply means “to shed tears,” and pictures quiet grief. However, regardless of the volume of his weeping, the fact of the matter is, Jesus wept. His close friend had died. Mary and Martha, who Jesus was close with, were broken and sad from the loss of their brother. Jesus is present with them, He feels their pain, He feels His own pain, and He weeps with them for their loss.
When we experience the pain of loss in this world, we can find hope in the truth that we have a Savior who has felt our pain.
2. Stress - Praying in the Garden - Luke 22:39-44
I’ve been pretty transparent with you all about my struggle with anxiety. It’s something that I’ve been dealing with now for about 10 years. It started right before Lennon was born with a massive panic attack, and has been something that I deal with most days since then. I’ve found much comfort in the invitation from Jesus to cast it upon Him. I also find great comfort knowing that Jesus has dealt with stress and anxiousness in His own way.
In Luke 22, we find Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying to His Father. It’s His final hours before His arrest, and He knows what lies ahead. He knows how horrifying the cross is, and as He looks ahead, we find Him in mental and emotional anguish.
Read Luke 22:39-43
Jesus knows what He must do, but He is wrestling with the reality of it. In His humanity, He is so emotionally and physically exhausted that the Lord sends an angel to strengthen Him.
Read vs. 44
The word agony here refers to mental anguish. But for those who have struggled with any sort of mental agony, we know how much it can have an effect on us physically. Hematidrosis “is a condition in which capillary blood vessels that feed the sweat glands rupture, causing them to exude blood, occurring under conditions of extreme physical or emotional stress.”
So Jesus here is under such immense mental strain that His body is responding in an extreme way. The pressure of what lies ahead is causing such great stress on His mind that He asks His Father for another way! “Father, remove this cup from me! The weight of what’s coming is too great to bear!”
One of my favorite passages to go to when anxiety rises is Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
When anxiety rises, and stress becomes unbearable, run to Jesus. When you feel that life is just too heavy, unload all of it onto the shoulders of Jesus. Let him carry your burdens, and let him carry you. This is where we find rest for our hearts, our minds and our souls.
3. Betrayal - Judas - Luke 22:3-6, 47-48
Let’s talk about Judas Iscariot. Judas was a disciple of Jesus. This means that he was one of the 12 closest men to Jesus. He got to know Jesus better than most at that time. He saw His power to heal. He saw Him walking on water. He saw Him use 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish to feed nearly 20,000 people. He saw His humility. He heard His teaching. He was a friend of Jesus, until he wasn’t.
Read Luke 22:3-6
We need to notice a few things here. First, we see that Satan himself entered Judas. Satan is not omnipresent. He cannot be in more than one place at a time. Getting Judas to betray the Son of God was a massively important thing for the battle between good and evil. But here’s what I want us to notice. Judas doesn’t betray Jesus for a position of influence. He doesn’t betray Jesus for a seat at the table of the religious higher ups. He betrays Jesus for money. In Matthew 26 we see the amount to be 30 pieces of silver. While we can’t translate into modern currency, many have attempted to, and most would agree the amount to be a few hundred dollars, and no more than $1000. But it gets worse. Look at how up close and personal this betrayal is.
Jesus has just finished praying in the garden and finds His disciples asleep on their watch.
Read Luke 22:47-48
A greeting doesn’t get much more intimate than a kiss. This is the sign that Judas chose so the religious leaders would know who Jesus was. “The one who I kiss…He’s the one you want.” I mean this betrayal is 2nd to none in history. Jesus knows the absurdity of it! “Is this really how you are going to betray the Son of God? With a kiss?! An intimate act of friendship?!” But he does. Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss for 30 pieces of silver.
Maybe you’ve experienced some sort of betrayal in your life. Maybe you’ve had someone who you thought was a close friend turn their back on you. Maybe worse. Maybe it feels like they stabbed you in the back and meant harm against you. I have not been betrayed in this way, but I can only imagine the pain that it must cause. I haven’t experienced it but I know that there’s a God in heaven who has. And you know what He promises?
Deuteronomy 31:8 - “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
And while this is an Old Testament promise made to Joshua by Moses for a very specific moment in history, we can be sure that it still applies to us today. We see the promise repeated in Hebrews 13:5. No matter who comes and goes in your life, God will never leave you. No matter who might abandon you or turn their back on you, God never will.
Application
Maybe you’re here this morning and you’ve experienced loss. Maybe the sorrow that you feel is too weighty to bear. Perhaps there are circumstances in your life that are causing great angst. The stress and pressures are just too much. Maybe you’ve been betrayed. Maybe you had someone close to you turn their back on you, mistreat you and abandon you.
The human experience doesn’t end there. Maybe there is other pain or brokenness that you are feeling. Maybe it doesn’t perfectly align with what we talked about this morning, but it hurts just the same.
Can I just speak to you directly and tell you that Jesus loves you. Jesus loves you no matter what you’ve experienced in life. We need only hand it over to Him. Jesus, take my hurt. Jesus, take my pain. Jesus, take my brokenness. Jesus, take my stress. Jesus, I’ve been abandoned, take my loneliness.
Maybe you’ve tried a lot of things to fill the gaps left behind by those who have wounded you, but nothing is working. Can I just tell you that the only one who can fill the broken parts of our lives is Jesus? If you don’t have a relationship with Him this morning, I would ask that you consider what it would mean for you to give your life over to Him. If that is something that you want to know more about, a relationship with Jesus, then after the service I’ll be down here in the front. Please come talk to me and let me share with you the joy of salvation in Jesus!
