If I had to preach a Christmas sermon, the following is what I would preach, “When Gentiles Sing to Jews.”

I wonder if we totally grasp the weight of the incarnation of the Son of God, coming as a small Christ child.

Luke 1-2 should serve as a reminder to those of us who are Gentiles that the coming of the Messiah is primarily a Jewish event. Luke, who may have been a gentile, understood this. Keeping with his expressed purpose inLuke 1:1-4, the evangelist writes in the remainder of the first chapter and into the second to inform us of the events surrounding the advent of the Christ child. It is not insignificant that the events he’s preserved for us are entirely and utterly Jewish.

Luke 1:5 further introduces the Jewish Christ story with mention of the King of Judea and a priest whose wife was a daughter of Aaron. They walk “blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord” though without a child. Reminiscent of Hannah? Possibly, though Mary is a far more likely candidate. Next, Zechariah is chosen by lot to enter the temple. Gabriel appears and the forerunner of the Messiah is foretold. It’s all sounding completely Jewish and we could continue to see the explicit and tease out the implicit should we wish, but the Christmas story isn’t simply about the coming of the Jewish Messiah. It’s about a recalling the hints of the expansion of God’s people by the Messiah.

Consider, for example,Isaiah 49. The prophetic word opens entreating the “peoples from afar” to listen up. This includes you and I. Everyone should perk up when YHWH speaks to the nations. The prophet then speaks of the Lord’s servant “Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” Is this a redefinition of Israel? The Messiah as (an) Israel? He continues with a thrilling word:

“Is it too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel [? Yes]; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).

This salvation is a person and he is the Christmas story. The wonder of the Christmas story is not only that the Jewish Messiah has come to “save his people from their sins” but that Gentiles are included so that this salvation is global in extent.  What a wonderful surprise! The Gentile inclusion opens up a new whole new aspect of the work of the Messiah like one opening a door to an attic which had been shut up for ages. The treasures in that attic were there the whole time–hidden from eternity past?–but only recently (first century AD) brought to light. Paul calls it a “mystery” which has been made known by “holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” (Ephesians 3:5). And as if we should start to wonder exactly what that mystery which has been made known is, he spells it out plainly:

“This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Ephesians 3:6).

Revisiting the attic analogy, Paul writes that “the mystery of Christ…was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed” (Eph 3:4-5). It’s not that the “mystery” wasn’t there but that it was just that, a mystery and it had to be revealed.

Praise be to God! The Christ child whom we celebrate this season makes this mystery possible and known!

With the mystery in mind, we shall look closely at a mystery-laden Christmas hymn commonly sung in churches during Advent, O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Familiarize yourself with the hymn if you’re feeling a little rusty since  last year. I want to draw your attention to the refrain with which you will undoubtedly be familiar:

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Note that the twice repeated “Rejoice!” is a command. You, rejoice! I’m talking to you. Who’s talking? Everyone singing? Sure, but more specifically, I think the speaker is supposed to be a Gentile. The last verse seems to imply this (“O, Desire of nations”) coupled with the third person references to Israel scattered throughout. So, we’ve got Gentiles singing. What are they singing? Of whom are they singing? Singing of Emmanuel…God with us…the Messiah. To whom are the Gentiles singing of the Messiah? To Israel!

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel employs Gentiles to sing of the Messiah to Israel. It seems kind of backwards doesn’t it? This is the partial hardening (Romans 11:25).  Shouldn’t Israel be singing “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come even unto you, O nations!” That’s what you would think; but the mystery changes our thinking.

When we Gentiles sing this hymn we should be overwhelmed with grief for unbelieving Israel. We should be overwhelmed by the fact that we are singing to them instead of them singing to us. We shouldn’t be singing at all, but Christ is such a great savior that we can’t help but sing and to all nations and most certainly to unbelieving Israel. Yes, we proclaim their Messiah and their salvation, but by the mystery and the mind-expanding work of Christ, he is also our Messiah and our salvation. We sing. We sing.

When Gentiles sing to Jews about the Messiah, may we be reminded of the Gentile inclusion, meaning that we who were not a people have been brought near by the blood of the final Passover Lamb who has expanded what it means to be the people of God and children of Abraham.

Hallelujah!

Most often the phrase “the great exchange” is associated very specifically with the obedience of Christ on the Christian’s behalf as part of his redemptive work whereby he took on our sin (2 Cor. 5:21) and we consequently are able to be clothed in his righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). The great exchange in the New Testament is Jesus takes our sin and we get his righteousness imputed to us. He gets sin, we get God. O glorious gospel! Trust in him now!

Well, the great exchange of Deuteronomy is very similar but less specifically and explicitly about the redemptive work of the Messiah.Deuteronomy 29:10-15 (ESV) magnificently preaches exchange when it reads,

You are standing today all of you before the Lord your God: the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today, that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. It is not with you alone that I am making this sworn covenant, but with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, and with whoever is not here with us today.

The bolded portions are to help trace the line of thought amidst the enumerating of persons present (elders, lumberjacks, water boys, etc.). The people are standing before God in order to cross (over) into the covenant of YHWH (לעברך בברית יהוה), a covenant which he is making in order to establish them as his people and he as their God ( לעםוהואיהיה־לך לאלהים למעןהקים־אתך היום לו). The “exchange” is that we become his people and he becomes our God. He gets us, we get him.

The ל (lamedh) prepositions here (ל+עם and ל+אלהים), though functioning differently syntactically, remind me ofSong of Songs 6:3 where quite famously it is asserted that “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” Here also are ל prepositions, though attached simply to object pronouns masculine and feminine rather than nouns. Again there is a certain amount of what I think can be called exchange or reciprocity which reflects, albeit dimly, the great exchange which is the gospel revealed in the work of Christ and the New Testament Scriptures.

Respond

Take a moment to readDeuteronomy 29. Think about all of God’s provisions for sinful, rebellious laid out throughout the Scriptures. Think on what it means for you, as a Christian, to be part of God’s people. Think on God becoming your God when you at one time were alienated from him and without him in the world (Ephesians 2). Now, rejoice at the thought of the gospel!

If you’re not a Christian, trust in Christ as God’s provision for sinful humanity to be brought back into communion with him after being separated by our sin and rebellion. Now, rejoice in the gospel!

Hebrew Help

What’s the best way to blog Hebrew? I just copy and pasted from e-sword. No vowels. Hopefully, everyone who cares will be able to read it. Sorry if it shows up garbled. Read the English. It’s not a bad translation.

Hi Drew,

I understand when you say that we all deserve to go to hell. It put me in mind of a quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet (we studied it in High School): “..use every man after his deserts, then who should scape whipping?” Is that what you mean? So, if I understand you rightly, then the “grace” of God is like mercy. We are only “let off” our punishment because God chooses it. Is that so? It kinda makes sense if he is a loving God as we are told. I “Googled” Jonathan Edwards. He seems to have been quite the preacher. But he says God is an “angry” God and we can be liable to slide into hell at any time. Can I quote you from his “Sinner in the hands of an Angry God”. He says, referring to Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 35

“That the reason why they are not fallen already and do not fall now is only that God’s appointed time is not come. For it is said, that when that due time, or appointed time comes, their foot shall slide. Then they shall be left to fall, as they are inclined by their own weight. God will not hold them up in these slippery places any longer, but will let them go; and then, at that very instant, they shall fall into destruction; as he that stands on such slippery declining ground, on the edge of a pit, he cannot stand alone, when he is let go he immediately falls and is lost.”

This worries me a bit. What if God suddenly says, “Jack, the appointed time for you has come”. Would I be left to fall? Drew, I can tell you now, I don’t really fancy that prospect. I hadn’t realised that things were so urgent. I suppose the appointed time could be anytime, like today even. Drew, what must I do? I have read all your letters and you have probably already spelled it out. I’m sorry if I’m making you repeat yourself but this is more important than I had realised. In a nutshell, what must I do so that God doesn’t let me slip into hell?

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Jack

Sir Jack Whom I Email and Who Emails Back,

Jonathan Edwards was quite the preacher. The man prepared sermons on horseback and used and reused paper until there was no more room to write on it. Imagine what the cat could have done with a laptop and a blog!

It is a serious matter that Edwards writes of in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. First off, let me tell you (and not to divert the issue) that just as horrifically as Jonathan Edwards wrote of hell, he equally as vivid describes the wonders of heaven and being with God. He was a man that had a grasp on the seriousness and the majesty of God, and this perspective led him to understand more than most the gravitas with which God must be treated. We’re not talking about Santa Claus, or Gumby, or Mr. Rogers; this is the God of who created the heavens and the earth by his word through Jesus. This is the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the God of Edwards.

I’m glad you brought up Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God because in it Jonathan Edwards describes us being on a slippery slope. This is sin as we have talked about it. Our love of sin is destroying us. Furthermore, our sin makes a law breaker. We have broken God’s law. This can be plainly seen if we compare ourselves to the famous Ten Commandments:

1. Has God been foremost in my desiring, or is everything about me? I’m a lawbreaker.
2. Have I worshiped fake gods (sex, money, success, materialism, myself), and not the Creator of the universe? I’m a lawbreaker.
3. Have I taken God’s name in vain? Have I blasphemed against Jesus? I’m a lawbreaker.
4. Have I set aside a day to rest and worship God? (This should be everyday.) I’m a lawbreaker.
5. Have I honored my father and mother, or have I been disobedient? I’m a lawbreaker.
6. Have I murdered someone? Jesus stepped this one up and said that even if I have been so angry that I have hated my brother, I am guilty. I’m a lawbreaker.
7. Have I had sex with someone that I’m not married to? Jesus also stepped this one up and said that if I have lusted after a woman in my heart, I am guilty. I am a lawbreaker.
8. Have I lied? Guilty.
9. Have I wanted something so much that wasn’t mine (coveted)? I’m a lawbreaker.

I’m a lawbreaker and thereby guilty. In the New Testament it says that the Law was given so that we might see how much of a sinner (lawbreaker) we are and how much we are in need of rescuing; because what is the just thing for a judge to do to a lawbreaker but condemn? We are guilty.

You’ve heardJohn 3:16–”God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life?” This is the gospel: namely, that while we are guilty because we are lawbreakers, Jesus Christ has died for us to forgive our sins that upon repenting and placing our faith in him we can have our sins washed away and be cleansed and be righteous before God.

This is the gospel: God rescuing us in Jesus. Jesus is God in human form. Jesus took the penalty of our sin upon him and thereby canceled out the debt against us. All we have to do is turn to him in faith and repentance and God has promised that he would save us. “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord [Jesus] shall be saved.” The Bible is full of God’s promises towards us. He has rescued us! He has accepted our penalty in Jesus. If we turn away from our sinful lifestyle and trust in Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, God promises, that he will rescue us now, giving us abundant life and joy, and will rescue us when “that due time, or appointed time comes.” We then have nothing to fear for God is in control. We can trust that when God says our appointed time is up, everything will be OK even if it seems scary or painful.

Our appointed times could be any day or any moment that’s why its important to seek after God while he may be found. “Today is the day of salvation.” Don’t delay.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44). Buy that field, Jack.

–drew

PS. What must you do? In real, practical terms: call out to God. Tell God how you feel. Tell him that you fear death and know that you are a lawbreaker guilty of breaking his law. There is no formula. Just heartfelt remorse at your sins and placing your faith in Jesus. “Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner and that I need you. I turn away from my sins and trust in you for forgiveness. Save me.”