What Does Jesus Do?

What Does Jesus Do?

Jesus is not like dessert…

Jesus is not like a balanced meal…

Jesus is not like a snack…

Jesus is not like birthday cake…

Jesus is not like your favorite food…

Jesus is not like the food your parents made you eat, but you hated…

Jesus is absolutely completely necessary.

For those in God’s community, and outside of God’s community.

Jesus is necessary.

But what does He do?  For the next few weeks, we plan to examine what Jesus does for us, through us, because of us, in spite of us, and in us.

In short, though… I am quite sure we will find:

Jesus Fixes Everything.

Perfect Timing

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son… (Galatians 4:4 ESV)

Perfect Timing

God not only gave His people the exact Messiah we need, fully divine and fully human, but that Messiah arrived at exactly the right time.

I am pretty sure we do not even understand all the perfection of God’s timing in the birth of Jesus.

Political elements were just right.  For instance, the Roman empire provided both peace and roads that enabled the efficient missionary efforts of the early days of Christianity.

Religious elements were just right.  A Temple had been rebuilt, and many devout Jews (like Anna and Simeon) were faithfully anticipating God’s salvific means.

Practical elements were just right.  Young Mary and Noble Joseph were summoned to Bethlehem Ephrathah… the right shepherds were employed in the fields… the wise men were on their way…

Things beyond our ken were arranged.  Things unseen by mankind were ready.  Things unnoticed were placed by God.

And it was time.

And the Messiah was born.

And God’s people were redeemed.

And the Angels sang.

Jobs

Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11 ESV)

Jobs

To-Do-Lists are both wonderful and dreadful. They are wonderful because they help ensure that the jobs that need to get done are completed.   Perhaps nothing will slip through the cracks.  Perhaps everything will be within my abilities. They are dreadful because every To-Do-List carries an accusation that every job will not be completed.  Something will slip through the cracks.  Something will end up being too hard.

The Messiah had three jobs.  Theologians sometimes refer to them as His Offices.  He is Prophet  He is Priest.  He is King.

God delegated authority on earth to Prophets, Priests, and Kings.  More than merely jobs, those roles were God’s connection to His People.  Prophets speak on behalf of God to His people.  Priests represent God’s people to God.  And the King centralizes God’s authority on earth as it is in heaven.

God’s authority, delegated to humans on earth, though, always had trouble. 

Most of the political, social, and interpersonal conflicts in the Bible occurred because the office bearers were unable to have unity with the other offices.  Prophets argued with Kings.  Kings tyrannically interfered with Priests.  Priests ignored the words of the prophets.

If someone could combine the offices, effective stewardship of God’s authority would have resulted.  But no human had ever been able to be all three. 

Whenever humans tried, we failed disastrously.  Think of King Saul.  Think of Herod.  Think of Gehazi.  Think of every emperor in the Bible.

But the Messiah, because He was born uniting human and divine, was able to be all three.

That is why the magi brought those particular gifts.  They symbolize the Christ-child’s three jobs. 

God’s authority on earth is more effective because of the Incarnation.  God’s authority on earth is more unified because of the Incarnation.  God’s authority on earth is more helpful because of the Incarnation.

The Incarnation gives us the Prophet we need, the Priest we need, and the King we need.

Gold and the King

…behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? (Matthew 2:1,2 ESV)

Gold and The King

In Biblical terms, Kings provide order.  In the books of Judges and I Samuel, everyone did what was right in their own eyes (instead of God’s eyes) and the result was chaos and unfaithfulness.  And so God provided order by giving them King David.

The Kings who ruled God’s people only did well when the Kings knew they served God.  When they forgot that, so did the people, with disastrous results.

Ever since Adam’s sin, chaos has tried to disrupt God’s creation.  Just like God’s people, creation prospers under order.

God’s promises to King David, that David’s line would eternally rule, required the King of God’s Kingdom to be human.  Man’s inability to be holy required the King of God’s Kingdom to be divine.

And only the Union of God and Man found in Christ could ensure the end of chaos, and the establishment of the blessings found in orderliness.

The Incarnation was the formation of the perfect and necessary King… and so the Wise Men brought Gold, the symbolic gift of Kingship.

Practical Things

…because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, (Luke 4:18 ESV)

Practical Things

Jesus was appointed and sent to bring the gospel.  Both as a preacher, and as the very Gospel, Himself.  And the salvation of souls that was wrought by His coming is valuable beyond measure. 

Eternal life… avoiding God’s wrath… adoption into God’s family… peace with God… these are all incredible things.

But Jesus was born, the Incarnation happened, for practical reasons, too.

Christianity, properly understood, brings economic fairness.  Christianity, properly acted out, brings freedom both politically and personally.  Christianity, when bearing fruit, improves health.

The Incarnation was not just a thing for our heads and our souls.

The Incarnation changed everything… from atoms to philosophies.

Perhaps we can do better in this arena.

Bring the practical aspects of the gospel into reality.

More Victory

For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19 ESV)

More Victory

I like, and sometimes think I need, coffee in the morning.  I have a basic but excellent espresso machine in its specific place.  I have a tub of my favorite espresso grounds. 

But no coffee arrives until those things enter my actual physical world.

I have a book series I have intended to read for many years.  I understand the series, am intrigued by the series, and know exactly where the series exists in my library.

But no reading happens until those books enter my actual physical world.

Our salvation, the end of sin’s curse, our redemption, our necessary atonement needed to physically manifest in our world.  It could not merely be an idea.  God Himself had to enter this world.  He had to be born as a man, without losing His divinity. 

Christ had to be physically righteous, from birth to death, for His righteousness to count as ours. 

The Incarnation makes our salvation real.

Victory

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (I John 3:8 ESV)

Victory

Even though it takes the entire football team to win, usually one player is deemed the Most Valuable Player.  Even though graduates know that myriads of folk assisted them in their accomplishment, ‘thank-you’ speeches focus on a few contributors.  Even though an entire medical team assists in overcoming health troubles, the doctor receives most of the accolades.

But when it comes to the universal defeat of Satan, powerful in his hatred of God, there is only One hero.

God’s people take part in the battles against God’s other enemies: the flesh, and the world.  But Satan is beyond our understanding, power, and responsibility.

But Christ trumps Satan, smothers the devil, and trounces the evil one.

The Incarnation made that possible.  As man, Christ is a human hero, defender, and representative against Satan.  Christ defeated Satan by resisting every Spiritual temptation.  His obedience is accredited to our account, if we are believers, and so we become innocent of Satan’s accusations in God’s throne room. 

As God, Christ is holiness, perfection, all-powerful, and omniscient.  No one can stand against Him.  No matter the enemy, God wins every contest, battle, and war.  It might not happen in our desired timing, but God’s timing is actually always perfect.  Christ, God’s only begotten Son, fights the Trinity’s battles and wins.

And we celebrate that Incarnation during the Season of Christmas.

The miracle birth of the Messiah, being necessarily both God and man, was the focus in the battle against Satan.

Satan lost because that baby was born.

Representative

Therefore He had to be made like His brothers in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:17 ESV)

Representative

In middle school, somehow I got the reputation of a good romantic ‘go between.’  When Mike and Melania (fill in your memory’s names) were having a squabble, I would talk to Mike on behalf of Melania, and Melania on behalf of Mike.

Often, Mike was so mad at Melania that such a representative was the only way for them to communicate.  Often Melania was so mad at Mike that such a representative was the only way for them to communicate.

The estrangement between God and humans was far deeper than a middle school fight.  From Adam down to us, our absolute sin separates us absolutely from the absolutely perfect God.

The only way to connect with God is through a perfect representative.  One who understands both sides.  One who has lived as both sides.  One who actually IS both sides.

And that One is Christ Jesus.

If it were not for the Incarnation, in which our representative actually became BOTH sides, we could not approach God, we could not have peace with God, we could not be adopted into His family.

Christ, Incarnated, overcomes God’s wrath and our stubbornness.  Christ, Incarnated, provides the way to God’s Justice and our guilt.  Christ, Incarnated, allows God’s love to transform our hearts into God-lovers.

We would be lost forever without the Incarnation.

Copycats

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (I Peter 2:22 ESV)

Copycats

Nearly every hero I have ever had failed in some way.  Superman has his kryptonite.  Ronald Reagan had odd religious beliefs.  George Washington made poor predictions.

None of them, ultimately, are really worth copying.

But the Christ is worth copying.  Because He was both fully God and fully man, uniquely He was able to offer a life absolutely worth imitating.

The incarnation enabled Christ to be human, but a perfect human, unlike any other.

It is more than ‘What Would Jesus Do…’  His life offers an example for us in every situation, every conflict, every opportunity, and every choice. 

From His principles, to practicalities, He alone is worth copying.  From His victories to His sufferings, He alone is worth copying.  From His obedience to His love, He is worth copying. 

The Incarnation was necessary to show us how to live, how to serve, how to live, and how to be.

Together

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, (II Corinthians 5:18,19 ESV)

Together

Oil and Water do not mix.  Neither do plaids and stripes.  Neither do outlaws and law enforcement.  Neither do inlaws and inlaws. 

Neither does sin and God.

God’s holiness does not tolerate sin, sinfulness, Sins, or sinning.

But because of God’s amazing love, He made a way to reconcile the two.

It is impossible for God and sin to mix.  But He reconciled us to Him. 

And the incarnation is both an example of God’s mixing power, AND the very way that the mixing takes place.

First, the mixing of Divine and human is an impossible thing, it would seem.  But God became man, without ceasing to be divine.  He mixed the unmixable, without either part changing.  It showed He can do it.

And through that Incarnate One, God also reconciled us to Himself.  Through the life, and death, and life of the Christ, we are justified, sanctified, and will be glorified.  Through the Christ was are adopted, re-united, and unified with God.

The Incarnation mixes things more unmixable than oil and water.  And gives us peace with God.

Payment

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9 ESV)

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. (Hebrews 10:4 ESV)

Payment for Sins

I know of a man who attempted to pay off a large debt to a bank by trying to give the bank hay bales.  It did not work. 

I know of a man who attempted to pay off a large debt to the US government by trying to give the IRS a deed to a piece of property.  It did not work.

I know of a man who attempted to pay off a large credit card debt by trying to give the credit card company a small percentage of the amount owed.  It did not work.

Sin causes a debt to God.  And that debt is our lives.  (Romans 6:23)

The sacrifices of the Old Testament did not actually pay for any sins.  They were accepted by God as an offering to teach us that at one point, an offering WOULD be accepted.  An offering not of animals, but of a perfect human.

The sacrifice of a perfect, sinless human would be accepted by God in place of another human.

If Jesus was only human when He died on the cross, He could have paid the debt of any other individual human being.

So one person could have been saved.

But because Jesus was also God, divine, infinite as well as perfectly human, His death could count for more.

In fact His death was enough for every human who believes.

If it were not for the incarnation, Christ being BOTH human and divine… we would not have been saved.  We could not have been saved.

We would still have to die for our sins.

But the incarnation makes salvation possible.

Forever

And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’  (II Samuel 7:16 ESV)

To Guarantee a Davidic King on the Throne

When the dentist was drilling out a bad root in my tooth, something was not quite right with the pain killer.  It hurt!  And as I writhed in agony, it seemed that pain would last forever. 

When driving across the Midwest multiple times, many years ago, entertainment options seemed limited.  Alone in the car, late at night, the road seemed to stretch forever.

Recently, we traveled to Iceland.  Each day together was exciting, intimate, and precious.  Whether in an Arctic blizzard, standing before a majestic waterfall, or eating at exotic restaurants, we were stuck in time… the vacation seemed to last forever.

Forever is a long time!

And even though our activities at times seem to last forever, they never do, whether good or bad.

God had promised King David that David’s line would rule God’s people forever.

And it seemed that God’s promise had failed!

Israel had been conquered, and no one from David’s descendants sat on the throne in Jerusalem.  And even before Jerusalem fell, King David’s line had descended into disrepute.

But God fixed that.

A human born into David’s family was impossibly born as God AND man.

And now there was a forever King!

Without King Christ’s Divinity, Jesus would have been another temporary King, however grand.

But Divine… He fulfilled God’s promise to David.

And fulfilled, we have a King!  A perfect King.  An all-powerful King.  A trustworthy King.  A good King.  A loving King.  A King willing and able to sacrifice Himself, even onto death, so that we can live forever as His people.

The Incarnation did that!

Integrity

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26 ESV)

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. (Genesis 1:28 ESV)

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. (Genesis 2:15 ESV)

Integrity

Jesus usually referred to Himself as the “Son of Man.”

Perhaps that seems surprising.  It seems the lesser of the titles that Christ could claim.

Authority is a hard thing to wield well.  It is common, unfortunately, for human leaders to wield authority without integrity.  Selfish use of power and authority is not a display of integrity.  Dishonest use of power and authority is not a display of integrity.  Insincere use of power and authority is not a display of integrity.  Breaking one’s word, overturning past commitments, and taking back what was clearly given are not displays of integrity.

Those who delegate authority, but do not really mean it, are not displaying integrity.

So note… that in Genesis God makes humankind stewards not merely of gardens and cattle… but over all of creation.  Humans are God’s stewards.  Humans are kings of creation.

And because God has integrity, mankind remains steward.  Even though Adam sinned.  Even though mankind has been a poor steward from the beginning.

God has left mankind in place.

If the Messiah was to be King, Lord, and Master… the Messiah should be human.  Or God would have to upset all of creation.  He COULD do that, of course.  But God has integrity.

So when God brought the Messiah to earth, He had two choices.  Remove mankind from our stewardly throne, taking back His gift of stewardship… or make the Messiah in such a way that the Messiah would be fully human. 

And God chose to have integrity, and keep order in the universe.

In fact, the only way for the Messiah to be King was for the Messiah to be Human.

The Incarnation was necessary to bring that about.

Fully God, and fully human.

Promise Keeper

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15 ESV)

Promises

A chasm lurks between, “I might” and “I will.”  “I will try,” is not in the same league as, “I will.”  Every child knows the difference between  “maybe,” and “yes.”

In the first book of the Bible, the first promise that God made to His people was the promise to fix what Adam broke.  And that fixing would be done by a Messiah.  Throughout the Old Testament, God described that Messiah in two ways.

The Messiah was described as divine (Daniel 7:3, and Micah 5:2).

The Messiah was described as human (Isaiah 7:15, Deuteronomy 18:16).

In order that both of these sets of prophecies be fulfilled, the Messiah had to somehow be both divine AND human.

And that is exactly what the incarnation was.

The Divine, becoming Human, without abandoning His Divinity.

The incarnation was necessary lest God be a liar.

And God is not a liar.

He broke the laws of the universe in that Messiah-birth.  Think what He will do for you!

God kept His promises in the Incarnation.

To Reveal the Invisible God

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (John 1:18 ESV)

Why the Incarnation?

To Reveal the Invisible God

I do not understand people who like bananas.  I do not understand people who like the two party system.  I do not understand people who like sleeping outside in the winter.  I do not understand people who refuse to like all the things that I like.

But that understanding is bridged by something.  Or rather, by someOne.  The Christ we share overcomes the differences.

And that ability to accept those others began with the Incarnation.  God, through Jesus, showed us how.

God’s holiness, power, and ‘other’ness might have meant eternal distance from His beloved created beings.  A connection was already going to be different, but once mankind broke covenant any chance of community was abolished.

Humans could not comprehend God. 

But when perfect, limitless, divine Jahweh somehow also became temptable, limited, and human Christ Jesus, that ‘other’ness of God became graspable by our minds, hearts, and souls.

We can know the One True Living God because of the Incarnation.

He is still very different, but He reaches out to us and we can grasp Him.

He is still beyond us, but He reaches down to us and we can recognize Him.

He is still beyond our embrace, but He reaches to us in love and we can have peace.

Without the Incarnation we would not know God, and no one can know God without the Incarnation.

So be in awe this Christmas season!

The Necessity of Christmas

And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.  But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. (Luke 2:18, 19 ESV)

The Necessity of Christmas

For believers, for God’s people, for Christians, Christmas is necessary, as perhaps is the celebration of the event.

But not our traditional practices of presents, decorations, dinners, and sentimentality.

Rather, the miracle of Incarnation was necessary.  For all of creation, as well as for our very souls, the Incarnation was not just a nice religious event.  The Incarnation was necessary for God’s defeat rebellion, sin, and evil.

Subsequently, our reaction to that Incarnation is necessary.  If we understand the necessity and importance of the Incarnation, a response is not only a good idea, but it is impossible NOT to respond.  And the variety and breadth of our responses is incredibly deep and wide.

For the next few weeks, we will examine WHY the incarnation is necessary, and fine tune our reaction to it.

Mary understood the necessity of the event.  She wondered and treasured because this thing is big!  This thing is miraculous! This thing is amazing!  This thing is worth remembering!

Mornings

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22,23 ESV)

Mornings

My grandfather had an odd methodology when he taught me to play chess.  At any point in my rookie games against him, if I was dissatisfied with how the game was going, we would clear the board and start over.  Without shame, without disappointment, without condemnation, without a sense of failure.

Few things in life allow restarts like that.

Restarting projects costs extra money.  Restarting relationships causes emotional pain.  Restarting a road trip costs time. Restarting a bad day is simply not physically possible.

But God restarts with His people all the time.

He does not remember our sins, because His Son paid for them.

He does not remember our failures because His Son succeeds on our behalf.

He does not remember our unfaithfulness because His Son is faithful for us.

He does not remember our broken promises, broken resolutions, broken relationship with Him because Jesus fixes everything.

Mornings are symbolic of our God’s eager willingness to allow us to restart.  A new day is a fresh start with God.  A new day is a sunlit beginning with God.  A new day is a new receipt of His faithfulness.

Even though I am not generally a  ‘morning person,’ I get to thank God every morning for His mercies.

Thank God!

Work

When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you. (Psalm 128:2 ESV)

Work

God gives us many blessings through supernatural means… things like grace, mercy, forgiveness, adoption, justification, sanctification, and glorification.  All theological words, yes… but all precious and out of our ability to acccomplish on our own.

But God also blesses us in ways that involve some contribution ourselves.  God gives us work, and the results of our work are blessing.

God does not give us tasks, jobs, and work merely to keep our idle hands occupied.  Rather, He blesses us with both the work itself, and the results of our labor.

Many folk today seem eager to avoid work, take shortcuts in our work, and be done with work.  But work is a blessing, and a means to blessing.

The best example is Christ Himself.  He had work to do on earth.  If anyone deserved to not ‘work’ it was Christ.  The Son of God, an amazing heavenly home, power and authority, and He had already been working throughout eternity.

But His work blessed His people.  His obedience and resistance to every temptation counts as ours.  His miracles helped so many.  Being finite when He was infinite, suffering the physical effects of Adam’s sin in creation, accepting guilt for everything of which He was innocent, were all hard work.

But He blessed us.  Doubly.  He blessed us by doing them, and He blessed  us with the results.

Two things, then, to be thankful for.  Our God-directed work, and the happy results.

Rest

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28 ESV)

Rest

I like naps, when I can get them.  But that is not what is talked about here.

I like vacations. But that is not what is talked about here.

I like an occasional slow easy morning. But that is not what is talked about here.

The Rest that God’s people, Christians have, comes in the forms of trust, peace, and joy. Because God is so very powerful, we can trust Him.  Because God is so very good, we can have peace.  Because God unconditionally loves us, we can have joy.

Our work can be tedious, exhausting, endless, painful, intimidating, and unpleasant.  But God, in Christ, gives us rest.  Our work comes from God’s will for us, and so does rest.  Our work comes from necessity, and so does rest.  Our work comes from obedience, and so does rest.  Our work comes from life, and so does rest.

Notice the opportunities for rest that God gives us.  Rest as a teeter-totter response to work.  Rest as a recovery from work.  Rest as a preparation for work. Rest as a pleasant gift from God, in and of itself.

When you see that God gives rest, thank Him.

Order

This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you. (Titus 1:5 ESV)

Order

Some days it seems the world has gone wild.

That, perhaps, is the scariest part of watching the news, surfing the internet, or conversing with friends.  Chaos is more loud than security.  Chaos is more visible than normalcy.  Chaos is more prevalent than order.

But the One True Living God brings order to this universe.  Sin’s chaos, was instituted by Asam and Eve in the Garden, and grew more powerful and dangerous right up to the point of the cross. 

And through the cross, God restored order.

Sin’s chaos was defeated through Christ’s atoning work.  Sin’s power was defeated through Christ’s atoning work.  Sin’s punishment was defeated through Christ’s atoning work.  Sin’s presence was negated through Christ’s atoning work.

We might notice the remnants of chaos more than we notice God’s order, but our eyesight is blurred.  We might suffer under the remnants of chaos more than we find joy in God’s order, but our understanding is muted.  We might worry under the remnants of chaos more than find peace in God’s order, but our trust is weak.

As the apostle Paul brought order to his world through bringing the power of the gospel, he illustrated that order through the organization of the church.  The gospel changed lives, and the gospel brought order.

God continues to do that all around us.  Throughout history, as roads extend and improve, travel becomes safer and easier.  Medical knowledge and increased resources have improved and increased life expectancy.  Communication technology has sped response time to emergencies, and enabled assistance and help in crises.  And all of these have paved the Gospel’s way so that the numbers of the redeemed is astonishingly growing, worldwide.

Noticing the order in our church, world, nation, city, and family brings gratitude instead of fear.  Noticing the order brings gratitude instead of complacency.  Noticing the order brings gratitude instead of anger.

Be thankful for God’s order.