What Child is This?
Scripture References
1 Kings 3:4-15
Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom
4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” 10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. 13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. 14 And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” 15 And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.
Ephesians 1:3-14
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Luke 2:40-52
The Boy Jesus in the Temple
40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. 41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when his parents[7] saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
Sermon Script
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. AMEN
What Child Is This
What child is this?
The answer to this question in the well-loved Christmas carol is obvious to you and me. However, the people of Bethlehem might not have understood why angels were singing, the shepherds were watching, and the magi were bringing gifts… How difficult it must have been for them to understand that the babe who lay in “such mean estate” was truly the promised Messiah…. Through the century’s, men have continued to ponder who Christ really is…. how can He be fully God…? and still fully man?
The Gospel lesson today in the second chapter of Luke recounts our only story we have from the time of Jesus’ birth to when He is an adult in Jewish terms, which is about 30 years of age. We don’t have documents of Him eating a smash cake or blowing out candles on each birthday. We don’t know what his childhood was like or what happened at school, or what His favorite game was… We just don’t know… “we only know what God reveals to us in the Bible.” … however, we are told of this one event when Jesus was twelve years old.
Today we celebrate the child Jesus, incarnate into the full scope of human life. He did not merely sample human life… He dove into the pond… all the way to the bottom in his crucifixion and death. He did not live his life in strength and power, but in humility and initially through the gentle cry of an infant humbly born. He was a real child who was loved by his parents, who grew and matured. He sanctified childhood, made it into a holy estate.
Jesus was indeed a special child as you should expect. When He was told that he was a son of Israel and the temple was his house, he took that quite literally. When Mary, Joseph, and Jesus traveled to the temple Passover festival in Jerusalem as we learn from our text. Jesus stayed in the temple and discussed the law with the “seminary professors” so to speak… possibly the whole 7 days of the festival. They were very impressed with Jesus’ knowledge… they must have pondered…
What child is this?
Jesus Is The Messiah
Let’s take a look at Luke 2 verse 40 where it says… “And the child grew and became strong.” … A reminder that Jesus was fully human as all children grow and become strong. We continue… “filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.” And our reading closes with verse 52, “and Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”
Jesus was filled with wisdom. You know, wisdom is different than knowledge. Wisdom is applied knowledge. So as Jesus developed in His wisdom, He had to develop first in His knowledge… There is a great spiritual truth here for all of us. Jesus… though He was God come in the flesh… knew that before He could teach… He needed to be taught. He knew that the prerequisite to teaching was being teachable… For us to be prepared to go out in the mission field, we need to learn as well… to gain the wisdom to tell the good news of salvation to those that do not know. For us to gain wisdom in our faith, we must continually be in God’s Word.
But if Jesus is God, shouldn’t He already know all things?
Jesus, although the Son of God… was fully human… just like we are, and a big part of being human is the learning process. He learned how to eat, how to walk, how to talk, how to read and write, and how to obey His parents. He even had to learn the Bible and theology. He might have even learned next time to tell his mother that he would be hanging out in the temple. This story places Jesus into the basic unit of all humanity, a family. He dwelled in a family… and it was clear how much his parents cared for Him. Jesus has entered into a sanctified family and childhood. Born and raised like you and me with the same questionable individuals in His family tree that we can possibly relate to.
The Bible makes it clear of Jesus’ humanity… also as a human being surrounded by divinity. Being God and physically human can be really hard to understand… it can defile our very imagination to describe the infinite God in the manger of Bethlehem or the dying man on the cross… It is so important to salvation, yet we struggle to know how it works. Jesus has not stopped being physically and really present even though the New Testament events were over 2000 years ago.
He is with us at work, while driving, while sleeping…. He has been present with us through our Baptism and continually in our hearts… we have been redeemed, sanctified, justified and adopted into His family through our faith.
But that reality can drift from our mind when we rely on our own understanding.
God’s Plan
Our plans for the nativity were disrupted this past month due to the restrictions placed on outdoor gatherings due to the pandemic. Everyone involved was disappointed to say the least. Yes… the focus was on our own understanding instead of Jesus. Reluctantly we decided to have a drive through instead of the action narration performed the last couple of years. How could we tell the story, I thought the efforts would result in… “doing it all for nothing.” Jesus’ presence radiated brilliantly as cars lined up for blocks throughout the evening.
People were touched and all we had to do was trust that God would use this mission for His glory no matter how we did it. Humbled again by Jesus’ presence as God is in control. That deep spiritual hunger in all of our hearts can only be satisfied by the presence of God himself.
Life happens again and this vision gets clouded with our sinful nature… disappointments, anger or distress in our lives… creep in because we inadvertently hide from Jesus’ presence. Adam and Eve tried to hide from God’s presence after they sinned in the garden. Because of their sin the same thing happens to us, especially prevalent this past year.
Churches and businesses closed or had to nearly shut down because of the pandemic. Not only did we see this disease escalate, but we also witnessed a derecho, hurricanes, and fires, all of which destroyed homes and threatened people’s lives. If that wasn’t enough, we had to watch needless riots, political battles, and attacks on law enforcement. All this was going on while small businesses were facing financial stress, we were advised not to travel or visit loved ones, we constantly were being told what we can or cannot do. Then compile this with all the anxieties from personal difficulties or the loss of a loved one…
Not Our Plan
We fume over the terrible things that happened or could happen: What if I get sick? What if my business cannot recover? What if the store runs out of… toilet paper?
We fixate on what we have lost — our routines, our plans, freedom of movement, maybe even our jobs. Trying to think of what good might possibly come out of our current situation becomes hard to visualize. Yet, when we look back through the history of God’s dealings with humanity… we see that God has brought good out of trials and tribulations time and time again. When human beings turn against their Creator and all things seem to be lost… God responds with an even greater act of generosity by uniting Jesus’ humanity in the Incarnation and thereby drawing us into the very life of the Trinity.
We witnessed this firsthand as we brought the word of God outside of the church walls with social media services. We grew together as a family despite social distancing. Jesus interceded. We prayed more for our country, we prayed more for our fellow brothers and sisters, and prayed for comfort in times of fear. In unsettling times like these, people want to pray, and they want us to pray for them. One of my favorite old songs says, “What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.”… God wants us to be “prayerful about everything and anxious about nothing” (Philippians 4:6).
Mindful of God’s compassion for turning hardships into a greater good, we who find ourselves in the midst of a new catastrophe might take pause to ask ourselves, “What unforeseen good might God bring out of this mess?” or “What if in this moment God is inviting me to_______…?” (I’ll let you fill in the blank). Scripture repeatedly assures us we should not be afraid. Jesus is with us always…. JESUS IS WITH US ALWAYS.
Our Amazing God
One day you will look back and see that your time of suffering was just a brief period of preparation for the never-ending joys of heaven.
God is holy. He is all-powerful. We cannot take his presence for granted.
By becoming incarnate, God came closer to human understanding. It is only through the cross and resurrection of Jesus that a way into his presence and the gift of the Holy Spirit living within you is made possible.
“What child is this?”
The song writer asked… and then he answered his own question: “This, this is Christ the King … This is the King whom salvation brings. This is the silent Word pleading.” … Does it change your heart any to know that the King of All Creation, the Lord of the Universe, by the act of Christmas is pleading with the world, and with us, to know His Glory through that child who lives among us.
What the future holds none of us can know… How we adapt to meet our present challenges is not entirely clear…
Our Savior
But what is clear for us is that “Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) “That nothing shall separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:39). Every generation thinks its burdens are the heaviest. But Jesus’ presence in their heart made all the difference. Christ living in us is the vertical assurance that gives us horizontal endurance!
Because in Him, there is still help for the helpless… There is hope for the hopeless… There is life for the lifeless… Jesus is a friend to the friendless. He can mend our broken pieces, because He lives and dwells within us.
Christians are truly blessed with this reality. We stand in awe of God the creator and rejoice in the love of Christ the Redeemer who took our whole human nature to Himself…. Christ, as a child among us did dwell… and from the time Mary and Joseph finally found Jesus in the temple when He said… “Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house?” at the young age of twelve… He was clearly aware of being the Son of God.
“What child is this”
God sent this child, they called Him Jesus. He came to love, heal, & forgive.
Because He dwells with me, I can face tomorrow,
Because He is near… I need not fear.
Because I know He holds the future… life is worth the living… just because of His presence.
What child is this?
This, this is Christ the King, that shepherds guard and angels sing. Joy, joy for Christ is Born, the Babe the Son of Mary.
Who gave his life for you and for me… for Eternal Glory.
Amen.