All Ready

God knew that the powers of evil would not give up their stolen authority without a fight, so he did not send Jesus until everything he had planned on earth was ready. This is why he waited so long before sending him. He had to wait until the political situation was right and the people he needed were willing to listen to the Holy Spirit and do his will.

The Roman Empire was ruling most of the earth. Roman law established peace in Israel, allowing Jesus to move around freely. Israel was divided into three provinces with the Romans ruling Judea directly through a procurator. The sons of Herod ruled the other two provinces. This allowed Jesus to operate below the Roman radar by doing most of his ministry in Galilee. He could move across the Jordan, whenever he needed a place of safety.

• Messianic expectation was at a high level. People were longing for the peace and justice of God.

• The Jewish establishment controlled the temple in Jerusalem. They were ready for confrontation with Jesus.

• John the Baptist was ready to announce the messiah.

• Peter was being toughened up ready for when the church would get going in Jerusalem.

• Paul was being trained up ready to take the gospel to the gentiles and write his letters.

• John was ready to begin a journey that would end with him writing the book of Revelation. His prophetic work would give God authority to act long into the future.

• Mary was willing to care for a baby, a huge burden for a young woman.

• Joseph was willing to obey the voice in his dreams. He was brave enough to flee to Egypt; very scary for a Jewish family.

• The wise men were ready to come and provide Mary and Joseph with economic security. They did not give Jesus toys for play. They provided his parents with gifts that could be sold in any economy at any time for their survival.

If any of these people had failed to fulfil their calling, God’s plan would have turned to custard.

The devil probably knew that something was up, but sending a messiah as a baby was so strange, he was confused. He would have killed Jesus, if he had the chance. The wise men set the cat among the pigeons by going to Herod to find the king, instead of following the star to Bethlehem. The devil stirred Herod into a killing frenzy in Bethlehem, in a futile attempt to get rid of a threat he did not understand (Matt 2:16).

After thousands of years, the time was right and everything was in place, so God sent his son. The prophets had announced the Messiah and described his ministry in full. Their declarations gave God authority to send his Son as a Messiah, but they were dead. He needed people on the ground to give life to these prophecies.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah (Luke 2:25-26).

Simeon’s prayers and prophecies gave God permission to send his Messiah. Anna’s prayers also gave him authority to send Jesus. She recognised him when he was born.

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher... She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying… she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem (Luke 2:36-38).

Anna and Simeon knew God intended to send the Messiah in their time. They announced his coming to those “who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem”. Their prophecies and prayers gave God authority to send his son (Kingdom Authority pp.80,81).

More at God's Big Plan.

Preparation

We focus on the night that Jesus was born, but God had been planning and preparing for this moment for hundreds of years.

God had a plan to restore authority on earth, by sending his son and then the Holy Spirit to establish the kingdom. This was a good plan, but God did not have authority to implement it.

Most Christians assume that God is all-powerful and can do whatever he chooses, but if that were true, God could have put the situation right as soon as sin came into the world. He did not do that because he had freely given authority over the earth to humans. That gift was unconditional and God is faithful and true, so he could not go back on his word.

When humans sinned, God did not grab his authority back. That would turn it into Imposed Authority, and he was not interested in that. Although humans had surrendered to evil, God still recognised them as the legitimate authority on earth, so he could not intervene until he was invited by people with authority on earth. Getting that authority took thousands of years.

God was not slow to send Jesus, but sent him as soon as everything was prepared. During the thousands of years that had gone by since humans sinned, he was not sitting around twiddling his thumbs. He was waiting for people with authority on earth to give him permission to act. Because most humans had surrendered their authority to the powers of evil, this permission was quite difficult to get. He needed dozens of prophets to complete the task (Kingdom Authority, p 79).

God ultimate goal was to send Jesus to destroy the powers of evil and restore authority over the earth to humans. However, many things had to be made ready first.

• The right governments had to be in place on earth to prevent the powers of evil killing Jesus before he had grown up. (If the spiritual powers of evil had killed Jesus while he was a baby, God’s plan would be foiled. He did not have a plan B).

• The border with Egypt had to be open so that it would be available as a place of safety for Jesus.

• Control of the land of Israel would need to be divided between different rulers (Herod and Pilate), so Jesus could move from place to place in safety.

• A relatively peaceful empire must be in power, so the gospel could travel freely around the world.

• God also had to get some key people ready to obey: Joseph and Mary, John the Baptist, Elizabeth and Zechariah, Anna, Simeon, and the twelve disciples. Paul, Barnabas, Silas, Stephen, Timothy had to be ready to proclaim the gospel.

Before he could send Jesus, God needed permission from humans living on earth. The prophets gave God authority to send Jesus by specifying every detail of his life and ministry in written form. The declarations of human prophets gave God authority in advance to do what he wanted to do through Jesus.

Isaiah prophesied the suffering servant. Jeremiah promises the coming of the Kingdom of God. Ezekiel prophesied the season when Israel would come to faith in Jesus. Micah announced that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. This prophetic ministry reached a climax with John the Baptist. Jesus explained the prophecies about him to his disciples.

Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms (Luke 24:44).

These things were written to give God authority to act on earth.

Getting the prophets to understand his plans and write them down was a difficult task. When reading the prophetic books, we assume that the Holy Spirit controlled the prophets and could make them write exactly what he wanted. That is not true. They were sinful people just like us. The Holy Spirit had to get them into a place without distractions and spiritual disturbances, so they could hear and record his words. They often got it wrong and their writings had to be discarded.

The Holy Spirit used many prophets over hundreds of years to complete this work. The enormity of the task delayed the coming of Jesus, but God could not risk sending Jesus before he had authority to do everything he needed to do to protect him from the powers of evil (Kingdom Authority p.77).

Christmas

A massive weight of expectation to lay on one day. More than any day can bear.

Grace to Works

The incarnation of Jesus is a wonderful gift from God to man.

I do not know the history of Christmas gift giving, but I am willing to concede that it began as a way of celebrating God gracious gift.

Unfortunately, celebrating the things that God has done, by doing what he has done can become a slippery slope, where we end up trying to be god. The best way to celebrate God’s grace is to graciously receive it.

Humans have an amazing ability to turn God’s grace in human works.

That seems to have happened with Christmas gift giving. Peer pressure and television advertising has turned Christmas giving into a massive obligation. Poor people feel obliged to buy lavish gifts that they cannot afford for their children, family and friends. Christmas adds to the burden of poverty.

For those who have plenty, Christmas giving becomes a time consuming chore that removes peace and robs us of the time to think about what Jesus has done.

This world does not need more giving as a twisted response to grace. It needs more receiving of what God has given.

It also needs more Zacchaeus giving that transfers unrighteous wealth from the rich to the poor.

Diminishing Marginal Utility

One of the core ideas of economics is diminishing marginal utility. The basic ideal is that the more you get of something the less pleasure you get from it.

The first car is marvellous. If you have two, it can be handy. Getting a third is not much advantage. A tenth auto would be almost a nuisance.

Sweets are another example. The first two or three are great. The next half dozen are nice. But the hundredth sweet does not give much pleasure.

The same applies to Christmas gifts. One gift is hugely better than no gift. Getting a second gift is great. After the fifth gift, the novelty wears off. When you receive the tenth gift, it is a bit boring.

Diminishing marginal utility says that the more that you purchase of a good, the less benefit you derive from purchasing more unit of it.

Concentrating all our gift giving on Christmas day diminishes the value of the gifts. When a child gets fifteen gifts on the same day, the pleasure from many of them is lost, because diminishing marginal utility sets in. If our gift giving was spread across the year, children would get more enjoyment from it.

Christmas is poor value for money.

A King for Christmas

The angel's message to Mary was interesting. He said nothing about salvation as we think of it.

But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end" (Luke 1:30-33).

The angel did not talk about Jesus dying on the cross. He talked about him reigning as a king, in a kingdom that will never end. We got a King for Christmas. Unfortunately, most of us did not want a King, even those who take his name. We like to keep him in the manger where he is safe, and we are not challenged.

Huge Burden for One Day

Christmas Day carries a huge burden. We try to pack so much into it, much more than one day can bear.

Christmas is a highlight of the spiritual and religious year, requiring a more spectacular religious celebration than last year.

Christmas is a day when families get together, but in a globalised world, this is almost impossible. The snow did not help in the northern hemisphere.

Christmas lunch must be the best meal of the year. In days when food was scarce, that was the reality, but in an age of plenty people dine at restaurants all the time, it is an impossible goal.

Christmas is a day for the best possible gifts. When I was a child, we played with our Christmas gifts for the rest of the year. Now children get so many expensive gifts, that diminishing returns set in. No matter how wonderful the seventh present, it brings very little pleasure. The same seven gifts would bring far more enjoyment, if they were spread throughout the year.

With such high expectations on one day, no wonder it is often a let-down.

Political Event

On Christmas morning, while waiting for the family to turn up for lunch, I turned on the television and watched some of the Nine Lessons and Carols at St Pauls Anglican cathedral in Wellington. The carols were too high class and the clergy and choir dressed like pirates were a bit of a worry, but the scripture lessons were interesting. The three that I watched were:

Isaiah 9:6-7
Isaiah 11:1-9
Luke 1:26-38

Listening to these texts, I was struck by how much we ignore the clear message of the scriptures.

The church has turned the turned the incarnation into a religions event, or at best, a spiritual event. However there texts have very little spiritual stuff in them. Their clear message is that the incarnation was a political event. Herod seems to be the only person that understood the message.

Whose Shoulder?

Isaiah prophesied boldly about Jesus.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.

Of the increase of his
government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign … over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

The government will be on his shoulder.

Who?

The Child
Jesus.

The simple reading of this text is that Jesus will be the government
from that time forward and forever.

So why does Barack Obama think that he should be the government?
or Gordon Brown, or Angela Merkel, or Nicolas Sarkozy, or Kevin Rudd, or John Key?

Herod understood Isaiah's prophecy.
He knew that his government was a goner,
so he tried to kill Jesus,
but he was still a goner.

Mary understood it too. That is why she said,
Kings would be thrown down from their thrones
and the humble raised up.

Satan understood the threat.
That is why he came up with clever deception that
this prophecy is "Not for now, but for later",
"Jesus government comes at the end of the age."
You could trust Satan to thrust his shoulder in.

The government is on Jesus shoulder.
He will govern with justice and righteousness.
and his government will never shop increasing.
The Zeal of the Lord will do it.

When?

Not in the future.
No!
From that time on and forever.

We had better work out what this means.
Soon!

False Christmas

During December, consumers in most Western nations will spend double what they spend in a normal month. They will spend about a twelfth of all that they earn in a year celebrating Christmas. To paraphrase,

Never before in human history
have so many people
spent so much money they do not have
on gifts they do not like
for people who do not need them.

What a waste! We spend a twelfth of all we earn
celebrating a materialism,
that cannot give peace and joy,
but always disappoints.

We put tremendous effort into putting Christ back into Christmas,
but no one asks him whether he wants to be there or not.
Maybe he would sooner be among the hurt and the poor.

Grace or Works

Celebrating Christmas has become hard work
Presents to buy
Meals to prepare
Then after Christmas
More work to pay for it all.
Christmas is about grace.
Why is celebrating God’s grace
such hard work?

A King for Christmas

The angel's message to Mary was interesting. He said nothing about salvation as we think of it.

But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end" (Luke 1:30-33).

The angel did not talk about Jesus dying on the cross. He talked about him reigning as a king, in a kingdom that will never end. We got a King for Christmas, but we are not sure about what do with him. We like to keep him in the manger where he is safe, and we are not challenged.

Compulsory Gifts

God gifted his son to us, because he loved the world,
not because he felt that he must.

When you feel that you have to give a gift,
it ceases to be a gift.

The marketers and merchants have conspired to make gifts
something that we have to do at Christmas.
They have ripped the heart out of the Christmas gift,
because a gift that is not bathed in love is just a duty.

Prince of Peace

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.

Peace is one of the gifts of the Spirit, but if that is all that this means to us we have missed the point. Prince of Peace is a political term.

Politicians and presidents, emperors and kings are not princes of peace, but princes of war. Although the world is desperately searching for peace, they cannot bring peace. We will only have true peace, when the government of the world is on Jesus shoulders.

Christians understand that Jesus is the Prince of Peace, but often assume that he will not take up that role until the second coming. This is not true. When Jesus ascended into heaven he sat down at the right hand of the Father, so he is the Prince of Peace now. We could have peace in the world now, if the only the world would seek his Kingdom now.

Jesus,
you are King of Kings
and Lord of Lords
forever and ever.
Alleluia! Alleluluia!

We seem to prefer
presidents and prime ministers doing great harm
and Jesus in the cradle where he is harmless.

Will we keep Jesus in the manger,
or will we let him be King?

God With Us?

Azariah the prophet described what happens when God is not with us.

The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you… In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress (2 Chron 15:2,5,6).

The angel that spoke to Joseph said that Jesus would be called Emmanuel, which means “God with us”. The angel that sung to the shepherds described what would happen, if God is with us.

Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men
on whom his favor rests (Luke 2:14).

The modern world seems to be more like the first description than the second one. Guess where God is?

Fool's Paradise

We are celebrating Christimas
in a fool’s paradise
that will soon disappear.
As we eat and drink in comfort;
darkness is looking over our shoulders.
Trouble and crisis are galloping toward us,
but we are so absorbed in our celebration and comfort
that we cannot hear the clatter of approaching hoofbeats.
If we were to look out the window of our prosperity,
we would be so shocked at what is coming,
that we would leave the table
and start gathering a few essentials
to prepare for the coming storm.

Wake up church!
Darkness is coming
and you are asleep in your comfort.
The times are urgent
but you are relaxing in pleasure.