FIRST REFLECTION: Who is This Jesus? Who is this Jesus? This is a question each of us must answer. Every person--every man, every woman, every boy, and every girl, has to answer that question.
Jesus is a historical person. History records his life as a great teacher and perfect example of how we can and should live. But we must not make the mistake of simply saying that Jesus was a great teacher.
C.S. Lewis wrote, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse.” (Mere Christianity, p. 41)
Each year Christmas celebrates His birthday—a fact the secular world would like to forget, thus “Happy Holiday” has replaced “Merry Christmas.” Yet, because it is His birthday, we must each answer, “Who is Jesus?”
The Bible records his birth, life, and death. In fact, the ancient writing we call the book of Isaiah, predicted His birth 800 years before it happened.
Isa. 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son."
Isa. 9:6, "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.”
Who is Jesus? Galatians 4:4 says, 4But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
And in Philippians 2:5 –8, 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
The marvelous thing about the Christian faith is that God became a man who experienced life just as we do. And though He is the Creator and King of the universe, He didn't claim any special advantage over us.
In fact His life started out very lowly. When the angel announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, he said, “This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Lk. 2:12). And the shepherds found Jesus just as the angel said.
That was the beginning of His life as one of us. Jesus lived, He taught us great and wonderful things; He was the perfect example for us; and He suffered and died for you and me.
He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He invites us to the Lord's Supper table today so that we will remember what He did for each of us. Christmas and Easter are forever linked together.
CHRISTMAS HAS ITS CRADLE, WHERE A BABY CRIED; DID THE LANTERN'S SHADOW SHOW HIM CRUCIFIED? DID HE FORESEE DARKLY HIS LIFE'S WILLING LOSS? CHRISTMAS HAS ITS CRADLE AND EASTER HAS ITS CROSS. (p. 152, Baptist Hymnal, v. 1)
SECOND REFLECTION: He is the Living Messiah. At His birth the angel proclaimed to the shepherds. "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2:11).
Jesus was the promised Messiah. Messiah is a Hebrew word meaning “the Anointed One.” It was translated into Greek as “Christos.”
This proclamation by the angel, "A Savior has been born to you" is a divine proclamation of the birth of the Savior. It is also a personal invitation to let Him be your Savior.
He only be as personal as you will let Him be. Each one of us must come face to face with the Savior, the Messiah. The shepherds each had a choice—to believe or not.
The Lord’s Supper is for those who believe that Jesus is the Messiah. From the very beginning many misunderstood. There was no room for Mary and Joseph in the inn—so Jesus was born in a stable. In a stable was his first cradle.
Thirty-three years later, as that first Good Friday approached, Jesus was rejected. He suffered indescribable agony. In the Garden of Gethsemane He wrestled in prayer to God: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
As a man Jesus knew the suffering He would face upon the cross. He knew He would endure the reviling and cruel taunts of the mob, the unbelievable suffering at the hands of the soldiers.
Even Jesus had a choice. He didn’t have to go through with it. He could have called it off. He could have called a legion of angels. Yet He knew this was why He had come—that there was no one else who could pay the price of our sin. He willingly went to this shameful death for you and me.
After His death on the cross, two of His disciples gently removed His body from that cruel instrument of torture. But he did not have a grave of His own. The only place to lay the body of our precious Savior was in a borrowed tomb.
Three days later an angel of the Lord came from heaven and easily rolled the stone away from the entrance of the tomb—not to let Jesus out, but to show the world the tomb was empty. Jesus’ work was completed. The Messiah had triumphed. Death and Satan were defeated.
The Messiah, our Savior, had arisen. He is alive forevermore. He is alive today. He is present in this room. He is knocking on heart's doors asking, "Do you have any room for Me?"
CHRISTMAS HAS ITS CRADLE, SHEPHERDS CAME TO SEE, LITTLE SON OF MARY, LAMB OF GOD TO BE; HAD HIS FATHER WARNED HIM, NONE WOULD GRANT HIM ROOM, SAVE IN THE CHRISTMAS CRADLE AND IN THE EASTER TOMB? (p. 152, Baptist Hymnal, v. 2)
THIRD REFLECTION: He is Our Savior and Lord. Participation in the Supper is a confession that Jesus died for our sins. Without His death there would be no forgiveness. We accept His death and resurrection and ask Him to be our Savior and Lord.
Jesus told us, His children, "Do this in remembrance of Me" (1 Cor. 11:24). We remember His life and teachings—how wonderful they were. But here Jesus reminds us of the cross. When we take the bread and drink the juice, we are reminded that it is our sins that drove Jesus to the cross.
Paul wrote in Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
We must remember that we are not saved by Jesus the good man; and we are not saved by Jesus the great teacher, or by Jesus the perfect example. It is the Christ of the cross who gives salvation.
Because of Christ and the cross, our sins are forgiven. Because of the Cross of Jesus Christ and His resurrection, a bridge was provided between God and humanity.
Jesus was a great teacher; and His life was a perfect example of how we should live. But it is His death that provides us the means—strength and courage—by which we can follow His example. In our walk we will inevitably stumble. Only with His help can we walk in His steps.
Almost 2000 years have passed since Christ died for our sins. The cross itself has long since crumbled into dust. But the One who died on that cross is alive today. And the great desire of Christ is to be our Savior and Lord. It is His great desire that we walk through life together with Him.
All of this and more is brought to our memory every time we go to the Lord's Supper table.
CHRISTMAS HAS ITS CRADLE, WHERE THAT BABY CRIED; IN THE EASTER GARDEN, CHRIST LAY, CRUCIFIED; WHEN DEATH'S POW'R WAS CONQUERED, GOD'S LIFE THROUGH HIM POURED; CHRISTMAS HAS ITS CRADLE AND EASTER HAS ITS LORD! (p. 152, Baptist Hymnal, v. 4)
Serve the supper.
1 Corinthians 11:23 - 26 (NIV) 23For I received from the Lord what I
also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,
24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my
body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25In the
same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in
my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26For
whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death
until he comes.