CHRISTMAS DAY
"THE KING'S DECREE"
The Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas Day)
December 25, 2017
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
"As for Me, I have set My King on Zion, My holy hill." I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to Me, "You are My Son; today I have begotten You."
Psalm 2:6, 7 (ESV)
It's really a shame that Christmas Day has sort of faded into the background in most people's thinking (or at least in their worship life.) Having served three different congregations as a pastor and a few more in preparation for the ministry and as a vacancy pastor, I have yet to see a congregation in which the attendance at worship on Christmas Day comes anywhere close to that of Christmas Eve. It's amazing how many people who wouldn't dream of missing worship on Christmas Eve wouldn't be caught dead at a worship service on Christmas Day. After thirty-six and a half years in this job, I still haven't quite figured it out. Is it a matter of convenience or is it just that all of the Christmas lights and decorations look so much more Christmassy at night? Oh well, they told us at the seminary that we shouldn't preach about not going to church to people who are in church, so I'll just shut up about that and go on.
My point in all of this is that today (along with Easter and Pentecost) is one of the three biggest days of celebration in the year for Christians. After the four weeks of Advent longing and expectation that we have just observed, today is the climax--the "big blowout," as people more worldly than us might say. Today is what it was all about. The King who we have awaited and prepared for has finally come. The Creator of heaven and earth and everything in them has entered His creation and become a Part of it. It may seem to be almost anticlimactic, because when the King finally came, He came in a way that no one would have ever expected: as a helpless little Baby lying in a feeding-through for cattle and nursing at His mother's breast. The psalm appointed to be read for Christmas Day and from which our text is taken speaks of this glorious event in terms of a King having been installed on His throne and issuing His very first royal decree. As we celebrate today the fulfillment of our Advent longing, let's focus our attention on this King and His decree.
Notice that the psalmist quotes the Lord Himself as saying, "As for Me, I have set My King . . ." The Lord Himself and no one else has made Jesus the King of His people. No matter how much it may "go against our grain," so to speak, and our national heritage, we have to remember that God's kingdom is not a democracy. We don't elect our King. If we had that authority, we most certainly would choose wrongly, as we have ever since the beginning. We made our choice back in the garden of Eden. We chose to forsake our God and the privilege of having fellowship with Him. We had a better idea, or so we thought. And lest we miss the point, let us also remember that if we had the ability to choose all over again today, we would choose wrongly again. We wouldn't choose any of the things that build up our faith. We would never choose King Jesus lying in the manger and destined for the cross. He's too ordinary, too vulnerable, too insignificant. No, this is God's choice--all of it. It was His choice to send His one and only Son into the world to be our King and to provide for us what we need the most. Our King was sent by God Himself to save sinners like you and me.
Notice also where the Lord has installed His King: "on Zion, My holy hill." Mount Zion has always been the holy place for the people of God. It is the site of Jerusalem, the holy city. This is the place where the temple of God had been built, destroyed, and rebuilt and destroyed again. Above all else, it is the place where the Sacrifice to end all sacrifices would take place: The incarnate Son of God, after living a life of perfect righteousness under the Law of God, completed His work of making atonement for human sin by suffering and dying on a cross. The point of all of this is that the newborn King does not by any means remain aloof from His people. On the contrary, He rules in the midst of His people and sacrifices Himself for their welfare and benefit.
The King begins His decree by quoting the Lord Himself: "The Lord said to Me, 'You are My Son; today I have begotten You.'" This is not by any means an indication of any arrogance or egotism on the part of the King; He is merely asserting who He is. While we are all children of God, only of Jesus could it be said that God is His only Father. And He proclaims this for our benefit, not His own. Imagine how confused we would be if the One who we look to as our Lord and King would be One whose origin and authority are uncertain. It is a great comfort for us to know that when our King speaks, the Lord Himself speaks. Knowing this, we have no reason to fear that we may be deceived; we can have full confidence that the One to whom we listen and who we follow speaks for the Lord God Himself. He in fact is God in human flesh.
The content of the King's decree is not mentioned in so many words in the text before us, but it certainly became obvious in His life and ministry. The King's decree is the salvation of sinners. Of all of the things that this King could possible decree, this is by far the most welcome to us. He could have decreed punishment--retribution. He could have said nothing at all and simply pretended not to know that we are sinners. That would be the polite thing for Him to do for us I suppose, at least by today's standards. We would like that--until we have to face judgment. But He did neither of these things. Instead, He exposed our sin for what it is, whether we liked it or not, and then He did away with it by suffering the penalty that we deserve because of it. His very presence among us exposes our sin, because His perfect righteousness presents a sharp contrast to our selfishness and sin, and yet we have no reason to be afraid of Him because are assured in His Word that "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him" (John 3:17).
After waiting and longing for Him for so long, our King has finally come. He is the very Son of God, who speaks with all of the authority of God. And His decree is good for us because He tells us that in Him our sin is forgiven and that we are acceptable in the sight of God. He tells us that we are also children of God--loved by our heavenly Father with an everlasting love and called to serve Him in faith and joy. That is no doubt why we have come to the Lord's house today, and that's why we have reason to celebrate today. God Himself has visited and redeemed His people. Because He has come and has made atonement for our sin, we are reconciled to Him--at peace with Him. In all of our celebrations during these days of Christmas, let's not forget the greatest source of joy that we have--the King who has come and decreed salvation for you and for me. Merry Christmas!
Amen.
May the true Light which enlightens everyone, which has come into the world shining brightly in the darkness, be your very life. And may the Word become flesh, Jesus Christ Himself, continue to make known to you His redeeming grace and truth now and always. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen.
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