Christmas Eve 2019

John 1.14

Introduction 

St Nicholas was the bishop of Myra. He was a part of the group of bishops that gathered in 325 AD for the council of Nicea, the 1st ecumenical council. This was the group that produced the Nicene Creed, which has been confessed by Christians for 1700 years. At the council of Nicea there was a bishop from Egypt named Arius. Arius was teaching that the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity, the Son, was created, and thus not equal to God the Father. As Arius vigorously defended his position, St Nicholas became more agitated. Finally he couldn’t stand to listen to this attack on orthodoxy anymore so he stood up, walked across the room and punched Arius in the face! “You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not teach heresy, I’m telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town.”

As we gather here on Christmas Eve, we don’t want to unwittingly practice heresy. If “baby Jesus in the manger” registers on the same level for us as frosty and Rudolph, we become holiday heretics. What does the manger mean? Our Christmas Eve meditation will be 1 verse. It’s maybe the clearest summary of the incarnation that we’ve gathered to celebrate, maybe the most hopeful verse in all Scripture – the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

The Manger Means a New Garden

What does the manger mean? Notice first that this baby in the manger is called the Word. This title would’ve struck several different chords for John’s readers. The Greek word is λόγος. Hellenistic readers had a whole philosophy of the λόγος that John is exploiting here. To the Greco-Romans the λόγος was ultimate reason, it was the account of all life. John is revealing to them that the force that created all things, that reason that they acknowledge but don’t understand, that is this baby in a manger.

But this would’ve sounded different to the Jews who read John 1.14. When they read in the beginning was the λόγος their minds would’ve drifted back to Genesis 1 in the LXX. In the Greek version of the OT, the λόγος refers to the word of YHWH. It was by his word that YHWH created the world and humans in his image. It was by his word that YHWH gave Israel the 10 commandments. It is this creating and redeeming power of YHWH that is laying in the manger.

What’s even more fascinating is the verb that’s applied to the λόγος. John says the Word became. He became, it means he took on or assumed a new additional form of existence. That which was became, took on, assumed, in a permanent or irreversible way, flesh. Like a woman becomes a mother when her 1st child is born. The Word became flesh. The Son of God, the eternal 2nd person of the holy trinity became human.

Notice the recapitulation of Genesis 2; There YHWH created the 1st man, Adam. Here, the Word became flesh. The manger means a new garden. What happened on that very 1st Christmas is that the 1st sprouts of the Genesis 3.15 seeds began to blossom. Sure, it was small, delicate, humble, but this baby is the initial blossom of the eternal garden. That which was lost through our fall is being reversed through the seed of the virgin.

The Manger Means a New Temple

But the manger doesn’t just mean a new garden; it also means a new temple. The verb dwelt is the Greek word σκηνόω, which is used in the LXX for the tabernacle; it literally reads and he tabernacle with us. Israel’s temple was an architectural picture of what we lost when we were sent east of Eden. The temple is where heaven and earth connected; it was spatially Emanuel – God with us. Do you know what that’s worth? Heaven is a place on earth! 

And John verbally tips us off that this baby is the final temple of God. Not only does he write that the Word became flesh but he adds, and tabernacled with us. The manger doesn’t just mean a new garden, but it also means a new temple. The manger is about the 2nd exodus out of the slave market of sin and death. The birth of this baby is good news of great joy because he will save his people from their sins. The shadows of the temple – the sacrificial system, the priestly work – are fulfilled in this baby.

A few short months from now we’ll be back here in his room celebrating Good Friday. We’ll do so because this baby will grow up to live a sinless life. And on Good Friday the wood from the manger will be used to fashion the very 1st Christmas tree. On that cross this baby will die the penal substitutionary death to pay for the sins of his people. He will bear the holy wrath of God the Father in our place and he will die. Three days later he will resurrect in glory and that humble root of the incarnation will be the 1st fruits of the resurrected. He will ascend to Heaven and when he returns the will raise the full harvest of God’s chosen ones. But for tonight he lays in the arms of the virgin.

Conclusion

Don’t hold to a Christmas theology that would make Santa Claus punch you in the face. We spent all month anticipating advent, which means Jesus is coming. Tonight he’s here. And if you will repent of your sins and believe in his death and resurrection he will come to your heart as well. As you look to the manger tonight may you see past it to his body broken for you and his blood shed for you. May that lead you to the empty tomb. As you take the Eucharist tonight may your heart literally have a Merry Christmas!