John 1:14 sermon

“Discover the GLORY!”

This Christmas, here in Canada – we have many new people among us from countries where Christmas isn’t even celebrated.  If you didn’t know a thing about this holiday, would you be able to figure out what Christmas is really all about . . . from what you see and hear all around you?   It wouldn’t be easy.   

Over the past years and decades we’ve seen the REAL meaning of Christmas – Jesus – pushed farther and farther into the background.  Jesus is considered offensive, outdated, narrow-minded, and intolerant . . . so He’s kept OUT of the public square / out of politics and the speeches you hear / out of schools and away from the curriculum / out of the workplace / out of popular songs, movies, and TV shows . . . and you have to really dig hard to find Him.  You’d have to find a Christian church and make the effort to go.  That can be a pretty daunting thing if you’ve never stepped foot in one before. On top of that – you’d have to find a Bible-believing church, or you might miss the whole point of Christmas.  You’d have to get back to Scripture and READ it – to discover why Christmas is such a glorious celebration: God Almighty took on human flesh to save us.

The world doesn’t make it easy, and doesn’t want people to discover what it’s all about.  But . . . the Word of God remains, and explains the glorious and mysterious miracle we celebrate at Christmas.  We see it so clearly right here in this beautiful verse from the Gospel of John:

John 1:14 (NIV 11)

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

If you lived back when Jesus was born . . . would you know about the miracle that just took place?  Satan was working hard to hide God’s glorious truth back then too!   Mary and Joseph knew.  The lowly shepherds knew.  The Wise Men figured it out.  Simeon and Anna, along with Zechariah and Elizabeth knew (along with many others, I’m sure).  And, despite Satan’s best efforts – more and more people discovered who Jesus really is. 

John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus’ public arrival and earthly ministry.  The Apostle John, along with many other disciples and followers, witnessed miracle after miracle.  It all culminated with the terrible death and glorious resurrection of our Lord on that first Good Friday and Easter Sunday. 

Satan wants the world trapped and locked up in DARKNESS.  But, God’s people in the power of the Holy Spirit let the glorious Truth shine out! John was an eye witness.  He heard the truth of God from Jesus’ own lips.  He witnessed the Divine power heal and raise people from the dead.  He heard Jesus explain that He must die to pay for the sin of humanity and rise victoriously on the 3rd Day – as the ancient prophets had said He would.  He heard Jesus say that by faith in Him we are children of God and will also live beyond the grave to one day rise victoriously like our Lord and Saviour did. 

By inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit, He recorded the truth of what happened in the Gospel of John – and (along with the other books of the Bible) God made sure to preserve and proclaim His glorious Scripture / His Truth – across the whole world and down through time. 

John said here in this verse: “we have seen His glory.” He did.   In multiple miracles of all different types, on the Mount of Transfiguration, and in Jesus’ own resurrection on Easter Sunday and the 40 days after that, until His glorious Ascension. 

Does the “we” of this verse apply only to the direct eye-witnesses?   I don’t think so.   I believe the “we” applies also to us, right here in Canada in 2016 as well.   Why?  Because we too have seen His glory!   How?   Right there in the rock solid Word of God.  It’s there in God’s promises kept and in His prophecies fulfilled.  Isaiah wrote (700 years before Jesus came) that “the iniquity (guilt) of us all had been laid on Him (Isaiah 53:6) – the virgin-born child (Isaiah 7:14) would be called Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of peace. . .(Isaiah 9:6) ”  You could add hundreds of other prophecies from a variety of other prophets that God had spoken through in His Old Testament Scriptures. 

In Baptism we see God’s glory and salvation given to yet another soul born in darkness.  In the Lord’s Supper we see (by faith in His Word) the body and blood of Jesus, along with the bread and wine – given to God’s people bringing us forgiveness and salvation.  We’ve seen souls lost in the darkness of sin and unbelief – SEE and experience the grace and truth of Jesus in the Glory of the Gospel.  We rejoice when those miracles happen.

Our eyes have been opened to see God’s glory all over the place!   We see it in God’s gift of marriage.  We see it and rejoice when another child is born.  We see it in the design, the beauty, the complexity of nature, and the wonder of life itself.  We see it in the multi-coloured beauty of a sunset / a sunrise / the changing of the seasons / the northern lights and the stars in the night sky. We see it in the love of family.  We see it in hard work, honour and duty – when God’s people fight through the challenges and stick together without giving up.  We even see it when God brings one of His children home to heaven through death.  We see it every day in prayers answered and God’s promises repeatedly kept.  We see it in the wonderful food we enjoy and the daily bread He provides. 

But . . . we have to dig a bit and we need the power of God’s Spirit in the Word to discover and unveil that glory.  It doesn’t just appear automatically before our eyes.  We too have a sinful nature that’s working as hard as Satan and the world around us – to BLIND us from the glory of God. 

You know how that sinful nature works, because you have experienced its power in your life too.  It directs us inward – to see and think only of ourselves.  It blinds us to God’s good gifts and makes us fixate on what is bad and negative.  Sometimes all we can see is the darkness.  Sometimes all we can see is what’s wrong / all the pain / all the loss / all the heartache / everything that’s missing / all the hurt that other people have inflicted upon us. 

But when God gets our eyes back on Scripture, His Spirit opens them up once again!  We have a SAVIOUR! God became flesh to rescue us!  No darkness can overcome that!  All of our sin was inflicted upon Him, and He willingly took the punishment. He never complained about it, but He did what He had to do for the people He loved.  Seeing THAT changes how we look at everything! The darkness is temporary, but God’s glory is eternal.  We experience God’s grace – our sins are forgiven!  We experience God’s truth – Jesus died, rose, and heaven is our home!  We discover God has good and powerful plans and purposes for our lives – and His presence and blessing / His gifts and power are with us every single day.  Our earthly journeys are filled with grace and purpose as we get ever closer to the heavenly home Jesus is preparing for us. 

You and I get to do what the Apostle John did:  Let God’s glory shine in this dark world!   If a visitor, lost in the darkness, came to YOUR home – would he/she see the glory of God radiating in your lives?  Would he see it there in your home / among your family / at your Christmas celebration?  Would he hear it from your lips, and see it in your attitudes, your actions, and your love for each other?  Would they see the hope and joy you have in Christ?  Would he find people who do what’s good and right in love for God and others, without regard for their own personal suffering or inconvenience?   That’s our goal! 

We have discovered the glory of Jesus – in the manger, on the cross, in the empty tomb, and in our daily lives – my friends . . . let it shine!   We are no longer in darkness, let’s help others find the glory of God on the pages of Holy Scripture / the genuine reason for the season / the greatest and most priceless Gift there is . . . a Saviour / Jesus Christ – born this day, to save us for all eternity.  That’s a Message the whole world needs to hear!