WHAT CHILD IS THIS?
Hebrews 1:1-3
[1] God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
[2] Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
[3] Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Christmas is only a few days past, and already the world, that spent good money on lights and trees and gifts, is beginning to stock up for a celebration on New Year’s Eve. For Christians, however, the holiday is never over. The impact of Christmas on our hearts is something that lives all year long. While we may not sing carols in the middle of July, we never cease to thank our God for the gift of His Son. This morning we want to take a deeper look at the Babe in the manger and say with the hymn-writer, Give heed my heart, lift up thine eyes! What is it in yon manger lies?
Words can’t begin to describe that. That holy Babe was as natural and human as any child born on earth has been, but He is much more. Consider everything the text says about Him. He was “prophesied in the Old Testament.” He is “appointed heir of all things.” He “made the world.” He is “the brightness of God’s glory.” He is “the image of His person.” He “upholds all things by the word of His power.” He “by Himself purges our sins,” and He sits “at the right hand of the majesty on high.” Can you understand why the writer to the Hebrews struggled with the limitations of language to describe the glory of the Babe at Bethlehem?
The text tells us, “He was prophesied in the Old Testament.” In Old Testament times, God talked to His people in many ways. He talked to some directly as He did to Moses and to Adam and Eve; He spoke to some through signs like the Passover or circumcision or the sacrifices in the Temple; He talked to some through the pens of prophets who predicted the manner and place of Jesus’ birth. They described a priest who would bring forgiveness to the world; they described a prophet who would rule men’s hearts with His word; they described an everlasting King who would bring real inner peace and happiness for all time.
In the New Testament era, God continues to speak to His people, but He doesn’t talk to us directly anymore. Neither does He speak to us in signs and symbols of something that is still going to happen. Today He speaks to us in a new and better way, and that is “by His Son.” The manger scene was not another sign or prophecy, but a fulfillment for all time, when in Christ entered the world to show who He is. When children of the world look at their manger scene, what they see is a baby. What you and I look at it, what we see defies the imagination of our hearts. For what we see lying in a manger is the almighty Creator of heaven and earth. The Scriptures teach this in many places. “ For in him [that is, Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” Colossians 2:8, 9, writes the apostle. That Babe is true God in every sense of the word. Just as the Father was present at creation, so was His Son. St. John states this incomprehensible truth with utter simplicity: “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:3 Could any thought be more humbling and comforting at the same time, than that the One that has “all power in heaven and in earth,” Matthew 28:18 should choose to take His abode on this sinful planet as a powerless baby just for sinners like you and me?
A wondrous change, which He doth make!
He takes our flesh and blood,
And He conceals for sinners' sake
His majesty of God. ------ TLH 105
The text goes on to say that this holy Babe, who was present at the time of creation, “upholds all things by the word of His power.” You see, the Babe at Bethlehem was more than a mere Spectator in the creation scene. He is a coequal Creator, who still governs and controls, and will continue to do so until the end of the world. It simply is not true, as theistic evolutionists claim, that He created all things in the beginning, then stood by, and let nature take its course. That puts God on the level of a shoemaker or a tailor, writes Dr. Luther.
In this connection, we are sometimes tempted to ask, “Where is it all going to end?” The greed and selfishness of man, the killings and bombings and suicides can be very worrisome and depressing. The pervading forces of the secular media and political propaganda can easily leave us bewildered. The text encourages us, “Fear not! The Babe in Bethlehem has all things in His control.” He is sitting “on the right hand of the Majesty on high,” where He “upholds all things by the word of His power.” He controls everything that happens in human history, no matter how insignificant or hopeless it appears, and makes all things work together for good to his children, to you and to me. No one expresses this more trenchantly and forcefully than the Psalmist does when he writes, “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. [He] thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; [He] thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” Psalm 2 “What child is this?” This is the Christchild in the manger.
Of all the things that the writer says about our Savior in today’s text, none so touches our hearts as the reminder that He is the “express image of God” who “by himself purged our sins.”
That lowly Babe is the “express image of God.” We can understand that just a little bit by thinking of our own families. The greatest insult someone could do to you is to despise your children. Our children mean so much to us. How much more does Jesus mean to His Father? Hear the word of the Lord, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17 The greatest insult we can do God is to despise His only. “He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God.” 1 Thessalonians 4:8 Jesus Christ is the reflection of God’s heart, a heart that so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that He could purge us of our sins. To despise that Son is to despise Almighty God Himself.
The Almighty Son of God became the Babe in Bethlehem to rid the world of selfishness. By His unselfishness, He has conquered our greed and lust. With His holy life and death, He has put away the guilt of our every sin, past, present or future. With His life-giving word, He gives us the power to begin each new day with a clean slate, the grace to show our faith in a new life of God-pleasing words and actions, and the promise that we are the rightful heirs of eternal life in heaven. Who is it in yon manger lies? Who is this child, so young and fair? The blessed Christ-child lieth there.
Ah, Lord, who hast created all,
How weak art Thou, how poor and small,
That Thou dost choose Thine infant bed
Where humble cattle lately fed!
For velvets soft and silken stuff
Thou hast but hay and straw so rough,
Whereon Thou, King, so rich and great,
As 'twere Thy heaven, art throned in state.
Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto us His Son hath given!
While angels sing with pious mirth
A glad new year to all the earth. ----TLH 85
This sermon was preached by Pastor Robert Dommer on December 30, 2007.