"HE BECAME THEIR SAVIOR"

sermon by Pastor John Hollis

December 30, 2007

Texts: Isaiah 63:7-9; Hebrews 2:10-18

Christmas lingers. Bags of boxes and wrapping paper in the trash bins and along the streets to be collected and hauled to the land fill is a clear indication that Christmas lingers. Soon we will see Christmas trees out at the curb to be collected and shredded into mulch. Lines of people in the stores making exchanges of gifts too little, too large, or unwanted is a familiar scene. Christmas lingers.

Signs of disappointment on children's faces because they didn't get what they wanted for Christmas. Tears of sorrow flow because loved ones could not be part of the traditional Christmas family gathering. Quarreling is heard among those who are stressed out because of financial problems, relational problems, addictive problems or other matters that cause stress at this time of the year. Christmas lingers.

But that is only one side of Christmas - the wrong side. God had dealt with his people from many different perspectives. There were signs of unfaithfulness and rejection and total indifference to his mercy among those whom he called his people. God had abundantly blessed them. They wanted things to be done their way. There was much dissatisfaction among his people. He had promised them great things. Through the prophet Isaiah God said,

"For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,

And for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet,

Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness,

And her salvation like a torch that is burning.

And the nations will see your righteousness,

And all kings your glory;

And you will be called by a new name,

Which the mouth of the Lord will designate.

You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,

And a royal diadem in the hand of your God" (Isaiah 62:1-3).

But the people were not satisfied with this declaration of God. And in the first six verses of Isaiah 63 God vents his anger:

"For the day of vengeance was in My heart,

And My year of redemption has come.

And I looked, and there was no one to help,

And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold;

So My own arm brought salvation to Me;

And My wrath upheld Me.

And I trod down the peoples in My anger,

And made them drunk in My wrath,

And I poured out their lifeblood on the earth" (Isaiah 63:4-6).

Even though God was angry with his people, he would bring lovingkindness to

them. As we read in our text:

"I shall make mention of the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, the praises of the Lord,

According to all that the Lord has granted us,

And the great goodness toward the house of Israel,

Which He has granted them according to His compassion,

And according to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses" (Isaiah 63:7).

Through suffering God would bring salvation to his people, even though they would rebel against him. Yet he would become their savior. This is the other side of Christmas.

God had been gracious to his people. He had given them the best of gifts. He gave them lovingkindness in abundance. David sang of the "lovingkindness" that would follow him all the days of his life.

God had given his people the gift of his goodness. Wherever they went, and whatever they did, God still was faithful in making his goodness known to them. But they were not satisfied. They exchanged his gift of goodness for the worship of gods that could not give them anything.

God had a heart of compassion for his people. He could see them in trouble and suffering because of their unfaithfulness to him, and he would turn to them with compassion and bring them out of their difficulties. "And the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His mercy He redeemed them; and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old" (Isaiah 63:9). And the very next words is this text are: "But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit."

God rescued his people, he nurtured them, he pampered them.

"Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses.

Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of His flock?

Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them,

Who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses,

Who divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name,

Who led them through the depths?

Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble;

As the cattle which go down into the valley,

The Spirit of the Lord gave them rest,

So didst Thou lead Thy people,

To make for Thyself a glorious name" (Isaiah 63:11-14).

One would think that after all that God had done for his people that they would be satisfied and would be faithful to him. Even God expressed this thought. "For He said, 'Surely, they are My people, Sons who will not deal falsely.' So He became their Savior."

But what did they do? They rebelled.

Not only did they rebel, they blamed God for their rebellion. According to them, it was all God's fault that they turned away from him.

"Why, O Lord, dost Thou cause us to stray from Thy ways,

And harden our heart from fearing Thee?

Return for the sake of Thy servants, the tribes of Thy heritage.

Thy holy people possessed Thy sanctuary for a little while,

Our adversaries have trodden it down.

We have become like those over whom Thou hast never ruled,

Like those who were not called by Thy name" (Isaiah 63:17-19)

It's all your fault, God! We possessed the holy sanctuary for a while, but you caused us to stray from your ways, and our adversaries have trodden down your sanctuary. It's as if you never ruled over us. It's all your fault!

God was hurt. "In all their affliction He was afflicted." But listen to this: "And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them; And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old" (Isaiah 63:9). God's people hurt him, but he couldn't give them up.

"When Israel was a youth I loved him,

And out of Egypt I called My son. . . .

Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,

I took them in my arms;

But they did not know I healed them.

I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love,

And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;

And I bent down and fed them. . . .

How can I give you up O Ephraim?

How can I surrender you, O Israel?

How can I make you like Admah?

How can I treat you like Zeboiim?

My heart is turned over within Me,

All my compassions are kindled.

I will not execute My fierce anger;

I will not destroy Ephraim again.

For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst,

And I will not come in wrath" (Hosea 11:1-9).

He couldn't - he wouldn't give them up. "So he became their savior." "The angel of his presence saved them." God redeemed them. He paid the price of redemption. He lifted them up and carried them.

During all this dealing with his people Israel, God was looking to the future when he would again involve angels in the redemption story.

When the time came for God to bring redemption to all peoples, Joseph, a man engaged to a woman named Mary, realized that his wife to be was expecting a baby, and while Joseph was pondering what he should do, an angel of the Lord appeared to him to assure him of the presence of God in all that was happening. The angel told Joseph that he should take Mary for his wife, even though she was expecting a child. The child would be called Jesus, "for it is He who will save His people from their sins." And we are told that this would be the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, God with us" (Matthew 1:18-25). According to Hosea, God would not come in wrath but in compassion. Joseph realizes this when he hears the assurance of the angel.

An angel also appeared to Mary. She was troubled at the presence of the angel, but the angel assured her that she need not be afraid, for she had "found favor with God." Then the angel relayed the message to her that she would conceive and bear a son, and he would be named Jesus. He would be "called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David." Mary questioned as to how this could be, and was told by the angel that "nothing will be impossible with God." (Luke 1:26-37).

As God had suffered with his people Israel in the long ago, so Christ would pay the price of redemption for all peoples. When Simeon, in the temple, took the child Jesus into his arms and blessed God for allowing him to live long enough to see the salvation of God, he also blessed Joseph and Mary, and said to Mary, "Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed - and a sword will pierce even your own soul - to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:28-35). Simeon knew that Jesus would be opposed and would have to suffer for the sinful of the world, and he also knew that as a result of the suffering of Jesus that Mary would also suffer. He became our savior; he paid the price for our sins.

He lifted us up. He was lifted upon the cross that he might lift us up out of the pit of sin. This was and is a glorious birth and resurrection for us; it is guaranteed by his glorious birth and resurrection.

Christmas, in some places associated with the birth of Jesus, may linger for a while in the unwanted gifts, the trash to be cast away, the bills to be paid and the loneliness of seeing the family circle broken by war, death, or other reasons. Eventually these lingering things will fade away and we will soon face another Christmas and casually associate it with the birth of Jesus.

There is a birth, however, that will linger forever. God, in flesh, came from his world to our world. He came to his own people, and they rejected him. But he embraced them with love and forgiveness: "He became their savior." He reached out to other peoples and in love and compassion embraced them. We are included in the compassionate embrace: "He became our savior."

He became a Savior to those who reject him today, in the same loving way he became a savior to those who accept him. He became a Savior to those who are disappointed in him. He was the Prince of Peace, but as the words of the song say, "And in despair I bowed my head: 'There is no peace on earth,' I said, 'For hate is strong, and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good will to men.'" He became a Savior to the one who daily battles the power of addiction. He became a Savior to family members who cannot love one another. He became a savior to all, for he "is all and in all."

"Yet pealed the bells more loud and deep: 'God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, With peace on earth, good will to men.'" There is peace to those who know the Savior: "He became our Savior.

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