Experience God

1 John 1:5-10

Music theory is fundamental to any musician’s study, which always includes the basic elements of music such as rhythm, harmony (harmonic function), melody, structure, form, style, etc. Without  some knowledge of these basic elements it is almost impossible to make music that will be pleasing to the ear.

Even then, some people are more music theorists than musical performers. (brief explanation)

In a similar fashion, some people are more theorists when it comes to God than they are people that actually experience Him. They have knowledge about how to fellowship with God, but they never actually experience intimate fellowship with Him.

The purpose of this message is to help Christians understand how they can fellowship with God and not just hold theories about experiencing Him in their lives.

In the beginning God created man to fellowship with Him. Until Adam disobeyed God, he walked with Him in the Garden of Eden. But, after his sin he hid from God and was covered in the shame of his transgression. As a result, God set in motion His plan of redemption that culminated in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Calvary and His resurrection from the grave. Through the Gospel (death, burial, resurrection) men are brought back into right relationship with God through His Son so that they may have fellowship together with Him as He intended. The only condition to being brought into right relationship with God is to trust His Son as your Savior! However, there is at least one specific condition to experiencing ongoing fellowship with God!

The passage we are considering is perhaps the fullest single treatise in the NT explaining how to have fellowship with God. One author put it this way in describing the text:

“It would be difficult to find any single passage of Scripture more crucial and fundamental to daily Christian living than 1 John 1:5-10. For here, in a few brief verses, the ‘disciple whom Jesus loved’ has laid down for us the basic principles which underlie a vital walk with God.”

It’s important to remember that this passage is dealing with the matter of “fellowship,” a word found four (4) times in the ten verses of 1 John chapter 1 (1:3 - twice, 6, 7). Fellowship involves sharing something together in common with at least one other person.

John makes three affirmations (1:5, 7, 9) that are countered by three responses each of which are false counter statements (1:6, 8, 10). From the three affirmations we learn how to have fellowship with God or experience Him in our lives.

Affirmation #1: “...God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”

“Light” is a common metaphor for God and it speaks of His holiness/sinlessness. There is no sin in God at all! Darkness is a metaphor for error or evil, which is never found in God.

God is “light” by nature (in His essential being) just as He is Spirit (John 4:24) and love (4:8). “Light” refers to His moral character...no darkness (sinfulness) at all: God is holy, untouched by any evil or unrighteousness. Because God is “light,” those who desire fellowship with Him must also be pure.

Intellectually, “light” can represent biblical truth while “darkness” represents error or falsehood (cf. Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 6:23; John 1:4; 8:12). Morally, as it is used here, “light” represents holiness or purity while “darkness” represents sin or wrongdoing (Romans 13:11–14; 1 Thessalonians 5:4–7).

Light and darkness are favorite antithetical concepts in the Johannine writings (John 1:4–5; 3:19–21; 8:12; 12:35–36, 46; 1 John 2:8–11; cf. Revelation 21:24 and 22:5).

This is a foundational statement about God that must be understood for us to have fellowship with Him!

• False counter statement:

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice [i.e., act consistently with] the truth.” (1 John 1:6)

These are the words of someone that is living (conducting his life) in known sin, but still claiming to be in fellowship with God. You can’t be walking in the light and in the darkness at the same time.

Illustration:
A son has in him the life of his earthly father because through his father he came into this world. However, if he makes his home at a distance from his father they will not be able to have shared experiences. In the same way, a Christian who lives at a moral distance from God loses the privilege of shared experience with God. Walking in the light brings Father and spiritual child into the same moral realm and that realm itself becomes the foundational experience which they have in common

Affirmation #2: “...if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

To “walk in the light” means to be in the light, to be exposed to it, to refuse to hide out in the darkness.

Illustration of the flashlight...

The text doesn’t say we have to “walk according to the light” for that would require sinless perfection. It says we must “walk IN the light,” i.e., to be open and responsive to the light. It means that we have to walk in the sphere of the light that comes to us through God’s Word.

As we do this two things occur: 1. We experience fellowship with God. 2. We experience cleansing by God.

One writer puts it this way, “...while the believer exposes himself openly to God and to God's truth, he experiences both a sharing with God and a cleansing by God. The latter makes the former both reasonable and right, for given the sinfulness of even the best of men—the apostles themselves, in fact—fellowship with a sinless God—in whom there is no darkness at all—could only occur if man's unholiness were constantly under the efficacious influence of the blood of Jesus Christ his Son. This has nothing to do with our initial salvation which is fully guaranteed to us at the moment of our faith. Rather it has to do with the righteousness of God in permitting His far from perfect children to live in His presence and to share the light where He is. Nothing less than the blood of Christ could make this possible, and no Christian has ever enjoyed so much as a single moment of fellowship to which the Savior's sacrifice, in all its value, has not been contemporaneously applied!”

• False counter statement:

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

Some people take “no sin” as a claim to no longer possess a sin nature or sin principle. This doesn’t represent the manner in which John commonly uses these words. It is the unique sense in which you find them in his writings that is the interpretive clue as to what he means here.

Dr. Robert Law, in his extensive commentary on John’s epistles, says, “The phrase ‘to have sin’ is peculiar to St. John, and has a quite definite sense. Thus in John 15: 22 our Lord says, ‘If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.’ Here, beyond question, ‘to have sin’ specifically denotes the guiltiness of the agent. In John 9:41; 15:24; 19:11 the sense is equally clear; and these parallels must be held as decisive for the meaning here.”

In other words, to “say that we have no sin” is equivalent to saying, “I have no consciousness of sin (sense of guilt for sin) in my life.”

Someone may be walking in the light and presently have no conscious guilt about specific sins being committed, but it would be a grave error to assume that sin is no longer present with him, at all. The fact is, if sin were no longer present with him he would no longer need the continual cleansing of the “blood of Christ.” If at any point in our lives we conclude that we are free of sin then the cross of Christ has lost its grip on our hearts.

John would have understood just how quickly sin can overtake Christ-followers from having known Peter’s outright denials of Christ after confessing that he would never do so (Mark 14:27-31). Peter had no awareness of his potential, upcoming failure until he was faced with the temptation.

Even when we think everything is good in our lives we must remain open to God showing us more than we presently see that will need confession.

New believers in Christ don’t have near the sensitivity to sin as do those that have walked with Christ for many years. They have just emerged from the darkness, but the longer they are in the light the more plainly they will see themselves and their sin. It’s not that sin becomes the preoccupation of their lives (our lives), but apart from the process of self-discovery that can only be realized in the light can a person know deeper fellowship with God.

Affirmation #3: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Confession or agreeing with God is the integral part of walking in the light with God (i.e., experiencing God). It is impossible to truly experience fellowship with God and refuse to acknowledge the sins that are exposed by the light.

The fact that God has removed the penalty for our sins at conversion (1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 1:7; 4:32; Colossians 2:13) doesn’t mean we don’t need to confess our sins regularly.

The forgiveness we experience at the moment of salvation is forensic (judicial, positional). The forgiveness under discussion in this passage is familial. The forgiveness at salvation concerns our relationship with God. The forgiveness here concerns our fellowship with God.

The plural pronouns that began early in this chapter continue throughout the chapter. The Apostle John includes himself, the rest of the apostles, the readers to whom he is writing, and all of us. Even John and the apostles needed to confess their sins!

And, God has promised to forgive all sins confessed to Him. This confession either permits us to begin walking in the light (have fellowship with God) again and/or keeps us from moving out of the light.

• False counter statement:

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar...” (1 John 1:10)

To say that you “have not sinned” is to deny what the light has exposed in your life. When you move in this direction you begin excusing and justifying your sin. You basically deny what God says about your sin.

All of these counter statements leave a person in contradiction to God. Listen to the strong words of John concerning those that fail to believe his affirmations: “we lie and do not practice the truth,” “we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us,” and “we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

Experiencing God necessitates that we walk in the light. When the light exposes something sinful in our lives we immediately confess it. Even when we don’t know of any conscious sin in our lives we acknowledge that God sees what we cannot see and we desire that He bring to light anything that needs confession. Our prayer is always that of the Psalmist.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:3-4)

The only way to experience God is to be open to Him every day of our lives and to walk before Him with integrity of heart. If we regress into the darkness of sin we will miss the sweet fellowship He desires us to enjoy with Him.

Immanuel: God WIth Us!

Matthew 1:18-25

A newly graduated senior from college decided that he wanted to travel to Norway to see a part of the world he thought he might never see once he started his new career. After a long flight, he ended up in a small town named Bergen and from there he took a ferry boat to the Sognefjord (the longest fjord in Norway). His first impression of this idyllic setting was almost too grand to put into words. What he could see from his vantage point was the mountains rising up above the cascading rivulets of water that were splashing down into the fjord below. Since he only had three days in that location he decided to use one of them to go exploring on a bike he had rented. Making his way through the countryside he came across what looked to him to be seven or eight streams of water all merging together into one torrential stream falling into the fjord. He was curious about these streams and decided to trek up the mountainside alone, though ill-prepared for such an arduous task, just to see this incredible beauty of nature. It was a long, hard climb to the top of the mountain but what he found when he arrived was nothing less than stunning. On top of the mountain was a pasture field with an old sheep herder’s cabin made out of rock and off in the distance a flock of sheep grazing in the grass. As he sat down for a few minutes to rest and admire the incredible view, all he could see was Norway’s longest fjord stretching out before him as far as the eye could see. Sitting there he was struck with just how much he wished he had someone else to share with him in this experience. If only one of his friends or parents had come to enjoy the sights, it would have made it all the more magnificent for him.

That’s the way God designed each of us to feel when we are going through the various experiences of life. No one ever really wants to be totally alone or feel completely disconnected from other people. For instance, when a mother is giving birth to her baby it’s normal for her to want her husband to be present for that joyous occasion. Sometimes it’s not possible, but she still longs for it to be true. Why? Because there’s just something about having those you love with you at the most important moments of life that amplifies their beauty and wonder.

The same is true during times of difficulty and hardship. When we are faced with death, divorce or some other tragedy of life, we need those that care about us most to be there to share in our grief. Nobody wants to suffer alone and feel isolated from their community of friends or family. There are times when you need to cry alone, but eventually people need others to grieve with them and share in their pain.

It’s been my experience that when a person is seriously ill or elderly and can’t take care of themselves that they usually want to know that they are not alone. A child that awakens in the middle of the night with a high fever or the flu doesn’t want to be alone. He wants his mother or father to be there to hold him. That’s just the way God made us!

When God created Adam in the Garden of Eden He said it wasn’t good that man should be alone and so He created Eve to be his companion in life. God wanted them to share their lives together as they journeyed through this world. We need the presence of others around us because loneliness is a terrible taskmaster.

It’s abnormal when people want to be left totally alone and it can even be one of the marks of a person that has a mental or emotional disorder. A common trait identified about those that are troubled in our society is that they are “loners” and “keep to themselves.” God simply didn’t design us to live in isolation from community, personal friendships and family.

This fundamental need is especially dramatized in the Christmas story as God declares to us that we are not alone.

Isaiah’s prophecy is quoted (Isaiah 7:14; cf. Matthew 1:23) and applied to the newborn Christ child in Matthew 1:23. Matthew says that Jesus will be called “‘Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’” There are just three times in Scripture that this specific name is used of God: Isaiah 7:14; 8:8; Matthew 1:23. This name is from the Hebrew and is made up of three parts that literally put means, “with us is God.”

The Gospel of John expresses the same basic truth but puts it in a slightly different way. John writes, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1, 14)

This is a central message of the Christmas story that all of us must grasp because the desire to know “God is with us” is found in the heart of every person. We can face almost anything in life as long as we know we are not alone and that He is there to help us through. One of the central themes running throughout the Bible concerns God’s promise that He is with His people.

Abraham’s promise to be blessed and to be a blessing was essentially God’s promise to be with him as he journeyed to the land of promise.

To Abraham’s son Isaac God said, Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. (Genesis 26:3)

In the famous story about Jacob’s ladder at Bethel, God says to Jacob, Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you. (Genesis 28:15)

To Moses at the “burning bush” God promised, I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. (Exodus 3:12)

To Joshua as he assumed command after the death of Moses, God said, No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. (Joshua 1:5; cf. Deuteronomy 31:6)

The Psalmist David declared, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

Jesus told His disciples as He was preparing them for His departure, And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:16-18)

In the last command Jesus gave before His ascension back to Heaven, He said, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20)

The author of Hebrews quotes a great Old Testament promise when he says, Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

Those are incredible promises from God about His presence with His people! Promises that many of us have claimed for ourselves at various times in our lives!

In London, there is a place called Bunhill Fields that is a very interesting cemetery - if you’re interested in cemeteries. Among those entombed there are famous people like: John Bunyan who authored Pilgrims Progress, Isaac Watts the great hymn writer, Daniel Defoe the author of Robinson Crusoe, and Susanna Wesley the mother of John Wesley, just to name a few.

Opposite the graveyard and across the road is the chapel of John Wesley, as well as the house that he built next door. On March 2, 1791, Wesley opened his eyes on his deathbed and exclaimed for the very last time these words: “The best of all is this: God is with us.”

There’s nothing so helpful or comforting as knowing Immanuel: God is with us! Because we are not alone we can face whatever tomorrow may bring our way!

Ahaz was the king over the southern kingdom of Judah and it’s in Isaiah’s prophecy to him that we first hear the name “Immanuel” spoken. King Ahaz wasn’t a good man and he was the epitome of a person questioning God’s presence. At the time he was being threatened by two enemies and was planning to look to Assyria for assistance in repelling these aggressors. Of course, this was in direct disobedience to what God had told him. When Isaiah confronted King Ahaz about the choices he was about to make, he is told that God will give him any sign he asks to bolster his confidence that God is with the nation of Judah to protect them from any antagonist. When he refused to ask God for a sign He speaks to him through His prophet Isaiah to give a sign anyway. One that is undeniable proof that He is with them to repel their enemy. And so Isaiah declares:

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

Unfortunately, Ahaz didn’t accept the sign and went on doubting and questioning God’s presence in spite of the promise He made to be with him. Within 750 years this prophecy would find its ultimate fulfilment in the birth of Jesus Christ. And, because of Christmas day, “God is with us” in a way mankind has never known before! That’s what we need to remember at this season of the year. We are not alone! He is here and He is with us!

People that fail to realize or acknowledge that “God is with us” inevitably meet with disastrous results. As the children of Israel crossed/wandered in the wilderness, their constant complaining, murmuring, disbelief, and disobedience really arose from the fundamental question, “Is God still with us?” After all the signs He had given them showing His presence they lived, at times, as if He was not really there.

The lesson they teach us is that when you fail to realize God’s presence it usually leads to nothing but chaos and confusion. A simple analogy that demonstrates my point can be found in the school classroom. When a teacher leaves the room, students will sometimes do things they might not otherwise do when the teacher is present. That illustrates the status of the children of Israel as they crossed the wilderness toward Canaan (and even after they’d entered the Promised Land --The Book of Judges) . At times they questioned if God had left the “room,” which led to their repeated complaining, murmuring, idolatry, immorality, and injustice. The Book of Judges defines it as “everyone did what was right in His own eyes.” (Judges 17:6; 21:25; cf. Proverbs 14:12; 16:25)

That’s why we must remember the name Immanuel at Christmas time. It is the constant reminder that God is with us!

There’s a cute story about two elderly, spinster sisters that lived together on a farm in North Dakota. Their farm had not received the care that it needed and was literally falling down around them. All of the farm machinery they owned was rusted and useless. The chicken coop and barn were barely standing upright. But, it wasn’t just the farm itself that was in dire need...the two elderly sisters themselves were barely making it, as well. They had weathered the storms on their farm for over 60 years and were tough as nails, but the years were really showing on them now. One of their nephews came to visit them on a fall day and decided to take a picture of the ladies with their broken down farm/farm equipment in the background. There the two sisters stood straight and stiff with their images framed by the old dilapidated farm behind them. He later sent them a copy of the picture, which they liked so much that they decided to use it as the front for their Christmas card that year. The words they had printed at the top of the card in bold black letters said, “Merry Christmas” and at the bottom the words, “God is with us...in our mess.”

That’s the message of Christmas! God came to mankind in a world that is messed up by sin. He is with us even though our lives and those around us are a mess. The message of Christmas isn’t that God comes only to those who are good and perfect. It isn’t even the message that God will protect us from all the messiness of our world. It is that He will be with us through our mess and He will not leave us alone!

What does your life look like right now? Remember the name, Immanuel...God is with us!

• He is with you in your struggling marriage and family.
• He is with you when you are fighting disease or recovering from a tragedy.
• He is with you if you are spending your first Christmas without your loved one who’s gone on to Heaven.
• He’s with you when you’re too scared to drop off your children at school and He’s with your children, too.
• He’s with you when tomorrow isn’t certain and yesterday was a mess.
• He’s with you when you’ve lost your job or the company isn’t bringing you back after the holidays.
• He’s with you when your children are breaking your heart with choices that demonstrate they don’t recognize His presence.
• He’s with you when your family and friends have turned their backs on you for following Christ.
• He is with you when you stand for the truth though it means being persecuted as a result.
• He’s with you when you are celebrating Christmas on a mission field far away from family in a culture you don’t quite understand yet.
• He’s with you when you have to make choices you could never have foreseen or you ever wanted to make.
• He’s with you when you’re alone in your house and you wonder if anybody really cares if you are alive.
• He is with you if you are in a hospital room or a nursing home, though you feel very alone right now.
• He is with you calling you to trust Him for eternal salvation that can only be received through Jesus Christ.

Listen again to the announcement of the Christmas story that originally came through the prophet Isaiah:

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

Here’s the greatest news ever this Christmas season. God came to be with us so that one day we could be with God!! That’s the Christmas story in less than 140 characters for all you Twitter users!

Consider This...

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8 NLT)

There are at least two central truths that are learned through the sufferings of Christ. The first is just how much God hates sin and requires that it be punished. The second is just how much God loves us and showed it by giving His Son to pay our sin penalty. Don't forget the clear testimony of scripture...Christ was dying for "sinners." And, it was the GREATEST display of LOVE known to mankind...EVER!

Consider This...

He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon!" Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20 NLT)

One day Christ will come again to call His children out of this world. Both the dead bodies of His saints, as well as Christians living at that moment will be translated into His presence. On that day sin, death, crying, pain, sorrow, suffering, injustice, separation, sickness, etc., will be over forever for them. That's a great reason to pray like John, "Come, Lord Jesus!"

Consider This...

Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. (James 1:20 NLT)

There's a time to be righteously indignant, but most of the time our anger is about control, pride, hurt, unforgiveness, revenge, selfishness, etc., etc. Instead of giving someone a piece of your mind, next time give that person/situation to the Lord and let Him give YOU peace OF mind.

 

Rev. Bob Schipper/Dr. Charles Stanley for our 25th anniversary in 2007

My dear friend, Rev. Bob Schipper had this video made for our 25th anniversary five years ago at LMBC. This month we are beginning our 31st year. Bob was Assistant Pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA, with Dr. Charles Stanley, at the time. Dr. Stanley shared an unexpected message with us in the video. I've been reminiscing over the past 30 years and I am humbled at the goodness of God to Mary and me. This is one of the things I found while looking back before I begin looking forward to what He is going to do in 2013!

Consider This...

After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. (Judges 2:10 NLT)

Parents can't be satisfied with merely imparting a "theoretical faith" to their children. They must lead them into genuine encounters with the living Lord where their faith becomes personal and alive to them. Christianity is not about religious ceremonies, but about an "intimate relationship" with the person of Christ.

Consider This...

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18 ESV)

You can endure almost anything if you know the outcome will ultimately be good. Mothers go through intense suffering to bring their newborn infants into this world. But, when their little ones are laying peacefully in their arms the pain of childbirth quickly becomes a faint memory. God didn't promise us we'd have no suffering in this world. He did promise us, however, that Heaven will make us forget all our pain when it's replaced with "glory" unspeakable!

The Real Story of Christmas

Selected Scriptures

Paul Harvey (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was a conservative American radio personality well known for his “News and Comments” broadcast and his “Rest of the Story” segments. To this day I can still hear his distinctive voice as he enunciates, “And now, for the rest of the story.”

There’s a renewed need for us to tell the entire Christmas story with all its details so that we have the “rest of the story” in our holiday celebrations. It’s easy to skew the story and miss the deep hues and colors of the narrative of Christ’s coming to earth.

For that reason, I want us to consider some of the details that are too often passed over to focus on the more familiar aspects of His coming. Let’s get a clearer picture of what it was really like for Mary, Joseph and Jesus!

1. Consider Nazareth

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. (Luke 1:26-27)

Nazareth was the small, isolated town of Mary and Joseph. It is the place where Jesus spent a major portion of His life (Matthew 2:23; Luke 2:39 - this is the reason Jesus is called a Nazarene) as He worked alongside Joseph in the trade of carpentry. This city was so insignificant in the broader scheme of Israel (or so people thought) that when Jesus began calling His disciples, Nathanael asked, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? (John 1:46)

Throughout Jesus’ ministry He was referred to as a resident of the city: Jesus of Nazareth (cf. Mk 10:47; Jn 18:5, 7; Acts 2:22). There is only one New Testament reference to Jesus returning to His boyhood town after He had begun His public ministry and He was rejected by the townspeople (Lk 4:16–30; cf. Mt 13:54–58; Mk 6:1–6). Even the followers of Jesus were derisively referred to as “Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5).

Nazareth is not mentioned in the OT, the Apocrypha, or intertestamental Jewish writings. There are sixty-three (63) villages of Galilee listed in the Talmud (an important text in Rabbinic Judaism), but Nazareth is not among them. Of the forty-five (45) towns mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus you don’t find the name of Nazareth mentioned.

The city was located fifteen (15) miles west of the Sea of Galilee, about twenty (20) miles east of the Mediterranean Sea, and about seventy (70) miles north of Jerusalem. It has been estimated that the population of the town was only a few hundred, if that many actually lived there. Some surmise that it may have been as small as one hundred (100) residents.

The name of the city is from a Hebrew root meaning “a shoot” or “a branch” that grows out of a tree trunk that is thought to be dead. It is from such an obscure place that the prophecy of Isaiah declares the Messiah will come.

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist. (Isaiah 11:1-5)

The Hebrew word for “Branch” (Isaiah 11:1) is the very word that gives us the name “Nazareth.” Symbolically, God is declaring that out of something seemingly dead will come the Life of God!

Though Nazareth is an important Christian center in present day Israel, that was not the case when Mary, Joseph or Jesus lived there and it’s part of the “rest the story” that few people consider at Christmas.

2. Consider Mary

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus...Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God...For with God nothing will be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:30-38)

Some religious groups venerate Mary far beyond what is scripturally allowed. However, Mary is someone that we should respect and admire (Luke 1:42) for her willingness to be used by God to deliver the Messiah to the world. She was just a teenage Jewish virgin that had submitted herself to the Lord in total humility (Luke 1:38).

We have the privilege of the historical narrative that informs us of the angel’s visit to announce to Mary what God was going to do through her. But, other than Joseph, it doesn’t appear that anyone else had this kind of divine insight that might have alleviated some of the rejection Mary had to experience. Who would have believed her story about being “with child” of the Holy Spirit? No one, at least until Joseph was convinced by the same angel himself.

It is possible that her own family turned against her in Nazareth. In ancient Israel a girl expecting a baby and not married would have been, at a minimum, shamed by the community. The Law of Moses allowed for a much worse punishment for someone considered immoral. Leviticus 20:10 even seems to demand the punishment of death for someone found to be “with child” when the marriage had not even been consummated. Unlike engagement today, a couple was legally married when they entered into the betrothal period.

This rejection she experienced in her hometown may have played a part in why Mary traveled a considerable distance (even in her condition) to visit her cousin and husband in the hill country of Judah (Luke 1:39-40). By the time she leaves there nearly three months later (Luke 1:56), her pregnancy would have been unmistakable and no one could have ignored her condition. And, just as a reminder, this was all before she and Joseph had “come together” (Matthew 1:18). Her predicament would be even worse now in Nazareth and there was no way to escape the looks she received from the townspeople.

When you consider how she was likely treated at home, it may well partially explain why she travelled with Joseph to Bethlehem. She certainly wasn’t required to go such a great distance (approximately 80 miles), especially in her delicate condition. She had no possessions or money and therefore owed no taxes. It was only men that were to be counted in the census anyway. But, she may have had few other options open to her in this small community. It’s even possible that her own parents refused to let her stay at their home and consequently, had nowhere else to go but with Joseph to Bethlehem.

Doesn’t it seem strange that her own mother is completely absent from the narratives about her daughter’s pregnancy or the birth of the Christ child? If she was still alive, that speaks volumes about how she may have felt toward Mary.

We usually think of Jesus being “despised and rejected” (Isaiah 53:3), but even His earthly mother felt some of His pain.

Christmas was anything but a time of joy, peace and calm for Mary. And it is part of the “rest of the story” that seldom gets considered at Christmas.

3. Consider Joseph

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18-20)

It’s clear that Joseph was a good and “just man” (Matthew 1:19) that wanted to do right after learning about Mary’s condition. He loved her and had planned to spend the rest of his life with her and now those plans were in turmoil. What was he supposed to do with the woman that had been so precious to him?

He could have her used as a public example and allowed the townspeople to stone her to death so that others would learn the hard lesson of the price you pay for immorality (though she had never been immoral - Matthew 1:18).

As he pondered his choices (Matthew 1:20), it was just too painful to bear the thought of this young woman he still loved being treated so harshly, so he opted for a private “divorce” proceeding (Matthew 1:19).

This whole process was pure agony for him as is indicated by the Greek word translated, “thought” (Matthew 1:20). The word used by Matthew is a strong compound word in the Greek text. The root noun, “thumos” (θυμός) indicates strong emotion, anger, wrath, and indignation. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (BDAG) defines it as an “...intense expression of the inner self.”

In other words, the emotions churning within his heart were tearing him apart. His dreams had been crushed (so he thought) and his life stood at an impasse. He was dealing with fears, worries, consequences and decisions he had never imagined he’d have to face this early in his life.

It was by God’s mercy that He dispatched an angel to deliver the same message previously delivered to Mary when she learned that she was to be God’s chosen vessel. There is no reference to the relief that Joseph must have felt that night awakening from his dream, but it says that he obeyed the Word of the Lord without reticence (Matthew 1:24-25).

Now, two people knew God’s plan, but it still wasn’t easy since no one else believed their story. He and Mary were inseparably bound together not only in holy matrimony, but in the knowledge that the Holy One to be born through Mary was the long awaited Jewish Messiah.

Very few people consider the “rest of the story” concerning the anguish Joseph endured to be obedient to the Lord’s will.

4. Consider Bethlehem

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. (Luke 2:1-6)

When the census was issued, Joseph began making his plan to journey to his hometown of Bethlehem (Luke 2:4) as the law required. Even though the trip would be hard with his “betrothed” wife in such a delicate condition he knew he couldn’t leave her in Nazareth where no one believed her (now, their) story. He probably wanted to be nearby when the Baby was born, but usually these things were handled by midwives anyway. Not in Mary’s case...no midwives are ever mentioned offering their assistance to her in Nazareth or in the distant city of Bethlehem.

It’s hard to imagine the discomfort she must have endured on the rugged roads that led the nearly 100 miles to the city of Bethlehem. Maybe she walked at times, but probably most of the journey was made on the back of a mule or a horse.

It was Bethlehem that had been prophesied to be the birthplace of the Messiah (Micah 5:2), but even Mary and Joseph couldn’t imagine the circumstances (an animal stall and feeding trough) in which He would be born.

This was the city of Joseph’s ancestors and you would assume that he would have some relatives living in the city. It might have been that they were distant relatives, but surely one of them would provide a family member a place to stay.

As far as we know, there were no motels (“inns”) as we think of them in the city. Even the prophecy of Micah 5:2 seems to infer that the town of Bethlehem was too small to warrant such an establishment. Consequently, Mary and Joseph were totally dependent on distant family or family acquaintances to provide them with a place in the city. That was the common custom of their day and the reason the Bible speaks so often to Christians about hospitality.

There were some cities that had official “inns.” In the story of the Good Samaritan he takes the wounded Jewish man to an “inn” (Luke 10:34)...sort of a first century motel. But that’s not the kind of arrangements that could be found in Bethlehem. When it says that there was “no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7 - a different Greek word than 10:34) it is referring to a “guest room,” as the Greek word is sometimes translated.

The common first century house generally consisted of two floors. Upon entering the house there was a ground level floor where the animals were brought in at night and fed. At the back of the house was an upper level where all of the family living took place. It’s on the first floor of the house where Mary and Joseph were given a place to stay, not where the rest of the family and guests would normally be housed. (It’s possible that a cave was the place where Christ was born. Archeologists have discovered that in the Judean hill country some houses were located in caves or built on caves, and some of these homes had levels or terraces. They could have an upper room that served as a guest chamber and a raised area in the lower level where the family lived and ate their meals. The lowest level of the home is where the animals were brought in at night, perhaps four feet lower than the family room.)

Why wouldn’t they be given a “guest room” as a place to stay? Certainly it was crowded all over the city with the many visitors in town for the census. Still, couldn’t someone make room for a woman who’s about to deliver? Surely, a child, young person or adult somewhere in the city could have slept outside or made a palate with the animals to make room for a baby to be born. This is family that has come to town, after all!

But, there is more going on in this story than first meets the eye. Rumor has it that Mary is pregnant even though she and Joseph haven’t completed the marriage process yet. This cloud of suspicion followed them all the way to Bethlehem. People of such reputation weren’t welcome in a respectable town, among respectable family members. That is likely the primary reason they could find no other place than a poor animal stall to give birth to the Christ child and had to utilize a feeding trough as a place to lay Him.

Mary endured a lot to follow the Lord and be the vessel through which the Messiah would be delivered into this world. And when the “rest of the story” is told you see the much darker hues added to the Christmas story adding new meaning to the text that says, “there was no room for them in the inn.”

5. Consider Herod

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. (Matthew 2:16)

After the Wise Men arrive in Jerusalem (Matthew 2:1-18: this would have been within two years of the birth of Christ) looking for the young child Who is born King of the Jews, Herod is filled with angry rage and jealousy. He sent the men from the east to find the One whose star they had followed and instructed them to return to him with the location of this child. When the Magi didn’t return, Herod took matters into his own hands and ordered all the babies in Bethlehem two years of age and under (Matthew 2:16) to be destroyed causing unimaginable pain among the residents of the city.

In light of what we have experienced in this country when we hear of innocent children harmed or killed we can imagine how quickly the mood in Bethlehem became dark and foreboding. There is no record of how many children lost their lives that night to Herod’s rage, but even if it was only one, the pain would have been excruciating. And, it seems reasonable to think that dozens of children may have died...possibly hundreds.

Put yourself in the first century for a moment. Just imagine a Roman soldier breaking through your front door and taking your precious baby or young child off into the night. Look at the arms of the outstretched children crying and reaching for their parents who are knocked to the floor by the shove of the soldiers’ arm while trying to rescue their child. Everybody in the city can hear the cries and screaming of the children, as well as the agony of the families as the lives of their children are lost. There’s not a place anywhere in the city where you can escape the cloud of pain and anguish or the wails of crying family members.

Matthew quotes the Prophet Jeremiah not as a direct fulfillment of his words, but as an application of them to the present context of Herod’s massacre (Matthew 2:18):

Thus says the Lord: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.” (Jeremiah 31:15) [When Jeremiah spoke these words they were words of hope that the nation would return to the land even though they wept when they were carried away into captivity. Matthew uses them to give Bethlehem’s families hope because the Messiah had escaped Herod’s massacre and would return to reign one day.]

Dr. Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, writes, “Jesus was not born into a gauzy, sentimental winter wonderland of sweetly-singing angels and cute reindeer nuzzling one another at the side of his manger. He was born into a war-zone. And at the very rumor of his coming, Herod vowed to see him dead, right along with thousands of his brothers. History in Bethlehem, as before and as now, is riddled with the bodies of murdered children.” (saved in Evernote)

Since the fall of man, Satan has been trying to destroy God’s plan and in the Christmas story he’s trying to destroy God’s Son. Were it not for an angel warning Joseph (Matthew 2:13-15), Jesus would have died that night, as well. He’s ultimately going to die, but the time is not to be at His birth. He’ll grow up, live perfectly according to God’s Law and then He’ll be crucified. But, His death will accomplish at that time something the death of no other person could ever accomplish...mankind’s eternal salvation.

When the “rest of the Christmas story” is told you can’t ignore the pain of the families that lost a child or children that night.  

6. Consider Simeon

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God...Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2:25-28, 34-35)

After Mary’s purification from the birth of her child, which meant Jesus was forty (40) days old (Leviticus 12:1-4), she and Joseph brought Him to the Temple to dedicate Him to the Lord. They were met there by a pious Jew named Simeon that uttered words no mother ever wants to hear about her child (Luke 2:35).

Usually when a newborn baby comes into the world there are nothing but gifts and congratulations given to the new parents. But, something is different about this baby!

It had been revealed to Simeon that he would not see death until he had seen the “Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26). Directed by the Holy Spirit he stood in the Temple that day when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus for dedication. As he takes Jesus in his arms and blesses the Lord, he warns Mary about what is to come (Luke 2:34-35).

He explains that, “a sword will pierce through your own soul also” and then he disappears from the biblical record. This is the announcement of tragedy to come even before Jesus has had opportunity to live His life. Presumably, Simeon was announcing to Mary that the child she held so gently in her arms would have a life troubled by His enemies, be rejected by His own people, and ultimately die a cruel death. Without question, this would pierce the soul of Mary as she saw it all unfolding years later before her very eyes.

The “rest of the Christmas story” is told when you see Mary at Calvary watching her beloved Son nailed to a cross dying for the sins of all mankind. As the darkness overtakes the skies, it must surely have long since overtaken her heart.

But, this One that had lived to change the world would rise from the dead and offer the pardon of sin and eternal salvation to all that would receive it.

That’s the real story of Christmas...the story of the One who left Heaven’s glory to make us His own so we could enjoy eternity together with Him!