In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King +
Jesus was not the Messiah that people expected. Almost everyone who comes across Him is surprised, or shocked, or even dismayed. Even with the prophecies, even with the Scripture proclaiming what Jesus would be, He wasn't what people expected. He certainly was a surprise to Joseph and Mary – His coming wasn't what they had planned on or expected. The wise men following the star expect a King of the Jews born in the finest palace – but they must be sent to Bethlehem, and not even to the best house there, but to a stable and a manager. The very same manager where shepherds, of all people, lowly shepherds who were even low on the shepherd totem pole, stuck with 3rd shift night duty, were the first the see the Savior. We're so familiar with the Christmas story that it seems old hat, but nothing here plays out the way that anyone really expected.
And Jesus' ministry – the same thing. People expected someone to restore an earthly kingdom, and Jesus isn't interested. He in fact runs away when they want to make Him king. They hoped for someone who would drive out the Romans and get rid of earthly injustice. Jesus in fact heals the people who arrest Him, and He meekly faces the grossest miscarriage of justice upon the Cross. People were looking for a Jesus that would belittle their enemies and cast them out; instead Jesus is found at table with them, eating with them. Every expectation, turned upside down – even as John the Baptist, even as Jesus Himself point to Scriptures to show what the Messiah would do.
We shouldn't be surprised that Jesus wasn't what people expected. Jesus, the real Jesus, still isn't what people expect, or want. Even today we'll hear people talk about Jesus as though He's just a wise teacher who will give them a few life tips and then leave them alone. Or Jesus is the ultimate feather in the cap in the case of an argument, where Jesus would agree with our every political idea or social whim – why Jesus would even buy the same brand of canned corn that we do. A Jesus who is a tool, easily used but then left on the shelf ignored when we're not building our schemes.
That's not who Jesus is. This Babe, lying in a manger, is God Almighty. He is the Word of God by which you were made. This Child is your Creator. This Boy is the one Adam and Eve hid from in the Garden, the One that every sinful human being has run from and danced away from since. And still, He comes. Jesus made us, and He is determined to be with us – to be Emmanuel – God with us. And so He comes and is born – True God and True Man. And so He wins us redemption – the Cross is His goal – His own death and resurrection so that even dying we would be raised to new life, forgiven and restored. And even as people turn their faces away, stop up their ears – Jesus comes to you today. His gift of Holy Baptism has made you His stable, your heart His manger. His Word of forgiven takes all He won upon the Cross and applies it to you. And even as the world doesn't know it, He comes to you under bread and wine, giving you His own Body and Blood for the remission of your sin in His Supper. Jesus is not what was expected, but He is the gift that was promised – He is your Redeemer. Merry Christmas my friends in Christ. In the Name of Christ Jesus, our Newborn King +
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