December 13th, 2022
As Christmas quickly approaches, gifts are likely on all of our minds. We are buying them, wrapping them, and making sure we don’t forget any. It’s the season of gift giving, which is fitting as we celebrate Jesus—the greatest gift ever given!
One interesting thing about gift giving is that as we’re buying presents for the people we love, we aren’t thinking about whether or not they deserve it. While some may tell their kids that Santa is watching to encourage them to behave, no good parent has kept a record of their child’s wrongdoings throughout the year to determine whether or not they’re getting presents. When it comes time to buy gifts, it’s out of love and a desire to bless them. That’s what makes it a gift! The same is true for the gift of Jesus, and that’s what I want to talk about this week.
In the world today, we talk a lot about what is fair. Do you know that God isn’t actually fair in the way He treats us? In fact, He is absolutely and completely unfair, which is great news! If God treated us the way that we deserved to be treated, we would all have to bear the punishment for our own sin. Instead, God gave the greatest gift He possibly could when He sent Jesus over 2,000 years ago to take our place. Isaiah 53, one of the most beautiful Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament lays out some of what Jesus would do for us when He lived and died.
He did all of that, so that we would not have to. He didn’t deserve it, but He chose to do it so that we could receive what He actually deserved: favor, honor, love, acceptance, and a crown of righteousness. Everything we receive from our Father is that which Jesus deserves. How unfair is that?
Even more than that, God’s love and His giving is so much different than ours. How many of you are buying Christmas presents today for an enemy? If not an enemy, how many of you are buying gifts for the person that makes your life difficult at work or the person who yelled at you at the store? Our love and generosity are usually given to those who love us back. We give to our families who we know will receive our love graciously and will likely give us something in return. God, on the other hand, gave Jesus knowing not only that some would not receive Him, but that they would despise Him. They would spit on Him while He was giving His life for them. They would kiss His cheek in betrayal while He was preparing to carry the weight of the world’s iniquity on His sinless shoulders. They would jeer and hate Him while He hung naked and beaten on a cross for them. He gave everything He had knowing it would be rejected. That’s love we know nothing about. It’s love without restraint. Mercy without retribution. Grace without merit. Undeserved devotion. Passion and love that’s so completely unjustified, we could never grasp the weight of it. Romans 3:22-26 says,
“For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
God makes no distinction. Every human being has fallen short of perfect and is equally undeserving of the gift of His Son—the gift of grace. He gave it anyway. Romans 5:6-9 says,
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.””
Thank God that He is so unfair! While we were far away, without mercy, undesiring of the sacrifice of His Son, He died anyway. We are justified by the blood of Jesus because He freely poured it out knowing that some would trample it under their feet. That’s love. Even more than that this verse tells us that when we receive it, we not only are saved from eternal punishment, but we benefit from the power of His life—receiving all that He deserves. Romans 8:31-35 says,
“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”
Read that again. The One who didn’t spare Jesus, the most precious gift He had to give, will not withhold any good thing from you (See also Psalm 84:11). His love is the most precious gift we could ever receive, and it comes with no strings attached, except that you repent and receive it. The Gospel is the good news and it’s not too good to be true. He really is as good as His word says He is. This Christmas, as we hustle and bustle with all of the things that come with the season, I encourage you to remember that gift. His undeserved grace. His love that is so unlike human love. Christmas at its heart is a celebration of Jesus. If you’re in need this season of grace, peace, hope, love, strength, or joy, I want to remind you that all of those things are wrapped up in His sacrifice. He died an undeserved death so that we could receive undeserved life and everything good that comes with it!
One interesting thing about gift giving is that as we’re buying presents for the people we love, we aren’t thinking about whether or not they deserve it. While some may tell their kids that Santa is watching to encourage them to behave, no good parent has kept a record of their child’s wrongdoings throughout the year to determine whether or not they’re getting presents. When it comes time to buy gifts, it’s out of love and a desire to bless them. That’s what makes it a gift! The same is true for the gift of Jesus, and that’s what I want to talk about this week.
In the world today, we talk a lot about what is fair. Do you know that God isn’t actually fair in the way He treats us? In fact, He is absolutely and completely unfair, which is great news! If God treated us the way that we deserved to be treated, we would all have to bear the punishment for our own sin. Instead, God gave the greatest gift He possibly could when He sent Jesus over 2,000 years ago to take our place. Isaiah 53, one of the most beautiful Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament lays out some of what Jesus would do for us when He lived and died.
- He was despised.
- He was rejected.
- He bore our grief.
- He carried our sorrow.
- He was crushed for our sin.
- He was punished so we could have peace.
- He bore the iniquity of all of mankind.
He did all of that, so that we would not have to. He didn’t deserve it, but He chose to do it so that we could receive what He actually deserved: favor, honor, love, acceptance, and a crown of righteousness. Everything we receive from our Father is that which Jesus deserves. How unfair is that?
Even more than that, God’s love and His giving is so much different than ours. How many of you are buying Christmas presents today for an enemy? If not an enemy, how many of you are buying gifts for the person that makes your life difficult at work or the person who yelled at you at the store? Our love and generosity are usually given to those who love us back. We give to our families who we know will receive our love graciously and will likely give us something in return. God, on the other hand, gave Jesus knowing not only that some would not receive Him, but that they would despise Him. They would spit on Him while He was giving His life for them. They would kiss His cheek in betrayal while He was preparing to carry the weight of the world’s iniquity on His sinless shoulders. They would jeer and hate Him while He hung naked and beaten on a cross for them. He gave everything He had knowing it would be rejected. That’s love we know nothing about. It’s love without restraint. Mercy without retribution. Grace without merit. Undeserved devotion. Passion and love that’s so completely unjustified, we could never grasp the weight of it. Romans 3:22-26 says,
“For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
God makes no distinction. Every human being has fallen short of perfect and is equally undeserving of the gift of His Son—the gift of grace. He gave it anyway. Romans 5:6-9 says,
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.””
Thank God that He is so unfair! While we were far away, without mercy, undesiring of the sacrifice of His Son, He died anyway. We are justified by the blood of Jesus because He freely poured it out knowing that some would trample it under their feet. That’s love. Even more than that this verse tells us that when we receive it, we not only are saved from eternal punishment, but we benefit from the power of His life—receiving all that He deserves. Romans 8:31-35 says,
“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”
Read that again. The One who didn’t spare Jesus, the most precious gift He had to give, will not withhold any good thing from you (See also Psalm 84:11). His love is the most precious gift we could ever receive, and it comes with no strings attached, except that you repent and receive it. The Gospel is the good news and it’s not too good to be true. He really is as good as His word says He is. This Christmas, as we hustle and bustle with all of the things that come with the season, I encourage you to remember that gift. His undeserved grace. His love that is so unlike human love. Christmas at its heart is a celebration of Jesus. If you’re in need this season of grace, peace, hope, love, strength, or joy, I want to remind you that all of those things are wrapped up in His sacrifice. He died an undeserved death so that we could receive undeserved life and everything good that comes with it!
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