One of the more fascinating offerings of history is the record of what earlier pagan Romans thought of this new group of people who called themselves Christians. Many of the Romans’ impressions of the Christians have been preserved and they offer very interesting insights. In general, we might say the Romans were shocked by many Christian beliefs and ways of living. Historian Larry Hurtado points to the words of Lucian of Samosata, a satirist from the late 2^nd century, about Christians as a good example. Here is what Lucian, a pagan, had to say about the Christians.

The poor wretches have convinced themselves, first and foremost, that they are going to be immortal and live for all time, in consequence of which they despise death and even willingly give themselves into custody, most of them. Furthermore, their first lawgiver [Jesus] persuaded them that they are all brothers of one another after they have transgressed once for all by denying the Greek gods and by worshipping that crucified sophist himself and living under his laws.[1]

This is most interesting. Among the beliefs and behaviors that Lucian found strange were:

• The Christian belief in eternal life.
• The Christian disregard for death
• The Christian rejection of all other gods but Jesus.
• The Christian veneration of the crucified Christ
• The Christian adherence to the way of Jesus.
• The Christian belief that followers of Jesus somehow form a new family.

His wording is telling: Jesus “persuaded them that they are all brothers of one another.” Lucian says this scoffingly as if these poor, deluded Christians have been duped into a new conception of family that is purely fictional.

In general, I would like to say that Lucian offers a pretty good description of the Christian faith, whatever his motive, intent, and tone were. We do indeed believe that once you reject all other gods and come to Jesus in faith you are bound together with all other followers of Jesus into a new family, that you do indeed become brothers and sisters of one another.

Joseph Hellerman did a study of the letters of Paul in the New Testament and discovered that Paul makes 139 references to “brothers” in relation to the members of the churches. That is 139 references to “brothers” in 13 letters.[2] The New Testament is fairly saturated with this idea: the church is a family.

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Matthew 25

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ ⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

There is a cartoon from an old issue of Leadership Journal that made me chuckle a bit. We are viewing a pastor at his pulpit staring out at his congregation and speaking to them. The words of the pastor are printed beneath: “In the twenty years I’ve been here, I feel I’ve come to know most of you pretty well.” Seated before him in the pews are his congregants: presented as interspersed sheep and goats.

It is likely the case that somebody who had not read Jesus’ words at the close of Matthew 25 would be pretty confused by the cartoon, for it is drawing on Jesus’ categorization of human beings as being either sheep or goats, that is, either the people of God or those who reject God.

Even for the believer the cartoon might be a bit problematic. After all, can pastors really claim to know who is actually a sheep and who is actually a goat? And yet, it is likely the case that, right or wrong, we all have opinions on who belongs to which group.

Ultimately, of course, only Jesus can divide the sheep from the goats. Our text reveals to us that the day will come when He will do precisely that.

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Some years ago, the liberal cultural commentator Garry Wills was complaining about what he saw as the fundamentalist religious bent of the American population. What prompted this was an election not going the way Wills thought it should have. He was not happy, to put it mildly. In order to prove how unhinged and stupid Americans are, he chose an interesting example. Richard John Neuhaus wrote of Wills’ argument:

[Wills’] clinching argument…is the fact that more Americans believe in the virgin birth than in Darwinism. “Can a people that believes more fervently in the virgin birth than in evolution still be called an Enlightened nation?”[1]

Now, that is a most interesting question! Can you be an intelligent, enlightened person and believe in the virgin birth?

I want to answer that this morning with an emphatic “Yes!” In fact, I want to argue that if you are enlightened you will believe in the virgin birth, for it was taught in the scriptures, has been rightly heralded by the church, and is important to our understanding of who God is and what He has done for us in and through the person of His Son, Jesus.

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John 1

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

In the year 451, Christian leaders from around the world met to consider an important question about Jesus. Over one hundred years before, at the Council of Nicea, they had answered another very important question: Is Jesus God? Yes, they answered. Jesus is God. But that gave rise to another question: How can God become a man? What does that look like? Does Jesus cease being God because He becomes a man? Or did He remain God in His incarnation and His humanity was essentially a façade?

This was the question that the Christians who gathered at the Council of Chalcedon met to answer. And they formulated their answer in what is known today as The Chalcedonian Definition or The Chalcedonian Creed. I would like you to hear their answer, but, before I read their answer, a plea: Do not be overwhelmed. Do not be discouraged. This was written a long, long time ago. The language is going to sound strange. Yet, this is important, and we need to remember the good work of these Christians.

Here is what they said:

We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body; consubstantial with us according to the manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the virgin Mary, the mother of God, according to the manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets from the beginning have declared concerning him, and the Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.[1]

Now, as I said, that is a mouthful to be sure! But I would like to say something to us this morning: This strange and wordy statement is our inheritance and I want to show that it is a very valuable inheritance indeed! I want to show this: The Christians at Chalcedon were correct and their essential formulation matters. It is this: Jesus has two natures in one person and is fully God and fully man.

I believe that the Chalcedonian definition is fundamentally biblical and strong and true. But I do believe that maybe there is an easier way for us to understand why it is important that Jesus be fully God and fully man, having two natures in one person. And the way I would like to do this is by arguing three things:

1. Jesus had something to accomplish as man.
2. Jesus had something to accomplish as God.
3. But to accomplish these things, it was necessary that Jesus be fully God and fully man, one person with two natures.

Let us consider these three assertions.

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Matthew 25

¹⁴ “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶ He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. ¹⁷ So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. ¹⁸ But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹ Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ²² And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ²⁴ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, ²⁵ so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ ²⁶ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? ²⁷ Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. ²⁹ For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

I love a good sermon illustration. I remember some of the better ones I heard as a kid long ago. A good illustration rightly placed can help drive home a gospel truth in a powerful way. Maybe that is why Jesus told so many stories!

One of the most memorable illustrations I have ever heard is actually a modern one. It was shared on May 20, 2000, in Memphis by John Piper. I am speaking of his famous “seashell” illustration. A Gospel Coalition article entitled “How John Piper’s Seashells Swept Over a Generation” recounts what Piper told his audience that day.

Three weeks ago, we got news at our church that Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards were killed in Cameroon. Ruby Eliason—over 80, single all her life, a nurse. Poured her life out for one thing: to make Jesus Christ known among the sick and the poor in the hardest and most unreached places.

Laura Edwards, a medical doctor in the Twin Cities, and in her retirement, partnering up with Ruby. [She was] also pushing 80, and going from village to village in Cameroon. The brakes give way, over a cliff they go, and they’re dead instantly. And I asked my people, “Is this a tragedy?”

Two women, in their 80s almost, a whole life devoted to one idea—Jesus Christ magnified among the poor and the sick in the hardest places. And 20 years after most of their American counterparts had begun to throw their lives away on trivialities in Florida and New Mexico, [they] fly into eternity with a death in moment. “Is this a tragedy?” I asked.

The crowd knew the answer, calling out, “No!”

“It is not a tragedy,” Piper affirmed. “I’ll read you what a tragedy is.”

He pulled out a page from Reader’s Digest…

‘Bob and Penny . . . took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball, and collect shells.’

“That’s a tragedy,” he told the crowd.

And there are people in this country that are spending billions of dollars to get you to buy it. And I get 40 minutes to plead with you—don’t buy it. With all my heart I plead with you—don’t buy that dream. . . . As the last chapter before you stand before the Creator of the universe to give an account with what you did: “Here it is, Lord—my shell collection. And I’ve got a good swing. And look at my boat.”

“Don’t waste your life,” he said, the words quietly tucked in before he barreled into another memorable anecdote, this one about a plaque in his home featuring C. T. Studd’s poem, “Only one life, twill soon be past / Only what’s done for Christ will last.”[1]

I encourage you to go to YouTube, type in “Piper seashells” and listen. It is indeed a powerful moment! And it is a powerful moment because it powerfully presses home something we know to be true: that it is possible to waste the life that God has given you and it is possible also to use it for great good.

In Piper’s story, he contrasts Ruby and Laura. In Jesus’ story of the talents he contrasts the faithful servants who made much of what they had been given and the unfaithful servant who squandered it.

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Philippians 2

⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

There is a truly haunting photograph of a young lady looking out of a manhole cover in the city of Bucharest.

She lives down there, along with thousands of young people and small children who have been forgotten, abandoned. One man, John Nolan, a Christian who became heartbroken when he learned about the plight of poor children in Romania while in a prayer meeting, decided to go and do something about it. He went down underground to meet and get to know these young people. He speaks of his shock at the condition of these kids.

I remember meeting a boy who kept stubbing cigarettes out on his arm and another boy who was set on fire. These street children have no identities, no papers so they can’t get a job. They feel no one cares for them so they are nomads, ghosts, wandering the streets, high on glue. Many live in sewers, destitute, and because the police don’t go to check on them, some die.’[1]

A Christianity Today article speaks of another man who has determined to reach these children living underground.

As another cold night falls on the East European city of Bucharest, Marshall McKenna prepares to visit the hidden homes of the hundreds of Romanian street children.

Heading for a manhole on a side street, Marshall easily pulls away the heavy lid and quickly disappears down the ladder. Four yards below street level, the inky darkness closes in around him. But the young South African knows his way and walks on confidently.

After several minutes, someone ahead strikes a match and lights a candle. It’s Ionel in his winter nest, which is nothing more than a large, filthy blanket on the concrete floor. Ionel and countless other abandoned Romanian children seek shelter under the streets of Bucharest, keeping warm near the underground steam pipes that crisscross the city.[2]

This is just amazing to me: that a person would be so driven by concern, so driven by love for those hurting down below the surface, that they would look at a manhole cover and think, “Yes. I will go down there.” I do not suppose I have never looked at a manhole cover and thought, “Yes. I will go down there.” But these kindhearted people do. Why? Because they are followers of Jesus. And why does that matter? Because Jesus looked down upon our dark and rebellious and lost and wounded world and Himself said, “Yes. I will go down there.”

And this is even more amazing. It is one thing for a man to go beneath a manhole cover. It is another for God Himself to go down beneath the veil of tears into this fallen world. But that is exactly what Jesus did. And His coming down was so startling, so powerful, that Philippians 2:7 tells us that He “emptied himself” in order to do so.

That idea of “emptying himself”—the Greek word is kenōsis—is an idea about which theologians and interpreters of scripture have debated, but is an idea that we simply must get right. So what does kenōsis mean? What does it mean that Jesus “emptied himself” to come down to us?

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Matthew 25

¹ “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. ⁶ But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’⁷ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. ¹¹ Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ¹² But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

It is fascinating how often theology and theological concepts are picked up via popular songs and movies and stories. And it is fascinating and troubling to see how often some of these concepts are misinterpreted by our increasingly secular culture. Take, for instance, Johnny Cash’s popular and theologically-rich 2002 song, “The Man Comes Around.” It is a song about the coming of Jesus and it is just positively shot through with biblical images. I mean, bible images are just stacked one atop another in this song! In the refrain, Johnny Cash mentions that “the virgins are trimming their wicks.”

Now, if you grew up in church you likely knew that this line has at least something to do with the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25. But I was curious to know what others thought of these lyrics and the other lyrics of the song and so I searched online. It was…amazing! A large number of listeners sexualized these lyrics and took them in the strangest directions. Some took offense at what they saw as the politically incorrect message of this line and argued that the lyrics violate the tenets of the latest version of gender orthodoxy in our country. Some thought he was talking about women needing a man. A few had a general notion that he was talking about something out of the Bible.

Pretty amazing and troubling stuff! But this image of the virgins and their lamps is a powerful image and Jesus uses it to make some very important points. We need, in short, to get this right!

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Matthew 24

³² “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts t its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. ³⁴ Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. ³⁶ “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. ³⁷ For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴² Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. ⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know ⁵¹ and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Earlier, I provided a list of those who claimed, falsely, to be Jesus. One can also easily find long lists of dates that were equally falsely said to be the end of the world. Britannica.com has provided some of the more interesting of these bad predictions. Consider:

Johannes Stöffler, a respected German mathematician and astrologer, predicted that a great flood would cover the world on February 25, 1524, when all of the known planets would be in alignment under Pisces, a water sign. Hundreds of pamphlets announcing the coming flood were issued and set in motion a general panic; Count von Iggleheim, a German nobleman, went so far as to build a three-story ark. Though there was light rain on the day of the predicted flood, no actual flooding materialized.

Next, a more modern example that you might have heard of.

…Harold Camping has publicly predicted the end of the world as many as 12 times based his interpretations of biblical numerology. In 1992, he published a book, ominously titled 1994?, which predicted the end of the world sometime around that year. Perhaps his most high-profile prediction was for May 21, 2011, a date that he calculated to be exactly 7,000 years after the Biblical flood. When that date passed without incident, he declared his math to be off and pushed back the end of the world to October 21, 2011.

The strangest of all has to be this:

In 1806, a domesticated hen in Leeds, England, appeared to lay eggs inscribed with the message “Christ is coming.” Great numbers of people reportedly visited the hen and began to despair of the coming Judgment Day. It was soon discovered, however, that the eggs were not in fact prophetic messages but the work of their owner, who had been writing on the eggs in corrosive ink and reinserting them into the poor hen’s body.[1]

On and on it goes! You would think we would have learned by now: We cannot guess the day and time of the return of Jesus! But that does not mean we do not know anything. Let us hear what Jesus says about how we should think of these things and what we should be doing as we await His return.

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John 8

⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” ⁵⁷ So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” ⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” ⁵⁹ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

One of the more colorful military leaders in American history was World War II General George S. Patton. And perhaps the most colorful of his attributes was his belief in reincarnation and his repeated assertions, upon arriving in different locations in Europe during the war, that he had been on this or that battlefield or in this or that city in a previous life. On a veteran’s site, “Together We Served,” there is an article about this that explains:

Among the many warriors Patton thought he had been in a former life was a prehistoric mammoth hunter; a Greek hoplite who fought the Persians; a soldier of Alexander the Great who fought the Persians during the siege of Tyre; Hannibal of Carthage whose brutal tactics enforced loyalty among his troops and power over his enemies; a Roman Legionnaire under Julius Caesar who served in Gaul (present-day France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine); the Roman Soldier who pierced Jesus’ heart with a spear; an English knight during the Hundred Years War; and a Marshal of France under Napoleon.[1]

An article at History.com offers this fascinating observation:

Before the 1943 invasion of Sicily, British General Harold Alexander told Patton, “You know, George, you would have made a great marshal for Napoleon if you had lived in the 19th century.” Patton replied, “But I did.” The general believed that after he died he would return to once again lead armies into battle.[2]

Well. Ok then.

Most of us likely find this idea either shocking or irritating or amusing or concerning, this notion of pre-existence, when it is applied to a human being. We can handle our friends’ quirks, but, honestly, what do we do with a friend who suggests he personally served under Napoleon?

And yet, all of this pales in comparison to something Jesus said once, something so shocking and, indeed, so offensive to His audience that they attempted to kill Him upon hearing it. It is found in John 8. Listen to this:

^56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” ⁵⁷ So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” ⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” ⁵⁹ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

I would like to suggest to you that what Jesus is saying here is infinitely more shocking and more surprising than what Patton said. And what Jesus says here holds the key to the significance of the Christmas season.

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