Full Redemption (Christmas Eve)

[Read Luke 1:46-55 & Revelation 11:15-19]

We should find ourselves—as a nation—in a season of humility. We have been facing a situation that is unlike any in our lifetime. There has been a plague causing difficulty across the globe. There has been—and continues to be—civil unrest in our nation. These things SHOULD humble us. They should force us to recognize our own inability—our own weakness.

Yet, the opposite has happened. Our current situation hasn’t brought us to a place of humility—it has stirred hearts with pride and self-righteousness. Why? Because we live in a world that has rejected our God. 

This past week I was reminded of a German philosopher named Friedrich Nietzsche. He is well known for proclaiming that God is dead and that humanity killed Him. He boasted that Christianity would be dead within the next century because they promoted caring for the weak and vulnerable—they promoted humility. He said what the world needed was a Superman—a strong man, a dominating man. THAT—according to Nietzsche—was how we would move forward as a people. 

This is all you have once you turn away from God. If there is no God, you CANNOT humble yourself because then you’ve made yourself vulnerable and there’s nobody to protect you. You have to continually exalt yourself and raise yourself up for your own protection. THIS is why we refuse to humble ourselves. 

Yet, God works in very different ways. After Mary finds out she will be having a child, she visits Elizabeth and then breaks out in a song/prayer. It’s known as the Magnificat. At the beginning she says, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.” (Luke 1:46–49, NIV). She begins by praising God for looking on her humble state. Mary recognized that she didn’t deserve to give birth to Jesus. She wasn’t chosen for this task because she was a big deal. All generations will call Mary blessed BECAUSE GOD did a great thing for her. 

This has been the repeated theme throughout these messages. God works in humble ways. He uses humble people—people who are NOT a big deal and are NOT trying to make themselves a big deal. We also see this in Jesus. In Philippians it says that Jesus HUMBLED himself by being born human. Not only did Jesus humble himself, but—like I mentioned a couple weeks ago—his birth and the proclamation of his birth were humble. God works through humble means. 

And yet, Mary has some things to say that may sound different. She praises God saying, “He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.” (Luke 1:51–52, NIV). God works through humble means but he does mighty deeds. She praises God for bringing down the high and lofty and scattering those who are proud in their hearts. That doesn’t sound very humble, does it?

Interestingly, God lowers the proud by showing grace and mercy to the humble. God humbles the proud by having Jesus born of humble Mary. God humbles the proud by placing the humble in the high places—showing the proud that their pride has accomplished nothing. Not only does God work through humble means, but He does MIGHTY deeds through humble means. 

But you might also read what Mary is saying and think to yourself, “That’s not quite right, is it? God actually didn’t scatter the proud. God didn’t bring down the rulers from their thrones. Herod still ruled. Pilate still ruled. Caesar still ruled. The Pharisees were still in authority. Why is she saying this?” Then Mary says more that could cause you to wonder. She says, “He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.” (Luke 1:53–55, NIV). 

Remember, she is saying all of these things BEFORE Jesus was even born BUT she is saying all these things in light of Jesus’ conception. Since Jesus has been conceived and will be born into the world, she says that God has thrown down the proud, that God has brought down rulers, that God has filled the hungry, that God has shown Israel the salvation He had promised. She is saying all these things before Jesus was born. 

And, even after Jesus was born and lived and died, we don’t see these things fully, do we? Evil rulers still exist. Proud people still succeed. Hungry people are still hungry. Many still reject the Savior. 

Yet, Mary recognized one important thing: Jesus’ birth was the beginning of ALL these things. Jesus’ birth marked the beginning of rulers being thrown down, the humble being exalted, the hungry being filled, and salvation extending to the ends of the earth. It was just the beginning, but she KNEW it would extend beyond their current reality to something much greater. 

And that GREATER is what we see in Revelation 11. In this passage, we see a powerful statement followed by another song that is very similar to Mary’s Song. Yet this song is not sung by a single person, it’s sung by the people of God in heaven. They sing, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small— and for destroying those who destroy the earth.” (Revelation 11:17–18, NIV). Just as Mary praised God for his powerful work and for his merciful action, the church in heaven is praising God for bringing about the fullness of Jesus’ redemption. They are singing this song in response to a powerful statement that came before it, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15, NIV). THIS is what Mary saw at Jesus’ conception. She saw the kingdom of God being fulfilled in the earth—the kingdom of this world becoming the Kingdom of God. She saw the Kingdom of God fully established and lasting forever.

Yet, don’t forget that this kingdom comes humbly. This kingdom comes through a humble, young virgin. This kingdom comes from a Savior born in a stable, placed in a manger, announced to nobodies. This kingdom comes NOT through the rich and powerful and mighty, but through the humble and lowly. This Kingdom comes through God’s powerful, merciful action in his people. This kingdom comes in humble ways that we can’t even imagine at times—that are completely unexpected to us. 

YET, the Kingdom is still coming. Just like Mary, we may not be able to see the fullness of that kingdom in our present day, BUT we CAN see that it’s coming. We can see that God is exalting the humble and lowering the proud. We can see that God is overturning evil rulers. We can see the hungry being filled. We can see God’s redemption spreading throughout all the earth. 

This Kingdom comes as people humble themselves and look to this humble Savior for salvation. We cannot forget that as we celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus. He humbled himself even to the point of death, in order to bring salvation into the world. Anyone who humbles themselves, refuses to trust in themselves for salvation, but trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, will be forgiven of their sins, welcomed into the family of God, and begin to experience the JOY of living in God’s Kingdom. 

Yet, we must also not forget that Jesus’ salvation is much broader than just our individual salvation—His Kingdom spread much further. As the popular Christmas hymn says, “[Jesus] comes to make his blessings flow

far as the curse is found.” The curse of sin has spread throughout every aspect of creation—throughout the kingdom of this world. But the beautiful reminder of Jesus’ birth is that the salvation he brought will cover every corner that has been infected with sin. One day, when Jesus comes again, he will destroy the destroyers, and we will be able to shout with the rest of the Redeemed, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15, NIV).