“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory” (John 1:1-3,14).

Mark’s gospel says absolutely nothing about Jesus’ birth.

Matthew provides us no details about the actual birth either but informs us of the visit of the Magi and the terrible massacre of the sons of Bethlehem that followed.

Luke is filled with rich details that complete the Christmas story we all love to hear. The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the manger, swaddling clothes, Simeon and Anna, frightened shepherds and singing angels. All these details come from Luke’s Nativity narrative.

Then there’s John who’d certainly read Luke & Matthew but decided to go back to “the beginning,” beyond creation, to unveil the true identity of this “barn-born baby.” John introduces us to Jesus as “The Word,” our Creator, the true God through whom all things were made.

Then comes verse 14. John drops a beautiful truth bomb on us as he tells us, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

Just to be clear, when we look at the infant held by Mary and protected by Joseph, we’re seeing God at the very moment He “incarnated” (“took on flesh.”) Charles Wesley’s Advent Hymn says it best:

“Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see;

Hail th’incarnate deity,

Pleased as man, with man to dwell,

Jesus, our Emmanuel.”

Well said Charles … “WORD!!!!”

God didn’t “send” us a Savior. God came in person to “become” our Savior.

I don’t understand this, but oh, how I LOVE it.

I remember as a young Christian reading through Isaiah and running into the passage where God says, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights” (Isaiah 42:1). I recall the feeling of despair that welled up in my chest as I said to myself, “I want to be that kind of a servant of the Lord, but I can’t!” As I continued reading, I realized an amazing truth: “This is not about me! It’s about Jesus!” As I began to understand that Jesus was the perfect Servant on my behalf, fulfilling what I never could, so that God’s soul would delight in me by His grace, my despair turned to joy and worship.

While I came to see that this particular passage was about Jesus, I did not yet understand then that the news was much better than I could imagine. Not only was this passage about Jesus; the whole Bible is about Jesus! After His resurrection, Jesus met two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus. They didn’t recognize Him and were dejected because Christ had been killed. But we read that Jesus rebuked them for their unbelief and then “…Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (Luke 24: 27).

The reality that allows our hearts to rejoice as we open the Word is that all of Scripture is about Christ.

We read in the gospel of John that Jesus is the eternal Word of God (John. 1:1,14). Since that’s the case, we should not be surprised to find that the primary goal of the written Word of God is to reveal to us the eternal Word, Jesus.

Now, many Christians have known since Sunday school that “Jesus” is the right answer to every question. Jesus is the hero of the Bible, the One who sets right all that was wrong, the One who rescues us. When we look at the Bible as a whole story—of creation, fall, redemption and restoration—we see that Jesus is the hero. But as pastors who seek to faithfully exposit the Word of God, the question for us becomes: Do our sermons reflect this wonderful, Christ-centered bearing of the Scriptures?

Who is the hero in our sermons? Sadly, too often, we present the Christian as the hero of the sermon rather than Christ.

Of course, none of us would ever say that we are the hero of the story. But when sermons are preached that put us and what we do center stage—our faithfulness, our courage, etc.—rather than Jesus and what He has done, we are essentially telling people that they are the hero. Just think of how many sermons you’ve heard (or preached!) about this or that Old Testament saint, his example of faith, and then the exhortation is given that we are to have faith like this saint. That is all true, but if our sermons end there, we have put our listeners and ourselves in the role of the hero. To summarize a challenge presented by Tim Keller: “If you can preach your sermon in a synagogue without getting chased out, it is not a Christian sermon.” I love that. If our sermons are just calls to emulate this or that spiritual virtue, we are not truly preaching Christian sermons. We don’t just need generic calls to “be faithful” or apply some bit of biblical advice to our lives. We need Christ Himself and nothing less.

The only possible result of putting the Christian at the center of our sermons rather than Christ is self-condemnation or self-reliance—neither of which is pleasing to God. For example, when we read about the story of Samson and are cautioned not to follow his foolish ways, to recognize the traps of the enemy, where lust takes us, etc.—these things are all true. But they are not enough to transform us. One person might acknowledge himself as being in the place of Samson and feel condemned with every word about Samson’s foolishness. Another will see the example of Samson and feel like he or she is better than that, or at least can be better than that, and will set about with a sense of resolve to be better. That will last a few days until this believer falls into one or the other temptation, and then he will join in the group of the self-condemned.

We need much more than an example. If that were all we needed, Christ’s coming would be unnecessary.

While the warnings in Samson’s story are very real, we must move beyond that and learn to see in this story the better Samson, Jesus, the One to whom all Scripture points. Like Samson, in Christ, we see a miraculously born Son upon whom the Spirit of the Lord came to raise Him up as a Deliverer for God’s people. He was faced with temptation but, contrary to Samson, overcame. He also gave Himself to be bound and led away for the sake of the ones He loved, and ultimately, gave His own life to destroy the enemies of God. Samson entered into sin and compromise not because he just needed to “be on guard,” but because he had turned sex and relationships into a false god. He believed that this would fill his desire for love and pleasure.
But when we see the truly loving Spouse, Christ, who was taken captive for the sake of His bride and who gave His life to conquer our enemies—only that can truly free our hearts from lesser lovers, to be enraptured with the only One who can satisfy. What our people (and we ourselves) need is not just practical tips for Christian living or spiritual pep talks. We need to see the all-satisfying fullness of Christ to whom the Word points. And when we do see the greatness of His love and the glory of His Gospel, we are freed from both condemnation and self-reliance. May Christ be the hero of our sermons, for that is the kind of sermon, which will truly transform our hearts.

Cleopas and another disciple were deep in conversation as they walked the Roman road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Their steps were slow and labored. Their conversation was so intense that they hardly noticed the stranger who drew near to them and joined their dialogue.

The stranger immediately perceived their depression and inquired as to its source. To this the disciples responded, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” (Luke 24:18).

The men went on to explain how they had put their hope in the man Jesus, who had demonstrated the power of God in His Word, demeanor, and deeds. The disciples were further disillusioned when their own religious leaders arrested Christ and delivered Him over to death.

Then they explained to the stranger the newest additions to the story. Women, who they knew, had gone early that morning to the tomb and found it empty. The women reported seeing angels who asserted that Jesus was alive. Other disciples went to the tomb and found it empty, but did not see any angels.

The stranger then gently rebuked the confused disciples, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” Then the stranger (beginning at the books of Moses and continuing through the Old Testament) “expounded to them in all the Scripture the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:25-27).

They constrained the stranger to eat with them. At the table when the bread was broken, suddenly Cleopas and the other disciple recognized Him. It was Jesus. At that instance Jesus disappeared from their midst.

Jesus had led Cleopas and the other disciple through the Word while on the road to Emmaus. Jesus had showed them the surety of the Word of God. Jesus had expounded to them the Scriptures that He Himself fulfilled. It was only after the disciples had been in the Word that they were able to recognize Jesus.

Herein is the remedy for discouragement, disillusion, and depression: the examination of the Word of God. While meditating on His Word, there is the necessity of reviewing the fulfilled work of God, the promises of God, the principles of God, and the character of God. Only after returning to the Word of God does Jesus become visible, even in life’s most horrific circumstances.