Chuck Larsen

Every Christmas pageant in the world has the three kings of “orient are…” They are bearing gifts that they’ve brought from afar! (Or something like that!). My grandson, Zeke, (4 years old) played one of the wise men. He didn’t know which one. I asked him, “are you Balthazar?” He said no. I asked if he was “Melchior?” He said no. I asked him if he was “Gasper.” He said no. Those are the traditional names of the three wise men. Zeke didn’t know which one he was playing, but he sure did make a cute looking little wise man don’t you think. We called him the “wise guy.” He didn’t appreciate that. (see the picture at www.chucklarsen.com along with a picture of the two wise men from our preschool Christmas program)

There were many contrasts involved in the Christmas story; Nazareth, the nothing spot and Bethlehem, the city of the great King, Shepherds from the nearby hillsides and Kings from very far away. They came bearing gifts. Everyone knows what the three gifts were. One child said they were “Gold, frankincense and smurfs.” The Gold was expressing great value. From that day to ours it has increased incredibly in value and still represents one of the most solid economic investments of the day. They key to understanding this gift is its value and beauty. Nothing was more pleasing to the eye. Frankincense was about the nose. The Hebrew word for frankincense is(usually translated INCENSE by NIV. It derives from a root meaning “white.” When the gum first exudes from the bark, it is of an amber color; later when removed from the tree, the resin produces a white dust on its surface. The gum, when warmed and burned, produces a sweet, pleasant odor. It’s primary value is it’s fragrance. The same is true for Myrrh. But the key to Myrrh was not its odor. In addition to being offered to Jesus shortly after His birth, myrrh was also offered to Him at the time of His death (Mk 15:23). Historically, myrrh was utilized cosmetic purposes but also for medicinal purposes.

The words “myrrh and balm” are sometimes synonymous. It’s the healing characteristic that’s most unique. There is a “balm” in Gilead that soothes the sin-sick soul! Wise men and those with sin-sick souls still seek him.

Chuck
“Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11

When I tell stories, or use illustrations, to clarify biblical truth in my sermons, I’m often told that even the kids understand them. Telling stories is the primary method that Jesus used to communicate truth to his listeners.  I expect that even some of the youngest kids in his audiences were able to understand much of what he taught while many adults would miss the point. Jesus explained that he often taught in stories because “seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matthew 13:13).

Mental blindness and deafness is one of the most devastating effects of sin. Many people may hear the same story, parable, and come away with different responses. Everyone will acknowledge that the Christmas story is a beautiful story. It’s eloquent, imaginative and interesting. It will be told in thousands of churches across this country in the weeks ahead, yet many will not see the significance and will miss the personal point of application. It is the same today as it was in Jesus’ day. I’m occasional told how appropriate my sermon was for some absent person. I always wonder if it touched them. We hear and yet don’t get it. We see, yet don’t perceive. It’s part of our fallen nature. We tend to hear what we want to hear, and we tend to see what we want to see. We become so single focused that we miss the point. There are some fascinating pictures that are drawn in such a way that we tend to see it only one way. But the truth is, it has something more to it than meets the eye. We tend to see what we want to see. Can you see the baby in this picture? (www.chucklarsen.com)

The secret is to look at the picture in a different way. When we learn to think outside the box, or to look outside the framework of what immediately meets the eye, we can see it from a new perspective. This is why Jesus taught in parables. A parable is a picture that must be looked at in various ways to get the message. The value of a good story, or parable, is that they have a way of sneaking past the defenses of the heart and striking us with previously unseen truth. At the same time, the truths are hidden from those who cannot change their focus. They will always see just what they want to see and nothing more. The Story of Christmas is about my sinfulness, God’s love, His sacrifice, and my redemption! God so loved me, that He sent the most perfect present of all times; His own son to die for my sins.

Chuck
“With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.” Mark 4:33

Christmas and the Kingdom of Heaven are for children. Jesus made it clear that “unless you turn and become like these little ones, you will never enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 18:3). At the same time the Bible exhorts us not to think like children. Paul tells the Corinthians “do not be children in your thinking…but in your thinking be mature.” (1 Corinthians 14:20) Many who grow up in Christian homes and are taught the Bible from their earliest years lose their faith in School, in the work place, or in the Military. They become exposed to sophisticated philosophical systems that leave no room for what they’ve been taught at home or in the church. When this happens the awe and wonder of the world goes away. Everything that captures the imagination and hearts of children is reduced to a scientific formula of what and how. There’s an obsession with the “what” and a passionate search for the rationale of “how” things work in the world. But the glorious Biblical “why” the world is as it is and why mankind, and ourselves as individuals, are in the mortal state that we’re in. The Message of the Bible is the only legitimate answer to the why questions of life.

Saint Augustine is famous for saying, “I do not understand in order that I might believe, rather, I believe in order that I might understand.” It all must begin with Childlike faith, but it must go on to mature understanding of the tenants of the faith. A child might readily accept the Christmas story of the virgin birth of Jesus as described in the Gospels, but it’s not until they understand the “why” that their faith grows to a mature level. We must teach our children the “whats and hows” of faith in their early years but then expand the teaching to reach them with the why level so that their faith will become stronger not weaker when confronted with atheistic and agnostic doctrines in the world.

The virgin birth of Jesus was absolutely essential to the fulfillment of the role for which he came into the world. We are all sinners. The Bible presents the sins of mankind as blotches, stains, breaks, scars, flaws, welts, and numerous other images all of which present the reality of man’s imperfection. Yet the only acceptable sacrifice for the sins of man must have been a perfect sacrifice. One commentator puts it this ways, “He would be ‘holy’ from the womb.… His name was to be Jesus … denoting Him as Savior. The holiness of Jesus is here put in connection with His miraculous conception, and surely rightly. In no case in the history of mankind has natural generation issued in a being who is sinless, not to say superhuman.”

Chuck
“When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:18