The People Who Missed Christmas

You see, the problem of indifference is the problem of not realizing the state of sinfulness that I think there are many people miss Christmas today because of that they ignore Christ because in her mother since they don't care about the Savior because they don't understand that they need to be saying they don't understand that the wages of sin is that consequently they are the remedy because they don't even qualify the disease, and businesses put up decorations everywhere, companies of all kinds, from soft drinks to cell phones are running special Christmas promotions. So in a world that is saturated with holiday themed messages. How could anyone miss Christmas. Could you be in danger of making every mistake find out today on grace to you as John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University and seminary brings you special message titled the people who missed Christmas and now here's John with the message.

In spite of the media in spite of the public relations in spite of the advertising and in spite of all things that attract our attention. It seems to me that most people will miss Christmas with all the paraphernalia and the trappings around it. The simplicity of the birth of Christ is literally drowned in a sea of paganism say well I guess it's true that today people miss miss Christmas and all you have to do is look around, you know what busy doing all kinds of things but missing Christ were not something if you think it's something that happened today.

I want you to know where to go right back to the Bible that when Christmas happened in Bethlehem. Most people missed it, then to turn with me to Luke chapter 2 in verse seven, Luke chapter 2 in verse seven. I want you to think with me as we look at this truth. This is the story of course, in Luke to the birth of Christ, and I just want you to look at verse seven and were only going to pick out some highlights to illustrate this matter of the people who missed Christmas verse seven. Speaking of Mary, it says, and she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths really they were close at all. They were just long strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the snow. The first person that Miss Christmas was the innkeeper. The innkeeper miss Christmas.

It was right in front of him, but he missed he had to confront a pregnant woman and her husband, but he had no room for them, so he missed look back in verse seven she not only missed it by not letting the men to stay with him, but he missed it by being so indifferent that he doesn't even appear to have called for any help for Mary when she gave birth because verse seven is markedly concerned with a lonely birth, a lonely birth.

The innkeeper miss Christmas. What amazes me is that he missed it, even though it might happen on his own property and I begin to think about why miss Christmas simple answer, preoccupation seems best to me that seems to be preoccupation you say what you mean. While he was so busy I mean is in was full or his guest room was full or all of his little lean to's were full. Why because it was the census in Bethlehem and the city was bulging with everybody ready ancestry there and they were coming to the city, and since it was the city of David. Those who were in the line of David were there and that's why Joseph and Mary were there both coming from the line of David one through Solomon one through Nathan and so there they were in the city was bursting with people and he was busy caring for his guests in his house in whatever situation he was involved in, and he wasn't hostile and he wasn't unloving and he was an unsympathetic and he wasn't really indifferently he was just busy, just real busy. I guess there a lot of people like that. The chambers of their souls are filled with needless things fill the human interests there for all of the stuff that doesn't matter and they missed the Christ of God, the innkeeper listed is too busy look at your own life. Did you spend more time shopping and it did adoring Christ just been more money on stuff and you invested in his kingdom, and maybe you been in the trap to where the innkeeper was want you to meet another man who missed Christmas Matthew chapter 2. This man really missed and is very different than the innkeeper. He wasn't ignorant.

He was very well informed.

His name is Herod and believe me Herod missed Christmas Matthew 21 now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came, wise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born. I watched this King of the Jews. We have seen his star in the East and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. Verse seven then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared and he sent them to Bethlehem and said go and search diligently for the young child and when you found and bring me word again that I may come and worship him also. Not Herod pretended to want to worship Jesus Christ. But he was tremendously fearful because one had been born and was called the King of the Jews and it says there Herod.

Verse three the king was a king and what he knew that was born.

The king, he was afraid when it says he was trouble uses the word that means to be agitated stirred up shaken up. It is the idea of total panic. She panicked. He had no room for Jesus. Why fear fear.

He was afraid of. He was afraid of another king and when he heard a child was born. It was a be the king of the Jews. Verse 16 of chapter 2 says the Wiseman of course didn't come back and tell them so. He saw that he was mocked by the wise men. He was exceedingly angry and he sent forth any slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all its borders from two years old and under, and two years old, means anything from the first month you enter that second year to the fullness of that second year, and so they were slaughtered. All of these children in order to try to wipe out the child and as you know, God already warned Joseph and Mary and they had taken Jesus and fled to Egypt. Why did Herod miss Christmas fear jealous fear essay will surely there aren't any Herod left. Surely there are any people who slaughter people. There are around the world. Believe me, there are I think were realizing more and more about it man is depraved. There are always Herod's in any society, but I think there's a greater lesson for the mass of humanity than just to see this as Herod only because there are many many people who missed Christmas because of the same basic kind of fear that Herod had Herod's fear was that somebody else would take his throne. Herod wasn't about to let this little child interfere with his career with his position with his power with his ambition with his plans and with his lifestyle. He was not about to let somebody else to be the king and I guess I have seen as much is that as I have any other kind of reason for rejecting Christ, for there are people who want Jesus as a as a resource when they get into trouble.

There are people who want Jesus and sort of a nice spiritual friend there are people, or maybe even want Jesus to somebody to keep them out of hell but they're not interested in crowding in Lord about you. You said no to Jesus Christ in your life because you're afraid of the claim you lay on you because you want to be the Lord of your life. The master of your fate, the king of your little thin kingdom.

That's tragic. This kingdom is so much more glorious as 1/3 group that missed Christmas back in chapter 2 of Matthew verse four.

This is shocking. Herod heard from the Wiseman that this child was to be born, and boy he wanted to find out where immediately to put the child to death, and so we gathered verse for the chief priests and the scribes of the people together demanded of them were the Christ should be born, and they said to him in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet and I'll Bethlehem in the land of Judah art, not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of the show, governor, that shall rule my people Israel. He said he called all the experts together. The brain trust the theologians, the chief priests were the high priest the captain of the temple police and the best of all the priests out of all the orders with the great administrative skills in the great teaching skills and the great leadership skills. They had become the chief priests. They were the minds the brains. There was a theological minds of the day, the Sanhedrin, and the new Scriptures and their friends. The scribes who were the linguists and the interpreters and the ones of the culture and the history that surrounded the biblical data and the combination of all these men got together.

They said we know where the Messiah is to be born. They quoted Micah chapter 5 verse two that Old Testament prophet is said Bethlehem a new and what shocks me just shocks me. They never went there German. Think about that. They never went there essay is not surprising it is to me was the one thing the Jews had been looking for since Moses had said that would come one known is that profit what is the one person that they had looked for all the way through their history, a deliverer, and here they were under Roman oppression.

Always they had looked at for a deliver. They had long for such a one to come. It had been the great hope of all marriages. It had been the one that they had looked for the destiny of Israel was bound up in the coming deliver the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed, the greater son than David son than the one it would come and establish the kingdom.

The great hope of their hearts. The hunger in their breasts illustrated in the ministry of John the Baptist as they flocked to hear about one who was preparing the way for the Messiah and here were the brains of theology here were the ones who knew all and yet they never even bothered to walk 2 miles to 3 miles south of Bethlehem to find out for themselves if this was not the Messiah why why did the Sanhedrin miss Christmas at a way when were indifference, indifference, and care. Why were they indifferent will because of pride or if you're looking from the other angle because I didn't think they had a need where they need with the Savior what they need to the Messiah. They were all right.

The way they were. You see, the problem of indifference is the problem of not realizing the state of sinfulness that I think there are many people miss Christmas today because of that they ignore Christ because another sinful they don't care about the Savior because they don't understand that they need to be saved. They don't understand that the wages of sin is death. The sin plummets people into an eternal hell, they don't understand that.

So consequently they had no are the remedy because they don't even qualify the disease. The innkeeper missed Christmas because of ignorant preoccupation. Herod missed Christmas because of jealous fear. The Sanhedrin missed Christmas because of indifferent pride. Fourthly, Jerusalem missed Christmas is not amazing Jerusalem right there missed Christmas shack back to Luke chapter 2. Let me show you something in Luke chapter 2 verse eight there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night in Asia.

Lord came to them and you know the rest of the story. The angel told him what to do and the shepherds came and they saw the Christ child. In verse 20 says the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told of them out of the whole of Jerusalem society and all who got picked to tell us to shepherds and they came. No one else came that you know that. And if you read further in the narrative of Luke. You don't hear much beyond the shepherds, for example, in verse 25 of chapter 2 and behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon. There was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon and then he goes on to tell how Simeon waited for the consolation of Israel. Simeon was righteous and Simeon was devout and Simeon wanted to see the Messiah and Simeon didn't see the Messiah and he glorified God, and said I'm ready to die now there was a man that all know there was a lady to Anna. Verse 36 widow and she saw the Messiah and then in the end of verse 38 and she spoke of him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem and told a few others, but the sad thing is, listen people, the mass of Jerusalem missed Christmas totaling it happened a couple of miles away. It was the fulfillment of all their dreams and all their hopes it was that great event which was to change the destiny of the world, but they missed one of them is why Jerusalem is up to you.

I religion religion. There are very religious were so busy with their religion during at the ritual that they miss the reality while they had all these smaller festivals all are ceremonies all are washings. All of the rules and regulations, and laws and myriads of things in a grown up around their religious system that were not even biblical at all, all kinds of rules they had to keep in the midst of all their religion they never got the message or listen religion will damn you faster than anything else. If it's false religion, or if it's their true religion in the wrong way because religion gives you place to hide and think your spiritual Satan's ultimate ultimate disguise is as an angel of what of light and so Jerusalem missed Christmas while they were religious fifth. The Romans missed Christmas the room, disable the Romans what he meets most of this whole thing was set around the room and seeing Luke gives us that Matthew sets the scene around Herod the king of the Jews. Luke sets the scene around Caesar Augustus, because Luke is a Gentile and in Luke 21. There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus in the decree that everybody be tax was made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

And when that decree went out. That set in motion the events that made Christ born at Bethlehem.

In other words, the prophecy of Micah was really set in motion by a Gentile emperor named Caesar. He was the one who made the decree.

The Roman soldiers were the ones making sure the people did registering the people taking the census all through the life of Christ. The Romans are in the scene at all time at the death of Christ. He appears before Pilate is executed by the Romans the Romans lie about his resurrection, fabricating a story so as not to it all at the face the reality that he rose from the dead.

The Romans are woven all three of the biblical record but they all miss Christmas in one idolatry. They had their own goats Christ and fitting in their people in the world I get to the Buddhists missed Christmas there worshiping the wrong got all Jerusalem. They worship the right God. But in the wrong way and they missed it and you can be a Protestant.

And you can be in a church in miss it and some people just are just pagan and they miss Christmas not only because they worshiped Buddha or something else but they have their own gods but I don't think people worship the idols like they did then.

But I think we have our idols in our gods. Some people worship money. Some people worship sex.

Some people worship cars, materialism, boots, power houses, whatever prestige popularity fame and those of the pagan gods if that's what you're worshiping you miss Christmas, you may get some presence in your big dinner and see a tree but you miss. Finally, and maybe this is the saddest of all Nazareth missed Christmas Nazareth. It says in Matthew 223 that after Herod had died.

Joseph and Mary took the baby Jesus the child Jesus and went back to Nazareth and in the fourth chapter of Luke, a tragedy takes place. Finally, Jesus realizes it's time to tell the Nazarenes who is in verse 16 he came to Nazareth word been brought up in as his custom was, he went to the synagogue and the Sabbath day, and stood up to read that was delivered on to him. The book of the prophet Isaiah, and when he opened the book, he found the place where it was written and this was his message he was declaring who he was. The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those that are bruised to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and he closed the book and gave it to the minister, and sat down in the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him and he began to say to them, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

He said I am the Messiah. Later that was a messianic Scripture from Isaiah. He said I'm the fulfillment of Isaiah 61 and was the reaction in the old boring witness and wondered, and they said is not this Joseph's son is he kidding. This is Joseph's son in verse 24 he said, verily I say and do you know prophet is accepted in his own country, you know why Nazareth missed Christmas familiarity, familiarity, and know them so well wasn't special, that is a deadly thing people.

Whenever I come across somebody who's not a Christian and I asked them if they've known of Christ. They say oh yeah, I was raised in that, but I'm not a Christian, a fear grips my heart because familiarity strangles conviction. You've heard it so many times so many Christmas stories so many Christmases so many sermons so many Bible lessons. Familiarity breeds contempt. And so in Mark 66. The rather pensive tragic word, he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages teaching. He marveled at Nazareth's unbelief and by the way, beloved in Matthew 1358 it says he did not many wonderful works there because of their unbelief. You know what happened in Luke chapter 4 at the end of the chapter. When Jesus got done with his message in the synagogue. It says they grabbed and they took them out to the cliff on the edge of the town to throw them off the Christian to death for blaspheming, but he passed through their midst. Miraculously, they would kill. That's what I call missing Christmas all of the deadliness of familiarity with Christmas truth breeds a stony heart.

I'm telling you, you better respond while your heart is soft or your heart will become hard and you won't have the opportunity to respond. Some of you been raised in Christianity. Raised in a Christian home and you never responded to Jesus Christ and if you keep pardoning your heart. You never will listen. There lots of reasons why people miss Christmas and miss it because of ignorant preoccupation, they miss it because of jealous fear they miss it because of prideful indifference. They miss it because of religious ritual. They miss it because of false gods and the even miss it because of being so you're with. But behind all of those reasons is one basic reason unbelief. They will believe they refuse to believe so said Jesus came into the world and the world. What received him not. John says the world was made by in the world doing but then he says this in the first chapter of John XII verse, but Marcus, this is the turning point, but as many as what received to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Whatever your excuse. What ever the reason you've been missing Christmas.

If you receive Christ and believe Christmas will become a reality in your life. It could happen today. That's between you and God.

That's John MacArthur, Pastor, author and Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary. John is currently showing you how to avoid being one of the people who missed Christmas.

Today's lesson focused on what is probably life's greatest tragedy to encounter the life-giving truth of Jesus and yet not embrace it and John. Even though nonbelievers are responsible for their sin and how they respond to the salvation message.

I know that you would say that Christians need to be sure they're making the truth clear you feel that is so important. I was reading a survey just this week that said 50% of professing Christians believe you're saved by works 50% of professing Christians believe you're saved by works well when the Bible says salvation is by grace through faith not of works, the negative couldn't be any stronger. The current sort of mega-church should dominance of evangelical Christianity has among other things left people very confused about the gospel is the messages and all those churches are so driven at the person they're all people centered not God centered, not Christ centered.

So you have people who think they're Christians who basically hold to damning heresy that you're saved by works is one thing to reject the gospel is something else to think you accepted it when it wasn't even the gospel, so we need clarity if we need anything.

Certainly, because you gotta get that message right so we wants to let you know that we have some tools that will help you get it right. This is so important for your own eternal soul. And for those that you influence the book. I've been mentioning. I remind you about God's gift of Christmas. This will give you the gospel in a beautiful hundred and 20 page gift book that you can give to friends its title God's gift of Christmas available from us. The MacArthur study Bible. If you don't have a MacArthur study, but we need to get one.

It's the flagship resource.

The word of God with 25,000 footnotes that help you explain the meaning of any and every passage of Scripture and then I would suggest another gift for Christmas one perfect life. This is never been done before it takes the four Gospels and blends them together everything that Scripture says about Christ weaves it into continuous chronological narrative. So great news.

By the way, all of our resources are currently on sale. We discounted our prices by 25%. Sale ends next week so take advantage of those prices today. God's gift of Christmas, the MacArthur study Bible in one perfect life. Yes friend.

This is a great time to get your Christmas shopping done and give those you love gifts that will have a spiritual impact to order God's gift of Christmas, the MacArthur study Bible one perfect life or another Bible related resource all at 25% off the regular price. Get in touch today call our toll-free customer service line 855 grace or visit our website Jide TY.org again during this limited time sale God's gift of Christmas, the MacArthur study Bible one perfect life in nearly all of our Bible study tools are 25% off the normal price and shipping is still free order when you call 855 grace or visit Jide TY.org and as we get into the last two months of the year. Just a reminder that much of our annual budget is met by gifts we received during November and December. Your year in support helps keep verse by verse teaching on radio in your community and in communities around the world. It also allows us to distribute thousands of free books or CDs by mail each month as well as maintain our website with its thousands of sermon downloads and much more to express your support call 855 grace or give at our website, TY.org now for John MacArthur. I'm Phil Johnson.

Remember to look for grace to you television every Sunday and then be here next week when John examines the attitudes and actions that should characterize every follower of Christ.

It's another half hour of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on grace to you