Gospel of Luke – Witkowski Blog

baby-4258530_1920 Only baby Jesus explains why Christmas is good when people are not.

But biblical truth cannot restrain the imagination of pop culture. Books, movies, and songs seek to transform the divine message of Christmas into secular terms that all can embrace.

The Whos down in Whoville attribute the magic of Christmas to the power of community. Frosty the snowman ascribes the power of Christmas to the magic of the seasons. And, Fred Clause celebrates the holiday because there is no longer a naughty list

While these sentimental messages that connect with hearts, they fail to minds. The beauty of Christmas music can be destroyed by Kevin’s of the world whose sibling rivalries result in the school pianist being decked by an oversized Christmas tree. Many winters have come and gone since Karen meet Frosty. But no one else has seen Professor’s Hinkle’s hat. And for every misunderstood Fred, there are the water bandits, Marv and Harry, who enjoy impersonating police officers, attacking kids, and stealing from charities.

Pop culture struggles to explain the magic of Christmas because the Christmas is ultimately not magical season. It is miraculous season.

Christians celebrate Christmas because a tiny baby was miraculously born. Luke 1:27-38 recounts how God told Mary that she would have a son. The verifiable virgin conceived a son prior to marriage and prior to sleeping with anyone. As Mary told the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin? (Lk. 1:34b)” The short answer is God through the Holy Spirit according to his power. Though unexplainable, the virgin birth was scientifically and historically verifiable. Luke credits his story as being “an orderly” account derived from eyewitness testimony (Lk 1:1-4).

Mary supernaturally had a baby boy. And, the baby born to Mary was not any ordinary baby. Mary calls her baby, “Jesus” (Lk 1:32). The name means God saves. The miraculous baby comes for a miraculous mission. He comes to save all those not nasty people who throw snowballs at little whos, who lock Frosty in a greenhouse, and who enjoy terrorizing a little kid left home alone. More importantly, Jesus comes to save people like you and me who struggle with very unChristmasy things such as pornography, pride, and gossip. He comes to save.

And this baby about to be born to an insignificant girl engaged to an insignificant guy living in an insignificant town can save people because he is God. Jesus is not some good teacher lighting the path of kindness for humanity. He is God in human flesh. Luke says, “He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.” In plain English this means, Jesus is great for he is God. As opposed to John the Baptist who “will be great before the Lord.” Jesus is simply great because he is God. Jesus is both fully God and fully man.

We should be thankful, Jesus is divine. For if he were not divine, he could only save one of us. He could trade his life for another life. But because Jesus is God, he can pay for the sins of every man and woman who repents and believes. He has the power of God to bring all of us to him.

But the question remains how?

The angel’s next words answers this question. He tells Marty that Jesus will sit on the throne of David forever. Though God, Jesus is also fully man which means he can rightfully lay claim to the throne of his great (many times over) grandfather David.

But this raise a problem. If Jesus can ascend to David’s throne, then he must also be mortal and capable of experiencing death as David had. Yet, the Luke 1:33 says “of his kingdom there will be no end.”

How does this work?

Jesus does die. Luke 23:46 recounts, “Then Jesus calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father into your hands I commit my spirit!”’ and having this he breathed his last.”

But he does not stay dead. Three days later Jesus defeats death. The angels tell us, “He is not here, but he is risen” (Lk 24:7). Jesus conquers death. He does the impossible. All who repent and believe gain access to the impossible. They can access to heaven, to life with God, to unbroken joy and glory. For the power the raised Jesus from the dead is the same power the guides all repenters to heaven. Colossians 2:11-14 sums up the joyousness of Christmas well stating,

In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Christmas continues to be worth celebrating because it reminds us that God does miracles. The blessed virgin conceives. And then the God-man, Jesus conquers death, bringing countless numbers of sad and messed up people to the heaven. This is the miraculous joy of Christmas that transcends human imagination. This is why we can relishes the goodness of the day even when people are not good. Jesus saves!

Why are you celebrating Christmas this year?

V…B…S…V…B…S…V…B…S

Hundreds of kids running around downing Jell-O incased gold fish is just one of the many things that make Vacation Bible School one of the craziest but most exciting events on the church calendar. As the week of crafts, games, and singing unfolds, Christian parents and youth have the chance to pour the gospel directly into the heart of kids. But as with all good church programs, Christians must actively work to keep VBS focused on preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.

The Purpose Of VBS

Several VBS publishers have begun to tailor their programs to church kids. These curriculums emphasize God’s love, obeying parents, or caring for schoolmates. They want kids to bounce out of the closing ceremony with a better understanding of how to be good Christian.

Though well intended, the move to make VBS into a summer camp-style-refresher course on the merits of moral living is not the best use of church resources. The people of God are called to be evangelistic. We are to follow Christ and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15). Our goal should not be to turn outreach programs into members’ only ministries. Not too long ago, the evangelical church redid Sunday school, changing it from a program designed to reach poor, inner-city kids into a muffin filled fellowship time for adults. Now I don’t think adult fellowship times are evil. But we must be careful not to become so focused on meeting our own needs that we close our eyes those outside our walls. One program that traditionally has had an outside focus is VBS. Let’s keep it focused on the Great Commission by inviting the community to attend.

Though reaching the community is hugely important, an effective VBS also needs a message that connects to those outside the church. If we call unsaved kids to be good without offering them the power of the gospel, we will confuse them in one of two ways. Either they will leave depressed because they cannot be meet the impossible standards of Jesus or they’ll leave a VBS t-shirt wearing Pharisee, who is convinced they can conquer sin through sheer will power. Let’s not leave kids hopeless or help them cover up their sin nature with some spiritual self-esteem. Let’s faithfully proclaim the gospel, trusting that God will work mightily!

Now when it comes to preaching the gospel this summer, we do not need to restrict it to an emotional display that climaxes with a pastor passionately asking kids to accept Jesus because “He will make everything better!” After all, who wouldn’t sign up for their best life now by repeating the short phrases of a sinners’ prayer?

A better option is to make all of VBS be about the gospel. We should choose curriculums or create programs that help the kids singing in our pews to understand the depths of their sin. Then, we direct these energetic souls to Christ who has paid for their sin. We offer them the hope of eternal life while reminding them that to gain true life they must abandon their self-centeredness. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24).

What About The Church Kids?

Now some might be concerned that a VBS focused on the gospel might fail to connect with the church kids. First, we need to remember that our good church kids might not be saved. They could be all about the nice things in life because they hope their mission’s offerings and Sunday school attendance will get them into heaven. Second, we need to remember that our goal is not to help kids pretend that they don’t need a savior. Even saved children still need to be reminded of the cross and of their need to depend on Christ alone as the live they Christian life. “The cure for kids who feel burdened by sin is not to ignore the topic (they feel the burden anyway, even if that aren’t talking about it), but to administer large doses of the good news so that their faith Jesus grows” (Klumpenhower, p. 39). The gospel is relevant for every kid regardless of how many times they went to Sunday school.

This summer, let’s make the VBS all about the gospel!