Baby Jesus Didn’t Stay That Way

What a quiet, peaceful scene. The Baby Jesus born in a stable, visited by angels, shepherds and wise men. Proud and loving, Mary and Joseph watched over the newborn. But what happened later?

What’s the end of the story? What does his real Father—God himself—say about his Son? Practical teaching from a practical God: seven absolute, revealed, propositional truths about Jesus Christ, the One born in a manger, the One who later bought by his blood.

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” Hebrews 1:1-3.

Jesus is the Heir

Jesus is the heir of all things. Everything that belongs to God legitimately belongs to Jesus Christ. Everything of the Father’s is his Son’s.

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15-11). “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:1-2). “My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). Those words all fell from the lips of the heir of all things.

It is all his to give to us. It is promised. Romans 8:15-17 describes us: “you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

Ron Dunn tells about a time when his children were small and he took them to a carnival. He bought a long string of tickets, rolled them around his hand and passed them out to the kids whenever they discovered something they wanted to do. He said, “I stood right at the gate where the ticket taker was, and I gave out tickets to my kids, one at a time, as they went by. There was a little tow headed guy who came by. I said, ‘I never saw you before.’ The little fellow said, ‘He said if I asked, you would give me a ticket.’ I looked over in the direction he pointed and there was my son.” Ron Dunn then said, “I would have, at that moment, given my whole roll of tickets to that kid for the sake of my son.” Christ is the heir of all things. For his sake you can have all the things he promised.

Jesus is the Creator

Jesus is the creator of all things. “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” (John 1:1-3).

Words have true power and authority. Jesus of Nazareth is the Word of God—the creator of all that is.

We don’t understand the power and the authority of words in our time, certainly not in a biblical sense. We say, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” but the opposite is true.

Words have true power and authority. Jesus of Nazareth is the Word of God—the creator of all that is.

When you look at the sunset and the falling snow; when you stand at the edge of the ocean and watch the waves; when you hear the thunder and see the lightning, it is all family business. Your elder brother, Jesus Christ, created it all.

Jesus is the Reflector

Jesus is the reflector of God himself. Jesus reflects God. It is the same idea expressed by Matthew, the tax collector: “He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:2). Jesus is to God what light is to shining. At that first Christmas, as a baby, Jesus came in a disguise. Some day, we will stand before his throne and say, “Didn’t he shine! Didn’t he shine!”

Jesus is the Revealer

Jesus is the revealer of God’s nature. Jesus is the very stamp of God’s nature. Jesus is like the seal, which is God. He is the impress made when a coin is created. Jesus manifests the very essence of God. When you look at him, you know God’s very nature. When Jesus came, no one had to ask, “Who is that?” Jesus accurately represents God. The great question of the universe is not over the existence of God. The question is what is he like? God is like Jesus. Jesus cares. Jesus is kind. Jesus is loving. Jesus is understanding. Jesus is for you.

Jesus is the Upholder

Jesus is the upholder of all things. Jesus got the entire universe going. He keeps it going too.

Someone tells the story of a woman listening to a scientist’s lecture. He said, “Our universe, as we know it, is going to be destroyed in three billion years.” The woman jumped to her feet and asked, “What did you say?” He repeated his statement. She sat back down and, with great relief, said, “Thank God. I thought you said three million years!”

I worry about my money, my future, my sin and my family, but I don’t worry about the universe. He who started the universe is perfectly capable of keeping it all going. When I begin to worry, God then shows me the stars, the moon, the mountains, the valleys and the universe. He says, “If I can keep all of that going, don’t you think I can keep you going?”

Jesus is the Purifier

Jesus is the purifier of his people’s sin. The Gospel is good news. You don’t have to be guilty. You can be forgiven because of what Jesus did for you. That is the first part of the Gospel. The second part of the Gospel is that you don’t have to stay the way you are.

John 3:16 says it all, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The good news is that you don’t have to be guilty. Christ’s blood was shed for you that you might be free. Because of the death and resurrection of the Son of God, you don’t have to stay the way you are.

Jesus is the Ruler

Jesus is the ruler of all things. The problem with a lot of Christians is that we never outgrow our Sunday school views of Jesus—sweet, nice, smiling, kind Jesus. We also need to recognize that Jesus Christ is the King of kings, sovereign and ruling.

Christmas isn’t only a time when Christians remember the first coming of the King. It is a time when we look forward to the second coming of the King. The first time he came as a baby; the second time he will come with his legions. The first time you can receive him the easy way, the second time you will accept him the hard way.

Now is the time to meet Jesus in a manger. If you wait too long, it may be too late. Jesus came as a baby…but he didn’t stay that way.