THE PEACE OF CHRIST
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE
DR. JIM DIXON
DECEMBER 24, 1999
LUKE 2:l-14
Two books have just come out, just in time for Christmas, dealing with the subject of the Star of Bethlehem. One of them is The Legacy of the Magi, published by Rutgers University Press, written by Dr. Michael Mulnare, Professor of Astronomy at Rutgers University. He argues that the Star of Bethlehem was not a star. He claims that it was an alignment of stars and planets that produced an eclipse of the planet Jupiter in the Constellation of Aries. He claims that this celestial phenomena took place at the time of Christ’s birth. He claims that Greek and Roman astrologers viewed the Constellation of Aries as representative of Judea and Jupiter as the King’s Star. Through this celestial phenomena, they understood that the King was to be born in Judea.
The second book is called The Star of Bethlehem: An Astronomer’s View. It’s published by Princeton University Press, and the author is Dr. Mark Kidger who is a British astrophysicist. He’s currently employed in Spain at one of the world’s most renowned astronomical observatories. He argues that the Star of Bethlehem was indeed a star. He claims that that star is today called D.O. Aqua-lie. The star may be seen today through telescopes. But he claims that at the time of Christ’s birth this star went nova, and it was the brightest star in the heavens, the brightest star in the eastern sky, and it was the star that led the Magi to the manger.
US News And World Report commenting on these books just released states that “there is now scientific evidence for the biblical account of the birth of Christ.” It adds this observation: “Perhaps some of the wonder has gone out of the star of wonder.” But, of course, you cannot take the wonder out of Christmas. You cannot take the wonder out of Christmas because the wonder of Christmas has little to do with the Star of Bethlehem. It has everything to do with Jesus Christ. Jesus is the wonder of Christmas, and His name is called Wonderful. He is full of wonder.
This evening, on this Christmas Eve, I want us to focus on the wonder of Christ’s peace. This was the message the angelic host gave to shepherds on a Judean hillside. Peace on earth. Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace. It was prophesied in Isaiah, chapter 9, that the child to be born would be called the Prince of Peace. It was Jesus who said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
So we focus this night on the wonder of Christ’s peace. I have three brief and very simple teachings. The first teaching is this. The peace of Christ is the peace of reconciliation, reconciliation with God.
Barbara and I rarely get into arguments or fights, but when we do, it’s almost always over something really dumb. That was true last Sunday when Barb and I got into a little fight. I got up early Sunday morning, as I always do, to prepare my message. Barbara got up early, as she always does. Out of the goodness of her heart, she gets up Sunday morning and makes me bacon and eggs. Now, I don’t often eat bacon and eggs—only on Sunday mornings—but I like my bacon kind of thick. When I sat down, the first thing I said—and it was a mistake—was, “Isn’t this bacon a little thin?” Somehow, everything just went downhill from there. Everything went downhill. I know it’s incredible, but we wound up getting in a fight over the subject of bacon, and that’s not easy to do.
When I left to come to church, we were still angry with each other. I arrived here at church… Barb always comes to the second service, and she sits with me. As the second service approached, I wondered whether she was going to come. She did. She sat down right next to me, and she gave me a big smile, and I knew everything was going to be okay. I apologized to her. What we experienced was reconciliation. The word reconciliation, the Greek word, the biblical word, I katallasso.It means “to move from enmity to friendship, from estrangement to fellowship.” Reconciliation.
The Bible tells us that the world is estranged from God. The Bible tells us that all the people of the world are experiencing enmity with God and are separated from God. But Jesus Christ came into the world, and he was born in Bethlehem, that He might offer the peace of reconciliation. He was born to die. He went to the cross. There, He died for your sin, and He died for my sin. He died in substitutionary atonement. He died for us because we are all sinners, and therefore estranged from God. The Bible tells us that when we come to Christ, and we come to the cross and we receive Him as our Savior and we come in repentance and we acknowledge our sin, He forgives us and we experience reconciliation, and we move from estrangement to fellowship with God. We are brought into relationship with God and into friendship with Jesus Christ. This is the most beautiful friendship. It’s a friendship where Christ says, “I’ll never fail you, and I’ll never forsake you.” It’s a friendship, a reconciliation, that brings peace.
You know how, when you’re going through tough times in life but you’re with friends, there’s a certain peace just because you’re with friends. But, you see, there’s no friend greater than Christ.
Perhaps you’ve heard the story of the two little boys that came into the dentist’s office. The one little boy said, “I want to have a tooth out, and I want to have it out now. I don’t want any laughing gas. I don’t want any painkiller because we’re in a hurry.” The dentist was impressed. He said, “Young man, you’re pretty brave.” He said, “Show me this tooth.” He turned to his younger friend and said, “Show him your tooth, Albert.”
You see, the world is filled with friends like that. The world is filled with friends who are willing to let you suffer a little bit as long as they’re not inconvenienced. You see, Jesus is a special friend, and He suffered for you. He suffered for us, even to the point of dying for us and for our sin. He comes alongside of us, and he says He’ll never fail us and forsake us. He promises us that in this life, when we experience suffering or when we experience pain, that somehow by His power He’ll use it to work for good. There is no meaningless suffering if you have friendship with Christ, no meaningless pain.
“He’ll wipe away every tear from our eye and death will be no more. Neither will there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things shall pass away.” You see, that’s peace, the peace of reconciliation with God and friendship with Jesus Christ.
Secondly, this teaching: Jesus Christ offers the peace of a life purpose. You see, the Hebrew word for peace is the word shalom. The Greek word for peace is the word eirene. These words do not refer to the simple absence of strife, but they refer to wholeness. Jesus Christ offers to make us whole. Part of wholeness is to have a sense of purpose in life. Jesus Christ offers purpose, a life purpose. The angels announced that, “of His kingdom and of its increase, there would be no end.” Jesus Christ invites you into His kingdom. When you come into His kingdom, you have a purpose because you have a King to serve and a kingdom to serve. Every time you reach out with the love of Christ to another person, you ‘re serving the King. No one has a purpose in life like the Christian.
About 150 years ago, almost 150 years ago, in the year 1853, a silver star hung over the birthplace of Christ in the little village of Bethlehem. The Eastern Orthodox Church wanted to take that silver star in Bethlehem down and replace it with another star. But the Latin Church, the Roman Catholic Church, wanted the star left alone. They didn’t want it to be replaced.
Now, Czarist Russia, which was under the influence of the Eastern Orthodox Church, sided with the Eastern Orthodox Church and said, “The star should come down and be replaced.” But the Ottoman Empire, centered in Istanbul, supported the Latin Church, supported the Roman Catholic Church, and said, “No, leave the star up. Don’t change it.”
Now, I know this is hard to believe, but historians tell us that immediately thereafter, Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Great Britain and Italy and France then declared war on Russia. It began what historians refer to as the Crimean War, which involved five world powers and lasted three years. It took one million lives and cost what was then the incomprehensible sum of $1,500,000,000. Of course, ultimately, Russia lost the Crimean War, and the Greek or Eastern Orthodox Church was not allowed to change the silver star that hung over the birthplace of Christ in the city of Bethlehem.
Historians tell us that that silver star was just the excuse for the Crimean War. The real causes were more economic and political. No one was really focused on the King. No one was focused on Christ. No one was seeking to serve Christ. They were all seeking to serve themselves. This is true not only of nations but it is true of people. So often we seek to serve ourselves rather than serve Christ. But you only find peace when you line up with that life purpose of serving the King and His kingdom, that purpose of serving Christ.
Now, there was one person in the Crimean War who was focused on Christ, and her name was Florence Nightingale. Florence Nightingale, in the year 1850, wrote in her diary, “I am 30 years old today. This was the age upon which Jesus entered into his public ministry. I must put away childish things and give my whole life in service of Him.” From that day forth, Florence Nightingale resolved that she would serve Jesus on this earth. Of course during the Crimean War, it was Florence Nightingale who led 38 nurses into Crimea. She tended the wounded. She arrived just as wounded soldiers were returning from the Charge of the Light Brigade which would later be made famous by the English poet, Lord Tennyson.
Florence Nightingale continued to serve Christ. She bandaged the wounded. She prayed over them. If they were dying, she told them about Jesus Christ. She became famous the world over. All nations sought her to counsel on health care and on the formation of hospitals. The United States sought her counsel as well. Today, she is considered to be the founder of the nursing profession, the modern nursing profession. But, you see, she served Jesus Christ all the days of her life. Everyone noticed that she had an incomprehensible peace about her. She lived 90 years on this earth, and just before she died, she was asked for the secret of her peace. Florence Nightingale said, “The secret is this: I held nothing back from Jesus Christ.”
You see, that’s the secret of peace—serving Christ and letting this be the purpose of your life. There’s no genuine purpose in atheism. Voltaire was perhaps the most famous atheist in history. At the end of his life he said, ”I wish I had never been born.” There’s no genuine purpose in hedonism. Lord Byron was perhaps the most famous hedonist in British history, renowned for his debauched life. He sought to sate his body through the pursuit of pleasure. At the end of his life he said, “The worm, the canker, the grief are mine alone.” There’s really no genuine purpose in materialism and the pursuit of stuff and material things.
In 19th century America, one of the richest men was J. Gould. He controlled more than 15,000 miles of railroad track. He was one of the richest men in the world. At the end of his life, J. Gould wrote, “I suppose I’m the most miserable man on the earth.” There’s no purpose in conquest. Alexander the Great conquered most of the so-called civilized world. At the end of his life, he wept in his tent, and he died in the wake of an alcoholic stupor at the age of 33.
How are you going to feel when you come to the end of your life? Is there going to be a peace, a peace that comes from knowing that your life had meaning and purpose? You see, Jesus offers that peace. Jesus alone offers that peace, and it’s the peace of serving the King and His kingdom.
Finally, the peace that Christ offers is the peace of safety. It’s the peace of knowing you’re safe. It’s the peace of knowing that you have eternal security. It’s the peace of knowing that your soul is forever safe. Only Jesus Christ can give you that security and that peace.
The angels announced, “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior.” The Greek word for Savior is the word soter. It comes from the Greek word soterios, which means “to make safe.” But, you see, only Jesus Christ can make your life safe. Only Jesus Christ can save your soul and give you eternal security. If you’re a Christian and if you’ve asked Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior, you know that peace that passes understanding—the peace of knowing that, even in death, your soul is safe because Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life.
I read recently about a very gifted public speaker who was asked what his most difficult speaking assignment had been. He said, “That easy. It was a time that I spoke to the National Association of Undertakers at a conference. They gave me my subject. They told me to speak on the subject of ‘how to act sad at a $10,000 funeral.”‘ I suppose that would be difficult for an undertaker. I suppose for an undertaker, at a $10,000 funeral, there might be a little hidden joy. But, you see, Christians have hidden joy. Even in times of grief, Christians have hidden joy, joy that you just can’t take away. Even in the face of death, Christians have joy, and I’ve seen it on the faces of hundreds of believers who have gone to be with Christ. It’s a joy that is linked to the peace of knowing that you are saved and you have eternal security and no one can take your soul.
Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and he who lives and believes in Me will never truly die. Do you believe this?” He said to Martha. Martha said, “Yes, Lord, I believe. You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
Jesus would pose that same question to you tonight. Do you believe this? If you believe, you have peace.
I hold in my hand a $20 bill. On the face of a $20 bill is, of course, the portrait or the picture of Andrew Jackson. Most of you knew that Jackson was on the $20 bill, and you know that Washington is on the $1 bill. You know that Abraham Lincoln is on the $5 bill and you might even know that Alexander Hamilton is on the $10 bill. You might even know that Ulysses S. Grant is on the $50 bill and Benjamin Franklin on the $100 bill. Of course the $100 bill is the highest denomination still printed today.
Prior to 1969, the Federal Reserve Banks printed higher denominations. There’s the $500 bill with William McKinley’s picture on it, then the $1,000 dollar bill with Grover Cleveland’s picture on it, and the $5,000 dollar bill with the picture of James Madison. There’s a $10,000 dollar bill, and it has the picture of the United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Salmon Chase. There was even a $100,000 dollar bill, highest denomination ever printed. On the $100,000 dollar bill, there’s the face of President Woodrow Wilson.
Of course we forgot the $2 bill with Thomas Jefferson’s face on it. We also forgot the $3 bill. But you might be thinking, “Well, there is no $3 bill,” and that’s true. Today, there is no $3 bill. But, you see, there was a time when, in America, there was a $3 bill. It was not a Federal Reserve Note but it was a bank note, and it was legal tender. Of course bank notes varied somewhat from note to note, but virtually without exception, the $3 bill had the face of Santa Claus on it. Perhaps you didn’t know that. A $3 bill with the face of Santa Claus on it. It was legal tender in the United States of America for decades.
Perhaps it is appropriate that Santa Claus was on the $3 bill because, you see, at that time $3 was about the average price of a nice gift. But you can’t buy a nice gift for three bucks today. If you open your gifts later tonight or you’re opening your gifts in the morning, I’m pretty confident that you’re not going to be real happy if you open a $3 gift. I know that most of you have, as you’ve bought gifts for your loved ones, you’ve spent more than three bucks. But, you see, even if you had a lot of money… even if you had a million dollars… even if you had ten of those Woodrow Wilson $100,000 bills and you used that million dollars to buy your loved one a gift… you could not give them reconciliation with God and the peace of that reconciliation. You could not give them the peace of friendship with Jesus Christ, not for a million dollars. You could not give them the peace that comes from a purpose in life, the peace that comes from serving the King and His kingdom. You could not give them the peace of eternal security. You could not give them the peace of a soul saved. Only Jesus Christ can. That’s why He’s the wonder of Christmas. He’s the wonder of Christmas.
The angel said, “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior.” “Unto you … ” The Greek word there is umin. It’s a dative plural. It means “unto all of you and unto each of you.” You see, Jesus is a gift with your name on it. He is “unto you.” He is a gift for you. Your name is on this gift, but you must accept it. You must accept this gift, and you must open the package. That’s what we’re inviting you to do this Christmas Eve as we close in prayer. Let’s look to the Lord with a word of prayer.