I.Conquering Through Weakness

I.Conquering Through Weakness

Luke 2:1–14 (ESV)

(Picture of Nietzsche)The seventeenth century Puritan, John Owen (1616-83), wrote, The Incarnation “is the center, life, and soul, of religion, the main rock on which the church is built, and against which there hath been opposition in all ages.”[1]The 19th century philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche (pronounced Neetcha),(1844-1900) exemplifiesthe opposition that Owen mentioned.

Nietzsche’s diabolical thought dominated the 20th century. It contributed to the advent of Nazism, Communism, Fascism, and the culture of abortion.

Nietzsche was the 19th century’s most outspoken philosophical foe of Christianity. He was convinced that Christianity was bankrupt. He despised Christianity’s emphasis on the virtuesof weakness––meekness, humility, servant hood, mercy, etc. He exalted what he called the “will to power.” He believed that the weak should be crushed and only the strong be allowed to survive. The problem with Christian charity, in his mind,is that it encouragedthe survival of the weak. He offered an alternative,what he called the “superman,” one who despises human weakness and vanquishes the meek with a raw display of power.

Mocking scripture, Nietzsche said, “a new commandment I give to you, be hard.”

He died after 12 years of insanity.[2]

(Picture of Tolkien)By contrast, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogyexalts the exact opposite. It is the story of a small, insignificant, weak, but courageous, band of hobbits on a mission to conquer ultimate evil. They conquer by using their smallness and weakness as a weapon. Sauron, the Dark Lord, exemplifies the philosophy of Nietzsche. He only respects power. Therefore, he does not expect an assault from weakness. He expects his foe to be like himself––proud, arrogant, enemies who boast intheir own strength. The hobbits use his loathing of weakness to sneak into Mordor undetected, under his radar. In other words, the hobbits use Sauron’s arrogance to infiltrate Mordor and destroy the ring.

Tolkien was an Oxford Don and a devoted Christian. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was a tip of his hat to the ultimate conquest of evil, which began at the Incarnation. For the Incarnation was the beginning of God’s plan to destroy evil by using weakness as a weapon.

To unpackthisidea lets go back to the first few chapters of Genesis. God created Adam to conquer through weakness. His strength to rule (and conquer) would come not from himself, but from his dependence upon God. In other words, as he boasted in his weakness, obeyed God, and lived in utter dependence upon God, Godpromised to empower him to “be fruitful, to multiply, and to fill the earth, to subdue it, and have dominion.”

We all know the story. Adam drank the Serpent’s cool aide. “You will be like God,” the Serpent hissed. Adam rejected God’s plan. He decided to be strong in himself, to depend upon himself, and to boast in his own strength not God’s. He rejected reliance uponGod’s strength––a strength acquired through weakness.

All of thisis background tothis morning’s text. Luke 2describes the arrival of a Second Adam to undo the “sin” of the “First Adam.” To do this he must return to God’s original plan. He will conquer the world, the flesh, and the Devil. He will be “fruitful.” He will “multiply.” He will fill the earth with a great family, but he will do all of this by becoming weak, small, and frail. He will conquer by becoming completely dependent upon God the Father,by obeying him in all things, and by trusting God for the powerneeded to accomplish these tasks.

Jesus will boast in God’s strength, not his own.

Eventually this plan will take the Second Adam to the cross where he “will be crucified in weakness.” But the cross will issue in the Resurrection. Then Gods’ Son will live, reign, and conquer by “the power of God.” Jesus now reigns in heaven, and his boast is his weakness, displayed by the Incarnation, terminating in the cross.

A.1-7 The Facts: Strength from Weakness

In response to Caesar’s command, Joseph took his nine-month-pregnant wife on a 100 mile journey by donkey to Bethlehem to be registered for the Roman Census.

While there she gave birth. There was no room in the inn, so she delivered in a stable. She wrapped her childin swaddling clothes and laid him a cattle feeding trough. Probably a depression in the ground.(Anecdote of Judy’s Brother).

Verses 1-7contrast two rulers––Caesar Augustus, and the baby in the manger. One ruled from strength, the other from weakness.

1.Augustus Caesar

Caesar possessed worldly power. In human terms he embodied greatness. Nietzsche would have approved. He was the adopted son of Julius Caesar. He ruled for 44 years, the longest of any Roman Emperor. His name was Augustus meaning “exalted one,” a title previously reserved for the god’s alone. Caesar meant king. So, in English Augustus Caesar meant Exalted King.

After his death the Roman senate declared him divine. People worshipped him. He possessed immense wealth (40 billion in today’s currency), undisputed power, and the adoration of the people. He reigned over what historians call the “PaxRomana,” a time of great peace and prosperity. It is said that he found Rome a city of stone and left it a city of Marble.

Herod, king of Judaea at the time of Christ’s birth, declared Augustus a god and built several temples in Judea for his worship.

Little did Augustus know that his call for a census would bring to pass the fulfillment of Hebrew prophecy. For the Messiah was to be from the tribe of David and from the town of Bethlehem. Caesar’s decree set in motion the return of a poor, pregnant teenager to Bethlehem where she would give birth to a child who would ultimately rule the nations with a rod of iron, replacing Caesar and all human rulers like him, and crushing philosophers like Nietzsche.

2.Jesus Christ

Like Caesar Jesus was also a king. But unlike Caesar in his humanity hispower proceeded from weakness. Although in contrast to Caesar, he actually was God, in today’s story he lowered himself an infinite distance. He took a human body and assumed all the weakness that frail,finite creatureliness implies.

His weakness had many expressions. First, he stripped himself of glory and fame. He became anonymous, unknown, unrespected, and unimportant. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords made his home in an unfashionable, backward, out-of-sight community––Nazareth, the most backward town in the most backward region in the Roman Empire. Galilee was the Appalachia of the ancient world. “Can anything good come from Nazareth,” asked Nathaniel (Jn. 1:46)?

The universe should have trembled at his birth. Instead, only a few shepherds came and paid him homage. His power was not built on popular fame. It was built on weakness.

Second, his strength did not proceed from riches. The One who owned all wealth, the One who created all wealth,submitted to abject, grinding poverty. We are talking stables, and mangers, swaddling cloths.

Third, his strength did not come from naked earthly power or authority. Instead, it came from submissionto human authorities, even authorities twisted and corrupted by sin. He submitted to his parents, his rabbi, Pontius Pilate, etc.

Caesar commanded armies. Jesus’ commanded no one. In fact, his father and mother commanded him. He allowed two people that he had created to raise him, train him, and tell him what to do.

As Godhe was omnipotent. That means he had all power. All power––spiritual and natural––has its source in him. Yet, he chose to set aside that power andbecome weak that he might be strong.

Fourth, his strength did not come from doing his own thing. It did not come from independent action. Instead, his strength came from utter dependence. What a condescension. The God who possessed all aseity, made himself dependent. He depended on his mother for food. He nursed at her breast. He needed her to change his diapers. And eventually he would be the only man who ever lived in perfect dependence upon his Father.

In summary, our Savior conquered by reversing Adam’s sin. He was born into utter weakness and shame that he might obtain God’s power and glory. He gained authority by submitting to authority. He conquered by letting himself be conquered. He gained strength through dependence, not independent action. He boasted in God’s power and strength, not his own.

This was a complete contrast to worldly power––that represented Nietzsche or Augustus Caesar.

Tolkien’s hobbits were good symbols of the power of Christ weakness.

B.8-14 The Interpretation: Glory Displayed

No one knows for sure how much of this Joseph and Mary understood. We know that Joseph knew that Mary was a Virgin. We know that they knew that the child’s paternity was divine.

They understood the prophecies that a Savior would arise from the house of Judah, and that he would be born in Bethlehem. But they had no concept of his substitutionary death on a cross or how he would conquer through weakness. Most likely they expected Jesus to be a great Messiah King who would care for them in their old age out of his immense riches. Mary’s pregnancy and birth were so normal that it must have been hard for them to believe that all of this was true.

So God sent angels to interpret what was happening. They came to the bottom rung of the ancient social ladder––shepherds. Remember, in the story of Joseph the Pharaoh wouldn’t even eat with shepherds. They were probably illiterate, had never travelled more than twenty miles from home, and lived very simple lives.

The“glory of the Lord,”accompanied the angelic visit, and the Shepherds responded as we would expect––they were “filled with great fear.”

9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.

Here was alife-form––angels––utterly unlike anything in the Shepherd’s experience. The glory of the Lord immediately sensitized them to God’s absolute holiness, and by contrast, their sinfulness. These were not the chubby baby cherubs of the seasonal Hallmark card.

Search for a scriptural encounter with an angel that is not accompanied with fear and trembling, and you will find few. Instead, these were probably the mighty warrior angels that pour out the bowls of wrath in John’s Revelation. These are the angels that rolled away the stone at the mouth of Christ’s tomb, and stood at Paul’s side in the Mediterranean storm assuring him that God had heard his prayers.

In fact, these are the kind of angels present in this room right now.

However, God sent these angels on a better mission than judgment. He sent them to announce Good News,a message of great joy. God has sent a Savior to receive the judgment that sinners deserve.

10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

He is the “Christ.”Christ means anointed One. He is the Savior promised by the Old Testament prophets.

But he is also “Christ the Lord.” He is a Lord, he is a King, and he has come to undo the rebellion of Adam. He has come to establish God’s kingdom on earth. He comes to exercise authority. He commands our obedience, but submission to his Lordship is safe submission. Why? He is the perfect ruler. He goes to a cross for the citizens of his kingdom.

“Christ the Lord” probably reminded the shepherds of Augustus Caesar.For when it came to Kings and Lords that is all they knew. So the angels next words must have stunned them––

12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

A baby, not an armor clad warrior?

Swaddling clothes, not royal robes of purple?

A manger, not a feather bed in an ivory palace?

No! This king is different. He will perfect his strength through weakness.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Whey were the angels singing about God’s glory? The glory of God stands for God’s attributes, his character, or his moral beauty on display. The baby in the manger was a picture of the glory of God. The babe shows us the glory of God’s authority. The babe displays the glory of God’s strength. It is a strength that proceeds from weakness. The baby glorifiesthe humble meekness that God seeks from his creatures. That meek humility is at the heart of God’s glory.

All of this God’s Son did to save us. This is love in action.

Second, the angels declare that this child’s birth will bring peace between God and those with whom God is pleased. “Peace among those with whom he is pleased“ (vs 14b). Peace implies war and hostility.

Most think the peace referred to here is peace between man and his brother. But this is secondary. It is man and God that are at war, and God wants peace. He wants it so bad that he is willing to incarnate his Son in a poor, teen, virgin’s womb. To end the hostility between God and man He will eventually send him to a cross and torture him to death.

He will be crucifed in utter weakness, but God will raise him from the dead to live and rule by the power of God.

Has the Incarnation affected you? Has it motivated you to surrender to this king. Has it motived you to obey him in everything? Have you surrendered to God’s terms of peace?

C.So What?

The Incarnation should affect us two ways. First the Incarnation should motivate imitation. Second, it shouldmotivate gratitude, joy, and worship for God’s grace.

1.Imitation

The humility of his birth was the pattern of his life.

“The humility of his birth,” notes Philip Ryken, “was the whole pattern of his life. Jesus humbled himself to the very death, and there are rumors of this already in his birth…The same body wrapped in swaddling cloths was also wrapped in a burial shroud. The manger points us to the cross and to the grave.”[3]

The servant is not greater than his master. We also will conquer through weakness. Jesus conquered through the weakness of meekness. That is why Jesus said the “meek will inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:9). In this passage “meekness” and “weakness” are synonyms. We will inherit God’s authority to the degree that we are meek (or weak)like Jesus. What does God’s weakness look like?

1stThe Meek trust God to protect them. When insulted they don’t feel a need to return the insult. They don’t need to protect themselves. God will protect them. On trial before Pilate, the Jews mocked and accused Jesus, but he remained silent.

2ndThe Meek do not demand their own way. Love “Does not insist on its own way” (1 Cor 13:5).

3rdWhen in an argument the meek don’t need to have the last word. They know that God will defend them. They don’t need to defend themselves. They know and trust that God will release his power to defend the weak.

Anecdote: Friend accused of hating women.

4thThe Meek do not need to be right. When arguing about politics, religion, etc. the weak are willing to let it go. They place their confidence in God. They depend on him to ultimately correct them or exalt them.

5thThe Weak are willing to be misunderstood. They understand that this is what it means to be identified with the gospel. The Jews accused Jesus of doing his miracles by the power of the Devil.

6thThe weak boast in God’s strength not their own.

(Galatians 6:14) "14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

In all things the weak imitate Christ. In 2 Cor 13 Paul sums up Christ’s birth and death in terms of power proceeding from weakness.

(2 Corinthians 13:4) "4 For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God."

God loves us so much that he will use circumstances to amplifyour experience of our weakness so that his power can flow through us.

(2 Corinthians 12:7–10) "7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."