Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11
Sermon Series: Carols of Christmas – Sermon 02

Have you heard of the “God Squad”? Back in 1999 there was a big story in Chicago about how the baby Jesus figure was stolen from the nativity scene at Daley Plaza. Eventually the police recovered the baby at a bus station after an anonymous tip. After that they started securing the baby Jesus figure with a cord, a bolt and a padlock to the manger to prevent anybody from stealing it again.

It didn’t work, because in 2004 the same thing happened. This time it was a 19-year-old college student who was able to slip the baby out from underneath the cable. The law caught up with him after two days. They returned Jesus to the manger, and the guy was charged with a misdemeanor.

A team of people is now responsible for making sure that baby Jesus doesn’t get stolen anymore. They’re known as the God Squad. They’re very tightlipped about what security measures they’ve put in place. Their goal is to make sure that baby Jesus never leaves the manger again.

At Christmas, it’s normal for us to think of Jesus as the sweet baby in the manger. In 1865, William Chatterton Dix was a businessman in Glasgow, Scotland, and suddenly came down with a serious illness. He was bedridden for months. As he lay near death, Dix began to reflect upon the identity of Jesus and the relevance of the faith that he’d grown up with.

It’s amazing how sickness or suffering will often lead to a spiritual awakening in our lives. God uses these times of weakness to bless the lives of others. That’s exactly what happened to William Dix. So, as he was meditating upon who Jesus really is, he wrote a poem. It was largely unknown until an Englishman some years later combined its lyrics with the melody of Greensleeves. The song took off and became one of the most popular Christmas carols known throughout the world—What Child is This?

Isn’t that though the real question of Christmas: What child is this? What child are we celebrating? What child was born to Mary and Joseph? How do we find an answer to that question?

If we interviewed people on the street and asked them, “What child is this?” We’d get a variety of answers. Popular culture would say “He’s a baby in a manger, and a nice man, and as long as He keeps his distance and doesn’t intervene in my life, He’s fine there. Keep Him there.”

If we asked a Muslim, he’d tell us that Jesus is a wonderful prophet, but He escaped the crucifixion, and was taken directly to heaven, and therefore was never raised from the dead. If you talked to a sociologist, he might say that Jesus taught us about relationships. He taught us how to relate one to another. Maybe if you talked to a store owner, she might tell you, I don’t care who He is as long as He makes me money. As long as our profits are 5% over last year, that’s all that matters.

So, what child is this in an age in which Christmas is sanitized? People want a non-offensive Jesus, a non-intrusive Jesus, and as a result, they get a non-effective Jesus. They want a Jesus like an app on their phone. You open it, check what you need, then close it. When you no longer need it or are no longer interested, you shut it down. You know it will have no authority over you, and it will not affect you in any way because you remain in charge.

Well, how are we going to find out an answer to this question, “What child is this?” Do we do it by staring at the manger? I don’t think so. Just imagine that somebody wanted to find out who Abraham Lincoln was. Do we pass around baby pictures or go to the log cabin where he was born and talk about his mother and father, and the sentimentality of family and marriage? No. All of that may be important, but you don’t find out who Lincoln is by doing that. What you do is look at his career. You look at his character and what he accomplished. You look at who he is, and who he was long after his birth. That’s the way we find out who Lincoln really is.

In the very same way, when we ask the question, “What Child is this?” we simply can’t do it by looking at a Christmas scene, by looking at a virgin, by looking at Joseph and the baby. It’s wonderful to do but that’s not how we find out our answer to this question. What we must do is look at what God’s Word says about Jesus. To do that we want to go to an early Christian hymn found in Philippians 2:5-11 (p. 921).

These words by Paul highlight the incomparable picture of Jesus. The words present in a masterful way His condescension as well as His exaltation. They answer that question: What Child is This?Let me share four thoughts with you about the name of Jesus. If you’re taking notes…

1. This Child Has A Simple Name

What’s in a name anyway? Names are really important. It’s why some people choose to change their names. I heard about a guy named William Stinks who went to court to change his name. The judge said, “With a name like ‘William Stinks’ I don’t blame you for wanting to change your name. What new name do you want?” The man replied, “I want to change my name to John Stinks.”

One man was working in his yard when his paperboy threw his newspaper in the yard. He’d never met the boy, so the guy said, “What’s your name?” The paperboy replied, “My name is George Washington.” The man said, “That’s a very famous name, huh?” The kid said, “It ought to be. I’ve been delivering papers in this neighborhood for two years now!”

Parents are careful to choose good names for their children, but Mary and Joseph didn’t just choose Jesus’ name. God chose that simple name. The angel Gabriel was sent to Joseph with this message about Mary: She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).  The name Jesus was a very common name in Bible times. It’s the Old Testament name Joshua.

There are some names in the Bible that are hard to pronounce. Some of you read through the Bible this past year and had to wade through sections containing lists of hard-to-pronounce names.

But the name Jesus is simple. It’s an easy name to sing about. I love the Bill Gaither song, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; there’s just something about that name. I’m so glad God didn’t choose to name His son one of those hard names in the Bible.

Jesus is such a simple, yet elegant name. It sounds beautiful coming from the lips of small children as they sing, “Jesus loves me.” It sounds elegant coming from the lips of a 95-year-old woman as she calls on Jesus from her sick bed. There’s just something about that name.

2. This Child Has A Strong Name

Jesus is such a strong name that Satan hates it. It’s remarkable that the name “Jesus” often comes from the lips of those who don’t know Him or love Him. We hear pagans use the name “Jesus Christ” as profanity. It hurts me whenever I hear a person curse and throw “Jesus” in the same vile category of obscene words. When they do this, they’re violating the 3^rd Commandment warning a person never to take the name of the Lord in vain.

Have you ever wondered why someone would use the name “Jesus” when they’re swearing? When a guy hits his thumb with a hammer, he doesn’t say, “Oh, Buddha!” Or “Well, Mohammed!” The name of Jesus is such a hated name by our enemy, the devil; he tempts people to use it in disgust. Now, if I had my way, human lips would never again utter the name Jesus Christ except as a statement of pure praise. But every time a person uses it in swearing, they’re inadvertently acknowledging Jesus is God.

Why does Satan hate the name of Jesus? Because at the cross, Jesus defeated and shamed him. The devil is trying to bring as much shame to the name as he can. In Colossians 2:15, Paul wrote. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him. Open shame means Jesus disgraced the devil so all the universe could see it. The angels saw it, demons saw it and we can see it. The Message paraphrases it: He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.

Whenever you hear someone use Jesus’ name as a curse word, it should remind you that Satan is such a defeated, shamed foe he is actively trying to bring shame to the name he hates. Then just use the devil’s own strategy against him. The Bible says, Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7). If you try to resist the devil in your own name, he’ll laugh. But if you resist the devil in the name of Jesus, he’ll say, “Uh oh, I’m outta here!” and Satan and his demons will flee. As Proverbs 18:10 says, The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe. You can find safety and refuge in the wonderful, strong name of Jesus!

3. This Child Has A Saving Name

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor who was imprisoned for his part in an assassination attempt upon Hitler. Writing from prison he said it was there inside his cell that he had one of the best experiences of Advent in his life. Here I am trapped inside a cell, and my only hope is for someone to come from the outside in to rescue me. There’s nothing I can do to get myself out, I need a rescuer. That’s exactly what God in Jesus has come to do for us.

He came to rescue us from the enslaving, imprisoning, separating problem of sin. He came to save us from our greatest problem, sin. He came to deliver us from that which causes us to doubt God’s love and run from Him. He came to save us from the sin that causes us to say, “God, I don’t need you.”

Sin isn’t a popular word today, but it’ll always be a relevant word. While sin isn’t what people want to hear, it’s what we all need to hear. Sin is the underlying problem of all that ails us.

The message of Christmas is that there is a cure for what ails us. Jesus is that cure. If we’re ever going to understand the message and meaning of Christmas, we must understand the mission of Christ. He came to save us from our sins. Jesus is God’s rescue for sinners! Jesus is God for us!

There are some vital questions everyone needs to settle. First, how can you spend eternity in heaven when you die? I’ve never met many who really wanted to spend an eternity in hell. The next question is: How can I live a full, meaningful life until I die? If you can answer those two questions your life will be satisfying. Those two questions can be answered with just one word: JESUS.

André Crouch sang: Jesus is the answer for the world today; above Him there’s no other; Jesus is the way. That’s so profound. Jesus is the answer to all of life’s questions, even the ones we’re scared to ask or don’t know to ask. For sure Jesus is the answer to those two important questions. How can I spend eternity in heaven when I die? JESUS. How can I live a full and meaningful life until I die? JESUS.

Salvation is a word that doesn’t just mean going to heaven when you die. It’s a word describing a quality of life you can live now. Forgiveness, peace with God, full salvation begin now. It’s not just “pie in the sky in the sweet bye and bye.” Look at a couple of scriptures about being saved: Romans 10:13. Now, I am going to misquote it the way many people believe. Watch carefully for my mistake: for everyone who calls on the Lord will be saved. Did you notice that I left out a key part of that verse? It should read, For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. The Lord has a name—Jesus.

Many people talk about God in such impersonal terms it’s obvious they don’t know Him…they don’t know His name. They say, “Me and the ‘man upstairs’ are really tight.” But trying to call on the “man upstairs” to save you won’t work. Or people talk about the “Good Lord.”

Now, we believe that the Lord is good, all the time, but the Lord has a name and His name is Jesus. You may be scratching your head at this time asking, “Are you telling me I actually have to call on Jesus to save me? I can’t just call on the ‘man upstairs’ or the ‘good Lord?’”

Let’s let the Bible answer that question. Acts 4:12, And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. The “man upstairs” won’t save you. There is no other name but the name of Jesus. The Good Lord can’t save you. There is no other name but the name of Jesus. The name “American” won’t save you. There is no other name but the name of Jesus. His name is the only saving name. Jesus said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6).

4. This Child Has The Supreme Name

There are two unique things we learn about the name of Jesus in our text. God has highly exalted Jesus and given Him a name that is above every name (Philippians 3:10). So, we see Jesus’ name is…

Supreme in its position.  Have you ever heard it said of someone that they “stand alone?” In greatness and glory, the name of Jesus does stand alone, higher in prominence, preeminence, and position than any other name.

When you think of the great men of history, Jesus stands alone. Alexander the Great, Herod the Great, Catherine the Great and others took the title “great” but each had dark, shameful elements in their characters mocking the title “great.” Jesus alone deserves the title “GREAT.” He has no peers.

The name of Jesus occupies a singular place of supremacy above all the names in this universe. Jesus is without peer in His character and in His name. God has given Him a name above every other name.

If you piled up all the notable names of earth’s finest people until you had a mountain of human greatness higher than Everest, the greatness and the glory of the name of Jesus would have to descend a million miles downward to touch the top of this anthill we call human greatness.

The name of Jesus stands alone in its prominence and position because His name includes everything we need for life. In Revelation 1:8 Jesus claimed, ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter. To us, it would mean Jesus is the A and He’s the Z and He’s everything in between.

The alphabet is a fascinating concept. We have 26 letters in our English alphabet. You can’t have words without letters. You need words to make sentences; sentences to make paragraphs; paragraphs to make pages; pages to make chapters; chapters to make books; books to make libraries; libraries to make cultures. It all starts with 26 little letters. That’s why all of us must learn our ABC’s. Every piece of English literature ever written merely arranges those 26 letters. There would be no written communication without those letters. Jesus is saying He is the A and Z and everything in between.

Supreme in its profession. Verse 11 tells us at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! You and I have something in common. Both of us are going to profess, Jesus is Lord.

And we have something in common with every other one of the 6 billion people on this planet and with every person who has ever lived. Touch your knees; both of them will bow before Jesus. Roll your tongue around in your mouth; that tongue is going to profess, Jesus is Lord. The same is true of every angel above the earth and every demon below the earth, including the fallen angel, Satan, himself. They all will profess Jesus is Lord.

Now, you may be thinking, “Wait a minute, doesn’t confessing Jesus is Lord get you into heaven?” Does that mean everyone will be saved and the devil himself will one day gain eternal access to heaven? Look closely again. Don’t miss the importance of this distinction—your eternity could depend on it. Professing Jesus is Lord is not the same as saying, Jesus is My Lord. To say “Jesus is Lord” is to admit Jesus is the Sovereign Creator and Lord of the Universe. One day, Charles Manson will say, “Jesus is Lord.” But he won’t be saying, “Jesus, you are my Lord.” One day, Kim Jong Un will profess “Jesus is Lord” but he’s never said, “Jesus is my Lord.” Satan himself will be forced to kneel and acknowledge what he already knows, “Jesus is Lord.” But he’d never admit, “Jesus is my Lord.”

One week after the Jesus’ resurrection, a doubting Thomas stood before Jesus and Jesus said, Put your fingers here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe (John 20:27). Thomas fell before Jesus and said, My Lord and My God! Have you ever come to a place in your life where you’ve fallen before Jesus and said, “Jesus, I want you to be my Lord. I surrender control of my life to you.”

Donatello was perhaps the most gifted of the Italian sculptors. His figures are so lifelike you almost expected them to walk and talk. It’s said that once when Donatello chiseled a life-sized man, he stepped back and commanded the statue, Now, speak! But the marble lips didn’t move.

One day though, the Creator of the Universe will simply say to every human creature, “Now, speak!” Some of us will confess with joy and others will confess in Judgement. Which group will you be in? The choice is yours.

Conclusion

Let me finish with this little story. I don’t think it’s a true one, but it’s a great parable. Once there was a man whose wife died giving birth to their only son and he never remarried. He was a very wealthy man and as his son grew up they had a hobby they enjoyed doing together. The man was very wealthy, and they would travel the world buying priceless pieces of art. Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh; until they had one of the finest, most expensive private art collections anywhere in the world.

When the young man was old enough to enlist, the nation was at war, so he became a soldier. One day his father’s heart was broken when he received a telegram that his son had been killed in battle rescuing another soldier. Not long afterward on Christmas morning, there was a knock on his door. When he opened the door, he saw a soldier carrying a bulky package wrapped in Christmas paper. The man at the door said, “You don’t know me, but I’m the soldier your son died taking to the medic station. I’m not much of an artist, but I was so grateful for his sacrifice that I painted a portrait of your son, and I want to give it to you.

It was barely a good likeness, and the art critics never would have said it was a great work of art, but the father accepted it with gratitude. It became very important to him. Years later when the wealthy man died, art lovers from around the world came to an auction at his estate hoping to buy some of the masterpieces. As the auction began, the auctioneer said, “The first painting to be auctioned is this portrait of the man’s son. What is my bid for this portrait?” There was murmuring in the crowd as the art lovers said, “We don’t want to bid on that. That’s junk! Who cares about his son? Let’s get to the real masterpieces.”

The auctioneer said, “There were precise instructions from the man that this piece must be auctioned first before any of the others. So, who wants to make a bid for this?” A man in the back, who happened to be a gardener of their estate for years said, “I liked the old man and loved the son. I’ll give you a hundred dollars for that picture.” The auctioneer said, “A hundred dollars once!” “A hundred dollars twice!” “Sold for a hundred dollars!”

And then everyone was anticipating the sale of all of his other masterpieces. But the man’s attorney stepped to the microphone and said, “Ladies and gentlemen. This concludes the auction today!” Everyone was in an uproar. “What about these other pieces of art? We’ve come to buy these pieces!” And the attorney said, “According to the will, the owner left strict instructions that whoever purchased the portrait of his son also receives all the other artwork as well. To quote his words, “Whoever chooses my son gets it all!”

That’s what Christmas is. God says to you, “Whoever chooses My Son gets it all!” The Bible says, He who has the Son has life. (1 John 5:12) If you want to experience life; if you want to know what Christmas is all about, choose Jesus!

What child IS this? He’s the one who can forgive your sins and transform your life. Have you let Him forgive you and transform your life?