Opposing Jesus

The more people you meet in the Bible, the more you come to realise that people never change.

In Matthew 2, the wise men approach Herod and ask 'where is He who has been born King of the Jews?' Well, Herod's not supposed to know these things, so he assembles the chief priests and they tell him 'in Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophets...' The wise men then take off with their gifts, and go and worship God incarnate.

But Matthew 2 also tells us that when Herod was asked this question, 'he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him...' He was troubled by Jesus. He was the King, he ran this town, he ruled the Jews, if someone was going to be 'born' king of the Jews, that was going to upset him, and, Matthew seems to suggest, a lot of Jerusalem as well.

This is one reason that people oppose Jesus, that Jesus troubles people. They've got too much to lose. If the Gospel is true, their whole life will have to be different. The way they spend their money and their time, the way they relate to people. People are troubled by Christmas, and troubled by Christians. I was here once upon a time. I started going to church semi regularly about six months before i was saved and it bothered me. It bothered me that otherwise normal, sensible people would worship Jesus. It bothered me even more that i liked these people. Providentially, in Year 9 i was awful at maths, and ended up in the bottom set for my GCSE maths. That class was taught by my school's chaplain. He was a great guy (except he made me learn maths) and it bothered me that he was a Christian. What's he seeing that i'm not? I've got too much to lose if the Gospel's true. Too much invested in me. I, like Herod and like Jerusalem, and like people today, was troubled by Christmas, and Christians.

Sometimes people who don't know Jesus are like the second group we meet in Matthew 2. Sometimes people who do know Jesus are too. Herod calls the religious experts, the ones who never miss church and know their Bibles inside out, the moralistic attenders, if you like. Their response? 'The Messiah? Oh yeh, in Nazareth, any rookie Pharisee knows that...' Matthew doesn't tell us they were troubled by the wise men's news, in fact they weren't even that bothered by it. They just carried on with what they were doing.

This is a danger for people outside the church. The business of Christmas gets in the way, gifts, family and food, and they never consider the meaning behind it. Maybe, if we're doing our job, they get invited to a carol service, or a Christmas program, but they're too busy, too much living to do. This is what CS Lewis refers to as the gentle slope to Hell. No danger signs, no sudden cliffs, just an easy, gentle descent.

But inside the church we face the same danger. We can be too caught up in carol services, Christmas programs,  and church meetings themselves that we're just too busy to stop and reflect. 'Oh yeh, God Himself born of a virgin, now let's keep moving.' This is a danger for everyone in the church, for everyone who loves Jesus. With good, right and pure motives, we can forget about what we're supposed to be celebrating. Jesus.

Both these dangers are clear and present. We should expect people outside the church to oppose, or misunderstand Christmas, we all once did, and but for the grace of God, there go we still. But let's not make the same mistake. Let's stop. Let's sit down with the Bible and ask God to give us ears to hear. Let's not miss Christmas but focusing in Christmas, let's celebrate Christmas by celebrating Jesus.