The Other Side Of Christmas

How many of us long for Jesus to return and to establish His Kingdom? How many of us long for that time when God will “wipe every tear from their eyes” and when “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Rev 21:4)?

READ Luke 2:22-35.

Forty days after a birth, the Jewish law required that the parents bring an offering to the temple as part of the purification rite. And so, Mary and Joseph, and Jesus, went to the temple.

Simeon longed to see the Messiah, and the Holy Spirit had told him he would not die until he had. Who knows how long he had been waiting but this day, as Mary and Joseph brought Jesus into the temple, the Holy Spirit prompted Simeon to also go into the temple. There he met this little family. He took Jesus in his arms and praised God knowing that the moment had come. This was the Messiah. He had seen God’s salvation and he was now content to die.

He said that Jesus would be “a light of revelation to the Gentiles”. Jesus would be the Saviour not only of Israel but of the whole world, Jews and Gentiles.

But then he got serious. He said to Mary, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:34-35)

There is a sad side to Christmas. Not everyone would accept this Messiah. Jesus reveals the thoughts of people’s hearts. Everybody responds one way or another to Jesus. Some will trust Him and follow Him. Others will reject Him. And that response has consequences. Simeon said that Jesus would cause the falling and rising of many. Some would rise; some would fall. In that sense, Jesus divides people. It is not that Jesus wants to divide people. 1 Timothy 2:4 tells us that God wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth and, verse 6, that Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all people. That reveals the heart of God. God sent His Son into the world to save the world.

Jesus does not want to divide people but, as Simeon said, some will speak against Him. Some will reject Jesus. He then said to Mary that a sword would pierce her heart too. Too? As well as what? Does that suggest that people’s rejection is like a sword piercing Jesus’ heart as well? Remember how He wept over Jerusalem because they rejected Him.

Mary would experience the heartache of seeing Jesus rejected and killed, just as God felt the pain of seeing His Son be rejected, and Jesus experienced the rejection. The stories of the lost sheep and the lost coin and the lost son tell us that there is rejoicing in heaven over every sinner who repents. I wonder if there is weeping in heaven over every sinner who rejects Jesus.

It is absolutely amazing that Jesus is the Saviour of the world, that God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son, but the other side of Christmas is that some will reject Him.

John 1:11-12

¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…

Last week we started looking at a list of Bible passages that say why Jesus came into the world. Many of them focus on His role as the Saviour.

Matthew 20:28

the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.

1 Timothy 1:15

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

But some of these passages also reveal this other side of Christmas. They are a bit shocking.

Matthew 10:34-39

³⁴ “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—³⁶ your enemies will be the members of your own household.

³⁷Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

Luke 12:49-53

⁴⁹ “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! ⁵¹Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. ⁵²From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. ⁵³They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.

John 9:39

Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

How can Jesus say that He has come into the world for judgement? John 3:17 says, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him”, and John 12:47 says, “For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.”? What are we meant to do with these passages?

How can Jesus say that He did not come to bring peace when the angels declared peace on earth?

How can Jesus say that He came to bring division, including within families, when He was so strong on unity and on love for one another?

This is the other side of Christmas. This is the sombre side.

I asked at the beginning how many of us long for Jesus to return and establish His kingdom. Did we realise that that also means that many people will be judged and condemned forever? For God to establish His perfect Kingdom, He must eradicate all that is wrong. If you put your hand up, you said you wanted God to condemn evil! Do you pray “Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”? The coming of God’s Kingdom will be the most incredible celebration. Finally, God’s will will be done. God will be honoured as He ought to be. There will be perfect peace. But there is a sombre side to that.

Jesus did not come into the world to judge it in the sense of declaring final judgement, destroying evil and establishing His Kingdom. That day is still to come. Jesus will return as judge. That day will come but not yet. When Jesus came as a baby, He came to save the world, not judge it.

But His coming does reveal the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. All through scripture, we see people’s different reactions to Jesus. We either love Jesus and follow Him or we reject Him. We separate ourselves into two groups by our response to Jesus and that is the division that Jesus spoke of. A man would choose to follow Jesus but his father would reject Jesus. A daughter-in-law would reject Jesus but her mother-in-law would love Jesus.

And, so often, that will create antagonism. If the world reacts against Jesus, it will react against followers of Jesus. Jesus said…

John 15:18-21

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. ²¹ They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.

I said before that Jesus does not want to divide people, but I think there is a sense in which Jesus came to divide. He came to identify those who will love Him. He came to reveal our hearts. In Matthew 10 Jesus spoke about turning a man against his father, a daughter against her mother etc.. He went on to say, “³⁷Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

Do we love Jesus more than anything else, including our family members? Will we put Jesus first? Will we take up our crosses and follow Him? This is a call to radical love and discipleship. Jesus is searching for those who will love Him more than anything else. That is the test that divides people. There are those who, even though their family members reject them, will say, “This breaks my heart but, for me, Jesus must come first.” This is common when Muslims convert to Christianity. But it can be true in our own culture and our own families too. There are those who will love Jesus more than anything else. There are also those who hate Jesus or who are casual or who are so wrapped up in the things of this life that they have no time for Jesus.

Warren Gatland, speaking about returning to coach the Welsh rugby team, said that he expects the players to be willing to die for that jersey. People in Ukraine are willing to die for their country. Jesus said that those who will not put Him first and those who will not lay down their very lives for Him are not worthy of Him. When Jesus says that He has come to divide, He is filtering out those who will deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow Him. Without that we cannot be His disciples.

This also is part of Christmas. Yes, there is the cute baby and the rejoicing over the gift of the Saviour of the world. And rightfully so. That is the focus of most of these passages about why Jesus came. Good news of great joy, there is a Saviour. Peace on earth. But Jesus spoke about another side to Christmas as well. Jesus calls us to follow Him – exclusively – to love Him above everything else and everyone else.

But remember what He said: Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. That is the promise. Jesus came and in love and humility and grace, died on the cross. He came to give His life as a ransom for many. How will we respond? He is looking for those who will lay down their lives for Him. Many won’t. Other things are more important. Some will. Jesus came to find those people. And, for them, the promise is salvation. Jesus said that those who lay down their lives for Him will receive life. Christmas challenges us to reconsider our response to Jesus.

Simeon understood both sides of Christmas.

Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel. That’s one side. This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too. That’s the other side.

What does Jesus reveal about your heart?

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