As
you probably know, Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, is a family man who has
given up his own dreams for others. At Christmastime a lot of things go wrong
for him and his family, and he reaches a point of despair when he wishes he had
never been born.
Clarence
gives George a great gift: he shows him what life would have been like if he
had never existed. George wanders through his small town, but no one knows
him because he has never been born. Everyone's life is diminished because George Bailey had never been part of it. Ultimately George wants
his old life back even with its problems.
So
I was thinking all this week: what if Jesus had never been born? What if the
shepherds had spent a cold night in the fields with their sheep, and there had
been no heavenly host? What if Mary and Joseph had been a normal couple who
married and had a family – without the miracle baby? What if the wise men never
saw a star to follow because there was no King to find? What if the Word had
never become flesh and dwelt among us?
I
thought of a number of ways the world would be different.
1. If Jesus had never been born, we
couldn’t trust the Bible. In fact we
would have no New Testament at all. The four Gospels, the book of Acts, the epistles and the book of Revelation - they’re about Jesus, His life on
this earth, his death and resurrection, and what has happened since He went
back to heaven and prepares to return again. And the Old Testament,full of
promises and prophecies of Christ’s coming, would have no credibility without Christ.
2. If Jesus had never been born, God
Himself would be an impenetrable mystery. Remember
what John said about the coming of Christ. No one has
ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known
(John 1:18). God has given us a very limited
revelation of Himself in creation. But Jesus came to “make him known,”
literally to “exegete” Him. Without Jesus, and without the testimony of
Scripture, God would be a mystery we could never solve.
3. If Jesus had never been born,
Satan would have won. 1
John 5:19 says “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” Ephesians 2 says that the enemy is actively working in the
sons of disobedience. 2 Corinthians 4:4 calls Satan “the god of this world” who has blinded the minds of unbelievers. If Jesus never came, the
enemy’s nihilistic plans to destroy humankind would have been realized.
4. If Jesus had never been born, the
world would be hurtling toward destruction. Our
planet is increasingly a chaotic and violent place. Terrorism, violence, and the threat of nuclear annihilation are on the rise. We believe
God has good plans for His creation, but those plans are all about the reign of
Christ. If Jesus had never been born, our world would be like a runaway train,
moving faster and faster, careening precariously toward devastation.
5. If Jesus had never been born,
there would be no salvation for sinners like you and me. Jesus’ Name means Savior. His mission was always to “give His
live a ransom for many.” But no Jesus, no salvation.
Sadly,
much of the world seems to live in a kind of alternative universe where Jesus
never existed. Our politically correct world has no room for Him.
But
we know the truth. We’ve met Him. We love Him, bow to Him, and owe everything
to the rescue mission He started at Bethlehem and completed at the empty tomb.
So let me revisit those five terrible consequences if Jesus had not been born,
and then state them correctly:
- Because Jesus was born, we trust our Bible. The words of prophecy and promise of the 39 books of the Old Testament are true! The words of the 27 books of the New Testament, full of the joy of the Lord, how we should live because He came, and the hope of heaven and the return of our Savior one day - these words are true! We trust them with our lives and our eternities.
- Because Jesus was born, we know God in His kindness and compassion. Jesus said in John 14:9, Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. We can look upon the face of our God in the face of Christ. He is Immanuel - God with us.
- Because Jesus was born, Satan’s death grip is broken. It’s no accident that the earliest prophesy of Christ is Genesis 3:15, where God promises that the “seed of the woman” would “crush” (NIV) the head of Satan. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).
- Because Jesus was born, the creation will be reborn. Right now the world seems out of control, but one day King Jesus will set all this right. Revelation 11:15 reports the angels proclaiming, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” The Lord promises a new heavens and a new earth, and it’s all because Jesus came, did battle with Satan, and won.
- Because Jesus was born, He is Savior and Lord, King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
