Christmas in the Garden
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· 4 viewsLead Pastor Wes Terry preaches on Christmas in the Garden by tracing the original promise of Christmas in Garden of Eden through the other Gardens in Scripture culminating with the Eden Restored at the coming appearing of Jesus Christ.
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Transcript
INTRODUCTION:
INTRODUCTION:
Did you know some people love Christmas so much that they celebrate it six months early in July?”
The idea got mainstreamed in the 1940’s through a movie called “Christmas in July.”
Retailers loved it because it would help boost sales during the slow months of summer.
I’ve even seen churches use the concept to raise money for missions during the same.
The idea of Christmas coming early isn’t just for retailers and Christmas fanatics. It’s actually referenced in the book of Genesis.
The Christmas promise in Genesis didn’t take place in a manger with shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night.
The first Christmas took place in a garden called Eden.
The First Garden
The First Garden
The Garden of Eden had everything man needed to enjoy life in God’s presence. (Gen 2:9-10)
There was a river in the garden (feeding four more) that never ran dry. (Gen 2:10)
There was pure gold and precious stones like onyx and bdellium. (Gen 2:12)
There was a tree of life in the middle of garden. (Gen 2:9)
Next to the tree of life was a tree of knowledge between good and evil. (Gen 2:9)
God instructed Adam, “You can eat from any tree except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If you eat from that tree, you will surely die.” (Gen 2:16-17)
After that warning God created a helpmate named Eve. (Gen 2:18) They were united in marriage enjoyed life in God’s garden. (Gen 2:25)
The gift of Eden is the essence of Christmas: God dwelling with his people.
The Curse and Consequence
The Curse and Consequence
All was good in the garden until the serpent started talking in Genesis 3.
The serpent is never called Satan but his aims were Satanic.
He tempted Eve to question God’s Word. (Gen 3:1)
He attacked God’s goodness in forbidding the tree. (Gen 3:4)
Believing those lies, Eve ate of the tree, followed by Adam who stood right beside her. (Gen 3:6)
Immediately, they became aware of their nakedness and hid from the Lord because of their shame. (Gen 3:7-8)
As a consequence sin mankind lost the joy of God’s garden.
God put a curse on the serpent. (Genesis 3:14)
God put a curse on the ground. (Genesis 3:17)
He explained the consequences of their sin. (Gen 3:16-19)
And God cast them out of the Garden of Eden. (Gen 3:23)
The First Christmas Promise
The First Christmas Promise
The gift of Eden and God’s presence were lost because of sin.
But with sin’s curse and consequence came the promise of a cure.
And so the first sin in Eden set the stage for the first Christmas promise.
God graciously sacrificed an animal to cover Adam and Eve in their nakedness. (Gen 3:21)
Along with that sacrifice came a promise known as the “Proto-Evangelion” (first Gospel)
The promise was actually made to the serpent but would be fulfilled through the woman.
15 I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.
In this Christmas promise are three elements that we celebrate on a day like today.
Eden would be restored by a promised seed.
Eden would be restored through an act of sacrifice.
Eden would be restored through the subjugation of the serpent.
The storyline of Scripture develops these ideas in a progressive and intentional way.
I’m not the first person to recognize this pattern.
The reformers used the imagery of a prophet, priest and king.
This morning I’d like to show you the promise of Christmas - as it develops through Scripture - using 3 images: a child, a temple and a throne.
I could take you to every book of the Bible and show you each of these themes.
For the sake of time I’ll show you just a handful through some big umbrellas of redemptive history.
CHILD, TEMPLE, THRONE
CHILD, TEMPLE, THRONE
People summarize the Old Testament in several different ways. Christians view it as 66 books but in the Hebrew Bible there are only 24.
One of most popular breakdowns is the three-fold division between Law (Torah), Prophets (Nevi’im) and Writings (Kethuvim).
Jesus used this approach with his disciples on the Road to Emmaus. (Luke 24:44)
The Law = The first 5 books of the OT.
(Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
The Prophets = 8 books of the former and latter prophets.
Former = Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings
Latter = Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the 12 Minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahu, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi)
The Writings = 11 books of Poetry and Wisdom
Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra/Nehemiah, 1 & 2 Chronicles.
The Law:
The Law:
If you were to take just these umbrellas of Scripture you can see how the promise of Christmas unfolds.
The promised child, temple and kingdom are progressively developed and anticipate the Christ.
The Toah begins with the Paradise Lost and the question of the promised seed begins.
Cain and Abel were born to Adam and Eve and it seemed as though Abel fit the description.
But Cain killed Abel in keeping with the prophecy that hostility would rages between two opposite seeds.
A Coming Child
A Coming Child
From Abel Genesis traces the “seed” of promise from Seth to Noah to Shem to Abraham to Judah. A Kingdom is promised through Judah but Israel ends up enslaved to Egypt.
In Exodus, a new child of promise is born (Moses) and is chosen by God to lead His people back home.
Born a Jew, raised in Egyptian privilege, Moses rejected that throne to lead God’s people.
Through every narrative in every book the seed of the woman fights the seed of the serpent.
God’s wrath is established through judgment. (the flood, the tower, the plagues, the wilderness)
God’s mercy is established through covenant. (mediators like Abraham, Jacob, Moses and Joshua)
But even great men like these fell short of restoring the Garden. At best they were merely sign posts pointing to the one who could.
A Coming Temple
A Coming Temple
God’s temple in the Torah began with his presence in Eden. But after they lost the garden God’s presence would only manifest at particular times.
In the days of the patriarchs they would experience the presence of God through the building of a altar. (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all had their experiences)
From Genesis the idea of the temple and restoring the garden through the act of sacrifice develops even further.
In Exodus, the sacrifice of a Passover Lamb enables God’s people to escape death and slavery to Pharoah.
The presence of God in Exodus moves from an alar to the Tent of Meeting/Tabernacle.
Salvation through sacrifice is developed through the book of Leviticus.
The glory of God’s presence was experienced through worship in the Tabernacle..
The tabernacle and levitical sacrifices were FILLED with Edenic imagery.
The tabernacle, like the Garden of Eden…
was the place where direct communion with God could be experienced. (Exo 25:8)
had its entrance from the East (where man had been cast out) (Exo 27:13-16)
had (woven) cherubim guarding the entrance of divine presence over the mercy seat. (Exo 25:18-22)
had the imagery of trees throughout. The golden lampstand (Menorah) represented the tree of life. (Exo 25:31-40)
was built using precious metals like gold, silver, bronze and precious stones. (Exo 25-27)
had priests to “work and keep it.” (Num 3:7-8)
required a sacrifice to deal with sin and the shame it causes sinners. (Lev 1-7)
were uniquely designed by God.
I wish we had time to explain all of the similarities between the Tabernacle and Eden. There are so many it’s obvious that this was God’s plan for restoring Eden.
But just like the children of promise were lacking so also was this attempt to restore Eden through sacrifice.
A Coming Throne
A Coming Throne
When it comes to the promised throne in the Torah it’s anticipated but never materializes as such.
Though no man sits on Israel’s throne, God’s kingdom advances.
Whether it was Joseph serving as Lord over Egypt or Moses demonstrating God’s power of Pharoah and others - not even the gates of hell deterred the people of God.
A priestly king like Melchizedek is proposed but no candidate yet fits that description.
The Prophets:
The Prophets:
From the Law we move to the prophets. And the themes of a promised child, a promised temple and a promise throne develop even further.
These things are established through “former prophets”and further explained by the “latter prophets.”
Through each of these books we see the same frustration that we saw in books of Moses.
The seed of promise continued along with atonement through sacrifice, but not even an earthly King in Israel could lead them back to Eden.
It’s a fascinating journey that creates an even stronger burden for the ONE who was fulfill God’s promise in Eden.
FORMER PROPHETS:
CHILD: The former prophets (Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings) set the stage for promised children like Joshua, Sampson, Boaz and eventually King David himself.
They all served their purpose and had great moments of glory - but none of these men could bring Israel back to the garden.
TEMPLE: The portable tabernacle became a permanent structure in Shiloh after the conquest of Canaan.
But even that system and those priests experienced corruption due to sin.
THONE: Eventually the time of the Judges had ended and a king finally rose to power.
But even a godly King like David had moments of spiritual compromise.
The righteous king who would reign forever - he was yet to come.
TEMPLE 2 EXILE: Eventually David designed an earthly temple to take the place of the Tabernacle.
Solomon had it built and there was an even greater system of sacrifice and atonement.
It looked as though this might finally be the moment Israel could experience God’s presence once more.
Like the tabernacle, Solomon’s temple was filled with Edenic imagery. If the tabernacle had ONE then the temple had SEVEN.
But even though they had a earthly temple, a developed system of sacrifice and an expanding throne with appointed kings - they still lost the Eden they were after.
Eventually the one kingdom was divided and that glorious temple was destroyed.
LATTER PROPHETS:
Just as Adam and Eve, through sin, forfeited the Garden of Eden. The nation of Israel, through sin, lost their throne and their temple.
If that was God’s way of restoring the glory of Eden, the people of God weren’t capable of ushering in that season.
God allowed Pagan kings from Babylon and Assyria to seize Jersualem, destroy the temple and enslave God’s people once more.
But even in exile God had His chosen remnant. Children of promise who continued to worship and live beneath the rule and reign of God.
Latter prophets like Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah were used by God to lead Israel out captivity back to a place of true worship.
Solomon’s temple was even rebuilt by Zerubbabel and later expanded by King Herod. But even that temple was ultimately deficient in ushering in the garden that was lost.
No earthly king sat on Israel’s throne, but prophesies were made about a coming King - a son of Man and Messiah - who would one day rule forever over the house of David.
Isaiah 9:6-8 is one of the more popular Christmas examples.
6 For a child will be born for us,
a son will be given to us,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
He will be named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 The dominion will be vast,
and its prosperity will never end.
He will reign on the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
to establish and sustain it
with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.
8 The Lord sent a message against Jacob;
it came against Israel.
Year after year the prophets reminded Israel of these things. Pre-exile, Post-exile and every day between they preached the promise of Christmas.
From the seed of a woman would come a seed of promise who would crush the head of the serpent and reverse the curse of sin.
The Writings:
The Writings:
Wisdom literature like Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes used meter and verse to describe these things.
They taught God’s people the glory of true worship and the coming of a child who would redeem them from exile and subjugation.
There are so many examples and we don’t have time to explore them all.
Psalm 2 anticipates a Son of God who will rule as king and inherit the nations of the earth.
Psalm 22 shows the suffering of that servant who would make atonement through the sacrifice of himself.
Proverbs 8 presents wisdom as a begotten son before the foundation of the world.
Psalm 84 describes a dwelling place in which our heart and flesh cry out for God.
Psalm 118 says this coming temple is built on a cornerstone the builders rejected.
Psalm 110 anticipates the rule of Messiah while God makes every enemy a footstool.
In the book of Ruth (which we just studied) we see all three themes intersect in the same story.
The promised seed advances through Ruth (though she was a childless widow from Moab)
The promise seed only happened because of the sacrifice of a kinsmen redeemer.
The promise seed was born a son who became the Grandfather of the Future King.
On and one we could go. I could give you example after example after example.
Whether the Law, the Prophets or the Writings - one thing is shared in common.
The seed of the woman continued but the chosen child child was yet to come.
The sacrifice for sin was provided but the ultimate temple was yet to come.
The subjugation of the serpent was certain but the earthy throne was empty.
GARDEN TABERNACLE GARDEN
GARDEN TABERNACLE GARDEN
All of those examples and all of that tension was setting the stage for Jesus. There are so many Christmas passages we could point to that show his unique fulfillment of each theme.
Let’s start with how Jesus is the fulfillment of the Promise Child:
Promised Child:
Promised Child:
For the past three weeks we’ve been looking at the genealogy of Jesus which establishes him as the fulfillment of the promised seed in Genesis 3:15.
Luke’s genealogy connects Jesus to Adam showing that he’s not just fulfilling God’s covenant to Adam but also his covenant with mankind in the Garden. (Luke 3:23-38)
In fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah Jesus was born of a virgin and named Immanuel (Matthew 1:18-25)
The meaning of the word is the glory of the garden: God with us again.
The angelic announcements showed this was no mere human child. He was instead Son of the Most High God. (Luke 1:32-33)
He was born in Bethlehem a fulfillment of Micah 5:2 “from you will come forth a ruler in Israel who is coming forth from old.”
Jesus is that ancient ruler - the Ancient of Day in Daniel’s vision. (Dan 7:6)
In other words - it’s not just that a child was born. Indeed the eternal son of God was “given” and the government would be on his shoulders. (Isaiah 9:6)
Promised Throne:
Promised Throne:
Jesus’s birth also presents him as the promised king who would sit on David’s throne.
When Gabriel announces the birth to Mary he says Jesus will sit on the throne of his father David. (Luke 1:32-33) He would fulfill God’s promise that of that kingdom there would be no end. ( 2 Sam 7:12-13)
When the Magi arrive they do so seeking the “King of the Jews.” (Matthew 2:2) This is exactly why Herod reacts in murderous rage and has all the children murdered who might be a threat to his throne. (Mat 2:1-12)
The angels tell the shepherds that this Good News of Great Joy is for ALL THE PEOPLE because Jesus was Christ the Lord. (the word Christ symbolizing the earthly political ruler who would liberate Israel from bondage. (Luke 2:11)
Mary’s song of praise shows that Jesus is the fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham and Israel. (Luke 1:46-55)
Finally Zechariah’s blessing on Jesus presents him as the “horn of salvation” in the house of David who would complete God’s covenant promises. (Luke 1:68-79)
Promised Temple:
Promised Temple:
But my all time FAVORITE Christmas text and the one I want us to focus on as we bring our time to a close is how the birth of Jesus restores the promise of a temple.
Remember, the temple and the tabernacle were man’s best attempts to restore the communion with God we had in the Garden of Eden.
I think Christmas is ultimately about that gift. Jesus is the gift of Immanuel: God with us.
It is in the presence of Jesus that the words of the Psalmist come true: better is ONE DAY in your courts than a 1,000 anywhere else.
Jesus was actually WITH GOD - there in that first Garden of Eden. John puts it this way in his Christmas story.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
The light of God’s glory in the first temple - Eden - was the light of God’s Son the Lord Jesus.
But that paradise was lost because of sin. Something else had to happen for that presence to be restored.
John says that “something else” was embodied by Jesus at the very beginning.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The Greek word translated “dwelt” is the same Greek word used in the Greek Old Testament for Tabernacle.
You might literally translate it, “The word became flesh and tabernacled among us.”
Remember, the tabernacle was a throwback to the Garden of Eden and an earthly attempt to restore the communion with God that was lost.
John is saying, “the birth of Christ at Christmas was like a living and breathing tabernacle.”
Except it wasn’t like Moses’s tabernacle. It was actually far far greater.
16 Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness, 17 for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.
Jesus Brings Back the Garden
Jesus Brings Back the Garden
The reason that God had to become a human being at Christmas is because that’s the ONLY WAY he could fulfill every layer of the Christmas promise.
It had to be an offspring of the woman.
It had to be accomplished through a sacrifice.
It had to be a savior who could crush the head of the serpent.
The only way God could keep that promise was in sending his one and only son to be born of a virgin - live a sinless life of love and obedience and lay down his life as an atoning sacrifice for sin.
In other words, Jesus had to become human so that he could experience the curse that our sin brought on the world.
In order to bring us back to the garden he had to reverse the curse of Eden’s Fall.
And you actually see Jesus coming to TERMS with this act when he was in a different garden - the Garden of Gethsemane.
It was in the Garden of Gethsemane that Jesus accomplished what Adam and Eve did not.
He too, in that moment, was tempted by Satan to reject the will of the Father and do his own thing instead.
Unlike our first parents, though, Jesus submitted to the Father, received his cup of suffering and absorbed God’s wrath on the cross.
As a result of his atoning death for sin he crushed the head of the serpent and destroyed the works of the devil.
Crush the Serpent
Crush the Serpent
That was the REASON for Christmas. Jesus came to bring us back to Eden. 1 John 3:8
1 John 3:8 (CSB)
8 …The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s works.
After Jesus’ death on the cross God raised him from the dead and seated him on David’s throne. It is from that throne that Jesus reigns EVEN NOW.
Guess how Jesus appeared to Mary after being raised from the tomb? A gardener. The tomb of Jesus (even today) is the “Garden Tomb” of Jesus.
That’s why I’m telling you Christmas isn’t about the presence of God in a manger. Its’ about God getting us back into the garden.
Back to the Garden
Back to the Garden
And the reason I know that’s true is because the very last chapters of the Bible show us the final garden of God.
It’s a new heaven and a new earth with Jesus ruling and reigning.
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
5 Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.”
You say that doesn’t sound like a garden to me. And I agree - it sounds like a city but it’s a city within a garden!
It was arrayed with precious jewels just like temple and the garden of Eden (Rev 21:11)
It was structured like a temple but in this garden there was no temple. Rev 21:22
22 I did not see a temple in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
The Garden imagery picks up in the last chapter of the Bible. Rev 22:1-5
1 Then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations, 3 and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will be no more; people will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign forever and ever.
In Jesus Christ was light and that light was the life of men.
5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
That’s what we celebrate at Christmas. The completion of the Christmas promise through the birth of Lord and Savior - Jesus who is the Christ.
