Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope

Speaker 1

Have you ever noticed that Jesus often shows up in Christmas where we least expect him? And it's so true. We usually expect to find Jesus in the parties and celebrations of the holiday season, you know, all the fun and laughter. But most often we find Jesus in the stables of our suffering places where we least expect Him.

My friend John Bloom describes this very thing from Scripture. Like in Micah chapter 5, it tells everyone plainly that they were to expect the Messiah to appear in Bethlehem, but no one ever dreamed he would appear there, as if by accident and at the last minute. The Jews never expected the Messiah to grow up in Nazareth, let alone Galilee. Like, you know, can anything good come out of Nazareth? Years later, no one expected him to suddenly appear as an itinerant rabbi with a school of disciples comprised of what? Fishermen? Tax collectors? Zealots? Nor did anyone expect Jesus to confront the self-righteousness of Jews, far more than the oppressive Roman occupiers. And they certainly did not expect Jesus to find more faith in a Roman centurion than in all the people of Israel.

The man born blind never did expect to see the Messiah with his own eyes, only to realize that the religious Pharisees, who should have known him, for the life of them couldn't see most of all. As John Bloom writes, no one expected the Messiah, the son of David, to be convicted of blasphemy and executed without dignity by the Romans. Back in Bible times, all of these things were far, far beyond people's expectations.

And it's no different today. We fill Christmas with all sorts of expectations. But the biblical pattern teaches us that Jesus is not all that concerned with our expectations. Instead, he's mainly concerned with our most desperate needs. We typically do not choose our most desperate places—the places of our fear and the places of our sin—as places to encounter and worship Jesus. But he does. He knows that these are the places we need most, the thrill of hope.

So expect to find Jesus in the sober celebrations of dear friends who, let's say due to cancer, may be sharing their last Christmas together. Expect to find Jesus at the hospital bedside of a precious little boy, where his parents have kept faithful vigil since his brain injury months ago. Expect to find Jesus this Christmas in the places of your own groaning, your sinful stumbling, and your persistent weaknesses.

Yes, by all means, enjoy the pleasantries, the happiness of this holiday. But if you're hurting or struggling against sin, what you'd probably most enjoy and what you need is hope. Hope that your sins can be forgiven, that shattered trust can be rebuilt, and that your loved one's suffering is not in vain. Jesus came into the world at a desperate time in a very desperate way. It was not the way people expected him to come, and it wasn't for the reasons they expected him to come. He didn't come to meet their expectations, but to love them in the ways they most desperately needed.

And finally, as John Bloom puts it, Christmas is not about tradition but salvation. It's not about expectations, but sanctification. Christmas is about love. Earthy, gritty, sacrificial, even bloody love. This was a love no one expected, and a love that exceeds all our expectations. So this Christmas, look for Jesus in an unexpected place. Maybe a place of brokenness or of sin. A place where he will cause his good news to be your greatest joy this glorious season.