Christmas Bonus: More Than Presents and Packages

I can’t point to any studies, but I have some certainty that the most-asked question today around the United States is this: “What did you get for Christmas?”  Many of us spent some time opening a present or two yesterday.  And today, the day after Christmas, we’re asking people all around us: “What did you get for Christmas?”  In fact, let’s take some time to ask each other that question.  Lean over to the person near you and ask what he/she got for Christmas…

Let’s hear from some of our younger worshippers.  If you are in 5^th grade or younger and would be willing to tell us one thing you got for Christmas, raise your hand…

For about three weeks, I’ve been asking people to write me regarding the best Christmas gift they ever got.  Here are some of their answers:

• Tiffani, a friend from high school, writes that one Christmas when she was 10, her mom made her a life-sized rag doll.  She writes, “The doll was like a friend to me and she became more special as I began to realize how many nights my mother must have stayed up to make her for me.”
• Morrisa, the wife of a high school friend, told of being 8 and receiving the Golden Rule Encyclopedia.  She writes, “Each new letter began with a history of that letter in four different languages. I think it was 20 volumes to the set – better than the cowboy boots and six shooter!”  (Obviously Morrisa was a geek.)
• Highland member Lynn Morris writes this: “Well, since amazement was at a peak when I was a little girl, it is, hands down, my first & only Barbie doll. She was dressed in a black sequined evening gown & I knew Santa had placed her under my tree because I had bravely sat on his lap & asked him to bring me one. It may sound trite, but for a little girl who grew up with very little, this was a very big deal.”

Many of us have received some wonderful gifts over the years for Christmas.

But no gift can match the gift given us by Jesus at the first Christmas.  One of the things John focuses on in his account of the birth of Jesus is the gift Jesus brings: 14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15( John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'”) 16And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (Jn. 1:14-18 ESV).  Three times John describes us the gift Jesus brought on that first Christmas: “full of grace and truth (v. 14)”; “grace upon grace (v. 16),”; and “grace and truth (v. 17).”  The best gift we ever received is this first Christmas gift of grace and truth.  When Jesus came to earth and the Word became flesh, he came not with a bag full of packages and presents, he came as a God full of grace and truth.

There is widespread agreement among New Testament scholars that John’s pair of words “grace and truth” are borrowed from Ex. 34:6.  We’ve already seen two ways in which John’s account borrows from Exodus: his use of the word “tabernacle” (translated “dwelt”) in vs. 14 and his use of the word “glory” in v. 14.  This morning we’ll note how John’s words “grace and truth” come from Ex. 34.

By this point, Moses has come down from the mountain where he’s been with God.  As he witnesses the idolatry of the people who’ve turned their backs on God, Moses smashes the two stone tablets to pieces—the tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments.  Chaos ensues.  In the aftermath, everyone has questions.  What is God going to do?  Will God abandon them as they’ve abandoned him?  Will God give them what they deserve?  Moses climbs back up to Mount Sinai where God has promised to write two more stone tablets of Ten Commandments.  And God appears to Moses: 5The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…(Ex. 34:5-7 ESV).  What God most wants to communicate to Moses, and through Moses to the people, is that in spite of the people’s grievous sin, God is a God of “love and faithfulness.”  The Hebrew words “love and faithfulness” are rendered by John with the Greek words “grace and truth.”  John’s word “grace” is equivalent to God’s word “love” in Ex. 34.  To love is to extend grace, to give what is undeserved and unexpected.  John’s word “truth” is equivalent to God’s word “faithfulness” in Ex. 34.  Someone who is true is someone who is faithful, someone who is loyal even when he has reason to not be loyal.  Above all, God wanted Moses to hear that God is full of love and faithfulness.  Above all, John wants us to hear that Jesus brought with him grace and truth.  What God spoke of in Ex. 34 became human in Jesus Christ.  Jesus became the living embodiment of love and faithfulness, or grace and truth.

For many of us, this is not surprising news.  This is a Christmas gift we’d expect.  Of course Jesus brought grace and truth that first Christmas.  What else would he bring?

But there’s more to this gift that we might imagine.  John wants to make sure we don’t take this gift for granted.  So to the phrase “grace and truth” John adds this phrase: “grace upon grace.”  And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. John tells us that in bringing grace and truth Jesus was in fact bringing “grace upon grace.”  The gift of the Incarnation was a gift of “grace upon grace.”

But what does that phrase mean?  The way John writes this phrase leaves a little question as to its exact meaning.  John leaves us with two possibilities.

One way of reading “grace upon grace” is to read it as “grace after grace after grace…”  John may be saying that when Jesus came to earth he brought with him an inexhaustible source of grace.  This Jesus will not only extend grace to you once.  He will extend grace to you again.  And again.  And again.  And again.  This Jesus comes giving his gift of grace to you every single day.

Think of the best present you’ve ever received at Christmas.  Now imagine receiving a present like that every day.  My friend Tiffani’s mother made her that life-sized rag doll one Christmas.  What a gift!  But imagine if her mother made her a gift like that every day!

Think of the Christmas gift which so many of you made possible for the Patterson family this year.  Just four weeks ago Jim Harbin stood before you and told you about this family who was living out of their car.  They were homeless and facing serious medical issues.  Without any hesitation, dozens of you and several from the community pooled resources and decided to do something about this.  Your generosity made it possible for that family, just a few days ago, to walk into their new apartment, fully furnished, stocked with food, and a Christmas tree and an abundance of Christmas presents.  What a Christmas that family was given!  It’s a once-in-a-lifetime gift.  It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience of grace.  But imagine if they received a gift like that every single day!

John is saying that’s what life with Jesus is like.  The word “grace” is literally the word “gift.”  The gift which the infant Jesus brought is not just a one-time, once-in-a-lifetime grace—although just that would be more than we deserve and more than we could hope for.  Instead, John says it’s a “grace upon grace.”  It’s a grace that is given not just once, but again and again and again.  Every day you wake up, Jesus is ready to extend that once-in-a-lifetime grace to you again.

One of the greatest letdowns is the day after Christmas.  When I was young, it seemed that Christmas day would never get here.  For days, weeks, and months I anticipated that day.  A day unlike any other day.  A day of opening present after present.  Even a good birthday paled in comparison to a good Christmas day.  And finally Christmas day would come and I’d get to open all those presents.  But then, before I knew it, Christmas day was over.  And I’d have to wait more than 360 days before it would come around again.  That’s not how it is with Jesus.  Every day is Christmas day.  He gives that undeserved and unexpected grace, and keeps on giving it.  Every day it’s available.  He comes full of grace upon grace.

There is a second way of understanding “grace upon grace.”  It not only can mean “grace after grace after grace after grace.”  It can also mean “one grace replaced with another grace.”  John may be drawing a contrast between the grace Moses delivered and the grace Jesus delivered.  Johns puts it this way: 16And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Our gut reaction is to believe that John is drawing a contrast here between law and grace.  Moses brought law.  Jesus brought grace.  But v. 17 is an explanation of v. 16.  The word “For” which begins v. 17 means that vs. 17 is there to explain what John means in v. 16.  John is using v. 17 to explain what he means by “grace upon grace.”  This isn’t a contrast between unforgiving law and grace.  It’s a contrast between one kind of grace—that expressed through the law Moses delivered, and another kind of grace—that expressed through the coming of Jesus.

The reference to the law given through Moses takes us back to Ex. 34.  The stone tablets are smashed.  They are a visual symbol a spiritual problem.  The people have taken their relationship with God and smashed it to pieces.  Despite this, God tells Moses to cut two more stone tablets and bring them to Sinai and God will write the words on them again.  In other words, God says, “It’s not over.  I’m not giving up.  I’m not going to quit you even though you quit me.”  God gives Moses the Ten Commandments again and enters into covenant relationship with the people.  God pledges his love and loyalty, grace and truth.  This scene of God giving the law to Moses is actually a scene of grace.  God gave them what they did not deserve and refused to give them what they did deserve.  Despite their rebellion, God still entered into covenant relationship with them.  It was an act of extraordinary grace.

But when Jesus became flesh, this scene of grace in Ex. 34 was overshadowed by a new scene of grace.  If we thought God was forgiving in Exodus 34 we’ll be shocked by the level of grace demonstrated through the coming of Jesus.  In Jesus, grace became personal.  In Jesus, grace became more real than it ever was at any other time.  The note of grace was sounded in both Ex. 34 and in John 1.  But its sound in John 1 far surpassed that in Ex. 34.

“Axis of Awesome” is a comedy rock band.  A couple of years ago they demonstrated how a number of popular songs in our culture are based on the same four musical chords.  The band played dozens of hit pop songs.  Some are songs we’d think are great.  Some are songs we’d think are not so great.  But all were built on the same four chords.  They showed how pop music today often shares the same four chords.

John is saying the same thing in our text.  The four chords of God’s grace are found in both Old and New Testaments.  The note of grace is sounded in both Ex. 34 and Jn. 1.  It’s not like Moses brought legalism but Jesus brought grace.  It’s not like God didn’t discover grace until Jn. 1.  God gave grace through Moses.  He also gave grace through Jesus.  We hear the same chord in both chapters.  But the expression of grace found in Jesus was far superior.  If you liked the song of grace sung by Moses, you’ll love the song of grace sung by Jesus.  Both are based on the same chord.  But one song now replaces another.  One song supersedes the other.  The grace brought by Jesus takes things to an entirely different level.

Let’s go back to those Christmas presents.

• Tiffani, a friend from high school, writes that one Christmas when she was 10, her mom made her a life-sized rag doll.  What a gift!  But what if the next Christmas her mom made her a life-sized house to go along with the life-sized doll?  The first gift or grace was amazing.  But the second gift or grace would be even more amazing.
• Morrisa, the wife of a high school friend, told of being 8 and receiving the Golden Rule Encyclopedia—all 20 sets.  What a gift!  But what if the next Christmas her parents invited the authors of that set to the house in person?  The first gift was amazing.  The second was even more amazing.

That’s how it is with Jesus.  The grace shown by God through Moses in Ex. 34 is amazing.  What a gift!  But grace shown by God through Jesus in Jn. 1 is even more amazing!

About six years ago I conducted a retreat for ministers in northern California.  A youth minister named Woody Square invited me.  Woody and his wife Judy served as missionaries in Papua New Guinea for six years.  Several at Highland know them because of our mission work in Papua New Guinea.  Woody is now a youth minister at the San Leandro Church of Christ near San Francisco.  As a youth minister living near San Francisco, Woody does not make a great deal of money.  When I spoke at their retreat, I stayed one night in their home—a very basic but very hospitable home.  I drove in their vehicles.  One, their Toyota Camry, has more than 200,000 miles on it.  Woody and I enjoyed being together at that retreat and we’ve reconnected several times, especially at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures in Malibu, CA.

Earlier this year Woody and Judy went camping at Yosemite National Park.  They ran into two women who were staying in a pop-up camper towed by a SUV.  The women, it turned out, were Oprah Winfrey and her long-time friend Gayle King.  Oprah was there to draw attention to the National Parks, especially since she had been told that few African-Americans visit America’s national parks.  When Oprah saw Woody at Yosemite, she was surprised, because Woody is black.  She was told few blacks visit the parks but here was a black man right next to her.  She and Woody hit it off and Woody and Judy got to pose for pictures with Oprah.  What an amazing gift!  There they were just camping and suddenly they get to meet and have a photo shoot with an international celebrity.  It was a wonderful and unexpected treat.

But little did they know that another gift was coming, and even greater expression of grace.  A week later, an “Oprah” producer called and invited the Squares to fly to Chicago and appear on the Oprah Winfrey show. The producer said the show would take care of everything — flights, chauffeurs, accommodations and all tips.  During the taping, the Squares chatted briefly with Winfrey.  Near the end of the show, Oprah said, “Woody, it seems like camping just brings you so much joy, right?  So, come on up here, guys.”   As the Squares stood next to her, Winfrey said, “So, I would have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Yosemite, and everybody should get there at least once in their lifetime, don’t you think?  “But the truth is,” she said, “I have to finish the 25th season, and the next time I go, I’m going to find a butler.   So, I won’t be going anytime soon. So, I want to give you guys the keys to my Coleman camper. And, because you guys have been so great, you need something to pull it with. So, I’m throwing in the Chevy hybrid Tahoe.”

The first gift was wonderful—face-time and photo-time with a celebrity.  The second gift was even greater—a free trip to Chicago, an appearance on national television, a pop-up camper and a new SUV.

John says that’s what the birth of Jesus is about.  It’s about one grace overreaching another.  It’s about opening one gift far greater than the gift you already thought could not be beat.  It’s about the grace greater than any grace ever given.

Roger Barrier writes about leaving for college.[1] His mother had always done his laundry.  Before Roger left, she gave him a canvas duffel bag. “Put your dirty clothes in this every night,” she said. “At the end of the week, wash them at the Laundromat.”  A week later, Roger did just that.  He went to the college Laundromat, threw the duffel bag in stuffed with dirty clothes, threw some detergent in, and started the washing machine.  Moments later, everyone turned when they heard the loud, “thump, thump, thump, thump” emanating from Roger’s washing machine.  Another student approached him.  She said, “I watched you load your washer. I think the clothes would get cleaner if you took them out of the bag first.”  Later, Roger reflected on the incident and wrote this: “One day, when my relationship with God was hurting, I remembered my laundry episode. I realized the way I confessed sins—‘Dear God, please forgive me for all the sins I’ve committed today’—was about as effective in cleansing them as my first attempt at washing clothes. Each sin needs individual attention.”

How true that is—especially at this time of the year.  As the year ends and another begins, some of us are filled with regret.  It’s a time when we don’t just think about sin in general.  We think about specific sins.  We unzip our duffel bag and we ponder long over each and every stained and filthy piece, each and every failure, mistake, rebellion, and selfish act from the year.  And unless we deal with each one, and deal appropriately with it, we’ll carry it with us into the new year.  So here’s what I recommend.  Unzip that bag.  Pull every one of those stinking and filthy flaws out.  And hand every one of them to Jesus.  He’s not just going to offer grace for the small ones—the little mistakes.  He’s going to offer grace for the big ones—for the things you did that you knew you shouldn’t do but you did them any way; and for the things you didn’t do that you knew you should do but you didn’t do them anyway.  It’s a grace that replaces all grace that’s ever been known in the Bible.  It’s a grace you cannot fathom.  It’s a grace he offers not just today.  But every day.  For the rest of your life.  Grace up on grace.  It’s the greatest Christmas gift you’ve ever received.

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[1] Roger Barrier, Listening to the Voice of God, found in Men of Integrity (March/April 2006); April 6.