THE SADDEST MAN ON CHRISTMAS DAY

MIKE CUNNINGHAM

JANUARY 8, 2112

As I look at you children sitting on those hard uncomfortable pews this cold winter day in January; I remember you telling me how happy you were on Christmas morning when you opened your presents. Some of you were wearing a present to the next worship service and some were having a hard time waiting until the service ended before taking a look at the cool gadget you brought with you. Raise your hand if I’m mistaken. That’s what I thought. I bet some of you are wearing a present or have a gadget with you right now. Am I correct?

Do any of you children know of a girl or boy who didn’t get as many presents as you did? Let’s have a show of hands. Some of you do. Would you care to tell us about that person? Is it ok if I ask the grownups that question? Thanks kids. Well, how about you folks; do you know of a child that didn’t get many presents or perhaps none at all? I thought some of you would: thanks.

Now let’s consider some of the reasons.

When parents become divorced it’s rough on the kids in more ways than one. Many of them often don’t have a lot of money to buy presents for their children.

The same is often true if the breadwinner in the family loses his or her job and can’t buy a present either.

There are many older folks who don’t have enough income and they are forced to choose between buying food or medicine much less a present for their grandchildren.

Folks whose car was reposed or they just received an eviction notice to vacate their apartment or the bank has started the foreclosure process on their home. Do you think they have a lot of money to spare for Christmas presents?

Now here’s a question for all of you. Do you know of anyone who was very sad on Christmas Day? Of course you do.

Perhaps a loved one was very sick and buying Christmas presents were the last thing on his or her mind.

The fact is that many people were sad this past Christmas Day and some of us know them.

Many devout Roman Catholics were very sad because their church was shut down before Christmas and the property sold because, relatively speaking, of the actions of a handful of evil priests.

It may have been the first Christmas without a loved one because of his or her death. Allow me to share the following email I received on New Year’s Day. “Mike, I've been very down this last month and hearing from you the other day picked me up. These past few years of my life has made me wonder about what GOD is all about especially this past year. Sometimes I wonder what it's all worth. Life for the Christian is a suffering one and I don't understand why. HE GOD has us all on a string and dangling. I sit and think about what our Creator wants from us. I for one have a lot more to understand. I'm glad that you have been there for me over the years. I've learned a lot from YOU. I will continue to go on no matter what and hope to understand more about our GOD. Have to close for now. I’m becoming more and more of a recluse and not wanting to talk with anyone or associating. Yours, Richard LaBelle.”

Then there was the 26 year old son of the bookkeeper of our church who unexpectedly went into cardiac arrest and died a couple of days before Christmas.

How can we forget Guy’s wife Carroll who was still suffering seemingly never ending physical and emotional pain on another Christmas Day.

And how can I forget my Granddaughter, Katie who sent me the following email this past week, “Hi Grandpa. I'm not doing too well. My depression is very bad this winter and I'm having problems with the benefits and college. I've also been pretty sick since December and I'm not getting better. I just really need a couple extra prayers please. How are you feeling Grandpa? I've been praying for you. All of my love to you and Grandma. God bless, Katie.”

I also received the latest update on Jason from Dorothy written to his Harvest Time family. Dorothy reports: “Here’s the latest for those of you who are unaware; Jason Robtoy had emergency surgery today for a perforated ulcer. That is not the same as a bleeding ulcer. Perforated ulcers happen with no warning.”

“Jason will be in the hospital a minimum of 5 days, perhaps longer due to his health conditions. He needs our prayers. As you know, it’s been one thing after another health wise and it tests his new found faith. If you are able to call or visit, he would benefit. He has no family to care for him, no family that calls. We are his family”

Here’s another one I received last week from Bob of Harvest Time who writes to them, “Hi all, I just returned from visiting Jason after passing Martha leaving the parking garage on my way in. He was sleeping but woke up after 10 or 15 minutes. His pain is being controlled with intravenous plus a hand pump as needed. He was in excruciating pain for much of the day as they ran out of the pain medicine on the floor for well over an hour because of some sort of mix up with the pharmacy.

Do you think any of these folks I just mentioned was the Saddest Man on Christmas Day?

Do you think that either Katie’s husband Luis’ or me who are the two most important men in her life was the saddest man on Christmas Day? I’m sure it wasn’t me and judging from his hearty laughter and appetite it wasn’t Katie’s husband Luis’ either. I know the other men weren’t very happy but I doubt if any of them would consider themselves the saddest man on Christmas Day.

I assure you there was always a man who was the saddest man on Christmas Day. So who was he? Perhaps it’s too soon to tell for this past Christmas Day. So let’s pick another date. How about the year you were born? Let me have some dates. Do any of you know the name of the Sad-deist man on Christmas Day in the year you were born? Would any of you grown up’s like to give it a try? That’s what I thought.

Suppose I told you that I know for sure the name of the saddest man on Christmas Day for every year in history including the first Christmas Day; would you believe me or do you think I’m pulling your leg and this is some kind of a trick question? Well the fact is that I do know. I can even go back to before God created the world when there was only God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist introduced Him in the flesh to certain priests and Levites when he said to them: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,” (John 1:29.)Later, praying on behalf of His beloved disciples in His High Priestly Prayer to His Father, Jesus said. “You loved Me before the foundation of the world,” (John 17:24).

Now I would like to share the following well known passages of scripture from the Gospel of John which records the account of a certain Pharisee named Nicodemus who came to Jesus one night and asked Him about the things Jesus was teaching., “How can these things be?" ¹⁰ Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? ¹¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. ¹² If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

¹⁹ And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹ But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God."

I’m going to focus on John 3:16 when Jesus said “God so loved the world.” By making that statement Jesus was saying that the world means every human being in it was living in a corrupt and miserable state. The Apostle John expresses it like this: “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one,” (1 John 5:17).

One of my favorite Puritans named Thomas Manton commenting on John 3:16 wrote: “The whole world is a heap of men who have broken God’s Law. They have forfeited His love and favor; they don’t fear God. They were neither thankful nor holy despite this fact. This is the kind of world God loved.” The same fact is stated in Titus 3:4: “the kindness and love of God our Savior towards man appeared.” To sum it up; God first loved the world and then He gave His only begotten Son to die for every person who would ever be born into it.

Manton continues: “there is no worthiness in any human being and when God’s love moved Him to give Christ for us, He had all of mankind in mind and view, as lying in the polluted mass, or in a state of sin and misery, and then He provided a Savior for them. God at first made a perfect law, which forbade all sin under the penalty of the pain of death. Man broke this law, and we still break it every day in every sin. Now when men lived, and went on sinning and hostility against God, He was pleased then to send His Son to assume our nature, and die for our transgressions. Therefore the giving of a Redeemer was the work of His free mercy.” (1)

Please think about the following quotes of Jesus that are recorded in John’s book. Before you do remember the passage Guy has been drilling into us for the past several weeks where John explains the whole purpose of his book. Did you memorize it like Guy asked us to?

“…these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:31 (ESV)

Now here are some other facts Jesus taught that I would like you to consider carefully.

John 5:24 (ESV) ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 14:5-6 (ESV) ⁵ Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" ⁶ Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Elsewhere in the same Gospel Jesus consoles a grieving woman named Martha whose brother Lazarus had died. John 11:25-26 (ESV) ²⁵ Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die."

Now let’s return to before the world was created and consider Gods’ perfect plan. When God spoke the world into existence Jesus was predestined to be born, grow up and when He was about 33 years old started teaching about the Good News to the Jews. Then on what we refer to as being Good Friday, allowed Himself to be crucified on behalf of every human being who would ever be born and suffered and died an agonizing death the magnitude of which is impossible for any human being to understand. But then three days later on what we call Easter Sunday Jesus rose from the dead.

I’m sure you kids are wondering what all this has to do with the identity of the Saddest Man on Christmas Day. I assure you it has everything for the sad fact is that a lot of folks believe they are going to Heaven when they die. Now try to visualize the following scene.

The Angel of Death is escorting someone who, of their own free will, wants nothing to do with Jesus and will not believe in Him. When he or she arrives at the door leading into Heaven the Angel tells the person that all they have to do is open the door and go right in. It’s as simple as that. The Angel also tells him or her that Jesus is waiting on the other side to let the person in. When he or she arrives at the door they notice there’s no door knob. Then the dead person hears Jesus say: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20 (ESV)

Next the surprised person hears a knock. It’s coming from Jesus. However, of their own free will they still will not believe in Him, Jesus the Christ, the Risen Savior, a Man who loves them so much He suffered pure unadulterated agony so that they could live with Him forever in happiness, joy, peace and contentment. At that point the cloud the dead person is standing on engulfs him or her and they drop into a whirlpool on their way to eternal darkness. He or she had just freely chosen to condemn themselves to an everlasting death of misery and horrendous torment because they will not believe in Jesus just as Jesus knew they wouldn’t before He created the world. And that’s the reason Jesus will always be the Saddest Man on Christmas Day.

Lord willing, soon.

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Volume 2 The Works Of Thomas Manton, The Banner of Truth Trust, 3 Murrayfield Road, Edinburgh EH126EL, P. O. Box 621 Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA, Pgs. 340-41.

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