The One Full of Grace and Truth

The sermon begins by identifying the risk that Christmas season can cause believers to forget the true meaning of Christmas amid decoration, shopping, and festive preparations. John 1:14 is presented as the clearest scripture explaining the meaning of Christmas: the Word became flesh, full of grace and truth. Grace is defined as a precious gift undeserved by the recipient, illustrated through the parable of workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20) where all workers, despite different work, receive the same wage. The incarnation of Jesus Christ is the most concrete evidence of God's grace for humanity, while simultaneously fulfilling the promise of salvation from thousands of years before, beginning with the promise to Adam and Eve after their sin.

Christ's genealogy in Matthew 1 is the clearest expression of God's immense and precious grace. The genealogy contains three remarkable and astonishing elements: first, it includes the names of women, uncommon in genealogies of that time because women were regarded as inferior to men. Second, it includes despised foreigners like Moabites and Canaanites—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth—people who were even forbidden to enter the temple according to the Mosaic Law. Third, it includes people of questionable morality: Rahab was a prostitute, Tamar had relations with her father-in-law, Bathsheba committed adultery with King David and bore Solomon. Rather than descending from Joseph, a righteous and ethical man, Christ instead descended from Judah who had relations with his daughter-in-law. The genealogy also records the names of kings who rebelled against God, especially Manasseh. What is essential is understanding that grace and truth must be balanced and harmonized. Without grace, truth becomes cruel and vicious. Without truth, grace becomes dangerous and meaningless. In Jesus Christ, both qualities are present in the most complete and balanced way. The mature believer in God recognizes truth but expresses it with love, patience, and even forbearance. Our model is Jesus Christ, who does not treat everyone the same but according to each person's needs, knowing what the person before him needs and expressing grace and truth appropriately.

Christ's genealogy reveals that in God's family no one deserves acceptance based on merit alone, but only through grace. All those listed—the deceiver, women, prostitutes, Moabites, Canaanites, kings, those who committed adultery—all sit at the table of Jesus' family. By grace, sinners whom society despises and rejects most will enter God's kingdom. This is the profound meaning of Christmas: through Jesus Christ, everyone, regardless of nationality, status, or moral past, is adopted as sons and daughters of God. When God poured out His blood on the cross, that blood became a robe of righteousness that covers our sins. God sees the robe of righteousness of His only Son and no longer sees our sins. The number fourteen repeated three times in the genealogy (14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 from David to the Babylonian exile, 14 from exile to Jesus) signifies 7+7+7+7+7+7, which is the seventh generation of seven, symbolizing perfect completeness and eternal rest. Jesus Christ is the One of Jubilee who will bring the year of Jubilee, the Sabbath rest, cleansing all our sins and granting us new life.

The Gospel of Christmas is that God through Jesus Christ loves us more than we hope for. God saves us through grace by faith. The incarnation of Jesus Christ has broken down all boundaries, barriers, and walls of race, color, gender, education, status, past, and genealogy. Women, foreigners, kings, prostitutes, those guilty of incest, those who deceived their fathers—all sit at the same table in God's family. This is the true good news of Christmas: everyone, no matter who they are, can partake of the feast of the Lamb and receive true peace and rest in Christ.