Sermon for New Year's Eve, 2005

Message: “Jesus: Beginning, Middle, End” Matthew 1:18-21

1. Grace mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Tonight’s message is entitled, “Jesus, Beginning, Middle and End” and is taken from the Gospel of Matthew 1:18-21. Dear brother’s and sisters in Christ. T.S. Eliot, the English poet and playwright, thought of life as ongoing exploration. And what is the end of our exploring? As he states it will be “to arrive where we started.” As human beings we can’t avoid beginnings and endings, because we’re created by God and have a beginning at our birth. We’re born into this world and we know that we’re going to die because of our spiritual state of sin and disobedience to God our Heavenly Father and Creator. Our earthly life had a beginning and it will have an end. Our undertakings start and then stop. So it is with our measurements of time. The year begins and it ends, as it will later this evening.

2. All of us being caught in the land of time need a timeless anchor and we have one in Jesus Christ. He’s risen from the dead and now ruling at the right hand of God in heaven. He’s eternal, unchanging, as is the Father with whom He is one. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Here in our Gospel lesson for this evening we can see that Jesus came into our realm of time to redeem us from the curse of sin and death. He became like one of us, taking on all our sicknesses and illnesses in order to bring us out of this fallen world that is full of despair. Jesus’ birth is one that is unique for all of human history as Matthew 18:18 states, “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.” This tells us a fact without even attempting to explain how it took place. It tells us that the eternal Son of God, the one who “Was with God in the beginning” as John 1:2 states and assumed human flesh and blood in the womb of the Virgin Mary, actually was born into our world.

3. Jesus the Son of God becoming a human being has great meaning for us today, even as we anxiously await the beginning of a New Year. Jesus’ birth shows that God intervened for all humanity to save us from the punishment that we deserve. Jesus God’s Son was destined to die even before He was born as the son of Mary and Joseph. This little baby held all of the power of the whole world in the palm of His tiny little hands and yet he probably couldn’t have lifted much of anything after He was born. He cried and played as you and I did when we were children and yet He was and is God’s Son. This is hard for us to imagine. Even though Christ died on the cross to save us from our sins, death itself couldn’t hold onto him. Some of you may have had loved ones that died this past year and you may be feeling the pain of knowing that you won’t see them again in this life. The holiday season can sometimes make us feel lonely and depressed because our loved ones are no longer with us. But, it’s through Jesus that we know that we’ll see our loved ones again for all eternity! We have hope and joy in Him and His glorious resurrection from the dead. Not even time and death can take hold of our Savior and Lord! Jesus Christ is the beginning, middle and end.

4. In Revelation 22:13 Jesus says—“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” By calling Himself the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and ending of the Greek alphabet, Jesus is also saying that He’s everything in between. He’s complete in that He’s the center of the Gospel of our redemption. How unending is His grace, His love for all sinners! Jesus Christ is the Beginning, Middle, and End—the total content of our faith.

5. As this new year begins a lot of people want to know what’s in store for them. Because of this some people may put a lot of stock in the vague projections of their horoscope. They may become fascinated by palm readers and they may marvel at the doubtful predictions of Nostradamus. But to those looking for a book that predicts future events accurately, the Bible has no equal. In Jesus we know our destinies and fate. We don’t have to worry about our deaths anymore. Jesus Christ has given to us our faith and has promised us the gift of eternal life through it. The Bible shows to us that this faith is true because it has made hundreds of predictions that have been fulfilled. One of the greatest reasons for accepting the divine origin of the Bible is the fact that all of God’s promises and prophecies came true. In fact, the best examples of biblical prophecy are the predictions concerning the coming of Christ.

6. The Bible tells us the time when Christ would come, the place of His birth, the family into which He would be born, the condition of that family at the time, as well as the reaction that He would get from his people. The Bible tells us how He would die and be buried, as well as His resurrection and ascension. In fact there were more than 20 Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled during the 24 hour period of Jesus' crucifixion. These were not "postdictions" (claims written after the events), but prophecies written down more than 400 years or more before they took place. Jesus really is the beginning, middle and the end—He shows this to us through His life story in the Bible itself and all of the prophecies that He fulfilled.

7. As Galatians 4:4-5 says, "But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us… so that he could adopt us as his very own children.” In the birth of Christ, God's timing was perfect, and so it continues to be. The plan of salvation that was promised for so long was given the flesh of a child. In one sudden and hoped for night, God was with us. As Hebrews 1:1-2 says, "Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. But now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son.” What amazing words! As it was foretold, so it has been fulfilled. Now in this New Year that approaches us God is still with us and He continues to speak to us through His Son Jesus Christ. We need not have any fear. Wars will not hurt us, the devil can’t harm us, even though this earth may be destroyed nothing can separate us from Jesus Christ our Savior. The unchanging one. He is the beginning, the middle and the end and our faith rests in Him.

8. Paraphrasing T.S. Eliot and applying his words to time, “The end of the year was inherent in its very beginning, for clocks and calendars don’t stop.” However, the end opens the door to a new beginning, to a new year. Before we begin the New Year, we thank God for His goodness to us in the past—for food and drink, and especially for His saving Word. The Word that reminds us that Jesus Christ became one of us to save us from our sins. His message is timeless and has spoken to so many generations within time. The message of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross reminds us that we all have the promise of eternal life with Him in heaven. In Him there will be no more need to fear time and its hold on us. In Jesus everything will be new forever and ever and there will be no end. May this be so to you and to me. May His Word continue to remind you of this fact. “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”