Scripture referenced
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Isaiah 9 quoted at length as the prophetic cry for the Messiah, including the virgin birth and names of the coming son
1 But there shall be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in the land of the shadow of death, on them the light has shined.
3 You have multiplied the nation. You have increased their joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the plunder.
4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as in the day of Midian.
5 For all the armor of the armed man in the noisy battle, and the garments rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.
8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it falls on Israel.
9 All the people will know, including Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart,
10 “The bricks have fallen, but we will build with cut stone. The sycamore fig trees have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.”
11 Therefore Yahweh will set up on high against him the adversaries of Rezin, and will stir up his enemies,
12 The Syrians in front, and the Philistines behind; and they will devour Israel with open mouth. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
13 Yet the people have not turned to him who struck them, neither have they sought Yahweh of Armies.
14 Therefore Yahweh will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed, in one day.
15 The elder and the honorable man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail.
16 For those who lead this people lead them astray; and those who are led by them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men, neither will he have compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is profane and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
18 For wickedness burns like a fire. It devours the briers and thorns; yes, it kindles in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 Through Yahweh of Armies’ wrath, the land is burned up; and the people are the fuel for the fire. No one spares his brother.
20 One will devour on the right hand, and be hungry; and he will eat on the left hand, and they will not be satisfied. Everyone will eat the flesh of his own arm:
21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Keep this verse
Luke 2
quoted at length telling the birth of Jesus, the angels appearing to the shepherds, and the shepherds finding the baby in the feeding trough
1 Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.
2 This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3 All went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;
5 to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant.
6 While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth.
7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.
9 Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.
11 For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.”
13 Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.”
15 When the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough.
17 When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child.
18 All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.
20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.
21 When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
22 When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”),
24 and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
25 Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.
26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
27 He came in the Spirit into the temple. When the parents brought in the child, Jesus, that they might do concerning him according to the custom of the law,
28 then he received him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 “Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared before the face of all peoples;
32 a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 Joseph and his mother were marveling at the things which were spoken concerning him,
34 and Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against.
35 Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
36 There was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,
37 and she had been a widow for about eighty-four years), who didn’t depart from the temple, worshiping with fastings and petitions night and day.
38 Coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of him to all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem.
39 When they had accomplished all things that were according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
40 The child was growing, and was becoming strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
41 His parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover.
42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast,
43 and when they had fulfilled the days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. Joseph and his mother didn’t know it,
44 but supposing him to be in the company, they went a day’s journey, and they looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances.
45 When they didn’t find him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for him.
46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the middle of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions.
47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
48 When they saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I were anxiously looking for you.”
49 He said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
50 They didn’t understand the saying which he spoke to them.
51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth. He was subject to them, and his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
John 3:16
paraphrased as 'for God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son so that whomsoever should believe in him will not perish but have eternal life'
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This was Tribe's outdoor Christmas Eve service, held in Jackson. Brian Hunter told the story of Christmas not as a holiday tradition but as a storyline running from creation to the present day, and invited anyone hearing it for the first time to receive what he called the gift it offers.
What was said
Brian opened by saying the story of Christmas does not begin with Saint Nicholas or even with Bethlehem. It begins in a garden. God created mankind for relationship, gave humanity free will as a gift, and humanity used that freedom to eat from what Brian called "the tree of independence apart from a relationship with God." That choice infected the whole human race with sin, and the list he gave was not abstract: war, murder, theft, injustice, persecution, sickness, disease, and, closer to home, the selfishness, pride, envy, and rebellion that live in each person's own heart. The condition is terminal, ending in death, which he defined as permanent separation from God's family.
But Brian said God already had the answer in mind before the problem fully unfolded. In the garden itself, God told Adam that from him would come one whose head would crush the head of evil. From that promise forward, God built a nation through whom the gift would eventually arrive. For generations that nation waited, and their prophets caught only glimpses of what was coming.
Brian read from Isaiah chapter nine at length, letting the text speak for itself. The passage moves from people walking in darkness seeing a radiant light, through the breaking of chains and the rod of oppression, to the announcement of a virgin conceiving a son named Emmanuel, and then to the titles given to that child: the wonderful one, the extraordinary strategist, the mighty God, the father of eternity, the prince of peace.
Then he read the Christmas night account from Luke chapter two. Mary gives birth in Bethlehem, lays the baby in a feeding trough because there is no room in any upper room in the village, and out in a nearby field shepherds are terrified by an angel who tells them not to be afraid: a rescuer has been born, he is Yahweh the Messiah, and they will find him wrapped in strips of cloth in a feeding trough. The armies of heaven fill the sky, singing glory to God in the highest and peace and good hope to the sons of men. The shepherds go, find exactly what they were told they would find, and return glorifying God.
Brian then said that the story is about gifts, but not the kind that run on batteries and arrive from Amazon. God gave the gift of a savior to Israel, and then, because God always goes one step further than expected, gave that same gift to the whole world. Two thousand years ago Jesus lived without sin, died a criminal's death, shed his blood to pay the price of sin for all of mankind, and rose again, providing a way for God and humanity to be reunited as family.
He closed by pointing forward. Jesus came once to redeem people from sin and establish his kingdom in their hearts, and Brian said he will come again to establish his governmental leadership on earth, renewing a planet ravaged by violence and greed. The hallmarks of that coming kingdom, he said, are justice, righteousness, and peace. That, he told the crowd gathered in the cold, is why we sing at Christmas.
Touch points
Things you could actually do this week.
- Visit tribejh.com to find out when and where Tribe meets on Sundays.
- Stop by the prayer booth and ask someone to pray with you about whatever you are carrying this Christmas, big or small.
- Pick up a Bible from the tent if you want one and read the passages Brian mentioned, Isaiah 9 and Luke 2, for yourself.
- If you have never done it before, take a moment this week to ask Jesus to forgive you, invite him into your life, and make him the leader of it.
- Bring someone with you to a Sunday service at Tribe and let them see for themselves what this community is about.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Brian said the story of Christmas begins not in Bethlehem but in a garden, where God gave mankind the gift of free will. What does it mean to you that God took that kind of risk with us?
- The passage from Isaiah chapter nine lists names for the coming Messiah, including 'the mighty God' and 'the prince of peace.' Which of those names lands most personally for you this Christmas, and why?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Resumen en español
El mensaje resumido, en español.
Brian Hunter compartió el mensaje de Navidad en un servicio al aire libre en Jackson Hole. Explicó que la historia de Navidad no comienza con San Nicolás ni con el pesebre en Belén, sino mucho antes, en el jardín del Edén. Allí Dios le dio al ser humano el libre albedrío, y el ser humano lo usó para alejarse de Dios, dejando entrar al pecado y la muerte al mundo. Pero desde ese mismo momento, Dios ya tenía en mente el regalo de la Navidad: un salvador que aplastaría el poder del mal.
Brian leyó las palabras del profeta Isaías, que siglos antes describió la llegada de ese salvador con nombres como "Emmanuel, Dios con nosotros", "Príncipe de paz" y "Padre de eternidad". Luego leyó el relato de Lucas sobre el nacimiento de Jesús en Belén, los pastores en el campo y los ángeles anunciando buenas noticias para toda persona en todo lugar. Señaló que ese regalo no fue solo para Israel, sino para el mundo entero, y citó Juan 3:16 para recordar que cualquiera que crea en él no se perderá sino que tendrá vida eterna.
Al cerrar, Brian invitó a quienes estaban presentes a recibir ese regalo: pedir perdón, invitar a Jesús a su vida y reconocerlo como Señor. También recordó que Jesús vendrá de nuevo para establecer su reino de justicia y paz en la tierra. La iglesia Tribe tenía una carpa con Biblias gratuitas, personas disponibles para orar y ayuda práctica para quienes la necesitaran.
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Pasajes bíblicos usados:
- Isaías 9 (varios versículos sobre el Mesías prometido)
- Lucas 2 (el nacimiento de Jesús y los pastores)
- Juan 3:16
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