B.C. < JESUS CHRIST > A.D.
Jesus Christ has time.Luke 22:19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
As we prepare to celebrate this Christmas, we remember the Christmas Child who 'divided' time. We describe time as either being "B.C." (Before Christ) or "A.D." (Anno Domini). No other person in history has ever been similarly honoured. When Christ came, everything changed - including the way we refer to history. When Christ comes into a life today, everything changes still. It's not just History that has a B.C. and an A.D. point - it's every life who has turned to the only One who can divide the history of their lives into B.C. ("before I came to Christ") and A.D. ("After my Decision to follow Christ").
This Christmas is a celebration of the One who entered history and erases pasts. He did this for me. Before Christ found me I had done shameful things. When I came to Christ He erased my past, my "B.C.", and for that I will be eternally grateful! Since I have placed my life under the Lordship of Christ my future, my "A.D.", is now secured. There are times when my previous life of sin haunts me relentlessly. How could a Saviour who atoned for sins nearly two thousand years ago possibly forgive my sin which, at the time, I hadn't committed yet? But this Saviour is not just Anno Domini (Lord of the Year) He is Aetas Domini (Lord of Time). Jesus Christ literally has time.
There are some people who say that Jesus can only guess what the future holds - but that He may guess wrong. The technical term for this isOpen Theology. There are others who say that Jesus knows exactly what choices every personcould make and has chosen the pathway of collective choices that produces the best outcome. The technical term for this is Middle Knowledge. But the mystery saturating the pages of Scripture is that the Once-Christmas-Child is not merely a Guesser of the Future, but the Lord of the Future. But not just the Future, time. He is Aetas Domini!
The first Christmas was what all the past looked forward to. The first Christmas is what all today, and in the future will, look back to. It changed everything. It still does. When I shared this message last Sunday, a lady who had had many years living under Narcis Domini came to Christ and wanted the Aetas Domini to be her Domini. She wanted her life to move from B.C. to A.D.!Ephesians 2:1-4aAnd you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
But God...
"I want my past to be B.C." she said. Her eyes said it all.Before Christ. Before Christ we were "dead in the trespasses and sins in which we once walked" wrote the seasoned Apostle. But then Christmas! And "all things have become new" (2Cor. 5:17). Does you life have a time-dividing point? Can you identify that era of your life which might be referred to as "B.C."? Everyone who lives in the Anno Domini (Year of the Lord) has a B.C.
The Christmas Child became the Christ, Aetas Domini, the Lord of Time. The One who could enter time and deal with the past in His present and atone for all in the future. On the night He was to be betrayed, He took bread, broke it, and uttered only what the Aetas Domini could decree-* take and eat (The Present)* do this in remembrance of Me (The Past)* until I come (The Future)
The next time you are dogged by your past failures, mistakes, sins and trespasses, you have a Saviour who has erased these from your past. The next time you are anxious, you have a Saviour who is with you now! The next time your future looks uncertain you can walk into it with the One who is Lord of it!
Faced with a Throne he never wanted, a war he was ill-equipped for, and nation in collective anxiety about its future, King George went on radio and gave a stirring speech to the people of the British Empire on September 3rd, 1939 and then followed it up with a Christmas Day speech. How this reluctant King, who suffered with serious speech impediments and a dire lack of self-confidence, came to give this speech was the subject of the movie: The King's Speech.
[Sep. 3rd 1939] "In this grave hour, perhaps the most fateful in our history, I send to every household of my peoples, both at home and overseas, this message, spoken with the same depth of feeling for each one of you as if I were able to cross your threshold and speak to you myself...
But we can only do the right as we see the right, and reverently commit our cause to God. If one and all we keep resolutely faithful to it, ready for whatever service or sacrifice it may demand, then, with God's help, we shall prevail...
[Dec. 25th 1939] "I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year, 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And he replied, 'Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be better than light, and safer than a known way.'"
King George VI
Jesus has time. He has time to deal with our pasts. He has time to help us in our nows. He already knows our tomorrow, and has already ensured that no temptation/adversity will come our way that could overpower us! Yes, the Christ of Christmas has not just established Anno Domini, but has settled the matter of Who Rules Time. The first Christmas laid the foundation for Christ to be acknowledged as Aetas Domini.
Ps. AndrewFather, thank You for sending the Christmas Child as our Saviour. Thank You that our past is dealt with and our future is secure. As we look back, we give thanks. As we look forward, we worship. Help us, we pray to acknowledge that Jesus is merely the Author of Anno Domini, but He is truly Aetas Domini - Lord of All Time. Amen.Eph. 3:21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
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