1. Albrecht…Christmas 2025…John 18:37…Jesus Came to Give You the Truth…Dec. 24-25

³⁷Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world– to bear witness to the truth.

To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ: mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you, Amen.

INC Whose love comes to you this Christmas to bring you forgiveness and salvation, DFR:

In the days when the classics influenced education more than they do today, almost every boy who went away to college heard this phrase from his professor in the first class: “Dic cur hic.” It comes from the Latin language and means “Tell me why you are here.” The aim of the professor was to encourage some serious thinking on the part of his students about the real purpose of going to college. He hoped his “Dic cur hic” would prompt the answer: “I am here to study and to learn, and I will not let anything interfere with that process.”

This evening (morning) as we come to the manger in Bethlehem, we borrow this question and ask, “Dic cur hic,” Christ Child? Tells us why you are here, Christ Child. This question isn’t answered at the manger, but at another pivotal point in Jesus’ life – His trial before Pontius Pilate. His answer: For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world– to bear witness to the truth. Dic cur hic, Christ Child, we ask. “To testify to the truth,” He replies. It was the whole purpose for which the Son of God came into the world. But He did not deal with truth in general; He did not entertain and amaze by revealing unknown scientific facts about the universe; He did not come to play a game of trivia. He came to deal with the truth of the ages, the truth that matters most to us—the truth of our relation to God.

What truths did Jesus testify to? Our great sin and need; His being the true Son of God in our flesh and blood; and that He came to save us once for all from the consequence of our sin.

John records many discourses of Jesus’ ministry. In these discourses, we see that Jesus did not dance around the subject of human sin. He clearly states that, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰ These are what defile a person.  When talking to Nicodemus, Jesus declared that man’s sin problem was so drastic that only a radical spiritual rebirth could change it. “That which is born of flesh is flesh.” Then Jesus says, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, He cannot enter the kingdom of God. The truth Jesus reveals is that apart from Him, the weight of human sin crushes them forever. So comes His warning in John 8, “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”

Dic cur hic, Christ Child?  And this is His reply: “I came to testify to the truth that without Me you are dead in trespasses and sins and under God’s condemnation.” This is a truth that our humanistic world doesn’t want to hear, so it trivializes and secularizes the birthday of Jesus into a season of humanistic merriment—a time for people to display the spirit of goodwill toward others that they think is deep within all people. To tell the truth, you and I do not always want to hear this truth about our sin and need either. But if we don’t hear and believe it, our celebration today really loses its essential meaning. The very fact of His birth is itself evidence of this truth. Our situation as sinners is so beyond our own correction that only the coming of the Son of God as man’s representative could provide the remedy.

Then we get the second truth Jesus came to reveal: That He is the very Son of God made flesh.

Mary, His mother, can testify to this truth. The Angel told her that the baby she would bear would come from the power of the Most High God and that her child would be called holy – the Son of God. One of the main purposes of John’s Gospel is to lay out the testimony that Jesus is true God. He records many statements Jesus made about Himself: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51). And finally, and most dramatically, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).

Jesus also testified to His identity as true God by the works He performed. He healed the sick, fed thousands, calmed the seas, and even raised the dead. To these witnesses of His identity, Jesus said, “Even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me and I am in the Father” (John 10:38).

Again we ask, Dic cur hic, Christ Child? Jesus replies, “I came to testify to the truth that I am God and have come to be your Brother and your Savior.” But again, the world looks at the manger bed with a skeptical eye and would dismiss it as mere fantasy that the Almighty God would humble Himself in such a way. But unless you and I are able to look at the manger in faith and see Immanuel, God with us, we will miss the life-renewing impact of the reason for His coming to us.

That is the surprising, but life-saving third truth Jesus came to bear witness to. It’s surprising because it is not what we might expect. We would expect God to descend to this world as a judge to whip us into shape. It is a continually surprising truth, and it is life-giving because we are assured that He came to save. Listen again to Jesus’ own testimony to this truth: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” He came to give His life as a ransom for many. But this surprising, life-saving truth goes beyond just words. Jesus put His words into action. He was born as one of us, and in that body, He bore upon Himself the weight of the world’s sin. He suffered what we deserved to suffer, being forsaken by His own Father so that we might receive God’s forgiving love. Then, when the satisfactory payment had been made and God’s justice for sin appeased, He lay in the tomb to rise the third day in glorious victory. And thus, assuring people like you and me of eternal life through His name.

This Christmas, it isn’t really the baby Jesus who is testifying to us, but rather the risen, victorious Lord and Savior. He declares to us: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25–26).

Dic cur hic, Christ Child? Jesus says, “I am here to be the way, the truth, and the life; to give forgiveness and salvation to all who believe in Me.” In all honesty, this is a difficult truth for us to accept. Our nature thinks alongside the world: that Jesus came to show us the way, the truth, and the life to live, but it is up to us to live it. But, dear Christians, to place any responsibility on us rather than everything upon our Savior is to miss the most important lesson of Christmas – that Jesus came to be us for us. He came to take everything upon Himself because we could not. Remember, Jesus’ final testimony to this was spoken just before He died: “It is finished” (John 19:30). The whole gracious truth is: there is nothing that we must or can add to our salvation. The debt is paid in full. Forgiveness and new life in Christ are ours when we put our faith in Him.

There is one last time we ask dic cur hic. But it isn’t asked of Jesus, it is asked of you. Why are you here this Christmas? Maybe you are here out of obligation – it is family tradition. Or, it just seems like the right thing to do – to be in church at Christmas. For any reason, we are thankful you are here to receive God’s grace and forgiveness through Jesus. But maybe you are here because of something deeper.

Jackie Turner was 26 years old when she posted her ad on Craigslist. The ad said: I have never felt the touch of my mom hugging me and holding me. I don’t know what it’s like to look in my Dad’s eyes and feel love instead of hatred.” Turner said that for Christmas she wanted to “rent a Mom and Dad who could give me attention and make me feel like the light of their life for just a couple of days because I really need it.” She was willing to pay $8 an hour.

Two kinds of people responded to her ad. First, there were many couples who were willing to open their hearts and homes to her, and no, they didn’t want to be paid. Secondly, there were many people who, like her, had a tough time in life and desperately wanted to be loved. Turner had the courage to do what most people don’t. She made herself vulnerable by opening her heart to let others see the pain inside. All too often people look fine on the outside, but are broken and crying within. Maybe it’s trouble at work or a conflict in the family. Maybe their dreams collapsed without warning and they struggle to piece their lives back together. Perhaps we live with guilt – and rightly so, considering the evil we have thought or done. What we all need is to be loved, no matter how much pain we feel. What could possibly be better than the message of Christmas?

If you are here today because you are carrying any sort burden, then remember why Jesus came here. He came for you – to offer you His love, His grace, and His forgiveness. Not because you or I have earned it or asked for it, but because He wants to see you beyond this church service. He wants to be in your life every day to bring this Christmas peace every day. And ultimately, He wants to see you in the courts of heaven where there are no burdens to carry. Jesus came to reveal this truth to you and to all people. May this Christmas truth remind you always of your Savior’s love for you. Amen.