I want for you to consider three men: (1) Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948); (2) Nelson Mandela (1918-2013); and (3) Martin Luther King, Jr. (1926-1968). What do all three of these men have in common? They all were key leaders in the fight for equality and human rights in their own country.

Mahatma Gandhi fought against British colonialism in his native India. Before Gandhi came on the scene, India was under the control of the British. Through the strength of their military, the British government ruled in India. On the one hand, this helped India immensely, by providing protection from other nations, as the power of the British empire was ready to defend India. The Brits also invested into the infrastructure of India, building roads and bridges and railways to help with the transport of goods. Further, trade between India and Britain experienced little friction. However, under such arrangements, there was little regard for the people of India. Britain viewed India as an economic benefit to them, with little regard given to the welfare of the people. Further, the lack of self-determination was hurtful to the culture of India, itself. But under the decades-long leadership and work of Mahatma Gandhi, India received their independence from Britain in 1947. One of the most remarkable traits of Gandhi's leadership was his commitment to revolution in his nation through non-violent acts of civil disobedience.

Nelson Mandela fought against apartheid in his native country of South Africa. "Apartheid" is an African word for "apartness." Before Mandela came on the scene, South Africa was a segregated society. The majority black population was suppressed under the rule of the small white minority. The white-owned companies exploited the black workers using intimidation tactics and discrimination policies. This kept the black population in South Africa away from any power and in a state of permanent poverty. This all was made legal by the white-only government that established apartheid in the first place. But through the leadership and personal sacrifice of Nelson Mandela, an end to apartheid was negotiated in the early 1990's. In 1994, South Africa held their first multiracial general election, where Mandela was voted to be president of South Africa. Like Gandhi, Mandela sought (and achieved) this change through non-violent acts of civil disobedience.

Finally, Martin Luther King, Jr., fought for civil rights in the United States. After the civil war in the United States, the blacks in our nation were free, yet they lacked many civil rights, particularly in the south. Blacks and whites were forced to use separate restrooms and water fountains. In restaurants, there were separate dining areas, giving inferior service to the black patrons. On buses, the black people had to sit in the back and give up their seats to white passengers. Schools were segregated. Furthermore, violence and intimidation against the black people kept many from enjoying their legal civil rights. But under the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr., the Civil Rights Movement changed the course of our nation. The Civil Rights Act in 1964 outlawed any discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The formation and passage of that act can be attributed to the efforts of Martin Luther King, Jr. Like Gandhi and Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr. led change through non-violent acts of civil disobedience.

Now, it was no accident that the change in India was led by Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian man. Nor was it an accident that Nelson Mandela was from South Africa. Nor was it an accident that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a black man from the south. They all had a burden for their own people. They all used the language of "my people" to describe their burden.

Listen to what Mahatma Gandhi said: "But I have a call I must answer. I must deliver my message to my people. This humiliation has sunk too deep in me to remain without an outlet. I, at least, must act up to the light that has dawned on me."^[1] Listen to what Nelson Mandela said: "There was no particular day on which I said, Henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people; instead, I simply found myself doing so, and could not do otherwise."^[2] Listen to what Martin Luther King, Jr. said in his very last speech he ever gave, "I've been to the mountaintop. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land."^[3]

All of these men spoke with the same language. They saw the oppression of their people, and worked tirelessly to free their people from their distress, calling them "my people." This is the story of Christmas. God saw his people in distress, and he sent his Son to save them. This is the famous Christmas verse: "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). (It would be good and helpful for you to open your Bibles to Matthew, chapter 1).

From this verse this Christmas season, we are focusing upon two words: "his people." "He will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). Christmas is about God having his people. Christmas is about God sending his son to save his people from their distress. In a way, like Gandhi and Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr. who identified with their people, and did all in their power to bring them out of their oppression, so also did Jesus come and bring his people out of the bondage of their sin. It was no accident that Jesus came as a Jew, to save the Jews, his people, from their sins.

As you read through the story of the Bible, you see that God has his people. He has pledged over and over again to be their God. The series that we have been looking at this Christmas season has revolved around this theme: "I will be Your God; You will be My People."

Two weeks ago, we saw this when God called Abraham, when God established his people as the descendants of Abraham. In our first point, we saw "Abraham - Founding His People." In Genesis 12:1-3, we read, "Now the LORD said to Abram, 'Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'" Later, in Genesis 17, the LORD said, "I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God" (Genesis 17:8). This was the formation of the promise of God in establishing his people, the Jews. Then, when they were in slavery, we see the LORD using Moses to redeem his people.

I called my second point, "Moses - Redeeming His People." At the episode of the burning bush, the LORD said to Moses, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings" (Exodus 3:7). Later, we see God's claim upon his people when he said to Moses, "I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians" (Exodus 6:7). When Moses would go in to talk with Pharaoh, the message from the LORD was, "Let my people go!" (Exodus 7:6; 8:1, 20, 22; 9:1, 13; 10:3-4). God redeemed his people through the plagues that he inflicted upon Egypt. When they left Egypt, God gave them the law, which was how God led his people.

In my third point, we looked at the law of God with a point entitled, "The Law - Leading His People." At the head of the Ten Commandments (in Exodus 20), the LORD said, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Exodus 20:2). He said, "I am the LORD your God!" You are my people! You shall keep my commandments. The law was a guide to lead them in the way they should act and behave. The promise comes in Leviticus 26:12, "I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people." This is a direct quote of the title of our series this Christmas season, "I will be your God; You will be My People." My aim in this series is to help you see the depth of the meaning behind Matthew 1:21, that God has his people, that he has come to save, by giving his Son, which we celebrate at Christmas time.

Last week, Peter took us through the promise of the New Covenant in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. In both of these prophets, God promised a day in which there would be a "New Covenant," which God would make with his people. At the heart of this covenant was this promise: "I will be your God; You will be my people." Peter did a great job in bringing together all of Biblical history to show the character and prominence of this covenant. Let me just read the promise of the New Covenant in Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 31:31-33
"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

This promise is the very reason why Jesus came to earth, which we celebrate at Christmastime, when God came to his people to save them from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

Well, this morning, the scope of my message is the New Testament. Two weeks ago, I focused upon the Pentateuch. Last week, Peter focused upon Jeremiah and Ezekiel. This week, we will look at the New Testament. We could spend several more weeks considering this theme, as it comes up often in the Bible. It comes up in the Psalms: "I am God, your God" (Psalm 50:7). "For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage" (Psalm 94:14). "Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture" (Psalm 100:3).

It comes up in the minor prophets: "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son" (Hosea 11:1). "You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame" (Joel 2:27). "They will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God" (Zechariah 8:8). So, we could be looking for this Christmas theme in other passages of Scripture, but this morning we will simply be looking at the New Testament. If you are looking for a title of my message this morning, it's this: "I will be Your God; You will be My People (Part 3) The New Testament."

So, turn, if you will to Matthew, chapter 1. Adam and Amy read this Christmas story for us already this morning. I won't repeat it, but will summarize it. Mary was found to be "with child from the Holy Spirit" (verse 18). An angel appeared to Joseph and said,

Matthew 1:20-21
"Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

We find out in the next few verses that this baby is none other than God, himself.

Matthew 1:22-23
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).

This is God, himself, coming in the flesh as a man, to save his people from their sins. "I will be Your God; You will be My People."

Turn over to chapter 2. Here we see the story of the wise men from the east, who had followed the star, and had come to Jerusalem to worship this newborn king of the Jews. They sought out Herod, inquiring of this newborn baby king, perhaps presuming that Herod had a child. We pick up the story in Matthew 2:2, with the question the wise men asked of Herod:

Matthew 2:2-6
"Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

Here is the vision that the Old Testament presented regarding the Messiah: The LORD said that He would be born in Bethlehem. He would come to shepherd "my people Israel." Here, again, we see the LORD claiming his people, identifying them as Israel. This takes us back to what we saw two weeks ago, with the establishing of his people, through his call to Abram. That Jesus came to be a Jew, to save the Jews.

Now, here's the interesting thing: Throughout the rest of the gospels, you don't find Jesus using this terminology of "my people" at all. The closest that you get comes in John, chapter 10, where Jesus talks about "My sheep" that is the sheep that he would shepherd. Turn over there. In our exposition of the gospel of John, we will come to John 10 in a few months. The chapter begins with Jesus using this figure of speech, of a shepherd and his sheep.

John 10:1-6
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Jesus says that the thief doesn't enter by the gate, but climbs the fence to get to the sheep. But the shepherd of the sheep opens the gate, and calls his sheep, and they follow him. But they don't follow the stranger. Jesus goes on to apply this "figure of speech" (verse 6). First, by addressing the meaning of the "door."

John 10:7-10
So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

Here, Jesus describes himself as being the door of salvation. You enter through Jesus, and you will be saved. Jesus describes this salvation as "abundant life" (verse 10). You cannot have this life if you go through any other door than Jesus. "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). This is why Christmas is so important, because salvation comes through this child, who was born to die, to save us from our sins.

Then, beginning in verse 11, we see Jesus addressing the character of the good shepherd:

John 10:11-15
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep."

With these words, Jesus gives a foreshadow of his sacrifice upon the cross. Jesus will "lay down [his] life for the sheep" (verse 15). That, of course, is what Jesus will do. He will die upon the cross. Later (in verse 27), he will call them "my sheep." He says, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:27-28). This is as close as Jesus comes to using this phrase, "my people." Jesus has come to save his sheep, who hear his voice and follow him!

Then, in verse 16, Jesus expands on exactly who these sheep are. He says,

John 10:16
"And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."

Here we see the seeds of the worldwide scope of the salvation that Jesus brings. The Old Testament teaches us that the Messiah will come and save Israel from their sins. Yet here, we see Jesus expanding this fold beyond Israel. It's subtle, but it's a figure of what's coming. It's a flock bigger than simply the people of Israel. When Jesus speaks about his sheep, his people, it's bigger than the people of Israel. By the end of his ministry, in Matthew 28, we see the scope of his people, as he tells his disciples,

Matthew 28:18-20
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Jesus tells his disciples to go to the world! Go to "all nations." This idea of God's people extending beyond Israel is one of the great burdens of the New Testament.

In the book of Acts, we see the progression of the gospel, from Jerusalem (chapters 1-7) with the Jews, to Judea and Samaria (chapters 8-9) with those having some Jewish heritage, to Caesarea (chapters 10-11), where the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit for the first time, to the Gentiles throughout the world (chapters 12-28), extending even to Athens and Corinth, cities filled with Gentiles, who come to faith in Jesus, and come into his fold as his people.

Consider the apostle Paul. In the book of Romans, he speaks about how the gospel comes to the Jew first and also to the Greek. In chapter 11, he speaks about how the Gentiles have been grafted into the Jewish Olive Tree. Last week, I mentioned the book of Galatians, where the promise is that "those of faith are the sons of Abraham" (Galatians 3:8), children of the promise (Galatians 3:15-29).

Turn over to the book of Ephesians. The burden of the book is the unity of the church, where Jews and Gentiles have equal standing before God through the gospel. Paul writes this in chapter 3, verses 4-6.

Ephesians 3:4-6
When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

This mystery is the gospel (Ephesians 3:8), that the Gentiles are fellow heirs with the Jews! That means all of the Old Testament promises of "I will be your God" and "You will be my people" to the people of Israel, come to all who believe in Jesus. So, in Matthew 1:21, when we read, "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins," we are included in the "his people." All who believe in Jesus are his people! All who believe in Jesus are his sheep that he will shepherd!

I want for you to grasp this significance this Christmas season. Perhaps you hear it so much that you have become dull to it. But the reality is that we, by faith, become God's people, and he claims us as his own, and we receive the blessings of Abraham! This was Paul's burden in the book of Ephesians, that Jews and Gentiles would stand on equal footing, that they would "walk in a manner worthy of the [gospel]" (Ephesians 4:1). No foreign rule, no apartheid, no segregation. The very thing that Gandhi and Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for is the very thing that (spiritually), God did through Jesus. We Gentiles in America aren't second class citizens to the Jews. No, by faith, we come to God on equal standing as the Jews. By faith, "he is our God" and "we are his people," which is our Christmas celebration. "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins!" (Matthew 1:21).

One of the things that I find remarkable about Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King, Jr. is the path they walked to obtain their cause. They walked the path of non-violent, civil disobedience, which brought great suffering. Did you know that each of these men spent time in jail? Gandhi spent time in jail on multiple occasions, once he was sentenced to hard labor, another time he spent two years in jail. Nelson Mandela was given a life-sentence for his political stance against apartheid (1962). He was released after 27 years in prison, only to become South Africa's president in 1994. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested 29 times and spent between days and months in jail. Two of these men paid with their lives. Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 at the age of 78 years old, a year after India received their independence from Britain. He was shot three times at point blank range in his chest and stomach. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 at the age of 39. They all suffered much to win their cause.

Who also suffered? Jesus also suffered. He suffered a brutal death upon the cross, to pay the penalty for our sins, that we might become his people.

Paul talked about this reconciliation. Peter does as well. If you look at 1 Peter chapter 2, turn over there. This is a book written to the elect exiles of the dispersion (1 Peter 1:1), all over the place. Probably Gentiles. Chapter 1, verse 18 speaks about how you're ransomed from your futile ways of life inherited from your forefathers. That's not talking about Jewish people. Chapter 4, verse 3, he says, "The time that has passed suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry." He says, you used to do that, but the time has passed. Verse 4, "With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you." You used to do these things, but now you don't. These are Gentile people involved in these things. Look what he writes about these Gentile people. He says in 1 Peter 2, verse 9,

1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Just think about those four descriptions. A chosen race. So often God called Israel his chosen. "Israel whom I have chosen" (Isaiah 44:1). "Israel my chosen" (Isaiah 45:4). "You only have I chosen from the families of the earth" (Amos 3:2). So what he did with Abraham. He chose him. He blessed him. They were a chosen race. They were a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. This goes back to Exodus chapter 19 at the establishment of the law. The LORD said, "Now then, if you indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5-6).

God viewed his people as priests. He viewed them as a holy nation. He viewed them as a royal priesthood. These special people set apart for God. What Peter says is that that's us Gentiles. We are now a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. We ought to proclaim the excellencies of him who's called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. We are the people of God. He's called us out of darkness. What ought to spew forth from our mouth is just the amazing glories of the grace of God that brought us in to be one with the Jews, receiving all the blessings that he's promised.

John says that we're family. In the gospel, it's not just that we're God's people, like we're all people together. There's a different bond with family. He says we're family of God. We as Christians are family, not totally like a biological family, but that's what we are now with God. We're like family with God. "See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God. And so we are" (1 John 3:1). We are children of God. Not just his people, his family even, you might say.

This is the argument in the New Testament: "Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy" (1 Peter 2:10). That's us. Once we weren't the people of God, but now we are the people of God. Now we are his people. This Christmas time, the one he came to save is his people. He came to save his people from their sins. Once we had not received mercy. We were in darkness, without hope, without light (see Ephesians 2:12). But now, through Christ, the mercy is there.

Church family, let's embrace this phrase, this Christmas season, so that when you hear this verse read, maybe next year, maybe two years from now, maybe three years from now, let's embrace it. We spent three weeks trying to think about this idea that we are God's people, we are his people whom he came to save from our sins.

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on December 22, 2024 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.

[1] See https://www.mkgandhi.org/swmgandhi/chap03.php.

[2] Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Volume One (London: Abacus, 1994), 135.

[3] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I've_Been_to_the_Mountaintop.