Well, yeah: peace, joy, good will. We all want that. Who wouldn’t? Umm, King Herod wasn’t very happy about it. You remember the story in Matthew 2 – after Jesus was born one of those angels appeared to Joseph and told him to take the child and Mary and run for Egypt because “Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 
Then when the Magi didn’t report back with the location of the child Herod “was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under.” Why try to kill him if his birth brings joy, peace, and good will? Why slaughter all the boys in the area to get the “heavenly Babe” whose birthday makes us put up lights and decorate trees and buy presents and drink eggnog and wish happy holidays to everyone and want Christmas to be every day?
Well, Christmas is actually a challenge, an act of defiance, by God. This joy, peace, and good will from Heaven doesn’t get to Earth by God going “ho, ho, ho” and telling us we’ve all been good little girls and boys so just keep up the good work and he’ll keep the good tidings rolling in.
Let’s look real close at what Mary was told when she found out she was about to be unexpectedly expecting. It’s in Luke 1:28-33 (click on the Scripture references to read)…. The King is coming and his kingdom will never end.
Finally God is doing what he has promised to Israel (like Psalm 72). Jesus will be Israel’s King who restores the kingdom the way it was when David reigned. He will have the authority to run things and make things right, and that means peace and blessing. He will establish his Kingdom and so bring a new way of life, life done his way and that means God’s plans and purposes will be accomplished. Yes, Israel’s King is about to be born.
But wait. When he was born, the angels told the shepherds that this is good news for all people (Luke 2:10), not just the Jewish people. So this King that’s about to be born to Mary is actually the King of the whole world, not just Israel, and his eternal Kingdom is for everyone everywhere, including Jews but not just for Jews.
So Christmas means that joy, peace, and good will gets to the Earth by the real King coming to Earth. And that’s what is so defiant about Christmas. 
You see, there are others with their own kingdoms trying to run the world. There was when Jesus was born. Luke 2:1-2… The Roman emperor was ordering people around any way he wanted, and he had the political system and the military to make it happen. Then Luke tells us what it was like 30 years later – Luke 3:1-2… Rome is still running things, but there’s also a religious power system in the Jewish priesthood making sure everyone lives by their interpretation of the Law. And then Luke shows us another ruler and kingdom – Luke 4:1-2, 5-6… Behind all the man-made systems, Satan is exerting his will, even trying to get Jesus off track. Then I think Luke illustrates another kingdom – when Jesus taught that God’s help is available for Gentiles as well as Jews, this happened – Luke 4:28-29… Everyone wants their own way in place of God’s way.
There are others trying to run the world, but the real King has arrived, and he challenges their authority and their way of running things and in fact plans to put a stop to them. That’s why king Herod tried to kill the baby. That’s why the religious leaders plotted against him, arrested him, and demanded his execution. That’s why Pilate the Roman governor finally gave in and sentenced him to death. That’s why Satan infiltrated Jesus’ own team and used Judas to get him arrested and crucified. That’s why most of the people ended up rejecting Jesus. Jesus is the real King and no one else has the right to run things, and they don’t like it.
Jesus did establish his Kingdom that will never end. He didn’t do it with military shock and awe like the Romans. He didn’t do it with meticulous, enslaving rules like the religious leaders. He didn’t do it with deceit and manipulation like Satan. He didn’t do it with self-centered preferences. His Kingdom is not of this world but it’s in this world, and it’s not like the kingdoms that humans build and maintain. By the kind of life he lived – his holiness and love, his teaching and ministry – he showed what life in the Kingdom looks like and how we get in it. By his death and resurrection he removed the barriers between us and the Kingdom and he conquered the enemy powers and authorities. By sending the Holy Spirit he launched the Kingdom into the world for his followers to put it into practice and proclaim it everywhere – this is the part we’re in now. Then, Ephesians 2:10 says, “when the times will have reached their fulfillment [God] will bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ” – his Kingdom will be completed and all others will be stopped.
Jesus has taken the throne and is reigning right now. God is present and active on earth right now. He is not upstairs somewhere ignoring the world, doing nothing, leaving us to work things out on our own. And he is not simply waiting for later to do something. His strategy is not getting people saved and into Heaven and someday changing things. His strategy is getting people saved then changing us from the inside out and bringing the change of all creation to a culmination and completion when Christ returns.
Even though there are other kingdoms, other ways of living, other authorities trying to run the world, Christ’s Kingdom is here and is active. Have you ever paid attention to the last 2 verses in the book of Acts? The last chapters of Acts tell about the apostle Paul getting arrested in Jerusalem and the hearings and trials they put him through. Eventually Paul, being a Roman citizen, appealed for his case to be taken before Caesar. So he was put on a ship and sailed into the Mediterranean and got shipwrecked by a storm, swam to shore, spent the winter there, got on another ship, and finally arrived in Rome. Acts 28:30-31 says, “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” The Kingdom of God is taking hold in the very capital of the Roman Empire! Right under the nose of Caesar Nero, who claimed to be a god, claimed to be “lord of earth and sky,” Paul was announcing: no, actually Jesus is Lord. Christ’s Kingdom is here.
I want to share 3 things that means for us. First, since Christ’s Kingdom is here, we can have a clear understanding of our identity and meaning by trusting in the real King. We need to find our individuality and purpose in Christ. We do that by abiding in Christ – living in a personal relationship with him by faith, by being filled with the Holy Spirit, by actively worshipping God, by paying attention to his Word, and by connecting with God through prayer.
Second, since Christ’s Kingdom is here, we can live differently, the way we were designed, by following the real King. The New Testament teaches us that we are being renewed in the image of God – to become like God originally created us. We can find better ways of living by following Christ. Better ways of making our marriages and families. Better ways for morals and ethics. Better ways of handling jobs and finances. Better ways to have relationships and friendships. Better ways to deal with our problems and to enjoy life. Jesus (not Walmart) shows us how to live better. We need to learn from him. That takes denying, rejecting the old sinful self and surrendering to a new way of living. Be Jesus’ apprentice and learn how to live from him.
Third, since Christ’s Kingdom is here, we can make a difference in the world by doing the will of the real King, instead of aiming for the goals and practicing the methods of the other kingdoms. Like Mary being told she was favored by God, we share God’s grace and goodness with others. We can make a difference in the world by making ourselves servants in the name of Jesus, by being a blessing to others, by doing good, by praying, and by showing the way to Christ.
The real King has come. That’s the challenge of Christmas. It’s fine to enjoy the warmth and fun of traditional Christmas celebrations. But along with that, let’s make sure we focus on this truth the angel promised to Mary: “he will reign…his kingdom will never end.” And let’s respond to this truth as Mary did: “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”
Merry defiant Christmas!
