Hope - The Mandella Effect
Believable Hope • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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We have been in a series on hope— “Believable Hope...”
and if you are a skeptic I would encourage you to check out this little booklet… “Is Christmas Unbelievable by Rebecca McLaughlin...”
and if you are a skeptic or non-believer, we are glad you are here—honored really...
and I would encourage you to just be open.
We just read Luke 2:1-20,
and I want to see how much you understand about the Christmas story.
The "Mandela Effect" refers to a situation in which a large mass of people believes that an event occurred when it did not. The term was originated in 2009 by Fiona Broome. She was at a conference talking with other people about how she remembered the tragedy of former South African President Nelson Mandela’s death in a South African prison in the 1980’s.
However, Nelson Mandella did not die in the 1980’s in a prison. he passed away in 2013. As Broome began to talk to other people about her memories, she learned that she was not alone. Others remembered seeing news coverage of his death as well as a speech by his widow.
she was shocked that such a large group of people could remember the same identical event in such detail when it never happened. and she coined the term the Mandela effect.
One example comes from one of the most famous scenes in movie history. In the movie Start Wars, "The Empire Strikes Back" it is common to remember one of Darth Vader's most shocking lines as "Luke, I am your father."
In fact, in the film he says, "No, I am your father."
most have people of the line being the former not the latter.
another example - Does the mascot for the game Monopoly wear a monocle? About 61% of respondents incorrectly said he does, while only 18% correctly said he does not.
or in the Disney movie Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, you probably remember the famous line from the evil queen — “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all.
but the reality is the line is actually Magic Mirror on the wall...
I want to give my message with a series of true or false statements—see how many you think you know...
and see how the Mandela effect affects Christmas—and the Hope we can have...
True or False...
Mary gave birth to Jesus the day she arrived in Bethlehem...
False (it happened while they were there)
6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
sometimes we get the picture that she was in labor pains—hoo hoo hee—but that wasn’t the case yet...
what is the hope we can learn from this— absolutely nothing...
The Bible says that Mary rode a donkey...
False (it doesn’t specify—it’s possible); i think she drove a Tesla actually...
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
what is the hope—nothing
An innkeeper turned Mary and Joseph away...
False —
7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
it just says there was no room in the inn or actually a better translation now is guest room. Many scholars note that Jesus’ birth probably occurred in the main room of the house (most likely a relative or friend of them)—rather than in the couple’s smaller marital apartment attached to the house.
what is the hope—I think the lesson here is how ordinary people, doing extraordinary things still had to go through normal problems…just b/c God calls you to something, doesn’t mean it will be smooth sailing. but God still provided...
After Jesus was born, he was placed in a manger.
True!
7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
this might suggest that Jesus was born in a barn…but it was common back then for mangers to be kept in the main room of village houses during this time period. Animals were often housed with the human residents of the home just a few feet away in an adjacent room.
it’s also possible that this stable—was a cave or shelter built into a hillside—the hills around Bethlehem were dotted with small caves for feeding and boarding livestock
the hope here is how God identifies with us—humble beginnings—He is the Savior to all—he wasn’t born in luxury or palaces—our God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, is born among the cattle
True or False
The angels sang to the shepherd, “Glory to God in the highest...”
False — they at least spoke it—whether they sang it, we don’t know.
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
but the hope here is — it is interesting that even non humans—angelic beings are testifying to God’s greatness
There is no one as glorious as Jesus...
True or False
There were 3 wise men in the Christmas story who brought gifts to Jesus
False
—no number is specified…but that there were at least 3 gifts....
Matthew 2:11 (NIV)
11 On coming to the house, they (the wise men) saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Article: Instead, it would be an example of how even pagans would recognize Jesus as God. As David Mathis says, “These magi are not respected kings but pagan specialists in the supernatural, experts in astrology, magic, and divination, blatant violators of Old Testament law—and they are coming to worship Jesus.” (Gospel Coalition - 9 things to know about Christmas Story)
even non believers are invited to worship Jesus...
the ancient church considered these 3 gifts as symbolic of:
the gold—recognizing Jesus’ royalty
the myrrh — of his humanity — because it was an embalming material
the incense—that of his divinity
and these gifts are standard gifts given to kings back then—so even non believers were invited to recognize Jesus as king—invited into this loving relationship with Him...
the hope here is that even the people you least expect to be invited to worship Jesus—are—He is the Savior and King and Lord of all....
The shepherds are important characters in the Christmas story.
True!
They are the first of the crowd beyond Joseph and Mary given this good news...
they are teh first witnesses—telling others.
all this is teaching us hope...
that God comes for very normal, even lowly humble people like shepherds—you don’t have to be great to be included in God’s message—
and everyone can be used by God
Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes.
True—
6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
now, maybe this just shows they were good parents, but listen to what one scholar says:
, as Peter Leithart says, “The baby in swaddling cloths becomes the crucified criminal in grave clothes, but he is ‘unswaddled’ when He bursts from the tomb. The baby laid in the manger becomes a crucified corpse, but death cannot hold him. The shepherds find baby Jesus, but when the women come to minister to His body, He is not there.”
this becomes a foreshadowing of the next time Jesus would be swaddled…and the next time would be when he died on the cross in our place for our sins, taking the punishment we deserve...
and bursting forth victoriously 3 days later…
tremendous hope—that this baby comes…on a mission to live on our behalf the life we could not live and still fail to live...
and die the death we deserve on the cross…for our sins...
and proving that he accomplished it all
whether we remember the details correct or not—all these details remind us to slow down, read it, and ponder the hope we have in Christ—that silent night.
Let’s pray
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