The Birth of Jesus Christ
Luke 2:1-20
October 1, 2017
This morning we look at an event that is in so many ways
Absolutely beyond human comprehension.
I’ll be honest, that the title alone blows my mind if I stop and ponder on it at all.
And I should also say that pondering this reality
Is actually one of Luke’s more subtle points.
We just read it in our opening reading,
But after Jesus is born and the shepherds visit and the crowd is amazed,
Luke is adamant to make sure you see Mary’s response.
(19) “But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.”
“pondering” in the Greek is SUNBALLO
It is a word that literally means “to throw together”
It speaks of putting pieces of information together to consider their meaning.
It can be used of conversation or discussion
You simply have Mary “pondering” all of this.
She knows who this child is.
• At this point, she knows better than anyone.
• She is aware of that angelic announcement about Him coming to be reign over
the house of Jacob.
She is aware of the sacrifice involved.
• Certainly having pondered her own personal cost, she must have pondered the
personal cost to her child.
Mary is simply trying to take it all in and enjoy this unbelievable reality.
LUKE GIVES US THAT ON PURPOSE.
Certainly there is nothing wrong with the fact that crowd “wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.”
Certainly there is nothing wrong with the fact that “the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen.”
I think amazement and worship are more than fitting responses.
But so is the response of deep contemplation and “pondering”
And before we get into the text, I think that is called for here a little.
Listen, Luke isn’t flashy.
• He is a historian.
• He’s not writing a novel whereby he throws in extra frills in order to hold your attention.
Luke is just giving you the facts straight up.
It’s your job to ponder the significance of what is happening here.
He wants you to know “the exact truth”, it’s your job to chew on it.
Honestly, what is most startling to me about this account of Jesus’ birth
IS HOW ORDINARY IT IS.
I realize the angelic appearing adds some flare, but before that.
• When all you read is about a poor, young Jewish couple, having to travel at the
worst possible time to go and pay taxes.
• And then when the get there, she goes into labor, only she has to deliver
among the animals because all the inns are full.
And then the awesome climactic statement of the story goes like this.
(7) “And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
• Luke doesn’t embellish…
• Luke doesn’t dramatize it…
• He doesn’t even write more than two sentences…
• He treats it just like any other natural birth which has occurred billions of times.
As I said, Luke is a historian.
The pondering is really up to you.
And so before we look at the text,
I just want to make sure we are all ready for this event.
As I sat and pondered I felt like there are at least 2 things
That you and I really need to consider in order to help us
Grab the enormity of this understated event.
The first is:
THE HELPLESS HUMAN CONDITION
Most of the time when the word helpless is used regarding man,
People settle on the reality that man can’t save himself.
Well, that is obviously true, but man is far more helpless than that.
Apart from God man doesn’t even know he needs saving.
He has no knowledge of God and in fact
He can’t obtain it unless God chooses to reveal it.
• Man is here trapped inside time and space, God is transcendent, eternal, exalted above the heavens.
• Man can’t even know Him unless God chooses through revelation to make Himself known.
The problem is that when God did make Himself known,
Man only realized that they could not please Him
Regardless of their efforts.
Read the Law of God.
• “You shall be holy, as I am holy”
• “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind”
• “Love your neighbor as yourself”
Every one of those commands is absolutely impossible.
And thus the closest man ever got to God was the outside of that veil.
• No amount of effort…
• No amount of sacrifices…
• No amount of offerings…
Could ever bring down the veil,
And there was nothing man could do about it.
Man was totally helpless.
And by reason of his sinfulness, was actually at enmity with God.
I think Paul summed it up the best in Ephesians 2
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
Dead in spirit – Desiring sin – Doomed to suffer
HELPLESS
You should really ponder that a while
To help you understand the significance of what is happening here.
We are offensive to God and there is nothing that we can do about it.
We cannot get to Him, and even if we could
We could not appease Him apart from our own death.
The other thing to consider is:
THE LOFTY POSITION OF CHRIST
It had become abundantly clear to man that the only way to be saved
Is if God chose to come and save us.
We certainly couldn’t get to him.
But the cost involved in that decision is unthinkable.
Here is Christ – “very nature God” –
• Exalted above the heavens,
• Continually receiving the glory of the angels
• Doing whatever He pleases.
• Perfectly glorified and perfectly honored.
Asking Him to come into this cesspool is a stretch to say the least.
• Imagine the cost…
• Imagine the hardship…
• Imagine the humiliation…
Again Paul put it pretty good when he wrote:
Philippians 2:6-8 “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
THINK ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON HERE.
We can sum up the circumstances like this:
Regardless of his efforts man can’t draw near to God,
And because of the humiliation God shouldn’t draw near to man.
Now read verse 7:
(7) “And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
That verse takes on a whole new meaning doesn’t it?
Holy, Infinite, Eternal, Transcendent, Sovereign God
Lowered Himself to the insignificance and humiliation
Of an infant born in a barn.
I’m reminded of the Christmas song Leo has sung a time or two
“How many kings stepped down from their thrones, how many Lords have abandoned their homes, how many greats have become the least for me? And how many gods have poured out their hearts to romance a world that is torn all apart, how many fathers gave up their sons for me?”
There is no doubt that Luke understated the reality.
But when you ponder the reality, it is mind blowing.
IN FACT: It IS actually UNBELIEVABLE.
And that explains why Luke wrote it the way he did.
Luke is writing to an audience that would have a hard time believing
That the God of the universe would relinquish His glory
And subject Himself to humanity.
Luke knows that the story he is telling is going to be subject to
The crowd doubling over, slapping their knee, and saying,
“Bahahaha, you almost had me going there for a second Luke! No way!”
Honestly, that’s the most logical response to the story Luke is telling.
He knows this story is going to come across a little far-fetched.
And that’s why Luke is the perfect person to tell this story.
In fact, Luke is the only person to tell this story.
• Matthew skips from the angelic announcement to Joseph until Jesus is about a
year old and the wise men visit.
• Mark and John don’t discuss it at all.
Only Luke, the historian, takes this story to the world.
And he does so just as a perfect historian would.
He gives you the story,
And then he brings for the witnesses to testify to the truth of it.
It’s written very much with the intent of verifying the facts.
Let’s look at Luke’s account.
#1 THE BIRTH OF JESUS
Luke 2:1-7
I think Luke is actually pretty crafty here:
If this were Matthew, he would have started out by reading from the prophet Micah.
In fact, Matthew quotes Micah in his gospel.
Micah 5:1-5 “Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops; They have laid siege against us; With a rod they will smite the judge of Israel on the cheek. “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” Therefore He will give them up until the time When she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren Will return to the sons of Israel. And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth. This One will be our peace. When the Assyrian invades our land, When he tramples on our citadels, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.”
That was the Old Testament prophecy that revealed to us
Precisely where the Christ child would be born.
Certainly that is important!
But instead of using the O.T. as an outline and then plugging in stories to fit it, Luke just lays out the story and lets you ponder it.
Luke is subtle, he doesn’t start with an Old Testament prophecy,
Luke starts with a historical event.
Luke puts this story in the context of life.
(1-3) “Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.”
Luke opens his story by calling to mind an event
That the whole world was aware of.
It was the decree from Caesar that the entire Roman Empire be counted
In order that they might be taxed.
He also reveals that “this was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.”
The indication here is that this is
The first time that the Jews were forced to participate in this census.
And so there was a great migration occurring.
“everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.”
The point being, this wasn’t optional. You had to go.
• It didn’t matter if you had crops in the field…
• It didn’t matter if you had sheep in the pasture…
• It didn’t matter if you had a child in the womb…
So…
(4-5) “Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.”
Now we have a word for what is occurring here.
It is called PROVIDENCE and it occurs continually throughout history.
• We saw Pharaoh send Abram back to the Promised Land after the famine…
• We saw Nebuchadnezzar determined to destroy Jerusalem…
• We saw Cyrus moved to send the Jews home…
It was and is and always will be God’s sovereign hand behind the scenes
Moving the hearts of men to accomplish His perfect purposes.
Now I’m not saying that Mary and Joseph would have disobeyed God, had He commanded them to go and have this baby in Bethlehem (nothing about them indicates that they were rebellious) but I do know that this census secured the fulfillment of that promise.
God used the desires of Caesar to fulfill the prophet Micah.
This couple is in Bethlehem.
And…
(6-7) “While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
And with that brief statement we have even more prophecy fulfilled.
(Again Luke doesn’t mention it, but if you’ll ponder it, you’ll see)
Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”
Isaiah 9:6 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
Here among the animals God has entered humanity.
The Holy One became flesh and dwelt among us.
And He was born in absolute HUMILITY
• He had to be wrapped in cloths just like any other baby.
• He was laid down for rest just like any other baby.
• He came in totally humility.
He also came in total OBSCURITY.
• The world which would totally reject Him on the cross reveals its true colors by even rejecting Him at His birth.
• Born among animals and laid in a manger.
We have here the mystery of the incarnation.
John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Hebrews 10:5 “Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME;”
• This child has come to live among us.
• This child has come to live a perfectly holy life.
• This child has come to one day bear our sin on the cross.
• This child has come to rise from the dead.
• This child has come to ascend and be a faithful high priest.
• This child has come to return and rule.
It is a big deal!
But as I told you, Luke is a historian,
And he knows that far-fetched tales
Get easily dismissed without a little proof.
So after giving the account of Jesus’ birth, Luke moves on.
#2 THE WITNESSES
Luke 2:8-20
When Matthew spoke of the birth of Jesus, he also had proof of his birth.
• Matthew pointed to the arrival of the magi from east.
• They came for one reason only, they saw a star which guided them.
• That star could have only come from one place.
Luke, however, uses a different witness, he uses shepherds.
Now, let me tell you why shepherds were actually a tremendous witness.
First of all, shepherds were somewhat of an OUTCAST.
One writer called them “The cowboys of ancient Israel”
• In order to protect the sheep, you had to live with the sheep.
• When you live with the sheep, you smell like the sheep.
• What is more, you don’t get a whole lot of social interaction.
• Shepherds were dirty, and distant.
• Some even considered them unclean and irreverent since most of the Sabbath
day requirements were neglected by them being that sheep don’t honor
the Sabbath.
But all of that merely emphasizes the main point.
SHEPHERDS PUT SHEEP ABOVE EVERYTHING.
Above their relationships…
Above their hygiene…
Above their comfort…
Above their reputation…
Shepherds were committed to shepherding.
Remember David recounting his shepherding days?
1 Samuel 17:34-35 “But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him.”
A hunting male lion – is separated and angry.
If the lion steals one my sheep, I am relieved.
Not a shepherd in Israel, they go after the lion, just as David did.
And at the very least bring part of the sheep home.
Amos 3:12 “Just as the shepherd snatches from the lion’s mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear, So will the sons of Israel dwelling in Samaria be snatched away — With the corner of a bed and the cover of a couch!”
They do this in order to prove that
They did everything possible to protect the sheep.
Now, knowing what you know about shepherds…
What are the odds that a group of shepherds just decide to leave their sheep in the fields to come see a baby that is born among animals and laying in a manger?
You got it…
There is no way shepherds are going, unless…
That is what makes these shepherds
Such a perfect material witness for Luke.
Let’s look at what happened.
(8-11) “In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
These shepherds are out focusing on the sheep,
And a sight appears that I promise they were not prepared for.
“an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them”
To say they were “terribly frightened”
Is probably another understatement by Luke.
But the angel quickly calmed their fears by revealing that he was not there on a death mission.
“Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
This is not a moment for trembling, this is a moment for rejoicing.
Why?
Because a “Savior” has been born.
Who is this Savior?
“Christ the Lord”
• “Christ” is a title referencing Him as the Messiah.
• “Lord” is a title revealing His deity.
And primarily He is coming to save.
And in order to explain why these shepherds left their sheep:
(12-14) “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
Now you realize why God determined to have all those inns full.
God was going to use that manger as the sign of His Son.
And just in case the shepherds are tempted to disregard this one angel, the entire sky lights up with “a multitude of the heavenly host”
Look, earth may have failed to grasp the significance of this event,
But heaven didn’t.
The angels of heaven knew exactly how big this was.
God has just become flesh and is dwelling among man.
This means “Glory to God in the highest”
There’s you a SOLI DEO GLORIA passage!
You certainly aren’t going to give glory to men for His arrival.
God has done this.
Men don’t get glory, men get “peace”
“And on earth peace among me with whom He is pleased.”
• That DOESN’T MEAN that God is pleased with men and that is why He is giving them peace.
• IT MEANS that God’s peace is available to all the men that He is actually pleased with.
And that only happens through this Christ who has just entered the world.
It is actually one of the misconceptions of the Christmas season.
We sing of peace on earth, and goodwill toward men
And people think the goal of Christmas is that we all learn to get along.
That is not at all what the angels were referring to.
Jesus Himself said “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
The peace here is peace with God,
And it is available to all those
Whom this Child makes pleasing to Him.
That is why He is called “a Savior”
And I must say that even that is a term that is now in need of defense.
• Not so many years ago people were content to see Jesus as “a Savior”.
• Many would balk at the notion of “Lord”, but “Savior” was an acceptable title.
But now we have hit the age of post-modernism
Where nobody thinks anybody is even wrong anymore.
And to an arrogant culture like ours,
The very notion of even needing “a Savior” is offensive to most.
• A Savior implies that I am in trouble…
• A Savior implies that I need help…
• And our culture is even rejecting that.
And that is what we’ve been talking about regarding
The necessity of John the Baptist the last few weeks.
• John came to reveal why people needed a Savior.
• John came to confront the arrogant who thought they were fine in their present
condition.
Because those who think they are fine
Reject the very notion of even needing to be saved at all.
I think that is another reason
Why these angels appeared to the shepherds
As opposed to the religious leaders of the day.
These shepherds were foul, dirty, and rejected
(Just like nearly every other person Luke has highlighted so far)
But they knew they needed a Savior.
And that is made abundantly clear in verse 15.
(15-17) “When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.”
What could make a shepherd abandon his sheep?
And there you have your answer; SALVATION
They received news of a Savior.
And when these angels reported of a Savior to them they certainly DIDN’T REPLY, “Get out of here and find someone who needs it!”
They ran to find the Savior,
And they told everybody about what they had just seen.
They were the best possible eye-witnesses a historian could ask for.
AND SO HERE LUKE HAS REVEALED:
• God’s Son had just been born.
• The Holy Creator of the universe just stepped into time,
• The Sovereign King of Heaven has just taken the form of an infant.
GOD IS WITH US.
And the responses?
(18-20) “And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.”
The people on this day responded with:
• Amazement (that’s what “wondered” means)
• Pondering
• Praising
But I guess the question for us is:
HOW WILL WE RESPOND?
Luke simply gives “the exact truth”,
What you do with it is beyond Luke’s control.
I’d like to think that we would also be amazed,
And would ponder this truth and praise God and run to the Savior,
But just know that is not always what happens.
John 1:9-13 “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
John 3:16-21 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
• As I said, Luke isn’t fancy…
• He’s simply a writer of truth…
Pondering and responding is your job.
If you’re looking for a model to follow in your response,
LOOK NO FURTHER THAN THESE SHEPHERDS
Who allowed for nothing to be more important than seeing the Savior.
