The Birth Of Jesus Series

You probably know what it is like to be busy at Christmas. I just read about someone who got so busy during the Christmas holidays that they did not have time to buy Christmas cards and send them out as scheduled. It came to the last minute, and then they felt rushed to get their cards out.

They went to the nearest store and just grabbed the first 10 boxes of cards available. Then they quickly signed the cards and mailed out over 200 cards to their friends and acquaintances. A few days after Christmas they read one of the extra cards. It said, this is just a note to say, a little gift is on the way, Merry Christmas.

Sometimes it doesn't pay to rush. This is especially true with the holiday rush with all the presents and cards, parties, and the Christmas programs. In all this rush we could miss the beauty of the birth of Christ and the great significance of Jesus coming the first Christmas morning.

Jesus’ birth is an act of history

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. (Luke 2:1-3)

It seems unnecessary to state that Jesus birth was an act of history. After all we date all of history by the event. If you're married, then there is a date on your marriage certificate. The date is how many years after the birth of Christ your marriage took place.

The Bible gives us the historical setting of the birth of Christ. When you know that setting of Jesus birth you will understand how God chooses to act. You will find that even the reigning emperor and governor is mentioned in the Christmas story.

Have you ever heard someone respond to some bad situation by saying that it worked out for their good? They said, it forced me to do something else I didn't know at the time and that worked out better for me in the long term.

Even people have come to the Lord because what they plan didn't work out. It seemed like a bad situation, but the Lord had something better in mind even when things did not turn out as they planned.

In Jesus birth God used a historical situation and a very bad situation for his own purposes. Joseph and Mary were in a crisis point in their lives. It was during the first census of Caesar Augustus. It forced Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem.

It happened when Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census would be taken in the entire Roman world. Each one was to go to his own town of origin. God works through the unbelieving rulers and their political purposes to work his own purpose of salvation.

Caesar Augustus had no idea he was bringing fulfillment to prophecy. God is in control he works through unbelievers if you so desire. He does not need a dynamic leader to come along and get things moving. If God wants to, he can order the stones to cry out to praise him. He even can bring his purposes forward in the midst of persecution.

God can work his purpose is in your life despite inconveniences and despite disruptions that interfere with your plans. Joseph didn't plan the circumstances. Joseph never planned that Mary, would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit before their marriage.

Joseph was trying to dodge the apparent disgrace of the way things look. Joseph did not plan to travel to a busy city during the last trimester. No room in the end. That was not planned by Joseph. They were all circumstances that would have seemed really bad to Joseph. But we see now how all of this worked to God’s glory.

Joseph is probably just as nervous and irrational as any other expectant father. He must have tried to hurry up the donkey taking Mary to Bethlehem (if indeed Mary rode a donkey on the journey). Joseph was probably behaving like do when we're caught in a traffic jam.

In Jesus birth God is the Director of all the events.

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. (Luke 2:4)

The closer you look at the birth of Jesus, in light of the entire Bible, the more you realize this was no random series of events, but rather, God completely brought forth his purpose through the events.

The events of Jesus birth are akin to when Jacob’s son Joseph was put in prison and sold into Egyptian slavery. Even what man meant for evil, God could use to bring forth his purposes. This was all part of God’s plan not only for Jacob and his family to survive the famine, but God was orchestrating the events of history all leading to the birth of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ who was born that first Christmas morning.