12/21/2014 Reading: Isaiah 11:1-9
Text: Luke 2:8-20
Don't you love a good story?
If there ever was a story that has been embellished with
traditions and celebrations this one takes the cake. The story
of Jesus birth. Last week we looked at Isaiah 9 where the
prophet says, "unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given
and the government shall be upon his shoulders and his name shall
be called, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace..."
We saw how God often does His greatest works through humble
beginnings, such as the birth of a child. I'm sure all you who
here here last week remember all about this.
Well, this week let’s look at the birth of Christ through Luke's
gospel. And next week we will see what Matthew says about it.
By looking at Jesus birth from the Old Testament first and then
seeing how the gospel writers tell of this event we learn many
things to help us see God's faithfulness and love. This gives us
more assurance today, when our world seems to be moving farther
and farther away from God.
We start with Luke only because he is my favorite. And as we
study we will learn some great things about Luke's gospel that
should help in understanding the rest of this book.
You'll appreciate this, listen to the introduction of Luke from
the Student Bible.
(Read Intro.)
Here's a couple of other things we need to know as we read this
book. Luke 1-2 and 10-19 contain information about Jesus that
none of the other gospels record.
Luke is the most positive writer of the four gospel writers, and
in fact most of the traditional story of Christ's birth is found
only here. Angels singing, shepherds coming to see the baby, the
manger scene, no room in the inn, and why they made the trip to
Bethlehem in the first place. Matthew gives us the star and the
wise men, which Luke did not record. Probably because they did
not come on the night Jesus was born, but only some months
later.
Luke totally ignores the problems of Herod, and the part about
Joseph and Mary's fleeing to Egypt to hide from him. Matthew
gives us that. But like I said, we will see Matthew next week.
There is so much that we could get into here, but I have chosen
to focus on verses 8-20 of chapter 2 for our lesson today.
Listen to this part about the Shepherds and the Angels and follow
along with me, or close your eyes and imagine the scene as Luke
is guided by the Spirit to tell us.
(Read Luke 2:8-20)
These shepherds lived outside. When we were in Romania we saw
some shepherds up in the hills. To this day, shepherds still
live outside with the sheep over there. They have huge sheepskin
coats that they use as a shelter from the weather. We got a
picture of Jenny in one. We had stopped on the side of the road
in the mountains and along comes this wagon pulled by horses and
filled with hay and drunk shepherds. Boy were they friendly...
too friendly. You could smell them coming. A rich blend of
alcohol and B.O. We were sure impressed.
Shepherds are often poor people, but not always. Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, and David were all shepherds, and none of them were of
poor families. In fact, in Romania, my translator told me that
the shepherds were the richest people in Romania. They just
chose to live in the great outdoors near the earth and the
livestock. So its not that these people just couldn't get a good
job in town, they usually chose to be shepherds, believe it or
not. It is true that a lot of the shepherds even in Jesus day
were among the poor. And many of them never became noted
scholars. In fact, from the history of Jesus day we know that
shepherds had a reputation of being uneducated. The Pharisees
considered them unreliable as witnesses. And as a reputable
means of making a living, shepherding did not rate high in the
days of Jesus.
But God loves shepherds. Jesus identifies himself as the good
shepherd. And when Heaven announced the birth of God's Son the
audience God chose was not a group of the upper elite class, but
instead a group of shepherds watching their sheep at night.
And when He did, it scared them to pieces!
Shepherds have a reputation for bravery. They fight off wolves
and lions and bears and thieves. But this was different. The
whole night exploded into light and glory and unearthly visitors!
Its a wonder any of them were conscious enough to hear what the
angel said. But listen to the words of the angel again... This
is the part that says it all... (vs 10-11)
Did you catch all that? The angel told them six reasons to
celebrate: (and they're still worth celebrating today).
1. Good News. Folks, God has good news! In a time when Rome
occupies Palestine and taxes the people to death, God has good
news! In a time when religion has reached an all time low, God
has good news. In a time when religious leaders are corrupt to
the core, God has good news. We could all stand some good news
from time to time, Amen?
2. Great Joy. Joy is an action word. Joy is a celebration of the
heart. The Bible says the joy of the Lord is our strength. We
all need a good dose of joy from time to time, Amen?
3. For all people. Aren't you glad you are not left out on this
one? This is for everybody!
Good News, Great Joy, For everybody... and what is it?
verse 11 tells us and gives us three more things:
Today... I like that word. In Psalms 2:7 God foretold this event
when He said, You are my Son, Today I have become your Father.
This verse is repeated in Hebrews 1:5 and Hebrews 5:5. God prepared a
day to come to us in His Son.
There is no way we can appreciate the full impact of this!
God... The Almighty One... You know, Who made everything...
God has taken on flesh. The Word became flesh. And we have seen
Him! Says John.
Actually, as far as translation goes the King James wins on this
one: The order of the wording is preserved better. It says:
For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior,
which is Christ, the Lord.
Its for you! Its today! Its in the place God said!
Then get a load of what they saved for last!
Your Savior! The Anointed of God! The Lord!..... He's here!
God loves surprises!
Now here's how you will know you are not just dreaming. You will
find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
Now verse 7 and verse 12 are all we have to go on to describe the
actual place of Jesus birth. And listen carefully to me now,
they don't say anything about a stable or cattle lowing or warm
cozy anything. In fact, it may just be that Jesus, the King of
the universe was born on the streets of Bethlehem because there
was nowhere to go for his birth. Maybe a feed trough or manger
was all that was there. Can you imagine a baby born on the
streets. Can you imagine the humiliation and frustration of poor
Mary and Joseph.
I know a little about childbirth. We've had 3 and I was there
every time. I also know what happens to a woman just a few days
before a baby is born. Jenny would clean the entire house. I
mean you can't bring a baby home to a dirty house! But
evidentially when Joseph and Mary arrive in Bethlehem no time is
left to prepare. No place is available either. How much worse
can it get? Its night, they are in the middle of Bethlehem and
Mary is giving birth now. Perhaps there was a stable, or
perhaps only a place against a wall near a feed trough in the
streets of town.
That picture is a little hard for us. It was hard then too.
Only total nobodies were born in the streets. But Jesus is not
above associating with the nobodies of society, in fact that's
the way he died, too. A place where only total nobodies die.
Jesus, the only nobody who could be savior for everybody.
A child born in the streets and a King dying on a cross.
And it’s for you! It’s for today! It’s in the place God said!
For me this gives new meaning to the words recorded in John:
For God so loved the world, that he gave us his only son, that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting
life.
The Shepherds came to Bethlehem and found Joseph and Mary and
baby Jesus lying there. And they told the story of how the
Angels had said it would be this way. A message that assured
Mary that God had not forgotten them.
And a sight that assured the shepherds that God had truly spoken
to them.
God is speaking to us too. He is telling us that He has not
forgotten us. He is showing us that no matter how difficult and
frustrating things may be, He is still with us. He is assuring
us that our ordinary lives are not ordinary to Him. And maybe
most of all God is telling us to celebrate His blessing us so.
It's for you! It's today! It's in the place God said!
If you are here today and have never put on Christ as your Lord
and Savior by being baptized in His name, we invite you to come
with us and follow Him. It's for you. It's today. It's just
like God said.
Or if you are a Christian and you have not been faithful to God
and want us to pray together with you and for you. Come back to
Jesus who came here for you. His forgiveness is free. And...
It’s for you. It’s today. It’s just like God said.
Whatever your need, please come while we sing to encourage you.
