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Disclaimer. I do frequent Sermon Central and borrow from others works, but often don't remember who. Some parts in here are from the great works of others. This message has been very well received by many, may God bless it and use it to His glory.
Title: Unimpressive surroundings - Spectacular event
They're a different generation today; kids that are under the age of 15.
Many are not that impressed by 60’s rock music, I don't understand that myself. :)
They're like, it's cool and everything, but whatever.
They're more impressed with watching YouTube videos.
At first glance, there is much about the story of the birth of Christ that was unimpressive.
Let’s look at a few things that might not impress some at first glance.
Unimpressive beginnings
Luke 2:4-11 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Jesus was Not born in Paris France, Not Washington D.C. , not Moscow, Not London, Not Beijing China, Not even Jerusalem.
Bethlehem was insignificant among Judah = unimpressive
Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting."
Jesus was not born in some city that was powerful in the region.
Instead He was born in a meager little village, one most would go by without noticing.
A city that otherwise would be of no significance to most people.
It only became significant after Christ’s birth there.
It was an unimpressive village.
Christ’s birth room = unimpressive - animals slept there.
We often think that since there was no room in the Inn, and since they used the manager, a feeding trough for the baby’s crib, it was a cave or barn. It has been orthodox tradition that it was a cave. Justin Martyr (150 A. D.) mentions it, as does Origen about a hundred years later. Queen Helena erected a church over it (325 A. D.). Still, others have it being in a barn like structure. And then there are others who say it may have been a room in a house. It was common to use the poorest part of your house to put up some animals at night. People took animals into those areas of their house to protect them. Many still do today in some parts of the world.
Where ever Joseph and Mary were, it is clear is that they were in an area where animals would sleep and feed, it’s just that the exact type of room isn’t clear from what we see in the Bible’s texts.
But if you follow orthodox tradition, it would have been a cave.
One thing is for sure, it wasn’t an area where humans would be expected to sleep.
You would never put an honored guest in that area. It was a lowly, humbling place to put Mary and Joseph, and certainly not where you would want to birth a child.
It was a very unimpressive room.
The babies crib was a feed trough for the animals = unimpressive
The crib wasn’t impressive, it wasn’t some fancy expensive hand carved crib with ornate carvings fit for the birth of a King. It was a manger, either wooden or stone was used as a feeding trough or food box that holds hay or feed for farm animals. Mangers were located wherever livestock were kept, places like stables, corrals, or caves, and some houses. Farmers were sure to keep their mangers well-supplied with feed at all times so the animals would never go hungry. The cattle can walk up to a manger at any time, and then spend long, leisure hours chomping away.
It was an unimpressive crib.
But Jesus was not laid in a manger by accident. It is a major spiritual symbol.
Animals go to the manger for physical food, but with Jesus lying on the hay, it symbolizes that we can go to the manger for spiritual food. Jesus has an infinite storehouse of nourishment available, and we can approach him any time and never go hungry. Jesus feeds us with His Word and his gospel. Jesus wants us to devour his word, chew on it, slowly reflect on its meaning, swallow and digest it, and make it part of the fabric of our being.
Jesus’ Word is like no other food, it has the power to save our souls.
Not only that, the infant in the feeding trough is the Bread of Life, the true bread come down from heaven, and whoever eats this bread will live forever.
If a person wants to be spiritually well-fed, they need to come to Jesus.
An anonymous author made this striking observation: Socrates taught for forty years, Plato for fifty, Aristotle for forty, and Jesus for only three short years.
Yet the influence of Christ's three-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined teachings from these men, who are seen by some of the greatest philosophers of all antiquity.
Jesus painted no pictures; yet some of the finest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received their inspiration from Him.
Jesus wrote no poetry; but Dante, Milton, and scores of the world's greatest poets were inspired by Him.
Jesus composed no music; still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach, and Mendelssohn reached their highest perfection of melody in the hymns and symphonies they composed in His praise.
Such humble surroundings, yet every sphere of human greatness has been enriched by the baby born in Bethlehem, and the one born there left a lasting impression on the world.
The birth was announced to unimpressive people
Luke 2:8 ¶ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Rudolph is a purely secular character given to us as a marketing effort by Montgomery Ward’s in 1939 and was popularized even more by Gene Autry after the story was converted to a song in 1949 where it became the #1 hit. Autry's recording sold 2.5 million copies the first year, eventually selling a total of 25 million, and it remained the second best-selling record of all time until the 1980s
There’s a connection I want to make to the Christmas story found in Luke’s Gospel.
You see, Rudolph was a misfit, an outcast, and the whole story in the TV special, Rudolph is surrounded by a band of misfits—from elf Hermey the would-be dentist, to the Abominable Snowman, to all the toys on the Island of Misfit Toys, they’re all outcasts trying to figure out where they belong, or more properly, looking for a place to belong.
Misfits and outcasts—that describes the cast of characters we encounter in Luke’s telling of the Christmas story.
Shepherds: I think many fail to realize that it was a bunch of misfits that God chose to announce the Good News of the birth of Jesus.
God didn’t choose the mayor of Bethlehem, or the then King of the Jews, Herod.
Surely one would think the angels would show up at Herod’s Palace saying, “Hey, Herod. There’s a new king in town.” That didn’t happen. Not even Caesar Augustus was let in on this Good News. Christ birth wasn’t announced to the people in power, or the religious rulers of the day. Nope. Smelly, dirty shepherds were the chosen ones this night. Outcasts and misfits, unimpressive people.
The shepherds were both religious and social misfits.
The nature of their work kept them from normal religious functions, and they were a filthy bunch, too. The work of keeping sheep, living in the fields rendered the shepherds religiously unclean. To make it to the Temple or to the synagogue meant they would have to go through a long, involved purification process that lasted seven days. They didn’t have the time or money to do that.
The shepherds were also social misfits.
Shepherds lived rugged lives, but living “out in the fields” had its benefits.
Let’s just say, if a guy needed to fade safely away, he would likely look for work as a shepherd. Because of the seedy nature of those who were shepherds, they were considered untrustworthy. Among their number were thieves and robbers. When shepherds were around, you kept a watchful eye on your possessions because your possessions were quite likely to walk off.
So, we had an unimpressive city, with an unimpressive birthing room, with an unimpressive crib, with unimpressive visitors, for the most impressive event in human history.
But this is so God. He teaches us humility in His birth.
The announcement was spectacular
Luke 2:9-11 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
So why did God come as a human baby?
Sin required a Perfect human sacrifice
He had to be vulnerable, human, tender enough to be able to die.
Isaiah 53:2-12 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 ¶ Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
“So this Baby in the manager was a real person like you and I,
A man who could be tortured, who could suffer, who could die.
Think of it what this man named Jesus was like;
He had a tongue like us, but He could call forth the dead with His.
He had human hands, but his could touch a leper and make him clean.
His feet were like ours, but His were nailed to a cross
He had emotions like us, He cried for his people.
His eyes could fill with tears... they were tears of love and compassion for us
His heart could be broken, yet He loved us with an everlasting love.
He could die, and He choose to die for us.
Philippians 2:6-8 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
So in all the unimpressive circumstances of that day, God shows us His loving nature. A God that loves us so much he would empty himself of all His glory, humble Himself to a degree that is hard to fathom. No royal ceremony for the King of Kings, no impressive palace to be born in. The Lord of Lords birth was in humble surrounding.
Many see Christ’s sacrifice as foolishness
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
People are seeking peace, contentment, comfort, but chose to turn from God.
Billy Graham tells the story of a man looking for his wallet on the street.
Someone asked him what he was looking for. He said, "I lost my wallet."
The other person said, "Where did you lose it?"
He replied, "About half a block up the street."
The other person said, "Why are you looking here?"
He said, "There is no street light over there!
People looking in all the wrong places, when they need to just look to God.
1 Corinthians 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
A story was told of a man who loved old books.
He met an acquaintance who had just thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations.
“I couldn’t read it,” the friend explained. “Somebody named Guten-something had printed it.”
“Not Gutenberg!” the book lover exclaimed in horror. “That Bible was one of the first books ever printed. Why, a copy just sold for over two million dollars!”
His friend was unimpressed. “Mine wouldn’t have brought a dollar.
Some fellow named Martin Luther had scribbled all over it in German.”
Some people never see the real value of Christ or Christmas either.
People who hate Christmas, who hate the thought of God, are throwing away their only hope.
I want us to understand, it was our sins that He came to save us from
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
God's Greatest Gift
Poet: Catherine Pulsifer © 2017
God's greatest gift was sent to all
He was born in a lowly manger stall
The gift of Jesus to those who believe
Is a gift of love and life for all.
God's love was shown in his Son
He came that we may live as one
Our thanks and praise can not express
Our love for God that brings happiness.
So at this Christmas time rejoice
Praise the Lord with your voice
The miracle of that special birth
Shows how much God thinks you're worth.
So many unimpressive circumstances in the Christmas story.
Yet it has made a lasting impression on the world.
The question is, did it leave an impression on your heart?
Praise God those of us that choose to believe because we can rejoice at Christmas that our savior was born.
Christmas is a time to rejoice.
Luke 2:11 "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Your Savior and mine.
Amen.
