“JESUS HAS COME!” Luke 2:1-7
FBCF – 12/12/21
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Last week started series, “Good New of Great Joy!” Looked at Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming Messiah in Isaiah 9:2, 6 – “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned…For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, & the gov’t shall be upon His shoulders. And He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah prophesied that Hope was coming in the form of a baby that would be born in Bethlehem. John MacArthur: “The coming of the Messiah is synonymous with the coming of light to remove the darkness of captivity.” (NKJV MacArthur Study Bible)
That Messiah has come, & that Messiah is Jesus! The coming of the light to remove the darkness of captivity has happened, & that Light is Jesus! And how we need Him b/c the captivity of sin grows stronger & stronger every day.
- Library in Fairfax County, VA – holiday reading display – Bible right next to Gender Queer & Lawn Boy, books that talk about pedophilia & gay sex. The display also featured quotes from a book entitled Satanic Verses. (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fairfax-county-library-gender-queer-lawn-bible-book-display)
- A pastor in Indiana relieved of his duties after he danced in a drag queen show on HBO, calling it “an incredibly wonderful, refreshing, deepening, powerful spiritual experience” (https://www.foxnews.com/us/indiana-pastor-hbo-drag-were-here-relieve-of-duties-bullied).
These things make us mad, & rightfully so. But it shows us how desperately our world needs Jesus. It shows us how far removed we are from any sense of a Judeo-Christian view of morality. Andrew T. Walker, God and the Transgender Debate – “…the most influential sectors of US culture – academia, media, entertainment, art, law – are increasingly no longer influenced by Christianity, b/c those who occupy places of prestige, influence, & cultural impact are in most cases not Christians, nor are they sympathetic to Christian views” (p. 23).
Yet, today we believe in, we stand on, & we proclaim that Jesus, the Messiah, has come! No matter what the world believes; no matter what the social influencers of our day say; no matter how unsympathetic our society is to Christian views – we will rejoice w/ great joy b/c the Lord has come. We will go tell it on the mountains that Jesus Christ has come!
EXPLANATION – Luke 2:1-7
This passage is so familiar to us that we run the risk of missing out on its impact. Let’s dissect these 1st 7 verses:
The Regulation – v. 1 – Judea was under Roman rule & regulation w/ Caesar Augustus as emperor. Herod, a usurper, a foreign alien power, now ruled over Judea. The Promised Land, promised to God’s people, was in the hands of a heathen power. That heathen governmental power issued a decree for a taxation to take place.
The Registration – v. 2 – The registration here was a governmental census taken by Rome every 14 years for taxation & military purposes. Every Jewish male had to return to the city of his birth to record his name, occupation, property, & family information.
The Response – v. 3-5 – Joseph & Mary headed to Bethlehem in response to the decree. But the greater truth is that God was using the taxation decree by a pagan ruler to bring about His plan for the birth of the Savior. It’s the reality of Romans 8:28. It’s the reality of what Satan meant for evil, God meant for good. Looked what happened in v. 6-7.
The Result – v. 6-7 – “the time came” – “the days were accomplished” (KJV). In those days, they didn’t do gender reveals w/ balloons popping w/ blue or pink confetti, or cannon poppers or golf balls that explode w/ blue or pink smoke. Didn’t have to b/c God Himself had already done the gender reveal thousands of years before in the Garden of Eden when God told Satan that the Messiah would come and HE (not she) would crush Satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). And here HE is – “she gave birth to her firstborn SON.” Matthew 1:25 – “And [Joseph] gave HIM the name JESUS.”
APPLICATION – Jesus has come in those days to give us hope in these days.
3 reasons why Jesus came:
JESUS HAS COME B/C OF MAN’S PROBLEM – Man’s universal problem – SIN.
- “Sin is not weakness; it is a disease; it is red-handed rebellion against God & the magnitude of that rebellion is expressed by Calvary’s cross.” (Oswald Chambers)
We hear those stories of the library’s immoral display, or the pastor dancing as a drag queen & think, “Man! That’s some BAD sin! That’s REALLY ‘red-handed rebellion against God!’” But ALL of our sin is red-handed rebellion against God. ALL of us have the same problem, the same disease.
The depth of man’s depravity is seen even in the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth. Caesar Augustus came to power due to the violent murder of Julius Caesar & the suicide of Marc Antony. Augustus was known for his cruelty – article: “…he slaughtered his way to power…” (https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/the-bloody-rise-of-augustus/). Then King Herod had all the baby boys in & around Bethlehem killed due to his jealousy & fear of another King that had been born.
Man’s sin problem is pervasive & permanent. And the cure for this disease was born in Bethlehem on that first Christmas. Jesus, the Son of God, was born to die to pay the price for our deadly sin problem. The word that the Bible uses is “propitiation.” 1 John 2:2 – “And He [that same Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins [the atoning sacrifice that holds back the wrath of God that would otherwise be directed at us because of our sinful nature—our worldliness, our lifestyle]; and not for ours alone, but also for [the sins of all believers throughout] the whole world.” (AMP)
He’s our only hope!
JESUS HAS COME TO FULFILL GOD’S PROMISES –
“The faithful people of God in the Old Testament looked forward to the Son of God, and we have seen the fulfillment of God in Christ who lived a perfect life and went to the cross to save us.” (Advent devotional on YouVersion)
Listen to the OT promises that Jesus fulfilled:
- Numbers 24:17 – “…a star shall come out of Jacob, & a scepter shall rise out of Israel…” – from line of Jacob
- Isaiah 11:1 – “Then a Shoot (the Messiah) will spring from the stock of Jesse [David’s father], And a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.” (AMP) – From lineage of Jesse, David’s father
- Jeremiah 23:5-6 - “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, & he shall reign as king & deal wisely, & shall execute justice & righteousness in the land…And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ – Lineage of David
- Micah 5:2 - O Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are but a small Judean village, yet you will be the birthplace of my King who is alive from everlasting ages past!” (TLB)
- Isaiah 7:14 - “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child & will give birth to a son, & you will call him Immanuel.”
- Jeremiah 31:15 – “This is what the Lord says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning & great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children & refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” (NIV)
- Hosea 11:1 – “When Israel was a child, I loved him, & out of Egypt I called my son.”
JESUS HAS COME TO COMPLETE GOD’S PLAN – v. 10-11 – God’s plan for our salvation was never meant to be completed through the Law or our good works. The purpose of the Law & commands of God throughout the Bible, particularly the OT, is the show us that it is impossible for us to live up to God’s standard. What’s His standard? Perfection. Perfect obedience to EVERY command He has given. Matthew 5:48 – “You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
- If you’ve ever told a lie, you didn’t just shade the truth – you’re now a liar.
- …taken something that wasn’t yours or cheated on your income tax, you’re now a thief.
- …had a lustful thought, you are now a sexually immoral adulterer.
- …hated someone, you are now a murderer.
- …wanted something that someone else has, you are now a greedy idolater.
If you’re going to try to be saved by keeping the commandments, you have to keep all of them perfectly b/c if you’ve ever broken 1 commandment, you’re guilty of breaking them all – James 2:10 – “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”
What the Law couldn’t do, the Gospel can! The Law could never bring forgiveness & hope, but God’s perfect Son did exactly that. God’s plan all along has been to show us our hopelessness in trying to keep the Law, then show us our Savior. The Law points to our complete inability to save ourselves. Jesus points to Himself as the ONLY Way we can be saved. This is God’s perfect plan, completed in Jesus’ birth, crucifixion, resurrection, & soon-coming return.
JESUS HAS COME – SO LET’S PROCLAIM IT – Luke 2:17 – 3 reasons WHY – Now WHAT to do in response to His coming? Proclaim it. Make it known! That’s what the shepherds did!
- “…they made known abroad the saying that had been told them concerning this child” (KJV)
- “The shepherds told everyone…” (TLB)
- “they told…reported…related…spread the word…”
- Bottom line: They didn’t keep it to themselves!
- And we can’t either!
