“Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” Those words spoken by the shepherds on the first Christmas Eve are familiar to us. An angel of the Lord had brought them “good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” And the angel told them how to find the source of this good news and the reason for this good news. In Bethlehem they would find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
Although Luke’s account of the shepherds going to see baby Jesus is filled with familiar details, the thread that ties the whole thing together is what the shepherds were told about the child. We hear that connection three times in these verses. First, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” Then they spread “the word concerning what had been told them about this child.” And finally, Luke tells us that as they returned to their flocks they were “glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” It would seem to me that if we are going to be blessed by this familiar account of the first Christmas we should focus on what the shepherds had been told about Jesus. We can’t literally go to Bethlehem and find Jesus using the identifying signs that the angel spoke about. They would find him “wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” So, let’s focus on the identity of that baby and the facts about what he came to do for us. We’ll let that be our source of great joy today. Yes, brothers and sisters in the faith, let’s join the shepherds as they go to Bethlehem. We take a journey of faith to find our Savior, our Messiah, and our Lord.
“LET’S GO TO BETHLEHEM”
I. To find our Savior
II. To find our Messiah
III. To find our Lord
So why shepherds? Have you ever asked that question about the first Christmas Eve? Why did God choose to send angels to that particular social-economic group? I suppose God the Father could have just made the cows and sheep and even the manger itself cry out in praise and adoration at the birth of the Christ-child. But we get the feeling that God prefers the adoration of humans. He loves us, His children, and our greatest good is recognizing and celebrating the value and worth of God—giving him honor, praise, and glory! Inviting the shepherds to worship Jesus was an act of love toward them. From what we know about God through his revelation in the Bible should the fact that he chose these shepherds, the smelly, the ignored, the not-quite-outcasts of Israel to receive this message? Throughout the Bible we find other examples where God reveals himself to the humble and the lowly. Why do think this is so often the case? Generally speaking, it is the humble and poor (at least poor in spirit, if not economically poor) who will see their need for a Savior. I suppose that is a good question for us to consider this morning. Are we humble and poor in spirit? When we look at the mess that is our lives and that is our world we can’t help but be humble and poor in spirit. Like the shepherds we come as beggars to Bethlehem—to find our Savior, our Messiah, and our Lord.
I.
Let’s go back to the message that the angel of the Lord had for the shepherds. “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you.” In the language that the shepherds spoke it would have sounded closer to “Joshua.” From the Hebrew name ?????????? (Yehoshu'a)
Meaning “Yahweh is salvation.” Although it would be 8 days after the first Christmas Eve, Joseph and Mary gave God’s Son the name Jesus, because as the angel had told Joseph in a dream, he would save his people from their sins.
But truth be told there were likely other babies born at the same time as Jesus who were given the same name. Historians tell us that would not have been unusual. But when it comes to the Babe of Bethlehem that name takes on a very different meaning. So, what does that name mean for us? What exactly does a Savior do? Perhaps we say, “Well that’s easy. A savior saves, right?” But it’s important to be specific about how Jesus is our Savior and how he saves us. Listen to two powerful passages of the Bible for a clear answer about what . 2 Timothy 1:9–10 says, “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” Before God created the world it was his plan to save us. Tonight he invites us to go to Bethlehem to find him in a manger. As our Savior, Jesus, was born to live and die in our place so that we can live forever with him. We heard that same Good News in our Second Reading for this Sunday. Listen again to Titus 3:4–6 which says, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.” When we go to Bethlehem in faith we find, not just a Savior, but our Savior. Through our Baptism we have been clothed in his holy life and his sacrificial death. And that means we are also reborn and renewed. Brothers and sisters, as the familiar Christmas hymn declares, “Oh, Come Let us Adore Him!”
It has become something of a cliché to talk about Jesus being the “reason for the season.” None of us would argue with the point. But, Jesus’ Name, which means Savior, helps us remember the reason for the “reason for the season.” Another familiar Christmas hymn, “What Child Is This?” expresses the truth that Christ was born to take our place in life and death. This tells us why we go to Bethlehem this morning. “Why lies he in such mean estate / Where oxen now are feeding? / Good Christians, fear; / For sinners here / The silent Word is pleading. / Nails, spear shall pierce him through; / The cross he’ll bear for me, for you. / Hail, hail the Word made flesh, / The babe, the Son of Mary!” Some might wonder why we would sing about nails, spear, and a cross at Christmas. Because that’s why Jesus was born. And that is how he served as our Savior. And that is why he is still our Savior. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 4:4–5, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” The shepherds went to Bethlehem when the “set time had fully come” to find the Promised Savior. Through that baby they were brought into God’s family. And that is why Christians remember that night every year at Christmas. We find our Savior in Bethlehem—the Savior who has brought us into God’s family.
C.F.W Walther, a Lutheran pastor, professor, and theologian from the late 1800’s described what we find in Bethlehem with these words. “What happened in Bethlehem was the fulfillment of that eternal decree of the Heavenly Father. As soon as His Son became man, the unbearable burden of all humanity’s sin was laid upon Him. And so, as Christ, God’s sacrificial Lamb for the sins of the whole world, lay in a hard crib in the dark stable, the eyes of God looked into the future to see His Son already dying on the cross. Therefore, this atonement for sins, by which God’s offended holiness and righteousness were satisfied and men were reconciled to Him, was already as good as accomplished.” As we join the shepherds today and go to Bethlehem, we go there to find a Savior. He is not just a Savior though; he is the only Savior, and he is your Savior and mine!
II.
Although the first part of the angel’s announcement that “a Savior has been born to you,” would have been enough to prompt the shepherds to go to Bethlehem. But the additional information that the angel gave about the baby, that they would find lying in a manger would have been an additional spring in their steps. The angel went on to say, “he is the Messiah…”
Once again, we have to turn back to the Old Testament to understand the meaning of this title given to Jesus. It’s Messiah in Hebrew and Christ in Greek. Again, it’s a title not Jesus last name. He was Mr. Messiah, or Mr. Christ. He was “the Messiah” or “the Christ.” The title itself is short for “the anointed one.” The LORD had his people make a special mixture of spices and olive oil. (By the way, the recipe was guarded by the death penalty!) Anyone who served the LORD as a prophet, priest, or king was to have that oil poured on his head. People could see and smell the evidence that God had selected a certain man for one of those three jobs. But when the Messiah came, he would be called upon to fill all three of those offices for God’s people. So instead of receiving oil on his head Jesus received the Holy Spirit to mark him as the anointed Savior—to serve as the ultimate Prophet, Priest, and King for God’s people. (Related to Jesus’ anointing with the Holy Spirit we will look more deeply at Jesus’ baptism at our worship service on Sunday, January 14th. We will note that God the Holy Spirit rested on Jesus in the form of dove. On that Sunday we will also connection Jesus baptism to our own baptism.)
So what thoughts would have come to mind for the shepherds on the first Christmas Eve when they heard the angel say that the Messiah had been born in Bethlehem? To them the Messiah immediately brought to mind those three important representatives of God found in their history, and to a lesser extent, in their day to day lives. Since they would have at least a basic understanding of the Old Testament of the Bible, they would have thought of the Words that God spoke to Moses in Deuteronomy 18:18-19, “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.” Jesus was that promised prophet. The shepherds might have also thought of what God said through the Prophet Jeremiah. “The days are coming, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land…This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteous Savior.” (Jeremiah 23:5–6) And finally, when the shepherds heard that the Messiah had been born in Bethlehem they would have thought of prophecies like the one King David made in Psalm 110:4, “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” The Jews were waiting for the Messiah to come who would be their prophet, priest, and King forever! Now we can understand why Luke tells us, “So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.”
For us gathered here today this is more than just interesting Bible History about the Messiah. Jesus, the anointed Savior, still serves as our prophet, priest, and king. As a prophet he speaks God’s Word to us whenever we hear or read the Bible. And he speaks through us when we share his Word with each other and with people around us. Like a priest, Jesus still intercedes for us every time we sin. He reminds his Father of the perfect life he lived in our place and of the death he died in our place for our sins. And as our king Jesus rules all things for our eternal good as the King of kings and Lord of lords. King Jesus rules in our hearts and lives through his Word and Sacraments. And finally, King Jesus rules the eternal Kingdom of Glory that we will one day see! Friends in the faith, that is why I say again, let’s go to Bethlehem. Let’s go to see our Savior. Let’s go to see our Messiah—our Christ: Prophet, Priest, and King.
III.
What would you say if I told you that the angel kept the best description of the baby born in Bethlehem for the end? Listen again to what the angel said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” If the shepherds had any doubt about who they were going to see in Bethlehem that last word answered it. To these shepherds THE LORD was the holy name of God. At that time, and still to this day, the Jews don’t say that name so that they don’t accidently break the Second Commandment and “misuse the name of the LORD your God.” I have two questions about how the shepherds might have reacted to the angel’s use of God’s name. First, had they always wondered, the correct way to say it? Second, did they start to think twice about going to Bethlehem?
You’ve heard me and other pastors talk about the Name “LORD” and it’s special meaning. First of all, we remember that when Moses presented God with the hypothetical situation where the Israelites might ask him to identify God by name that was the name God used for himself. In Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Perhaps the best explanation of the Name LORD is found in Exodus 34:6-7. God appeared to Moses and proclaimed his Name and also explained it. “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” That’s who the shepherds would find in Bethlehem! That would have been both terrifying and exciting.
Obviously this fact defies any human logic. How can the Son of God be the LORD and have no beginning or end? Doesn’t he have to be younger than the Father, the way any son would be younger than his father? When it comes to understanding who Jesus is and how he relates to his Father we must let our questions rest and trust in what God’s Word says. Colossians 2:9 states, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” Philippians 2:6 reminds us that Jesus is “in very nature God.” In his first letter John declares that Jesus “is the true God and eternal life.” Romans 9:5 makes the bold statement that Jesus is “is God over all, forever praised! Amen.” Yes, Jesus is the LORD God, in a human body.
But perhaps the most comforting truth that we can find in knowing that Jesus is “the LORD” is that his love for us doesn’t change. As the great “I AM” we can know that Jesus is unchanging. He has always loved us, continues to love us, and will always love us. The Bible tells us that Jesus loved us before the creation of the world. He gladly confined himself to a human body to serve as our Savior. And right now he waits in heaven with love in his heart for us.
Perhaps this short message by Joseph Bayly entitled FROM HEAVEN’S THRESHOLD puts the truth about finding our Savior in the manger into words that are easy for us to take to heart. “Praise God for Christmas. Praise Him for the incarnation, for the word made flesh. I will not sing of shepherds watching flocks on frosty nights, or angel choristers. I will not sing of a stable bare in Bethlehem, or lowing oxen, wise men trailing star with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Tonight I will sing praise to the Father / who stood on heaven’s threshold and said farewell to his Son as he stepped across the stars to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. And I will sing praise to the infinite, eternal Son, who became most finite, a baby who would one day be executed for my crime. Praise him in the heavens, Praise him in the stable, Praise him in my heart.” That’s why we are going to Bethlehem today. We are going there to find our Savior, our Messiah, and our Lord. Amen.
