I love the questions that Bobby asks. Sometimes they catch me off guard and really make me think. But there is one question that he has asked me recently surrounding the birth of Jesus that gave me a bit of insight into his Persian background and a tangible feel for what the Middle Eastern culture of Jesus’ day might have been like.
Bobby asked “Did God make a mistake? Why would we have his son born into a barn?”
In many ways, Bobby’s question addresses the scandal that surrounds the birth of Christ. And yet it’s that very scandal or offense that brings us hope.
Let’s consider some of the things that people might have considered scandalous in the verse that we read just a few moments ago.
A Scandalous Census (1-4)
The fact that Caesar Augustus called for a census for all the world, or at least all of the world that over which he ruled, indicated that yet again the people of Israel were subjects to a foreign ruler. It was not a king from David’s line that sat on the throne. Caesar was not a godly king, if anything he was a blasphemer - claiming to be a deity himself.
And so, rather than object to the ruler’s command, Joseph, and so many others, willingly complied with the requirements of the census. He and Mary traveled roughly 90 miles from Nazareth in the northern part of the country to Bethlehem, just outside of Jerusalem - in the hill country of Judea.
The situation that could have sparked outrage among the population became the way for God to bring to fulfillment the prophecy spoken by Micah - that from Bethlehem would come a ruler.
But in this narrative we get to witness
A Scandalous Mother (5)
Now, today, with the popularity of cohabitation, it’s not uncommon for people to come to marriages with children. In fact, when Danielle and I were on the cruise, we learned of a couple who got married the day before the cruise departed and yet already had two children. This may seem like a non-traditional sequence of events for us, but for those in Israel in the first century, this would have been scandalous.
God intended for children to be born into the security of a marriage relationship, and yet all of that was put at risk for the Son of God.
Matthew’s gospel tells us that Joseph was a righteous man. I’m sure he was hurt and frustrated by the situation. He wanted to call off the wedding quietly, and yet, prompted by an angel, he remained. They made this journey as an engaged couple She would come to their wedding day with a Son. Joseph would take on the role of step father to the Son of God.
It seems scandalous to us and to them.
But think about this, for those of you who have been affected by divorce or have had to deal with the dynamics of a blended family, Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the other kids in that family can relate. They might not have called it that, but they understood the complexities.
Then of course, while they were there in Bethlehem, because everyone who was of the line of David had to go back to that town, all of the AirBnBs and VRBOs, hotels and motels were full. All of the guest rooms of friends and relatives were filled. There was no room, except for in the place where the animals were kept. And so, our Savior was born into…
A Scandalous Nursery (6-7)
We take great care today to make sure that birthing rooms and nurseries are clean and germ free. If you’ve ever spent anytime around livestock, you know that even a clean barn is full of dust, bugs, critters, dung, and more. We can make our modern representations of the nativity look a bit idealized and even romanticized. I would guess that this was not the most pleasant place to give birth or to nurse. Moms, can you imagine giving birth to your children in this kind a situation?
I think this is a bit of where Bobby’s question really begins to hit home. If Jesus is the son of God, then why wouldn’t He be born in a more dignified place that is consistent with His station? Wouldn’t a palace be much more appropriate?
In many ways, even a palace would be beneath the Son of God.
So if God would condescend to take on flesh like us, why not be born in a way that would serve all of humanity? I would guess Jesus is not the only child throughout history to be born in a barn. But if the son of God could be born in an undignified, unconventional, obscure nursery, then he can truly relate to the lowest of all of us. His royal lineage may have brought him to Bethlehem, but His divine compassion brought him to a manger.
So we may think of the scandal of the census, his mother and his nursery as being enough, but at Jesus birth we also see
Scandalous Visitors (8-20)
Now, Luke takes the narrative outside of the town of Bethlehem to the fields outside of town - to the place where shepherds were watching sheep.
Now, when we think of the Angels and the birth of the Son of God - we think that the Angels got to give the birth announcement, now we’ve got an appropriate messenger for the Messiah! But, when they show up on the scene in the night sky above these shepherds, we might think they got the wrong address. Surely, the priests, levites, scribes, religious leaders would need to know that the Messiah had been born! Or maybe the Angels should have gone to Herod’s palace to announce the birth of the eternal king! Or maybe, the Angels should have gone to Mary and Joseph’s parents. Certainly the grandparents would want to be the first to see this child about whom there is so much fussing.
But instead, God sent them to stinky, dirty, dust-covered shepherds. Shepherds who had little influence in society. And yet, in many ways, the announcement to these shepherds reveals God’s heart as He cares for his people as a shepherd cares for sheep.
But notice, the Angel’s announcement said:
Luke 2:10–12 ESV
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
Again, just as Jesus’ nursery was among the lowliest in society, so too these first recipients of the birth announcement and the first visitors are among the lowliest in society. There is really no place else to go but up.
So they hurry and make their way back into to town to find out about this baby, laying in a manger.
The unique crib became the sign for these unique visitors - confirmation that this baby is the One that the angels talked about. This baby is the Messiah!
So these first visitors leave the family and begin telling everyone what had happened! And just as people began to wonder about who John would become, so too, those who heard from the shepherds began to wonder as well.
But the scandal doesn’t stop at his birth. You see, Jesus came to be “savior.” In order to truly offer salvation, he had to face
A Scandalous Cross
Jesus came and lived a perfect, holy life. He taught us how to live in ways that truly glorify God. He taught us to represent God well in this world - by dying to ourselves. When all that he was called to do was accomplished, he was accused and then wrongfully condemned to die by crucifixion. This Kangaroo court condemned the King of Kings.
But, why a cross?
The Heidelberg Catechism explains the crucifixion this way:
Historic Creeds and Confessions (Question 39)
Is there anything more in his being “crucified”, than if he had died some other death?
Yes there is; for thereby I am assured, that he took on him the curse which lay upon me; for the death of the cross was accursed of God.
No only did he die the death he did not deserve, but he did so by a means was cursed. Deuteronomy 21:23 “…for a hanged man is cursed by God. …”
In other words, as Paul writes in Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—”
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Closing thoughts
Friend, if you’re not normally a church going person, I’m so glad you came. But I do want to encourage you to look beyond the traditional images and feelings. See the scandal and the offense of Jesus’ life for what it is. He was born in this scandalous way and died a scandalous even cursed death to take your place and mine on that old rugged cross. The scars he bore, he did for you.
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
As you open gifts tonight or tomorrow, remember the reason we do this is because of the free gift of God in Jesus the Messiah!
How do we receive that gift?
Romans 10:9–10 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
Friend, believe and be saved.
Beloved, brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus came like a light into a dark world. He so radically affected the people around him that their lives were transformed. He broke conventional expectations - not only in his birth, but in His life. He called us to take up our crosses, to deny ourselves and follow him. How does the Scandalous life to which God has called us relate to the life that Christ lived? Are we representing him well? Are we adjusting our lives to his or his life/image to ours? Are we bearing his light or are we hiding it?
Jesus urged in his first sermon - Matthew 5:16 “… let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
We are going to conclude our time together by filling this room with light. Just as we receive fire for our candles from the candle named for Christ, so too may we go into the world and into our family celebrations proclaiming the salvation that we have through Christ.
Questions for reflection and discussion
Read: Luke 2:1-20.
1. Who decreed that a census be taken of the entire Roman world? (2:1)
2. What historical facts did Luke provide that allow us to approximate the date of Christ’s birth? (2:1–2)
3. What reason did Luke give for Joseph having to travel to Bethlehem for the census? (2:4)
4. What can we learn about responding to unexpected difficulties from the examples of Mary and Joseph?
5. What do you imagine angels look like?
6. How did the shepherds react when they saw the angel? (2:9)
7. To whom did the angel address his good news? (2:10)
8. By what symbol or sign were the shepherds supposed to identify the Christ child? (2:12)
9. What was the immediate reaction of the shepherds after the angels left? (2:15)
10. After finding the Christ child, what did the shepherds do? (2:17–20)
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