MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(REVISED: 2019)
(PowerPoints used with this message are available for free. Just email me at mnewland@sstelco.com and request PP#247)
TEXT: Luke 2:1-20
“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world….And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem …, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room available for them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared … praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, 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.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”
The story you’ve just heard is very familiar to most of us here this morning. And I realize that there is a danger when hearing a familiar story of thinking, "I've heard that before. There’s no need to listen to it again."
Would you please bow your heads for just a few moments as I pray?
PRAYER: “Father, how kind & merciful you are. We have come to you in prayer for many different reasons, & you have always been gracious in hearing & answering them.
I pray right now in particular that as we focus our thoughts this morning upon the old, old story of your love for us as seen in Jesus Christ, that it will ring fresh & new in our hearts as we consider it once again. Please, Father, may your Spirit be in us today, I pray, in Christ’s name. Amen”
I. CONSIDER THE ELEMENTS OF THE STORY
A. The story actually begins before the beginning of time. The Bible says that even before the foundation of the world was laid, God planned that His Son would give Himself for the sins of mankind.
In the 3rd chapter of Genesis, & all the way through the O.T., prophecy after prophecy proclaimed that the Messiah would come, He would be born & live among us, & He would be the Lamb of God that takes away our sins. Then there is a silence of 400 years when no prophet from God speaks. But finally the silence is broken, the angels speak, & Jesus is born.
B. Mary & Joseph had been handpicked by God Mary, to be the mother of God's Son, & Joseph to be the one commissioned to take care of them.
So the story begins to unfold, but there were complications. Rumor & gossip flow through the streets of Nazareth because Mary is expecting a child even before she & Joseph had become husband & wife.
Then there is the complication of the order of Caesar Augustus that every family must return to their home town for a census of the Roman world. So even though the baby is due at any time, Mary & Joseph must make the journey all the way to Bethlehem from Nazareth, & that trip is about 90 miles long.
Three times Ethel & I have made that same trip & saw the rugged countryside through the windows of air conditioned tourist buses. But Mary & Joseph traveled those 90 miles with no Holiday Inns at night, no clean sheets to sleep between, no TV programs to entertain them.
Slowly they traveled, sleeping out beneath the stars, with all the difficulties of travel complicated by Mary's condition.
And once they arrive in Bethlehem there is the complication of finding lodging. There is no room for them in the inn. But because of Joseph’s persistence, & perhaps the kindness of the innkeeper, they were offered a stable, a place where animals are kept, & there they found shelter for the night.
So there were complications - complications with Mary's condition, complications in their travel, & complications in finding lodging.
C. But there was also a celebration! It was a private celebration at first just Mary & Joseph. They knew something no one else knew. They knew that this baby was special - God's own Son, & that His birth was a miracle.
Soon the celebration spreads. Angels appeared to shepherds & announced that a Savior had been born, who is Christ the Lord. So they rushed to see Him.
And that celebration continues today. He came also to be born into your hearts & mine, that His Spirit might live within us - & that's cause for celebration, too!
D. Complications, celebration, & love – the love of God for us as He sends His Son into a sinful world; the love of Mary as she wraps the child in strips of cloth & lays Him in a manger; & the love of Joseph as he willingly accepts the task of caring for Mary & for the precious gift from God that has been placed in his care.
ILL. There is a dramatic play that asks, "What did Joseph do the day after Christ was born?" It’s an interesting question. The night when Jesus was born we assume that he helped with Mary & the baby & did everything he could to make things as comfortable for them as possible. But what about the next day?
The play suggests that since Joseph is a carpenter that he must have begun making a crib for Jesus. And as he does, he thinks about the angels & shepherds & the celebration of the night before, & muses to himself, "If He is treated like this when He is just a baby, how will the world treat Him when they find out that He is the Son of God?"
At precisely that moment in the play, the lights go out, & in the darkness all you can hear is the sound of the hammer hitting wood, again & again. “How would they treat Him…?” We know the answer. They would nail Him to a cross, & He would give His life for their sins & for ours.
SUM. Well, those are the basic elements of the story.
ILL. As you know, a few years ago there was a major effort in the media & among some government leaders to erase the greeting “Merry Christmas” & any mention of “Christmas” from this season of the year, & replace it with “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy Holidays.”
Of course, many did not go along with that, & still strongly proclaim that “Jesus is the reason for the Season!” Then recently we heard Pres. Trump say that as far as he was concerned saying “Merry Christmas” was perfectly acceptable again.
Yet this last week U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch was being interviewed on TV, & he began the interview by saying “Merry Christmas” to the one interviewing him. She replied by wishing him a “Merry Christmas” also.
Now are you aware of the torrent of abuse he received for saying those two words? One commentator called Gorsuch’s Christmas greeting a “Republican talking point” & demanded he be removed from being a Supreme Court Justice.
Another wrote of “the horror of a Supreme Court justice saying ‘Merry Christmas.’” And another emailed that he “felt like dousing his face in acid after hearing the words, ‘Merry Christmas.’” - It’s a sick world, friends!
APPL. But no matter what anyone may say – it is Christmas! It marks the birth-day of our Lord Jesus Christ, & we celebrate His coming into the world God in the flesh, Emmanuel, "God with us."
II. SEE THE RESPONSES TO THE STORY
Now, in addition to considering the elements of the Christmas story, I want you to see the responses to it. There are at least 5 different responses recorded in the Bible, & I think we'll soon realize that you & I fit into one or more of them.
A. First of all, there is the response of the innkeeper. Do you know how many times he is mentioned in the Bible? Now that is a trick question because he is never mentioned. We don't know for sure that there was an innkeeper. But because there was an inn, we just assume there must have been an innkeeper.
But who was he, & what was he like? Down through the centuries, people have pictured him either as a villain or a hero. Either he is a mean spirited man who slams the door in the face of Mary & Joseph, or a kind hearted man who is a victim of circumstances beyond his control.
I'm not sure which he was. But I do know that his response must have been the response of being preoccupied. He was a busy guy. Never had his inn been so full. Never had the demands on his time been so pressing. And he wanted to take care of his guests. It was a time of making money for him.
That is close to what happens today. More people will probably be shopping over the internet & in the stores today than are in all the churches this morning.
It's easy to fall into the same trap as the innkeeper, where we're so busy that other things take first place, & God is 2nd or 3rd or 4th in our lives. So I challenge you this morning to examine yourself, & put first things first.
B. The 2nd response is that of the shepherds. Shepherds were a lower class in Israel. They were often the rejects of society. Their job was a dirty one, & for weeks they were away from home, living in the wilderness, living with sheep.
And yet, God reaches across all barriers of society & tells the shepherds, "I want you to be the first to know that in the city of David, a Savior has been born." They were blessed people, indeed.
Now we have to admit that we're blessed, too. We're not here this morning because we're so smart that we figured out the prophecies. We're not here this morning because we've done anything so wonderful.
We're here because we were born in the right country, at the right time, & were privileged to hear the gospel. We're here because parents took time to tell us about Jesus. We're here because friends reached out to us. We're a blessed people, just like the shepherds.
C. The 3rd response is that of King Herod. He responded with fear.
He was afraid of a new king, afraid that he'll lose the power & authority he has guarded so fiercely. In fact, history says that Herod was so fearful of losing his throne that he murdered 3 of his own sons, his favorite wife, his mother-in-law, his brother-in-law, his uncle, & many others.
Sometimes we too may respond with fear - fear of being ridiculed, fear of how some of our friends may react. Some may even think, "I'm not sure I want to be a Christian. For if I become a Christian, God might try to change my life in ways that I don't want to change."
"He might want me to be more generous, or expect me to serve Him in some way, & do things for others. I'm not sure I'm ready for that."
SUM. So sometimes we respond like Herod. We don’t want Jesus to make any changes in our life.
D. The 4th response is that of the religious leaders the priests, scribes & Pharisees. They were so filled with self-importance that they ignored the news the wise men had brought.
They knew the prophecies! So why didn't they go to Bethlehem? Why didn't they tell the wise men, "We'll travel with you. We want to see the new king, too"?
I'll tell you why. I think it was because of their pride. If they had gone with the wise men, they would have had to admit that the wise men were more in tune with God’s prophecies than they were, & they weren't about to do that.
Also, they would have had to admit that God hadn't revealed the news to them, but to someone else. And they had such spiritual pride that they really believed that if anything was going to happen, they would be the first to know.
APPL. Sometimes Christmas is hard today because we're rather proud, too, & we have so much. It's hard for us to admit that we need God for anything.
But the Bible warns us that pride goes before a fall. As long as we think that we can handle everything ourselves, we'll never know the miracle of Christmas. It is only when we come, willing to be filled with God's love, that we find what Christmas is really all about.
E. The final response is that of the wise men – & it was a joyful expectation! They lived hundreds of miles away, & they didn't receive a visit from an angel. But they studied the Scriptures & the stars. They were astronomers, not astrologers. There is a great difference between the two.
And when they saw this special star, & because of the prophecies they had read they reasoned that a world ruler had been born. So they started their long journey to find Him. And once they found Mary & Joseph & the baby, the Bible says that they worshiped Him, & gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense & myrrh.
More than any of the other responses, that ought to be our response to weigh the evidence, to listen to what God has said, & to see what He has revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.
And once we have reached the conclusion that, indeed, Jesus is the Son of God, that He is God in the flesh, we too joyfully worship Him, express¬ing our adoration, our love & our thankfulness for what God has done.
ILL. Someone said, "Christmas is love tugging men's hearts back to God with the powerful grip of a tiny hand reaching out from a bed of straw."
INVITATION: Have you ever put your finger inside the hand of a little baby & felt its grip? Well, at Christmas, Jesus reaches out with the tiny hand of an infant to grab hold of our hearts, & pull us back to God.
This morning if you’re here & you're not a Christian, we extend to you the invitation of Jesus Christ. Maybe you have a decision on your heart that you would like to make today. If so, please come as we stand & as we sing.
