THE SURPRISE GUEST
Part 2 of the Christmas Perspectives Series
Luke 2:8-20
Read at beginning of service:
John 10:14-16 (NIV)
14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
INTRODUCTION
Last week we looked through the eyes of Mary and Joseph to discover what their perspective of the Christmas Story might have been. In doing so we found that to them, it was intimate, it was real, and it was precious. We walked with Mary and Joseph from the beginning with the unusual message, the message that to them a child would be born, His name would be Jesus and that He would be the Savior of His people. Then we listened in on their journey and witnessed the belief they had for the message and the faith they had in its’ fulfillment. Finally, we joined with Mary and Joseph in their experience of the moment when both their belief and faith was realized in the special birth of the special child, "Immanuel" – God with us.
In this series called Christmas Perspectives we are attempting to witness the Christmas Story through the eyes of those who were there, seeing how they saw it, feeling how they felt it. We are doing this in an attempt to allow our own perspective of the Christmas Story be shaped so as to reflect a true understanding of what the Christmas Story is all about – for it is not merely about an event that took place 2000 years ago but it is also about an event that can take place in our lives in the present as the Christ child is born in our hearts through our faith and belief in Him.
As I began last week, your perspective on something influences your actions, your reactions, and even your lack a action in circumstances, experiences and relationships with people. I thought I’d share a couple more examples of the influence perspective can have:
From a father’s letter to a son in college: "Am enclosing $10 as you requested in your letter. Incidentally, $10 is spelled with one zero, not two." (Autoillustrator.com, PERSPECTIVE)A pastor was visiting one of his parishioners, and as they were talking the conversation began to lag. The lady of the house, wanting to pick up the conversation, pointed out her window to her neighbor’s back yard where the wash was hanging on the line. She said: "See that lady next door and the wash she hangs out, see how dirty it is, she never hangs out a clean wash!" The pastor felt somewhat uncomfortable and tried to change the subject and quickly drew the visit to a close. AS he was departing from the house the lady of the house walked out on the front porch with him and again the wash next door was clearly visible to them. They both realized at the same time that this wash was sparkling white, just as white as any wash could ever be. The truth began to dawn on them that it was not the neighbor’s wash which was dirty, rather it was the window through which they viewed the wash. (Autoillustrator.com, PERSPECTIVE)As we begin this morning’s message ask yourself this question – has your perspective of the Christmas story been polluted by a world that does not fully understand the reason for the season?
Luke 2:7-20 (NIV)
7 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 for them in the inn. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 15 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." 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
PRAY
I want you to imagine for a minute the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus and the angelic announcement of His glorious birth by an angel to the shepherds. Bethlehem at this particular time in history was a bustling, busy town. A census had been called by Rome which meant that every man, woman and child had to be counted. The very fact that the census was going on throughout the entire Roman Empire – which covered the entire world of that time is significant. But for the region of Judea it was even more amazing that this province which once was so resistant to the rule of the Roman Empire was now entering into the "registering" of it’s people as members of Rome and subjected to the administration of its emperor.
It is recorded in verse three that every person went to his own town (the town of their ancestry) to register,. Bethlehem, of course as the town of David would have been a very, very busy place because of this. The line of David was the royal line of Judea and the Roman Emperor would probably had made sure that everyone in this line registered so as to know their numbers and strength.
You can almost picture this town in the days of the census. People didn’t have cars and planes back then. Many people would have traveled days or weeks to reach Bethlehem and it would become a stopping over or resting place before they headed home. Of course the merchants, innkeepers, caravan drivers, buyers, sellers, businessmen, entrepreneurs and sharpsters would take advantage of this sudden boom of customers as the people arrived in Bethlehem. I can just picture the residents of this small town rubbing their hands in anticipation of all the wealth that would come from this sudden flurry of activity. They were taking a hold of this event and milking it for all its worth – perhaps there were even some visionaries who were petitioning Rome for a repeat of the census the following year! Maybe it could become an annual event!
Of course, we know that it was into this arena of the census being taken that a young man and woman found themselves a stable where they experienced the birth of a child. A very special child, a child that had been prophesied to be the Messiah, the coming King, the Saviour, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Son of God, Immanuel, God with us, Jesus. Yet the world did not know. Lying in a manger was a King whose glory outshone and still outshines every king and ruler and emperor of the world combined. Yet the people in the town of Bethlehem were oblivious to His presence.
And then God announced the birth of His son! All of a sudden there were fireworks all over the sky – bright blues, reds and greens. A giant Christmas Tree miraculously appeared in front of the stable with angels all around it shouting at the top of their lungs "It’s a Boy!" – the whole sky was lit up like day with lettering written across it, "THE MESSIAH HAS COME".
Did this happen NO, and yet it could have. Surely, the creator of the Universe would be capable of such a glorious entrance into the world? Surely this kind of announcement of the birth of Jesus would have been possible for the One who spoke the world into being? But this was not the way the birth of Jesus was announced. Instead an angel went to a bunch of anonymous shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem and to them announced the majestic birth in the city.
The people in Bethlehem were unaware of the drama unfolding in the fields outside of the city – they were unaware of the majestic events taking place in their own yard. But are they really to blame? Was it their fault that they were oblivious to these events? Perhaps not – and yet, through the perspective of the shepherds we can find some reasons for God’s choice to make his announcement to them instead of those dwelling in the city.
to reveal God’s GraceShepherds were outcasts in Israel. Their work not only made them ceremonially unclean, but it kept them away from the temple for weeks at a time so that they could not be made clean.
Nine times out of ten the job of shepherd would be given to the youngest male in the family so that the older ones could be freed up for more important work.
The scriptures record that when the angel appeared to the shepherds they were terrified. Why is the angel here? What is the angel going to do? We’re not presentable. We’re not ready. All these thoughts and more were probably going through the shepherd’s minds. And yet the angel’s first words to the shepherds were, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news…"
The message of the angels to the shepherds was that there was Good News! We like good news. We certainly don’t like bad news. A father came home from a very rugged day at work and said to his wife, "I’ve had a bad day. Please! If you have any bad news tonight, keep it to yourself." To which she replied, "O.K. NO bad news. Now for the Good News. Remember our four children? Well, three of them didn’t break an arm today." (Autoillustrator.com, GOOD NEWS)The first significant truth born out of God coming to the lowly shepherd is that God does not reserve his grace for the privileged, but for the poor and the lowly.
A brief look at the pages of the Bible bears witness to this. Look at the people whom God called to do His work! Abraham, the leader of a small band of rovers; Jacob, a liar and a shepherd; Joseph, a slave and prisoner; Moses, an outcast and shepherd; Gideon, a simple farmer; Saul, a man looking for his donkey; David, the youngest son and a shepherd; most of the prophets were either farmers or shepherds – Elijah, Elisha, Amos; Esther, an orphan; Joseph, a carpenter and Mary, a virgin; and now the first ones called to spread the GOOD NEWS of the Messiah’s birth, the shepherds near Bethlehem.Did you know that God wants to use you this Christmas? That he extends His grace to you? That it doesn’t matter what position you are in life that He can USE YOU? That He WANTS TO?
It’s also interesting to not the number of times God is referred to as a shepherd in the Bible. Perhaps the most famous reference is Psalm 23… Jesus is the prophesied good shepherd of Israel in Micah 5:2-4
Micah 5:2-4
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor give birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth."
And later on in his ministry, Jesus refers to Himself as the "good shepherd".
John 10:11 (NIV)
11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John 10:14 (NIV)
14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--
Clearly God held a special place in His heart for shepherds – as He does for all those who are lowly, poor and humble.
Warren Wiersbe writes:
The Messiah came to be both the Good Shepherd (John 10) and the Lamb of God sacrificed for the sins of the world (John 1:29). Perhaps these shepherds were caring for the flocks that would provide sacrifices for the temple services. It was fitting that the good news about God’s Shepherd and Lamb be given first to humble shepherds.Can you imagine how the shepherds felt when they first heard this? They were terrified, probably prostrate on their faces before the angel. And then as they heard the angel speak of this "good news" they probably began to look at each other as they slowly rose to their feet – their fear turning to joy as they realized the privilege of hearing about God’s grace – marveling that God would even think of them!
This Christmas remember that when Christ was born God was not only thinking of the world as a whole but He was also thinking of you! When you look through the eyes of a shepherd the merciful force of God’s grace flattens you.
they were ready to believe
Bethlehem was the center of distracting busyness…Would they have heard the message?As mentioned earlier there would have been a tremendous amount of activity going on in the town of Bethlehem that night – if they weren’t already asleep, the busyness and distracting activities the people of Bethlehem were involved in would keep them from hearing the message from the angel.
Would they have believed the message?
A baby in a manger is the messiah? A baby in a manger is the savior? Uh-uh I don’t think so… it’s a nice joke though.
The shepherds were in a place of quiet and were keeping watch.
They heard the message.
They didn’t have anything to distract them besides the occasional bleating of a sheep and the majestic view of a starry sky! The Bible records that they were, "keeping watch"
There are two greek words used in this phrase, phulasso and phulaka are translated keeping watch but really the sense of the greek is "really, really, watching"
These shepherds weren’t half asleep, they were carefully, and caringly watching over their sheep. Probably looking for any predators that would be coming after the sheep.
It was into this still, calm, serene and alert setting that an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and frightened them.
They believed the message
The angel proceeded to tell them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." (vs 10-11).
Following the angel’s message a great host of angels appeared praising God and giving God glory.Now, shepherds are not easily fooled. They are practical men of the world who have little to do with fantasy. God selected hardworking men to be the first witnesses that His Son had come into the world. God selected men who were ready to believe him. That they believed is obvious from their actions following the visit of the angels, "…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." (vs 15) Notice the shepherds did NOT say, "Let’s go to Bethlehem and see IF this thing has happened." When they went to Bethlehem, they went fully expecting and believing that the message from the angels was true. That they would find a baby wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger and that THIS baby was the MESSIAH!!The shepherds BELIEVED!!
ARE YOU READY TO BELIEVE?
One of the saddest things in our world today and especially in western society is the fact that many people are not ready to believe the message of the angel. That Jesus Christ has come and is the salvation of the world.
Either we’re too busyOr too prosperous
Sadder still is the way in which the Christmas season has become a holiday of buying and selling, making deals and getting steals, competitive decorating and certainly "the busiest time of the year". How many people who celebrate this holiday season have heard the message of Christ? Or should I say, how many people this holiday season have LISTENED to the good news. Or should I say, how many people would believe the message of Christ?
The truth of the matter is – whether Bethlehem was ready to believe or not, Jesus Christ was born – whether we’re ready to believe or not, Jesus Christ was born and the message of the good news was given then – is given today – and will be given for all eternity. Will you receive it?
they were ready to give
The shepherds were the very first Christian evangelists!!
The typical manger scene is but a snapshot of what really happened on that special evening. The scriptures record that, "when they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.."
After the shepherds heard the message from the angel, and the angelic choir singing, the scriptures record that they rushed in to Bethlehem. As they traveled towards Bethlehem they probably didn’t know that they were the only ones to have received the announcement from the angel. But as they traveled through the streets and finally to the stable they would no doubt have noticed that nobody else seemed to be aware of who this special baby was.
The shepherds wasted no time in proclaiming the good news! Were there flocks of people streaming to the manger to see the baby as a result of the shepherds testimony? We don’t know. We do know people were amazed by their words. Even if nobody went to see the baby after the testimony of the shepherds their actions were an example of their joyous thankfulness and exuberant thanks to God for the gift of His son.
God knew that the shepherds were ready not only to believe the message of good news but ready to give it out as well.
There were no excuses… They just went… Not only were they ready to give the good news to the people of Bethlehem but they were ready to give their praises to God for his gift to them.
We know the Christmas season is the season of giving and a lot of us have carefully made preparations to make our gifts of… to those we love..(or are in the last minute rush to do so!) But how many of us are ready to give the most precious gift of all? How many of us are ready to give the gift of the knowledge of Jesus Christ – of the good news? How many of us are ready to give the testimony of what God has told you and done for you?
The Bible doesn’t mention an innkeeper – only that there was no room at the inn when Mary and Joseph were looking for a place to stay. Yet, there very well might have been. What might have been his words if he was to speak to us today?
I only did what you have done
A thousand times or more
When Joseph came to Bethlehem
And knocked upon my door
I did not turn the Christ away
With alibi so deft.
Like you, I simply gave to Him
Whatever I had left
(B.P. Baker, Autoillustrator.com, THE INNKEEPER)CONCLUSION:
I believe that just as God had chosen the shepherds to receive a special message on that special day just over 2000 years ago that God is wanting to share a special message with you this Christmas season. A message of hope, of peace, of joy, of love of forgiveness, of grace, of eternity, of wonder.
Truth be told, God is ready to shower His grace upon you…the question is – are you ready to believe? Are you ready to give?
This is the story of a nine year-old boy named Wallace Purling. Larger than most kids, he was also slow in mind. But the children all liked him. He was so much bigger than they, but he never bullied them. In fact, he was the ever-present defender of the smaller boys. Wally wanted very much to be in the Christmas play that year. He hoped he could be a shepherd. But the teacher had a larger part in mind. Wally was big enough to be the innkeeper, she reasoned. And so it was that Wallace Purling got the part of the innkeeper. He was given the part. Oh, how he practiced. The night of the play everything went beautifully. No one even missed a line. At last the play came to the part where Mary and Joseph knocked on the door of the inn. "What do you want?’ Wallace asked, opening the door with a brusque gesture. "We seek lodging," came the response. "Seek it elsewhere, the inn is filled," "But sir, we have tried elsewhere, we have come a long way, and we are very tired," they responded. "Go away," Wally properly commanded. "There is no room in my inn for you." "But sir, my wife is with child. Don’t you have a corner where we can get out of the cold?" For the first time the innkeeper broke his icy stare and looked at Mary. There was a long silence. The audience was tense with embarrassment because they thought Wallace had forgotten his lines. "No, be gone," the prompter whispered. "No, be gone," Wally said halfheartedly. Joseph sadly placed his arm around Mary as they began to move off the stage. Suddenly, this Christmas program became different from all the others. Wallace Purling could stand it no longer. Big he was – cruel he could never be. With big tears welling up in his eyes he gave a performance others would never forget. "Wait, don’t go Joseph!" Wally called. "Bring Mary back." Wallace Purling’s face grew into a bright smile. "You can have my room and I’ll sleep out in the cold." Some said the pageant was ruined. Others knew better. Wallace Purling caught the real spirit of Christmas – that of giving and sacrifice. (Autoillustrator.com, INKEEPER’S HEART CHANGED)Let us pray.
This sermon was preached by Darren Ethier at Hanover Pentecostal Church on December 3,2000. This message is Part 2 of the sermon series: Christmas Perspectives. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, Copyright © 1873, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
