Sermon - “Finding Jesus” Luke 2:1-10
I. Mary’s Story
II. The Search Continues
A. Introduction - Scholars
B. Our Search
1. Like the Jew
2. In Our Everyday Life
3. Finding Jesus
C. Others Search
1. Where Will They Find Him?
2. Can They Find Him in You?
III. The Challenge
A. Let Jesus Ever Be Present in Your Life
1.In Your Decisions
2. In Your Language
a. Language that is pleasing to God
b.Witness
3. In Your Devotions
4. In Your Kindness and Compassion
B. You are the Light, the Star leading others to find Jesus
My name is Mary. I live with my husband, Joseph and my son, Jesus in Bethlehem. Bethlehem means the “House of Bread.” In God’s will nothing happens per chance by accident I wonder why God chose Bethlehem the house of bread, the bread of Life for the birth place of his son. I’m sorry perhaps I am getting just a little a head of myself.
You see it was almost three years ago that an angel appeared unto me. His name was Gabriel. He told me that I had found favor with the Lord and that the Lord was with me. I was troubled, what kind of greeting was this from an angel.. Gabriel said “Do not to be afraid” that I would conceive a son and was to name him Jesus. Gabriel told me that the Holy Spirit would come upon me and the power of God would be with me. And I would be with child, Jesus, the Son of the Most High, God’s son and He would reign over the house of Jacob forever! I would bear the Messiah, the one we, the Jews, had been waiting for was to come to the world through me a lowly peasant girl.
I was frightened and overjoyed at the same time. My spirit rejoiced, my soul soared. The Lord my God had found favor with me the lowliest of his servants. I had been blessed beyond measure. God love and mercy had been showered down on me. And then I remember Oh my How would I ever explain this to Joseph. Joseph, sweet loving Joseph, we weren’t even married and here I was with child, not just any child but God’s child and then I remembered Gabriel’s and I was comforted. God was with me! An angel appeared unto Joseph and calmed his fears. And he married me in spite of all the gossip.
You would have thought the whole world would have noticed I was carrying God’s son. Joseph said I just glowed. He said I was beautiful even though I felt I was as big as a cow. And then when I thought I could no loger move about Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. Everyone was to go to their own town to register. Joseph was from Bethlehem so we had begin the journey here. Ohh, I can still remember that donkey ride, me nine months pregnant. I thought the journey would never end. My back and legs, not mention other parts, ached from the constant jostle of the donkey.
When we got to Bethlehem it looked like everyone and their brother was there. Everything was so crowded. Joseph tried to find us a place to stay but there was no room, not even in the Inn. We knew the time for Jesus’ birth was near so Joseph begged the innkeeper for a place to stay. The innkeeper graciously allowed us to stay in his stable with the animals. And now I who looked like a cow was staying with the cows.
There could have been no more glorious a place. The glory of God shown all around as Jesus was born. The beauty of God’s presence humbled us as we looked upon the small delicate, glowing face of the Messiah. God’s son had been born! The Messiah had come! The presence of God seemed to shout out with jubilation and yet no one seemed to notice or at least at first. And then shepherds came. The stared in awe at the child, at Jesus. They bowed down and worship Him, tears of joy flowed from their eyes as they told us about a host of angels that had descended upon them proclaiming the good news of Christ’s birth. They had been seeking the Messiah and they had found him here in the stable in Jesus.
Jesus, sweet little Jesus boy. I know all mother’s say it but Jesus truly was the most beautiful baby in the whole world. Oh, how I adore him. And he is growing so much! How I love to just sit and watch him sleep. His smile exudes peace, love. When I look at him I see the God. And when we went to the temple even Simeon and Anna could see that Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise of our Sovereign Lord. And yet all of Bethlehem, all of Judea couldn’t see it. They were looking for the Messiah and he was right there in front them.
The other night as I sat watching Jesus, praying I was startled to look up and see strangers from a far off land. They were Gentiles from the east, learned men, scholars. Some say they were astronomers, magician or maybe even kings. I am not sure. All I know is that when they saw Jesus they fell to their knees and worshipped Him. Gentiles could see God in the face of Jesus while the Jews could not! The Magi told of their journey. It began hundreds maybe even thousands of miles from here. As they had been studying the stars they learned of the prophecy of Balaam that a star that would come up out of Jacob revealing a new born key when they discovered a new light, a new star in the horizon. They recognized it as a sign and they began to follow it searching for the king. They followed the star all the way to Judea. All along the way the talked with others about the prophecy and learned of God’s promise. A journey that had begun out of curiousity had turned into a quest for the Messiah. They heard God speaking to them through the Torah and they obey him without question
But somewhere along the way they got distracted and quit looking to God for guidance. They assumed the King would be born in a palace so they went there seeking the new born King. Herod must have been surprised by their inquiry. He wasn’t aware of the birth of a new king. It must have sent old king Herod into quite a tizzy for he knew he wasn’t the rightful heir to the throne. He wasn’t even of the line of David. But he is a ruthless and deceitful man. He told the wisemen he would check with his priest to find out where the king was to have been born.
It wasn’t hard to figure that out the prophet Micah had foretold of Jesus birth in Bethlehem years before.
Myrrh, Oh God, I fell to my knees and prayed.
Dear God, These men have come, searching for the promised Messiah and they have found him in Jesus. They have brought gifts befitting a king but dear God, myrrh, a spice for embalming. Why God? Why? Could this be a foreshadowing of what is to come.? Oh, God? He is but a child, please don’t take my child from me….Oh, God forgive me for he is not my child but yours. Dear God I pray those who are searching might come to know you through Jesus. I pray that they will find Him in their hearts and I pray no matter what that I will have the strength to follow your will for Jesus. Dear God I pray, protect Him. Amen
Jesus! A babe in a manger. God himself in flesh and blood in the midst of his people and yet so many were could not see him. The Jews were blind to God’s presence while the Gentiles came seeking God and finding him in Jesus Christ, a babe born in a manger. The presence of God is no less real today and there are those who are still searching to find Him.
Recently for one of my classes I studied the current scholarly searches for the man called Jesus. The Jesus Seminar scholars claim that to find Jesus you have to separate the historical Jesus from the Jesus of faith. They have gone back through history searching for proof of Jesus exsistence. And there is proof, proof in the writings of Tacitus from 56 B.C. where he speaks about a man named Christ who was given the death penalty by Pontius Pilate; proof in the writing of Josephus, a jewish historian, in the records of the Sanhedrin, in the Talmud, Mara bara Serapion, a third century pagan wrote about a man named Jesus. The fact is there is historical proof that Jesus exsisted.
But The essence of the Christmas story is not in facts, it is not that Jesus exsisted or even in the essence of Jesus being conceived by a virgin. The essence of Christmas is that God’s son came into the world in human form and dwelt among us. That that which man had been seeking had been given. The promise of ages had been fulfilled. And yet, God’s own people the Jews missed finding Jesus.
I wonder how many of us, God’s chosen people, also have missed Jesus. Oh I know you know who Jesus is, you have been baptized and are a believer. But I wonder have you truly found Jesus. Have you found the babe, whose smile can bring peace, love and contentment in your life or are you caught in the everyday struggle
