Unto You Is Given - A Sign

Alba 12-24-2023

UNTO YOU IS GIVEN – A SIGN

Luke 2:10-12

It is important to be aware of the signs that everyday are all around us. They give us direction, instruction, information, and even warnings. Signs are given along roadways to make sure we don’t miss a turn. There are stop signs and railroad warning signs. All are important to our safety.

Have you ever missed a sign? You were traveling along and then found you were going the wrong way? I did that. Twice. Both my brother and his wife and my sister live in a small town in central Nebraska. To get to the highway that leads to their town, you make a right turn which puts you on two highways. Then fairly soon you take a turn to the left with the second highway going on straight.

The first time I missed both turns completely and drove miles further than I should have. The second time I made the first turn but didn't make the second. I was miles down the road before realizing that, once again, I made a mistake. I am sure that none of you have ever done anything like that!

Signs are important, and it is wise to pay attention to them. In the Bible a sign was intended to give meaning beyond the outward appearance of what was seen. It would point to, or represent, something larger or more important than itself.

When Jesus was born and the angels announced His birth to those shepherds, they were given a sign.

Luke 2:10-12 tells us, “Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” A sign was given to the shepherds.

As New Testament believers, we need to be cautious about seeking “signs.” Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for seeking a sign rather than having the faith to believe in Him. In Matthew 12: 38-39 it says, “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, 'Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.' But He answered and said to them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.'”

Then Jesus explained that as Jonah was in the belly of that big fish for three days and three nights, He would be in the grave for that same period of time. Of course He was indicating that even as Jonah was released from that fish, He would be released from the grave. The sign of Jonah pointed directly to Jesus' death burial and resurrection.

And then the apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 1:22-24 stating that while the, “Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

It is not that signs are bad, because God often provided them. In Genesis 9:13 after the flood, God told Noah, “I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.” The rainbow is a sign of God's promise not to flood the whole earth again. Not for the purposes it is used today.

However, as Christians, we don't have to look for “signs”. We are to focus on Jesus and “preach Christ crucified.” Still, the shepherds were give this amazing sign of the Savior who is Christ the Lord. They would find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. There are at least two things that this sign given to the shepherds could signify. The first is obvious.

1. The Sign Gave Direction

A sign had to be given because neither the shepherds in the field nor the folks in the town of Bethlehem were expecting this to be the night of the Savior's birth. And how could they have known that the Savior would come in such a way as this.

Look at what they were told. This Savior, this Messiah was just a baby who had been born in Bethlehem. And not only a baby, but a baby who they would find in a manger! A feeding trough for animals!

Of course it is possible that there were other babies born around that time in Bethlehem, so the instructions had to be specific. Look for the baby in the manger! That would be unusual.