When A King Became A Baby

When a King Becomes a Baby

Luke 2: 1-7

When Matthew quoted the prophet to declare that one of the names of the little baby would be “Immanuel”, he was making a statement about who the child would be: God with us. He was God long before the stars began to send forth their light or the earth began its steady rotations. He was God while He carried out His earthly ministry. He is God now, seated at the right hand of the Father in glory. Paul told the Colossians that in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 2:9. David Phelps put it this way on His Christmas album a few years ago…

He left behind His throne of pure light Gave up His crown that we might be free

He chose a manger that Bethlehem night And reaching through time and space He saw me

With no joy, no peace, no hope in sight

So He came with starlight and love in His eyes No regal welcome for His infant cries

There have been many babies to become a king But only one King became a baby

He could have chosen to break through the sky With anthem and angel wing

But He knew we'd understand a baby's cry And learn love from a servant King

So He came with starlight and love in His eyes No regal welcome for His infant cries

There have been so many babies to become a king Only one King, one King became a baby

I. GOD Is In Charge The evidence from the text reveals that He

A. Arranges Things for those who belong to Him. The Christmas story reminds us that the world may seem to be running amuck, but God is still at work. If you and I had been in charge of the birth of Jesus, we would certainly not have had Him born in a manger. We would have placed Him in a royal palace in a capital city. Nothing would have been lacking in regard to the arrangements surrounding the Son of God. But, the plan of the Father was to have His Son placed in a manger! The place, the time and the manner were all in the divine plan according to the word of the prophets. God was not caught by surprise when Jesus was born in such a lowly place. There have been many babies born to be king of their land, but only one king ever became a baby.

There is a great lesson here for us. Mary and Joseph were in the center of God's will, but they were still having a difficult time. There are some who preach and teach that following God's will means you will travel the easy road. For that Christian who walks with God through life every valley will be filled and every mountain will be lowered. Mary and Joseph were in the midst of one of the greatest moments in eternal history, but the way was not easy. They understood the words of gospel song writer Phil Johnson over 30 years ago went like this, “He didn’t bring us this far to leave us, He didn’t teach us to swim to let us drown, He didn’t build His home in us to move away, He didn’t lift us up to let us down.”

The long trip for Mary was part of the plan of God. 85 to 90 miles across hilly terrain, it was an arduous trip for a woman ready to give birth. Note this carefully - often God's plan for us takes us through the valleys, over the rough roads and high mountains! But He arranges His plans in a way to bring about ultimate victory! He doesn't lead you down a road to leave you on your own! Imagine the embarrassment that Joseph must have felt to place Mary in so lowly a place and to have the child he knew to be the Son of God born in a cattle stall. Yet, that was God's plan. Joseph believed that God was arranging things. The Lord had not brought Joseph that far to leave him.

At the

B. Appointed Time the labor pains would begin. This birth did not catch the Lord God by surprise. The days were completed for her to be delivered. The birth announcement was given long ago in Micah 5:2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting. There were over 300 Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament that were fulfilled in the birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ. Every detail of the birth narrative can be found in those prophetic utterances from hundreds of years before Mary and Joseph would witness these events. Matthew’s account repeatedly quotes the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah with the words that it might be fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet. Galatians 4:4 When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.