Luke 2:1-40

 Christmas is exactly two weeks from today.  I always encourage each family to make reading the Christmas story from the pages of Scripture a centerpiece part of your Christmas Eve or Christmas Day activities.  In our home we read Luke 2 verses 1 through 20 before we open any gifts under the tree so that we are reminded that the greatest gift of all is Jesus Christ. 

We will be covering the Christmas story this morning, and a little bit beyond that to verse 40 where Joseph, Mary and Jesus head home to Nazareth.  I’m guessing that most everyone here is pretty familiar with the first 20 verses of this chapter, but maybe not quite as knowledgeable about verses 21 through 40.  Hopefully some of that will change this morning.

25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
      you now dismiss^[d] your servant in peace.
 30For my eyes have seen your salvation,
    31which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
 32a light for revelation to the Gentiles
      and for glory to your people Israel."

 33The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

Last week in chapter 1 we saw the angel’s announcement to Zachariah about the birth of John, who would later become known as John the Baptist and the announcement to Mary that she had been chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus.  At the end of chapter 1 we witnessed the fulfillment of the birth of John.  An old woman giving birth and a mute husband gave testimony to the fact that the hand of God would be upon this child.  He was called from before birth to be the forerunner who would prepare the hearts of people for the coming of Jesus. 

Now this week we move on to the fulfillment of the angel’s words concerning the birth of Jesus.  You remember that Luke had said in his introduction that he was being careful to write things down in consecutive order so that we could know the exact truth of what happened.  With that in mind you will notice that Luke often dates events with other events that were going on in the world.  And he does exactly that with Jesus’ birth. 

  1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

Caesar Augustus was one of the greatest Roman rulers.  He was emperor from 27BC to 14AD.  By the time Augustus took the helm of Rome it had become the dominant world power.  However, it was also full of turmoil and numerous civil wars as various sections of the empire fought for power.  Augustus was able to stop the civil wars and unify the empire.  He brought peace and prosperity inside the borders while continuing to expand the extent of the empire.  He was a great administrator and liked to keep track of what was happening in his empire.  As such it was not unusual for him to order census, records still survive of several that he took.  The purpose of a census was threefold:

Since the Jews were violently opposed to serving in Rome’s army they were exempt from that, so this census was primarily about money.

For the census every man was required to return to his ancestral home.  For Joseph that meant going to Bethlehem, since he was a direct descendant of King David.  Mary was not required to go with Him and you might wonder why she would bother to make the trip since it was right over her due date.   I think the fact that she does go gives us a bit of a clue as to what she and Joseph were going through. 

Normally the wife would have stayed home with her mother-in-law to have the baby.   But Joseph and Mary weren’t married yet.  I’m sure they tried to tell their families that they hadn’t done anything wrong and the baby was from God, but I don’t think they were believed, because we see no family support at all.  Most probably both of them had been condemned and shunned in the community.  It seems likely that even their own families ostracized them. That would be why Mary made this trip.  She had no one but Joseph.

Kind of a vivid reminder that just because you are obeying God and serving Him and doing what He has called you to do, that doesn’t mean your life will be without problems and heartaches.    In fact, sometimes the very fact that we are being faithful to God will bring heartache.  It can divide you from your family or friends or coworkers.  Sometimes obedience can be hard because we know how others might take it and then treat us and we don’t like the thought of being rejected. I’m quite sure Mary knew what it was like to be rejected by those she loved, but as she found out the blessings of God are far greater than any temporary earthly hurt.

One other thought I want to mention before we move on.  The Old Testament prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.  But Mary was from Nazareth.  So the question is, how would this prophecy be fulfilled?  Isn’t it interesting how God used the decree of a pagan Emperor, everybody go to your hometown to register for taxes, and the rejection of her family to place Mary exactly where she needed to be when Christ was born.  It took both of those things to cause a 9-month pregnant lady to make an 80-mile journey most likely on foot.   From a human point of view it would have looked like that particular Old Testament prophecy was going to fail.  Under normal circumstances there is no way a girl from Nazareth would end up having her baby in Bethlehem. 

But God is in control, and when God is in control He works out all the details just as He plans and purposes.  The prophet Isaiah put it this way, “I am God and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.’”  Or as Jeremiah simply put it, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?” 

So we end up with Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem.  The Inn was already full by the time they got there because I’m thinking Mary was kind of slow, but seeing her condition some compassionate soul offered the shelter of a stable.  And in that lowly place the King of the universe entered the realm of man as a man in the form of a helpless, infant boy. 

Can you think of anything more incongruous than that?  You would at least expect that if God were going to come to earth as a baby He would get the benefit of an upscale hospital with a highly trained and educated doctor and a superb nursing staff.  Isn’t it bad enough to leave the splendor and glory of heaven to come to a corrupt, fallen and cursed earth?  But on top of that He is born in a dirty, rank pen for animals. 

Why would He do such a thing?  The Bible tells us why.  “For God so loved the world.”  Or Ephesians 2:4, “But God being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.”  Loved compelled God to go to these great lengths in order to save us.  Of course, the greatest demonstration of that love took place at the cross.  However, the fact that Jesus willingly gave up the perfect paradise of heaven to trudge through this world for you and me ought to be a stark reminder of His great love for us.

It was a lowly birth without the luxury or the pomp and circumstance that would surround the birth of an earthly king.  However, that does not mean His birth went unnoticed or uncelebrated.  Out on the hillsides surrounding Bethlehem were beautiful grassy pastures.  It was here that the temple priests hired shepherds to raise flocks of sheep to be used for the morning and evening sacrifices. 

Shepherds had a bad reputation in Israel, which I think is a little strange since their greatest king, David, started out as a shepherd.  Beyond that, God often used the imagery of His people being like sheep and Him being the shepherd of them.  Repeatedly throughout the Old Testament the religious leaders were called upon to be good shepherds of God’s flock. 

Somehow none of that seemed to matter, shepherds still were seen as the lowlife’s of society.  It might have something to do with the fact that shepherds, by the very nature of the demands of their job often were unable to keep the ceremonial law.  Therefore all of the good religious people would look down their noses at them.  It also might have had something to do with the fact that shepherds did not have the reputation for being overly circumspect with regard to the property of others as they moved their flocks around from one spot to another.  They were often viewed as nothing more than roving thieves. 

Yet it was to these people that God first announced the joyous news of the birth of Jesus.  Some shepherds were settling in for another long, boring night of watching the sheep when suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared before them.  It must have freaked them right out.  But the angel calms them down and then announces good news:

9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

The angel uses three different titles for Jesus:

All three of these terms are very significant in their description of Jesus.  Savior, of course, points to the fact that Jesus had a particular mission in coming to earth.  Most of us are probably familiar with the story of Zaccheaus and his meeting with Jesus.  Zaccheaus lived in Jericho and he was a tax collector working for the Romans.  This put him in the most despised category of Jewish people because he was looked upon as both a thief and a traitor.  He also happened to be a short, little dude.

When Jesus came to visit Jericho huge crowds gathered along the road and Zaccheaus had to climb a tree in order to get a look.  When Jesus made contact with him the religious leaders began to grumble because they viewed Zaccheaus as the scum of the earth.  But Jesus replied to them, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)  Saving was Jesus’ primary mission.  When the angel visited Joseph and told him about Mary’s son he said, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. "And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.”  There is nothing better that we can do today than to tell people that Jesus is the Savior.

The second title the angel used was ‘Christ.’  Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah.  The word literally means ‘anointed one.’  People that God set aside to serve Him in a specific function such as a priest or king were anointed with oil as a way to symbolize God’s working in and through their life.  The Old Testament prophesied that a special anointed one would come who would be the deliverer of God’s people.  This is the person the Jews hoped and prayed for constantly.  They believed he would come as a military hero and make Israel the ruling nation of the world.  That will someday happen, but first God’s plan was to deliver His people from the domain of darkness.

Finally, the angel called Jesus Lord.  This is the Hebrew name for God, Jehovah.  This title emphasizes the fact that Jesus is God.  He is Jehovah, the Lord Almighty.  He is King and Master.  Those who want to participate in His salvation are required to accept Him as Lord.  He is not just a good teacher showing a way to love one another.  He is not a prophet teaching us about God.  He is God, God in human flesh.

After the announcement the angel was joined by a multitude of the heavenly host singing and praising God.  When the angels left the shepherds hightailed it into town looking for this marvelous child, a baby who was Savior, Messiah and Lord.  They found him lying in a manger just as the angel predicted.  They told everyone who would listen what the angel had said to them.  The people were bewildered.  It didn’t make sense to them that such an important person would be born to an unwed mother in a barn of all places.  But Mary kept these things in her heart. 

Eight days later it was time to have Jesus circumcised.  As I mentioned last week a Jewish boy is officially given his name on the day he is circumcised, and as the angel had commanded they named Him Jesus. 

Then Joseph and Mary decided to stay in Bethlehem long enough to fulfill another ritual of the law.  A woman was considered ceremonially unclean after having a baby and she could not worship again in the temple until she had offered a sacrifice, which was normally a lamb and a turtledove, but for very poor people a pair of turtledoves or a pair of pigeons was accepted.  Joseph and Mary were poor so they brought the birds. 

When they entered the temple an old man named Simeon met them.  God had told this man that he would not die until he saw with his own eyes the Messiah.  Through the Holy Spirit Simeon perceived that Jesus was in fact the promised deliverer.  He took the child in his arms and blessed him and praised God and basically said, “I can now die in peace God, Your salvation is here.”  He then warned Mary that her own heart would be pierced because of this baby she had borne.  I wonder if Simeon’s words came to mind as she watched Jesus die on the cross.  Only later would she understand that Jesus’ death was the way God would bring salvation.

Finally, an old widow named Anna who was a prophetess in the temple meets them.  She too, began praising God for the birth of the Savior. 

So you have a handful of shepherds, an old man and a widow; these saw and accepted Jesus for who He was.  But the vast multitudes missed the truth.  There were many who heard about Jesus’ birth, the shepherds made sure of that.  Undoubtedly the temple was crowded as Mary and Joseph brought Jesus there.  Many would have heard the words of Simeon and Anna.  But apparently few paid any attention. 

And down through the ages it has been the same.  So many hear but so few recognize Jesus as Savior.  What about you?  Perhaps you have heard that Jesus was the greatest gift ever given.  But like any gift it must be received before it is of any value to you.  Have you received Jesus Christ as Savior?  Do you recognize him as your deliverer, the Messiah?  Do you acknowledge Him as Lord?  It’s not good enough to go to church or to talk about Jesus being the reason for the season.  You must choose to cross the line of faith and accept Him as your Lord and Savior.