The Birth of Jesus Christ
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2021 · 26 December 2021
Two thousand years ago the Creator of the universe, the eternal God, entered human society as a baby. On a night like every other night in Israel, a child was born. This child was the Lord Jesus Christ, God and man fused together in indivisible oneness. This birth became the high point of history. All history before this birth is B.C., Before Christ. All history since is A.D, Latin for "the year of our Lord."
Luke 2:1-16, “At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home.”
“He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. 8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby,”
“guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid, I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” 15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other,
“Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.” This is written by Luke under the inspiration of God where the birth of Jesus Christ was announced to these shepherds in those days but also to us here this evening. Receive it as good news of the gospel. Let us pray.
The first thing we learn is found in the opening words. Those were real people in real places in real history announcing the entrance of our Savior. This account is about two kings, one of them sits on the throne of the Roman Empire, the greatest worldly power. The second king is wrapped in swaddling cloth and lies in a manger. This little king is the King of Kings. He rules over the king in Rome.
He is the eternal King, the Lord omnipotent, who reigns from the moment of His work of creation to the moment of His work of redemption. The earthly king orders a decree so that everyone is to be registered to pay taxes but this decree happened in obedience to a decree that God ordered in eternity, that His Son would be born at a specific time and place in the village of Bethlehem for a specific mission.
God was at work. Just like He had been work in the decree of Cyrus that liberated Israel, to send them back to reestablish their nation after the captivity, just as He was at work in the case of Nebuchadnezzar who ended up doing exactly what God wanted him to do for His own purposes. God takes pagan kings, pagan rulers and uses them as His own servants for His own purposes. God is sovereign.
Jesus mission is to save His people from their sins. In obedience Joseph together with Mary went to the City of David, Bethlehem. He did this because he was a descendant of David. Roman law did not require him to bring his wife but he knew that it was time for her to deliver her baby. But the ultimate reason was that this also was prophesied from eternity that the baby be born in Bethlehem.
Mary delivered her first born son and laid Him in a manger because there was no room in the inn. The birth of Jesus was in humiliation. However at that very moment God determined that His birth should also include exaltation. That shame must be balanced with glory on the outskirts of the village. The lowest people of the land, the shepherds, were experiencing a silent night.
Suddenly out of nowhere an angel appeared accompanied with the glory of God. This Shekinah blinding glory overwhelmed people because there was nothing in nature that compared to that. All shepherds immediately woke up and were very afraid. And the angel said, “Do not be afraid,” the most frequent saying in the New Testament. Fallen creatures are terrified in the presence of God.
The angel said, “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.” Don’t be afraid because there is born to you, in the city of David, a savior. This is the birthday of the One who will save you. He is Christ, the Lord. Christ is the New Testament translation for the Messiah. And this will be the sign, you will find a baby wrapped in sheep cloth in a manger.
Instantly, beside this single angel, there were the entire heavenly hosts, an army of angels who bring a choir from heaven, saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” And when the angels finished, the shepherds talked to each other. “Did you see that?” Let us go right now to Bethlehem. Let us see the sign that was just announced.
So they hurried and they found Mary and Joseph and they came to see the baby. They told everyone what they heard and saw. And they marveled. How long did that excitement last? Maybe they felt that way every year. But not Mary, she kept everything to herself and pondered it in her heart. Eight days later when she took the child for circumcision, she pondered that.
Twelve years later she pondered that when her boy confounded the people in the temple, every time she tucked her son into bed, she pondered these things. And at the day she stood at the foot of the cross, and watched Him die, she pondered that. Until Sunday morning came, and He rose, not in humility, not in shame, not in disgrace, but in glory, in triumph, in exultation.
The shepherds left praising God and glorifying Him for everything they heard and everything they had seen. That is what we Christians need to do, to give glory, and dominion, and power, and praise, and joining the angels saying, worthy is the lamb who was slain, to receive the fullness of the glory of God. That is the real meaning of Christmas! Sadly the world and Israel have largely rejected Him. Let us pray…