Luke 2:1-7
Pastor Brian
Fort Bend Community Church
December 18, 2011
Joint Service
福遍中國教會- 2011年12月18日【林永健牧師- 神成為嬰孩的那日】 from Fort Bend Community Church on Vimeo.
Introduction
1. The 6-year-old kids in their Sunday school class were
re-enacting the story of the birth of Jesus. The teacher wanted them to stage
it themselves based on their own made-up script, so it was certainly
interesting. They had three Marys, two Josephs, six shepherds, two wise guys
and one boy who played the cow. Another boy decided he would be the doctor who
would deliver the baby. This boy must have Chinese parents, who indoctrinate
their son to grow up to be a medical doctor. The teacher consented, so the little
doctor went back behind the manger, picked up the doll and carefully wrapped in
a blanket. Then with a big smile on his face, he turned to the Marys and
Josephs and said, “Congratulations, it is a boy! No, no… it is a God.”
That little boy had a better grasp of the incarnation than
many people much older. The birth of Jesus was an amazing experience of God
taking on human form.
2. Last Saturday, Mr. Kai-Yi, our children’s minister, has
announced to us during the children’s musical that he and his wife, Lisa, are
going to have a baby girl. Congrats.
Just imagine at the delivery room come April, the doctor
carefully delivers the first born baby out of the mother’s womb. And when the
baby comes out, the doctor holds up one of the legs of the baby, and says to
Kai-Yi and Lisa, “Congratulation, it is a girl! No, no… it is a God.” That
would be the most shocking, most unimaginable, most unthinkable thing in the
world.
Imagine that this was exactly Mary’s experience.
What does that mean that God has become a baby? The
theologians have a big word for it, “the incarnation.” But the simple fact is
that on the first Christmas day, God became a baby.
Today we are going to unpack a little the meaning of incarnation.
We will look at it from Mary’s, the mother’s perspective. How did she
understand this shocking, unimaginable and unthinkable thing happened to her?
3. In Luke, chapter 2, verse 19 says, “But Mary treasured up all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”
Mary experienced so many
miracles that night that she had to store them in her heart as precious
treasures.
The word pondered is a Greek word that means “to keep
thinking about it; to constantly rethink and evaluate even the tiniest details”
of an experience. The imperfect tense indicates that this continued for a long
time. She guarded these things in every detail in her heart since they were so
unbelievable, so unimaginable. She kept thinking about these things. What were
her conclusions? Let us walk the journey with her.
4. Luke 2, the first twenty
verses, is the Christmas story. It describes the night when God became a baby.
When we look at what took place that night, there were actually three
miraculous journeys. Each of these three journeys came to a conclusion that
night, and they all arrived at the same place in Bethlehem.
Galatians 4:4-5 said, “When
the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, Mary,… so that we might receive adoption
as sons.”
That night was the
fullness of time. Just like a woman carrying a baby to full time, now it is the
time. That night was the turning point of the human history. God had sent forth
his Son. Nothing like this happened before and it will never happen again.
1. The first journey that came to a conclusion that night was
the difficult journey Mary and Joseph made from Nazareth to Bethlehem. It was a
difficult trek of more than 80 miles. It is like a round-trip from here to the
airport. For a pregnant woman, it probably takes 3-4 days walking. Luke 2:1.
(Read). Luke set this event in a literal historical and political context. The
birth of Jesus is firmly rooted in history. It is not a once-upon-a-time story.
There was a real Jesus just as there was a Caesars Augustus.
3. Scripture prophesied 700 years earlier the Messiah would be
born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2 (Read) That last phrase literally reads, “whose
beginning is from the days of eternity.”
4. Caesar Augustus, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, was the
first Caesar to be called Augustus. His real name was Octavanius. The Roman
Senate voted to give him that title, Augustus, which means “the holy one or the
revered one,” It was a title reserved for gods. They wanted to make the Roman
emperor like God.
So here was this Augustus making his political decree,
thinking he was a god; but he was simply a pawn in the hand of the true God.
Man proposes, but God disposes. Augustus was a man who wanted to become a god,
and what we see in this text is God who is becoming a man—what a contrast!
5. So Joseph and Mary finally arrived in Bethlehem, only to
find every hotel had a “No Vacancy” sign out front. Actually, Bethlehem was
such a tiny town that when it says there was no room in the inn, I think that it
means there was only one motel and it was full. So Jesus was born and laid in a
manger, which is a feed box for cows and sheep. He was born in a place where
cow and sheep laid.
Most miniature Nativity scenes employ a wooden shack as the
barn, but we are fairly certain it wasn’t a wooden barn. In biblical times,
especially in the region around Bethlehem, farmers and shepherds didn’t have
enough wood to build wooden buildings. Instead they used the natural shallow
caves that dotted the sides of the limestone hills.
If you ever get the chance to visit Bethlehem, you can go
down into the church of the nativity, and there is a shallow cave. That is the
traditional site of the birth of Jesus. Of course, this huge church has been
built over it and it becomes a shrine. But if you travel back 2000 years, Mary
gave birth to Jesus in one of these limestone caves.
6. One of the things Mary pondered in her heart that night was
the trip to Bethlehem and the tough experience of having her first born in
less-than-ideal circumstances.
If her child is the Son of the Most High and will be the King (Luke 1:32) as told by the angel, how come her son is born in such lowly circumstances. I am sure that this is one of those questions Mary thinks about all the time. If I come to Bethlehem to give birth and thus fulfilled the prophecy in Micah, why the Messiah is born in a manger? Why did the Lord most high be born in a cave?
If her child is the Son of the Most High and will be the King (Luke 1:32) as told by the angel, how come her son is born in such lowly circumstances. I am sure that this is one of those questions Mary thinks about all the time. If I come to Bethlehem to give birth and thus fulfilled the prophecy in Micah, why the Messiah is born in a manger? Why did the Lord most high be born in a cave?
One of the best verses about the incarnation is 2
Corinthians 8:9, “Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so you
through His poverty might become rich.”
The reason Jesus was born in such a poor humble circumstance
was for our sake.He did this because He loves us.
7. Yes. If you want to sum up the Christmas story with one
word, it is the word, favor or grace. Mary had found favor with God. We have
found favor with God. God likes you. No, God more than likes you, He loves you.
He became like one of us in order to be with us.
This favor of God is unmerited. Mary did not do anything to
gain the favor of God. We did not do anything to merit the favor of God. God’s
grace is for all humankind. He loves the world and He gave His own begotten Son
to us. Christmas is about the favor of God.
Do you know that you are loved by God and God has come all
the way from the beginning of eternity to find you? Some of us don’t know that.
We struggle to find love all our life. Look no further. That night God arrived
to show His love to you.
Like this woman’s journey to find love…
Illustration: The story of a medical doctor in China who
found God’s love and favor in Christmas. (海外校園，Number
110, pp.2-3, 《又是聖誕》。趙曄)
This is the journey of the heart.
8. Some of you are going through hard time and you have doubt.
Does God really love me? If He loves me, He would give me a job. If He loves
me, He would give me a husband. If He loves me, He would do this and that.
Look at the manger! God loves you so much that He gave His
own Son to you. You don’t need to doubt. He knows your needs. You have found
favor with God.
(Pause)
There was a second journey that concluded at the same place
that evening.
1. The Bible teaches that when Jesus comes again, there will be
the shout of the archangel and the trumpet of God will sound—very different
from His first coming. In the silence of a starlit night, Mary gave birth to a
little baby, and His infant cry was the first time the voice of God was heard speaking
through human lips.
2. The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem was 80 miles. How far
was God’s journey? It was a journey in which the Eternal Son of God laid aside
His glory and traveled down through time and space to take upon Himself our
likeness. He started this journey before the foundation of the world, before
time even began. He kept on walking toward us. Finally on Christmas Day, God
arrived quietly.
3. There is a Disney’s movie called Homeward Bound: The
Incredible Journey. It is about a couple of dogs, Chance and Shadow, and a
cat Sassy that travel across the land to be reunited with their owners. That is
incredible! I remember when they finally found their master at the end of their
incredible journey, I literally jumped for joy. I stood up and clapped.
Still, the real incredible journey was when God traveled to
Earth and became a baby.
4. Less than a mile from Bethlehem, sitting on the top of the tallest hill, was the massive palace Herod the Great had built for himself. Called the Herodium, it had 200 polished marble steps leading to a series of towers and arches. It contained a swimming pool twice as large as an Olympic pool. It would have been clearly in sight that night, blazing away with its torches and candles.
4. Less than a mile from Bethlehem, sitting on the top of the tallest hill, was the massive palace Herod the Great had built for himself. Called the Herodium, it had 200 polished marble steps leading to a series of towers and arches. It contained a swimming pool twice as large as an Olympic pool. It would have been clearly in sight that night, blazing away with its torches and candles.
Why wasn’t the King of the Jews born there? Did God know
what He was doing? Was it a mistake for the Messiah to be born to such humble
surroundings? Shouldn’t there have been a palace instead of a cave? In Hong
Kong, one of the richest people who was in gold business, literally had a
toilet made in pure gold. Shouldn’t there have been a solid gold cradle instead
of a manger for the King of the universe? Shouldn’t there have been the finest
physicians present instead of just Mary and Joseph? Did God know what He was
doing? Absolutely.
5. Ray Stedman writes: “Now you would think that if God so
rules the world as to use an empire-wide census to bring Mary and Joseph to
Bethlehem, He surely could have seen to it that a room was available in the
inn. Yes, He could have. Jesus could have been born into a wealthy family. He
could have turned stone into bread in the wilderness. He could have called
10,000 angels to His aid in Gethsemane. He could have come down from the cross
and saved Himself.
6. The question is not what God could do but what He willed to
do. God’s will was that though Christ was rich, yet for your sake He became
poor. The ‘No Vacancy’ signs in Bethlehem were for your sake. For your sake He
became poor. God rules all things—even motel capacities—for the sake of His
children. The Calvary road begins with a ‘No Vacancy’ sign in Bethlehem and
ends with the spitting and scoffing and the cross in Jerusalem.”
So quietly without fanfare or trumpets, God slipped into
this world as a little baby.
7. Charles Wesley wrote 6000 hymns. One of his best is: “Hark
the Herald Angels Sing.” Listen again to the teaching in the last verse: “Hail
the heaven born Prince of Peace, hail the Son of Righteousness, Light and life
to all He brings, risen with healing in His wings, mild He lays His glory by,”
(that’s the incarnation) “born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons
of earth, born to give them second birth. Hark the herald angels sing, glory to
the newborn king.”
8. I am sure these were things Mary pondered in her heart. “Is
that true? The baby in my arms is indeed God?”
Here is one of my favorite Christmas songs describing the
mystery of the incarnation from the eyes of the Mary. Mary Did You Know?
Notice the contradictory terms:
Baby, a tiny little baby, who is also the ruler of the nation, the creator of the universe, and the savior of the world!
The tiny little hands are the hands that heal the blinds and
calm the storms.
The little feet are the ones that walk in heavenly places
with the angels.
The sleeping child that she is holding is the great I am!
What would Mary think? How would she feel? She is both the
mother who protects the child and also the worshipper who worships her child as
God. She gave birth to the child but the child gave the eternal life to her.
Her heart must be filled so sorrow when she saw his son
suffered and die. Her heart was broken and rejoiced at the same time. It is
broken because her son died of a painful death. She rejoiced because the path
to God is now open. Her sins are forgiven. And she became rich in Christ.
In Mary’s conflicting mind, there lies the great mystery of
the incarnation. How could God the almighty become a man like us?
8. God is saying to us, “I become like you so that you can know
me.”
Today a Savior has been born to You. This is God’s way of
letting us know He wants to enter a personal relationship with us. Jesus is God
who invaded this planet in the fragile form of a little baby. He had to become
like us so we could relate to him.
John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
If God wanted to relate to birds, He would have become a bird. If God has
wanted to communicate to cows, He would have become a cow. If he wanted to
communicate to dogs, He would have become a dog. God wanted to relate to you
and to me, so He became like us—a human being.
9. It is like the little girl who was afraid of the dark and
called out, “Daddy, come in here and be with me.” Her father said, “Just hug
your teddy bear.” The little girl said, “No, Daddy, I want something with skin
on it.” Jesus is God with skin on, so you can know Him as much as He knows you.
He put on human flesh so He could die for us. This is at the
heart of Christian truth. I read of a Hindu man who could not contemplate a God
who would so humble himself. Then one day as he came across an anthill, he
tried to get close enough to study it; but every time he bent low, his shadow
caused all the ants to scurry away. He recognized the only way in which he
could ever come to know that colony of ants would be if he could somehow become
an ant himself—and that was the moment in which his conversion to Christ began.
10. A.W. Tozer writes, “If our greatest need had been
information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been
technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been
money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been
pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer or a football star. Our
greatest need was for forgiveness, God sent us a savior.”
One of the most beautiful names of Jesus is Emmanuel, which
means God with us. That is the truth of the incarnation. God has come to be
with us in the person of Jesus.
Conclusion
Go home and read Luke 2 again and ponder the story of Christmas. Find God in your heart. He is already there. Get to know him personally. Worship him. Rejoice in Him. Walk with Him. He longs to have a deep and abiding relationship with you.
Go home and read Luke 2 again and ponder the story of Christmas. Find God in your heart. He is already there. Get to know him personally. Worship him. Rejoice in Him. Walk with Him. He longs to have a deep and abiding relationship with you.
There was the third journey concluded that night. That is
the journey of the shepherds. We will leave the rest of the story and lessons
to Dec. 24, next Saturday, the Christmas Eve’s service. Remember to reserve
your time to attend and listen to the Day God became a baby, part II, through the
journey of the shepherds.
Response Song
The Process of Preparing This Sermon
By Pastor Brian
1. I used a sermon of the same title by David Dykes on PreachingToday to prepare this sermon. David is the senior pastor of Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas. Every year preaching the Christmas story, I need some helps and some fresh ideas. These are what I take from David's sermon:
- the title of the sermon;
- the idea of 3 journey that were concluded on the night when Jesus was born;
- the story of the 6 years old child in the introduction; and
- a couple of quotes
I re-write the sermon and make it two sermons: 1) Luke 2:1-7 focusing on the incarnation; 2) Luke 2:8-20 on the shepherds focusing on the sharing the good news.
2. Incarnation is always a difficult concept to explain. I take the angle from Mary's perspective: she is the mom and also Jesus' follower. In her, we have the incarnation in personal experience. The song, Mary Did You Know, helps to put Mary's experience in music. They lyric is self-evidenced and well-written. The YouTube video from the Passion of the Christ is also very moving also.
3. The sermon is a little long with side-by-side translation.
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