Hope Arrives

Matt Stidham

Hope • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago • Presented 5 years ago • 32:08

Luke 2

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A look at the hope we find in the birth of Christ.

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Hope Arrives

In the Garden of Eden and in the New Jerusalem we see God physically with his people. Everything between Genesis and Revelation is the story of how we get back to perfect oneness with God. This is part of that story.

In the garden sin, a desire to be like God instead of being one with God, causes a separation from perfect oneness with God.

God creates a covenant community that wrestles with him, Israel. There are good times, but there are also very bad times, but all the while God is promising to restore oneness through his Messiah.

Finally in the perfect time, in the perfect way, God comes to restore oneness in person, in human form. We know him as Jesus.

Luke 2:1-21

Luke 2:1–21 NIV

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

The Shepherds

If a royal birth today were to take place, the royal family would send the finest invitations to the most important people in government and religious circles.

Instead God comes through the poorest of poor families (Mary & Joseph offer a gift of poverty at the temple, see 2:24, & Lev. 12:8).

And his arrival is announced to the shepherds in the fields. According to biblical scholar Dwight Pryor, writings from this time indicate that shepherds were detestable and unreliable. They could not testify in court, and were rejected by the “good” people of society. The only people group lower than shepherds in this day and time were lepers.

Yet God has always sought to elevate the lowly. Consider Moses, raised from the river escaping his life to become prince of Egypt, flees for his life once again to become a shepherd and then the leader of a nation. Consider David, the poor shepherd boy anointed king, a man after God’s own heart. Consider Ruth, a poor widowed foreigner that is redeemed and made whole. Esther, poor Jewish girl that becomes queen and saves her people.

At the birth of God in the flesh, the Savior of all mankind, Jesus’ arrival is announced to the lowest of the low, the most humble and despised. Why? God was revealing something about himself, his nature, and his mission. He was teaching us a lesson through the announcement made to these Shepherds: God cares for the lowly and rejected.

God doesn’t discriminate based on who you are, where you’re from, your bank account or lack thereof…He’s the God of the Jews and Gentiles. He eats with tax collectors and sinners, he welcomes prostitutes, he heals the dirty, touches lepers, and praise God he saves sinners.

That is the story that Jesus came to tell, that is the story we look at today, and that is the story we sing about.

The Gift

How many times have we read about the magi bringing gifts to Jesus and been confused? Why these gifts? Why not something fit for a baby?

We obviously know now that Jesus was far more than a baby, but there’s more at play here. Let’s read the story together.

Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1–12 NIV

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Matthew is quick to tell us the prophecy that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem, but I think Matthew expects us to understand another prophecy in here. It’s the gift that they bring.

Isaiah 60:1-6

Isaiah 60:1–6 NIV

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. “Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.

The Gift

Isn’t it cool how the events surrounding his birth, even the gifts, retells the old story about the salvation that God was bringing to his people.

But one of those gifts wasn’t mentioned. Myrrh. Myrrh was a foreshadowing of what was to come. In John’s Gospel we read that Nicodemus brings 75 pounds of myrrh to anoint the body of Jesus after his crucifixion. Even at his birth, the gift he receives sheds light on why he truly came. The Gift tells the story.

There are other events that God has placed in the church that retell that story of God’s salvation. Baptism retells the story of his death, burial, and resurrection. Baptism preaches the Gospel to those who see it.

The Lord’s Supper is another event that preaches the Gospel. When we eat it we proclaim his death. Jesus came into this world with the cross in mind. God fulfilled the covenant made to Abraham in Genesis 15. God knew we would sin and took it upon himself through Jesus’ sacrifice. That’s what the Lord’s Supper reminds us of. That Jesus, God in the flesh, would offer his body and blood for us, to give us life.

As we gather at tables, share with your brothers and sisters how Christ has given you life. Share a word about what he is doing in your life, or what you are seeing him do in the lives of others. Through his death burial and resurrection he has given us hope, and a new life. Praise Him!

The Star

It amazes me how often we read right past the Star. We fail to realize that the Star itself was a prophecy fulfillment (Numbers 24:17), but the wise men knew what the star meant! Some how, whether it was Daniel teaching their predecessors, or some other means, they had learned to look for a sign of Jesus’ birth, and they found it!

God spoke into their world. He reached them the way he saw fit. He appeared where they were searching. I think it’s beautiful that God seeks to reach into the lives and appear to those who are searching for him.

Some things we should consider about the magi:

They sought Jesus, I need to do the same.

They recognized him as both King and Messiah, I need to realize the same.

They brought Him gifts, I need to do the same.

They specifically came to worship Jesus, I need to do the same.

The star served a specific purpose - to illuminate Christ in a dark world. We too should serve that purpose through our lives, our words, our service to others, and our worship.

The Savior

The Savior, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” was wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger.

That’s certainly not the way I would picture it, would you? If you were sitting a hundred years before Jesus came, is that how you would write the story?

But our God is a God of imagery, of significance, of meaning. So much surrounding the Savior’s birth points to him being the Savior!

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” And he was born in Bethlehem, literally “house of bread”…bakery!

John called him the Lamb of God. He was born in the place where a lamb would be born, and laid in the place a lamb would feed. The cloths he was wrapped in? Most likely swaddling bands that were used to protect the newborn sheep.

Bethlehem was the place where sheep were raised to be sacrificed at the temple. They were wrapped in the swaddling bands to protect them so they could be without blemish when it was time for the sacrifice. Jesus was wrapped in those cloths.

God, from the time of Moses, commanded people to look after the poor and the traveler. And here the Savior is born to poor travelers.

Mary was the first to be notified that this miraculous event would happen, and another Mary would be the first to be notified that another miraculous event had happened, that the tomb was empty, and that the Savior defeated death.

The Star in the sky illuminated the place where the Light of the World was laying.

Everything about his birth points to his life and his sacrifice.

The Bread of Life is the only place where our hunger can be satisfied, not in the things of this world, but in the God who created and saved this world!

The Lamb of God was the perfect sacrifice for our completely imperfect lives. Our sins were laid upon him. The myrrh at his birth adorned his body in the tomb, but only for a short time. Because his death was not the end!

He loved the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the travelers because he could relate to them, and he calls us to do the same.

Just like Mary told of his birth, and another Mary told of his resurrection, we are to do the same.

And just as the Star shined brightly to point the way to Jesus, we too need to brightly point the way to Him. And we also need to be prepared because he’s coming again.

Matthew 24:30-31

Matthew 24:30–31 NIV

“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Hope Arrives

Are you ready for his arrival? He has come, he has risen, and he is coming.

If you are not part of “his elect”, the ones who have committed their lives to him, who have claimed Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life, that’s the first step. To put him on in Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and to enter into his kingdom is the starting point.

But we have a responsibility to bring the hope we have to the dying world around us. That is the mission of the Church…that is the mission of East Side. May we be about the Lord’s work until he comes. Come Lord Jesus!