Luke 2:1-21 The Birth of Jesus
The Gospel of Luke • Sermon • Submitted
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· 45 viewsThe humble birth of Jesus Christ came with a glorious announcement to lowly shepherds resulting in praise and proclamation.
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Many things to consider and pray for today...
Nation- upheaval and concern
Sanctity of life Sunday—the plight of abortion that continues
Martin Luther King day and the racial unrest that is before us.
Loss of Scott Abernathy—first member to lose their life in connection to COVID 19
The Birth of Jesus
The Birth of Jesus
Luke 2:1-21
Pray for our nation that this week will be a peaceful transfer of power. Even if it is peaceful it will not be humble. We live in an arrogant world that loves power and prestige.
At the coming of the King of Kings, we are surprised by the way he came.
Main Idea: The humble birth of Jesus Christ came with a glorious announcement to lowly shepherds resulting in praise and proclamation.
The humble birth of Jesus Christ
The humble birth of Jesus Christ
1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
Historical marker for the birth of Jesus.
Augustus means reverenced, evidence from historical writing and monuments that there was a least some “worship” of Caesar Augustus.
2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
The census under Quirinius, however, was “the first taste of direct, immediate rule by the Romans.” (Garland 118)
Josephus considered the census of Quirinius to be a watershed event that was the impetus for the rebellion led by Judas of Galilee. That rebellion sowed the seeds for the Zealot movement that burgeoned into a pattern of sedition and conflict and culminated in the revolt against Rome and Jerusalem’s destruction. (Garland 118)
Joseph and Mary were not a part of the revolt. They take part in the census.
3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town.(ancestral home) 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
Jerusalem is most often called the city of David…in this instance referring to the hometown of David, clearly tying Jesus to the Davidic line...
5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
Verse 5 seems to indicate that Mary was now married to Joseph, although the marriage had not yet been consummated. (Schreiner 807)
6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Humble and surprising scene... “Luke describes Jesus’ birth in very simple, unadorned terms.” (Bock 206) repeat v. 6
No evidence of innkeeper turning them away.
There is no idea of a painless birth or that Jesus does not cry, (Bock 207–208) No mention of lowing cattle...
At birth, a baby was normally wrapped in bandage-like strips to keep the legs and arms still. It provided some warmth and may have been presumed to provide the newborn a sense of security. (Garland 120) [At the end of his life, Jesus will be wrapped in a linen death shroud (23:53). (Garland 120)]
laid him in a manger The Savior who dies on a shameful cross was placed in a lowly trough for barn animals when he was born: “his head rests where cattle have fed.” (Garland 120)
Why would the birth of Jesus the Messiah take place this way?
The meaning of this is that he did not merely take upon himself our lowly mortality, but for our sakes took upon himself the clothing of the poor. Though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, so that by his poverty we might become rich. (Bede 38-39)
The birth of Jesus is more than a reproductive event; it is the fulfillment of a divine promise (1:31)...(Edwards 72)
1 Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. 2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. 3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. 4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. 5 And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men;
The account now shift scenes to the ...
The glorious announcement to lowly shepherds
The glorious announcement to lowly shepherds
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
contrast of light and darkness
2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.
The glory of the Lord(manifestation of God’s presence) does not appear in the temple or the around the manger but to to lowly shepherds…considered some of the lowest of society.
How do they respond? they are filled with great fear
contrast of fear and joy
10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Good news creates great joy for all the people.
Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
The combination of titles present here is unique. Savior, Christ, and Lord do not appear together in any other NT text. (Bock 216) Savior (Deliverer) Christ (annointed One) Lord (Sovereign One to be worshipped and adored)
The Savior is not mighty Augustus in Rome, but an infant lying in a feed trough in the city of David. (Edwards 77)
12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude(more than can be counted) of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
For Luke, God is the only source of true peace. (Garland 123) (Caesar Augustus and Pax Romana)
those with whom he is pleased…not for what they have done but that the Savior, the anointed one has come.
The announcement elicits a response...
The joyful response of praise and proclamation
The joyful response of praise and proclamation
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
They found the place and the person Jesus Christ. The place as identified by tradition has a church built on the site…from the altar you can descend below to the “spot” where Jesus was born.
worship a person not a place…we proclaim a person not a place.
17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
Ironically, the shepherds, who were disqualified from serving as witnesses in legal cases in Judaism, are qualified to be the first witnesses of the gospel, not because of any innate abilities (see their demerits at v. 8), but because of “the word that had been told them” (v. 17). It is not witnesses who invoke the word, but the Word that calls, creates, and empowers witnesses. (Edwards 79)
18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
Those who heard wondered…amazed, astonished...
Mary treasured and pondered…also she follows through with Joseph to name him as instructed
21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
The Shepherds continue on...
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
The shepherds do what the angels had done…glorify and praise God for all they had heard and seen...
20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
So What?
So What?
Am I moved to praise and proclamation in joyful response to Jesus Christ? or the potential response of others?
18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
(start with v. 12-13)
C.T. Studd shares the account of a man who came to Christ…whose initial response was “I am a murderer, an adulterer, I have broken all of the laws of God and man again and again. I am also an opium smoker…He cannot save me. They shared the truth of the gospel with the man and he was converted. Right away he determined that he needed to go to the town where he had committed all of the sinful things he had done and proclaim the gospel.
The town had him arrested and beaten nearly to death with a bamboo rod.
The believers patched him up and helped him to heal. Right away he decided to return to preach. Though they tried to persuade him not to return, he basically escaped from them and returned.
The town put him jail, so he preached in jail. Finally they decided to set him free as he had less of an audience outside of prison.
Prayer Song: O Come all ye faithful
Celebrate IMO
GCT: giving and host homes
END