The Thrill of Hope (5)

Christmas Eve Luke 2:1-20

It is always hard to wait when we know something good is coming, whether it’s your wedding day, or the birth of a child, or the day you get your drivers license. This is what makes Christmas so wonderful, because when this time of the year rolls around we celebrate the fact that the greatest good that God has ever given us came. Peace would be restored between God and man!

Jesus’ coming had been anticipated for a long time! In fact His arrival on this planet on that first Christmas night had been foretold since the very beginning of human history. From the moment sin entered the world God began to issue His promise that Jesus was on the way, that He was coming, to set things right again between God and man. Adam and Eve sinned and God speaking to Satan in the Garden of Eden, said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; HE will crush your head....”

The phrase “Shall crush your head” refers to Jesus’ victory over Satan through His death and resurrection.

Jesus’ coming was prophesied again and again, hundreds of times. A great example is found in the words of the prophet Isaiah who said, “The people who have walked in darkness will see a great light: they that have dwelled in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined…for unto us a Son is given and His name shall be called…THE PRINCE OF PEACE.”

So, a good thing was coming! The Messiah would come. Peace would be restored between God and man, but it was so hard to wait! And, as the centuries dragged on, like children waiting for Christmas day, God’s prophets all expressed the difficulty they had waiting for the Messiah’s birth.

For example, in his Lamentations, Jeremiah questions God and says, “Why do You forget us forever? Why do you forsake us for SO LONG? Restore us to You, oh Lord...that we may be restored!”

There was a longing to be rescued. Humanity has always had a longing within their souls.

The Jews of Nazareth received word from the local Roman garrison that the emperor Caesar August had sent out a decree that a census should be taken of his empire. The law said they were required to return to the city of their “tribe.” Mary and Joseph, both descendants of the tribe of David, journeyed 80 miles to Bethlehem, the birthplace of David.

Now, traditionally the innkeeper in Bethlehem has been the villain in the retelling of the Christmas story. Those ominous words, “There was no room for them in the inn” seem to represent his calloused indifference to human need. I mean, who would be so cruel as to refuse to give room to a pregnant woman?! Sermon after sermon has been preached across the centuries criticizing this act of rejection, but two details in the account help us to see that it could have been much different than that.

The phrase in verse 6, “And so it was that while they were there the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.” These words suggest that Mary & Joseph did not arrive in Bethlehem the afternoon of Jesus’ birth, but that they had been there probably for some time. Perhaps realizing that the tongues of Nazareth would soon begin to wag, Joseph wisely used the occasion of the Roman census to get Mary out of that setting as soon as he could. And as verse 6 says, “while they were there,” the time came for the baby to be born. I don’t know about you but to me this really makes more sense than the tradition that says Mary rode bare back on a donkey for 80 miles when she was nine-months pregnant.

Another phrase that suggests this scenario is in verse 7 which says “and there was no room for them in the inn.”

You see, the actual translation of the Greek here goes like this, “there was no appropriate place for them in the inn.” Now, inns in the first century were not at all what we are accustomed to when we travel. I mean, they were little more than a courtyard of stalls with three walls. All you got for your money was a fire to cook your food on, a place to hitch your animal, some straw where the two of you could lie down, and a wall that would break the wind at night, no roof, no privacy. And free the continental breakfast in the lobby was out of the question!

So one possibility is that the innkeeper realized that this young traveling couple who had been camping in his courtyard were approaching an awkward moment and that an open courtyard was not an appropriate place to have a baby! I mean, the innkeeper was probably not a calloused villain and may have been an empathetic help to Mary and Joseph, taking it on himself to locate a private place with a roof overhead no small task in a town crowded with people coming for this census.

Later on Luke tells us that this was the season when shepherds were out in the fields around Bethlehem with their flocks. So Jesus was probably born in a shepherd’s cave near the inn, a place where sheep were kept. The long awaited MESSIAH, the SON OF GOD, was born in a cave/stable wrapped in strips of rags and laid in a feed trough. Born not in a palace or even a house, but in the place where animals lived. And this aspect of the Christmas story provides us with another opportunity to see that God truly humbled Himself for our benefit.

Luke goes on to record that the announcement of Jesus’ birth first came to some shepherds nearby by an angel of the Lord. In those days shepherds were despised by the “good” orthodox people of the day since they were unable to keep the details of the ceremonial law. I mean, being out in the countryside all the time caring for sheep 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, made it impossible for them to keep the Sabbath not to mention observe all the meticulous hand-washing and rules and regulations. They were treated as outcasts, as the lowest people on the Jewish social ladder. And yet the first announcement is to the lowest of low.

TODAY’S KEY TRUTH

The announcement of Christ’s birth signifies that God’s promise of hope is for all HUMANITY.

The announcement of Jesus’ birth is for all. There are no more common people in ancient culture than shepherds. These were probably very special shepherds who were raising very special sheep. You see, in the Temple in Jerusalem each and every morning and evening, an unblemished lamb was offered as a sacrifice to God. In order to insure that the supply of perfect and unblemished offerings was always available, the Temple authorities had their own private sheep flocks and we know that these flocks were pastured near Bethlehem. This would mean that the shepherds who looked after the Temple lambs were the first to see the Lamb of God Who had come to take away the sin of the world.

Verse 13 says that after the angel finished his proclamation, suddenly there was a “multitude of the heavenly host praising God.” Now, this praise did not come from only a multitude gathered about the angel. No, the verse is more accurately translated as “a multitude forming PART of the heavenly host.” You see, Luke is saying that the WHOLE HOST OF HEAVEN was praising God on that night, not just that portion of it which was visible to the shepherds. The angels were praising God because God had acted to effect His redemptive purpose.

In verse 14 we find the lyrics of their song. Read it with me…“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” The angels proclaimed “Peace on Earth.”

Now, wars did not cease after Jesus was born, peace on earth did not come. It seems to us that world peace is a distant, unattainable dream, a political football to be kicked back and forth by ambassadors, a philosophical fantasy.

It seems that world peace is nothing more than that glorious moment in seems to be nothing but a silly, hollow, answer at a beauty pageant because still today there is no peace.

Were the angels wrong in their singing? No…they were not! Peace has come. A “war” did end that first Christmas. The lyrics that angelic choir sang are true. You see, their song heralded the end of a war that has lasted longer than any other conflict and has cost more lives than all others combined because when Jesus came into the world to die on Calvary’s cross He ended the war that began when sin entered the world with Adam and Eve’s disobedience, the war of sin. The war of sin started in the garden and that war has cost billions and billions of lives ever since. In fact that war is the reason all of us eventually die.

The angels began his announcement with do not be afraid. Humanity has nothing to fear from God’s grace. Then the heavenly host sang glory to God in the highest peace on earth. The message they sing is that the God of the universe has come to be with us and save us.

When He died on the cross Jesus took the full wrath of God on Himself. He bore our sins on His body, and because He did, He is the source of this peace with God that we all desire. Since Jesus took the punishment for our sin, we can have our sins forgiven. We can enjoy the kind of relationship Adam and Eve had with our Creator before they ate the forbidden fruit.

Through the announcement and song of the angels we can understand some things about God.

1. Not a God of ISOLATION.

This world is filled with people who feel lonely and unloved. Pollsters say that one out of five Americans say that life is meaningless. People do get lonely. We all do. And for a lot of people this feeling of isolation and lonliness is amplified at Christmas. Many people feel deserted, lost and abandoned. But that glorious night God sent a response to those who feel alone: I AM WITH YOU!

When the angel said, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people,” God was saying you are not alone. God does not offer empty promises of love. Through sending His Son, He has fully demonstrated his love for us. God is involved with all people. God is not a God of isolation. He seeks to involve Himself with creation. You do not have to face life alone.

2. A God of PEACE.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” The longest war was won by Christ: The war of sin within us. The internal war that we each fight with sin seems to rage on and never end. Again and again and again and again we fight sin and we lose. The war never seems to end. The war of addiction to alcohol, drugs, pornography; the war of anger and bitterness; the war of self-centeredness and greed; the war of adultery and tension between the couple on the edge of divorce; the war between a child and their siblings and parent; the war depression and anxiety; Jesus can bring peace to all these internal wars. You can experience peace. Since Jesus took the punishment for our sin, we can have our sins forgiven and win the battle of sin within us. You can experience peace.

3. The God of Hope

The angel declared, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you.” Jesus did not come to this world to teach, though no one ever taught like Him. Jesus did not come into this world to heal, though He healed every sickness He ever encountered. Jesus did not come into this world to raise the dead, though He broke up every funeral He ever attended. Jesus did not come into this world to perform miracles, though He accomplished many during His time here. Jesus came into this world to die on the cross and to give His life a ransom for sinners. Jesus came to this world to die for those He loved. “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

Because of our sin and disobedience we are in darkness. Christ is the light that pierced the darkness. Christ is the rising sun that can end the darkness of night and show us the path of life. Those who respond to God’s grace and follow the path lit by the Rising Sun will experience the peace into which that path leads. The angels declared that night and every night since that the hope of all humanity is found in Jesus. For all eternity humanity can experience the thrill of hope because Jesus, our redeemer, our rescuer, our savior has come.