Sermon Tone Analysis

Turn to the second chapter of Luke.

Last week we looked at the birth of John the Baptist.

This evening we turn to the birth of Jesus.

Because they are read each year at Christmas, these are perhaps some of the most familiar verses in the Bible.

Because they are so familiar we need to be extra careful to hear what is being said.

It’s easy to speed through the story because we are so familiar with it.

We need to slow down.

After bringing their first baby home from the hospital, the wife suggested to her husband that he try his hand at changing diapers.

“I’m busy,” he said.

“I’ll do the next one.”

The next time the baby was wet, she asked if he was ready to learn how to change diapers.

He gave her a puzzled look, then said finally, “I didn’t mean the next diaper; I meant the next baby!”

Some people are just too busy, too busy for their own good.

It is easy for us to get so busy with life that we miss what is truly important.

It’s easy to miss out on a relationship with Jesus because we’re busy with life or even busy serving him.

We need to slow down and make time for Jesus.

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

(Luke 2:1-3)

Only Matthew and Luke say anything about the birth of Jesus and Luke gives the most detail.

Caesar Augustus was the Roman emperor when Jesus was born.

Caesar Augustus was a title and not his name.

His real name was Gaius Octavius.

He is also remembered as Octavian.

He was the grandnephew of Julius Caesar by whom he had been adopted.

He took the title Caesar from his uncle out of curtsy.

After that it became a title for Roman emperors.

The title Augustus was given to him by the senate.

Rome had originally been run by the senate but it had come be ruled by just one man, Caesar.

They had suggested giving Octavian the title king of Rome but he didn’t think it sounded important enough.

They eventually came up with the name Augustus which carries the meaning “appointed by the gods.”

This eventually led to the worship of the Caesars as gods.

That makes it particularly interesting that Jesus, the son of God, be born when Caesar Augustus was on the throne, a man who considered himself a god.

It was while Caesar Augustus was emperor that the Roman Empire started the practice of taking a census.

Can you imagine the power of this one man to make a decree that would affect so many people?

The entire known world was affected.

Every living male within the jurisdiction of the Roman government was required to comply.

For years critics questioned Luke’s account and not completely without reason.

First, they questioned if there ever was a census.

There are no accounts in Roman documents about any census.

They said Luke must be wrong and by extension the gospel is wrong and the Bible is wrong.

However, archaeology in Egypt eventually proved there was a Roman census that took place every fourteen years.

The census had a double purpose, it was used to obtain information for taxes and it was used to identify all men of age liable for compulsory military service.

The Jews were not required to serve in the Roman military but they were required to pay taxes.

A second criticism of Luke’s account was the requirement for each man to travel to his ancestral home.

Even though we still have no explanation as to its purpose, Egyptian archaeology again proves that Luke was right.

That’s exactly what happened.

Rome may not have issued this requirement though.

They didn’t care as long as they got their money.

But in the east and especially among the Jews family heritage was important so rulers there made the requirement.

And then third, there are questions about the times and dates of Quirinius.

The dates we have don’t match with what Luke records for us.

While it is translated as “first” the word can also mean “before.”

That would solve any of these problems.

I mention these only to let you know and to demonstrate that any questions can be answered.

Many people will find any excuse to question and disregard the Bible.

Luke mentions these precise details to demonstrate the degree to which he investigated the birth, life and death of Jesus.

Just because we can’t prove everything Luke wrote was accurate doesn’t mean that it’s not, it just means we haven’t found the right sources.

I think Mark Moore put it well when he wrote:

It light of Luke’s reliable research, it seems prudent to accept the accuracy of his account, admitting he probably knew the historical details of which we are ignorant.

I think we are safe to accept what Luke tells us as fact.

4 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.

5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

(Luke 2:4-5)

The name Bethlehem means “House of Bread.”

It was so named because of the fields nearby.

Those fields were most famously mentioned in the book of Ruth.

When Naomi returned to home to Bethlehem, her daughter-in-law Ruth traveled with her.

Once there, Ruth went out into the fields of Boaz to work.

And so, Jesus, the Bread of Life, was born in the “House of Bread.”

If you look on a map Bethlehem is located south of Nazareth.

We would probably say that went down to Bethlehem.

However, if you were to look at a topographical map, Bethlehem is fourteen-hundred feet higher than Nazareth, as is Jerusalem.

When you’re walking you definitely notice that incline.

So, whenever they traveled to Jerusalem they talked about it in terms of going up.

Joseph and Mary made the trip to Bethlehem because Joseph was required to travel to his ancestral home to register for taxes.

It’s painful enough to pay taxes but imagine having to make this difficult journey in order to do so.

The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem was about eighty miles.

Driving it today you could make it from Nazareth to Bethlehem in a little over two hours.

They only reason it would take that long is there is no straight route plus there are towns you’d go through where the speed limit is slower.

Google maps shows you could walk it in four days IF you walked eight hours a day.

There are only two problems with that.

First, Jews living in around Galilee didn’t take the most direct route because it would have taken them through Samaria.

They instead took a longer route that took them to the other side of the Jordan.

Second, I can’t see Mary walking for eight hours a day.

Both of those would have added more days.

And we can add to that the fact that they would not have walked at all on the Sabbath.

It was a day of rest.

It would have taken more than a week for the couple to complete the journey.

6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 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.

(Luke 2:6-7)

What we don’t know is how far along Mary was.

All verse 5 tells is that she was pregnant.

Verse 6 tells us that Jesus was born while they were in Bethlehem, but it doesn’t tell us how long they’d been there.

Most assume Jesus was born on the night they arrived but Luke doesn’t actually say.

What we do know is there was no place for them to stay.

Can you imagine traveling that far and then being told there’s no room?

Maybe you’ve been in such a situation.

You were traveling and decide it’s time to stop for the night only to be welcomed by a “No Vacancy” sign.

Bruce Larson tells the story of traveling with his wife to Atlanta for a conference.