Based On A True Story! - Luke 2:1-7

Introduction

Thank you so much for coming to our Lord’s house today!

I invite you to open your Bibles to the gospel of Luke as we continue our look into the miraculous Birth of our Lord and Savior.

Our story in Luke has thus far been filled with so many precious miracles and moments:

The angels appearing to Elizabeth and Mary.

The angel making Zacharias mute through his doubt

The announcement of a Virgin Birth, and the Immaculate Conception

The baby leaping for joy.

Mary’s powerful song to the glory of our God.

The prophesied birth of John the Baptist

We have finally arrived at this familiar and wonderful chapter in the Bible.

Luke 2 is perhaps one of the most widely known and used Scriptures in the gospels because it tells the story of Christmas.

This chapter has been the source of songs, carols, cards, celebrations, and books since it’s writing.

It’s a very familiar story; believers and non-believers alike have heard this story most of their lives.

Christmas is filled with words of holiday cheer, parties, gifts, time off work.

We love our holiday parties, egg nog, Christmas trees, the glow of Christmas lights outside.

I particularly love the movies that surround Christmas; Home Alone, A Christmas Story, and countless others that make the season special.

I love the Grinch, although not as much as my wife.

One of the American staples of Christmas is the promised arrival of Santa Claus on Christmas day that keeps children up for multiple nights leading up to that magical morning when we all wake up to a tree surrounded by stockings, gifts, lights, a chill in the air and a feeling that you wish you could just bottle up and keep with you all year long.

We read and share Christmas stories about Santa Claus and many of you will remember, or will soon encounter that kids ask a lot of great questions.

As they get older, they’ll ask things like:

“Where does Santa live?

How does he get his groceries?

When was Santa born?

Does he have any family besides Ms. Claus?

How Does he fly around the world all in one night?

Our answer will boil down to one word....MAGIC! That’s the only answer we can come up with that will satisfy a child’s questions.

But what if there were a Christmas story with a little more…truth...foundation beneath it.

A Christmas story backed by historical facts.

There is one that is of course.... is found.....only in The Holy Word of God .

The Birth of Jesus is Based On A True Story!

Luke 2:1–7 KJV 1900

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Beth-lehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Condition of the World

Caesar Augustus

This opening verse is truly remarkable. The Bible says “it came to pass in those days”.

Translated from the Greek, this phrase reads” It came into existence during a period of time”.

And what is it that came to existence? A decree. A rule.

During a very specific period of time a rule was made widely known from Caesar Augustus.

Did you know Caesar Augustus is a real human. A quick Google search will tell you:

His real name is Gaius Octavius.

Caesar is a title, it means king or emperor. Augustus means august, revered, highly esteemed, highly regarded, honored.

You can find his birthday,

his death day,

his wives names,

his children’s names, his siblings names.

You can see pictures of actual statues that still remain today.

You can also find out that he is the great grand nephew of Julius Ceasar, the one murdered by his closest confidants.

And most importantly for today’s Scripture, you’ll learn he was the Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.

King Herod The Great

At about this same time Herod the Great was king of Judea. He became gravely ill in approximately March or April of 4 BC.

Toward the end of Herod's reign he fell out of favor with Rome.

There was an intense struggle for his throne at the time when Harod fell ill.

After Herod died the country was plunged into deep conflict.

It is likely that the Roman government had stepped in to take a census of the land before he passed away. With the passing of Harod and the throne immediately unoccupied due to Jewish tensions, Caesar Augustus issues a census with intent to register and tax the entire inhabited land.

As the world superpower, Rome would raise funds to support it’s military

Cyrenius

There was a very well known, well documented census taken in 6 AD.

It is also well documented that Cyrenius was the known governor of Syria, but this well-documented census occured about 10 years after the death of King Herod the Great.

So this could not have been the census Luke was referring to.

In 1764 a fragment was recovered in Rome.

This fragment states indicates there was a governor who was governor twice during the reign of Augustus.

Scholars and pastors alike indicate this could only be Cyrenius as indicated by Luke.

What are you saying, Eric?

According to Biblical and secular teaching Caesar Augustus was the Roman Emperor at the time of Jesus Christ’s birth, there was in fact a census taken by the Syrian governor Cyrenius, and Herod the great was indeed king at the time of Christ’s birth.

Decree

And it was during this time that a decree issued by Caesar Augustus.

That decree mandated that all return to his home city for the purpose of registering and future taxation.

And verse 3 says,

Luke 2:3 KJV 1900

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And this sets the world scene.

There is no other reason that Mary, in her ninth month of pregnancy, would trek about 80 miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem in the middle of the winder, except that God had ordained in Micah 5:2 that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

When Mary said in Luke 1:38 “be it unto me according to they word”....she entered into the fulfillment of the longstanding OT prophesy.

Micah 5:2 is that prophesy!

Micah 5:2 (KJV 1900)

2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

God in His sovereignty, had set the scene for the birth of Christ to occur exactly where he said it would, in Bethlehem.

God in His infinite power has establish the rulers in the correct seats of power to bring about the fruition of his long standing promise. If you really want to dive into the sovereignty of God, do some research on how Caesar Augustus even came to rule in Rome.

So as decree’d by Augustus, Joseph went to Bethlehem, the City of David to be enrolled in Augustus census.

Traveling to Bethlehem

Luke 2:4–5 KJV 1900

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Beth-lehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

Not only did Joseph go but he brought his soon to be wife, Mary, the woman he was betrothed to, a woman he had promised to become married to, who was great with child, meaning she was very close to giving birth.

Matthew 1:19 KJV 1900

19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

After Mary likely encountered endless ridicule, Joseph, a righteous man, brought Mary with him.

It’s not certain whether her presence was obligatory or voluntary, but clearly Mary would cling to the presence and protection of her husband.

Historical Certainty

Now, Why would Luke include this interesting section of Scripture right before the birth of our Savior?

What does this have to do with Christmas?

You may be here today and asking, “Did all of this really happen? Are these Bible stories actually true? And if it’s true, what does this mean to me today? This was 2,000 years ago”

For all of eternity, as forever recorded in God’s Word, Luke is pointing to the historical fact of the birth of Jesus Christ.

It is an absolute certainty that Jesus was born on earth.

Luke is communicating the historical certainty of the birth of Jesus.

Luke says “In those days”…Many would have remembered the fighting, the census, and the taxation of the inhabited world.

If I would say to you, “When Covid hit....”, you would remember the entire climate during that time. The loneliness and isolation, the masks, the political uncertainty of that time, maybe the economic impact on your family”.

When Luke writes “in those days”, Luke is recalling what many would remember.

John MacArthur said about the Scripture, “The people who read Luke in Luke’s day would know exactly when this was”.

The Christian faith is built on something a little more concrete....Facts.

Luke is writing to the historical factuality of a census, taken when specific rulers were in charge, whom those in Luke’s day would vividly recall, and many of these specific facts we can verify and search ourselves online if you’d really like.

The Christmas season is truly one of celebration to the historical reliability that Jesus Christ was truly born into this world.

Luke 2:3 says everyone was on his way to register. They remembered the taxes.

In Luke 20:22, about 30 years after his birth, “Jesus was asked if it is lawful to pay taxes to the emperor?”

30 years later, the Jews were still furious about that taxation from a man Caesar Augustus who was acting as lord above all.

In those days....Luke says

do you remember the political fighting?

Do you remember what all the fuss was about?

In those days....God had set the world scene for the arrival of His only Son! These are the historical facts of the True Christmas Story!

And then we come to the climax!

The Condition for His Birth

Luke 2:6–7 KJV 1900

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

That’s all Luke gives us…she delivered her baby.

To the average reader, it will feel very anticlimactic. After all those wonderful miracles, an angel, and the virgin birth.....the baby was born in a manger?

And so it was…it happened!

In Bethlehem, this was just an ordinary night, this seemed like an ordinary birth, but this was no ordinary child.

This was a Divine Appointment, the Birth of Jesus Christ!

Divine Appointment

It was in those days,

during significant turmoil,our promised King was born!

In those days,

God was sovereignly working through Caesar without his knowledge.

Sometimes we are conscious that our actions are filling divine intention.

Other times there is an unknowing carrying out of God’s plan without any awareness.

How many of us can look back at situations and decisions in our life and had no idea that God was working in that moment?

I bet many of us have a story like that.

Little did Caesar know that when he issued this decree, that his census was making possible the fulfillment of the prophesy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

Luke doesn’t refer to Micah, but Luke is showing us in verses 1, 2, & 3, how God orchestrated the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem in complete fulfillment of the amazing work through secular, unsuspecting rulers.

The child had to be born in Bethlehem.

And let’s not forget that Mary and Joseph would only need to be in Bethlehem for about a day to register.

God’s timing is absolutely impeccable;

Mary didn’t have the child on the road to or from Bethlehem, but God brought Mary to Bethlehem on the exact day of Christ’s birth!

In Bethlehem....Heaven came down to earth!

And this was God’s will, and He uses everybody and anybody to accomplish His will.

The word truly became flesh!

John 1:14 (KJV 1900)

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The Light of the World!

Immanuel…God with us!

Jesus Ascended Down From Heaven!

What Jesus gave up to come to earth was immense.

He left glory with God.

Jesus stepped out of eternity, and became a servant, He became like us.

Jesus took on the attributes of humanity, minus the sinful nature.

He became fully God, and fully human, at this moment.

He was in the immediate presence of the Father and the Holy Spirit.

He was in continuous praise of angels.

And He came to earth, where He had none of this!

Jesus Gave Up Everything for us!

The magnitude of what He gave up is beyond our power or imagination to comprehend.

We have never seen what heaven is like but we know it will be awesome!

I believe when born again believers enter heaven we will be overwhelmed at the sight and sounds and splendor of heaven.

And then we will be overwhelmed that Jesus left all of that to come to earth, to save us.

Even if Jesus came to earth receiving the highest praise, the grandest parade, the greatest of riches, the highest of honors available on earth it would have paled in comparison to what He left in heaven.

Why? Why God, would you send your Son into a world that will hate Him?

Why God would you send your Son in such a lowly condition?

Despite our sinfulness, we are worth it, to Jesus.

He did it because Your soul matters to Jesus!

Romans 5:8 “8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

We could expand on that a little more and say,

“While we were yet sinners, Jesus stepped out of glory and the presence of God where He was praised and adored and loved and worshipped.

He stepped out of a kingdom of mansions with gold and precious stones, and an absence of sin!”

And He did that to die for us sinners.

He came as a servant, a slave.

He came to a common family, born in a tiny obscure town of Bethlehem.

Even more striking, He had a lowly, humble birth.

Laid in a manger, a stable. Not even any room existed at the local inn for the King of Kings to be ushered in.

Jesus came as the King, and had a birth fit for a servant!

Lowly Birth

Luke 2:7 KJV 1900

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Firstborn, another Luke allusion to Virgin Birth.

And she laid Jesus in His first crib, a manger.

A manger is a rectangular container for feeding animals. It was usually made of wood or stone.

Isaiah 53:2 (KJV 1900)

2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, And as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

The Jews expected a majestic King, a knight in shining armor riding in on a horse.

Never would they have dreamed their savior would be born in such lowly conditions.

But as we’ve witnessed throughout Luke thus far:

God used a lowly barren woman in Elizabeth.

God used a lowly humble virgin Mary

Bethlehem itself is a lowly obscure

God is using a lowly humble manger to usher in the newborn King!

There truly was no lower entrance than that experienced by our servant King, who was born in a barn and laid down in a feeding trough.

The Inn

I consider the innkeeper that night. With the census occuring Bethlehem was an obviously busy place. The rooms were full, and there was nothing the innkeeper would do to help Mary. An expectant mother yet those people had claimed their spots, the room was theirs.

Nobody at the inn willing to give up their place for an expectant mother.

A clear example of the selfishness of our world.

Nobody would have inkling of compassion for a woman whose birth pangs were beginning.

The world says “I just need to do more good things than bad, and I can save myself!”.

Yet the world didn’t lift a finger to help Mary this evening.

Our Great King, there was no room for Him, but He goes to prepare a place for us, a place of many mansions

John 14:2–3 KJV 1900

2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

While there was no room for Jesus at the Inn, Jesus says “I go to prepare a place for you”.

And in His kingdom, there will be enough room for every single believer.

Nobody who ever loves this child will ever be left on the doorstep as He was on this night, when He came into this world.

Just another example of how much our Lord loves beyond that which we could ever comprehend. His thoughts are greater than ours, His ways are greater than ours!

There was no room in the Inn, but is their room in your heart for Christmas this year?

The Condition of Your Heart

Dr. Suess would famously say in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” these words,

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store.

What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”.

Well....Grinch....you are absolutely correct. Christmas IS SO MUCH MORE!

The World scene has been set, the leaders are in place, the decree ordered, the expectant mother in the prophesied location, and the humble birth of our Savior occurs, just as predicted.

Do you think it was an accident?

Was it an accident that Augustus had this idea to tax the nation? Of course not. God put it in his mind. Because his timing was about to come too.

To the world this would look like a huge coincidence.

To the world they would look at Mary and say “what a travesty that she was not at home comfortable in her bed, giving birth to her first born”.

God would say 800 years earlier through the profit Micah, this is how it will be, and so it was.

10 centuries earlier God would reveal to King David that the Messiah would come from his lineage.

An accident? A coincidence? No, sir. No ma’am. This is exactly how God had planned long ago.

Taxes were being enforced and political issues were the subject of great discussion and debate.

Those hungering for power clamored for the vacant throne, and meanwhile the most important moment in the history of the world was happening right underneath their nose, and nobody was talking about it.

They were so concerned with things of that day, the issues of that time.

They had no concern that the birth of a child who would save the world was occurring.

That’s a lot like today.

The world has no concern for what really matters most. The world has no concern for spiritual matters.

The birth of Jesus Christ is the most important moment in the history of mankind.

It’s the turning point in history, when heaven came down to earth.

When the fulfillment of prophecy from centuries back manifested itself through the birth of a child, Jesus Christ, who came to save His people from their sin.

And all those who would believe in Him will have peace on earth, peace with each other? No, peace with God!

Doesn’t it amaze you that our Lord would even come to this world at all?

He knew what He would be born into yet He still chose to come.

Many of us won’t even go into downtown Memphis because we know what to expect.

But our Lord came down to earth, knowing exactly what He be born into.

From the moment He arrived, He was subjected to this type of humanity, a sold out Inn, a humiliating birth, a world that would despise and hate Him, yet he still chose to come.

Why? Because He loves you, because you are worth it, because the value of your soul was worth the cost to Christ!

Because He came, you may now know He is, and know the love that is Jesus Christ.

He came, because He is the Christ.

Like us

He came to save us in the only way He could save us and that was to become like us, and live in a way that we never could; sinlessly, perfectly, humbly.

He must become one of us in order to save us. He must be one of us , be tempted, yet withstand the temptation of sin.

He must become one of us, and understand what grief, and fear, and anger, and sorrow feels like.

And despite all these conditions He has come down to be like us, to experience life with us, to show us He understand what we feel, He knows what life on earth is like!

And as you know, he did it all and he felt it all so that He could redeem us all.

He did it all so that we could never say

“Lord, you don’t understand the poverty,

You don’t understand what it’s like to work hard every day (Jesus was a carpenter until his ministry).

you don’t understand the temptation,

you don’t understand the hurt, the pain, the grief.

Oh yes, he does understand He did it because He wants to redeem you from your sin, and He wants to spend eternity with you!

It’s all in Jesus, the love, the grace, the mercy that Mary sings of.

The glory and might and the strength that Luke writes about.....

It’s all wrapped up in this baby Jesus, His love for you, His understanding of sin, it’s all wrapped up in Jesus!

And that child would grow up to take it to the Cross and pay it all for you, pay for your sins to wash your sins white as snow because He loves you.

And that my dear brothers and sisters-in-Christ, is the story of Jesus.

It was God’s plan the entire time;

the time,

the place,

the circumstances, it was all God’s plan.

The Bible is Based On a True Story!

History proves the certainty that Jesus was born.

Christ would come and be the turning point for humanity.

Bethlehem means “house of bread”, an appropriate place for the arrival of the Bread of Life (John 6:35).

God had promised hundreds of years earlier that the Savior would be:

a human and not an angel (Hebrews 2:16)

A Jew and not a Gentile (Genesis 12:1-3)

From the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10)

From the Family of David (2 Samuel 7:1-17)

Born of a Virgin (Isaiah 7:14)

In the town of Bethlehem, the City of David (Micah 5:2)

Every promise became truth through Jesus Christ.

Did this event actually happen?

Is Jesus really the “reason for the season?”, as Christians proclaim?

On the authority of the Bible, I can tell you it is an absolute certainty that Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem while Augustus was emperor.

While we find pleasure in the stories of Christmas time, may we find joy in the truth of the real story of Christmas.

We give gifts to each other, He gave much greater, much greater than we could possibly fathom.

Gospel

But we must remember what else Jesus gave to us on this earth, and that was His life. He did come to seek and to save those that are lost.

And He did die on the cross for our sin!

This too is all part of God’s perfect plan to save us sinners from eternity separated from Christ.

We are all sinners, every single one of us. And this child was given for a purpose.

If you have never believed in this truth, I invite you to come to the alter today, confess to Jesus that you are a sinner, ask Him to save your from your sins.

I guarantee He will do it. Jesus doesn’t want any to perish but wants all to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

To prove that Jesus is capable of saving us from our sin, Jesus died on the cross, He was buried in the tomb, but on the 3rd Day, Jesus Christ came back to life by the power of God. He proved that He was God and capable of defeating death, and capable of saving us from our sin. And He promised that He would come back again.

There are many who missed the first coming of Christ because they were focused on the wrong things.

I pray that you will be prepared for the 2nd coming of Christ

I’m going to invite Ms. Erin and Mr. Jon up with me and as we enter into a moment of reflection on just who Jesus is, and just how powerful I want us to remember exactly what was promised:

Come to the alter today and believe in Christ.

Come to the alter today and thank God that He is sovereign over the entire history of events.

Come to the alter today to praise Him for what He is doing in your life.

Ephesians 3:20–21 (KJV 1900)

20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Thanks be unto God for the gift of Jesus Christ!

Let’s stand and worship, and you can come as God leads.

Jennifer and I will be traveling next weekend.

We do pray you all will have a wonderful Christmas, and remember, while your enjoying this most amazing time of the year, the true Christmas story is Jesus Christ descending to earth. God with us!

Can I ask you to do something this week? Spread the true message of Christmas and invite somebody to church with tell somebody that Jesus loves them and came to this earth to save them.

Let’s pray.

Pray

Father God, we do acknowledge Lord that you are sovereign over every ruler and leader and every event to occur in the history of humanity.

We thank you Lord that you saw fit to send your Son to earth at the perfect time, in the perfect way.

Lord we recognize your humble entrance but we exalt You as King of Kings.

We thank you Lord Jesus for taking our place on the cross and suffering on behalf of every born again believer.

I pray Father than the world will hear the TRUE Christmas story of Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem, and that myriads would believe, and repent, and be saved.