Luke 2:1-20 A Gift for All

Luke 2:1-7 (Evangelical Heritage Version)

1In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3And everyone went to register, each to his own town. 4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the town of Nazareth, into Judea, to the town of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was from the house and family line of David. 5He went to be registered with Mary, his wife, who was pledged to him in marriage and was expecting a child.

6And so it was that while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

A Gift for All

I.

Promises, promises. Lots of people make promises. We’ll hear plenty of promises made in the coming year by candidates seeking our votes for office. Will the promises be kept? Who knows? Over time a person becomes so jaded by politics that we expect most of them won’t.

Businesses make promises. They promise the best product at the lowest price imaginable. Somehow, however, there’s always a catch. Sometimes the special sale is for a special product, of lower quality than the one you pay full price for at other times.

Soon the new year will be coming and most people make all kinds of promises—resolutions, we call them. Throughout they year we make promises to those important to us. Often something happens to make it impossible to keep our promises.

Earlier in today’s services you heard some of God’s promises concerning his special gift for all. The first promise came at, perhaps, one of the lowest, if not the lowest, moment in all of human history. Adam and Eve are the only two human beings other than Jesus who experienced perfect righteousness and holiness.

They had such great potential there in the Garden of Eden. Just the name sounds like paradise—and it was. They had work to do, but it was always enjoyable, never a burden. They got to meet with God and talk with God directly. They had no cares and no concerns.

But one day they listened to a slimy snake when he told them they were missing something. Why did they believe such words? What made them think that they could, or should, be like God? But that’s what the slimy snake convinced them. They plucked the fruit. They ate. Sin came into the world as they wanted to be like God and took the steps they had been convinced were necessary to be godlike in and of themselves. With one bite they learned the awful truth. They thought they would gain something, but they lost, instead.

It was after God confronted them and they began their finger pointing at one another, and the snake, and God himself, that God made the first promise. The words were actually directed to Satan, but Adam and Eve were standing nearby and they understood it to be a promise—a promise made to them and all their descendants. God said: “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel” (Genesis 3:15, EHV). God’s gift for all would come one day. He would crush the head of Satan, who had tricked our first parents into sin that brought with it devastation.

As time went on, God fleshed out the promises. Today’s readings didn’t include God’s reiterated promises to Noah, or Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but those Fathers of the Faith heard the promises, none-the-less. Then came Isaiah, who listed special names of the One who was promised, and spoke of the Savior’s limitless authority, and the fact that he would be a descendant of David and reign on David’s throne—an even greater throne than David. Micah announced the name of the town in which the promised Savior would be born.

Here in the Christmas Eve Gospel Luke shows us how God kept his promise. Caesar Augustus thought he was making decisions that affected the subjects in his kingdom, but God was using Caesar to make sure that all his promises were kept in exactly the way he had wanted things to happen.

Caesar demanded a census for tax purposes. Since the Jewish way of recording people was not according to the place where they lived, but the place where they were from, Mary and Joseph had to make the journey to Bethlehem—the very Bethlehem which Micah had prophesied would be the birthplace of the Savior.

God’s promise was kept. The Savior was born. He was born in Bethlehem Ephrathah. But the circumstances surrounding this magnificent event were humble, indeed. The Savior who was born to be King of the world, the One who had been promised for countless centuries, was born in a stable, wrapped in swaddling cloths, and laid in a manger, because there was no room for the family in the local inn.

God kept his promise and sent a gift for all—the gift of a Savior, Jesus.

Luke 2:8-14

8There were in the same country shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified! 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people: 11Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude from the heavenly army, praising God and saying, 14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind.”

II.

Who hears about a royal birth first? Typically, other royals, probably with a great deal of fanfare. Perhaps trumpet fanfare will sound a festive blast to signal that a special announcement is about to be given. Then the particulars will be read in a loud and regal voice to the dignitaries in the palace. Other kings and queens and leaders of nations will be given official notice, too. Then, perhaps, diplomats and other people of high status are then given an official announcement of the royal birth.

Regular people? They don’t get a phone call or even a private email or instant message to let them know of the birth. Regular people have to read about it or see it in the news. If they aren’t plugged in to the news and information sources on a 24 hour basis, they will have to find out through the grapevine from others who were plugged in enough to learn the news.

Jesus is the most important person ever to be born. The birth announcement was not made to kings or noblemen. There was no trumpet fanfare or palace dignitary making the announcement.

The announcement of the birth of Jesus was far grander. An angel appeared out of the dark sky. Holy angels always make people afraid at first. After all, sinners in the presence of holiness don’t stand a chance.

It is significant that God chose common shepherds to be the first to hear of the royal birth. This King came to be a blessing for all people. That was the good news of great joy the angel brought. Specifically the shepherds were informed that this Savior, Christ the Lord, was born not just for the rich and powerful, but for all people.

Then the sky spit open and a chorus of angels began to sing and praise God. No matter what choir you have seen or how beautifully their voices were blended together, or what spectacular instruments they were playing, or how masterful the musical performance, it would pale in comparison to the angel choir singing for joy above the shepherds outside Bethlehem.

The birth announcement of Jesus demonstrated beyond any doubt that God’s gift for all really was for all, the humble and lowly as well as the rich and mighty.

Luke 2:15-20

15When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Now let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they told others the message they had been told about this child. 18And all who heard it were amazed by what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

III.

What do you do after a spectacular concert? As you file out of the arena you can hear the excited chatter of the concert-goers. Did you see...? Did you hear...? There are some concerts that are so spectacular and so memorable that even years later pictures fill your mind’s eye just at the thought of what you had seen and heard.

I can only imagine the awe on the faces of the shepherds as the last notes faded in the night sky and darkness returned to the landscape. No other concert would be anywhere near as spectacular as that one, even centuries later with all the amps and spotlights and video boards and smoke and flame to punctuate the music. There has never been anything like it.

But the beauty of the singing and the spectacle of angels in the night sky wasn’t the point of it all. The angel had said: “Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11, EHV).

The wonder and awe of the shepherds over the music and the heavenly beings didn’t make them forget the message they had heard. That was what was most important.

What kind of reaction would dignitaries and ambassadors and leaders of nations would have had to this birth announcement? While the angelic choirs would have been something completely new and different, they had heard news of so many special births before. It might have been treated as ho-hum news—just another royal birth; another requirement to get a gift.

The shepherds were the perfect audience. They had never been singled out for such important news before. They recognized the message of the angels for what it was—a once in world history event. Hearing was one thing, but they wanted to go and see.

“Trust, but verify,” is the old slogan. The message of the angels didn’t need to be verified to believe it, but they wanted to see, anyway. Off they went. Luke doesn’t specify, but I would imagine not even one shepherd stayed with the flock. This message was too important to stay behind while the others went to see the Savior.

And there it was—God’s gift for all, revealed. Lying in a lowly manger in a lowly cattle shed was the Savior that had been promised throughout the history of the world.

Nothing could ever compare to what they had seen. Instinctively they realized that what they had seen needed to be shared. Others needed to hear the great good news of the angels, even if they couldn’t see the choirs lighting up the night sky. They told everyone they could find about the news. Poor, lowly shepherds brought news of hope to a dying world.

What can anyone add to the Gospel appointed for Christmas Eve? Nothing. Nothing can make it more interesting, more touching, or more heartwarming. Nothing can take away from the message, either; if one were to try taking something away from this great good news, the whole beautiful history of God’s saving activity would be brought to nothing.

Remember the history of Christ’s birth as given in Luke’s Gospel. If you want to spread Christmas cheer, spread the word that the Savior is here. Amen.