A Savior Who Is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:1-21)

It is great to have you here to be with you. I'm going to pull this back so I can see the folks over there. And today we're going to be in Luke Chapter 2. And is returning to Luke Chapter 2. Question for you. Why do we celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th? You ever thought about that at maybe you've grown up I grew up in church and hearing that. Well, Jesus maybe wasn't really born on December 25th. And and then you have now internet discussions about it's tied to Santa Claus and or maybe the synchronization of worshipping the Sun God because Jesus is the son of righteousness while one of my dear friends Ryan Griffith Road in article at Desiring God this past I guess about three weeks ago, but he he explains where this came about why December 25th, and I found it fascinating and this is my church historian coming out, but I'm going to share it with you. My son is having fun with the vocal. He knew I was going to quote something. So he wanted to give it some gravitas and some weight York you okay back there? Yeah. Yeah, you just kill me if you want me to see no sound very very solemn in like when holy Halls. All right. So this is what my buddy Ryan Griffiths says based on some early pastors understanding of Daniel's prophecy early Christian writers reasoned that Jesus was conceived on the same day that he was later crucified. For example, tertullian who lived eighteen hundred years ago. He was one of the first Pastors in the early church. He calculated that Jesus was crucified on the 14th day of Nisan, which is a Jewish month the equivalent to our March 25th, and the same as the Roman Calendar exactly nine months. Before December 25th Christians there for Wrecking the date of Christmas from their observance of Easter Augustine of Hippo who lived in the 300 also believe this understanding and in his book on the Trinity said he's believed to have been conceived on the 25th of March upon which day he also suffered but he was born according to the tradition on December 25th. So Ryan goes on to say in this article that if that's so hard to believe will God is Sovereign and he's orchestrated all things then we're going to see in our account today that he saw Burnley orchestrates the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. And just to I would encourage you that there's a reason that the the father's thought about this. Was that December 25th. If Jesus was born on the same day that he died and that it was tied to God's wisdom in his planning. We don't know this for sure but for 1,800 years this has been a great day to celebrate the birth of our savior. And so this is what we do. So I want to share with you this passage that is very famous to you. I'm sure we read it every Christmas. Sometimes we read it twice because we have Christmas Eve with my family in Christmas day with my in-laws and my father-in-law Pastor John Fernandez. He usually reads this and then preaches at length in the kids, you know, just want to open the presents but to actually lately we've been going around the room having the family members each read a verse as we read this passage. So I'll just go ahead and read it here in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when he was governor of Syria and all went to be registered each to his own town 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 at the house and lineage of David to be registered with Mary his betrothed who was with child and while they were there the time came for her to give birth 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 end. I'm in the same region. There were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night 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 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 for unto you is Born This Day in the city of David a savior. Who is Christ the lord and this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on Earth peace among those with whom he is pleased when the angels went away from them into heaven the shepherd 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. They went with haste and found Mary and Joseph in the baby lying in a Manger when they saw that made known the saying that have been told them concerning this child and all who heard it. Wonder what the Shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things pondering them in her heart and the Shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them what a story we've heard it so many times it's so familiar to us. So we have to sort of suspend our knowledge for a moment in and try to listen with new ears for the first time. And what we see in these first this first paragraph these first seven versus is this is a humble birth. If we were telling the story of the birth of Jesus the king it wouldn't be in Bethlehem in a Manger a feeding trough. It would be at the very least. In Jerusalem the city of David the place where King David lived it would be in a palace. It would be the story told of the birth of the king who is going to save his people but not from a Manger not from a cattle trough. So it's a humble birth. And what's remarkable to me. Is it actually starts in verse 1 when it says that these are the days when Caesar Augustus was Emperor. And the world belonged to him and the whole world should be registered so he knows how many people there are and who's going to pay taxes to keep him in power and in the sovereignty of God this call for a census so that the taxes could be done properly it forces Mary and Joseph to leave Galilee to leave Nazareth and go to Bethlehem. To register because that was the place of Joseph's family David's father. Jesse had lived in Bethlehem. And the Roman government what they wanted was money, they wanted taxes and money. But what God is doing in his sovereignty is placing Mary and Joseph in exactly the right place for Jesus to be born at exactly the right time to fulfill prophecy. And he goes to Bethlehem Joseph and Mary and Mary gives birth to Jesus and you see this this humility because Israel isn't even a Sovereign Nation at this point. They're under Rome. They're in bondage to Rome and the king of Israel. The king is born while Israel's in captivity. This is a humble verse but not only that the circumstances when he's born there's no place in the end for him and he's born in Humble circumstances and he's laid in a manger and we've used this word manger for hundreds of years. And we forget that it's where the animals the cattle would feed from. And obviously Mary is she wrapped him in swaddling cloth. She knows the care that she wants to give him if she's not a negligent mom, but the only place the to put him that's a natural place for a baby to lay. So she's not holding him is in this neighboring animal trough that I assumed was empty. I'm not I'm sure the animals were eating while Jesus was laid in there. You know, it's like move over Jesus. I got to get my my feed. So this is a humble birth and nothing in the scene shouts Glory. Nothing shouts Glory. The story is not very remarkable at all to begin with we experienced since this is all the time. We experience people born into poor conditions all the time.

Yet true greatness is not always the same as visible greatness. Visibly nothing is great in this story so far, but Jesus really is great because he's the son of God born to Mary who's also the son of man. Who's the God man who is our savior who died for our sins who was buried and who rose again, but I'm getting ahead of myself. We're suspending our knowledge for a moment right to hear this story for the first time, but I do have to sort of jump ahead because true greatness According To Jesus. What is he saying markten? The first will be last and the last will be first James and Peter both say that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Is that James says a little bit later and 4:10 humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he might do what exalt you in due time. And so isn't it remarkable that our savior? He didn't think himself above this. He didn't think himself Beyond this that he became low. He humbled himself and became low and he's the greatest.

And God is certainly not opposed to him. Jesus displays this humility even in his birth. Well, that's in the first paragraph vs127. And then in the next paragraph the remainder of what we're looking at we see the glory begin to be revealed good news declared to those who are also humble and I mentioned this 2 weeks ago that throughout the Gospel of Luke God is concerned for the downtrodden and the outcasts the poor the tax collectors the Centre the Samaritans the Gentiles all of these people and Shepherds, if you know their reputation, they were dishonest and unclean according to the standards of the law. In fact, they could not give testimony in court in some places because they weren't considered trustworthy Witnesses in general as a people now, I don't know these particular Shepherds. I don't want to pick on them. These were the stereotypes not only that they were working the night shift. These were the graveyard Shepherd. So I mean you guys have work night shift. You know how this is right you like that's man. I want to get to day shift. I don't want to work night shift. You can imagine these Shepherds. I know a lot of you work night shift and you think and I could relate to that right? There's some sketchy people that work on night shift. The gospel comes to these nobodies of the day. Jesus is born into these circumstances and inverse 8 the Shepherds who are out in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night. What happens first when Angel comes and Angel a messenger from God Appears to them and the glory of the Lord Shone around them. And they have the proper response. They are filled with great fear. A glimpse of the glory of God the manifestation of God's presence among his people has appeared now a little bit of history about the presence of God. It started in the Garden of Eden when Adam walked with God in the cool of the day in the garden, but then because Adam sinned Adam was kicked out of the garden in the presence of the Lord was withdrawn from Adam and the next place we see the presence of God appearing is in the ministry of Moses in the Tabernacle in the Old Testament. And if you remember the story the only place where God's glory appeared was first on the mountain and Moses says Show Me Your Glory Exodus 33 and 34. God says you can't get a glimpse of my glory because if you see my full Glory you'll die. So I'm going to show you my backside Glory. I'm going to pass by I'm going to hide you in the cleft of The Rock and I'm going to show you the fading passing of my glory and Moses saw it and what he heard was the Lord the Lord gracious and compassionate abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness who will by no means clear the guilty. That's what he heard and then the glory of God Appears in the tent of meeting with Moses in the in the camp with the people and when Moses left the tent his face was lit up like a light bulb. I don't know if there's like a light bulb but the glory of God was visible on the face of Moses so much. So we had to put a veil on his face cuz the people were afraid and then the glory of God Appears in the Tabernacle in the holy of holies the place where only the high priest could go once a year and God's glory was in the Tabernacle in the holy of holies. And by the way, that should not be foreign language to us because this was considered a royal house the Tabernacle had it had a table where bread was put on the table. It had lampstands and candles where the lights were lit. The Ark of the Covenant, you know, Indiana Jones that was in the holy of holies that was considered the footstool of God's throne. So what the picture is? Excuse me? What the picture is a man? I'm I'm like channeling Steve Fernandez hear the picture. I don't want to have my voice crack. The picture is lights are on food is on the table. The king is at home his footstool it his his his feet are up on the footstool as it were and he's telling his people draw near to me an experience my presence in glory, but they were unclean people and so they had a bunch of rules about offering animal sacrifices and becoming clean and having a priesthood that interceded for the people in Regional Testament start read your Bible this year first week of January get through it. You'll read all of this will the glory of God departs at Temple? The glory of God departs that Temple because the people were sinful this is hundreds of years later, but the testimony of the prophets is Ichabod Ichabod Ichabod as a name of a character in Christmas Carol. But if David is the glory has Departed. The presence of God was no longer among his people. Now the presence of God three hundred years. There was no presence of God among his people at the end of the Old Testament and the coming of the New Testament and now the presents the glory of the Lord his presents shines around this messenger of an Angel not to priest not the prophets, but the shepherds in the field keeping watch over their sheep by night. And they were terrified and the angel said to them verse 10 fear not for behold. I bring you good news of great joy, that will be for all the people. Good news. This is the word for gospel you on DeLeon. It's round 11 times in the gospels themselves 10 times in the Book of Luke. This is the favorite word of Luke to talk about this good news. And the angel says don't be afraid I haven't come to judge or destroy. I've come to be the bearer of great news that will bring great. Joy not just to Israel, but all the people why because unto you is born this day today in the city of David a savior. Who is Christ the lord. See this great joy goes beyond personal feelings. This is the joy that is the world is being set, right? Things that are broken or being fixed this is the the end of every story that every writer writes because we all resonate with it. The reason we go to the movies is to see the things that are broken are set right now. Sometimes we're a little bit masochistic and we want to go watch things with Bad Endings tragedies even Shakespeare wrote tragedies. But most of the time what we want to hear is that there's someone who's a deliver a hero someone who sets the world right sets the story right and perhaps they live happily ever after. Thank you.

Hopefully they live happily ever after.

This is the this is the type of story that we're hearing right here in Luke Chapter 2.

We're hearing a story of the world being set right great. Joy for all the people today. This day is born to you in the city of David a savior. Who is Christ the Lord by the Shepherds weren't confused by that. They would not have thought Jerusalem, even though that's where David rained is King the city of David Bethlehem. This is where David's father Jesse lived. Actually you can go back to the Book of Ruth and Ruth and Boaz lived in Bethlehem. And Ruth and Boaz, of course our ancestors of King David and then therefore ancestors of Jesus and this town in the Book of Micah was prophesied Micah 5:2 you o Bethlehem ephrathah you who are too little to be among the clans of Judah. From you shall come forth for me. One is to be ruler in Israel. Who's coming forth is from old the Ancient of Days. So this was prophesied in The Book of Micah that the Saviour the Messiah would come and what the angel is telling the the shepherd's is hey the days arrived everything the Old Testament was pointing towards it's happening right now in Bethlehem. There's a savior who is Christ the Lord. He is Christ Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah which means anointed one and this title became so closely identified with Jesus of Nazareth. It it soon became part of his name Jesus Christ is really not as last name. That's how we use names. It means he's Jesus the Messiah, he's Jesus the Christ. He's Jesus the anointed one Jesus the King Jesus the hero Jesus the deliverer Jesus the savior.

Certainly, not a curse word.

One Pastor Derrick Thomas he said this kings were anointed to rule prophets were anointed to speak priests were anointed to perform ceremonies in order to enact the Forgiveness of sins. But a king had never rained who ruled over our hearts a prophet is never spoken. So as to speak right into the heart of a priest had never performed his actions in a way they could actually forgive sins but such a profit and such a priest and such a king and anointed one a messiah is born in Bethlehem tonight. What an incredible thought Cuz he's not only Christ anointed one hero, he's Lord. He's King. He's the boss. He's the ruler. His authority is over all things. He's king of kings and Lord of lords. And this is what the Angels revealed to the shepherd's glory to God in the highest. It's what we saying. You may have known the Latin Gloria in excelsis deo. I was taught you a thing eat egg-shells this day. Oh when I was in a kids choir don't know how to pronounce that Latin but eat egg shells, which doesn't sound Pleasant at all, but in excelsis deo is glory to God in the highest. It's right here out of Luke Chapter 2. He's Lord. He deserves all of the glory and this good news reveals that he is King and he is Lord and look what it goes on to say. A savior who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on Earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. The shepherd's will have a sign the sign is that they're going to go to Bethlehem and they're going to see a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a Manger cattle trough. This would help them recognize the baby and prove the truth of the Angels words, but notice it's not just one angel that comes then it says a multitude of the Heavenly hosts. Now when Luke uses that phrase, I believe he is arguing that the entire Heavenly Host all of the angels in heaven came down to declare this Nehemiah. 9:6 says you are Lord you alone you who made Heaven the heaven of Heavens with all their host the Earth. It's all on it the Seas and all that's in them and you preserve all of them in the host of Heaven worships you And when Nehemiah says that he talked about all of the Angels worship you God, and now all of the Angels leave heaven to tell the shepherd's and to worship God break out in praise. The Son of God has been born what a sight that would have been. It would have lit up the night sky. Fact Revelation 19 says the host of Heaven is again going to sing at the second coming of Jesus and at the end of the age when Jesus returns to make all things, right and they sing glory to God in the highest and that idea in the highest. It means to the highest of the heavens not to the highest degree. There is cause for praise in heaven and on Earth because Jesus is born and he's bringing peace. Peace between God and man the restoration of what was lost in Eden perfect. Peace between a holy God and sinful man. And how did he do it? We heard it. We heard it in what Brother house saying that Jesus died for our sins. He purchased us with his own blood the piece that's offered freely to all that's why it's good news. God is glorified because this baby Jesus is born glory to God and peace is spread everywhere that this child has received. This is the great purpose in Jesus coming Glory ever sending from us to God and peace ever descending from God to us God's glory sung by us for the sake of his name and God's peace lived Out Among Us for the sake of his name. This is the whole reason Jesus came. He came to bring peace and to bring glory to God. In fact, this is the whole reason God created the world. If you want to read Jonathan Edwards dissertation concerning the end for which God created the world come to Cornerstone take my church history class. Actually. I don't have you read in that it's in another class you can read it and if it's too complicated you can read John Piper's popularization of it. That's like all of John Piper's writings. Why did God create the world to glorify God and to bring us joy and peace God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. I wish I invented that that was John Piper. There's hardly a better way to sum up what God is about. He's about his glory and he's about our joy. In the angel comes and says I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be for all people.

This Advent season these four weeks leading up to Christmas that the church has been celebrating for hundreds over a thousand years. There's been themes that have begun to rise up that have become standardized in the course of church history. The first week is about hope The second week is about piece. The third week is about joy in the 4th week is about love. and what we hear in the birth of Jesus in the hope of Christmas is that there is real hope not a empty wishful thinking but true. Hope that will never disappoint because Jesus is born and he's our savior. There's also true. Peace because he's the Prince of Peace who makes Peace by the blood of his cross and he brings us to peace with God and peace with one another and there's great joy because this is joy that will never be crushed even in the midst of sorrow in our circumstances Christmas can be one of the hardest times of the year the older we get because of the Sorrows of Life lost loved ones broken relationships. Dreams and hopes that have been crushed by the circumstances of this Fallen World and yet we can have joy in the midst of that sorrow because Jesus is Alive and is seated at the right hand of God, and he's coming back to get us and we're part of this Kingdom. And so that leads us to this last great word of love. God has loved us and he demonstrated this love by giving his son and we love him because he first loved us and now we're able to love others which then brings this hope and peace and joy and love to the world. This is why it's good news of great joy, which is for all people that Born That Day 2000 plus years ago in the city of David. The little town of Bethlehem was Jesus, who is Christ the lord. This is why we celebrate it every year. There's an emphasis. The emphasis is on God not us. God is the one who saw Burnley orchestrates. The circumstances God is the one who chooses Those whom he is. Well pleased God is the one who sends the angels to bring the message God is the one who sends the son to be born. And yet we are the recipients of his Sovereign Grace and love. And so it brings us great. Joy, so what are the Shepherds do? Well, once the Angels left they said to one another we better go check this out. Let's go over to Bethlehem verse 15 see what happens that the Lord's made known to us. And so they run with haste you can imagine they weren't taking their time. I know some of you like to take your time. The Shepherds were on the way with haste hurrying. They found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a Manger confirming everything that the Angels had said to them. And so the shepherd's see this humble Savior and when they solid verse 17, they made known the saying that have been told them. They told Mary and Joseph guess what Angels just appeared to us and they told us you were here in this baby is Christ the lord. Now imagine Mary and Joseph a couple weeks ago. We heard Jason sermon on Joseph and this this birth of Jesus from his perspective the angel that appeared to him and said Joseph you're going to Mary's going to have a son and you're going to stay married to Mary. You're not going to divorce her and you're going to name him Jesus, which is Yeshua in the Hebrew because he's going to save his people from their sins because the name Yeshua Jesus means God Saves. The angel appears to Mary and says you're going to give birth to a son you going to name him Jesus and he'll be Emmanuel God With Us and now the Angels appear to the Shepherds. And if they go see that their savior is born who is Christ the lord and they tell Joseph and Mary and Joseph and Mary must have surely thought. I know the angel appeared to us. I know they told us now the baby's born this little helpless infant. You can imagine that night cuz the Shepherds were just on a neighboring Hillside and they came over that night. Most women don't want people to visit them the first, you know night when the baby's born like yeah, tell the hospital staff. I don't want to see anybody but immediate family not the extended family even just the immediate family. I don't have my makeup with me. I don't have my stuff. I just had a baby. Mary's they're Joseph's are the Shepherds come in and they're thinking who let the shepherd's Inn. Reviews are people the night shift Shepherds who was letting them in and they say guess what? The reason we came as the Angels told us that that baby is Christ the lord. Mary and Joseph Shirley were encouraged. Why what the angel told us was true the shepherd see this humble savior? Why do I bring this up? Because Verse 18 all who herded Wonder did what the shepherd's told them. You saw the angels of heaven come down and tell you this in verse 19. Mary treasured up all these things pondering them in her heart.

but look at the response of the Shepherds and verse 20 the Shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them the Shepherds go and tell everyone they know what they saw and heard giving glory to God. Why why would they do that with Jesus? He's not just a helpless adorable baby in a Manger.

We have a baby that's going to be born here next year in June. That's going to be my first grandson and I'm going to take a look at that helpless adorable baby. And I'm going to think I just want to hug it and kiss it and squeeze it him. I then we know it's a boy I shouldn't say it. And I'm going to be a juice excited happy. I'm going to hold that baby a lot. But this is not why the Shepherds were excited. They're excited because they knew their Bibles well enough to know that this baby came for a reason and he not was only born to be cute. He was born to go for a purpose to living to die and he had a message to be believed and obeyed. Start over in Philippians 2 Paul tells us that Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. But he emptied himself by taking on a human nature and he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death. Even the death of a cross. Therefore God is highly exalted him and given him the name that's above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he's lured to the glory of God the Father. This is why he came and for us to believe this good news this gospel. We have the same joy as the shepherd's Jesus is King. He's coming back. We're going to be with him forever. He's going to make everything, right? And so for us Christmas is not just about looking to the past about Jesus being born which is great news and that he died for us and that he was buried for us and then he rose again for us and he's currently seated at the right hand of the father interceding for us. This is all wonderful news, but thinking about Christmas the Advent season the coming of Jesus he has a second coming as well. He's coming back again and he's going to make all things right? It's wife Isaac Watts. When he wrote Joy to the World. He didn't just write about the first coming of Jesus. He wrote about the second coming. And there's even been discussion among Isaac Watts Scholars. Is it really a Christmas song? What he wrote it to be Sunday Christmas. And in my buddy Ryan Griffiths article he talks about this that the church up until recently always celebrated the first Advent and the second Advent at Christmas the first coming and the second coming at Christmas. It's only more recently that we have focused exclusively on the first coming. And I think it's helpful to us to use Christmas to remember that Jesus came once and it's good news of great. Joy for all the people and he's coming back again, which is good news of great. Joy for us who believed he's going to set all things, right? He's coming to restore righteousness on the Earth.

And if you've not yet believed. Turn to Jesus believe this gospel message because when he comes again, he's coming not only to bring Salvation to his people but judgment upon all of the unrighteous. And so today is the day of good news that you can have peace with God and so come to him. Do you need to know more about that talk to me talk to one of our pastors Marcos or Jason talk to anybody who's a member of the church. They can tell you this. Hope that's in them. This is a story that's so familiar to us that we can just rehearse it and run over it and and and not think about the implications of it. What it would have been like the Wonder and the r and the joy and the celebration. And yet the confusion to some degree of like is this all really true. We have the benefit of living after the cross Mary's treasuring these things in her heart before the cross because she's wondering what does all this mean that Jesus her baby boy is the Messiah Christ the lord. And yet, we now know. It means he's going to die and be buried and rise again, and he's going to be exalted to the highest of heavens and he's our King and our priest forever. Father thank you for this time in this word. Thank you for this.

Passage of scripture that you've given us that gives us so much. Hope and joy.

Because we know that you've loved us. You gave us your son and if you did not spare your son. How will you not with him? Freely give us all things and we know that we're at peace with you and peace with one another. Because Jesus is the prince of peace and he's made peace. Father may you bless my brothers and sisters my dear church family. Would you let this season be a time of Celebration with their own families if they are hurting if it's a hard time, would you comfort them by your spirit? May they know the joy of your salvation may they know the hope to which they've been called? May they have peace? May you bring peace and their families even if there's not peace may you use this time to do a work that only you can do? That's why Jesus came. He knows how to restore relationships. He knows how to bring real piece.

May you do this work so that we would glorify your name and like the Shepherds. Give us great hope in this mission is we tell everyone that's good news. We've been changed we have hope we have answers to these questions of life. We have a reason for the joy that's in US. And our world is hurting and they have no peace and they have no joy not lasting Joy. Use us. At the hands and feet of Jesus to bring the message of Salvation this good news of great. Joy, which is for all people. I pray all this in the name of Jesus our savior a Mel.