Behold: Good News- Luke 2:1-14

Prayer-

1 Timothy 1:15 “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”

Introduction

Childhood

Raising kids in Richmond Hill reminds me alot of my own upbringing.

Kids walking to school, biking the neighborhoods, just a playful, safe environment that encourages kids to be active and outdoors.

That was my childhood.

When I was a kid I was always outside, out and about with friends.

But I’m from Northwest GA, and to get to friends houses was a little more difficult than the flat coastlands down here.

We didn’t live in subdivisions, so we had to take trails through the woods and over the hills to get to a buddy’s house.

But this is where my life as a Middle Child was really stacked against me.

It’s fine. Counseling was great.

You see my older brother, was big enough and old enough to ride our family Dirt Bike.

But I couldn’t.

So a buddy would call our homeline, you remember those!?

Tell us a backyard football game was going down, and it was time to head over.

So my older brother would hang up the phone, jump on the dirtbike, laugh at me from the depth of his soul, and just take off!

But if I wanted to get there, I had to run.

And no matter how hard I ran,

By the time i got there, the game would already be underway, and I’d be cut up by briers.

But one Christmas I was probably 11 or 12, and our family had already opened up all the presents, when my mom pulled a surprise present out from behind her back and handed it to me.

I can still remember it!

The wrapping paper was red and black flannel pattern. And by the look on her face, I knew this was a big deal.

So I just started ripping into it, and when I had gotten through the flannel,

To my surprise, there was another layer of wrapping paper.

A Trick! A present wrapped within a present.

You ever had a gift like that.

I bet it had 4 layers of wrapping paper.

But as a kid I wasn’t frusted by that at all.

In fact, the opposite was true! Because every level of wrapping just built anticipation and excitement of the gift.

Because that’s part of the joy of Christmas, is unwrapping presents.

Like nobody wants to open an amazon box.

That’s lame. Boring.

We want to rip thru the wrapping paper, because the wrapping paper builds anticipation for the gift.

Well finally, I get down to the cardboard box, open it up, and inside is a key.

My parents tell me and my brothers to go look in the garage, and there it is…

A fourwheeler!

My Parents were the MVP that Christmas, no doubt.

But finally, I was going to be able to make it on time to the pick up games.

But when I reflect on my parents generosity, what I vividly remember the Wrapping job.

Every layer, just multiplied my excitement, because the wrapping built anticipation for the gift.

Well, what we have in our text today is something very similar to that experience so many years ago.

My parents were sacrificial, and gracious gift givers.

But as Scripture says, Matthew 7:11 “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more your Father who is in heaven”

I mean James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,

Church, my parents were great gift givers, but you’ll never be able to out give God.

And here in our text, God has sent the greatest gift of all.

In the gift of his son.

Romans 6:23 “ the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Ephesians 2:8 A gift of salvation. “And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,”

Luke 2 records the Gift of God, in Jesus Christ our Savior.

The greatest gift ever given, but just like that fourwheeler the gift of Christ came wrapped.

Layered in wrapping, and this afternoon I want us to peel back some of the wrapping all with the hope of building some anticipation for the gift.

So what was Christ wrapped in?

First, Jesus was wrapped in Prophecy.

Wrapped in Prophecy

The Census

Luke opens our text informing us that in the days of Caesar Augustus, who ruled Rome until about 14 A.D., a census was issued.

Now this census would have been for tax purposes,

and to register all the citizens of the Roman Empire every head of household needed to return to their ancestral home.

Luke 2:4 “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 of the house and lineage of David.”

Nazareth may have been where they were presently residing, but Bethlehm was Joseph’s ancestral home.

And we know from the very detailed history of Joseph’s lineage in Luke 3 and Matthew 1, that Joseph descended from David, who was from Bethlehem.

And church, the reason the city of Bethlehem is so important and intentionally recorded is that 700 years prior to this census

it was prophecied that the Messiah, the Savior, would be born in Bethlehem.

Remember in Matthew’s account the Wise Men approach King Herod and ask him, “Where is the KING… we have come to worship him!:

So Herod, troubled, assembles a group of priests and scribes and says… search the Scriptures!

Find out where the Christ is to be born!

And a little FYI, Christ isn’t Jesus last name, but a title that means "Anointed One” or Savior.

So the group search and search and they come back to Herod and say,

Matthew 2:5 “They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:”

Micah 5:2 “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

A direct quote from the prophet Micah!

So don’t miss this ya’ll.

Jesus’ birth was wrapped in Prophecy.

A prophecy that th3e Savior would be born in Bethlehem, but when the time came… there was only one little problem.

Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth!

90 miles away.

But church, what seems impossible with men are possible with God.

Just as we saw with Ezra and Nehemiah how God stirred a pagan king to issue the return of God’s people back to Israel,

Again, here he stirs the heart of a pagan King, Cesar, that forces Joseph, Mary, and the child she carried back to Bethlehem.

all to fullfill Prophecy!

And this is just 1 Prophecy!

This Advent we already reviewed the one in Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son.

Matthew records that when Herod sends his assassins to find this Presumed King in Bethlehem, an angel appeared to Joseph and said,

“Rise and take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, for Herod is trying to destroy the child! So they remained in Egypt until the death of Herod.

Matthew 2:15 “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.””

Which is a direct fulfillment of Hosea 11:1.

Church I could go on!

In fact, there are at least 300 prophecies that were fulfilled in the arrival, life, and death of Jesus Christ.

He was wrapped in Prophecy!

And one of the most exciting things to do as a child of God is to open the Scriptures

day after day, and year after year to find layers of wrapping in prophecy that build anticipation and excitement for JESUS.

He was wrapped in Prophecy.

But he was also wrapped in Humility.

Wrapped in Humility

There was nothing remarkeable about his birth.

Much like how Gabriel was dispatched to a nowhere city (Nazareth) to a nobody virgin bethrothed (Mary), everything in our text today screams HUMILITY.

First we have his literal wrapping.

Luke 2:6–7 “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...”

When Jesus was born, he was wrapped. But notice…

Who did the wrapping?

MARY!

There was no doctor or nurse.

No midwife, or doula.

There wasn’t even a mother, or aunt, or grandmother.

It strikes me, that not even Joseph wrapped the child.

Now where could he have been! ?

Now I can’t prove this, but being a man and present for the natural deliveries of 4 children, I bet Joseph couldn’t wrap the child, becuase he had fainted sometime during the labor and delivery!

So Mary herself has to wrap the newborn, signifitng a lonely birth, wrapped in Humility.

Then, you have his crib.

“and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

Here is one of the few details our little Nativity scenes probably get right.

I say few, because the 3 Kings didn’t come until Jesus was probably a toddler.

so they weren’t there.

And although my 3 year old was the cutest donkey ever in his school play we don’t know if there were actual animals present or not.

But the manger is spot on.

It was a feeding trough. So where Animals had once eaten, The King of Kings now slept.

The descendant of David, condesended to lie in a stable.

No palace, or castle. No mansion, or hospital. But a stable, and a manger.

It all screams Humility.

But then we have his birth announcement.

Luke 2:8–11 “And 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.”

This is so unexpected.

For thousands of years this child has been spoken of, prayed for, long awaited and expected. The King who would establish his Kingdom, and be the source of hope, peace, joy, and love for all.

And when he finally made his appearance, we’d expect a birth announcement kind of like the one Simba had in Lion King!

Right? Call everyone into Jerusalem. All the subjects. And one by one they all fall to a knee before the King of Kings.

Governors, priests, soldiers, they who’s who would be in attendance.

But instead,

The first to know about the birth of Jesus, were shepherds.

Now, thousands of years reomoved, it is so easy to romantize the occupation of shepherds.

For hundreds of years, kids have been throwing on bath robes, and holding walking canes to portray this group of people.

But that’s not an accurate depiction at all.

In Biblical times, the occupation of shepherd stood on the bottom rung of the MIddle Eastern social ladder.

Joseph says it bluntly to his family in Genesis 46, “Every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians!”

But it wasn’t just the Egyptians, it was also to the people of Israel.

The Mishnah or Oral Traditions of the Law describes shepherds as incompetent and barely human.

In fact they couldn’t hold judicial offices or even be admitted to court as witnesses, because they possessed the reputation as chronic liars.

The Mishnah reads that to buy wool or milk, or a kid (baby goat) from a shepherd was forbidden on the assumption that it was probably stolen property.

All throughout Jewish writings shepherds are described using one common adjective.

A techincal term used for a class of all despised, unholy, corrupted, and dirty people…

You know what that term was?

SINNERS

So it wasn’t kings or priests, but shepherds, sinners, that the announcment was made.

Jesus was Wrapped in Humility

He was wrapped in Prophecy.

And as you begin to unwrap these realities, my hope is that it begins to build excitement and anticipation for the Gift.

That

Much like I felt on that Christmas morning with the fourwheeler, that you would begin to get excited about the Gift of Jesus Christ.

Because He was Wrapped for YOU.

Wrapped in prophecy, wrapped in humility, but wrapped for ALL humanity.

Wrapped for all Humanity

A handful of shepherd sinners, not the social and religious elite,but the sinners were chosen to be the first recipients of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

And this is a pattern that you see throughout the entireity of Jesus’ ministry, and listen carefully… a pattern that exists still today.

You see here in Luke 2, we see that Jesus has come for Sinners.

The outcasts. The marganilized. The lame. Those that mourn. The poor. The meek. Those who hunger and thirst. The Sinner.

When the social and religious elite questioned this pattern in Luke 5:30 ““Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?””

He said, Luke 5:31 ““Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”

What he was saying is that the coming of a SAVIOR is only good news who KNOW THAT THEY NEED SAVING.

But the religious and social elite didn’t believe they needed saving.

In fact, Jesus tells us that they had everything they needed within themselves and they had firmly placed trust in their own goodness.

Luke 18:9 “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:”

In essence, they were their own SAVIORS.

So out in there in their fields by night, God looked and saw a category of people who would actually respond positively to the Good News of a newborn Savior.

And invited them into Bethlehem to see their salvation with their very eyes.

But look with me at verse 10

Luke 2:10 “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.”

Go ahead and circle the word all for me.

In the greek, that words all means… all.

You see the gift of Christ is a gift wrapped up for all humanity.

But just as back then, so it is today that many refuse to receive the greatness of this gift.

Although wrapped for all humanity, many today choose to trust in themselves rather than admit they’re more like shepherds than saints.

Let me let Jesus describe the difference to you.

Luke 18:9–14 “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.””

What is it that you trust in?

Do you believe that because you may be morally superior to the person sitting next to you, that you have no need for this Wrapped Gift of Christ? Do you exalt in your own piety that will one day leave you humbled?

Or maybe you trust in your own intellect? That according to your own reason, and wisdom you cannot accept a Savior, not to mention a Creator? Do you exalt in your own wisdom? Becuase that too will one day leave you humbled.

Or maybe you trust in your family or upbringing. This too was pretty popular in Jesus day. Many believed they didn’t need a savior, because they were Jews and descendents of Abraham. For many today, I hear, “Well my mom is a Christian, and I was raised in church....”

Good for your mom, but you cannot exalt in your upbringing, because that too will one day leave you humbled.

Like that Pharisee, do you trust in yourself?

Or, are you finally ready to own the harsh realities of your sin.

To admit that you too are a SINNER, and that your sin has

forced a seperation between you and God.

That due to your sin, the Bible would actually call you an enemy of God.

That you are spiritually dead, numb to the voice and conviction of God.

And far from trying to save yourself, perhaps today you’re ready to trust in a Savior.

For it is only when we humble ourselves enough to admit our sin, that we can experience the greatness of this gift wrapped for all humanity.

Conclusion

Jesus, wrapped in prophecy, wrapped in humility, wrapped for all humanity.

And as you get through the layers of wrapping, and recieve this gift it will be good news of great joy, just as the angels declared.

Good News, because the seperation caused by your sins will be bridged in Christ.

Good News, because the enmity between you and God will be reconciled in Christ.

Good News, because you will have PEACE with God.

Jesus’ birth heralded to the lowest of the low, reminding us that we all to dirty for the divine, but that he was and is still willing to stoop to our level and pay the ultimate sacrifice that we may have Peace with God.

So let me pray for us, and our team will come back up and lead us in song like the angels.

“Glory to god in the highest, and on earth PEACE among those with whom he is pleased.”

Let’s Pray

Father, thank you for sending us your son. The source of all of our hope, peace, joy, and love. Thank you for wrapping him in prophecy and wrapping him in humility building such eager expectation for his Advent.

But with his coming, we see that He was wrapped for all humanity. I pray this afternoon, for those who have never received the gift. May this Christmas be the one where true meaning is found.

And as our next song says, we sing

“Glory be to You alone, the KING who reigns from a manger throne. My life, my praise, everything I own TO JESUS the King on a manger throne.