Twas the Night Before……..

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Twas the Night Before……..
Intro………..
Last year on Christmas Eve, I had the opportunity to read one of my favorite Christmas poems to my Grandchildren, begins…. 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Well this is how the world tells it any way, but today I want to talk to you about the birth of Christ our Savior.
Our message today taken from { CLICK }
Luke 2:8-11 and it reads (NASB)
8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night.
9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
10 And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Today, I want to talk to you from the view point of “Twas the Night Before…..”
I want to read to you the entire passage from the book of Luke the 2nd chapter starting at verse 1. { CLICK }
1 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3 And all the people were on their way to register for the census, each to his own city.
4 Now Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
5 in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was pregnant.
6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night.
9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
10 And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army of angels praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.”
You see it really was the night before, but it all really start many a night before. To get the full picture we really need to look back, way back, over 400 years back, back to the Old Testament, to the book of Isaiah, the 9th chapter, starting at verse 6 and the prophesy of Isaiah reads
Isaiah 9:6–7 (NASB 2020)
6 For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of armies will accomplish this.
Yes it all began with a prophesy, (some future event being that is being revealed in the present.) and that prophesy began to come true some 9 month before this night when Mary, a very young woman whom had never been with a man, was visited by the angel Gabriel, as it is written in
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was.
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
Now this was really, great news but there was a big problem, Mary was promised in marriage to Joseph, and well her being with child was not going to go over very well with her family or Joseph and his family let alone the villagers. But God had a plan. Need I say A perfect plan.
God sends an angel to speak with Joseph telling him not to be afraid of taking Mary as his wife for the child conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
Look at Matthew 1:18-21
18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
19 And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
20 But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
and you shall name Him Jesus.
Luke the second chapter starts off with these words { CLICK }
Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. (Luke 2:1)
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1 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
It came to pass, meaning that some time has passed since Mary was found to be with child, and scripture doesn’t really say how much time has passed up to this point. It should also be noted that by the using of these words, we know that is a true story, not something made up, like the stories that begin, once upon a time….
But it was the night before………….
This census or registration described wasn't for simple record-keeping or statistics. It was to efficiently and effectively tax everyone in the Roman Empire.
As Caesar Augustus sat in his palace and made his decree, he thought it was the supreme exercise of his will, the ultimate flexing of his muscle.
But in reality, he was just a tool in God's hand.
God had promised that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem
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2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His times of coming forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”
(Micah 5:2), tells us that this promised would be fulfilled. So how do you get a young couple from Nazareth down to Bethlehem when they might not be inclined to travel? Simple. Just work through the head of state and use him as a pawn in your plan.
In a way, Caesar softened the blow for many. They had to travel, they had to pay taxes - but they would also gather together with family, and see relatives that they perhaps had not seen for a long time.
It was the night before………….
As our story proceeds, Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem is about 80 miles. This was not a short distance in those days. It was a significant undertaking, costing time and money. Remember there we no planes, trains or buses.
Greyhound did not start running until 1914 ( a point of interest, Greyhound Lines, Inc., usually shortened to Greyhound, is an intercity bus common carrier serving over 3,800 destinations across North America. The company's first route began in Hibbing, Minnesota, in 1914, and the company adopted the name The Greyhound Corporation in 1929.)
Interesting enough, according to the Roman law, Mary didn't have to go with Joseph for the tax census; but it made sense for her to go with Joseph, especially because she was in the latter stages of a controversial pregnancy-surely the subject of much gossip in Nazareth.
You see it was the night before………..
"It is possible that Joseph only used the emperor's order as a means of removing Mary from possible gossip and emotional stress in her own village. He had already accepted her as his wife
(Matthew 1:24), but apparently continued in betrothal (Luke 2:5), pledged to be married, till after the birth." In short, he did not consummate the marriage until after Mary gave birth.
From everything that is told to us, we can tell that Mary is all alone as she brings this child into the world. This young woman was completely separated from all her family and friends, back in Nazareth.
I remember when our last grandson was born, I think I counted 14 people gathered around hours after the birth. But Mary only had Joseph.
It says that Jesus – our Lord – Our savior -- was wrapped in swaddling cloths Swaddling cloths are snugly wrapped strips of cloth or to give you a vivid picture, He was wrapped in rags. And He was laid in a manger-a feeding trough for animals.
As we continue to read in Luke 2:8
8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night.
9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
10 And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army of angels praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.”
NKJV reads: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
An angel of the Lord stood before the shepherds: Interrupting this quiet, dark night was the shining presence of angels and the glory of the Lord. The angels brought good tidings (literally it means that they preached the gospel) to these shepherds, who were regarded as social outcasts.
To the shepherds the angels announced the birth of a Savior, which is exactly what mankind needs. We didn't need another advisor, another reformer, or a committee, what we needed was a Savior.
After the single angel's announcement, a whole group of angels appeared. This was a heavenly host that proclaimed peace. The world needed then and it needs peace now.
15 When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 And they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
Well, the shepherds did come and see the child Jesus.
Thing was these men didn't hesitate at all.
The angel told them to look for a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger (Luke 2:12). It wasn't an unusual sign to see a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths, but it was strange to see a baby lying in a manger - a feeding trough. If the angel had not told them to look for such a specific sign, they would never have believed it.
This was a strange sight!
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Luke 2:17–20 “17 When they had seen Him, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it were amazed about the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.”
..... The shepherds spread the news of Jesus' birth. The scriptures says in verse 19 that Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart……
(Don’t Read)
Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
As the Word says Mary had good reason to meditate. What had brought her to Bethlehem? An emperor's great decree from Rome, and gossiping tongues in Nazareth.
As I close, need I want to remind you of this truth ....
the Truth is that God works through all kinds of people and all kinds of events to accomplish His plan.
From all of my family to all of yours "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" Merry Christmas.
PRAY……………………….