The Birthday of a King

It’s Christmas Eve!

Thank you all for coming out this evening as we gather to celebrate the greatest gift that God has ever given us. God sent Jesus to us about 2,000 years ago to solve our biggest problem.

That’s the thing about problems, when we have them, we tend to seek out specialists to solve those problems. If there is something wrong with our vehicles, we take them to a mechanic to solve it. If we are sick, we go to the doctor. If there is something wrong with our eyes, we can seen an ophthalmologist. There are all of these little problems that can be solved by humans. But what if you are dead? Then we have a God sized problem that only God can fix. From the very beginning, as soon as sin entered our lives, we had a God sized problem that only He could fix. God sent His Son to solve that problem for us. He chose to send His Son, not in power and glory, but as a helpless baby.

Luke 1:26–33 CSB

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.” But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. Then the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 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. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”

This is great news for the world, but there is a bit of a problem here for Mary. She is not married. She is engaged to Joseph, though so she is going to have to break this news to him. Some folks wonder why Joseph did not just call things off with her. No one would have looked at him like he was a bad guy. I have actually heard people say some pretty mean things about Joseph and his choice to stay with Mary. Joseph was an honorable man. He did not want to bring her any shame, so he was going to divorce her in private. However, he did not just have her word for it.

If we jump over to Matthew, we learn this in Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew 1:18–25 CSB

The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.

Back in those days, being engaged was a bit different than it is today. Joseph and Mary were essentially married as far as legal terms go, that is why the Scripture says he was going to divorce her in private. However, he hears from an angel that he is to stay with her. She is carrying the Messiah, the One that was prophesied about so long ago. That is why he takes her with her when Caesar Augustus makes the call for everyone to answer the census.

Please turn to Luke 2:1-20

Luke 2:1–20 CSB

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.” Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors! When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.

When we read this story, we tend to think that there were a lot of different hotels to stay at, but that was not the case in the ancient near east. We have this idea that their was an inn and the innkeeper kept them out. That is not how things worked back then. They could not book a room on expedia or hotels.com or whatever people use these days. When people traveled, they were reliant on the kindness of family in the area or other strangers. Since there were many people coming to the area to register for this census, odds are they could not find anywhere to stay, but there was someone willing to let them stay in their animal shelter. Perhaps if anyone had known that Mary was carrying the Messiah, they would have made room for her and her family. But no one knows the glory that is in their presence.

So we see Joseph and Mary have gone to Bethlehem because of a decree that everyone be registered in their hometown.  Joseph and Mary had residence in Nazareth, but had to go the Bethlehem because that is where Joseph’s family was from.  Not only was he from Bethlehem, he was also from the line of king David.  We see two important pieces of prophecy fulfilled in this very first bit of Scripture.  Why does the prophecy matter?  Because it shows that Jesus is in fact the Messiah.  One way to look at prophecy is like we view a telephone number.  If we dial in the 1 for our country code, we are eliminating all other countries in who we are trying to reach.  Then we dial the 276 are code, now we are making it even more precise to show that we are dialing someone in a specific part of Virginia.  The Bible clearly states that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, so that knocks out the possibility of anyone being born outside of Bethlehem as Savior.  It becomes even more refined when we say that it is from David’s lineage.  Now, ancestry also helps to separate the Messiah from anyone else.  Jesus was no ordinary baby, but He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger because there was no room for Him.  No one had been prepared for the Messiah’s arrival.  No one was waiting for Him to be born.  Instead, He was born into this world with little fanfare, no one except for Mary and Joseph knowing that the greatest gift God would ever give us was about to be born.  So the God of the universe was born that night in Bethlehem.  The God of the universe condescended Himself, gave up His glory, and came down to be as a mortal man.  Not only that, but He came in the form of a helpless baby. 

         He came in the form of a human because up to this point, no one was able to see how they can relate to The Lord.  God sent an example to His creation because if He had come in any other form, it would have scared the people to death!  It is similar to the story of the man watching sparrows trying to get into his house at night because of the cold.  It’s snowing out and the sparrows need to find warmth, so the man goes and opens the door to the barn.  They can go in there and keep warm for the night, but none of the birds go in.  Try as he might, the man goes and tries to coax them to go in, but none of them will go because every time the man comes out, he scares them!  The man thought, if only I could become like a bird and show them the way to the barn.  That’s what we see here.  God becomes a man so that He can show us the way to get to heaven.  He shows us the perfect and excellent way to The Lord.  Mary and the baby rest while I am certain Joseph kept a watchful eye over the two. 

         Meanwhile, another group was keeping watch.  The shepherds were out in the field keeping watch at night.  Shepherds were a pretty rough and tumble kind of group.  They didn’t fear a whole lot.  They would fight off wild animals to keep their sheep safe.  Unfortunately, shepherds during the time of Christ’s birth were despised.  It was a lonely occupation that caused them to keep odd hours. 

         As a man that has stood countless hours of watch in the middle of the night, I can say that it is a pretty miserable situation.  It’s not fun at all, I can assure you.  Yet these men remain diligent in keeping the watch over the flock.  The sheep they were protecting were not just ordinary sheep.  These sheep that were kept in these fields are the sheep that would be used in the annual sacrifice in Jerusalem.  They are watching over the sheep that will one day be sacrificed to cover up their sin and the sin of other people.

         Suddenly an angel shows up and they are all terrified!  This big group of burly men, their hearts are pounding, their pulses racing, they are probably sweating bullets at this point not knowing what to do.  The angel sees their fear and proclaims, “Don’t be afraid!”  Don’t be afraid, I bring you tidings of great joy.  Today a Savior, who is Messiah, was born to you in the city of David. 

         These men that were keeping watch over the flocks of sheep that would be sacrificed at the temple, these men that were despised by common folks for being in what was considered a lowly profession, they were the first ones to receive the great news of joy.  The angel didn’t visit kings or conquerors first.  The angel didn’t go to Herod first or the emperor to give this news.  Instead, God sent the angel to the shepherds in the field.  Let’s not lose sight of this. God decided to let the shepherds know, specifically the shepherds charged with keeping watch over the sacrificial atonement lambs. To a degree it is interesting because God sends the angel to let them know that they are essentially out of a job. However, the truly remarkable thing is that God made the announcement first to the shepherds, the underdogs of society. They were looked down on. They smelled pretty bad because they went for long periods of time without bathing. But God chooses them to be the first ones to hear the great news. The king is born, but it’s not announced to the general population, it’s announced to the dredges of society.

         When the angel delivered the news, suddenly a great company of angels was around them and they all sang, Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!  All of that celebration and singing, but then something happens.  The angels leave. 

         Angels always leave eventually.  They don’t stick around the entire time.  When the angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar in the desert, he was only there for a short while.  When Gabriel gave Mary the news about the baby she would deliver, he was only there for a short while.  Same thing with David.  The angel was there and then is gone. It’s up to the people left behind to do the work. 

         So these shepherds abandon their post. They don’t say, “let’s wait until we can pen up the sheep” or “Hey, you stay here and watch the sheep so that we can go and see this baby”. They are not worried about their job. Instead, they are worried about making it to the Newborn King. Their priority is not their job, their priority is making it to Christ. They knew that something much more important had come and He deserved their utmost attention.

How do we respond? Do we go to God when we have everything else taken care of? Is God our top priority or do we get to Him when we have time? My hope and prayer this Christmas season and every day is that we put Christ first and let everything else fall into place from there. Putting Jesus last is not just a new phenomena, it has been happening for a long time. Even when He walked the earth, there were those that wanted to take care of life before they followed Him. Matthew 8:21–22 ““Lord,” another of his disciples said, “first let me go bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.””  

The man’s dad was not dead. He wanted to wait until his father passed after several years and THEN follow Christ. My brothers and sisters, if we want true life, Christ should be our priority. He is the source of everything good. When we put Him first, everything else falls into place. The shepherds knew it and the wise men knew it, but not many others did.

         Just as the shepherds went and told people what they had seen, just like they carried on with the work the angels started, as believers, we are invited to do the same thing.  We are invited to join The Lord as He does His work on earth. 

         One thing that struck me about the reaction of the shepherds is the way they just abandoned their post without any provision.  That is normally something you don’t do when you are on watch.  It is actually one of the general orders of a sentry.  To quit my post only when properly relieved.  These men didn’t find a suitable replacement to take the watch.  Instead, they abandoned their post, not concerned about the flock they were watching.  Not concerned about the ire they would face in the event the sheep were stolen or slaughtered by a wild animal.  Instead, these men saw the priority of the Messiah’s birth and ran to see Him.

         I hope and pray that during this Christmas celebration, we will abandon the things of this world, abandon the things that don’t have any real importance, but that we instead cling to what really matters.  I am sure that many of you are at home with the nice and lovely tree, with beautifully wrapped presents beneath the tree.  Many of us will hold to our normal family traditions this evening.  For me and our tradition, I will read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas to my children before I put them in bed and then I will sit down and watch A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott in it.  That, in my opinion is the best version of the story.  Last year Ann Worley let me know that George C. Scott is from our little neck of the woods in Southwest Virginia, so now I like it even more.  We will head to bed for our long winter’s nap, then we will wake up to presents and merry making and we will celebrate the birth of our Lord.  Even if we did not read the book or watch the movie.  Even if we wake up in the morning and there are no gifts under the tree or a big fanciful feast to eat, we will still have cause to make merry.  The gifts are nice, the treats are nice, the food is nice, but it’s not important.  What is important that God so loved the world that 2000 years ago, He sent His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.  That’s what Christmas is all about.  My hope and prayer is that we focus on Christ’s importance, not just tonight and tomorrow, but every day of our lives.