Comfort and Salvation
Notes
Transcript
The Real Birth
The Real Birth
A few years ago, I had a chance to spend a couple weeks in Israel and it forever changed the way I look at the events of Christmas. I going to sound like the Grinch but you know all those Christmas pageants and movies like the one we just saw, well, it probably didn’t happen like that. In fact, if you look at the Scriptures and the historical and cultural context, in all likelihood, Mary and Joseph were probably not turned away from over crowded inns with no vacancy and Jesus was not born in a stable or a barn but in the comforts of a modest home filled with long-time friends and family. There is a lot of our own tradition and culture that has seeped into the modern celebration of Christmas but some of it is not consistent with what you actually read in the Scriptures.
Luke 2:
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,
Essentially, Joseph went back to his hometown so that the Roman government could register everyone in their empire. In a small town like Bethlehem, he would have had deep roots there and generations of his extended family would have still been there. It was known as the city of David and Joseph was in the lineage of David so it’s inconceivable that he would not have had a place to stay. Many people in the town would have known him and we assume that that someone would have gladly housed Joseph along with his pregnant wife Mary.
So where did we get these misconceived ideas about Jesus’ birth? Well, it comes from a misreading of .
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 inn.
The main word that is in question is the word that is translated as an ‘inn’ in our English translation. When we think of that word from a modern point of view, we assume that it is a commercial business that takes in travelers. Now inns did exist in the ancient middle east but it is usually referred to by a different word. The word that we see in this passage in the original Greek is the word, kataluma, which literally means a guest room. In excavations of ordinary homes from that time period, you would see something like this diagram.
So when we read that there was no room, it meant that the guest room was occupied because so many people were forced to come go back to their home town by the occupying Roman government. Because the house was so crowded, for the sake of privacy, Mary might have been moved to this lower area of the house where the animals were kept for safety at night but as soon as Jesus was born, he was taken up into the main living area where there was usually a built in manger for feeding the animals but at the same time would have made a great crib. Back in the day there was no such thing as Graco or a Snu crib, so people made due with what they had.
The scene that the shepherds would have observed was Jesus being born in a crowded home surrounded by extended family and friends and when they delivered their message that this child would be a sign of hope and peace, there were many who heard the good news. As we read:
And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John,
The reason why the shepherds returned glorying and praising God was that they knew that their messiah, their Savior was born just as the angels declared and that He was safe and in good hands. In a culture that so highly values hospitality, it is really unthinkable that the shepherds would have been okay that any young couple would have to give birth outside in a stable let alone one of their own giving birth to a child that they believed represented the future of their nation. Just as King David was born in this small town and grew up to be greatest king in Israel’s history, they believed that this infant would follow in that lineage.
Fortunately, for Christians our misunderstandings of Jesus’ birth doesn’t radically change our beliefs but it does highlight why there is so much confusion about who He is and why He was born in our current world. If those in the church often don’t have our facts correct, how can we expect those outside of the church to see the Christmas story as being more than myth and tradition. This morning before Christmas, I want us to look at the next section of to understand the reasons why Jesus was born.
Luke 2:
Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
There are three points I want to draw out of this passage:
Jesus was born to comfort His people.
Jesus was born to save His people.
Jesus was born to reveal the heart of all people.
We would all like to believe that Jesus was born on a quiet peaceful winter night in history. But the fact of the matter is Jesus was born in a time of great upheaval and violence. The world that Jesus was born into is largely foreign to us because we don’t know what it feels like to be under the oppressive rule of a conquering army. But could you imagine being forced against your will to travel back to your hometown so that your enemies could count you, register you in their books, so that they could track you down if you caused any trouble. Some of the stories I hear from people in former communist countries, I think comes close to the fear and anger that were very palpable and felt by everyone in the nation of Israel. After all, how would you feel if the government ordered troops into our church service today and ordered the execution of anyone who took communion. But that is exactly the scene that Luke describes later in the book:
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Luke
But not only did you have Pilate but you had a mad man known as Herod who ordered the murder of any baby boy under 2 because he had heard that the new king of Israel had been born. From all these things, we see that Jesus was born into a deeply broken world so that He could bring comfort to all who mourn, to those who have suffered the violence of this world, and who have had to endure under the weight of oppression and unspeakable loss. We see that this man, Simeon, who is described as being righteous and devout had waited his entire adult life to see the consolation of Israel and as a reward for his faithfulness, God gave him enough years to see the birth of this baby who not only would bring comfort to the people of Israel but to everyone who would believe in Him as their Savior. Jesus was born to comfort all of us.
Jesus was born to comfort us.
But Jesus goes so much further than simply comforting us because He was also born to save us. When you understand the history of Israel at this time, you can see why they were looking for a Messiah but their idea of salvation was largely a hope of a political leader, a new king that could deliver them from the oppressive rule of the Romans. Given what they were going through who could blame them for wanting a more visible and more political form of salvation. Most Israelites were looking for national liberation rather than personal salvation.
Think about this, for someone who is being oppressed or who is a victim of injustice, the last thing that you are thinking about is your own sin because naturally your thoughts and your anger are fixed on the sins of your oppressors, the ones that have inflicted pain on you. You don’t think about being saved from your own sin because what seems more urgent is to be saved from the sins of others. This is what makes the salvation of Jesus so different and so unexpected. In Matthew, we find out why Joseph and Mary gave Jesus his name. The angel Gabriel came to Joseph in a dream and told him:
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
From this we learn that the salvation that Jesus offers isn’t something that people naturally want but his salvation is something that all of us need. In the face of turmoil, upheaval, violence, and oppression people don’t naturally become more moral, more loving, or even better human beings. They tend to become more selfish, resentful, angry, bitter, and jaded. They react against the brokenness of the world and instead of making it better, they add their own brokenness to it. Sin begets sin and eventually the oppressed turn into the oppressors. Sadly, this is how the unredeemed human heart operates. And for that reason, Jesus tells us not to focus on the sins of others but to look at the sin in our own lives. His salvation isn’t just about delivering us from bad circumstances, his salvation is about saving us from ourselves, so that in Him we can overcome the world, no matter what it has to throw at us. In the gospel of John, we learn how a saving relationship with Jesus can give us the strength to endure through the pain and struggles of life.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
In the end, it is this relationship with Jesus that brings us the greatest comfort because he promises us salvation no matter how difficult things get.
Conclusion
Conclusion
In the second part of what Simeon says, we learn how Jesus saves us. He gives Mary this cryptic message about how this child will cause the fall and the rise of many, and that his life and ministry would be opposed , but through this the hearts of all people would be revealed. And in parentheses, Simeon tells Mary something that no mother wants to hear about their newborn baby, he tells her that because of what will happen to her Son, it will feel like her very soul was pierced by a sword. In the Protestant church because we are so afraid of deifying Mary like the Catholic church, we tend to go to the opposite extreme and we undervalue the rightful place of Mary in the gospel. She is truly blessed among all women because she alone was chosen to give birth to the Son of God. Like any ordinary mother, she nursed him, watched him say his first words, held his hand as he took his first steps, consoled him as he cried, she taught him what she knew about God. I’m sure she grew to love him deeply as any mother would for her firstborn son. And on this night in which He was born, little did she know of the pain that her son would have to endure. That in 30 years time, her son would be led to the cross to die for the sins of the world. She would watch him being tortured and crucified although he was without sin and lived a perfect life of love. It is hard to imagine the pain of watching one of your children die but that is exactly what Mary endured and I’m sure it must of felt like a sword pierced through her very soul.
And if the story ended there, it would be tragic. Although it may bring us some level of comfort to know that Jesus suffered for us yet at the same time His death alone does not save us. It is what happens three days later that completes his salvation on our behalf. He not only died for our sin but he fulfilled His promise to overcome the world by rising from the grave, nullifying the pain of death and giving eternal life to all who believe. Today this message of Jesus’ death and resurrection still serve to reveal the hearts of all people. For those who reject this message, it is a rejection of God’s love and his offer of comfort and salvation. There is no other God who would dare to make such an incredibly powerful sacrifice of love. There is no other demonstration of divine love like this one. But for all who believe, it is the beginning of an eternal life filled with His love, grace, and joy! And in this Christmas season, we are reminded that God offers this priceless gift through the birth of His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but will have eternal life.
