Advent 3rd Sunday: A Savior For All Nations

Light the third Advent Candle

A Savior is Born

Has this story ever gotten old for you? Have you ever thought, “Oh Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. It’s a kid’s story.”

You see the manger scenes and hear “Away in a manger”, and you think, oh that’s nice. That’s sweet. And you just sort of pass it off.

I know that I’ve done that in the past. Still do at times. Oh, it’s a sweet story and all.

I mean, who doesn’t like when a baby is born? I count it an amazing privilege to have witnessed the birth of all 3 of my children. Such an incredible miracle.

But back to our story today.

I guess I’m asking, “does this story still strike you somewhere deeper. Deeper than just the warm fuzzies of having a new baby born?”

I hope it does. I pray that it does.

I’ve often wondered why Luke is the only one to tell this story in this way in the Bible.

I know that each of the Gospel writers were writing to a different audience with different purposes.

But to me, the account of Jesus birth is so remarkable that I think I still might want to slip it in somewhere.

Our two weary travelers finally arrive in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Joseph’s ancestor, David.

Their feet hurt. Their legs ache.

Many pictures that you see show Mary perched “comfortably” on the back of a donkey. I sort of doubt that picture for a couple of reasons.

Besides the fact that the Bible doesn’t talk about how they traveled.

People seem to agree that it was probably faster to travel without a donkey, due to their stubborn nature. People that have experience with these creatures say that when a donkey decides it’s had enough, it will stop and nothing you do will persuade him to go any farther. So using a donkey to go long distances was many times impractical.

I’ve never ridden a donkey, but people that have, say that they are extremely uncomfortable to ride for any period of time. Maybe for a short distance, but for a long trip, it wasn’t a great traveling experience!

It’s about 90 miles from Nazareth to Galilee. It might have taken them a week to travel this distance.

Mary is pregnant. How far along in her pregnancy she is, we don’t know. She is carrying extra weight: a baby in her womb.

When they stop to eat, her food is going to feed her and this baby inside of her, leaving her with depleted energy.

As they get further on their trip, she has to stop more frequently to rest.

I imagine that they had started out from Nazareth with a group who all had to go to Bethlehem to register.

But because she has to stop more frequently, the rest of the group decided just to go on. And now Mary and Joseph are traveling by themselves.

But she is young, and determined. And Joseph is tender and patient. So she pushes through the pain and exhaustion.

And they arrive in Bethlehem, long after the others had already arrived, exhausted, dusty, looking for some place to sit and rest, wash up, have a decent meal, and a place to sleep,

Eventually they find a place to settle in and wait.

They are in the town of Joseph’s ancestors. It could be that they were staying with distant relatives, maybe packed into a common room with other distant relatives

Luke says that while they were there, her time came.

A baby boy is born.

Mary and Joseph rejoice. Their distant relatives rejoice with them over the safe delivery of a baby.

Even today with modern medicine, we don’t assume that all deliveries will go smoothly. We recognize that there is trauma and risk involved.

They certainly realized this back then. And so everyone was happy and congratulated Mary and Joseph.

And Mary took long strips of cloth and dried her baby off, wrapped Him securely, and laid Him down in the manger. Maybe a bit of hay was in there to make a soft cushion.

And there lay Baby Jesus. Only Mary and maybe Joseph knew who this Baby really was.

But for the relatives and those who witnessed this birth, He was Baby Jesus, asleep on the hay

And for many people in the world today, that’s where He still is.

Cute, warm, cuddly Baby Jesus asleep in the hay.

In the minds of many people, Jesus has never grown up. He’s still a Baby in the hay. And they check up on Him at Christmas time to make sure that He’s still there and comfortable.

But that’s not who Jesus was destined to be.

Because outside, unknown to Mary and Joseph and their distant relatives, there is something else going on.

Unknown to any of them, this Baby is getting a birth announcement unlike any baby before that time or since that time.

In a dark, quiet field outside of town, a group of shepherds are watching over their sheep. Trying to stay alert for anybody who might want to get a free sheep for his meal the next day

Or any night prowlers wanting an immediate taste of fresh lamb.

When suddenly their dark world is shattered in light

An angel, a being from another world appears, bathed in glorious and heavenly light

The light is indescribable! Not only in its intensity, but in it’s beauty. The depth of color and the blending of color could only be described as the glory of the Lord

Something rarely seen by human eyes. Except for people like Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and later John.

The shepherds are terrified.

I imagine that they are very surprised, yes

But it’s more than that. They are seeing the glory of the Lord!

And when someone sees the glory of the Lord, there is fear and terror. Just like Isaiah felt. when he said, “I’m a dead man! I’ve seen God, the Lord of Hosts!”

The shepherds know that they are seeing something holy

But the angels words are just as wonderful and awesome!

After reassuring them and telling them not to be afraid, he makes the birth announcement of the ages

Here it is:

It’s good news

Of course it is! We’ve already said that we love the news of a new baby!

I have 3 children. When they were born, what do you think I did? call my folks and say, “I regret to inform you that you have another grandchild”. NO!

When each of my children were born, I couldn’t wait to call and tell my parents and friends. I was so proud, I felt my buttons would burst.

This good new is that a baby is born who will bring great joy!

Joy to his mother and father

Joy to his grandparents and relatives.

But not just to them

This good news of great joy will be for all people.

Wow, this really narrows it down, doesn’t it?

There is only one Baby, one Person, whose coming could be great news and bring joy to all people.

There’s no doubt who we are talking about.

When God made His convenant with Abraham, He said that through Abraham, ALL the families on earth would be blessed

And the OT prophesies tell us that the redemptive plan of God would include ALL the nations of the earth. All the different people groups and ethnic groups would be included in this!

This indeed is good news for ALL people!

And that is one of the things that the Jewish people forgot. They thought the Messiah would be only a Jewish Messiah.

This Baby is going to be The Savior. He’s going to be the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One

This Baby is going to make all the difference in the world!

He is the One you have been waiting for for thousands of years!

He’s the One who will save, not only the Jewish people, but all the people of the earth!

Save from what? Save them from their sins. (as the angel told Joseph in Matthew)

There is truly hope for those who feel trapped by their own wickedness, unable to please God, no matter how hard they try!

God’s salvation for His people has come!

Eight days later, Mary and Joseph take their Baby to the temple for the ritual of circumcision.

And there is an old man by the name of Simeon living in Jerusalem.

Living, as all of God’s chosen people should have been living: waiting for the consolation of Israel. Waiting for the time when the nation would be comforted from the trials that they had faced.

The Holy Spirit had told him that before he died, he would see the Chosen One, the Annointed One.

Every day he woke up and wondered, is this the day when I will see the Messiah.

Until one day, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Get up, go to the temple! This is the day you have been waiting for”

Simeon’s rushed as fast as his old legs could carry him to the temple.

Upon entering the courtyard, his heart leaps for joy. There, making their way across the courtyard, is a young man. At his side is a young woman with a baby in her arms.

Barely able to contain his excitement, he reaches out, gently takes the Baby from his mother’s arms and praises God and says,

“Lord, Now, I can die in peace just as You have said. Because now I have seen your salvation that you prepared in the presence of all people. This salvation will be a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for the glory of your people Israel.”

This confirmed what the angel told Mary about this child

It confirmed what the angels told the shepherds.

This baby, is indeed a baby like no other!

He is THE Savior for ALL NATIONS.

The Great and Eternal King.

But One who would submit to His Father’s will and complete a work which would save all nations from their sins.

What a baby!

What a Savior!

But for many people, despite all that we have see here, Jesus is still Baby Jesus asleep on the hay.

So many people either do not know their need for a Savior, or worse yet, they do know, but have denied their need for a Savior.

Some people, many people, have only heard this story, about how Jesus was born. They see the manger scene by the side of the road, and think, “Oh, how sweet”.

But they don’t know the rest of the story of how He lived and served

How He died for them so that they could be right with their Creator

And how He rose again, conquering death so that we can have abundant, everlasting life.

Some people simply just don’t know that.

But worse yet, there are others who know this. They do know the rest of the story.

But They are content to leave Jesus asleep on the hay. He’s a lot safer that way.

Because if we are like Simeon who recognized Jesus for ALL that He is, the Savior of the Nations, then that demands a response from us:

a personal response to receive Him as our Savior

And missional response. To introduce Him as Savior to all nations

And for many people, that is too much to deal with. So they leave Him asleep on the hay.

Which is it for you and me?

As we celebrate His birth this Christmas season, amazing as that birth was, as glorious as the announcement to the shepherds was, let’s not leave Him there on the hay.

Let’s be like Simeon and rejoice that He is The Savior for All Nations!