The First Christmas-The Overlooked and Unaccepted Thrive.

You know, here in 2020, with the benefit of.....well 2020 hindsight, we hold those that were a part of the Christmas story in high regard. Joseph & Mary, the Baby Jesus, the Shepherds and of course the Wise Men are all esteemed highly. But if we went back to the very first Christmas, probably the only set of characters who would have received esteem and admiration in their day and age would be the wise men, and there is a good chance they did not even make their debut in the story until almost 2 years later. The truth is, the characters from that first Christmas night were largely Overlooked and Unaccepted. Which, if I am honest with you, is really one of the things I love most about it, because that represents the vast majority of us.

For the next few minutes, let’s take a brief loo at the characters involved that first Christmas night. To begin with, we will look at:

The Unsuspecting Lead Characters. Luke 1:26-38; 2:24

Had you asked almost anyone in 1975 who Sylvester Stallone was, most would have stared back at you blankly. Oh, sure, there may have been a few that would have said, “Didn’t he have a role in Lords of the Flatbush?” But most had no idea who he was. Ask the same question towards the end of 1976 and everyone knew, and most would have gone out looking for a side of beef to punch! That’s because the number 1 film in 1976 was the movie Rocky. Rocky was filmed on a less than 1 million dollar budget. The main reason it had such a low budget was because the star was almost completely unknown. In fact the only reason he was the star was he refused to go with any studio that wouldn’t let him play the lead role! The reason he could make such a demand was because he wrote the script! Now he is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. You see, when you write the script, you can pick the lead characters.

The author of the Christmas Story is the God of the Universe, and as you might expect, His own Son plays the lead role. We are pretty much all familiar with that lead character, but on this Christmas Eve, I want us to look at the other lead characters in this story. We see the first 2 in Luke 1:26-38, where we read:

Luke 1:26–38 ESV

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 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 bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

So, the first two lead characters are:

Mary & Joseph.

In reading Lukes account of the birth of Jesus, we know virtually nothing of Mary before Jesus was born, except that she was an engaged virgin. Based on what we know of history at that time, that put her somewhere between the age 12-13. She was just a poor girl from a town that was looked down on by everyone in that region.

We also know almost nothing of Joseph, except that he was a carpenter by trade, and like Mary, he was very poor. We know they were poor because of what they brought for an offering in the temple, 8 days after Jesus birth. The required sacrifice for all but the poor was a “one year old lamb and a young turtle dove or pigeon.” Those that were very poor could substitute one turtle dove or pigeon for the lamb. Which is exactly what we see Joseph and Mary do.

Luke 2:24 ESV

24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

No one but God would have ever picked this young couple to play lead roles in their story. Yet that is exactly what we see God do in His story. Mary and Joseph would have been the “Overlooked” in the eyes of most inn those days.

That brings us to the next set of Lead characters:

The Unaccepted. Luke 2:8-20

Perhaps the most baffling of characters in the Christmas story are those we read of in Luke 2:8-20.

Luke 2:8–20 ESV

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 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. 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. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

God chooses shepherds. What a curious choice? I mean most shepherds were on the low end of the totem pole in many ways, and these shepherds worked the night shift! Not exactly a lofty position. Additionally, shepherds were generally outcasts, not even permitted to go to the temple, not even allowed to give testimony in a court of law. They were looked down upon and not trusted. Yet of all the choices He had as recipients of this the most important of all messages, He chose shepherds. Have you ever wondered why? I’d like to give you 2 reasons why, I’m sure there may be several others, but I think these 2 give us a vivid picture of the reality of what the future held for Jesus.

The 1st reason is:

Jesus Was The Good Shepherd.

We see this in John 10:11 where Jesus is speaking and declares of Himself:

John 10:11 ESV

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

We also see this in Micah 5:3-4

Micah 5:3–4 ESV

3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. 4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

Shepherds had a unique relationship with their sheep. They lived with the sheep, walked with the sheep, talked with the sheep, slept out in the elements with the sheep. They continually put themselves in harm’s way to protect the sheep and were willing to lay down their life, if need be to save the sheep. When all was said and done, that was exactly what Jesus did. He walked with us as He walked with the disciples. He talked with us as He left us His Word, and He still talks with us today as well. He experienced life in much the same way we experience life. And in the end, he put Himself in harm’s way when He laid down His life for us, His sheep. Jesus was the Good Shepherd.

The second reason why I believe God chose shepherds was:

These were not ordinary shepherds.

We actually looked at this in Christmas 2018, but this is worth repeating.

Hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, Jewish Rabbi’s had established rules that shepherds were only permitted to raise their sheep in the wilderness, far away from Jerusalem. The only exception was sheep raised for the temple sacrifice. Bethlehem, being between 5-6 miles from Jerusalem, was designated as the area where sheep were raised for the temple sacrifice. It was these shepherds near Bethlehem, raising lambs for the temple sacrifice that received the message from the angel of God. That, in and of itself makes these shepherds special....

But wait, there’s more...

Many historians and theologians also believe that these shepherds had rabbinical training and may even have been from the priestly Levite tribe. Perhaps you may be wondering why this would be important? Because since these were lambs being raised for temple sacrifice, they had to be examined carefully to make sure they were without blemish, only unblemished lambs could be used for the temple sacrifice. These shepherds knew how to carefully examine lambs destined to be sacrificed, lambs who were quite literally born to die a sacrificial death. As I said a few moments ago, these were not ordinary shepherds.

So, here they are in this Biblical account, sent, as it were, to examine yet One more Lamb, destined for the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. The Spotless Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world.

These are the Overlooked and Unacceptable characters God chose to play the lead roles in His story. Which brings us to us today. You know, He has also given each of us significant roles to play in His story. And like Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds, we are largely Overlooked and Unacceptable in the eyes of most in this world. Yet to us He has given the role of delivering His message to the world He created. A message we are ill equipped to deliver, so because of that He says to us:

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

That Baby, born and laid in a manger, that He might one day die on a rugged cross, that spotless Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, promises to be with us as we deliver this His story.

None of the characters in this Biblical account ever seriously considered refusing the role God placed before them, my prayer this Christmas 2020 is that we will follow their lead and proclaim this, the most important of all messages now, and forever more.

Let’s close our time in prayer.