The Birth of A King

Luke 2 plays out like the opening of a Shakespearean play; against the backdrop of the ancient Roman world Luke begins his account of the birth of Jesus by introducing us to the two main characters of the day Caesar Augustus and Jesus Christ. Luke 2:1 is the only mention of Caesar Augustus in Scripture, but make no mistake, friends, do not assume that just because he is mentioned in passing means he is of little importance, because nothing could be further from the truth.

Make no mistake, the presence of Caesar Augustus loomed large over the known world as Jesus came to Earth. It was his uncle, Julius Caesar, who was the first Roman leader to take on the name Caesar- literally meaning “like God”

Julius Caesar was the first Roman leader to be called "god" and "savior," which became dominant phrases in Roman Imperial theology. The idea behind these lofty titles was that while the Roman Republic collapsed in the first century BC, Julius Caesar but mostly his son Caesar Augustus resurrected Rome from the dead. And was Rome once a mere conglomerate of human effort, it rose as a divine being: the Holy Roman Empire!

At this point Caesar had risen to power in epic proportions-he was the sole ruler of the Roman world; and as far as anyone knew in that moment that was the entire world. No one, NO ONE was more powerful than Caesar Augustus.

And he certainly used his power! He quickly asserted his power and control over the known world and reshaped all of the government- culminating on what is now know as the Pax Romana- the Roman Peace- a 200 year period of history where Rome was in a state of unparalleled peace and prosperity across the land. And it all started with the rule of Caesar Augustus.

So, we have a man who has been made the center of authority across the known world; a man who ushered in peace and prosperity in an unprecedented way, a man who even adopted a name placing him on the same level as Roman gods....

Caesar Augustus had made it quite clear- he was a man who was trying to be a God.

The Nativity story starts with a man trying to be God in 2:1--- and in 2:7 the whole story changes because in the midst of a man trying to be a god----God became a man.

God became a man--- think of that for a moment.

Reflect on a few of these Scriptures:

Psl 104:5 says “He set the earth on its foundations, never to be moved”

The one who laid the foundations of the Earth, now laid in a feeding trough

Psl 121:4 says “Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

The one who never shuts his eyes, was napping in swaddling cloths.

Isa 40:28 says “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”

The one who is ageless just had his first birthday.

The one who is all powerful now must be carried by his mother.

Pls 139:19 “For you formed my inward parts;= you knitted me together in my mother's womb”

The one who formed Mary in her mothers womb; was formed in her bosom. Jesus formed the womb he would be formed in! How cool is that?

In that moment God because flesh- the eternal one stepped into our world to address our sin problem.

And make no mistake, friends, it was not all cute and cuddly.

It’s kind of poetic, isn’t it, that we worship today at the fair grounds, only a stones throw from the barn. We could walk out of this room and tour the barn pretty easily today. And I know that many of you are well acquainted with those barns. I have seen many of you in those barns and those barns are usually well maintained.

Fair week the stalls are all clean, the tack areas are kept up, the animals are groomed and cleaned, everything is in tip top shape… but Jesus was not born in a show barn; he was born in a working barn on the outskirts of town in the midst of everyday livestock.

There were no lights.

There was no running water.

There was no doctors or sterile birthing sweets; no cute blankets or swaddles- it was dirt, and hay, and all kinds of messy---- In the midst of a dark and dingy barn, on the fringes of a impoverished town on the wrong side of the track; an unmarried teenage girl and her fiance’- only a few months removed from considering divorcing her- held the Son of God.... it was not cute. It was messy and it was a scandal.

Jesus didn’t show up in a perfect place with everything put together- Jesus showed up in the mess.

You see, the gift of Christmas- the truth of Christmas is the presence of God with mankind; but that presence is not canceled because of circumstance.

Jesus shows up in the midst of a dark, dark world. No matter what picture Caesar Augustus tried to paint things were not perfect in the Kingdom. The Pax Romana was a peace treaty by force; one that empowered the torture and even death of anyone who dared speak up against the empire.

While royalty and people of power may have enjoyed a good and cushiony life; poverty and sickness were creeping higher and higher and many families lived in gross and substandard conditions.

Spirituality was also in grim conditions. It had been 400 years since God had spoken. Many people had abandoned the faith of their ancestors and left God in the rear view mirror.

This was not the Garden of Eden, this was not paradise. This was a world steeped in sin, and the son of God’s cries echoed from that cattle stall anyway.

Let’s face it, this world is still dark; and it is still broken. Our country is more divided than ever; senseless violence and pain run rampant; sin is embraced around every corner. The darkness is real and the darkness is all around us. But in the midst of that darkness we can claim the promise of Christmas declared for us in John 1:5

John 1:5 ESV

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

I’m betting many of us in this room are experiencing imperfect life right now. Many of us are living in the midst of pain and stress right now. You have tension in your family; you are dealing with the loss of a job; you are walking through a sickness; or you are going through Christmas without someone you love deeply. And in the midst of our pain and stress can can claim

John 1:5 ESV

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

This promise is true- Jesus will be present with us. We spend so much effort trying to clean it all up; make it all pretty; trying to make our lives “worthy” of the presence of God. We attempt to hide our sin or downplay out shortcomings; like God wont come to us if we are too messed up. We use the effort in energy we should be using worshipping God trying to meet some standard for God’s presence that does not exist.

After all, Jesus did not come into a place with gold and silver; cleaned and polished with all the pomp and circumstance; He came into the messy and dark; the filthy and the lowly. He was born in a barn- and many times my life feels a lot like a barn, how about you?

But never forget, friends, Caesar the Savior used his power to make the world his place- But Jesus the Savior made his palace the world.

Martin Luther King once said “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that”

Jesus enters the story of mankind to drive out darkness- to deal with sin. As John 3:17 tells us “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Jesus has come to save us; to redeem us; Christmas is about a great rescue mission from God- one where God sees hostages free and topples our enemies.

The celebration of Christmas is this- Jesus has come to save the world!!!

No, wait, that can’t be it, can it? Well, in a nutshell, yes. As a big idea, yes. As a way of understanding the universal implications of such a thing, yes. But, my friends, the central truth of the Gospel is something a little deeper than Jesus came to save the world- the deepest truth of Christmas is that Jesus came to save-----you.

Christmas means a little something more when we realize that the light is not just meant to be in the world, the light is meant to be in you. To drive out not just the darkness in the world, but the darkness is you; your heart; your mind- to illuminate your soul.

The reality is this friends, Jesus could be born in a manger in Bethlehem every hour for the rest of eternity, and if Jesus is never born in your heart, it makes no real difference for you.