Come They Told Me - Luke 2:6-20

Outline

Introduction

Personal story about having to tell mom the true meaning of Christmas

Nativity scenes have stirred us wrong. They show the magi or otherwise called wisemen who followed a star and presented gifts unto Jesus. Thus we focus so much on receiving and getting gifts at Christmas.

The nativity scenes show the magi presenting gifts to Jesus. And because your at Mt. Sinai where we preach and teach the Bible you should know the Bible does not say there were three wisemen. It was suggested that since there were three gifts presented of gold, frankincense, and myrrh that there were only three… but the Bible does not say.

The nativity scenes common to us also show the baby Jesus in a manger. But by the time the magi got to Jesus he was likely two years old. In fact, Matthews account in 2:11 says they came into the house… not the manger.

We discover by the word of God then that upon celebrating the birth of Jesus while gift giving is great - it is not the primary objective of why we celebrate.

Explanation

The text begins with an invitation to see Christ the Lord

The invitation is to shepherds who were among the lowest class it was like working at McDonalds - nobody wanted to work as a shepherd unless they had to. Most of the shepherds were born into it. The pay was low and the labor was hard.

The shepherds were often dishonest usurping land that wasn’t theres

The shepherds stayed up at all watches of the night to ensure the sheep were safe.

The invitation to experience the birth of the Savior, Christ the Lord was extended to the lowest of the low.

The shepherds taking heed to the words of the angel meant they had to leave their work…

I know you’ve got a good paying job… but there are times in your life where God will require you to take a pause from that good paying job to come and see Jesus. There are times when God says I want you all to myself; I want to talk to you; I want to show you something.

Some of you if you’re like me you do your shopping last minute. I was in the mall yesterday and just had to get out because I don’t do large crowds. But every now and again you’ve got to leave the business of work, the hustle and bustle in the shopping center and carve out time to see Jesus

You’ve got to trust that when God is saying come spend sometime with me that He will take care of the sheep. God calls the shepherd of many lambs to come and see the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.

Joy to the world the Lord is come, let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare him room.

Watch the text… In verse 9, the angel comes to the shepherds. In verse 15, the angel leaves the shepherds…

An invitation to take God at His word

Angel in this text means messenger - meaning that the angel is not the originator of the message but the mail man.

When the angel comes to deliver the message, the angel does not stay. So the shepherds have got to make the choice to either hear the message about Jesus from somebody else… or accept the invitation and go see for themselves.

An invitation to see an unconventional sight

Swaddling clothes - may have been many babies wrapped in swaddling clothes

Chances are there would be none in a manger.

The angel tells them they will find Christ the Lord in a manger

If you never knew what a manger is its an open box where horses and cattle eat from

Many of you like me have a child or children… and you would never even fathom the birth of your child taking place at a farm or a zoo

Luke 2 opens up saying that Caesar Augustus made a decree to tax the world. So that’s why Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem in the first place… There was no room in the inn because the town was crowded as a result of the decree.

But the deeper issue here that the text reveals is that there was no care or concern for a pregnant woman that someone else would give up their room in the inn for the sake of a pregnant woman…

Could it be that Christmas is an invitation to see someone in a manger situation… Christmas really invokes a realization a newsflash to the manger - to the marginalized of society, the left out, the broken, those who are in situations like Mary and Joseph and Jesus that the hierarchy of the day got them in to and nobody cared enough to ensure this woman had a decent place to deliver the Savior.

If you could see the King of kings in the manger… you can see anybody in the manger. That’s the lesson in the manger is that Christ will have you coming to Him in obscure unexpected places so that you’ll stop looking over folk who are in manger type situations.

On our way to buy gifts and share gifts we drive by, walk by the marginalized of society without realizing that man on the street with no food, no clothes, no shoes could have been, should’ve been you but for the grace of God.

But the question that lies now is why would God choose the shepherds?

The Gospel of Matthew portrays the birth of Jesus through the lenses of Abraham. To his Jewish audience, they would need to understand that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham. But in the Gospel according to Luke, Luke traces Jesus back to the line of Adam. Adam was the son of God as he had no father or mother - he was created in the image of God. Jesus is the son of God but Jesus will show Adam how to properly deal with temptation. And so He shows these shepherds who have followed the pattern of the first Adam you might be the lower class of society and stuck in sin... but I will show you the way - in fact, I AM the way!

The shepherds were use to seeing dung, smelling all kinds of animal feces and so this sight to see Jesus in the manger where He laid would not be offensive or anything out of the norm.

So I appreciate the time my momma made me know what the true meaning of Christmas is… but if she had to ask me today I’d add something to it. I’d say the true meaning of Christmas is that Jesus Christ is born but before He showed Himself to the wisemen that were called to interpret dreams, and provide knowledge of science and astronomy to kings; He showed Himself to some shepherds…

I was just as dirty and raggedy as the shepherds....

But I like what the Prophet Isaiah said for unto us a child is born…

The other thing the text lets me know is that when I see Christ through this manger experience what He shows me I’ve got to go back to work.

I can’t be so spiritual that I’m not any earthly good

Then I go back glorifying and praising God

I glorify him because verse 14 told me that the only means of having peace is glorifying God

And I go pack glorifying and praising God because it was just as the angel said… And that means that God keeps His word

The presence of God will give you something to shout about. He’ll put clapping in your hands and dancing in your feet!

Closing

This Christmas I want you to know its okay to give gifts - the wisemen did do it. But more importantly I want you to remember Jesus in a manger.... Remember there are some folk in a manger of life…

and remember a God that will call some stinky, dirty, shepherds. Remember you were in some dirty, stinky situations but one day you came to Jesus…