The Perfectly Imperfect Times and Places Where Jesus Meets Us

Adjustments

Time and place adjustments to make bread at altitude

Starter stored in the perfect place

Making bread is a 2-day process

Make the dough, it rises.

Bake it in the oven (temp) and (time)

This is what you get.

The amount of time for the places in the steps of the process had to be adjusted to get the perfect loaf of bread. But, here it is.

This morning it’s the Xmas story. The time and the place was perfect for Jesus to start to do what He came to do.

The time He arrives is always perfect. The places He will meet us are perfectly imperfect because that is where we need Him most.

Immanuel. God w/ us.

Jesus meets us in the messes of the masses like the manger. He cleans us up, breaks our bad habits, and delivers us into our Promised Land, Heaven.

Usually, it’s December when we look at this passage. So, imagine snow on the ground and a chill in the air as we study the story of Jesus’s birth.

The Journey

Luke 2:1–5 NIV

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

The timing of this. At face value, It seems awful. How cruel of God to allow this to happen at this time. If God really cared about them, why did He let this happen?

Or, could He have caused it like this?

Mary has got to be about 38-40 weeks along in her pregnancy.

Caesar Augustus declared a census. The purpose was tax reform. New taxes. Always a popular subject.

The population of the Roman empire was growing. The land controlled was growing. So the infrastructure needs were growing.

Rome was known for their roads, cities, and military that the taxed citizens paid for. They needed more.

Rome didn’t recognize the tribal system of Israel. They taxed everyone according to where they owned property and how much they owned or had the rights to.

They didn’t care where the property rights came from. They just cared that you had them.

When Joshua led Israel into the PL, then assigned land to each of the tribes, that land was supposed to stay in the possession of the descendants of the original owners forever.

Judah was given the land that included Bethlehem and Jerusalem. All the descendants of Judah maintained their rights to the land even this long after it was assigned. The more descendants, the smaller the parcel.

David was from Bethlehem, in Judah.

Joseph and Mary, both descendants of David, had a claim to a small piece of land in Bethlehem. They owned no land in Nazareth. He was a poor carpenter.

So, they had to go. Not optional. They both had to go b/c they both were descendants of David and they knew their baby was about t/b born. They were not going to split up now.

Ironically, the taxes they will pay will provide the roads that Jesus will travel later, as well as Paul and the missionaries to take the gospel around the region. And the military will first provide their protection and later execute them making it possible for us to be saved.

It’s about 90 mi from Nazareth to Bethlehem. There are roads, but it’s pretty rugged. Steep ups and downs.

A little perspective. Imagine, a husband and wife, she’s 39 weeks pregnant. They are going to walk from Anthem to Munds Park. They have a donkey, that’s it.

I can do Anthem to MP in my GMC, 6.2 liter V-8, 8-speed transmission, in about 1.5 half and not even notice a downshift.

And, it’s air-conditioned.

A number of years ago we towed our camper from SB, IN to Yellowstone. We camped there for a week. Once you get into Yellowstone, there are 6 campground areas in a big circle around the park. They are all 20 mi apart. Do you know why?

B/C, when it was est’d in 1872, as a nat’l park, the primary means of travel was covered wagon. 20 mi was a day’s journey.

So, the idea was, once in the park, set camp, see the sites in the area, break camp, travel to the next campground, see those sites, etc...

A horse-drawn wagon can travel about 20 mi/day. So, Joseph and Mary, strolling w/ a donkey, would have traveled about 10 mi/day making it a 10-day to 2 week journey. Uphill, downhill. Pregnant. On a donkey.

Sometimes our journeys in life are hard but it does not mean that we are not exactly where God wants us to be. We may be in the right place even though it’s hard. Perfectly imperfect.

The timing was imperfect, but perfect. The place turned out to be perfect, too, to a point.

Bethlehem. Micah, in the OT, 5:2, predicted that Jesus would be born there. Something had to get Mary there on time.

Bethlehem, in Hebrew, means, the house of bread. That region is where most of the wheat is grown in Israel. It’s the bread basket.

The bread of life came from the house of bread.

The sovereignty of God, Caesar Augustus decided to declare a census, to raise taxes, to pay for the roads that Jesus would later travel, and pay for the military that would at first protect Him, later execute Him making it possible for us to be saved.

The time and the place were so perfect, yet so imperfect for them at the time.

As perfect as Bethlehem was, the young family ended up in about as nasty of a place as they could have. This was no place for king. But it was the perfectly imperfect place for our King.

The Mess

Luke 2:6–7 NIV

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

The place they would have looked for a room is not like the inns and hotels we may think of.

Normally, when ppl traveled, they would find their nearest relative and would stay in their guest room.

So, likely Joseph and Mary found relatives, cousins, but none had a guest room available b/c so many had traveled there for the census.

The only place available for them was where they kept their animals. It would have been a shallow cave, or a grotto.

Not much privacy. Cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys. Hay for them to eat. A well nearby for their owners to draw water.

And where animals have input, there is also output.

The smells. The sounds. The sights.

This is about as imperfect of a place as they could have found.

No place for a king, no place for a god. But a perfect place for our King and for our God.

If He’s going to save us, He has to come to us to get us.

The manger would have been a protrusion out of the rock wall that would have had a hollow chipped away where the hay for food for the animals would have been placed.

We have a dog dish where we feed Jack. Occasionally, it gets washed, not often. Trust me when I tell you, it’s nasty right now, you would gag if I served you lunch in it and there is no way you would put your newborn in my dog’s bowl. Even on a bed of fresh food.

The slobber and saliva mixed underneath the bed of fresh hay would have been obvious.

When he was born, the water that washed him would have come from the well where the water was drawn for the animals. Probably, w/ the same bucket that transported the water into the cave.

They wrapped baby Jesus in strips of cloth. Not the robes of royalty that He deserved.

Ironically, He came into this life wrapped in cloths in a cave and He left this life wrapped in cloths in cave.

Of course, he dropped the cloths, folded the napkin over his face, and walked out of the second cave.

This night in Bethlehem, as the animals crowded around, should be proof to all of us that there is no place where Jesus won’t come to join us.

The animals that may surround you, the sights and smells that may engulf you, the situation of your own doing or others.

There is no place so imperfect that Immanuel can’t happen.

God w/ us.

Emily Post would have been proud. I don’t think there has ever been a more glorious birth announcement that Jesus’s.

The Announcement

Luke 2:8–14 NIV

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Shepherds. The lowest rung on the societal ladder. Of all ppl. They could never participate in their synagogue or temple services b/c they were always dirty and smelly. B/C of what they did for a living, they were literally unclean and spiritually unclean constantly.

My mom was always complaining about the dirt and smelly socks I’d strip off and leave on my bedroom floor. I was always the dirtiest kid on the baseball field.

One of our sons loved to play catcher, even in T-ball. That’s b/c he got to put the ball on the tee for the batter every time. But it also got him dirtier than any other player.

The angel showed up here, and to them. Bethlehem. A field where shepherds were watching their flock. Not Jerusalem nor the religious leaders of the day.

Shepherds stayed dirty. They could not participate in any of the traditions of the temple.

As imperfect as they were, they were also the perfect group to receive the announcement of Jesus’s birth. Not just shepherds, but these shepherds.

Shepherds were the least likely. These shepherds were the most likely.

Something new, non-traditional was about to happen. And the sheep they were watching that night were the sheep that were going to be slaughtered at the upcoming Passover.

The soil was so rich, no only did they grow the wheat around Bethlehem, they had thick grasslands to raise perfect lambs to be killed for the sins of the ppl.

These shepherds were responsible for the lambs of the Passover and the Lamb of God.

They were terrified when the angel appeared. Just like Zechariah and Mary before them.

They had not heard about Zechariah’s nor Mary’s experience w/ the angel and their announcement.

Again, to their knowledge, it had been 400 years since the last time God spoke to ppl, either directly or indirectly thru an angel.

No prophets, burning bushes, nor talking donkeys.

Ezekiel wrote about when the glory of God left the temple. God became so fed up w/ Israel’s faithless disobedience, He once and for all, left the temple.

Up to that time, God had a physical as well as spiritual presence behind the curtain in the holy of holies.

The glory of God was represented by, among other things, a bright light.

God is light. When we reside in Him, we reside in the Light. He shines in a dark world. He reveals our imperfections w/ the light then pays for them so we can celebrate and exist in the light w/ Him.

While God kept speaking to them, his glory had gone out.

It had been 500 years since they last saw the light. 400 since they last heard his voice.

The shepherds, not the priests, saw the same glory Abraham saw and received the same message that a descendant would bless the entire world. He had arrived. He was there.

When the angel showed up, the night sky lit up w/ the glory of God.

W/out knowledge of the recent history, their assumption was the angel showed up to kill them, not tell them how they could live forever.

The angel calmed them. Their emotions transitioned from fear, to joy.

They realized what they had originally thought was going to be bad news, turned out to be great news.

This news, this announcement, in time will cause joy to arise in all ppl, not just the Jews,

Remember the bigger Q Luke asked and answered in his gospel.

I’m not Jewish. Who is Jesus to me? Savior of all people. Not just Jewish ppl.

You will find him in your town, not Jerusalem. In a manger, not the temple, the synagogue, a palace, or even a fancy hospital.

A birthing room, w/ their favorite calming music, a perfect room temp, and doting nurses and doctors.

They couldn’t go any of those places anyway. They would not be allowed in, or into the presence of a child born there.

The angel, as recorded by Luke, covered all the bases.

Savior, not a Jewish term, would deliver people from their bondage, break their bad habits.

Messiah, this was Jewish, all ppl including the Jews, would gain access to the kingdom thru this Messiah.

Lord, everyone would have recognized this term. The authority of God to do whatever needs to be done. No one can resist the authority and power fo the Lord.

He’ll be wrapped in the cloths that only a poor family could afford. In fact, they were probably given to them that evening by the owner of the manger.

And if you thought 1 angel was special, a whole host showed up. A host of angels is an army so large, it’s too large to count.

Their message was “Peace on Earth”

Right. Peace in the middle east? There hasn’t been peace there since Ishmael and Isaac were born and battled as siblings, sons of Abraham.

The Muslims and the Jews continue to do battle in the region today.

That’s not the message of these angels.

Peace had come to the earth. The Prince of Peace. And HIs peace was now available to those who believe in Him and walk closely w/ Him.

“You know God has answered your prayer, not when you get what you ask for. But when you have peace about what you ask for.” Tony Evans

The shepherds were overjoyed, told where to find Him, so they went looking for Him. And they found Him, right where the angels told them they would.

Confirmation

Luke 2:15–20 NIV

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

They found Him, right where He was supposed to be. Confirmation. Proof. Exactly as they’d been told.

It was all true.

They told Mary and Joseph about what happened w/ the angels. They were amazed.

Then, the shepherds left, over time, they told their story to many ppl who were also amazed.

Shepherds. Their fathers were shepherds. They would have joined them in the field as young teens. So, they never got to go to the synagogue children’s program, youth group, or their adult studies.

They would not have learned much about the history of Israel. The law. The prophets. The poetry. They would have know some, oral tradition. But there was so much they didn’t know. So little they did.

Who would believe them, much less be amazed by them?

The shepherds didn’t have to answer everyone’s questions about the OT. All they had to do was witness.

What does witness mean? Tell you story.

I am the world’s foremost expert on my own opinions and experiences.

All the shepherds had to do was their their story about their personal experience w/ all-powerful God.

That’s all we have to do. We don’t have to be experts in the OT or the NT. The history or the future. We just need to able to tell ppl about our encounters w/ an all powerful God who will meet us in the messes of our mangers, clean us up, change us, and lead us out.

I’m sorry I’m not sending you home to a Xmas tree and presents. There’s no snow on the ground. I hope there will be this Xmas.

But you are going home to the perfectly imperfect place where Jesus will show up at the perfect time to clean you up and your mess and lead you out.

That’s the story of Xmas. A savior who will meet us in the messes of the masses in our manger. No mess is too nasty.

He came to clean you up and lead you out.

Now, you’ve just got to go find him.

Applications

Journey

Some journeys are hard. But that does not mean you are not exactly where God wants you now, heading where God wants you tomorrow.

It may be a hard place. But it’s the best place for you.

God has given you what you need to succeed, survive and arrive.

Step back, take your inventory of what you’ve got from God and keep moving.

Peace

Not in the Middle East. Peace in X.

The closer you get to Him, the more of it you get from Him.

If you are conflicted right now then you might be a little too far away from Him or doing something you shouldn’t be doing.

Cut something bad out of your life. Add something good to it.

Pray. Study. Get closer and follow his lead better.

Ignorance

Don’t feel like you know enough to help your friends find Jesus?

Maybe you can ID w/ the shepherds. If you can, then can also do exactly what they did. Tell you story.

Your friends will go thru difficult times. You can say to them, “I’ve been thru tough times, too. Jesus helped me. This is how. He’ll help you , too. Come w/ me, let me show you how.”

You are an expert in your own experience. You have experienced encounters w/ the all-powerful God who met you in your mess, cleaned you up, and led you out.

Tell that story.

The timing and places of his birth story are perfectly imperfect.

The census and taxes that ended up paying for the roads Jesus traveled and the military that first protected Him then executed Him.

The journey that was so hard that led to Bethlehem. Fulfilled Micah’s prophecy. The bread basket of Israel.

The mess of the manger. Immanuel. God w/ us in our mess.

Shepherds, ignorant, uneducated, outcasts, who were tending the flock of lambs that would be slaughtered at the next Passover for the sins of the ppl.

King of Kings. Lord of Lords. God Most High.

Isaiah 9:6–7 NIV

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Immanuel. God w/ us. In the mess of the manger.

Jesus meets us in the messes of the masses like the manger. He cleans us up, breaks our bad habits, and delivers us into our Promised Land, Heaven.