Introduction
Well, we are continuing today in our series in the Gospel of Luke. And as we've noted, the Gospel begins with two significant births. We had the birth of the forerunner, John the Baptist, who was preparing the way for the Messiah, for Jesus Christ to be born in Bethlehem. And last week, Mark finished up the story of baby John.
And this morning we will look at the birth of Jesus specifically. And I think it's fitting that we are talking about the birth, this account of the angels coming to the shepherds right after Christmas and in the new year. I think some of the warm fuzzies, some of the energy that comes with the holiday season is beginning to fade away as the reality of school and work resuming tomorrow and this week is setting in.
Not to mention just the myriad of cultural additives which have infiltrated the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and have essentially turned the holiday into something altogether different. As the comedian Nate Bergatzi joked when asked how much of the Christmas holiday would revolve around Jesus and how much would revolve around Santa, he paused before quipping, "90-10 Santa." That's pretty accurate.
And sure, secular Christmas can be a comfort in life, even to unbelievers, but it cannot be a comfort in death. Only the birth of Jesus is a comfort in life and in death. And we will see in our text that is because Jesus was the one and only God-man. He was the one and only God-man. He stands altogether unique above every other false God. He stands distinct from every other false religion as the only way to God. And he stands supreme over every kingdom and every ruler of this world.
The God-man Rules Over All
So let's get into our text beginning in Luke chapter 2, verse 1, to see how this Son of God became the God-man and what that means for us. We'll see in these first seven verses in Luke chapter 2, the first point simply that the God-man rules over all power. The God-man rules over all power.
Picking up in verse 1: "In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinus was governor of Syria and all went to be registered, each to his town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth, and she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn."
It's interesting that the beginning verses of our chapter here don't reference the forerunner, John the Baptist, and they don't specifically reference the Savior either. Instead, they begin with two Roman rulers. Luke begins here for two important reasons. The first is to state that the birth of Jesus was a historical reality. It was a fact in time and space history that literally took place. And second, not only was this event historical, not only did it happen, but also it was historic. This is in the way that we distinguish particular events in all of history as historic, those specific instances which have grand and significant impacts on the rest of history.
And one of the evidences that Luke provides to help us know that this is an historic moment is the contrast that he is painting between the lowly Jesus and the lofty emperor and rulers of Rome. Powerful Roman Empire against the lowly baby Jesus in the manger. The influence and the reach of Rome were far and wide. And although the Israelites were fortunate to be in their homeland, they weren't in exile, this registration for taxes was a bitter and painful reminder of who was in charge. They were not over themselves; they were at home with foreign leaders, even in their beloved promised land.
And not only was the Roman Empire the most powerful empire in the world at the time, but Caesar Augustus in particular was perhaps the most powerful man who ever lived up until Jesus was born. It was around this time that the title Dominus et Deus, which means Lord and God, was ascribed to the Roman Empire. So here we have the Messiah, the coming king, the Lord, born in a lowly manger in contrast to the Roman Emperor, who many proclaimed as God himself.
So this contrast sets the stage for the king of heaven's arrival, and it provided the fuel for the future persecution of Christ's church. For centuries, because they didn't bow to the Lord of Rome, they bowed to the Lord of heaven. And God used this man, Caesar Augustus, who viewed himself as the man God, literally to pave the way for the birth of Christ, who was the true and only God-man.
Again, why had Joseph and Mary even come to Bethlehem in the first place? They wouldn't have come of their own accord with her being as pregnant as she was. It was mighty Rome who summoned them. God used pagan rulers to fulfill prophecy and bring Jesus into the world. As Benjamin noted earlier, this from Proverbs chapter 21: "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he will."
And the timing of the birth, of this birth, was providentially perfect. The word that most New Testament writers use to indicate this extra historic event is pleruma, which means the fullness of time. And we can understand what that means by imagining a glass of water. When the water is filled up to the brim, when it comes right to the cusp of the edge of the glass, it is not yet the fullness of time but close. The fullness of time comes when that last drop rises the water up and out of the cup and causes it to overflow. And the birth of the Savior of the world was literally in the fullness of time that would spill out God's grace and his blessing onto the whole world.
And the expedition of Joseph and Mary was definitely arduous, but it may not have been quite as stressful as we often imagine. It was common practice for Rome to allow a lengthy period of time for people to return to their hometowns to register and go through all the proper channels for this tax, thus avoiding some of the chaos of overfilled towns and congested streets. And yes, while Mary was certainly getting close to her due date, possibly even in the last month of her pregnancy, we don't necessarily have any indication that Jesus was born on the exact night that they arrived in Bethlehem. There's also the nature of the inn and the rooms in Bethlehem.
There's not necessarily any explicit evidence that they went from inn to inn to inn, being rejected by every rude innkeeper in the city who would have the audacity to see Mary in her pregnancy and say, "Nope, sorry, move along, keep going." We just don't know if that was the case. And the word Luke uses here is often translated simply as "guest room."
There's a chance, a good chance, that Joseph and Mary were staying, possibly with a relative of Joseph's. It was his hometown, after all. And it's also possible that they were in a literal stable outside of the house. But early traditions also indicate it may have actually been a cave that they were in. Either way, your nativity set is probably not 100% accurate.
But the important thing for us to understand is not exactly what did the scene look like. What was the picture? What was the environment? Actually, we need to understand what Luke is trying to show us, which is the contrast taking place between Rome and the kingdom of God and the foreshadowing of future events. The powerful rulers of Rome slept in luxury. The king of heaven was born into a lowly feeding trough.
The royalty of Jesus was not based on the majestic nature of his arrival. It was actually incredibly simple. But it was based instead on the divine lineage of his birth: the line of kings, son of David, the tribe of Judah, chief of Israel, and the son of God himself, born in human flesh. The circumstances surrounding his birth did not give him significance. Rather, God gave his birth every significance.
And the word here that Luke uses for "guest room" is the same word he will later use in reference to the place where Jesus came with his disciples for the Last Supper. He was born into a guest room, and he would leave another guest room in order to be crucified at the end of his life.
And what about Rome? It's interesting that Luke bookends his gospel with two of the worst features of Roman oppression. First, we have taxation and the birth of Christ. At the end of this book, we will have crucifixion in the death of Christ. Jesus was certainly born into a world of pain, but it would never compare to the pain that he would bear at the end of his life on the cross for the sake of his people.
There is so much more to the birth than the world can see. But the fact of the matter is that he was born. Almighty God, a helpless baby. The Word of God from John 1, by whom everything was made, was unable to speak, unable to form a sentence, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in that manger. Yet even in his birth, the only God-man, Jesus, has always stood above every earthly power.
The God-man Brings True Peace
And not only does he stand above every earthly power, he also is the only one who can bring true peace. We see that in these next verses with our second point, that the God-man brings true peace.
Again, in verse 8, as we look at the shepherds now: "And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 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. 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. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased."
We are so familiar with the birth narrative, so over-familiar that we forget just how shocking these verses were. Joseph and Mary each received a personal visit from an angel about the divine birth. And then Mary goes to see Elizabeth, who, along with baby John, miraculously confirms the divine baby in Mary's womb. These are shocking events. It's probably pretty likely that Joseph and Mary expected something else surrounding the birth of their son, right? An angel to show up, maybe the glory of God, some light radiating the room, but it was a simple, quiet, uneventful birth in a manger.
Instead, the amazing thing came to the shepherds. The hosts of the angels appeared to the shepherds. And none of this is supposed to make sense. Why didn't the angels come to the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the religious leaders who could affirm and believe and acknowledge that Messiah is here? This is our king, even to the Roman rulers who would certainly bow the knee to one of such significant power and authority. These are people who had genuine credibility and genuine influence, but instead, they came to shepherds.
We're all pretty familiar with the fact that sheep are incredibly dumb. They need constant care, attention, and protection to make it even just a few hours in the day. And we also know that shepherds in those days were outcasts. They were ruffians. They were on the fringes, the edges, the lowest rungs of society. Shepherds couldn't even give a testimony in a court of law. What they had to say was not substantial or worth listening to.
And God came to these—to the lowly, to the outcasts, those whom the world rejected and would not take seriously. Those who would mock and laugh and say, "Seriously? The Lord, the Messiah, the King of Israel came to you? No way." But God came to people with no influence, no credibility, and no social standing, because as Paul would say in 1 Corinthians, we have no right to boast in ourselves. The gospel shines most clearly in our weakness, in our insignificance.
And yet the shepherds did find themselves in good company on that night. You think about it, they were the recipients of the greatest news in human history, but they were also going to be counted among previous shepherds whom God had shown his favor to. You think of the prophet Amos, who was called into ministry as a shepherd. The great Moses, called by God in the burning bush as a shepherd to go and lead his people out of slavery. And of course, the most famous shepherd boy, King David. These men were in good company.
And it was the good news, this gospel, that was proclaimed to the shepherds that night. And again, Luke is painting another contrast with Rome because good news was proclaimed in the Roman Empire upon the birth of a future emperor, upon their coming of age, and finally upon their ascension to the throne. Good news, a new ruler to you. Good news, a new king to sit on the throne as Caesar.
But the Roman emperor was not born unto the people. They were born over the people. The Pax Romana, the peace of Rome, was not a true peace. It was a false peace. As one theologian commented, Roman peace was simply forced pacification that brought the cessation of war through war. Violence for the sake of a false peace. And the peace of Rome was thus rewarded to those who obeyed, who got in line, who willfully submitted and showed loyalty and goodwill towards Caesar. "You play nice, we'll give you peace."
But think about this: in God's kingdom, peace is not given as a reward to those who have shown goodwill to God. He's not asking you to get in line, to obey, to say the right prayers, to do the right things. Instead, the peace of God is given freely as a gift to those whom God has shown his own goodwill towards. He has shown us goodwill by giving us his free peace. And it is this faithful proclamation of peace that came with the heavenly host.
Literally, the heavenly army, the multitudes of heaven. The army of Rome existed to keep the peace, to enforce the peace when necessary. Here we see the army of heaven coming to proclaim God's peace and thus the hope and the joy for all mankind. They were not there to declare conflict, to declare vengeance. They were there to declare peace. And this stands in direct contrast to the peace of Rome and it fulfills Hebrew peace in the word shalom.
Furthermore, as if the angelic encounter was not enough as proof, the angel says, "We'll give you a sign." As if all the angels in the skies is not sign enough. "We'll give you one more thing that will prove what we are saying is true." They say, "You will find a baby." Okay, yes, unsurprising. There are babies in the world. "Wrapped in swaddling clothes." Yes, also unsurprising. "And lying in a manger." What? That would have stopped them. They would have said, "Okay. Bethlehem is not a huge town. It probably won't be too difficult to find the baby who is lying in a manger. That's how you'll know. That's how you know that verse 14 is true."
Glory to God in the highest. And on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased. And that verse alone should affect us. Peace with God. It's amazing that our society can take such a peaceful time of year and turn it into something so incredibly anxiety-inducing. That is not the peace of God. That is the peace of the world. The angels say, "No, no, no. There is peace for those with whom God is pleased."
We can have that peace with the God of the Old Testament, the God of animal sacrifice and righteous judgment. And not only that, we as God's people are given a new identity, something that had never been spoken of us before. We are now identified as those with whom God is well pleased, as some translations say. When has God ever been well pleased with man? And how could he ever be well pleased with me? We could argue maybe he was well pleased with David, the man after God's own heart. But that doesn't do this verse justice. We could even say that God was likely well pleased in Adam and Eve, his very good creation, before sin, before the fall, at the beginning of human time. Which is better, but still not the picture Luke wants us to see.
Hear these words from Luke chapter 3, beginning in verse 21: "Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened. And the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And the voice came from heaven, 'You are my beloved Son. With you I am well pleased.'"
The sinful people of God are as pleasing to God as his own son, faithful in obedience. The Father, well pleased to send the God-man, Jesus, and who is well pleased with those whom Jesus welcomes and ushers in to the kingdom of heaven. Just let that sink in for a moment. Most of us struggle to have a pleasing relationship with anyone on the planet. Spouses, children, friends. They're all marred with difficulty. But if you are in Christ today, he is well pleased with you. You don't even have to be well pleased with yourself. You're probably not, but God is.
What glory to worship a God of true peace who is well pleased with his people. We couldn't do anything to please him. We could never earn his favor. We don't deserve it. And that is the whole point. We never deserved it. And none of us ever have except for the only God-man born in a manger announced to lowly shepherds. The favor of God has been applied fully to those who were undeserving.
The God-man Keeps Every Promise
It came to the shepherds like it came to Mary. And like Mary, the shepherds did not waste any time.
Finally, in our third point, number three, the God-man keeps every promise. The God-man keeps every promise. Looking at verse 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." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the sayings that had been told them concerning the child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told to them.
There was no stated, no obvious or clear glory surrounding the birth of Jesus that Mary and Joseph might behold. But they were certainly in for quite the surprise when the shepherds showed up, right? "What are you doing here?" The baby in the manger was the confirmation to the shepherds that the angels were true. And the testimony of the shepherds was a further confirmation to Mary and Joseph that their own angelic visits had been true. God has done this. Truly, this night was the fullness of time.
And all of this, everything particularly in verses 18 through 20, is the stuff of genuine, sincere, honest worship, honest response to what God has done. Wonder, treasuring up, pondering, glorifying, and praising God for everything they had seen, that which they had heard and was shown to them. God said, "Go and see." So they went. They didn't go to investigate and let's find out for ourselves if what we just saw might actually be accurate. No, they actually believed the angels. And so as a response, they went immediately to go and find the child. They took God at his word.
And those are the real warm fuzzies of Christmas, trusting and resting in the reality of the promise of God that on that night he split open the heavens and sent his son to take on human flesh and to be born in a lowly manger, not so that he could overturn mighty Rome, but that he could flip the world on its head and redeem sinful people to himself. Their problem was not their oppressor, their problem was their hearts, and God came straight for it. What other response is there than to glorify God and treasure all of these things in your heart that he has done such a great and significant work for you?
It sounds a lot like the parable of the good soil, which Jesus spoke in Luke chapter 8. He talks about God's word being dispersed among humanity as the seed, and some do not receive the word. Others hear it and receive, but it doesn't take root and they fall away. And still others hear it, but are choked out by the cares of the world. But in verse 15, Jesus says this: "As for that, in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast with a good and honest heart and bear fruit with patience." Holding fast the word of God in an honest and good heart and bearing patience. That is the proper response to the God-man in the manger.
And lastly, it's so easy to skip over this last verse. I didn't read it intentionally. Verse 21: "At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb." Sounds a lot like another historical fact that Luke might be giving us to establish the reality and the credibility of this testimony, but it is so much more than that. This is the fulfillment of the promise made thousands of years earlier to Abraham. Not only did Jesus belong to the line of David, the tribe of Judah, but just as importantly, he belonged to the people of Israel, traced all the way back to father Abraham himself, that faithful man who left his own home country upon the word and promise of God that he would give Abraham a great nation, a huge family and people, and bring them one day to a promised land. The man who believed in faith that God was a God faithful to himself and faithful to his people.
It was this circumcision, the first shedding of blood by Jesus, that marked him as one with the people of God. And it would be the future shedding of blood on the cross, which would from now on redefine the mark of the people of God. No longer would they be known by the circumcision of their flesh. They would from now on be known by the circumcision of their hearts.
Every Promise Fulfilled
In the God-man, every promise fulfilled. And we are set free from the bondage of slavery to sin. This is our Redeemer. The only question that remains is: how will we, how will you, respond to him?
Certainly we should respond like Mary and Joseph and the shepherds, thinking, reflecting, pondering, and treasuring and glorifying God because of this good news which they had seen with their eyes.
Secular society can sometimes stomach the idea of a God who came down to be a man, to be something different, but they can never stomach the man who has always been their God.
Jesus didn't come just to be one of us for its own sake. He came to take on our flesh that he might, in similar fashion, take on our experience, our pain, our sinfulness, our shame, and our guilt, and he might deal with every ounce of that on the cross.
The Purpose of the God-man
He did it to deal with our sins. And we know that when he came in his humanity, as he put on flesh, he was always the second person of the Trinity, Jesus the Christ, Son of God. But he became the God-man.
The Roman Empire was heralded by many throughout history as a nation of peace, and it was the very nation that God used to literally pave the way and propel the ministry of Jesus and his disciples into the next few centuries all over the world, largely without opposition, because of the peaceful Roman rule. But as we saw, the peace of Rome was stained with blood, soaked by the deaths of foreign rulers and subjects, enforced through deadly Roman persecution, and used to elevate the Roman Caesar to the position of the man God.
And the peace of God required no less. It required death. So why is it that the angels came proclaiming good news of peace and not the wages of sin is death? Jesus came because it was the death of our sin that he came to accomplish. He was not born unto us in order to deal with us; he was born unto us in order to deal with our sins, that he might bring us to himself.
The angels declared this peace because they knew God didn't come as punishment for his people. He came as redemption. He came as their promised Lord and Messiah. So yes, we have peace with God without reservation because Jesus made it so.
Verse 14: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. Christ came to make you fully, completely pleasing to God. So give him your heart, give him your mind, and rejoice that Jesus has brought us peace and that the work of the only God-man was sufficient so that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit would be eternally pleased with His pleasing children.
Let's pray. God, what more can we say to you other than a million thank yous? We who are not worthy, who even still take your peace, your love, your care, your promises so often for granted. God, that you would send Jesus to draw those to yourself who were far off, who were running in the opposite direction.
And we know that you have many sheep today who have not yet been part of this fold. And we ask that you would pierce our hearts with the reality of our redeeming God, that the one who drew us to himself is likewise drawing the nations to himself. And would we, like Mary and Joseph and the shepherds, believe and rejoice and proclaim and glorify you, that you would fill your kingdom.
And would you give us lasting gratitude and sincere joy that we have been brought from death to life and that you sent your Son to come and to deal with our sins completely, to do the job himself, to die the death that we deserve so that we would be counted sons and daughters of the kingdom. We rejoice in that baby in the manger that you proved yourself to be faithful to your promise. And we trust that you will still be faithful to every promise which still remains now and forever to the praise and glory of Jesus Christ, the God-man and our Savior. We pray in His name, amen.