What Is Said About Jesus’s Birth

Transcript

GRM 1233
12/22/19
What is Said About Jesus' Birth
Selections from Matthew & Luke
Gil Rugh

Since we are at the week where we celebrate Christmas, and there is a lot of discussion around Christmas. Some people don't celebrate Christmas, even believers, because they are uncomfortable with all that goes on around it that distracts, perhaps, from the focus on Jesus Christ and who He is. There is a lot written and the pros and cons -- was Christ born on December 25th? There are a number of sound biblical scholars who have done research and think that that is a good date for the birth of Christ, others are convinced it is not. And obviously most of the world celebrates something they do not understand or know about. But for those of us who are believers, I personally am pleased that so much of the world is focused on the birth of Jesus Christ. And we just want to be sure that we are clear on what makes this so important and have a biblical perspective on it. The Bible doesn't give us the date, specifically, of the birth of Christ and to me that is not what is important, what is important is the Son of God was born at Bethlehem 2,000 years ago to be the Savior and to be the King.

So what I want to do with you is just look at the main passages on this in the gospels, Matthew and Luke in particular, and put together what is said about the birth of Jesus Christ, Matthew and Luke. You know there is not a lot said in the New Testament about the birth of Jesus Christ when you think of the virgin birth. The Old Testament, the clear verse we think of is Isaiah 7:14, a virgin will conceive and bear a child and his name will be called Emmanuel. But who He is, we saw in our study in Isaiah that He is the mighty God. There are indications of His deity and His humanity but the issue of the details of how He is born and so on are rather limited. And that is true in the New Testament, Matthew gives an account of the birth of Christ, Luke gives an account of the birth of Christ, Paul doesn't mention any details about the birth of Christ in his epistles. There is additional revelation given to Paul on a variety of areas, but there is nothing particularly about the birth of Christ. But that does not minimize its importance because the account doesn't explain, particularly Matthew and Luke, of how God became man and some of the details around it. But keep in mind a number of the details are not filled in for us, but what we are expected to know, is important for us to know, is what is here.

So we start in Matthew and there is a genealogy, there will be a genealogy in Luke. And some of you are familiar with the gospels and we have studies going on in each of the gospels in our Bible study hour before this hour. Matthew emphasizes Christ as king, Mark emphasizes Christ as a servant, Luke emphasizes Him as a man, and John emphasizes Him as God. And it is interesting. Matthew which emphasizes Him as king gives a genealogy because that's important to show He is in the line of David, He is in the line to be king. Luke emphasizes Him as a man and His humanity is important. There is no genealogy in John because how do you get a genealogy of God? So we get to John, he just starts out that when you get to the beginning, like Genesis 1:1 in the beginning, Christ already was, there is no genealogy. And Mark emphasizes Him as a servant and nobody cares what the genealogy of a servant is in that sense, not to be disrespectful, but it is not important.

So Matthew gives a genealogy and then you pick up in verse 18, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.” So Mary introduced, Joseph introduced, and you have a summary statement, then you get some of the details filled in. “Joseph her husband being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.” And you get something of the righteous character of Joseph, this would have to be a crushing blow. Here is the woman that he is engaged to, if I can use that word which would be a similar word for they are betrothed for our time, and realizes Mary is pregnant. What can that mean but she has been unfaithful, she is having someone else's child. So he wants to put her away, in other words, this betrothal will not culminate with the marriage. But a betrothal was strong and took a divorce proceeding kind of action to break it, not as easy as our engagement. So it says he didn't want to disgrace her, his goal was not to shame her, not to disgrace her. He is a righteous man so he would handle it as a godly man, just do this quietly so she is not put to shame.

But then God intervenes, as He so often does. “An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, ‘Joseph, son of David,’ ” so a reminder he is in the line of David for Christ to be king. “Appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘. . . do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus.’ ” Jesus is the same as the Old Testament name of Joshua and it means Jehovah Savior or Jehovah is Savior. Why will you name Him Jehovah Savior? “For He will save His people from their sins.” The very announcement of the birth, an announcement of His being a Savior. There is one thing about Jesus Christ that is overlooked in the celebration of His birth by so many is what does it mean that He is a Savior? Well, there is a political dimension to this for the Jews, to rescue them from Roman occupation, to establish an earthly kingdom over which He will rule and the Jewish nation will be the center. But there is more, He is the Savior to save us from our sins, He will save His people from their sins. We have to stop. Christ came because of the issue of sin. What does that mean for me personally? I'm a good person, I'm a religious person, I go to church. Well, then why did Christ come? There is a personal dimension of this, it will be universal in its provision but it will be personal in its application. So He is Jehovah Savior, going to be born to save His people from their sins, and this salvation will first be offered to the Jews, His own physical people, and then to Gentiles. And both are connected with His birth as we will see.

And this was in line with the prophecy of Isaiah which we referred to, a virgin shall be with child, shall bear a son, they shall call his name Emmanuel. Emmanuel means God with us. And the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as a baby born to this physical woman who had a natural, physical birth and physical life up to this point is going to give birth to the One who is God. And from then on He will be both God and Man. Remarkable! And we’ll never put that together with our finite minds but the truth of it we believe. And the amazing thing is you see the character of Joseph as a righteous man, verse 24, “Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” It's enough God tells us, now sometimes He gives us more information, but it's enough. We trust our children, sometimes we tell them and give explanation, sometimes we tell them what to do without explanation. They are expected to do. Amazing! You can see Joseph, “There is a lot I have to think about here -- a virgin birth, she has conceived a child by the Holy Spirit, I have to go back and restudy the Old Testament scriptures and make sure that dream wasn't a nightmare.” It's clear to him, “An angel has spoken to me in a dream, I do what the angel tells me, I take Mary.” So they get married, she is already pregnant. He “kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son, and he called His name Jesus.” Note how concise this is and how obedient Joseph is. When we claim to be righteous we manifest that because we are ready to obey God. God has spoken, I read it, He tells me, I obey. In some things there are explanations, in others there are not; I simply believe it and respond.

His name is Jesus. They do not have a sexual relationship until after she gives birth to this Son. I take it after the birth of Jesus, in spite of some teachings, she does have other children and they are named in scripture. They are the physical children of Joseph and Mary, but there is only one unique Son of Mary, and that is Jesus. Joseph is not the physical father, he will have a legal position as father but he is not the physical father.

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem.” Now we know these as three kings of the orient (hymn reference), but they are probably not kings, we're not going to fuss over that. The magi, the magos, they are wisemen from the east, they are going to be men of position, wealth, they'll bring expensive gifts. We think of them as three because there are three gifts -- gold, frankincense and myrrh. But there may have been an entourage of these men, more than three -- five, seven, I don't know. This is quite a journey for they are from the east. Remember all directions in the Bible are from Jerusalem so we go east. And this is a name that would have been used in Persia, in Babylon, for wisemen, men that might serve in the court of the king like Daniel. In the book of Daniel this word is used for the wise men in Babylon, Daniel became one of them being transported. These are wisemen from the east, so these would have been Gentiles. They come to Jerusalem and they’re coming, and that's why I say there would be an entourage because that's quite a trip. We talk about taking a trip someplace, jump in our car, stop and have lunch, do all that. You load the camels, you are going to travel, this is a journey. You look in your Bible maps, see you are coming from Persia (or Babylon) that part of the East, this is a serious journey, they come to Jerusalem,

They say “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east.” In other words when they were in the east, in their homeland, God gave them a star to see and it is His star. Now how did they know that? We don't know. Maybe an angel appeared to them and told them, it becomes speculation. But there is no doubt in their minds that the King of the Jews is someone special. There is a king of the Jews living in Jerusalem, he is called Herod, Herod the Great. But we didn't come to see Herod the Great, we didn't come to see maybe the Roman Emperor Caesar visiting Jerusalem. We came to see the One who has been born to be King of the Jews, now we come to worship Him. Well, this isn't just a king, a baby king; this is something more important. Why do you come here? He is a baby, He's not king yet. No matter the details, you have to wait until you grow up to become the king. But this is so important, His birth, we have come to worship Him, this baby. So this elevates them and their knowledge, but how they got it and so on, I take it may be with the revelation that when that star appeared they knew what it was, whatever. Again the Bible doesn't give us all the details of what they're talking about, a lot of questions about the details we don't know about, we always have those questions. And think about it, if God had included every detail I'd be telling you get out volume 742 because we'll be looking at . . . We have our hands full. I thank the Lord for limiting the revelation He has given because I'm getting near the end of my earthly journey, but I still haven't mastered it, at any rate that's an aside.

So they have come to worship Him. So Herod heard this, he is troubled and all Jerusalem. So you see they’re coming and when this entourage arrives and they are obviously men of means who made this trip and they're carrying expensive gifts, they probably have maybe servants and whatever traveling with them. Jerusalem is aware and Herod hears about it. This is Herod the Great, he is not a nice man, those he ruled hated him. In fact when he was getting near death, on his deathbed, he gave an order that his soldiers ought to slay all the leaders in Israel so that there would be people who would weep for his death. “I'm going to kill everybody of importance here and that way there will be crying in Jerusalem when I die.” They are not crying for him but he wanted weeping to go on when he died. He is a man who killed one of his wives, had her executed, was done with her, and two of his own sons, one of them within five days of his own death. He is on his deathbed, and if you read Josephus' account, I've read parts of it to you at times but not some parts of it because it may be too graphic, he is in terrible condition, parts of his body are being eaten by worms. But he sends a message to execute one of his sons because he heard that that son was anxious to replace him. Not a very nice man, so that's Herod.

So Herod hears there is a king been born, the Messiah. Now Herod is not a Jew, he is an Idumean, he's from Edom but he is king of the Jews because the Romans appointed him and he has functioned there for almost 40 years. So he has tried new things, he has rebuilt the temple because the Romans put people in place,. as they ruled their empire, who would keep peace and order and be able to manage the various areas of their kingdom. So Herod is put into place by the Romans and he stays there because he is able, he is a smart man, he is intelligent, he is a brilliant builder but he is not loved or respected by the Jews.

He gathers the chief priests, verse 4, the scribes, these are the experts in Israel and the leaders. “Where is the Messiah going to be born?” So evidently maybe these wisemen when they say He has been born King of the Jews, they have some concept of what was taught about the Jewish Messiah who would someday be born and rule the world. Herod realizes this could be that Messiah. You see something of the unbelieving heart, that you think that what was prophesied . . . And here's where they tell him, verse 5, the Jewish leaders have no hesitation, Micah the prophet said, verse 6, “You, Bethlehem land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.” No secret, the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. Now evidently the Jewish leaders are not part of all this discussion because in verse 4, “he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.” And then you come down to verse 7, after they tell Herod he gets them together secretly and says you go down there. He doesn't want a rush of Jewish leaders and so on going to Bethlehem. So they are not in on all that is going on here. Because sometimes people say, “Why didn't they all go down to Bethlehem?” So the full story they are not aware of because Herod is in control here. So he secretly meets with the magi and tells them, “You go down and if you find Him come and let me know because I'll want to worship Him, too.” He doesn't want to worship Him, He wants to execute Him. So that's the picture.

And then they go to Bethlehem, verse 9, “They went their way and the star which they had seen in the east went on before them.” Evidently it appeared in the east and then is gone, but it tells them the Messiah has been born, the King of the Jews. Where would you go? You go to the capital where the king resides, Jerusalem. So the star evidently indicated that. Now when they leave Herod, and they are told they have to go to Bethlehem, the star reappears and it will guide them specifically to the very house where Jesus is now residing. We'll put this together when we go to Luke. But they come and that's another indication that God is directing in all of this because they rejoice, they see the star. This is confirmation because you have to think, they have traveled all this way from the east, they get to Jerusalem and nobody has a clue. They can tell them where. The Old Testament prophet Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah, so 700 years before had prophesied but there is no celebration going on in Jerusalem, there is nobody talking about it. In fact, “You are the first we heard, you Gentiles traveling here, but go, head on down, find out where He was born, it should be in Bethlehem if He is the Messiah, and then you come back and tell me,” Herod says.

And note verse 11, “After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother.” Now note they come into the house. We'll talk a little bit about the timing of events when we move to Luke, but He is in a house, moved out of the stable. Some time has gone by, significant time in one way. Several events have happened, Jesus has been circumcised after the eighth day, Mary and Joseph have gone to Jerusalem to present the required offerings for her purification after the birth of a male child, some more time going by, and now they are back in Bethlehem, in residence here. So they come into the house, they see the family there. “They fell to the ground and worshiped Him.” These men are believers, the details of how we don't know, but they are men of faith from the east. They open their treasures, and remember these will be important—gold, frankincense and myrrh. All things of great value and worth. This finance has become important because after the magi leave God warns them in a dream not to return to Herod so they take another way to avoid Jerusalem and go back home.

“Now when they were gone,” verse 13, “an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up! Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the child to destroy Him.’ So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night and left for Egypt.” This is an emergency. When Herod comes after the child there can be no mistake, Bethlehem is not a big city, it's about 5 miles from Jerusalem. Some of the commentators estimate maybe 2,000 people, so like a small town. This is not a city where you are going to hide. So the very night they are warned in a dream they gather up everything. Now you can appreciate the wisemen gave them gold, frankincense and myrrh, these are gifts of great value. These men that traveled from that distance and men of position come, they'll worship this baby because of His importance. They brought gifts of value, this would fund and finance the trip to Egypt. How are they going to live? They have things that are of great value that can be bartered and sold. I take it that will help sustain this family until they can return and settle into a normal life back in Nazareth.

“He remained there until the death of Herod,” verse 15. “This was to fulfill what had been spoken . . . ” in Hosea 11:1, “out of Egypt I called My Son.” We're not going into the details of those things, we did it before. When Herod saw he had been tricked, the magi weren't coming back, “he became very enraged and sent and slew all the male children who were born in Bethlehem and its vicinity,” he's not going to let any slip away, “from two years old and under.” We say, “Wouldn't that cause an uproar?” Remember Bethlehem is a little, insignificant place, Micah the prophet referred to that. That's one of the amazing things, even though it is the city of David it is not an important little town in its own right. Some have indicated this could have been probably no more than 20 babies, but that was an estimate on what they estimate the size of Bethlehem would have been, but it's not hundreds of babies being slaughtered. And Herod was known for killing people. One of the Roman Caesars said, “It's better to be one of Herod's animals than one of his sons.” You just weren't safe if you were too close to Herod because he knew you. If he in any way felt threatened or didn't like you, like the wife he decided just have her executed. My son wants to succeed me, I'll be dead here in a week, but I don't like that attitude, go kill him. So going down there and killing what we would call, I don't mean this disrespectfully, but a relative handful of babies in an unimportant town, and the way the world was going.

Two years, and it says he slew all the children from two years old and under from the time he determined from the magi. So that gives us something of how much time has gone by. And you figure he probably added some time in here. Herod is a very intelligent person. When they told him when they saw the star that marked the birth, Herod made note of it. Now they are gone, allowing that they were right and give some time here so I'm sure to include Him, Jesus could be a year and a half old by the time the magi come and they go to Egypt. Wouldn't have to be that long. The lowest estimate I saw was six months old and then it went up from there, less than two years old. So sometimes we think of the baby being gathered up and them fleeing to Egypt. In God's plan He has given time for Mary to recover from the birth of the child, for Jesus to get a little older and more able to travel out of that initial stage. And then this also fulfills the prophet, the death of those in Bethlehem.

But verse 19, “When Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought His life are dead,” Herod is dead. But he takes up, he goes into Israel, he leaves Egypt. He is only about 75 miles into Egypt from Bethlehem, so where in Egypt he went, but if he was going to the northern part of Egypt someplace all he has to do is get out of Israel because Herod's authority, and the Romans rule the world and Herod is not going to go down chasing. If the Romans perceived any idea that Herod got out of line he would be gone, Herod knew that. So 75 miles, just so you get an idea, t.hey come back out. But Herod's son, Archelaus, was reigning in Judea. Before Herod died he made a will and he wanted his kingdom divided among three sons. Archelaus would get Judea, that's where Jerusalem is, Judah. The Romans had to approve it, they approved Herod's will. Archelaus was such a vile and incompetent ruler, that in 6 A.D. the Romans removed him and replaced him with a Roman governor which we are familiar with down the road when 33 years later Christ is crucified, the Roman governor is Pontius Pilate. So you see all the details coming together. But Archelaus by reputation. Joseph decides it wouldn't be a good idea to settle there in Judea, “We'll go north,” and they end up going back home to Nazareth and he sets up his carpenter business and they settle in as a family.

Then Matthew 3 opens up, John the Baptist comes on the scene. So you see there are great gaps because God has recorded what we need to know. “Things,” we like to say, “it would be interesting to know what their family life was like.” Again, concentrate on what He has given.

So come over to Luke and we do get more details. Luke in his gospel, and Luke gives his genealogy in chapter 3, doesn't do that until Jesus begins His public ministry. So you get the genealogy, so we have those two genealogies, Matthew and Luke. The account in Luke, Luke begins by telling us about the birth of John the Baptist. He has picked up John the Baptist to introduce Christ in Matthew, but here you get details. John the Baptist is going to have a supernatural kind of birth in that the parents of John the Baptist are old and haven't been able to have children. But an angel appears to Zacharias the father of John the Baptist and says, “Your wife is going to have a baby,” and Gabriel is the one who appears to Zacharias. And you are familiar with the account that Zacharias has some doubt, Gabriel says to him, “What do you mean questioning this? I am Gabriel, I stand in the presence of God, I don't tell lies and my word is not to be doubted because I got it from God. So Zacharias you'll know because you are not going to be able to talk until this baby is born.” So I don't know that it is humorous but it strikes me as interesting. So John the Baptist is born and in that sense he is supernatural, he is not virgin born but his birth took special intervention of God to bring about. And he is the one who will introduce the Messiah.

And then we have the account of the birth of Christ, beginning in Luke 1:26. “Now in the sixth month,” and we did that background because the sixth month is that Zacharias' wife, Elizabeth, is six months into her pregnancy, so John the Baptist will be six months older than Jesus. So “in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth.” So we know Nazareth was their hometown, they are going to go back there in Galilee and really what they do is end up going back to their home. Not the greatest town, not of the greatest reputation. Remember Philip's question, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” But that was their home.

So he sent to Nazareth, because now we are back at the beginning, and he sent “to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the descendants of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in he said to her, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ ” And the indication is this is not particularly a vision or a dream but the angel comes to stand before her and speak. And he comes from God, verse 26, Gabriel stands in the presence of God, God tells Gabriel, “Here is the message, you go and give it to Mary,” so that is what is happening. And she is called the one favored of the Lord. Sometimes we as Protestants and evangelicals are reluctant to give too much attention to Mary because Roman Catholics, for example, have honored her, exalted her to one you can pray to, co-redemptrix intercessor in heaven. None of those come from the Bible. But she is an honored woman, she is the only woman that ever has or ever will be privileged to give birth to the Son of God, God Himself, into the human race, she is given honor. We want to be careful that we don't honor her more than the Word honors her, she is honored because of the honored position given to her in the birth of Christ.

She is told in verse 28, “The Lord is with you,” she is a godly woman. You’re talking about young here, a young woman, she is a godly person as a very young adult woman. She was perplexed that she would be addressed like that and the angel tells her, “Don't be afraid.” To have an angel come and stand and start talking to you, this is unsettling. Behold, verse 30, “you have found favor with God,” don't want to miss that. So we would honor Mary, she is the most important among women in that sense. She is worthy of honor but not worthy of worship, not worthy of being prayed to, not worthy of being elevated to one who could help redeem us. But she is honored of the Lord to be the mother of Christ. But remember, Christ when some of those around Him said, “Your mother wants to see you,” He said, “Who is My mother or My brothers? Those who believe in Me.” So He elevates others rather than elevating Mary above others, He shows how others get elevated by entering into a relationship with Him through faith. So some of the great truths of the Bible get distorted when they are taken and twisted.

Verse 31, “You will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you will call His name Jesus,” Jehovah Savior. Same thing told to Joseph, so there will be an agreement on this. “He will be great and He will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Wow! We looked in Isaiah, an example of prophecies that speak to this very point. But the angel leaves out something very important, “You are going to stand at the foot of the cross, He will be crucified, rejected by men, by His own people.” You can see why there is confusion, the angel is not lying, he just is not putting everything together for even Mary at this point. There will be some indication for her later, but the angel Gabriel's message from God is, “This Son that you bear “will be great and He will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end. In one sense Mary is thrilled, “We are going to have the kingdom, My Son will grow up to be king and so all the Old Testament prophetic Scriptures will be fulfilled. How honored I am, how glorious this is.” But there is more to come.

And then she is told that your relative Elizabeth is going to bear a son and he is the one who will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. Then Mary goes to spend time with Elizabeth. Her relative. Elizabeth recognizes supernatural things going on because John the Baptist in the womb of Elizabeth begins to move, this is supernatural. “You are the mother of my Lord.” Now the faith of these people, this is her relative, her young relative, because Elizabeth is old and Mary is young. And she says, “You are the mother of my Lord.” The faith of these people, all they have is the Word of God, all they had are promises. And she says, verse 43, “How has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me?” “I don’t know, this is just Mary. I've known Mary ever since she was little but she is the mother of my Lord.” They understand and believe what God has said.

Then Mary gives this great exaltation titled The Magnificat, and probably have that in your Bibles. Mary said, “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” She didn't put herself in that sense in any other category. “I'm the one who needs a Savior, like my Son who comes to be the Savior.” “And He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave,” “His slave, that's what I am. How honored that God would use me as His slave for this purpose.” And she goes on with this magnificent statement which has been included in scripture. Here it is, 2000 years later we are reading it. Appreciate we don't need to wait until we are old to develop faith in our spiritual walk with the Lord, we ought to get it early. And then Elizabeth gives birth to her son and Zacharias prophesies.

Now come down to Luke 2, skip over all that because you can read it but there are more details there. “In the days a decree went out,” Luke 2:1, “from Caesar Augustus that a census,” Caesar is a title picked up with Julius Caesar and then it becomes like our President. It can be President Reagan, President Obama, or you can just talk about . . . So you have Caesar Augustus, Augustus was the Caesar at this time so he is ruling the world. Herod is king but he is just a little king in a little place called Israel, Herod the Great. “A census be taken of all the inhabited earth” because Rome rules the world. “This was the first census,” and if you study this, people have gone in trying to exam records and get the date, not pertinent right now. So “everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.” So you have to go to your city where your basis is, and for Joseph and Mary that goes back to Bethlehem. Now think about this, all that has gone on, we have seen empires come and go -- the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, and now the Roman. Everything is on time. Remember when we studied Ecclesiastes, God appoints the time and He appoints the events within the time. Everything that has gone on in the world and in the Roman empire and everything, and we come down, everything is right on schedule, right on time, right to the day, and we're going right to the city Bethlehem, little Bethlehem because it just so happens that Augustus decided we ought to take a census. And it just so happens, just so happens . . . it's the providence of God, as we talk about, controlling all the events of all the world, of all the nations of the world. So keep that in mind when you turn on the news and you watch it and say, “What are they thinking, what are they doing? That makes no sense.” But we do, we watch it and we get frustrated and we think, “What is happening?” God has appointed a time and He has appointed the events in the time, in that way nothing has changed and that's our confidence. And we believe it because it is in the Word.

So they go down to register and while she was there she gave birth. Now this is a major travel, I mean, when you are pregnant and you don't ride in a car, you ride on an animal, walking is not going to be great and the animal is not that comfortable when you are in this condition when you get into those later months and it ends up she gave birth there. And you are reminded, this is of the house of David, that's why they had to come here, their lineage and so on. “She gave birth to her firstborn,” verse 7, “and she wrapped Him in cloths and laid Him in a manger.” And you have in your margin that word manger is the word for a feeding trough. “Because there was no room for them in the inn.” Some people have thought it was a cave. We're just told it is crowded. Now think about it, we have something like a football game in town and we are a lot larger city than Bethlehem, but like one of the small towns, but a census occurs, everybody that comes out of Bethlehem has to go back there to register because the Romans said so. So there is a crowding situation. We see it with a football game, people come to town, you better get your hotel reservations early because they fill up. Well, these people now coming back that are not normal residents, didn't have the hotel systems like we have, things are full. They have maybe relatives, but places are full. So they go to, I take it, the stable. Could have been under the house, could have been attached to the house, it doesn't have to be some kind of, like we think of often as a barn which would be unfit. It is often connected to the house, their animals were part of the family.

I was watching a house program on one of the European countries and these people were going to move over there and they wanted to buy a house and they wanted it to be historic. So one of the places they go, they take them in the house and right there as part of the house is the stable. The realtor explained, in these days these animals were important, they are your livelihood, they are your life, they are connected to your family so he is showing them how it would be. So when you think of it, it doesn't have to be so crude and they put them out in a barn. Who would do that with a pregnant woman? It doesn't have to be that kind of situation. But it is an animal place and it is a feeding trough. So they put maybe some straw under it and then some kind of blanket or coat material and you can lay the baby in there. They had a bassinet, we haven't moved a long way, still do the same kind of thing.

Then there are shepherds in the field, now we're going to get the other group. We had the wisemen but we have taken them out of order. The shepherds “staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.” If you read this (there are all kinds of things you can read) they'd be watching over their flock, they could have been raising some sheep that would have been taken for sacrifice and here they are going to worship the Lamb of God. That is interesting but it is not said in here, it just said they are shepherds watching the flock. And that's what the Jews were, shepherds. So whatever other details are there we're not sure.

But an angel appears to them and he says, verse 10, “I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people . . . You'll find a baby . . . lying in a manger,” that's how you'll know you have found the right baby. “Suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is well pleased.’ When the angels had gone away from them in heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, ‘Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing . . . which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they came in a hurry.” They didn't say maybe tomorrow when we get the chores done and we get everything taken care of, we'll see if we can arrange and go down into Bethlehem itself. No, we have to get there, this is an event that takes place. I sometimes think here Mary just had a baby, Mary and Joseph, you're settled in a stable and now they got company, here come the shepherds in from the field. But it is a remarkable event, they come, they are in awe, they told Mary and Joseph what the angels had told them and then the crowd of angels that appeared and told them. All this confirming because you realize Mary and Joseph don't have an angel with them all the time, if their minds began to wander and they began to doubt. No, they come and tell them, the angel has appeared to us, they told us, that's why we are here and that would encourage them.

“Mary treasured,” verse 19, “all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had seen,” that just had been told. And then verse 21 opens up, “And when eight days had passed before His circumcision, His name then was called Jesus.” What this is really saying here, after eight days the male child had to be circumcised, so that's when they officially named Him. And they give Him His name, Jesus, the name they were told to name Him before He was conceived in the womb and that's what we read with Joseph and Mary. So we have eight days, they have Him circumcised. Then verse 22, “When the days for her purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord.” And we're not going back to the Old Testament, you have the marginal reference back in Leviticus, so roughly 40 days here and they are up in Jerusalem.

I thought you were trying to hide, what about Herod? Well, we have to keep things in order. The wisemen haven't been here yet, Jerusalem is still unaware, the shepherds know but they are down in Bethlehem in the fields, they have no standing or status. So I take it what we have here goes on while Mary and Joseph are in Bethlehem. They go up to Jerusalem “when the days for her purification according to the Law of Moses were complete.” She is unclean, has to go up and present the right animal because, and here you have the quote, verse 23, “every firstborn male that opes the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.” And Jesus is the firstborn and the purification for that and so on, you can read in Leviticus. So they go to Jerusalem and they offer the sacrifice, verse 24, “according to what was said in the Law of the Lord. A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Now the requirement when you read back in Leviticus is a lamb and a bird, but if you couldn't afford the lamb you could offer two birds. And that's one indication that Mary and Joseph are not wealthy because they don't offer the lamb. Now if the wisemen had already come they would have gold, frankincense and myrrh which are very useable items that could be bartered and you would use it to pay if you buy a lamb at the temple, as we are aware. So another indication the wisemen haven't been here yet. All they have, remember Joseph is a carpenter, they have left Nazareth, they have come down to Bethlehem but you're living on your savings, so to speak, I guess, maybe what family helps with, we're not given the details.

So they offer this sacrifice and then that's when Simeon, the Lord had revealed to him he would live until he saw the Messiah, verse 26, and when they bring Jesus into the temple to present Him he recognizes Him. The Lord has made it known to him, “This is the one. I told you that you wouldn't die, Simeon, until you saw the Messiah, now you are holding the Messiah.” “He took Him into his arms, and blessed God and said, “Now Lord, You are releasing your bondservant to depart in peace according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared in the presence of all people, ‘a light of revelation to the Gentiles’ and the glory of your people Israel.” You note there are two classes of people who have been made aware -- the magi and the shepherds. The magi are Gentiles, they are wisemen from the east, Persia, Babylon, that region. They come to worship the Jewish king as well. And also the shepherds who would be Jewish, come, and there is an indication of the work that Christ would accomplish at the very beginning of His birth.

And Simeon, now note what he says, “His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him,” verse 33. I want you to see these are true human beings, these parents. It's not we already knew this stuff because the angel talked to us and we understand all that, they are still amazed, I mean this is unfolding for them. Not saying they don't believe it, but the way God keeps confirming this. These shepherds come in and tell them about angels that appeared to them, now Simeon, who is this godly saint serving, tells them. But note Simeon, “Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, ‘Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, for a sign to be opposed.’ ” What he is saying is this Child is going to bring division to Israel, the fall and the rise, One to be opposed. He, like Jesus said, “I came to divide,” here at the very beginning. ‘A sword will pierce even your own soul.’ Wait a minute, that's not what the angel said, the angel said, ‘He is going to be great, He is going to be king, He is going to set up an eternal kingdom.’ I am His mother, now you are telling me He is going to be a divider and a sword will pierce my own soul (something of the pain that she will experience as she stands and watches Him crucified.) What mother wants to watch her own son die such a horrible death? I thought He was the Messiah.” You see now more pieces get to be put into place and as you see the different portions of scripture they come together. Then the prophetess Anna who is quite advanced in years, she is 84, she comes and also can prophesy.

Turn to one more book, the gospel of John. There are many things and they keep us studying the Word as we try to put things together. I love the way John does it. Why do we have four gospels? The Spirit directs them a little differently, different emphases as we have mentioned. John emphasizes the deity of Christ. Mark emphasizes Him as a servant, we don't look for the lineage of servants so it is not included there. His lineage to be king in the line of David is important, His true humanity, and that line is important. He is God so where do you begin with God's lineage? Well, as far back as we can go is in the beginning. Remember Genesis starts, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And John 1:1 says, “In the beginning the Word already was,” that verb was can be translated already was. So when you get to the beginning, the Word, referring to Christ, already was, He was with God, He was God. Where else to you begin? Well, we begin with God, He has no lineage, and to connect Him with our lineage we just can start at the beginning, Genesis 1:1. But when you get to the beginning, He was before the beginning and everything that has come into existence was brought into existence through Him and that's what he goes on to say.

And He the Creator, is the Savior, and you have that, verse 12. “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right authority to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” And John gives this overview summary. Then we can pick up in verse 14, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” so we can develop something about this. He doesn't go to the virgin birth, he doesn't go to those early days. He has already said, if you believe in Him you have life. That gives you the authority to be the child of God, one who belongs to Him by salvation, new birth. And how did that happen? Well, let me take you back now, the Word became flesh. So now we are sort of back where we had in Matthew and we had in Luke. But he doesn't go into any detail in that. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” And John went and told us about Him, now we bring John the Baptist into it. And in verse 18, “No man has seen God at any time, the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him,” exegeted Him. We come to know God most fully through His Son. And then the account goes on from John introducing Him to the nation.

So the importance of this birth, it is of great importance but most people celebrating don't understand what the real importance is. As many as received Him, to those who believed in Him, to them He gave the authority to become the sons of God. We have no authority to become the children of God apart from the provision God has made, and that's why Jesus Christ came to be born. Jesus said, “I came to give My life as a ransom for many,” and so we gather because of His grace and are privileged to believe in what He provided by His death on the cross.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for the riches of your Word. Lord, how blessed we are to have received that Word by your grace, had our eyes opened to see and believe this One born so long ago in Bethlehem. Lord, it is just not an emotional time, not a celebration time, not a time we just do things with family and that's it. This is the most important of times, the eternal God has become a man, your eternal Son born into the human race. He is Jesus, God who is our Savior, the One who would go to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, the only One who ever was, who ever will be, through whom we can be saved by believing in Him and what He did in dying in our place. Lord, may we rejoice in this at this time we celebrate His coming to earth for the express purpose of giving His life to pay the penalty for our sin. We pray you will bless these days and our testimony to others. We ask in Christ's name, amen.