“The Good News of Christmas”
(Luke 2:1-7)
Christmas 2011
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
Service Held at the Henderson Fine Arts Center
Team-Preaching with Rich Stratton
Words in Black, Rev. Todd Linn
Words in Red, Rev. Rich Stratton
- Take your Bibles and open them to Luke, chapter 2.
This passage was part of what was read earlier by the Clem brothers. It’s a passage usually thought of as the “traditional” Christmas passage, Luke’s Gospel, chapter 2. Luke records in straightforward fashion how it is that Mary came to give birth to Jesus Christ. And the passage is remarkably succinct and striking in its simplicity.
Speaking of simplicity, you probably heard about the teacher after Christmas break who asked the class how they spent their vacations. One little boy said, “We visited my grandmother in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.” His teacher said, “Well, that sounds like an excellent vocabulary word! Can you tell the class how you spell, ‘Punxsutawney?’” The little boy said, “You know, come to think of it, we went to Ohio.”
Luke keeps things simple here in this passage, telling us very plainly how Joseph and Mary made their way to Bethlehem. Luke spares us the details about the hardships of the journey, how many days it took, the labor pains Mary felt along the way, and there’s not even a hint of what sort of conversation that took place during the journey. Maybe Luke avoids providing superficial, external details because the focus and content of the message is lying in a manger, a tiny manger, the resting place of a very unique baby.
- Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s holy, inspired, and inerrant Word.
1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.
3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
- Pray.
Introduction:
We want to speak to you this morning about, “The Good News of Christmas.” This passage goes on to say that an angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds keeping watch over their flock at night and the angel said, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all people (Luke 2:10),” good news of great joy. The word, “Gospel” means good news so we want to talk about this good news of Christmas. We have said more than a few times that you really can’t appreciate good news without first gaining perspective on the bad news.
Speaking of perspective, I shared with you a couple years ago about the young man at Christmastime who was writing home to his parents. It was his first semester away at college and he was writing to them just before the Christmas break, knowing he would be home for the break and, in anticipation of his soon being home with them, he wrote this letter:
Dear Mom and Dad,
I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch with you, but a number of things have happened and I wanted to let you know about them. First, my apartment burned to the ground and in seeking to rescue a few things from it, I broke my leg and ended up in the hospital. While I was in the hospital, I met a wonderful girl. She and I were married on Saturday afternoon. My friends assure me that it shouldn’t be an inhibition in any way to the development of our relationship that she is 20 years older than I and does not speak the English language. [paragraph break, start of new paragraph].
Everything you have just read is untrue so don’t worry. However, what is true is that I have failed my exams badly. And since I wanted you to be able to get this in some kind of perspective, I have written the letter as is.
Perspective helps, doesn’t it?! We can only appreciate the Good News of the season when we fully appreciate the bad news of our sin. We cannot fully appreciate what it means to be forgiven until we know we stand in need of forgiveness.
The bad news is that we are all sinners. We have all sinned, every one (Romans 3:23). We are sinners by nature and by choice. Apart from God’s intervention we are dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) and we will die separated from God forever as just punishment for our sin. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that God has done something to remedy the bad news. The Bible says in 1 John 4:10 that God “loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Jesus came into this world at Christmas in order to die for us. Jesus died to take care of our sin problem and when He died on the cross, He fully exhausted God’s wrath, which was directed towards us because of our sin. He died in our place, He was buried, and on the third day God raised Christ from the dead to indicate His pleasure and His “stamp of approval” on all Christ did for us. If we believe this, turn from our sin, and receive Christ as our Lord, then we are forever forgiven and will enjoy eternity in heaven. That’s the good news.
And there are other implications of this good news and of the God who brings the good news to us. We want to share a few of these blessings, these “Christmas gifts,” if you like; gifts to us from the One True God of the Bible. First, this passage teaches us that we can:
I. Rest in the Purpose of His Sovereignty (1-5)
The sovereignty of God means God is ruling over all the events of the world and He is ruling in such a way to fulfill His perfect plans and purposes. Things don’t “just happen.” God is in control of everything, good and bad. There is, of course, great mystery in why God permits evil and why, at times, He chooses not to intervene, but He is absolutely in control of all things. Speaking through the Prophet Isaiah, God says, “I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure (Isaiah 46:9-10).”
We certainly see God’s hand guiding the historical events of the first Christmas. Look again at verses 1 and 2.
1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.
Luke tells us that during the time this guy Quirinius was governing Syria, the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus issued a decree. This was a decree that everyone was to go to their birthplace to register their names for a census. The reason they were to be counted was so they could be taxed. You might think of Caesar Augustus as head of the Roman Internal Revenue Service. If you’re going to tax people, you’ve got to know how many people you’ve got. So you have everyone return to their cities of birth and record their names and then you know who to tax and how to tax them.
This guy Augustus was the first “Caesar” or emperor of Rome. He was the grand-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar and he ruled some 40 years. Our month of August is named after this Caesar Augustus, who was considered “august” and strong. In fact, because the Roman Senate granted his adoptive father Julius Caesar godlike status with the title, “Divus Julius,” the “Divine Julius,” Augustus–as his adoptive son–referred to himself as “divi filius,” son of the divine; or “son of god.”
So here is a strong, Roman Emperor on the throne, ordering people around, an emperor who thought of himself as “son of god.” Do you see the irony in all of this? Someone asks, “Well, where then is the God of the Bible in all of this?” Solomon writes in Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”
Where is God? He is on His throne. He is in utter control of all things. He holds all things in His hand. He holds the king’s heart and the governor’s heart and the president’s heart and the Roman Emperor’s heart in His hand. He guides their hearts when He wishes to intervene. Nothing happens without His divine permission. Behind the human decree of Caesar are the eternal decrees of God, the God who “declares the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure (Isaiah 46:9-10). God is guiding the events here to get Joseph and Mary right where He wants them, to get them right to Bethlehem, the pre-appointed, foreordained birthplace of the Messiah. So we read in verses 3 and following:
3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
Joseph is from Bethlehem; that’s his hometown. So he’s got to make a 75-mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be registered and his very pregnant spouse, Mary, is making the journey with him. We’ve got doctors in our congregation. I don’t know a single obstetrician or gynecologist who would recommend Mary’s traveling in these conditions! But we must remember that God is guiding, His sovereign purposes are being fulfilled.
If we step back in time about 750 years before these events we hear one of God’s prophets, a man named Micah, prophesying about the birth of Joseph and Mary’s child. In the Old Testament book of Micah, Micah 5:2, God says, “You, Bethlehem…though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”
God’s sovereign purpose was that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. This was always His plan and the prophet Micah recorded that plan 750 years before the birth of Christ. So God is working through all the events of human history to get Joseph and Mary right where He wants them.
If you were not a believer, you might just assume that things “just happen.” Human history just happens. The events of our lives just happen. But things don’t just happen. God holds in his hands the hearts of all people, directing them like rivers of water wherever He pleases. It is admittedly a fascinating teaching. It boggles our minds to try to understand how it is that we make free choices and decisions and yet the One True God of the Bible works through our free choices and decisions to fulfill His sovereign purposes.
Be encouraged by this teaching! You can rest in the purpose of His sovereignty. The God who guides the movements and the steps of Caesar Augustus, Governor Quirinius, and Joseph and Mary, is the same God who guides your steps, too. Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your steps.”
When you are feeling small and insignificant, a tiny dot among some seven billion people on the planet, be encouraged to know that God is very much at work in your life. He is guiding. He is working. He always does what is right.
Some of you are going through challenging days right now. You may wonder why God has permitted the hardships you are facing, the unforeseen accident, the sudden diagnosis, the marital trouble, or the financial strain, but know that God is at work through even this. He works all things according to the counsel of His will and you can rest in the purpose of His sovereignty.
This is especially comforting to the Christian who knows the truth of Romans 8:28, that God is working all things together for good to those who love Him, to those who are the called according to His purpose, that purpose being to conform us into the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:29).
God’s loving guidance and care and sovereignty over the events of our lives is as exhaustive and extensive as the loving guidance, care, and sovereignty He demonstrates in guiding the events of the first Christmas. That’s good news. Rest in the Purpose of His Sovereignty. Secondly, this passage teaches us to:
II. Rely on the Promises of Scripture (6)
Rely on the promises of Scripture. This encouragement comes from verse 6:
6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
My translation–the New King James Version–has, “So it was.” Literally, the Greek reads: “Now it happened.” What happened? The birth of Jesus happened. In other words, God fulfilled that promise He had made earlier through the prophet Micah, 750 years earlier, recorded in the Old Testament Scripture, Micah chapter 5, verse 2. God He promised in Scripture that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem and–750 years later– , “So it was.” It happened just as He said it would happen. So it was.
Luke writes, “The days were completed for her to be delivered.” The days were completed. The exact number of days for the baby to be delivered were completed. And so it was. It happened.
The God of Christmas keeps His promises. You can rely on the promises of Scripture. Think of it: hundreds of thousands of people making their way to Bethlehem so one verse of Scripture could be fulfilled. God keeps his promises
There are over 300 Old Testament prophecies, 300 promises, concerning the coming of Christ and God has been faithful to keep every single one of them.
This means you can be encouraged concerning all the other promises of Scripture, too. Think of particularly encouraging promises of Scripture:
Jeremiah 29:13, “You shall seek Me and find Me if you search for Me with all of your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:11, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to help you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.”
John 3:16, “Whoever believes in Jesus Christ, will not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 14:1-3,“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
Matthew 28:19-20, “I am with you always.”
Romans 8:28, “We know that God works all things together for good to those who love Him.”
The God of Christmas keeps His Word. You can rely on the promises of Scripture.
Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living word of God (You) shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.
Good news: Rest in the Purpose of His Sovereignty, Rely on the Promises of Scripture. Thirdly:
- III. Receive the Provision of His Son (7)
God has provided the gift of His Son as the greatest Christmas gift ever given. Verse 7 again:
7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
It’s a simple statement. Luke writes that Mary gives birth to Jesus, wraps Him in swaddling cloths and lays the baby Jesus in a manger. In the incarnation, deity takes on humanity. God takes on flesh. John 1:14: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” In the words of the Christmas carol, “Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing, O come let us adore Him.”
The majority of us here this morning and the majority listening on WSON would probably say we are Christians, we have already received the gift God has provided us, we have received the provision of His Son. But I wonder whether we truly worship Him as we should. I wonder whether we truly “adore Him, Christ the Lord.”
Perhaps this is why most of us see the last few words of verse 7 as something of a metaphor for the way so many respond to Jesus Christ. He was placed in a manger, “because there was no room for them in the inn.” No room. No room for Jesus.
We Christians are quick to note the irony in Christ’s coming to His own people–the Jews–and, in the main, being rejected by them. John 1:11, “He came unto His own and they did not receive Him.” But what about professing Christians who claims Christ is Lord, but don’t “make room” for Him in their lives? And what of the irony that little room is made for Jesus during Christmas?
Were there not shopping malls this past week over which you could hang the sign: “No room for Jesus?” Are there not homes over which you could hang the sign: “No Room?”
Are there not church buildings, even, over which one could hang the sign: “No Room” because we are too busy having our parties and too busy with our calendars, and too busy with our toys to worship Him? Too often the demands upon our time cause us to say something like, “If I could just get through the holidays…” Through them?! The way you get through a doctor’s appointment or through a task you hate? Through Christmas?
In a few moments we’re going to leave here singing, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her king. Let every heart prepare Him–what?–room.” I want to encourage you to “make room” for Jesus, make room for Him today, make room for Him this week, make room for Him every day of your life.
Jesus says in Mark 8:36: “What shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his soul?” Make room for Jesus. Receive Him into your life and allow Him to guide your steps.
I heard a pastor share about how it is when you get lost, you seek out someone to point you in the right direction. You see someone walking on the other side of the street, slow the car down, roll down the passenger-side window and holler out to him for help. The guy comes over, puts his head inside the passenger-side window and tells you something like, “Go down this road, don’t take the first left, keep going and take the second right and then go a quarter mile before the fork in the road…” And if you’re like me the guy sees this blank look on your face, knowing you’re not getting any of this. You’re more lost now than you were when you asked for directions! Sometimes religion comes across that way. People give all kinds of directions, preachers and teachers and religious leaders provide all kinds of steps to this and steps to that and people are lost and confused and don’t know what to believe. How helpful it is then when the guy you asked for directions says to you, “You know, I can tell you’re not getting any of this. Why don’t you just let me get in the car with you and I’ll take you where you need to go.” That’s what God says to us at Christmastime. God comes to you in the Person of Christ. He says, “Let me come into your life and I’ll take you where you need to go.” Receive the provision of God’s Son. Make room for Jesus.
- Let’s pray.
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