Calvary Road Baptist Church
“BIRTH OF THE SON OF GOD”
Luke 2.1-20
Merry Christmas. I trust and hope you folks have had your very best Christmas ever today. I desire that this time together will properly cap the day off.
Christmas is our observance of the birth of our personal Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Before we turn to God’s Word, what do you think about what the world is doing with our observance? How do you like it when someone decides to celebrate the birthday of one of your family members, but they do so in a manner and in a way that is offensive to the one whose birthday is being celebrated? And I’m not sure I appreciate very much the notion of men and women who personally reject Him and use His name only to swear and make jokes using His birthday as an excuse to party and mess around.
I don’t mind if people who don’t know me celebrate my birthday by trying to honor me. But I resent people using my birthday as an occasion to practice those sorts of sins and debaucheries that I have gone on record as opposing. And I’m sure the Lord Jesus finds incredibly offensive people using His birthday as an excuse to commit the very sins that He was born into this world to die for eventually.
Here is another consideration for grandparents whose children do not honor God and glorify your Savior as they raise your grandchildren. I grew up the firstborn son of two people who were, themselves, raised by Christian parents. Yet my parents did not ever read the Bible, discuss the things of God, pray at any time or for any reason, and only infrequently and nonchalantly attended fewer worship services throughout my life than you can number on two hands. In other words, my mom and dad had the privilege of growing up in Christian homes while choosing to deny their children the opportunities afforded by growing up in a God-honoring and Christ-exalting environment.
I have never been angry with them for their choices that so greatly affected my brother and me, and their grandchildren. I loved them and sought to honor them. But I am still disappointed by their thoughtless and selfish choices as parents. I hold them accountable for that. And I do hold them accountable for their parenting choices. Moms and dads who grew up in Christian homes will be held to account by their children for willfully denying them the same opportunities. If your grown children are making those same destructive decisions, it might be well-advised that you give them a heads up about their children holding them accountable for doing that at some point.
With that said, turn to Luke chapter 2 and discover with me all over again the Biblical truths surrounding our Savior’s birth, truths that have always been here but that a surprising number of people completely ignore.
IN LUKE 2.1-7, WE ARE TOLD OF THE PLACE OF HIS BIRTH
As to the location of His birth, Luke informs us of the details in verses 1-6. Let’s break these six verses into bite-sized pieces.
Verses 1 & 2:
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
Scholars and archaeologists long ago discovered that when this taxation occurred during the governorship of Cyrenius, Christ was initially thought to have been about 15 years old. And don’t you know that this was a significant blow to the integrity of the Bible in the minds of a great many people? But in the late 1800s, a British scholar discovered conclusive evidence that this fellow Cyrenius occupied the office of governor over Syria on two different occasions![1] And, sure enough, the first time he was the governor, there was a taxation corresponding to the time in which Christ was born. So much for those who thought that the integrity of the Bible was suspect. Given enough time, scientists, historians, and archeologists, usually catch up with and agree with the Word of God.
Verse 3:
“And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.”
Years ago, I read that the Romans allowed each province and governed area to gather taxes in the way which seemed best to them. And quite frequently, they used private contractors, called publicans, to collect the taxes. As long as Rome received her money, she was happy. But to the consternation of the Romans, the Jews began to collect taxes in such a way as to reinforce their ancient national pride, which the Romans would just as soon have had removed. Jewish authorities required all Jews to go to the city of their tribal ancestry. In this way, their sense of nationalism was strengthened instead of weakened. And though the Romans did not enjoy this provision, they did not, apparently, oppose it.
Verses 4-6:
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
Joseph and Mary both had to journey to Bethlehem for two reasons.
Even if she weren’t betrothed to Joseph, she would have had to go to Bethlehem since she, too, was a descendant of David. But since she was Joseph’s espoused wife, she went with him to register for taxation. Remember, though Joseph and Mary were legally married, their marriage was not consummated. Consummation does not a marriage make, but the eyes of the law of the land.
Also, remember that the Bible does not directly say that these two people did not travel to Bethlehem alone. There had to be a considerable number of people from the more prosperous region of Galilee who had originally come from economically depressed Judea, especially Bethlehem. Besides, in order for Joseph and Mary to maintain the testimony of her virginity, though she was great with Child, they had to carefully abstain from the very appearance of evil that traveling alone together without the benefit of a chaperon would have accomplished.
Not to mention the danger of traveling alone in that bandit-plagued region. While they were in Bethlehem, Mary delivered her Son, the Son of God. At this point, I might say that I don’t know whether or not Joseph or Mary were experts in Old Testament Scriptures, but it doesn’t matter in this regard since God is expert in His Book. However, Joseph and Mary were far more versed in the Hebrew Scriptures than most of us would imagine.
I bring this up because of Micah 5.2, a prophecy recorded more than 500 years before the event, which took place in Bethlehem that night, a prediction they were no doubt familiar with. Turn with me to Micah and read:
“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
There is no doubt among both Jewish and Christian Bible scholars that Micah had forecast the birthplace of the Messiah to be Bethlehem of Judea, the city of David. There are two cities of David in the Bible. And of the two, God chose little Bethlehem instead of big Jerusalem to be the city of David favored to be the birthplace of God’s only begotten Son. Isn’t that interesting?
Interestingly, God also placed it in the heart and mind of Augustus Caesar to tax the known world at that particular time. It just goes to show you that
“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it withersoever he will.”[2]
Had that taxation not occurred, I doubt that poor couple would have made that costly and time-consuming journey during the last days of her pregnancy to arrive at the right place and time to fulfill prophecy. But God did put it in Caesar’s mind, and He still does move behind the scenes in such ways, His unseen but all-powerful hand accomplishing the things He has purposed to come to pass.
In verse 7, Luke informs us regarding their accommodations:
“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”
What information is given to us by Luke in this sentence! And it’s information that is all too often misinterpreted.
Think about it, folks. God entered into the affairs of men and Luke records,
“And she brought forth her firstborn son.”
You would expect the King of kings and Lord of lords to be attended to by glorious maids and nurses, but the Bible says that Mary wrapped Him in swaddling clothes herself. Not silk and velvet, which befits the King, but ordinary cloth. And the significance of the swaddling clothes? Some have said that it portended His burial. And, truly, God's Son came to this earth to die for mankind’s sin.
Placed upon a royal throne? Laid within a royal crib? No. The Son of God was placed in a manger, fάtaee. What’s a manger? The most widely used Greek lexicon reads in part, “a place to keep horses ... a place for humans to stay ... or even a feeding place under the open sky.”[3] A more recent exegetical aid reads, “trough or box for feeding cattle, stable.”[4] Clearly, they did not enjoy fine accommodations.
“Because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Please take note of the word “inn.” This Greek word katάluma, translated by the word “inn,” is used only two other times in the New Testament, Mark 14.14 and Luke 22.11, where it is translated as “guestchamber”:
“And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?”
“And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?”
The two other passages can only refer to a place where you might put someone up for the night.[5] But nothing resembling a motel or establishment where rooms were rented out for money is likely in view.
Now, note Luke 10.34, where the good Samaritan takes the injured man who thieves set upon to an “inn”:
“And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”
To remind you, the Greek word in Luke 2.7, Mark 14.14, and Luke 22.11 is katάluma. This word, however, which refers to a place of business in which rooms are normally rented out for money to travelers, is pandocheῖon.[6]
Understanding that Joseph and Mary probably responded to the cultural imperative of attempting to stay with someone who was related to them in this village of their ancestry. The problem they faced was that there were so many of the house and lineage of David in Bethlehem for the taxation that the guest rooms or other places to accommodate people in areas of their relative’s homes were already occupied. That being the case, and with no other place in that tiny village where they could reasonably expect to spend the night, Mary likely gave birth to the Christ Child on the floor of the main room of someone’s house and then placed her Child, now wrapped in swaddling clothes, in a trough or crib used to feed animals. There was no other option!
Imagine the Creator of the universe spending His first night, after experiencing human birth, in such a humble place as a manger. What condescension!
THAT WAS THE PLACE OF HIS BIRTH. NOW WE SEE THE PRAISE OF HIS BIRTH
Verse 8:
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.”
This verse virtually guarantees that the Lord Jesus Christ was not born on December 25th. In Palestine, there were in that era two rainy seasons. One was in the Spring, and one was in the Winter. This would be the early and latter rains mentioned in Scripture.[7] Generally speaking, flocks of sheep were not grazed outside in open fields during these rainy seasons, and shepherds, consequently, would not be out there with them. Instead, during the rainy seasons, the flocks were kept in pens. That means that the events described in verse 8, on the night of our Lord’s birth, occurred almost certainly in the Fall and not during Winter’s rainy season. The dry Fall would place the birth of the Lord Jesus in the neighborhood of October.
If this information panics you, it shouldn’t. Remember that most of the religious holidays observed in Christendom are holdovers from Roman Catholicism. And December 25th, particularly, was adopted by the Church of Rome as the “official” birthdate of Christ because it coincided with an annual pagan holy day. Another reason to avoid panic is that the Bible doesn’t give us the exact day of our Lord’s birth. If it were vital for us to know exactly when He was born, it would be recorded in the Bible.
You may ask yourself, “Why is he telling us these things?” For two excellent reasons: First, because these things are true. And the Bible-believing Christian needs never to be afraid of the truth. Second, what if Jehovah’s Witnesses come to your door someday and prove that Jesus could not have been born on December 25th? It might destroy your faith for no good reason. But if you realize that your faith does not depend upon the date of His birth but upon the fact of His birth, death, burial, and resurrection, you’ll weather the storm. I tell you these things to prepare and equip you to serve Christ as strong and durable soldiers of the cross.
Verse 9:
“And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.”
Isn’t it just like God to send an angel to shepherds, men whose lives focused upon delivering and raising little lambs, to tell them of the Lamb who has just been born of Mary in Bethlehem? Those shepherds, being Jewish men, were given the visible sign of the Lord’s glory to remove all doubts about the source of information they were about to receive, as well as to convince them that the messenger they were observing came from God.
Verse 10:
“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”
It seems a rather frequent thing for God when He appears to men or communicates to them to scare the willies out of them and allay their fears. He probably does this to secure their attention and their reverence. The same was sometimes true of those who represented God. Samson’s parents come to my mind as examples of this.[8]
Notice the scope of the good news that this angel is about to share. He used the phrase “all people.” Thus, from the very beginning of our Lord’s stay on this planet, His goal was to make salvation available to all people. That this would be a source of great joy is the apparent result of such good news.
Verse 11:
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
We don’t know that Christ was born at night, as the nativity scenes always seem to depict His birth. What does occur at night is the delivery of this message to the shepherds. It is likely that God allowed some time to pass after His birth for Mary to rest, to tend to her young Child, and to become modest and presentable again before dispatching the angel to alert the shepherds.
The place where He was born is told; the purpose of our Lord is also told. He is the Savior. He is also the Messiah, with Christ translating the Greek word for the Hebrew word for Messiah, which informs us that He is indeed the promised One for whom these shepherds, and many other Jews, were waiting for so long.
Verse 12:
“And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
The sign is not precisely that He would be wrapped in swaddling clothes, in all probability. It was unusual that a newborn baby was lying in a manger! This was what narrowed down the shepherd’s field of search. You could probably find a dozen babies in Bethlehem wrapped in swaddling clothes at any point in time on such a night so long ago. But how many of those babies could be found in a manger? Only Him.
Verses 13 & 14:
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
It seems almost as if the angels in heaven couldn’t hold it in any longer. They just had to erupt into a song of praise and adoration because that’s what they were created for, and they knew it. The Bible says that’s what we were created for, too. But few of us realize it.
Notice what the results of Christ’s birth will be. To God, there will be great glory. To man, there will be peace and good will here on earth. Let’s examine our side of the situation. First, there will be peace with God. According to Romans 5.1, this comes about when a person places his faith and trust in Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection for his sake. After there is peace with God, when the war of rebellion against God’s authority is over, the peace of God can then be experienced. This is the peace of mind and heart that the Lord makes possible for the believer. And this can only occur when your sins are forgiven, and your heart is right with God. Then, when our Lord comes again to set up His kingdom, there will be peace among men. And how will this come about? It will be the direct result of the Prince of Peace’s intolerance for war. The Lord Jesus simply will not allow war among men and women while He rules. But it won’t be just the absence of war. There will also be good will toward men.
Verse 15:
“And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.”
The shepherds couldn’t leave while the angels were talking to them and praising God. That would be rude. So they waited until the angels departed and then went to see those things the Lord brought to pass.
Their journey probably wasn’t all that far. It may even have been less than a mile. But how appropriate that shepherds of Israel to see the newly born Lamb of God with their own eyes.
Verse 16:
“And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.”
Can you imagine what most people would think if you told them that God’s Son was lying in a feed trough? They wouldn’t believe you, that’s for sure.
If those shepherds were like most people these days who call themselves Christians, they would have felt frustrated at the inconvenience of being expected to see Him, they would take note of the type of clothing Joseph, and Mary were wearing, they would take note of the kind of cloth the Infant was wrapped in, they would object to the type of nursery He was kept in, and they would certainly take exception to having to worship without the proper amount of climate control, air conditioning, lighting, and comfortable seating.
Want to know why these shepherds didn’t notice such things? It was because they were more interested in looking upon the Person of Christ than upon the physical surroundings. Would to God more people were like them. Too many professing Christians notice the clock, the thermometer, the carpet, and the comfortable seating but do not notice the Savior. And what about Joseph and Mary? Did they have any warning these guys were going to show up? Not likely.
Verse 17:
“And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.”
Were these shepherds told to go and tell others? No. Why do you suppose they went and told others? And why was it that throughout the earthly ministry of Christ, men and women went and told others when they were not commanded to do so?[9]
I’m convinced that the so-called Great Commission of Matthew 28.18-20 isn’t a commission. It’s the Great Permission! Beginning here and throughout the Gospels, we observe men and women eager to share the Good News about Christ. Men and women who didn’t need to be told. They just went.
And as we continue our study through the Life and Lessons of Christ on Wednesday nights, be very sure that I will continue to point out to you those individuals who, despite being told not to tell others of Christ, were so full of joy that they went and told folks anyway. That’s what prompted those shepherds to tell what they knew to be true. That prompts genuine Christians to tell what we know to be true.
Verse 18:
“And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.”
Did the shepherds have an impact on those that they told? Yes, they did. I wonder how many people would remember, years later, what those shepherds had told them this one night? Don’t you know that when the Lord began His public ministry and raised the dead and healed folks and taught the multitudes, the old people remarked to themselves, “I wonder if He’s the one Who was the baby that shepherd told me about so many years ago?”
Verse 19:
“But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”
A very unusual woman, this young Mary. Truly blessed by God, she maintained a steady head on her shoulders and approached challenging situations maturely and spiritually. In addition to Elizabeth’s influence on her, she might have had a remarkable and God-fearing mother to raise such a young woman. It saddens me that so many moms let opportunities to take their children to Church and train them, for God’s sake, pass quickly by.
I have always wondered just how Mary pondered those things in her heart. I can’t help but think that through all of the hoopla, Mary realized that her life would be a life of extreme pain. She knew that many would accuse her of fornication unjustly, and there was nothing she could do about it. No doubt, she’d already experienced some of it. But she realized she must sit quietly and allow God to vindicate her.
Verse 20:
“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.”
The shepherds returned to their flocks to keep watch over them. But they went glorifying God for what they had heard and seen. Notice the phrase, “as it was told unto them.” This is a significant phrase that sheds light on an important truth.
Did the shepherds evaluate the angel’s words in light of what they saw? Or did they consider what they saw in terms of what the angel told them? It was the latter. They walked away, comprehending the real meaning of Christmas because their starting point in understanding what they saw was God’s revelation of truth to them using the angelic messenger and choir. Similarly, my friend, you will only understand what Christmas means when your starting point is the truth of God’s Word.
Merry Christmas to each of you. Tonight, we’ve spent time in God’s Word in that portion of Scripture that tells us what Christmas is all about. Christmas is not all about family. Christmas is not all about good feelings. Christmas is not all about sentimentality. Christmas is not all about presents. Christmas is not all about lots of good food. Even though most of mankind is confused on this point, Christmas is actually about the birth of the Son of God.
As we go home to ponder the facts of Christmas, please take note of what we read from Luke chapter 2. And it is important to point out that Luke was not an eyewitness to any portion of the earthly life and ministry of Jesus Christ. That’s the first thing to mark down.
Second, Luke’s Gospel was written around 60-63 AD. That let’s us know two things. First, the information that Luke discovered in his research was still readily available, being only a few decades after these things actually occurred. And second, what Luke wrote was accepted as truthful by those who would know since most eyewitnesses were still alive at the time of his writing.
With these two facts in hand, you can be as sure of the truthfulness of what we read as possible. You can also be sure that what we are informed about, we are responsible for responding to. Don’t think you can go home after learning about the birth of God’s Son and imagine you won’t be held accountable by God for what you’ve been exposed to. Oh no. God has exposed you to truth tonight so that you will recognize it as such and so that you will respond to it.
Respond how. Respond by committing your life to Jesus Christ and trusting Him for the forgiveness of sins, if you are not a Christian. Respond more earnestly, committing yourself to serve Christ if you are a Christian.
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[1] https://biblearchaeologyreport.com/2019/12/19/quirinius-an-archaeological-biography/
[2] Proverbs 21.1
[3] Bauer, Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), page 1050.
[4] Rogers, Jr., Cleon L. and Rogers III, Cleon L., The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key To The Greek New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: ZondervanPublishingHouse, 1998), page 111.
[5] Bauer, Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), page 521.
[6] Bauer, page 753.
[7] Proverbs 16.15; Jeremiah 3.3; Joel 2.23; Zechariah 10.1; James 5.7
[8] Judges 13.21-23
[9] Matthew 8.4; 16.20; 17.9; Mark 7.3; 8.26, 30; 9.9; Luke 5.14; 8.56; 9.21
Question? Comment?
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