Sermon 12/25/04
His Birth - Matthew 1:18-25 & Luke 2:1-20
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His Birth
“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. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man
and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her
away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,
‘Joseph, son of David, 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, for He will save His people
from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfill
what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a
son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which
translated means, ‘God with us.’ And Joseph awoke from
his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded
him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin
until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name
Jesus.” (Matthew 1:18-25)
“Now in
those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that
a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was
the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of
Syria. And everyone was
on his way to register for the census, each to his own
city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of
Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called
Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of
David, in order to register along with Mary, who was
engaged to him, and was with child. While they were
there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped
Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there
was no room for them in the inn. In the same region
there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and
keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of
the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of
the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly
frightened. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be
afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy
which will be for all the people; for today in the city
of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is
Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will
find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’
And 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 pleased.’ When the angels had gone away from
them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one
another, ‘Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see
this thing that has happened which the Lord has made
known to us.’ So they came in a hurry and found their
way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the
manger. When they had seen this, they made known the
statement which had been told them about this Child. And
all who heard it wondered at the things which were told
them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these
things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went
back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had
heard and seen, just as had been told them.”
(Luke 2:1-20)
The two accounts of the birth of
Jesus Christ in Matthew and Luke SEEM different to some,
but they merely describe it from different vantage
points, reflecting the remarkably dissimilar backgrounds
of those who wrote. Matthew was a Jew who had held the
hated office of tax collector through the auspices of
the Roman Empire. He was a “surprise” disciple of
Jesus, who, like the others, left not only his
employment, but also his family to follow the Lord. His
emphasis in writing was to view the birth of Jesus as a
Jewish event, seeing it correctly as a fulfillment of
Old Testament prophesies about the Messiah of Israel.
Luke was a Gentile (non-Jewish) doctor, who became a
traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. While Paul was
in prison for two years in Caesarea, Dr. Luke acted as
an “investigative reporter,” traveling all over Judea,
asking questions of those who were familiar with the
birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He
without doubt asked many questions of Mary, the mother
of Jesus, and likely went to Bethlehem to view the birth
records, kept so 1) the Jews would know their lineage,
2) the Romans would know how much to tax, but most of
all 3) God was authenticating His Son.
The accounts in Matthew and Luke
remind us of Genesis Chapters 1 and 2. Genesis One
takes a “telescopic” look at the creation of the world,
whereas Genesis Two gives us a “microscopic” view of
mankind. The first account notes the vegetation that
was created on the third day, with humanity arriving on
the sixth day. In Genesis Two, the first man, Adam, is
associated with what seems to be the creation of plant
life, but if you look carefully, the account is actually
about the cultivation of crops of the field. As Genesis
One and Two are simply different perspectives, so are
Matthew and Luke.
Genesis tells us how this world was
created and if those actions had not been taken by God,
we would not exist. These words would not be written
and you would not be reading or hearing them right now.
Matthew and Luke tell us how the Messiah (the Christ,
the Anointed One) was brought into this world to save us
from our sins, and if God had not acted in such a
manner, we couldn’t be with God in eternity.
You should be very interested in
the events that surround the birth of Jesus. He was
descended from royalty (“Joseph,
son of David”) and yet He allowed His personal
state to be low. “There was no
room for them in the inn,” but there would have
been room if they were notable people. You and I are
descended from Adam, the Son of God (Luke 3:38), but we
have become lowly due to sin. Jesus’ conception and
birth were “questionable” to those in the small town who
knew His family. If your circumstances are
questionable, God still cares for you. God can and will
give instruction in dreams, as He did with Jesus’
step-father, Joseph. He can instruct You through His
Holy Spirit, through His Word, through the people of
God, through the circumstances of life, and yes, through
dreams. God sent His holy angels to ordinary people,
the shepherds. If He worked through ordinary people
like them, he will also work through you and me, no
matter what our condition in life. Jesus is God (He is
“Immanuel,” “God
with us”) and yet He was essentially a
blue-collar worker, most of his life. He understands
what it means to be a non-entity. He “gets it” when you
are suffering. He is personally aware of the fleeting
fame that this world offers and He knows what it means
to experience disgrace. And He loves you enough to come
and “save His people from their
sins.” People like you. Like me.
As Isaiah the prophet said,
hundreds of years before the Messiah’s birth, “Unto
us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the
government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will
be called, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). He is all
you need and He loves you. Will you trust in Him now?
Thank You, God, for Your Son. I
trust in Him now. In Jesus Name. Amen.
