Great Joy

Krista and I enjoy reading in the evenings when we’re winding down after a long day, usually with a cup of tea and just side by side in bed. And I’m currently rereading Emma by Jane Austen. (Don’t make too much fun of me.) But as I’m rereading Austen (It’s not just Emma, but it’s in all of her books) I’m struck once again at just how socially stratified the world was, the British world in which she lived. There were these clearly delineated social circles prescribed by people’s wealth and societal consequence. Who could dine with whom, and who was invited, and who was excluded, who were eligible matches or not, you know. Everything was largely determined by the level of your social class.

Now here in America, our class structure is somewhat less stratified than 18th century Britain. There’s certainly a lot more mobility (right?) within our class structure, but we do have levels, don’t we? We have levels and circles of society. Here in Chicago, you can tell block-by-block whether you are in a wealthy part of town or not, right? I mean just as you move throughout the city.

Why do I bring all of that up? Well, the first century Greco-Roman world in the New Testament was a highly stratified one, very class conscious. So at the very top you had Caesar and the the political ruling class. Then you had the landed estate owners, decorated military leaders. Then below them, you had generally Roman citizens which were, of course, way higher on the status ladder than non-Roman citizens. You had regional officials, educated professionals, trades people, manual laborers. And then you had the manual laborers with the dirty jobs. And then even below that you had slaves. And it is into this highly stratified world that Jesus is born. In our passage today, Luke goes out of his way to point out, make sure we don’t miss that Jesus’ origins were particularly lowly.

They were lowly origins. Jesus is born to a blue-collar family from a one-horse town in Nazareth, out in the sticks of Galilee in the Roman-oppressed nation of Israel. He is found lying in a feeding trough, surrounded by a raft of smelly herdsmen in the middle of the night.

This is not the story we would have expected. Who would have ever thought that when the King of Heaven came to town He would move in on the wrong side of the tracks? But He shows up this way on purpose because this is the best way for Jesus to show the world and us who He really is.

So grab your Bibles. We’re going to be in Luke, chapter 2, verses 1 down to 20 this morning. You’ll find today’s reading on page 857 there in the pew Bible by your knees. Eight-five- seven. And in these very familiar verses of the Christmas story we will see this morning three things about our Lord. We’ll see His Sovereignty, His Extravagancy, and His Modesty. His Sovereignty, Extravagancy, and Modesty.

Let’s bow our heads and pray together as we turn to God’s Word.

Heavenly Father, we gather here today amazed at who you are. This is not the story we would have expected or even written. If we would have tried to tell a believable story of God coming to Earth, it wouldn’t look like this. And yet this is how you chose to come in the person of your Son. And so we marvel and wonder at these things. Help us to see Jesus this morning, we pray. Fill us with great joy, in Jesus’ name, Amen. Amen.

So the first thing we see here is the Lord’s Sovereignty. Luke 2:1: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town.”

Just pause there for a moment. Mary and Joseph, we know, are from Nazareth, which is up north in Galilee in Israel, but that is not the place where Jesus will be born. Jesus will be born in Bethlehem in Judea. This is the story of how Jesus got born in Bethlehem instead of the place where He is from up in the north.

Caesar Augustus issues a decree requiring people of the Roman Empire everywhere to register in a kind of census. This is, of course, so that he will know how many taxable families he has in the empire so he can fill his coffers and keep the glory of Rome intact. And so people are required to go to all the places where they herald from originally, where their family roots run deepest, to satisfy this registration.

Now let me tell you a little bit about Caesar Augustus. He was born in 63 BC. His given name was Gaius Octavius, and when his maternal great-uncle, Julius Caesar, was assassinated in 44 BC on the Ides of March, Caesar’s will named Octavius as his legal son and heir. So this great nephew ends up ascending to the throne. Of course there was a great civil war after Caesar’s death, Julius Caesar’s death, if you know your history, massive unrest. But in 31 BC, Octavius ascends to the throne. He takes the name Augustus, and through his conquests expands the Roman Empire to control virtually all of the known world. He taxed very heavily but then turned around and gave lots of resources to the people and ingratiated himself to others that way. His era is known in history as the era of the Pax Romana, the Roman peace, because no one dared oppose him, and he conquered all.

Caesar Augustus became known at that time as a kind of god. He was called “savior” of Rome, the “lord” of the earth who had brought peace to all mankind. This is an image of the Priene Calendar Inscription. I think we have it on the screen here for you. Yes. This was discovered in 1868 and 1869 by Richard Pullan who was leading an archeological dig in the ancient Greek city of Priene, which is now located in modern day Turkey, and as he was digging in the precincts of the temple of Athena Polias, he unearthed two tablets, and on this one and the other one, this is the statement that is read. Listen to these words. I’m going to share this to help you understand how Caesar Augustus was viewed in his day.

All the cities unanimously adopt the birthday of the divine Caesar as the new beginning of the year (This is September 23rd by the way.). “Since Providence [gave] us Augustus, whom she filled with virtue that he might benefit humankind, sending him as a savior, both for us and for our descendants, that he might end war and arrange all things, and since he, Caesar, by his appearance (excelled even our anticipations), surpassing all previous benefactors, and not even leaving to posterity any hope of surpassing what he has done, and since the birthday of the god Augustus was the beginning of the good [news] for the world that came by reason of him.”

I want you to see Luke is situating this text, Luke chapter 2, in the days of Caesar Augustus, in the days when Caesar was considered savior and lord who brought peace to the earth, in the days when Caesar’s birth was heralded as good news of joy for the world, in the days when Caesar was worshiped as the divine son of providence, in the days when Caesar made everyone register so that he could hike their taxes and enhance the glory of Rome to the ends of the earth. It is in those days that the real Savior was born. It was in those days that the true King arrived. It was in those days that the Lord of all stepped in to space and time, the Prince of peace, the Son of God, the Glorious One was born. It is in these days of the man who made himself out to be a god that God Himself became a man, you see.

Verse 4: “And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.”

So Joseph and Mary head south to Judea, which is up in elevation, to the town of Bethlehem. That means “house of bread.” This is the small little town of the great King David of old. Joseph is of his lineage, a long and distant relative, and so he goes to Bethlehem. Mary is with him and, of course as we know, she is pregnant.

To the casual reader this seems very run-of-the-mill, ho-hum, nothing big going on here. But this is a massively significant moment, because Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem! He could not have been born in Nazareth, not if He were to be the Messiah.

There’s a prophecy in the Old Testament in Micah 5:2–5. Let me read it to you: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORDhis God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.”

So it’s a good thing (Isn’t it?) that Joseph and Mary just happened to be in the right place at the right time, isn’t it?

Verse 6: “And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

Of course these events are not coincidental. They’re not haphazard. God works all things according to the council of His will, and He is providentially at work bringing all of these things to pass.

Here’s what’s amazing to me. God used an emperor with an ego, who made himself out to be god, to issue the very edict that would require Joseph and Mary to show up in Bethlehem at the, it just happens to be, the exact time when Mary will go into labor, so that God’s Son might be born—the Messiah, in the right place and at the right time. Luke wants us to see Caesar Augustus may be calling the shots, but it is the Lord who reigns over all. It is the Lord who reigns over all. (applause)

Psalm 115:3 says: “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”

Proverbs 21:1 says: “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.”

The Lord God Almighty reigns over the affairs of men. Nothing can thwart the advent of His redemptive plan. Caesar Augustus plays right into the hand of God here. You see this. The Roman Empire, the census, ushers in the kingdom of heaven. There’s no room in the city of David, and so David’s heir is laid in a manger, in a cattle feeding trough. And all of this is under the sovereign hand of God. It’s no accident.

The Lord’s sovereignty, that’s the first thing we see. Secondly, we see the Lord’s Extravagancy, His extravagancy.

Look at verse 8: “In the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.” Of course they were.

The Son of God has been born. And God is like an eager daddy. He just wants to tell the world. He’s bursting with pride. He’s got to send out a birth announcement, you know, so He pulls out all the stops. He sends this angel to herald a royal proclamation with a battalion of angelic warriors clad with lightning, right on his heels in a crescendo making the grandeur of this cosmic moment real, and He dispatches this regal entourage so that the world might know what has happened—that His Son has been born—and He sends them, the first people on His list are...shepherds! Shepherds? (chuckles) Yes, shepherds. Not Caesar, not the religious leaders, not the educated, not the elites. Shepherds. Low-class, uneducated, poor shepherds, who smelled a lot like sheep.

Don’t you see? God chose Mary, lowly, humble, nobody-Mary, to bear the Son of God. God chose a manger, a slobbery, chewed-on feeding trough to be the bassinette for the Son of Glory. And God chose shepherds, a bunch of third-shift herdsmen, to be the first to hear of His coming. It’s amazing.

Verse 10: “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you (listen to these words) good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’”

Do you see the parallels with the Priene Calendar Inscription that I read you earlier? Did you catch them? Here again is good news of great joy for all people, a Savior who is Christ the Lord, who will bring peace on Earth, and glory. Don’t you see what’s going on here? God picks the greatest, most powerful, most worshiped and feared person on Earth, on the planet, Emperor Caesar Augustus himself, who, whenever he says anything, people do it. And He says, “This baby, born in Bethlehem, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God will be even greater than him.”

“Unto you is born this day a Savior,” not just from the enemies of the empire, but the greatest enemies the world has ever known, sin, death, and Satan. He will conquer them all. He is Christ the Lord, the Messiah, the Lord of all the earth, not through conquest or intimidation, but by becoming the servant of all. He will bring peace on Earth, not by destroying His enemies, but by laying down His life for them.

This baby who was born in a manger will grow up and lay down His life on a cross. He will bear all of our sin and shame, and rise again, to make us right with God forever, that we might have peace with God and be adopted as His sons and daughters forever. And if that is true, then Jesus’ coming, friends, is good news of great joy, not just for Roman citizens, but for all people. (applause) And His coming means glory, not for Rome, but for God in the highest.

Do you want to know that heaven has broken in, shepherds? “You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manager.” If these guys knew anything, it was mangers, right? They knew exactly what they were. They knew exactly where they were in town. Don’t you see? This is all for them. This is for them.

They would have been intimidated if they had been invited to a palace. They would have felt out of place, like they would have had to clean themselves up if they had to go to a comfortable inn. But this baby, this Savior, is lying in a manager. They’re going to be right at home. And Luke wants us to see the Lord comes for all.

The Lord comes for all. Jesus comes, friends, for shepherds and wise men, for wealthy and poor, for the overweight and the skinny, for optimists and pessimists, for those who are trending and those who are cancelled. He comes for you and for me.

Friends, if shepherds were invited to the presence of Jesus, then perhaps, just perhaps, you and I can come too, you see. How extravagant of God to invite all of us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever, whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

We see the Lord’s sovereignty, His extravagancy and now finally, His Modesty, the Lord’s modesty, His modesty.

Verse 15: “When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.”

(Chuckles) Can you imagine Joseph’s conversation with Mary? You know, he comes in. He’s like, “Hey, I hate to bother you, sweetie. I know you did a great job. You had the baby and everything, and I know you’re exhausted and you just got the baby asleep. I understand, but there’s a bunch of shepherds that want to come in.”

And she’s like, “You know these people, right? Like these are long distance relatives? This is your town, right? You know these people?”

He’s like, “No, I’ve never seen them before.”

“Okay.”

“An angel sent them. We’re listening to angels a lot recently. Right?”

“All right. Send them in.”

And so these stinky, smelly shepherds from the fields come traipsing in to this makeshift maternity ward slash nursery.

Verse 17: “When they saw it (Oh, weird word! It, not him. It! When they saw it, what did they see? The manger! A baby in a manger!), they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”

Who puts their child in a manger? God does. Who invites shepherds into the nursery? God does. Who intends for their Son to live as a vagabond on Earth? God does. Remember Jesus said, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). Who sends their son to be the good shepherd to lay down his life for the sheep? God does.

Luke wants us to see the manger and realize that the Lord humbles before all. The Lord humbles before all. That Jesus...”Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and [given him] the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Friends, Jesus is the Lord exalted above all because He humbled Himself before all. Do you see that?

In Mark 10:45 Jesus says, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Friends, don’t you see Jesus was laid in a manger because He came to be devoured. He was born to be swallowed up by death. He came to be a shepherd, a Good Shepherd who will lay down His life for the sheep. If you want to find the real Lord of the earth, you will find Him in a manger. If you want to find the true King of kings, you will find Him on a cross. If you want to find the Son of God, you will find Him kneeling with a towel washing feet—the servant of all.

Friends, don’t you see? Jesus is good news of great joy for all people. You don’t have to be a Roman citizen to step into the benefit of His rule and reign. You just need to be a child of God. And anyone, anywhere, at any time can come to Jesus and have life, abundant life, to become a son or a daughter of life, that to all who receive Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. And that is what we are.

It’s as simple as A-B-C coming to Jesus. A–we admit. We admit that we are sinners far from God. B–we believe. We believe that Jesus has done everything to make us right with God when He died on the cross and rose again. And C–commit. We commit our lives to Him and say, “Come be my Savior. Be my Lord. Be my everything.” And the good news of great joy for all people will be yours if you will believe.

What’s amazing about Jesus is that you don’t have to have it all together. You don’t have to be renowned. All are welcome at His manger. Come to His cross. Come share His crown.

Let’s pray.

Father, this story is, of course, more than a story. It is a history, a space in time when you sent your Son to break into this broken world to redeem it from the inside out and it catches us off-guard. Even as familiar as it is, it’s surprising, shocking, scandalous. Who would come like this? And to realize that Jesus came for us, for smelly old us, with nothing much to our name, that you would move in on the wrong side of the tracks so that everyone would be welcome. You’re amazing. We worship you. We receive you. Thank you for coming for us, for all. You bring great joy to the world.

We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.