Sermons
Straight to Bethlehem
STRAIGHT TO BETHLEHEM
Sermon Outline By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / December 20, 2015
Merry Christmas to everyone. I say this a bit early because
our household will be traveling to the NC mountains later this week.
Jeannie & Mark’s brother, Tim, from Florida will meet us for some down time.
We will be staying in a cabin near Bryson City on the southern edge of the Great Smoky Mountains.
Jeannie’s friend, Sharon Flanagan (from Waynesville, NC), will also be with us for several days.
And of course we’ll be accompanied by the dogs - - Sigfried and Bucky (Bucaroo).
Our cabin has several acres attached with hiking trails and Bucky (a pit bull) will be on bear patrol.
Last Sunday our sermon focused on Gal.4:4, “in the fullness of time”.
That passage, as much as any other single text in Scripture captures the essence of the blending together
of two or three important concepts (depending on how you perceive them) in The Word of God:
prophecy … providence … and the foreknowledge of God.
Gal.4:1-4 cannot be properly understood without also understanding Dan.9:24-27.
We’ll plan to explore these two texts in more detail on some Sunday night eschatology studies in the new year.
For this morning, please open your Bibles to Luke chapter two.
This passages also showcases prophecy and providence and foreknowledge, but it’s much easier to grasp.
This is a thrilling account of the birth of our Lord Jesus.
I want us first to read the narrative and then we will backtrack and make comments along the way.
Read from Lk.2:1-20
In vs.1 it is recorded that Caesar Augustus made a decree calling for a census to be taken.
In the Old Testament book of Micah (Mic.5:2), a prophecy written 700 years BC, declares:
But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.
This citation is one that all of Israel must have surely pondered.
And yet, especially among the well-studied religious leaders, there existed a “blind spot”.
They couldn’t grasp the mysterious ways of God. They should have seen it coming, but they didn’t.
Perhaps they were blinded by their own pre-conceived notions of the Messiah for whom they eagerly awaited.
There were many great cities of the world at that time, but Christ was not born in any of them.
Only God could pick out a little village 700 years in advance and have His Son born there.
From Bethlehem (which means house of bread) would come the Bread Of Life, the Savior of the World.
¯ Song #996 / O Little Town Of Bethlehem ¯
“O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.
Yet in they dark streets shineth the everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.”
Archaeology and history now bears witness to the accuracy of Luke’s gospel.
For a long time scholars disputed by whether Quirinius of Syria was governor at this point in time.
We now know that he served two terms. Judea was part of the province of Syria. And we also know that it was a common practice by the Roman Empire to allow a census to be taken in a manner that was familiar to the locals.
Thus vs.3 – “everyone to his own city” (i.e. the city of his birth).
Bethlehem was the city of Joseph’s ancestral roots (cf. Ruth 1:10 & 2:4 and 1Sam.16:1-4 & 17:58).
You can trace this out in Matthew’s genealogy (Mt.1:1-16) and note, in particular, Lk.1:27.
Jewish males were not required to enlist as Roman soldiers, but all Jews were required to pay taxes.
Joseph could have registered for his family, but Mary accompanies him. Why?
If ever she had an excuse to stay home, this was it - - she was “with child” and nearing her delivery date.
Whether it’s the providence of God or perhaps Mary’s own knowledge of the Scriptures, she travels with Joseph.
So they journeyed together over those 80 or so miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
Vs.6 sounds as if the birth of Jesus took place shortly after their arrival.
Had Mary not gone with Joseph, Jesus would not have been born in Bethlehem!
Vs.7 simply states, “she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in swaddling
clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Because of the census decree, little Bethlehem was chock full of visitors.
There was “no vacancy” in the inn, so they set up “house-keeping” in the barn or stables (perhaps a lean-to).
Stables can be described with many words, but “cleanliness” is not one of them. So there in a manger (a feeding trough) the new-born Jesus was laid, amidst the animals and their waste products, and cobwebs and insects galore.
Probably in the early hours of never-to-be-forgotten morning, Jesus cried when He was born.
Some time prior to birth of Jesus, some shepherds were experiencing a close encounter with heaven.
They were out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night (vs.8).
Vs. 9 states that, “suddenly an angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them”.
The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for I bring you GOOD NEWS OF A GREAT JOY…” (vs.10).
“Today, in the city of David there has been born for you a SAVIOR (Deliverer), who is CHRIST (Messiah), the LORD.
And this will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (vss.11-12).
Simultaneous with the birth-cry of Jesus, vs.13 notes, “suddenly there appeared with the angel an army of
heavenly hosts praising God, and saying, ‘glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men…”
It was customary in the first-century for a group to gather and sing at the home of a new-born son.
On this very special occasion, an army of angels appeared in the sky to sing at the birth of Jesus.
This story is laden with IRONY to the highest degree.
The very Son of God -- born in a barn & laid in a feeding trough! The Lord of all that is born in a smelly, insect-infested stable.
Furthermore, His birth is revealed to shepherds, of all people - - ones despised by the orthodox religious leaders.
They were viewed with disdain - - the testimony of a shepherd was not admissible in a court of law.
It wasn’t just the humility of the job, it was that the job caused them to ignore many of the details of ceremonial law.
Especially the constant hand-washing rituals and a host of other meticulous and onerous rules and regulations.
These shepherds, shepherds though they were, were very likely special shepherds.
Bethlehem was near Jerusalem and these shepherds were most likely in charge of sheep that would be sacrificed in the daily temple offerings. They supplied the priests of the temple with sacrificial lambs on a non-stop basis.
How amazing is this? Other than Joseph & Mary, the shepherds who kept watch over the temple lambs were the first to witness firsthand the Spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn.1:29 & 1Pet.2:19).
These shepherds saw the birth of the GOOD SHEPHERD (Jn.10:11) … the GREAT SHEPHERD of the sheep (Heb.13:20).
Vs.15 tells us that after the angels departed, “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.”
“They came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger” (vs.16).
And then they began to proclaim the events that heralded His birth (vs.17).
“All who heard it wondered (marveled) at the things which were told to them by the shepherds” (vs.18).
Perhaps the word spread to Jerusalem and was overheard by Simeon (Lk.2:25) and Anna (Lk.2:36).
Such news would no doubt have piqued their “lookout” for his forthcoming circumcision eight days later.
Vs.20 states, the shepherds went back to their fields, “glorifying & praising God for all that they had heard & seen…”
I hope this sermon this morning will deepen your appreciation for the shepherds.
But THE FOCUS OF THE STORY IS ON GOD AND CHRIST JESUS OUR SAVIOR AND LORD.
A story is told of a royal monarch (king) who would “show up missing” from time to time.
He attendees would often find him roaming the streets of His kingdom incognito, dressed like a peasant.
They would scold him and make him return to the castle, but his response was always,
“I cannot rule my people unless I know how they live.”
In the opening verses of John’s gospel we read (Jn.1:14),
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among, and we beheld His glory…”
The manger was Jesus first stop in walking among His people.
Our story in Luke’s gospel comes to a close by noting (vs.19),
“Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”
Thirty or so years later, Mary’s son (God’s only begotten Son) would be laid on another slab of wood.
This time it would not be a make-shift wooden crib but rather a wooden cross.
It doesn’t happen by accident. It is all a part of God’s wonderful plan of redemption.
It’s a story so grand and so full of love & sacrifice that we can barely comprehend it.
ó
Our
Dearest
Loving Father,
Thank you for Jesus,
Word becoming flesh.
Your Son, our true Savior.
In Him we find joy and peace:
A gift that is simply unfathomable.
Accept our deep, heart-felt gratitude
for sacrificing Your Only Begotten Son,
For Christ’s willingness to dwell among us,
For a wooden manger and the wooden cross.
May we welcome our Savior by providing Him a
dwelling place in our inn - - making room for Jesus.
We give You back the one gift You desire: our hearts
beating fervently with a loyal allegiance to Jesus Christ.
Through
Immanuel
we pray.
A m e n.
