born a Savior; Luke 2:1-20

Considering the fact that today is known as Palm Sunday, it may seem strange to be studying the Christmas story at this time of year.  But in reality, it is a story for every day of the year, not just at Christmas time.  In fact, in no place in Scripture is there an injunction that suggests that we set aside one day in particular to celebrate Christmas, or Easter, or Palm Sunday, for that matter. There is nothing wrong with celebrating the birth of Christ or the resurrection of Christ on a particular day, but I’m afraid our traditions have obscured the real understanding of the significance of such days with the addition of a lot of silly customs that have nothing whatsoever to do with the birth of Christ or the resurrection.  However, I believe there is an ordinance in the Bible that we are to observe the Lord’s Supper at least once a year, and we will be doing that at the end of our message today.

If you are visiting with us today, then you should know that it is our practice here at the Beach Fellowship to study the Bible verse by verse, and chapter by chapter.  I had hoped to be in this section of scripture around Christmas time, but it turned out that it took a couple of months longer than anticipated to finish going through the last book we were in, which was the Epistle to the Philippians.  But anyway, we’re here now, and I believe that God has us here today with good reason.  I hope that as we look at this passage of Scripture without being caught up in the trappings of the Christmas season, perhaps we may see some things that we might have missed in the past which will benefit us.

The key verse that I would like to draw your attention to today is found in verse 11 which says, “for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  This verse is really the key to understanding the true meaning of the Christmas story.  For if Christ was born to be the Savior of the world, then He was much, much more than just a poor baby born in a feed trough in a tiny little town in the middle of the night.  He was much, much more than just a prophet, than a good teacher who lived a life of passivism and piety, to whom we should look to as an example.  For this baby born in a manger 2000 years ago to be able to affect the salvation of generations of people all over the world, He could be no less than God himself, the Creator of the Universe, coming in the form of one of His creations, in order to affect the redemption of His people from the condemnation of death.  No mere man could atone for even his own sins, much less the sins of millions of others, no matter how righteous he may have been.  The only way for redemption to happen on that scale was if the One coming was in fact the very God of the universe, the Creator himself, humbling himself to become one of us.

Last week I visited my mother who is 85 years old.  And one morning while I was there she had a couple of ladies ring the doorbell.  They handed my mother a brochure and told her that they wanted to invite her to celebrate the death of someone very important.  Well, of course they were Jehovah Witnesses.  I stepped in front of my mother and handed the brochure back to them and began to do a little witnessing of my own.  The first thing I said to them was to verify that they do not believe that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh.  No, they said, he was “a” god.  In fact, they wanted to say that we were gods and the devil was a god.  According to their religion, Jesus was a son of God and the devil was a son of God.

I quoted them John chapter 1 where it says, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” But of course, they have changed their version of the Bible so that is not what it says.  They add an article so it reads, the Word was a God.  I reminded them of some other scriptures which they have taken the liberty to change as well, and by the end of the conversation I chased them off the front porch with the admonition that if they did not accept Jesus Christ as God then they could not be saved, and they would die in their sins and would one day bow their knee to Christ from the pit of hell.  I never have seen two old ladies makes such a beeline for their car as those two did.

The point though is critical.  If Christ wasn’t God in the flesh, then He could not affect our salvation – He could not be our Savior.  And so if He is not our Savior, then one must just believe that Jesus was an example of how we should live.  The problem with that is that Titus 3:5 tells us that it is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saves us.  Furthermore, Gal. 2:16 says, “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

So though these poor Jehovah Witnesses work so hard and endure so much, trotting from house to house proclaiming their false doctrine, yet the Bible says such works can never save them, and they have said themselves that Jesus cannot save them because he is just an angel/man who was meant only to serve as an example of something that we can never achieve.

Unfortunately, it’s not only Jehovah Witnesses who believe that false doctrine.  Many religions and denominations have espoused a type of Christianity that is either based on Christ being less than God, or man being able to earn or work for his salvation, and both are just as damning.  Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  What that means is that since everyone on earth is a sinner, then everyone on this earth needs a Savior.  And the good news is, just as Luke records the angels’ announcement, the world’s Savior was born on a starry night in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, and He still lives to make intercession for us, because his blood was sufficient as an atonement for our sins.  And that could only be possible if the blood of Jesus was no less than the very blood of God shed for our sins.

It’s interesting that as Luke records the Savior’s birth, he begins by mentioning Caesar Augustus who had decreed that a census be taken of all the people.  And it’s interesting for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that as the Savior of the world is being born in a manger in tiny little Bethlehem practically unnoticed by even the citizens of that village, much less known to the world, yet Caesar Augustus is quite literally known throughout the Roman Empire as the savior of the world.  He was routinely proclaimed the savior of the Roman Empire.  And they weren’t just talking about a physical savior from their enemies either, but he was actually considered a god, and was the object of emperor worship.  In fact, in order to accentuate this deification among his soldiers, Caesar, whose real name was Octavian, added , in 42 BC,  Divi Filius to his name which meant Son of the Divine.

As far as the Romans were concerned, they already had their savior, this political and military genius who had accomplished what became known as the Pax Romana, which meant the Roman peace.  The Roman Empire would enjoy 200 years of relative peace through the political and military conquests of this man who was considered a god in the flesh.  After his death, he would be added to the Pantheon of gods and continued to be worshipped. He achieved great things for the people.  He built a highway system that was unequaled anywhere in the world, enabling soldiers and merchants to travel quickly throughout the Empire.  He had extended Rome’s borders as far away as Egypt, Africa and Germania.  He established the world’s first real police force and fire departments.  He built civic buildings and works that elevated Rome to the pinnacle of civilization.

I cannot help but wonder at the contrast between this man mentioned in verse one, who was heralded by the entire civilized world as the savior of the Roman Empire, and the birth of Jesus Christ heralded by angels in verse 11 to a small group of shepherds in the middle of nowhere.  An area called Bethlehem of Judea that was under the jurisdiction of Quirinius, who was the governor of Syria.  By the way, Luke’s information here regarding the census and Caesar and Quirinius gives historians a pretty good idea when Jesus was born.  And the better commentators have been able to establish that Jesus was born probably around 8-4 BC.

Luke, as you know, was a doctor, and as such makes a fine historian because of his attention to detail.  And another interesting thing about Luke’s account here is that he records these details in a very simple, yet exact sort of way, without unnecessary drama or fanfare.  In contrast to the pomp and circumstance that would have accompanied Caesar in his travels, Luke presents very simply the facts of Jesus birth.

Luke’s mention of the census gives us an understanding of how Jesus came to be born in Bethlehem.  In fact, in the last chapter Mary was visited by the angel in her home in Nazareth.  And it would have been normal for her to have had her child with her relatives around her.  But because Joseph was from the house of David, he had to travel to Bethlehem, the ancestral home of David in order to register for the census.  And Mary of course went with him.  Neither of them probably realized that they were fulfilling a little known prophecy regarding the Messiah, found in Micah 5:2 “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.”  And I find it really ironic that this emperor of the Roman Empire is being manipulated by God to arrange events in such a way as to require this travel for them which would result in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.

And even more ironic, the very people to whom this prophecy was given were expecting their own version of a savior very much like Caesar,  a descendent of David who would become a king that would overthrow Caesar and liberate them from the oppression of the Romans.  Unfortunately, they misunderstood the purpose of the Savior.  The Messiah would not be a political savior, nor a military savior.  But he would be a spiritual Savior, to take away their sins and make peace between God and man.  The angels proclaimed in vs. 14 “"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."  Caesar Augustus was lauded praise because he orchestrated the Pax Romana, the Roman Peace, by executing his rivals and annihilating his enemies.  But Christ achieved peace on earth between men and God by offering himself as a sacrifice to satisfy the judgment for sin.

This peace between God and man was accomplished through Jesus our Savior offering himself as a sacrifice on the cross to pay for our sins.  Col. 1:19  “For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.  And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.”

2 Cor. 5:21 says that “He made [Christ] who knew no sin to become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”  By faith in Christ’s sacrifice, we are healed, we are made righteous by grace, and we are reconciled as children of God, presented holy and blameless to God.

So who is this baby who would be the Savior of the world that was born in obscurity under the reign of this self styled god called Caesar Augustus? How could he achieve salvation and peace for men?  Well back up a verse or two in Col. 1 starting in vs. 15 and Paul tells us: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell.”

Isaiah prophecies in chapter 9:6 that this image of the invisible God will take human form as a baby.  “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

This kingdom Christ came to bring was a spiritual kingdom, wherein He rules and reigns in our hearts.  Jesus said that God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.  So then this invisible God through the Holy Spirit conceives this child in the human body of a young virgin called Mary, that the Spirit of God might become flesh so that we might know God. This was the prophecy in Matthew to Joseph concerning the child in Mary’s womb that Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and He would be called Immanuel, meaning God with us.   We could not know God fully until He revealed himself in the flesh.  And even though Jesus was raised into heaven, God still reveals himself to us today through His Word.  He said in John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

Not only are his words with us, but He has given us the Holy Spirit to live in us as well to be our Helper, our Comforter. John 15:26 "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.”  So even today, 2000 years later, we are still able to know Immanuel, God with us, because He dwells in His people, in our flesh. These once sinful bodies have become the temple in which God dwells.

One final thing I would like you to look at here in this passage is these shepherds to whom the angels made the announcement of Christ’s birth.   Contrasted against the civilized society of the Romans and even the expectations of the Jews, it is almost incongruous that God would select shepherds as the recipient for this angelic announcement of the greatest event in human history.  These guys were at the bottom of the totem pole in Jewish society, and they were completely off the radar in Roman society.  You just couldn’t go any further down the social ladder.  And I just want to point out that God is looking for the humble and lowly of heart to reveal himself to.  He isn’t interested in competing with man for the spotlight or the preeminence.  Jesus said in Matt. 11:25  “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” God seeks those who are humble in spirit and reveals himself to those that humble themselves.

But there is another reason that God picked these shepherds to declare that Jesus Christ was born.  And that is that these shepherds understood the concept of a Savior.  They understood the concept of a Savior because they knew firsthand the concept of a sacrifice.  These lambs that they watched over in the fields that night were probably sooner or later going to end up as a sacrifice on the day of atonement, or one of a half a million lambs that would be slain on the Passover.  The Passover represented the day when Israel was delivered from death by the slaughter of a lamb and it’s blood spread upon the door posts of their home.  It was a feast that was celebrated in every home, every year throughout Israel.  And chances are, these very sheep were being raised to provide the sacrifice that would be eaten on Passover night in remembrance of God’s salvation of Israel by the blood on the doorpost.  These shepherds would understand then the prophecy of Isaiah 53:6 “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. Vs.11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”

Tomorrow, March 25th, is the day that the Jews celebrate the Passover meal.  In Exodus chapter 12 Moses established the ordinance of the Passover which was to be a reminder of God’s deliverance of Israel from the judgment that fell upon the Egyptians.  Moses said, “And when your children say to you, ' What does this rite mean to you?'  you shall say, 'It is a Passover sacrifice to the LORD who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.'

On the night before He was crucified, Jesus also observed the Passover meal with His disciples in the upper room.  And as He led the disciples in the ceremony of remembrance, Jesus changed it from an old covenant symbol of deliverance to a new covenant symbol of remembrance.  It says in Luke 22:19 “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”

Today we too will celebrate this new Passover feast which we call the Lord’s Supper or Communion.  It is a symbol, a picture, a reminder of what Christ did for us on the cross.  Our Savior became the Lamb that was slain for the remission of sins.  And because of His blood shed on the cross for us, we that have faith in Jesus have been passed over in regards to judgment.  Our lives have been spared.  The Bible says that there is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.  We have a new covenant instituted by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Savior.  Celebrating this new covenant Passover is not a means of salvation by merely eating and drinking the wine and bread.  But it is done in remembrance of the salvation that was effected for us on the cross, if indeed you have appropriated by faith Christ as your Savior.  Salvation is by faith in what Christ has done for us, not by what we might do.  But we are reminded of His atonement by the observance of this ordinance.

The Apostle Paul presents this new Passover, the Lord’s Supper in this manner in 1Cor. 11:23 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.  In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."  For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.  Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.  But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.  For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.  For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.  But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”
Let’s pray.