When I was a little boy the most difficult thing about Christmas was waiting for it to finally arrive. My brothers Jon and Matt-and my sister Lisa and I would start crossing off days the calendar in early October-literally counting the hours until Christmas morning. During those twelve weeks or so, it seemed as if each day dragged by! And when Christmas Eve arrived-well, it was almost unbearable! We just could not wait-knowing that something so good was so close-only hours away!!! If you have small kids then you know what I mean!
I remember the Christmas Eve when I was about 8-years-old my Dad noticed my restless anxiety and he took me to the DIME store (these days we call them DOLLAR stores!) and he bought me a set of dominoes. Then we came home and he taught me to play and we sat at the kitchen table playing for hours until I got so tired I could play no longer. Then he shuffled me off to bed and I woke the next morning to that day I had been eagerly anticipating for months!
Sermon:
Well, the truth is, it’s always hard to wait when we know something GOOD is coming, whether it’s your wedding day, or the birth of a child, or the day you get your drivers license.
And perhaps this is what makes CHRISTMAS so wonderful…because when that time of the year rolls around we celebrate the fact that the greatest GOOD that God has ever given us came…FINALLY came that first Christmas night. I say “FINALLY” because Jesus’ coming had been anticipated for a LONG TIME! In fact His arrival on this planet on that first Christmas night had been foretold since the very beginning of human history. From the moment sin entered the world God began to issue His promise that Jesus was on the way-that HE WAS COMING-to set things right again between God and man. If you have your Bibles, turn to Genesis 3:15 and you’ll see what I mean. Here’s the context: Adam and Eve have just sinned and God is speaking to Satan in the Garden of Eden, saying,
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; HE will crush your head….”
Now, let’s take a close look at this verse. The phrase “seed of the woman” refers to Jesus-born of the seed of a woman-which is another way to say He was born of a VIRGIN. And the phrase “Shall crush your head” refers to Jesus’ victory over Satan through His death and resurrection. So the promised coming of a deliverer-the Messiah-was first mentioned almost immediately after the first sin. You see when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit, sin entered the world, and when it did, a conflict began between God and mankind that has gone on ever since, as each of us followed in Adam and Eve’s footsteps and yielded to our sinful nature by disobeying God in thought, word, and deed. Instead of living our lives according to the will of our loving Creator, each of us willfully chooses to live according to our own selfish will. Isaiah 53:6 describes this rebellion when it says that, “We all….like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way!” Well, the fact is, when sin entered the world, PEACE LEFT IT because like foolish sheep all of us go our own way and the result is conflict with God…conflict with each other and even conflict within-as we are forced to deal with the fears and struggles that come from living in a fallen world.
Now, I am sure that Adam and Eve immediately sensed that this peace had left-the moment they sinned. They knew it was gon and they longed for it to return. And, down through the generations all mankind has had this same yearning for the peace with God that we were designed to enjoy. Well, over the centuries God repeatedly promised to send a Redeemer/Messiah to set things right. In fact, Jesus’ coming was prophesied again and again-hundreds of times. A great example is found in the words of the prophet Isaiah who said,
“The people who have walked in darkness will see a great light: they that have dwelled in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined…
…for unto us a Son is given and His name shall be called …..THE PRINCE OF PEACE.”
So, a Good thing was coming! The Messiah would come. Peace would be restored between God and man, but it was so hard to wait! And, as the centuries dragged on, like children waiting for Christmas day, God’s prophets all expressed the difficulty they had waiting for the Messiah’s birth. For example, in his Lamentations, Jeremiah questions God and says,
“Why do You forget us forever? Why do you forsake us for SO LONG? Restore us to You, oh Lord…that we may be restored!” (Lamentations 5:20-21)
But God wasn’t thoughtlessly hesitating in delaying His coming so long. He was simply waiting for the perfect time for His Son to be born. As Galatians 4:4 says,”…when the right time finally came, God sent His own Son…” And, our hindsight shows us that God did indeed show perfect timing, because conditions in the year of Jesus’ birth could not have been more favorable for the spread of Christianity. For example, the Greeks had given the world a universal language through which Jesus’ message could spread easily and quickly. And the Pax Romana not only made it safe to travel from one country to the next-this enforced break from war also allowed the Romans to build excellent roads and set up shipping lanes and construct safe harbors-all perfect for the spread of the Gospel. So God’s timing was perfect-Jesus was born when the time was right and not a moment sooner!
Now, if you were here last week then you know we are in the midst of an examination of the events that led to that night when Jesus was finally born-the first Christmas. Our study is centered on the lyrics of the first SONGS of Christmas written and sung by the central characters of the Christmas story. Two weeks ago we looked at the song of Zechariah. Last Sunday we examined Mary’s song. Today we pick up our study in Luke 2:1-7 almost six months since the day that Mary returned to her home in Nazareth after singing her song of Christmas-The Magnificat.
Now, in the final weeks of Mary’s pregnancy, the Jews of Nazareth received word from the local Roman garrison that the emperor Caesar August had sent out a decree that a census should be taken of his empire. The law said they were required to return to the city of their “tribe.” And perhaps the Romans set it up this way to make the Jews less resentful of this mandated census-you know, by giving it a nationalistic flavor. Well, Mary and Joseph, both descendants of the tribe of David, journeyed 80 miles to Bethlehem, the birthplace of David. Of course when they arrived, they looked for housing-an INN in which to stay.
Now, traditionally the innkeeper has been the villain in the retelling of the Christmas story. Those ominous words, “There was no room for them in the inn” seem to represent his calloused indifference to human need. I mean, who would be so cruel as to refuse to give room to a pregnant woman?! Sermon after sermon has been preached across the centuries criticizing this act of rejection, but two details in the account help us to see that it COULD have been much different than that.
1. The first is the phrase in verse 6, “And so it was that while they were there the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.”
These words suggest that Mary & Joseph did not arrive in Bethlehem the afternoon of Jesus’ birth, but that they had been there probably for some time. Perhaps realizing that the tongues of Nazareth would soon begin to wag, Joseph wisely used the occasion of the Roman census to get Mary out of that provincial setting as soon as he could-perhaps as soon as her pregnancy began to show. After all, he had a trade that could be practiced anywhere so perhaps they took up residence in one of the local inns of Bethlehem and lived there for several weeks or months. And as verse 6 says, “while they were there,” the time came for the baby to be born. I don’t know about you but to me this really makes more sense than the tradition that says Mary rode bare back on a donkey for 80 miles when she was nine-months pregnant. Ladies can you imagine traveling like that while in that condition?
2. Another phrase that suggests this scenario is in verse 7 which says “and there was no room for them in the inn.”
You see, the actual translation of the Greek here goes like this, “there was no APPROPRIATE PLACE for them in the inn.” Now, inns in the first century were not at all what we are accustomed to when we travel. I mean, they were little more than a courtyard of stalls with three walls. All you got for your money was a fire to cook your food on, a place to hitch your animal, some straw where the two of you could lie down, and a wall that would break the wind at night, no roof, no privacy. And free continental breakfasts in the lobby were out of the question!
So one possibility is that the innkeeper realized that this young traveling couple who had been camping in his courtyard for several months were approaching an awkward moment and that an open courtyard was not an appropriate place to have a baby! I mean, the innkeeper was probably not a calloused villain & may have been an empathetic help to Mary and Joseph, taking it on himself to locate a private place with a roof overhead no small task in a town crowded with people coming for this census.
Later on Luke tells us that this was the season when shepherds were out in the fields around Bethlehem with their flocks. So Jesus was probably born in a shepherd’s cave near the inn-a place where sheep were kept during that part of the year. The hills around Bethlehem are perforated with such caverns…and even today are used for this purpose. I’ve been there and seen them.
Now, Luke seems to infer that no one assisted Mary in the birth of Jesus-not even Joseph-and this would have made sense because husbands didn’t play the role of midwives back then. This was women’s work and Luke simply states that Mary took care of things. She gave birth to her first born son by herself. And this was not odd because self-delivery was common at the time. In fact, the women of Palestine prided themselves on delivering their babies rather easily and were quite able to take care of themselves in the absence of a midwife.
In any case, the long-awaited MESSIAH-the SON OF GOD-was born in a cave/stable wrapped in strips of rags and laid in a feed trough. Born not in a palace or even a house, but in the place where animals lived. And this aspect of the Christmas story provides us with another opportunity to see that God truly HUMBLED Himself for our benefit. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, so that through His poverty you might become rich.” Now-it is hard for me to comprehend this unbelievable ACT of humility. I like the way Philip Yancey put it in his book, THE JESUS I NEVER KNEW. He writes,
“Our God who, with a mere thought, could order armies and empires about like pawns on a chessboard emerged in Palestine as a Baby who could not speak or eat solid food or control his bladder, Who depended on a teenage couple for shelter, food, and love.
As Paul put it in Philippians 2, God truly did “make Himself nothing.”
Take your Bibles and follow along with me and let’s read the familiar words of Luke’s account found in chapter 2, verses 8-12 :
8 – And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9 – An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 – But the angel said to them, ‘DO NOT BE AFRAID. I BRING YOU GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY THAT WILL BE FOR ALL PEOPLE.
11 – TODAY IN THE TOWN OF DAVID A SAVIOR HAS BEEN BORN TO YOU; HE IS CHRIST THE LORD.
12 – THIS WILL BE A SIGN TO YOU: YOU WILL FIND THE BABY WRAPPED IN CLOTHS AND LYING IN A MANGER.'”
Now, it is a wonderful thing that this announcement of God should first come to the shepherds. And I say this because in those days shepherds were despised by the orthodox “good” people of the day since they were unable to keep the details of the ceremonial law. I mean, being out in the countryside all the time caring for sheep 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, made it impossible for them to keep the Sabbath not to mention observe all the meticulous hand-washing and rules and regulations. Well, because of this the orthodox Jews of the day looked down on shepherds as very common people. They were treated as outcasts-as the lowest people on the Jewish social ladder.
Shepherds were poorly educated and poorly paid. In fact, since it did not require much skill, the task of shepherding was often given to children. So those Christmas pageants where children play the part of shepherds are actually pretty accurate! Well, for all these reasons, shepherds were very much part of the “LOST sheep” of their day. But the angels’ song was designed to give them hope! Remember? Jesus Himself said that He came “…to seek and save that which was LOST…..to set free those who are downtrodden.” (Luke 4:18)
Another thing-It is interesting to note that these were probably very special shepherds who were raising very special sheep. You see, in the Temple in Jerusalem each and every morning and evening, an unblemished lamb was offered as a sacrifice to God. In order to insure that the supply of perfect and unblemished offerings was always available, the Temple authorities had their own private sheep flocks and we know that these flocks were pastured near Bethlehem. So it is very likely that these particular shepherds were in charge of the flocks from which the Temple offerings were chosen.
Think about that. This would mean that the shepherds who looked after the Temple lambs were the first to see the Lamb of God Who had come to take away the sin of the world. So their job security would last another 30 years, when the once for all sacrifice of Jesus-the LAMB OF GOD-would take place on calvary’s cross. Well, verse 13 says that after the angel finished his proclamation, suddenly there was a “multitude of the heavenly host praising God.” Now, this praise did not come from only a multitude gathered about the angel. No, the verse is more accurately translated as “a multitude forming PART of the heavenly host.” You see, Luke is saying that the WHOLE HOST OF HEAVEN was praising God on that night of nights-not just that portion of it which was visible to the shepherds.
By the way, it was customary in that day that when a child was born, local musicians and neighbors congregated at the house to sing and greet the baby with simple music. Well, since Jesus was born in a borrowed stable this was not possible so God provided a choir of angels instead! And, in verse 14 we find the lyrics of their song. Read it with me…
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Verses 15-16 tell us that after the angels finished singing the shepherds went to Bethlehem to find the new born Messiah. Now, did you ever wonder HOW they found Mary and Joseph? I mean, they had no star to guide them like the one the Wise men followed and as I said, Bethlehem was full of stable/caves and mangers so how did they find the right one? Well, I think they did what most men refuse to do. THEY ASKED FOR DIRECTIONS. And they would have been easy to get because all of Bethlehem must have rustled with news about “that poor girl from Galilee” here for the census who had been quartered in a stable so she could give birth to her child in privacy.
Okay-that’s the setting. Now LETS’S LOOK AT THE LYRICS that make up this, the THIRD SONG OF CHRISTMAS. What message is there in the words those angels sang that first Christmas night? Well, that’s an easy question to answer because they sang about one thing, didn’t they? What was it? PEACE-PEACE ON EARTH.
Now, think about that for a minute-did those angels sing accurately? Surely not! I mean they must have misread the lyrics in their heavenly hymn books because there has not been peace since that 1st Christmas night has there?! No, in fact, during the past twenty-five hundred years there have been nine hundred wars and sixteen hundred revolutions. That’s an average of one a year for a hundred generations! So wars did not cease after Jesus was born-peace on earth did not come.
PLUS…during that same basic period of time eight thousand peace treaties were broken. Each of these treaties was supposed to last forever but on the average they only held together less than two years. This prevalence of war caused one observer to comment, “Washington has a large assortment of peace monuments. We build one after every war.” Charles Swindoll expresses the feelings of many of us when he writes,
“It seems to us that world peace is a distant, unattainable dream…a political football to be kicked back and forth by eloquent ambassadors….a philosophical fantasy…
…It seems that world peace is nothing more than that glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading for the next war.”
Statistics show that millions and millions have died in conflicts since the angels sang that night.
- Our own Civil War took the lives of nearly 2.5 million people.
- In the Vietnam War over 2 million died.
- In WW I forty-seven million lost their lives.
- In WWII 53 Million.
And still today there is no peace. We watch the news each night wondering how many died in the conflict in Iraq or in Afghanistan-not to mention suicide bombings in Israel. We constantly worry about when terrorists will once again strike here in the United States. We worry about all the unstable nations like N. Korea who now have their own nuclear weapons. We keep an eye on the deteriorating relationship between Taiwan and China. We read our papers and see stories that show a lack of peace. Children are kidnaped from their homes. College co-eds disappear while on their cell phones. Al Uy tells me that here in Montgomery County the murder rate nearly doubled this year. The number of assaults on women also increased. The sad truth is there has been-and still is-no peace on earth. So like the prophet Jeremiah we sadly cry, “Peace, peace!…when there is no peace.” (Jer. 6:14)
Well, what about it? What do you think? WERE the angels wrong? No-they were not! Peace has come. A “war” did end that first Christmas. The lyrics that angelic choir sang are true. You see, their song heralded the end of a WAR that has lasted longer than any other conflict and has cost more lives than all others combined because when Jesus came into the world to die on Calvary’s cross He ended the war that began when sin entered the world with Adam and Eve’s disobedience. And THAT war has cost billions and billions of lives. In fact that war is the reason all of us DIE in the first place. In his letter to the church at Rome Paul reminded us of the grim statistics on this war when he said that,
“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God-and the consequence of that disobedience-the result of that act of war-the wages of sin for all-IS DEATH.”
So understand everyone loses in this war. Everyone is a casualty. And the angels song said that this can end! There can be peace on earth! Once again-just as it was in the first days that Adam and Eve spent in the Garden of Eden-once again there can be Good will between God and man.
Well, how does this work? I mean, HOW can this peace that we’ve yearned for so long come? How can there be peace on earth good will to men? Well, two things make this peace possible.
1. First, peace with God can happen because Jesus Christ is our PEACE OFFERING.
Now, a Peace Offering is defined like this: “A gift or service for the purpose of procuring peace or reconciliation.” The Hebrew people understood this concept because the Old Testament contains dozens of references to their bringing sacrifices-peace offerings-to the temple to atone for their sin. It was very clearly spelled out as to how an individual was to pay for his sin by offering an animal to sacrifice. But you see, Jesus came to be the peace offering to God FOR ALL MANKIND. And the prophet Isaiah said it would happen this way. Isaiah 53:5 says, “The punishment that brought us PEACE was on Him.” In Romans 5:10 Paul said, “For we were God’s enemies—reconciled to Him how? THROUGH THE DEATH OF HIS SON. We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received reconciliation.”
You see, when He died on the cross Jesus took the full wrath of God on Himself. He bore our sins on His body-and because He did, He is the source of this peace with God that we all yearn for. Since Jesus took the punishment for our sin, we can have our sins forgiven. We can enjoy the kind of relationship Adam and Eve had with our Creator before they ate the forbidden fruit.
And the truth is when such peace dwells WITHIN men, there can be peace AMONG men.
One of the most stirring, dramatic events of WW I, took place on the first Christmas of that dreadful war in 1914. After five months of unending slaughter, the colossal armies of the German Empire and France and Great Britain had fought themselves to a standstill. In Flanders the trenches of the German army faced those of the British army-separated by a no-man’s land of barbed wire fences. Picture this in your mind’s eye. All about them the desolate, bleak country was strewn with the wreckage of the terrible struggle of these armies-blackened and ruined villages and smashed churches; jagged trunks of trees, cut down by the artillery; and everything covered with a sea of yellow mud. Everywhere were the dead-the dead of a month ago-the dead of a week ago-the dead of yesterday-of last night strewn like litter over No Man’s Land and clung like scarecrows to the barbed-wire defenses of both armies.
Then came Christmas Eve 1914. Standing on their platforms in the trenches, troops from both sides watched for an attack but none came that night. Finally the night passed, and Christmas day dawned, the birthday of the Prince of Peace. The soldiers knew that every morning the whistles would blow and an attack would come but this morning there was a great stillness that covered both lines. British troops responded to this amazing silence by raising hastily prepared signs that said, “MERRY CHRISTMAS!” And soon carols were heard from both German and British trenches. Suddenly the British soldiers saw three gray-clad soldiers rise out of the German trenches. This time they came without bayonets or hand grenades. Slowly, cautiously, and at first with pathetic hesitation, they approached and passed the line of their own barbed wire, and stood unprotected in No Man’s land. In a moment, before the officers realized what was happening, men by the hundreds were scrambling out of both the German trenches and the British trenches,
and running forward toward each other.
The soldiers who yesterday were seeking to kill one another now shook hands and wished one another a Merry Christmas in broken English and German. Then they began to sing the songs of Christmas together each in their own language heralding the birth of THE PRINCE OF PEACE.
All day long on Christmas day in 1914 these enemies celebrated Christmas together in brotherly friendship by singing and exchanging small gifts. At one spot along this odd front, the British played soccer with the Germans who won three to two-but no one seemed to mind who won!
In some places, the spontaneous truce continued the next day, neither side willing to fire the first shot. Finally the war resumed when fresh troops arrived, and the high command of both armies ordered that further “informal understandings” with the enemy would be punishable as treason.
Now, to me this true story shows that Jesus is the source of peace. Only He can end wars because through His life, death, and resurrection He ended the war between God and man.
Ephesians 2:14 says, “For He Himself is our peace, who has destroyed the barrier…the dividing wall of hostility….for through HIM we have access to the Father …” You see, when we are at peace with God-we can’t be at war with each other! Because, if we truly serve Him as Lord we will treat one another in the same loving, humble way that God has dealt with us.
In fact, anytime you are in a conflict with someone-it is because someone is not yielding to the Lordship of Jesus-so when this happens we need to ask ourselves-IS IT ME? Am I the cause of this conflict? Am I to blame in any way? Am I being a peace-maker?
And you know when we have access to God through Jesus-the Great Peace Offering-we then know that we have the gift of eternal life, this knowledge gives us peace in all aspects of life. Nothing can disturb this peace…not illness…not financial troubles…not even death! Through Jesus we can indeed have, “The peace of God, which passeth all understanding….” (Phil 4:7) You see, true peace comes not from the absence of trouble but from the presence of God.
So, the angels were right! Peace can come because Jesus Christ is our peace offering…but one other thing must happen if there is to be PEACE ON EARTH.
2. We must be willing to SHARE it!
Did you notice what the shepherds did after the events of that night? Verse 17 says, “When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.” So these Shepherds who were the first to hear this song of peace and then see for themselves the source of that peace, SPREAD THE NEWS and in so doing they became the first evangelists of the Christian era.
Well, we are to follow their example. 2 Corinthians 5:18 says, “God reconciled us to Himself through Christ…and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.” You see, if there is to be peace on earth, good will to all men, then ALL MEN must hear this wonderful news! Someone has to tell all people that the war is over! Peace is now possible!
Several years ago Lloyd Linn told me that during World War II a unit of Japanese soldiers were stationed on a remote island in the pacific ocean. I’m not sure what their duty was. Perhaps they were lookouts, keeping watch over enemy shipping in the area. But, from time to time during the war these Japanese soldiers would swim to another island nearby to steal food from the allied base that was there. They continued to do this for two years after the war ended until on one food pilfering trip one of these soldiers found a magazine left by a tourist on the beach, read it and discovered that the war was over! He told his fellow soldiers and they went home. The war had been over for quite some time but no one had bothered to tell these guys.
Well, the same thing is happening in our world today. Read the news! There are people who still do not experience first hand the peace of God-because no one has told them the good news.
And as it says in another SONG OF CHRISTMAS, this is our responsibility. We are to go and tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere that JESUS CHRIST IS BORN. In Romans 10 Paul says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” And as I have said, nothing gives us peace like that! Remember the words to the old hymn? “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well with my soul.’ Though satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come, let this blest assurance control, that Christ has regarded my helpless estate and hath shed His own blood for my soul. My sin Oh the bliss of this glorious thought, My sin-not in part but the whole-is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord O my soul!” Sing the chorus with me, “It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul!” Don’t those words move you! It IS well with our souls isn’t it! We do have the peace that Adam and Eve lost. And isn’t that a wonderful feeling!? Nothing brings peace like the knowledge that our sin debt is paid. Nothing calms us like our relationship with Jesus.
But in this text from Romans Paul goes on and asks a question that we each must consider. Referring to those people who haven’t heard the good news of the gospel he asks,
“But how then can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of Whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone telling them?” (Romans 10:13ff)
It’s our responsibility Christians! All genuine peace-makers must follow the example of these shepherds and spread the news that Jesus has come so that all can come to repentance and faith.
Invitation:
Well, what about you? Have you heard the news and made your peace with God? If you have, then do you know people like these Japanese soldiers who still have not heard? Today…TODAY…right now…the war can end!