Introduction
We come now to the New Testament’s account of the
actual birth of Jesus, which is found in Luke 2 (read 2:1,2). Unlike
mythological stories which are not connected with actual history,
Luke is careful to root this event in history by telling us when it
occurred. Augustus reigned from 29/27 BC until 14 AD. He issued
censuses every 14 years, and we have record of one issued in 20 BC.
Quirinius was probably governor of Syria from 6-3 BC, so the census
issued during his governorship would be issued about 6 BC. Matthew
says Jesus was born while Herod the Great was alive, and he died in
the spring of 4 BC. So Jesus was probably born in late 5 BC or early
4 BC. The point, again, is that Luke is telling us that this is a
historical event, not a myth.
The
Incongruity Of Jesus' Birth
Read 2:3-14. Because of our familiarity with this narrative, we
tend to miss the shocking, outrageous discrepancy/incongruity between
who this baby is and the way he is born.
WHO IS THIS BABY?
He is so great that the angels, who have seen God in all his glory,
cry out "Glory to God in the highest!" In other
words, he is the greatest Person to ever be born.
He is the
"Savior" - the deliverer from all evil and ills; the
One who brings peace between humans and God (2:14), and who will heal
all the other rifts caused by this root rift
He is the
"Christ" – the long-promised Davidic Messiah-King
who will establish God’s kingdom over all the earth
He is "the
Lord" – God himself entering the human race (Isa. 9:6;
see Lk. 1:47,76)
HOW IS HE BORN?
We would expect 2:12 to read, "And this shall be a sign for you:
you will find a baby wrapped in the finest silk, lying in a lavish
crib with mobiles, housed in a palace, parented by royalty, waited on
by many attendants, and visited by dignitaries." Instead it
reads (2:12). Note especially these three outrageous
inconsistencies:
He is born into
unsanitary conditions (2:7,12b). Jesus was born in a stable
(smell of animal excrement, not pine-needles and Christmas cookies),
placed in a feeding trough (spittle, munched straw), and clothed with
common rag strips (maybe mother’s underclothes).
He is born amid
the scandal of apparent illegitimacy (2:5). Joseph and Mary are
engaged, but not married. Of course she was pregnant by the Holy
Spirit, but most people obviously believed that Mary had gotten
pregnant by having premarital sex with Joseph or another man. This
continued to plague Jesus throughout his entire life (see Mk. 6:3
"the son of Mary;" Jn. 8:19,41,48). Maybe this
was why no one else would give them a room.
He is visited
by the dregs of Jewish peasantry (2:8). Shepherds were not
exactly the "movers and shakers" of Israel. At best, they
represent the lowly working class. One scholar, citing slightly
later rabbis, says "Shepherds were despised people. They were
suspected of not being very careful to distinguish between 'mine' and
'thine'; for this reason, . . . they were
debarred from giving evidence in court."
Yet they received a personal angelic invitation.
SUMMARIZE: Luke
wants us to feel this incongruity, and to ask “What’s
going on here?” Did this get away from God (like Zeus; “Oh
myself . . .!”)? No, it’s even worse than
that—God wanted it to be this way! Jesus' birth, like
every other aspect of his life and death, were part of the
"predetermined plan . . . of God"
(Acts 2:23). The same God who performed a miracle of pregnancy
in Mary’s womb and who providentially worked through Augustus’
census to fulfill these Old Testament predictions also superintended
and orchestrated these outrageous details!
What would you
think of a wealthy and powerful man who arranged for some poor teen
girl to get pregnant while unmarried, who had ample means to provide
for a sanitary and dignified birth for her child, but instead
purposefully orchestrated it so that he had to be born in a
dirty garage somewhere, be cribbed in an oil drain pan, be wrapped in
mechanics rags, and then be visited by street-people? How would you
feel about that man? Unless he gave me a good explanation, I would
report him for child abuse! There is nothing cute about this—this
is shocking, embarrassing, outrageous! What's going on here?
And consider this:
Jesus also voluntarily chose to enter the human race in this way!
It wasn’t like there was an argument between the Father
anfd the Son, with the Father saying “I’ll fix
you . . .!” Unlike the rest of us, who have no
choice about the conditions of our birth, Jesus existed prior to his
birth and agreed to be born this way. What's going on here?
Theologians try to capture the answer to this question in a technical
term . . .
The
Humiliation of Jesus
We are talking
about what theologians call the humiliation of Jesus: the fact
that he voluntarily chose to give up his environment and position in
order to live a life of servitude, misunderstanding and ultimate
rejection. Many think this humiliation occurred only at his death,
but it actually began at his birth. This becomes very apparent as
you read through the gospels.
MISUNDERSTANDING:
SCANDAL OF APPARENT ILLEGITIMACY AT BIRTH (Jn 8:19,41,48) >>
SCANDAL OF IDENTIFICATION W/ SINNERS AT BAPTISM (Mt 3:13-15) >>
SCANDAL OF FOOT-WASHING (Jn 13:6-8) >> SCANDAL OF THE
CROSS (Mt. 16:22; Mk 15:17-20,32)
REJECTION:
INN (Lk. 2:7) >> NATION (Jn 1:11) >> LEADERS
(Mk 3:6) >> HOME TOWN >> (Mk 6:3) >>
FAMILY (Jn 7:5; Mk 3:21) >> FOLLOWERS (Jn 6:66)
>> DISCIPLES (Jn 13:27,30; Mt 26:43,56) >> THE
FATHER (Mk 15:34)
So the manner of Jesus’ birth was fitting because it was a
foreshadowing of the rest of his life and death: misunderstanding and
rejection--the humiliation of the Son. J. I. PACKER: "The
crucial significance of the cradle at Bethlehem lies in its place in
the sequence of steps down that led the Son of God to the cross of
Calvary, and we do not understand it till we see it in this
context."
“One hardly expects to find Messiah in an animal room. One
would expect a palace. But the Messiah’s humble and common
origins fit nicely with the task that he shall bear for all his
people, including especially the humble, hungry and poor. Messiah’s
life will contain an unusual bookend for a king, since he was born in
an animal room and will die with robbers.”
This raises another question . . .
What
does Jesus' humiliation teach us?
The answer to this question is so vast and deep that it would
require its own series. This morning, we cover only the two most
important biblical answers . . .
It teaches us that
our situation is desperate.
Have you ever
watched an EMERGENCY ROOM STAFF at work? What would you think about
ER workers if you were completely unfamiliar with western medicine?
How they cut and tear off clothing, leaving their patients stark
naked for all to see, make deep incisions without anesthesia, jam
tubes down their gagaing throats, jab long needles into their
abdomens, zap their chests with incredible amounts of electricity
which cause them twitch and flop. If you didn't know better, you'd
think they were cruel and sadistic. If you ask them if they enjoy
doing these things, they will probably look at you like you are
crazy. These measures are not pleasant—they are necessary in
order to save lives. They have to take drastic measures in order to
deal with desperate situations.
God says our
situation is desperate. When the apostle Paul describes our
situation, he uses adjectives like “helpless,” “lost,”
“dead,” and “without hope.” Our rebellion
against God has so completely alienated us from him, our guilt before
him has so completely condemned us, our sin has so completely
enslaved us that nothing short of this drastic measure by God through
Jesus (the CROSS) will rescue us. Paul also says that if there was
any way that we could rescue ourselves, God would never have taken
this measure (Gal. 2:21). But this leads us immediately to
another revelation . . .
ER workers take
these drastic measures because it is their job (duty; money); God
takes his drastic measure because he loves us with an amazing
love.
It is generally
conceded that the truest index of our love for someone is how much we
are willing to sacrifice for him/her. My parents proved their love
for me by their willingness to sacrifice sleep when I needed fed as
an infant, by paying big medical bills when I was sick, etc. My wife
proves her love for me by her willingness to sacrifice her own
personal desires and preferences for my good. My friends prove their
love by being there for me during crises, even and especially when
this is costly. If you love someone, you sacrifice for him.
How much does God
love you? The Bible says he has answered this question when he sent
his Son into the world and put him to death for me (1 Jn. 4:9,10;
Rom. 5:6-10). We might sacrifice for our own spouses or
children; God made this sacrifice for us even though we did not
belong to him. We might sacrifice for those who are our friends; God
made this sacrifice for us when we were his enemies. We might
sacrifice for those who love us; God made this sacrifice for us when
we were sinners who deserved his wrath. How many of you are willing
to lay down your life to resuce the I-270 sniper?
No other religion
has a God who loves you this much. People say to me, “Well,
Gary—all religions teach pretty much the same thing.”
This is either profound ignorance or willful self-deception! No
other religion’s god comes close to the willingness to pay this
price.
The question is:
Will you respond to God’s amazing love by receiving the gift
of his Son? What does it look like to respond to God’s
love through Jesus?
This past
Christmas morning (as with the previous 26 Christmases) I found a
gift from my wife under the tree with a sticker on it that said: “To
My Love.” That gift was a token of her love for me. What is
the proof that I believe that she loves me? That I open that gift in
her presence, and thank her—not just for her gift, but for the
love it signifies. What if I left that gift unopened not only all
Christmas day, but all Christmas week so that it was still there
(unopened) on New Years Day when she took down the tree? What would
this mean? There really isn’t much wiggle-room here, is there?
It would mean that I don’t believe in or value her love for
me. To leave her gift unopened would be to reject her love.
So with you and
me. This is God’s gift, wrapped in the body of his Son and
signed with his own blood. Will you open God’s gift by saying:
“Thank you for loving me enough to send your Son to die for my
sins. Thank you for loving me enough to offer me this amazing gift
of forgiveness. I receive it gratefully and gladly?” Or will
you leave it unopened, and by default reject God’s gift and the
love that sent it—saying by default: “I don’t want
it. I don’t need it. I don’t trust that it is a good
gift?”
Footnotes
Next week: The Visit of the Magi
Copyright 2003 Gary DeLashmutt