Is There Any Room?? Advent Sermon Series: A Defense of Jesus Luke 2:4-7; Galatians 4:4-5

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1 Is There Any Room?? Advent Sermon Series: A Defense of Jesus Luke 2:4-7; Galatians 4:4-5 Rev. Michael D. Halley December 10, 2017 Suffolk Christian Church Suffolk, Virginia Second Sunday of Advent ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You may agree with me that the manger scene is one of the most beloved symbols of Christmas. Usually the figures are made of ceramic, and we easily identify Mary and Joseph and the animals... and of course the shepherds and even the wise men are standing nearby. Everything is colorful and clean and neat. It is a truly peaceful scene. However, there are a few things wrong with that picture. First, we are told that Jesus was born there in that stable because there was no room in the inn. Then, surely the night of his birth it was not as clean and neat as our little display would suggest. And, of course, it was not likely that the shepherds and the wise men were there at the same time. I would like to address three questions about this scene: First, What s wrong with this picture? Second, Why does God allow it? And third, What do we learn from it? What s wrong with this picture? Simply this: Jesus doesn t belong here. He s the Son of God from heaven. He doesn t deserve to be treated like he and his family were vagrants or criminals. Certainly Jesus deserves the best we have to offer. Jesus comes from heaven to earth... and ends up in a stable! How can that be? Some of you maybe have been privileged to visit Bethlehem, located 1

2 Page -2- just a few miles south of Jerusalem. Today it is an Arab town with many inhabitants and businesses, all doing quite well. Tourism is, of course, one of the major industries in this city. But in Jesus day, Bethlehem was just a very small Jewish town, an out-of-the-way village. The residents included a few shepherds, some farmers, and a few merchants. The town was famous only because it was King David s hometown. Notice the timing of the arrival of Mary and Joseph. Months before, God prompted the emperor, Caesar Augustus to decree that a census would take place and that taxes would be collected throughout the Roman Empire. All Jewish males were required go back to their ancestral hometowns to register. For Joseph, Bethlehem was his ancestral hometown, since he was descended from King David. Notice that God s timing was perfect... as it always is. Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem in the very final stages of her pregnancy so that the Son of God could be born there. The prophet Micah predicted this But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah [EFF-ruh-thuh], are the smallest town in Judah. Your family is almost too small to count, but the Ruler of Israel will come from you to rule for me. His beginnings are from ancient times, from long, long ago. (Micah 5:2, ERV 1 ) From a human point of view, this picture does not look right. Jesus surely deserved better, and we are tempted to believe that God could have done better. So why did it happen like this? That leads us to the second question. Why did God allow this? If we believe in the sovereignty of God... that is, if we believe that God is in all and over all 2... then we must believe that God did not simply allow Jesus to be born in a stable. If God is sovereign in all that he does, then we must believe that God ordained it to happen as it did. No room in

3 the inn? That was because God wanted it that way. If God had wanted it some other way, then it would have happened that other way. Page -3- So in the sovereign will of God, Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem and were turned away at the inn. Jesus was born in a stable... outdoors, in the cold, with the animals nearby. Think about it: they had no privacy, no sanitation, and very little protection from the elements. Why would God send his Son into the world like this? Many have attempted to answer this question, and the answer must lie in the mission Jesus came to fulfill. He was born like this to show his humility, and to show that he identified with the poor and the outcasts of society. The very manner of his birth... turned away from the inn, born in a stable... was a loving invitation to all who are rejected, all who are abused, those who are mistreated, the forgotten ones, the overlooked people... all of these, including you and me, can come to Jesus for salvation. By being born in a manger, Jesus identified with all of us. He had to be born like this. It couldn t have happened any other way. This is what Philippians 2:7 means when it says that Christ made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Jesus truly identifies with each of us. So, what do we learn from this? For one thing, we can learn that God uses adverse circumstances that make no sense at the time in order to accomplish his purposes in the future. At first glance the fact that there was no room at the inn seems like an insignificant detail in the larger picture. But it was no small detail to Mary and Joseph. Being turned away at the very moment when the baby was

4 Page -4- coming must have been devastating to them. Giving birth in a stable no doubt tested their faith to the limit. Mary and Joseph -- no matter how devout they might have been -- simply could not have foreseen how this negative turn of events would turn about to be part of God s plan to bring his Son to the world. In moments like this, rather than try to explain the mysterious ways of God, or try to answer questions that have no answer, we do better to rest on what we know about God: that God is good and just and merciful, that God s ways are not our ways, that God makes no mistakes, and that God does whatever he pleases to accomplish his will. We also learn that just as the people of Bethlehem had no room for Christ, our world has no room for Christ now. John 1:11 puts it very plainly: He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Jesus came home to his own people and they wouldn t take him in. He came to the people who should have known him best and they wanted nothing to do with him. The world that had no room for him then has no room for him now. And, we learn that Jesus humiliation started early and continued to the very end. He was born outside because they wouldn t let Mary and Joseph come inside. During his ministry he told his disciples that Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head (Matthew 8:20). He owned nothing but the clothes on his back, and when he was crucified, the soldiers gambled for his robe. When he died, they buried him in a borrowed tomb. Our Savior s birth pictured the whole course of his life. He was born outside the inn and he died outside the walls of Jerusalem (see Hebrews 13:11-13). He was an outsider in every sense; he came from outside this earth, he was born outside the inn, and he died outside the city walls.

5 Page -5- Finally, and please listen carefully. From all this we learn that those who follow Jesus share in his fate. We live with him, we suffer with him, we die with him, and we reign with him. What happens to Jesus happens to his followers sooner or later. Just as there was no room for Jesus, there is no room for his followers either. Many years after his birth, Jesus challenged his disciples, saying, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Mark 8:34). When Christ calls us, he bids us come and die with him. And so we come to the very end of the story of the birth of Jesus. Even the tiniest details turn out to have enormous significance in the Christmas story. The No Vacancy signs were there for our benefit. God could have made a room available. He could have created a hospital or a palace in Bethlehem if he had so desired. The events that unfolded... the census, the long journey, no room at the inn, no crib for a bed, the feeding trough, the swaddling clothes... all of it was planned by God even though it all appeared to happen by chance. God willed there would be no room in the inn not for the sake of Jesus, but for our sakes, that we might learn who Jesus is and why he came. Will you and I make room for him in our hearts this year? When the great English preacher of the 19 th century, Charles Spurgeon, preached on this text, he made this appeal 3 : Even as an infant, by being laid in a manger, he was set forth as the sinner s friend. Come to him, ye that are weary and heavy-laden! Come to him, ye that are broken in spirit, ye who are bowed down in soul! Come to him, ye that despise yourselves and are despised of others! Come to him, publican and harlot! Come to him, thief and drunkard! In the manger there he lies, unguarded from your touch and unshielded from your gaze. Bow the knee, and kiss the Son of God; accept him as your Savior, for he puts himself into that manger that you may

6 Page -6- approach him. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, all that You do is done with plan and with purpose. Even the humble birth of our Saviour is for our benefit. Thank You, O God, for giving us so great a salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray this in His name. Amen +==+==+==+==+==+==+ I am indebted to the Rev. Dr. Ray Pritchard for his thoughts and insights, in No Crib for a Bed: The God of Every Circumstance, (December 7, 2003), found at Dr. Pritchard serves as president of Keep Believing Ministries. +==+==+==+==+==+==+ All Scripture references are from New International Version, NIV, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc., unless otherwise indicated. +==+==+==+==+==+==+ Sunday Sermons from Suffolk Christian Church are intended for the private devotional use of members and friends of the church. Please do not print or publish. Thank you. Suggestions for sermon topics are always welcome! 1. Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), copyright 2006 by Bible League International.

7 2. See Sovereignty, by William Leonard, Holman Bible Dictionary, edited by Trent C. Butler, copyright No Room for Christ in the Inn, a sermon (No. 485) delivered on Sunday morning, December 21st, 1862, by Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, at Metropolitan Tabernacle, London. Page -7-

No Crib For A Bed 2014 Advent Sermons: Miracle on Manger Street 1 Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:1-7

No Crib For A Bed 2014 Advent Sermons: Miracle on Manger Street 1 Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:1-7 Rev. Michael D. Halley December 7, 2014 Suffolk Christian Church Suffolk, Virginia Second Sunday of Advent