The Shepherd s Christmas Luke 2: Introduction

Transcription

1 Introduction In this familiar passage Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem and Jesus is born. Shepherd s receive an angelic visit and come and worship the baby Jesus. The Shepherd s Watch (v.8) Luke 2:8 20 (NKJV) 8Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. In the ancient world shepherd s were not looked on with a great deal of respect. Their work kept them away from the Temple and rendered them ceremonially unclean. I read a public opinion poll of most respected and least respected jobs. At the top of the list were Scientists and Medical Doctors and Nurses, Farmers, and even soldiers. Priests and minsters were more respected in the U.S. than in Britain or Canada. Lawyers were below 50% approval. Low on the list on the were journalists. Who were at the bottom? Car salesman and politicians. Why did God invent lawyers? So Real Estate Agents would have someone to look down on (just kidding). In general shepherds were thought to be dishonest (See Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 25b) and unclean according to the standards of the law. They represent the outcasts and sinners for whom Jesus came. These shepherds were living in the field. Keeping watch in the night. If you were to ask the religious leaders; Name the people group least likely to receive a visit from angels Shepherds would top the list! Shepherds were seldom seen praising God and worshipping God! The were snubbed and despised because they were unable or unwilling to attend Temple. The flocks kept them busy. The Savior was coming to call sinners to repentance; it makes perfect sense that the first stop on the angel s tour are a group of sinners! Some suggest shepherds are in the field s between March and November and therefore whatever date is suggested for the birth of Jesus December is the least likely month. Yet Bethlehem has a latitude of 31.7; and has a climate way more like California or Texas in December. Now it is entirely possible for shepherds to have sheep in the field in December. While it is true that the New Testament does not give an explicit date for the birth of our Lord Jesus; there are several reasons why a December date is credible. Speculation as to the time of Jesus birth dates back to the 3rd century, when Hyppolytus (ca ) claimed that Jesus was born on December 25. The earliest mention of some sort of observance on that date is in the Philoclian Calendar, representing Roman practice, of the year 336. Later, John Chrysostom favored the same date of birth. Cyril of Jerusalem ( ) had access to the original Roman birth census, which also documented that Jesus was born on the 25th of December (Got Questions.org see Was Jesus born December 25?) 1

2 Those who suggest that the Church chose December 25 to coincide with the Roman pagan feast of Saturnalia forget that the Romans celebrated that feast as early as December 17 and would sometimes extend to December 23. Some suggest the date was commemorated to replace the pagan Roman holiday Natalis Solis invicti (Birthday of the Unconquered Sun). The Emperor Aurelian introduced the cult of Sol Invictus (Unconquered Sun) to Rome in AD 274. Aurelian resonated with the cult of Sol because his own name Aurelian derives from a Latin word aurora meaning sunrise. Yet--there is no historical record for a celebration Sol Invictus on December 25 prior to AD 354; the date was simply Invictus with no mention of a birthday. The celebration was hardly popular or traditional. Saturnalia was much more popular, traditional and fun. Does the Bible give us a clue concerning the date of the birth of Jesus? In Luke s gospel (1:5) we read of Zacharias serving in the course of Abias ; the eighth course of 24 priestly courses (see Nehemiah 12:17). Each course served one week in the temple two times a year. The course of Abias served the eighth week and the thirty-second week in the annual cycle. When did the cycle begin? In the course of Jewish history we discover that the first priestly course of Jojarib was on duty during the destruction of Jerusalem on the 9th day of the Jewish month of AV. This means without a doubt; the priestly course of Abias (the course of Zacharias) was the second week of the Jewish month of Tishri--the very week of the Day of Atonement on the 10th of Tishri. In our calendar the Day of Atonement on the 10th of Tishri lands anywhere from September 22 to October 8. Zacharias and Elizabeth conceived John the Baptist immediately after Zacharias served his course. This means that John the Baptist was conceived somewhere around the end of September 22 to October 8. This would place John the Baptist s birth sometime around June 24. We read that Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth who was about 6 months pregnant with John the Baptist. This means that John the Baptist is six months older than Jesus. Add six months to June 24 and we are at December Subtract nine months from December 25 and we get March 25; the date the church celebrated the annunciation of the angel to Mary. The point of the passage is not the date. The point of the passage is in part that people are given a supernatural announcement! The angel will appear not to the Roman Senate or the Roman Emperor or even the Sanhedrin or the Herod. The King s palace is six miles away. At the birth of Jesus an angel leaves Heaven and appears to a group of shepherds; despised, on the very fringe of Jewish social circumstances. A Savior for the poor, the rejected, the despised. The angel appears not to the affluent but to the afflicted. Christmas is easy for the affluent. But not for the afflicted. 2

3 It makes perfect sense that we would want to make our children and grandchildren happy at Christmas time. Yet what makes Christmas Christmas is to have a Savior. The favored and the affluent missed the first coming. How many will miss the second coming? The Shepherd s Wonder (vv.9-14) 9And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. We are not told the angel s identity. We are told that angels are ministers, servants sent from God with messages from God for men. We are also angels are interested in, concerned about the things pertaining to man s redemption (1 Peter 1:12). The verb perilampo around and lamp ; we might say the light shined in every direction! An explosion of light from an inter-dimensional being! and they were greatly afraid. The supernatural presence of angels brought terror. 10Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. Angels would often begin conversation with Do not be afraid. When angels usually showed up it meant judgment. Of course they were afraid. When heaven shows up--hell complains. When heaven proclaims a message; hell is sure to protest. A group of parents in Missoula Montana wrote a letter to the Superintendent of Schools claiming that Christmas Carols were a form of bullying! Does it shock you that Christmas terrifies some people? Tidings of comfort and joy! We live in a culture that plays hard and fast with words. In my day a bully was an insolent, overbearing person who persists in tormenting others! A bully was a person who uses threats to harass and intimidate. Christians in Somalia face real threat. On December 8th two masked men shot and killed Mursal Isee Siad (55) outside his home in Beledweyne; 200 miles north of Mogadishu. Siad s oldest daughter age 15 said her father was killed because he failed to attend the mosque for prayers and used to pray at home. He used to share with us about Jesus. She said she received messages on her father s mobile phone stating We know what you are doing, and you must stop, 3

4 otherwise you risk your life. A Christian source in Mogadishu confirmed the killing; and another source in his village said Siad was killed for leaving Islam. Perhaps we need to revisit the angels message! You don t have to be afraid! What causes fear? Sin. What cures fear? Salvation and joy. Great Joy. Joy is not the absence of trouble--but the presence of Christ. This is not the first time an angel spoke to a human being. Angels in the past had brought messages to human beings from God. But never news like this. Good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. All people. Good people. Bad people. Jews. Gentiles. For all people in every generation. The Bible teaches that God created man in his own image and without sin. But human beings were tested and failed that test. Adam and Eve fell in the garden of Eden; and in that fall we experienced sin; and that sin passed to all of us. The human family eventually forgot about God; and the Gentile people fabricated materials in the likeness of creatures and the creation. Sin and all its horror afflicted the body, the mind, the soul. God selected Abraham to reveal Himself, and Moses and David. To the prophet Isaiah the Lord said, I have spread out my hands all the long unto a rebellious people, which walks in a way that is not good (Isaiah 65:2). No wonder fear grips people. People have embraced their own lusts and desires and the wishes of their own hearts and rejected the revelation of God. God would send His Son. His only begotten Son. So all that would believe in Him; would not perish but have eternal life. 11For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. The angel s message deserves volumes and songs. Born to you this day in the city of David Heaven s announcement reads like a proud parent. A time, a place, a title. By all means debate the day of Christ s birth. But you cannot deny the day. I want to draw you attention to the word today. The angel s announcement meant mankind s wait was over. The time for waiting had come to an end. The prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah were fulfilled. God promised a Messiah. The New Testament refers to this date as the fulness of time and the acceptable time ; we know this as the day of grace. Today if ye hear his voice, harden not your hearts (Hebrews 3:7-8; James 4:13-14). The Lord Jesus has many titles; but none so full of wonder as the title Savior. The title is one which speaks of the human condition. 4

5 We are sinners. We are helpless. In the title Savior we see the essence of the Gospel; salvation In the title Savior we see the infinite love of God. Jesus cannot be the Savior apart from God s willingness and ability to save. 12And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. The angel gives a sign; a marker, an indicator. You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. A feeding trough for animals? It makes much more sense that heaven s child should be born in a palace! The shepherd s must have thought; How is such a thing possible? The angel s message implies responsibility and opportunity. The shepherd s must look! 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men! If such words are spoken by angels; how much more do they belong in the mouths of sinners! Glory to God! For providing redemption; for revealing His character; for establishing peace between Himself and ourselves; for making salvation available to any and all; for sending the Lord of life to rescue us from sin, death and the power of the adversary. The angel sings; glory; peace; Good will. To God glory. To the earth peace. To men grace or favor or good will. peace eirene In the ancient world the Pax Romana or Roman Peace was welcomed (B.C.27). But the peace was always temporary and always subject to harsh cruelties, revolts and uprisings. The word came to mean the interludes of quiet between conflicts. But in the Bible the word translates the Hebrew word shalom; which carries the idea of wellbeing or salvation. In the New Testament it is a word that describes a settled peace; where waring parties lay down their arms; it can also mean peaceful state of mind or rest; but I think it primarily means peace as a state of reconciliation with God. One Bible teacher (Marshall) declares that eirene here is used to indicate the full sum of the blessings associated with the coming of the Messiah (p.112). 5

6 There was no real peace on the earth; nor can there be a lasting peace until King Jesus sits on David s throne. We love the expression goodwill toward men. We are weary of ill will. The word is eudokia (nominative case); early manuscripts read eudokias--(genitive case) of good will. But it means way more than good will. Bible teachers suggest that the word includes the idea of favor; and in this instance the favor of God resting on the people of God. The word was not used in the ancient Greek culture; and occurs for the first time in the Greek New Testament; we might think of it as a word that was invented to describe God s favor resting on those who accept God s salvation! The Shepherd s Worship (vv.15-16) 15So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. 16And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. The word found means to find after a search. They found Mary and Joseph and the Babe lying in a manger. I read this weak that a wife s number one fear is that of being used and abandoned. A husband s number one fear is that of failure. Note the progression: At first the shepherds were afraid (v.9). Then the shepherds believed (vv.15-16). they came with haste not doubting the message they had heard. Later they praise and rejoice (v.20). The Magi had a star to guide them (Matthew 2); but all the Shepherds had to go on was the sign given by the angels (v.12). For the shepherds; excitement precedes worship. A search and then worship. They shared the message. They experienced the Child for themselves. The shepherds provide the first witness to the world. The Shepherd s Witness (vv.17-20) 17Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. The shepherd s caused a stir among the people! Their witness went viral! 18And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 6

7 What was told by the Shepherd s? That a baby was found in a manger? I think what was told was that supernatural messenger appeared with a supernatural message. And the message included the fact that we don t have to be afraid. We need not be bullied by fear and sin. We might even say fear caused by sin. Fear caused by pain and suffering and sin. Sin brings judgment and wrath. God permitted sin but was much more interested in forgiving sin and reconciling human beings with Himself. 19But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Mary knew the truth. She was told by an angel. An unplanned and unexpected and unmarried pregnancy! Rumors. Suspicion. The long trip from Nazareth. Exhaustion. A stable trough serving as a crib. 20Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. The Shepherd s Christmas began in fear; continued in faith and resulted in glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told them. God had spoken to them by an angel. They heard the message. They saw the Messiah. They had every reason to praise God! Fear replaced with joy! Fear takes many forms. Some people fear flying (crashing!). On the short list of fears; public speaking, fear of heights (really falling or jumping); fear of intimacy; fear of the dark (does it ever go away?); fear of failure, fear of dying, fear of rejection, fear of commitment, fear of being alone. Conclusion What fear was taken away that Holy Night? The fear caused by sin. The fear of cares and sufferings. The fear of death. What replaced that fear? Faith and joy and love. My grandma used to say; There s no fear like the fear of being found out. The hope of eternal life replaces the fear of death. G.K. Chesterton Joy is the gigantic secret of the Christian. Great joy is not the absence of trouble but the presence of Jesus Christ. 7