Jesus is Here (4 th Sunday of Advent) John opens his gospel account with the introduction to Jesus as having been with God and being God from the very beginning of creation. The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) contains more that 300 passages that point to the incarnation of God. Many details may be learned by reading from the psalms and the books of prophecy. One of the details is given by the Minor Prophet, Micah. Let s read in the 5 th chapter of this prophet starting in the second verse. 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 (or appearances) are from long ago, From the days of eternity. Therefore He will give them up until the time When she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren Will return to the sons of Israel. And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain (or live in safety), Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth. This One will be our peace. (Micah 5:2-5a NASB) 1
Another detail is revealed in Isaiah the 7 th chapter is the virgin birth. Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel (i.e. God with us). (Isaiah 7:14 NASB) Then, two chapter over, in the 9 th chapter we read: For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest (or be) on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 NASB) This child is the one whom John speaks of in John 1:14. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt (Or stayed in a tent i.e. lived temporarily) among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only (Lit. unique one of a kind) begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 NASB) We are very familiar with the narrative of Christmas. We know that Mary gave birth to this child and he was named Jesus. We know that she (Mary) visited with her cousin (Elizabeth). During this visit, there is an exchange that has been read before. Yet, many of us may not have really paid attention. We were rushed to get to Bethlehem so we missed a beautiful song of Mary. Let s read through this exchange between two cousins who were both about to deliver sons of promise. 2
Now at this time (Lit. in these days) Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord. And Mary said: My soul exalts (Lit. makes great) the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave (i.e. female slave); For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM. He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS; And sent away the rich empty-handed. 3
He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of (Lit. so as to remember) His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever. (Luke 1:39-55 NASB) A young girl has been chosen by God to be the vessel through whom the incarnation of God would enter human history. This young girl humbly accepted her role in human history with the simple response to the heavenly visitor: Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word. (Luke 1:38 NASB) She seeks to give God the glory while understanding that she will be remembered as the mother of the Christ. She sees and acknowledges that this birth is the fruition of God s promises. In this song, she lists some of what this birth signifies about God. For He has had regard for the humble For the Mighty One has done great things for me He has done mighty deeds And has exalted those who were humble HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY We have mentioned before that the events surrounding the birth of Jesus are only found in two of the gospels. Matthew gives some details concerning the conversation between Joseph and an angel. Once Joseph knew that Mary was chosen by God to bring the Christ into the world, he agreed to stay with her. Matthew s account then jumps to: Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king (Matthew 2:1 NASB) The ending of 4
this verse introduces the magi. From Matthew, we do not meet the shepherds, the inn-keeper, the angelic chorus, or the actual arrival of the incarnate God in the form of Jesus. In Matthew, Mary is scarcely mentioned. Luke s account gives more detail of the actual birth. Luke gives us more insight into the role of Mary and how she dealt with the birth. Luke places the birth of Jesus within the context of known history by telling us that there was a census ordered by Caesar Augustus (Octavius). His account also explains why a carpenter from Nazareth would travel to Bethlehem with a pregnant wife (pledged wife). The pictures that we see and often emulate in our decorations are images that we find related in Luke. Some of the images are skewed. The magi were not on hand at the same time as the shepherds. The magi visited with Joseph, Mary and Jesus when they were in a house not surrounded by animals. Santa Claus and Christmas Trees are not mentioned in any biblical account. However, Luke s account is the one we will consider today. The shepherds were watching their flocks at night when an angel came and stood before them to announce the birth of Jesus. Following the announcement, an angelic chorus with this short praise song: Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased. The angels had completed their mission and left. A message directly from God had been shared with shepherd. God chose to speak to shepherds and not with Octavius, not with Herod, not with any prominent official, not with the chief priest or rabbi. God sent His angelic messengers to working-class farm hands. Let s pick up our Bibles and read the next part of this narrative as recorded in Luke the 2 nd chapter beginning in the 15 th verse. 5
When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us. So, they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger (or feeding trough). When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. What was the statement they had heard concerning this child? Well, we see that in verses 10 and 11. The message from the angel was this: I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ (Lit. the Messiah) the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11 NASB) Here we have a scene of strangers coming into the nativity and telling a young girl and her husband that angels had told them that this baby was the Savior, the promised Messiah. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them. (Luke 2:15-20 NASB) We do not know who was present on that first night gathered around the manger. Certainly, Mary and Joseph, perhaps the home owner there may have been others who made the trip with the young couple. All we do know is that they were in awe at the words of the shepherds. What could this mean? Why did the shepherds leave their flock to come and tell of angels and heavenly choruses? But Mary, Mary the young girl whom the angel told of conception through the Holy Spirit, Mary who sang the song of praise to God when Elizabeth recognized that she would bear the 6
Christ child, Mary who now had wrapped her new born son and placed him in a make-shift crib (a crib that was in fact was a feeding trough for animals), Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. Someone has said that they hope we never become so jaded that we fail to look into the nighttime sky on Christmas Eve. Perhaps they look for signs of an elf on a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer. For me, I look for signs that Jesus is here. God loves us so much that he gave us the best of heaven. Knowing this, do we hold Him near and cuddle Him or will we be among those fail to see Him. Christmas is the time to realize that Jesus is here and calls us to embrace him. 7