SCRIPTURE: Luke 2:1-20 (NLT)
DATE: 12-24-20
Merry Christmas! As always it’s a joy to be with all of you. And the one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us in person or are worshiping with us online — the one thing I want you to know is that God loves you and that I love you too.
SERIES INTRODUCTION
So we’re having a holly jolly, Merry 2020 Christmas, right? Or — as one blogger has said, this year we’re having “a holly COVID Christmas.” Christmas — a time of traditions and beloved routines that we’ve grown so accustomed to — has had much of its familiarity put on hold this year. Christmas 2020 is not turning out to be what the vast majority of us have come to expect of this special season of the year.
But there’s also an unexpected opportunity for all of us. For this year — and especially this unusual Christmas — gives us the opportunity to step into the shoes of those who were there that first Christmas day.
You see, celebrating the birth of Jesus at Christmas — for most of us — well that’s what’s normal. It’s the tradition. Nothing unusual about the holiday — the Christmas trees, nativity scenes, lights, and stockings. But for Mary and Joseph and the shepherds watching their flocks — well that first Christmas was for them — what 2020’s Christmas is for us — something unexpected — something unusual — something unplanned for — just on a much larger scale than what we’re experiencing this year.
So let’s turn to our passage for this Christmas Eve — Luke chapter 2 — and let’s step back and step into the first Christmas day — a most unusual experience for those who were there.
ANNOUNCE THE TEXT
If you have your Bible please turn with me to Luke chapter 2. We’ll be looking at verses 1-20 together.
We’re in Luke chapter 2. Beginning in verse 1.
“At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. 8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them.
“Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior — yes, the Messiah, the Lord — has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others — the armies of heaven — praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” 15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.” (Luke 2:1-20 NLT)
SERMON INTRODUCTION
In our Christmas series, we’ve been looking at Old Testament promises that God had given to his people about the birth of the coming Messiah — the Savior of his people. Promises that the people of God had been waiting for centuries to be fulfilled. What were some of the promises about this Messiah?
- Well we’ve seen the promise that he would be a Righteous Branch — a descendant of King David.
- We’ve looked at the promise that the Messiah would be a Purifying Fire who cleanses an unholy people of their sin and impurity — making them right with God.
- The promise that the Messiah would be a Mighty Savior — that he would rescue his people.
- And that he would be his people’s Protecting Shepherd — the One who gives them peace and security.
But if we step into Luke’s gospel — we’re now hundreds and hundreds of years after those promises had first been given. For example, we’re now a thousand years after David was king.
So the people of God have been waiting and waiting and waiting for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years for these promises to be fulfilled. And I bet that many of them felt like they were stuck in limbo. “God, are your promises ever going to be fulfilled? Cause — David — well he was king like a thousand years ago and we’re still waiting on his descendant.”
None of us like to wait, do we? And no one expects to have to wait so long. And that feeling — of waiting and being stuck — and being done with waiting and being stuck — well if that doesn’t sum up 2020 for us — I don’t know what does. “When will this pandemic be over? When will things return to some sense of normalcy? When can we stop wearing these masks? And — on behalf of every parent — ‘When will our children be back in school?’”
PROMISE FULFILLED
But if we look beyond our current circumstances and put ourselves into the first century — into Luke’s gospel — look at what we find. God’s promises fulfilled in the birth of Jesus.
- Why did Jesus’ parents end up in Bethlehem? Verse four tells us that it was because Joseph was a descendant of King David. The promise we saw in Jeremiah — that the Messiah would be a descendant of David — is being fulfilled.
- And Bethlehem is the city where Jesus is born. And we saw that this would happen when we looked at God’s promise recorded by the prophet Micah — that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. That promise is now being fulfilled.
- Micah also showed us that this child would be our Protecting Shepherd. And did you notice — I’m sure you did — did you notice how the promised Protecting Shepherd is first visited by those who were shepherds. God’s promises being fulfilled.
- And the angel told the shepherds to not be afraid because the Savior had been born. The Mighty Savior that the prophet Zephaniah had promised would come — has now been born. God’s promises are being fulfilled.
- And the army of angels declare to the shepherds, “Peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” And the promise from Malachi was that God would send the Messiah to be a Purifying Fire for his people — cleansing them of their sins — making them holy and pleasing to God. God is fulfilling his promises.
And these promises were fulfilled when Jesus — the Christ child — was born on that first Christmas morning. A story so familiar to us that we can easily miss the wonder of it all. Because — for us — those centuries and centuries of waiting are just text on pages in our Bibles. But — for the people of God — the waiting was life. The waiting was their living. Waiting for promises made to be promises kept. The people of God waiting and waiting and waiting for their Messiah to come.
CONCLUSION
You see, we’re so familiar with the Christmas story that it’s easy to forget that none of it met their expectations.
Nothing about that first Christmas was the norm or the usual for Mary and Joseph or the shepherds. Sure — the story is now what we expect — along with all of our other Christmas traditions — but maybe we’ve become a bit too comfortable with our usual Christmas traditions that we’ve missed the unusualness of what we celebrate. And so we have the opportunity — in this unusual year — to regain the awe of the appearance of angels. Of a virgin giving birth. Of the star guiding the wisemen. And now that 2020 has stripped so much away from us — we have the opportunity to be amazed by what 2020 can’t take away.
The Christmas story. A story of God’s promises being fulfilled. A story of love, hope, joy, and peace. A story of rescue. A story of God being with us.
And maybe — just maybe — our focus this Christmas — and for many more to come — will be on the promises that were fulfilled in the birth of the Christ child. And — like the people of God who were waiting for these promises to be fulfilled — we will look forward — with great anticipation — to God’s promises that have yet to be fulfilled.
And — maybe some of the distractions that we’ve collected over the usual years around Christmas — we’ll be left behind. And our focus — for this Christmas and for the Christmases to come — will be on the good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior — yes, the Messiah, the Lord — the promised Christ child — has been born in Bethlehem, the city of David! Let’s pray.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank you for being a promise making and a promise keeping God. You’ve given your people undeserved promises. Many of your promises have already been fulfilled — as we’ve seen in the birth of Christ. And — for the promises yet to be fulfilled — we ask you to help us to be patient and faithful as we wait.
Spirit of God, remind us this Christmas — and for many more to come — that the birth of Jesus is a story of rescue. It’s a story of love, hope, peace, and joy. A story about God coming into his creation to be with us. Christmas is a reminder that our God keeps his promises.
And — Jesus — thank you for being the fulfillment of your promises to us. And for fulfilling our promises to you that we’ve failed to keep. Draw many to you — who hear my voice — so they might discover the life that you offer to all who put their faith in you. And we pray all of these things in your name. Amen.
BENEDICTION
May you go — even during this unusual Christmas — may you go with great hope and joy because the Christ child — the Promised One — the Savior of the world — has been born. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent. And MERRY CHRISTMAS!