[0:00] Good morning and Merry Christmas. We are blessed and privileged to be together to celebrate the sending of God's Son to this earth as our Savior.
[0:22] We have a lot of empty chairs this morning and it's usually like this at Christmas as people travel and attend gatherings and so on.
[0:39] And so we keep them in our hearts as well as they do that. And Ben made a comment on was Jesus born on December 25th?
[0:54] And of course we have no idea. And it's interesting that God has chosen to keep that silent. He has not revealed that to us.
[1:05] And then, you know, some have taken a negative approach while we shouldn't celebrate Christmas on a world-given day.
[1:19] Then I think of Paul in Athens. What did he do? He used one of their pagan altars to the unknown God and he said, and he took that and he used that and he says, I want to preach the true God.
[1:37] And so as we realize that the world does not celebrate Christmas in truth, we have the privilege of doing so and not only that but to proclaim him.
[1:53] And so if we go with that attitude, we will be blessed and filled with his joy. All right.
[2:08] Luke chapter 2 is where we're going to be in for today, this morning, as we continue the Christmas message. Luke 2.
[2:19] Luke 2. Luke 2. Luke 2. Luke 2. And I'm going to read probably 1 to 15 or so. Luke 2.
[2:30] Luke 2. Luke 2. Luke 2. Luke 2. Luke 2. Luke 2. Luke 2. It came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
[2:44] This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. And so all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
[2:55] Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.
[3:09] To be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
[3:20] And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.
[3:32] Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
[3:49] And then 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. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
[4:06] And this will be the sign to you, you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
[4:27] And so 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.
[4:42] And so here we have the account from Luke, which is the fullest, and give us the most details of the birth of Jesus Christ.
[4:57] So as we listen to that, what is our favorite part of that story? Children, which part of that story do you like the best?
[5:12] Anyone? Anyone? Do we like the whole thing?
[5:35] I think we do. How about adults? Or youth? Is there something that really radiates with our heart? Okay.
[5:57] That's for you. Yeah. Good. Yeah. Anyone else? Anyone else? Anyone else? Okay.
[6:16] That he came in humbleness. Right. I've titled the message, The Sign of Humility.
[6:35] And so what Eganita shared kind of resonated with my thoughts as well, that the whole Christmas story is bathed in humility.
[6:53] And as we continue from Sunday and bring about God presenting the child, we realize the humility that accompanies what God is doing there.
[7:10] And so we had looked at, out of Matthew chapter 1, the prophecies involved that foretold his coming and where he would come and where he would come and so on.
[7:22] And then we looked at the circumstances, God preparing people to bring about the Christ child. Now our story this morning continues with God preparing the governor or Caesar, Augustus, and that there should be, the world should be taxed or registered, that there be a census.
[7:51] And so people may say, well, that's coincidence. Well, to the believer, there is no coincidence.
[8:03] And God is in control. And so he ordered it so that this pagan Roman Caesar would call a census at the right time.
[8:21] For the child was prophesied to be born where? In Bethlehem.
[8:33] And to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem to motivate Joseph and his virgin wife, nine months pregnant, to travel that distance, it took a special circumstance to motivate them to do that.
[8:59] And so this is what God chose to do. And so he used a pagan king to do that, to order a census and to get them to come there.
[9:11] And so the events that follow all happened then in Bethlehem. So as we kind of go through this story, I have a few questions that I want to cover or answer.
[9:32] Why Bethlehem? Why the shepherds? And why the sign that was given?
[9:46] And as we examine those three questions. So we'll start with the place. Why in Bethlehem? The city of David.
[9:59] As is presented here. Well, it says in verse 4, Because he was of the house and lineage of David.
[10:11] So referring to Joseph and Mary being of the lineage of David, of King David. So he was their ancestor way back.
[10:27] And so David was from Bethlehem, which, by the way, means house of bread. House of bread.
[10:39] The small town of Bethlehem, just south of Jerusalem. And if you're in Jerusalem on the southern edge, you can look across the valley and look to Bethlehem.
[10:55] It's that close. You can actually see the city. And so that's where it is. The Bethlehem roots go far back.
[11:09] And if we think of the story of Ruth, where did that story occur? In Canaan?
[11:25] More specifically. Yeah, you're right. Who did Ruth end up marrying? Boaz. And so Boaz lived in Bethlehem.
[11:41] And Ruth and her daughter-in-law returned to Bethlehem after the drought was over. And Ruth is, not Ruth, her mother, Naomi, returned to Bethlehem after their husbands had passed away.
[12:03] And so we have the story beginning in Bethlehem, the house of bread. And Boaz was the great-grandfather to King David.
[12:20] And so King David was born also in Bethlehem. And I want to just spend a little bit of emphasis on this.
[12:30] Let's turn to 1 Samuel chapter 16. And just look at a few verses here. 1 Samuel 16.
[12:41] And King Saul has been reigning for a couple of years and he's been disobedient to God.
[12:56] And God is choosing to put him down. And in 1 Samuel 16, verses 1 through 4.
[13:07] Now the Lord said to Samuel, So in Bethlehem.
[13:38] And then invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will show you what you shall do. You shall anoint for me the one I name to you. So in Bethlehem.
[13:50] And then if we skip down to verse 11. And Samuel said to Jesse, Are all the young men here?
[14:02] And so the first sons have passed by Samuel and God has not indicated that one of them was to be the next king.
[14:12] And are all the young men here? And then he said, There remains yet the youngest and there he is keeping the sheep. Samuel said to Jesse, Send and bring him for we will not sit down till he comes.
[14:27] And so he sent and brought him in. Now he was rudy with bright eyes and good looking. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him. This is the one.
[14:39] And Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
[14:51] And so here we have the city of David as it's called, Bethlehem. And we have the roots of that as he is the great grandchild of Boaz.
[15:05] All of Bethlehem. Now, David was taken from being a shepherd boy to become a king.
[15:23] He was a shepherd boy. And God called him out of that to become a shepherd over Israel. And so we have some analogies here that typify Christ, Jesus Christ in King David.
[15:45] And they're symbolic of what God was going to be doing. And so David was anointed as a shepherd over Israel. And he came from the most humble position of shepherding the sheep physically out there.
[16:06] And so in Bethlehem, this happened roughly a thousand years before the birth of Jesus Christ.
[16:17] Now going back to Isaiah 7, which we read on Sunday. I want to read that again. Isaiah 7.
[16:28] In verse 10 through 14. Speaking to the house of David.
[17:00] And here's the sign that was given.
[17:15] And here's the sign that was given. And that sign, of course, is fulfilled as we read Luke chapter 2.
[17:29] And as the angels come to the shepherds in Bethlehem as they are spending time with their sheep. And in those days, it was normal.
[17:47] And for the shepherds, as a lower class people, to spend the night or spend their time out with the sheep.
[17:59] And they would literally spend their nights on the hillsides with their sheep. And guarding them by night. And feeding them by night. And feeding them by day. And it's to these people that the angels chose to come.
[18:13] And so we see connections here now between David, a shepherd boy, becoming a shepherd of God's people, becoming a king.
[18:28] And God now sending angels to the shepherds to announce the news that a shepherd is born. The shepherd of Israel.
[18:44] Whom David was a type of. And so, why the city of David? Because that's where it all began.
[18:55] The story. And because Jesus was to be of the lineage of King David. And then to the second question.
[19:05] Why the shepherds? They were the first to hear the news. You know, that goes against humanity, does it not?
[19:23] When we have something exciting to tell, we tell usually the most important people in our lives. We run to them first.
[19:35] And this was the same. In God's eyes, the shepherds were important. And he chose to reveal to them first.
[19:51] But he could have sent the angels to King Herod. Or at least to the high priest. But God chose not to.
[20:02] He chose the shepherds. And as they were about their work that night or guarding the sheep, it says in verse 8, In the same country there were shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
[20:22] And an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. And the angel said, Do not be afraid. I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people.
[20:39] And so as we just picture that, the angels coming with this message to the shepherds, the lowliest of people.
[20:53] Now, when society looks down on a group of people, generally what happens is that group of people sees themselves as the lowest.
[21:11] They naturally view themselves as we don't count for much. Would that be so today? I believe in humanity those patterns follow.
[21:29] And so they would have thought unworthy to receive such news. And as the announcement is, There is born to you this day in the city of David, Bethlehem, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
[21:48] These were Jewish shepherds who would have heard all their life that God will someday send a Messiah. But now us, in the night, on the hillside, with our sheep, we're dirty, we're dressed very poorly to go visit a king.
[22:14] And so they must have felt unworthy. Now as we look at this Savior, who is this Jesus?
[22:24] Who is He? As we think of shepherds, Bethlehem, the house of bread, you know, John identified Jesus as the Lamb of God, as one of the sheep.
[22:50] Did He not? Did He not? He was the Lamb of God, the very thing the shepherds were protecting. In Hebrews chapter 13, we get told that He is the great shepherd of the sheep.
[23:13] So is Jesus a lamb, or is He a shepherd? And in John 12, and even while He hung on the cross, He was identified as the King of Israel.
[23:32] And here in Luke, His identity is that of Savior. In Matthew, He will save you, or He will save my people from their sins.
[23:50] So which one is He? which one is He? The answer is all above.
[24:10] All of them. Jesus is all of it. and in different stages of His life. He was born as a baby.
[24:22] He came as the Lamb of God, a reference to perfection, a reference to the way that He would give Himself to the crucifixion, as a Lamb to the slaughter, the Lamb of God.
[24:44] He is the great shepherd of the sheep. That applies to us today as He shepherds His sheep and guides our lives.
[25:00] Throughout the entire church age, He has been the great shepherd. He is the King of Israel and will set up His kingdom we trust shortly when He comes back for the Millennial Kingdom.
[25:20] And He is our Savior always. And He will never cease to be our Savior. So He is all of the above.
[25:31] and that is His identity. The invitation given to the shepherds is very intentional.
[25:47] God is saying that the gift that I have given is for the lowest and as the wise men came from the east for the highest.
[26:06] and so He is giving us all of mankind and the gift can benefit from this gift the forgiveness of sins.
[26:18] But He starts with the shepherds with the lowest of that group of people. And so this is the way God in humility brings about His Son.
[26:33] The shepherds to the wise men. As David went from being a shepherd boy to a king from humbleness to greatness Jesus too as the Lamb of God came in humbleness but will end up in greatness as our King.
[27:05] And He will return to that. As the angels announce the birth of Christ the Lord verse 12 says and this will be the sign to you you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.
[27:25] Now Isaiah said the sign would be a virgin shall be with child. And the second part of this sign now is that you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.
[27:45] And then with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace goodwill toward men.
[28:01] As this tiding of great news comes to the shepherds and as they then in verse 15 say 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.
[28:20] so for us to be in the shepherd's shoes to hear the announcement and to know that the babe is in the city of David in Bethlehem where would you start to look?
[28:43] Put yourselves in the shepherd's shoes. They're given a sign he will be wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a feed trough.
[28:59] He was lying in a feed trough. So did they go to King Herod's palace to look for the Christ child?
[29:12] Did they go and see the high priest? did they go to the inn? The sign told them go look for a barn.
[29:30] The most unlikely place for a king to be born. And that was the sign of humility that God gave the shepherds.
[29:44] God chose to receive the most humble to receive the news first. He showed them his humbleness in presenting the Christ child in a stable in a barn lying in a feed trough wrapped in strips of cloth.
[30:17] It's interesting that our God chose to bring it about this way. By the way, how did our Lord leave and finish his life?
[30:38] He went to hang on a cross taking mankind's curse upon him in humility.
[30:55] And when he died, what did they wrap him up with? strips of cloth.
[31:11] The same way he came. And it symbolized poverty, humility. Now, there's a lot of mothers here this morning.
[31:26] When your firstborn was born, did you wrap him in swaddling clothes, or did you put a sleeper on him, or give him your best?
[31:41] But Jesus came and went in total humility. Philippians chapter 2.
[31:57] I'll just read a few verses there. Philippians 2. As Paul gives us a bit of a summary there.
[32:09] In verse 5, he says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God.
[32:26] So we know that Jesus, our creator, God created the worlds through him, and so he considered himself to be God.
[32:38] He knew he was God. Verse 7, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of man.
[32:53] And so he put away reputation and came in humility. He left glory behind for a season.
[33:07] And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. The humility of Christ, humility of God.
[33:28] As we ponder on this, and as we close this morning with the shepherds went through here, the shepherds were invited to go and see, to be the first to go and worship.
[33:52] And just like Jesus when his disciples, before they were actually called formally, they were curious about him and they asked questions about him and he said, come and see.
[34:09] He said, come and see. And they came and saw. And for us today, like the shepherds, when we go to find the Christ child, it has to be in humility.
[34:38] If we're not looking in humility, we will not find him. because we will be looking in the wrong place and not in the manger.
[34:58] And no wonder that Jesus says, unless you become like a little child, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
[35:10] And it speaks of the humility of a little child. like the shepherds. And thus, we too, when we celebrate Christmas morning, the nativity scene, the humility of Christ, of God, it is with that same humility that we need to approach God's gift.
[35:42] gift. What a beautiful, beautiful picture. And how God foreshadowed it throughout the Old Testament, through the life of David.
[36:00] Later testified, a man after my own heart. And Jeremiah prophesied that in the millennial kingdom, King David will be reigning again.
[36:11] with Christ. He is a type, and in all of that, preparing the world to receive the gift. It all pointed to Jesus Christ.
[36:24] Christ. I'm going to close with 1 Corinthians 1, a passage on humility.
[36:41] humility. And it's so applicable to us today. 1 Corinthians 1, I'll start in verse 21.
[36:57] 1 Corinthians 1. For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God, through the foolishness of the message, preached to save those who believe.
[37:20] For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified to the Jews, a stumbling block, and to the Greeks, foolishness.
[37:33] But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
[37:52] And as the world would belittle a God that would humble himself to come under these conditions for the purpose of the cross, it's foolishness.
[38:08] and we don't understand. But as we humble ourselves, and bow, and come broken before that cradle, the Lord gives us understanding.
[38:30] And it makes sense. for we cannot come proudly, for our pride prevents us from bowing before that feet trough.
[38:46] And so it's with humility that God beckons, invites us to come. and this is a God story, not a human one, for we would do it very different.
[39:12] May the Lord continue to speak to our hearts, to bless us as we ponder, and as we continue day by day to recognize him, as our Lord.
[39:28] And children, as you look into the manger scene, the nativity, when you see the cradle with the baby in it, let's remember the humility that God provided to us.
[39:51] Let's bow. Father, thank you for your indescribable gift.
[40:09] It is the only gift that mankind can receive that's too good to be true. It is true.
[40:22] as we receive it, receive it in humility. Thank you, Father, for revealing your love in that manger, but your love for mankind to come in that manner, and then to proceed to die for us.
[40:52] We praise you for that, and as Lord, as we've received the forgiveness that results, may the joy that you filled us with be unspeakable, may it overflow, Father.
[41:08] May it radiate to those around us, for the love of God has been poured out into our hearts. We praise you and thank you.
[41:20] In Jesus' name, Amen.