Once upon a time, there was a young lady due to be married to the handsome woodworker.
They were about to journey to a distant land when Mary's angel godfather, Gabriel, came down and said,
Good news, you will bear a prince.
Joseph the woodworker and Mary set off to their distant hometown of Bethlehem
because the evil Romans had called a census.
And so everyone had to go to their hometown.
When they arrived, the town was full.
Not even people's guest rooms were free.
And Mary gave birth to the prince Jesus.
And they lay him in a manger with all the other talking and singing animals.
The shepherds, Bozo, Fopso and Greg, came to visit.
And the mysterious Magi came and gave gifts.
And everyone learnt a good lesson about love and sharing.
And that's the end of the story.
At least, that's how Christmas can seem.
It can seem like it's just a fairy tale.
And we all know that story.
And we all have a smile.
And it's all a bit lovely.
Because we do love a good fairy tale.
It seems our movies and TV shows are all full of fairy tales.
We read fairy tales to our kids.
We read them in our books.
And Christmas can often look like a fairy tale.
You know, that story I told a moment ago,
it's mostly the story of Christmas.
But what do we lose when Christmas is just a fairy tale?
What happens when we cut it out of the historical origins?
And what happens when we forget how amazing it is?
And forget the enormity that God became human?
So today, as we look at the old, old story of Christmas,
we're going to put that story back into its historical context.
And we're going to see how this story is part of the bigger picture
of God's story for salvation.
Please have your Bibles open.
We're a church who loves to read God's Word.
We're in the part of the Bible called Luke.
And we're in chapter 2 at the start.
If you need a Bible, just pop your hand up.
And one of our people in red vests would love to get you one.
If not, it'll be on the screen.
Luke chapter 2 from verse 1.
At the start of Luke's telling of the birth of Jesus,
he grounds it in history.
In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree
that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
This was the first census that took place
while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
And everyone went to their own town to register.
Caesar Augustus...
I keep saying Augustus like...
He's from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Augustus Gloop.
Should it be Augustus?
Yeah, thank you.
Is anybody particularly good in their Roman history?
Yes?
Some people?
Okay, thank you.
You can correct me.
Augustus?
Does that feel a little bit better?
Yeah, sorry.
Caesar Augustus.
He was actually called Octavian.
He was the son of Julius Caesar's nephew.
And he became the sole ruler of the Roman Empire
after he defeated Antony and Cleopatra.
And then he was given the title Augustus,
which means holy or majestic.
He was the first of the emperors
to really encourage people to worship him as God.
They had this cult of the emperor
where they would encourage people to see them as God.
And there was this fantastical story that went around
that he was miraculously conceived by a serpent.
And there's actually an inscription in the British Museum
from this time that says about Augustus,
it says,
He is God, the Son of God and Saviour,
bringer of peace and hope and good news.
Now this was all happening around five years,
five to ten years before Jesus was born.
And this was spread around about Octavius,
about Caesar Augustus,
as good news.
This was the gospel that went around.
That he is the Son of God and Saviour,
the bringer of peace and hope and good news.
And you know, if you were the emperor,
you'd really want people to believe this.
You know, you'd spread this around.
Yes, this gives me a mandate from heaven
to be in charge because I'm the Son of God.
I've taken over.
I'm in control.
Don't fight with me.
And at the very start of the story of Jesus,
it is no mistake that Luke reminds us
of who is in charge.
This man who had been going around,
spreading this fairy tale,
that he was the Son of God,
the Saviour, the bringer of peace and hope and good news.
And so while there's this story being spread around,
Luke is going to tell God's story of salvation,
which is no made up fairy tale.
And Luke brings a contrast between Augustus and a baby,
one who calls himself the Son of God
and one who will be called the Son of God by God himself.
And we'll see this contrast in a moment with the angel's message.
Joseph and his fiancée Mary,
they've headed to Bethlehem because of Augustus' census,
and they give birth after they arrive.
But there's no guest room,
so they place their baby Jesus into a manger.
And an angel brings good news of a Saviour.
Not Augustuses,
not a military Saviour,
but a true Saviour.
When we see angels in the Bible,
it often conjures up images,
well it does for me at least,
conjures up images of big fluffy wings,
halos.
Angels are often described as bright,
very shiny,
but angel just means messenger.
And so when they come,
they're delivering a message.
And here they have a message from God,
a message to counter the ruler
who set himself up with his own fairy tale
as the God and Saviour.
The angel speaks in verse 9.
An angel of the Lord appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were terrified.
But the angel said,
do not be afraid.
I bring you good news
that will cause great joy for all people.
Today in the town of David,
a Saviour has been born to you.
He is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be a sign to you.
You will find a baby wrapped in cloths
and lying in a manger.
A Saviour.
The one and true Saviour has been born.
He is the Messiah,
which means,
Messiah means that he is chosen.
So it's not some upstart son of God,
Saviour.
It is God's chosen Saviour.
Wrapped and placed in a manger.
It is this beautiful contradiction.
The highest position,
God, the son of God,
placed in a manger
where animals would be eating their food.
This is God's story of salvation.
That salvation will come to a people
who are desperate to be saved.
God's story of salvation
is written in a way
that no fairy tale would be written.
Yes, there is a miraculous birth
to an unlikely mother
born in a town of
little to no importance or significance.
The good news sent by God
does not go to those
who can write songs about it.
It doesn't go to the ballads of the time
to sing songs and spread it around.
The good news doesn't go to those
who have the fastest horses
to spread the good news around.
The good news doesn't go to royalty.
God sends his messengers,
the angels,
to some shepherds
on a hill
in the middle of the night.
Shepherds were disliked,
dirty,
despised,
people of questionable taste
and character.
And they get visited
by an angel
and then a whole army
of angels.
As unlikely as the birth is,
the story continues.
The shepherds hear the angels
and they decide to go
and visit this baby.
And so they visit
and then after that
they are so joyous and excited
they continue to praise God
and spread the good news.
The good news about this saviour
has come to even
the lowliest of low.
Even these despised shepherds
have a place before God.
Even they have a role
to play in his kingdom.
God's story of salvation
continues after Jesus' birth
in ways that we again
would not write it.
the great God-man Jesus.
He never disobeys his father
and yet
he's ridiculed,
he is murdered,
he is shamed
before all people on a cross.
His best friends flee
and hide.
This salvation does not look
like a mighty Caesar's
salvation or victory.
It's not a triumphant tale
that we would tell
but it's Jesus' triumph.
It's God's story of salvation
shown in weakness.
His salvation is not a battle
won by a man
but by a man
humbly led to a tree.
This man was raised
three days later
but again,
if this was me
I would probably appear
to my enemies
and gloat
I'd be like
ha ha
you tried to kill me
it didn't work
and here I am to smite you
but Jesus doesn't do that.
His victory
isn't over
Pilate the governor
it isn't over
earthly powers
it is over
sin
and death.
This is not a story
that we would write
but this is how
the God of the universe
would intervene
and save his people.
The good news
is proclaimed
one quiet night
to shepherds
about a boy
that was born
who is our saviour.
Now at this point
we could leave it there
we could think
oh that's
that's a great story
sure
it's more than a fairy tale
it's history
it's truth
the angels came
and told truth
it's really interesting
I'm happy to come
and hear about it
once a year
but
why care?
maybe it's just
a 2000 year old
truth
and that's
all it needs to be
it is
God's
good news
to us today
because it's not
just an old
story of God's
it is a story
that continues
and he invites
us to be part
of his story
this is still
our story
and we need
this story
of God's salvation
yes a lot
has changed
in 2000 years
technology
has changed
life expectancy
has changed
the quality
of food
and housing
and education
has changed
but who we are
at our core
is still the same
people desperate
for a saviour
we've become
more advanced
but we're still
fighting wars
wars against
other countries
wars against
other ethnicities
wars within
our own families
each of us
writing our
own story
of what we
want to save
us
we want to be
in control
of our story
and have our
own version
of our saviour
I wonder
if you were
going to
write a story
today
you know
later on today
you get
a little bit
full
a little bit
sick of
spending time
with your
family
and you were
going to
write a fairy
tale
with yourself
in the middle
what would
your character
be
what kind
of fairy
tale
character
would you
be
would you
be
the strong
warrior
ready to
fight and
save your
people
would you
be the
princess
in the
high castle
waiting for
someone to
come and
save you
would you
be the
person in
charge of
everything
maybe you
feel that
way
you've got
Christmas
lunch coming
up and
you know
it has to
be particular
you have
to have
everybody
in the
right
spots
in the
kitchen
doing
the
right
thing
you have
to be
that
person
in
charge
but
these
are all
in a
sense
wish
fulfillment
we want
to have
value
and we
want
someone to
care enough
for us
that they
come and
slay a
dragon
we wish
we had
enough
power
to influence
a country
we want
to write
our own
fairy tales
with us
as the
hero
but
when we
do that
we're
pretty much
the same
as
Caesar
Augustus
who
wrote
our
story
has
already
been
written
and
it
is
part
of
God's
biggest
story
God's
story
of
salvation
is not
written
the way
that we
would
write
it
but we
need
this
Christmas
and each
Christmas
to remind
us
that we
are the
ones
who need
to be
saved
from
making
life
all
about
us
saved
from
sin
and
from
death
in
God's
story
of
salvation
we
are
not
the
hero
we
are
not
the
princess
and the
reality
is we
are
most
like
the
shepherds
dirty
despised
despicable
people
of
questionable
character
because
to
God
we
are
damaged
and
sinful
and
dirty
but
the
angel
came
to
these
shepherds
first
and
he
told
them
the
good
news
that
Jesus
had
been
born
and
they
could
go
and
see
Jesus
himself
and
then
they
went
out
and
told
everybody
and
they
praised
God
we
don't
need
to
build
our
lives
up
into
a
fairy
tale
because
God
already
has
us
in
his
story
like
the
shepherds
God
shares
the
good
news
with
us
he
takes
us
to
see
the
birth
of
Jesus
here
we
are
again
dwelling
and
considering
the
birth
of
Jesus
not
because
we
are
special
or
that
we
are
the
hero
but
because
God
is
special
and
he
is
the
hero
and
he
invites
us
to be
part
of
his
story
I
love
how
the
shepherds
respond
to
meeting
baby
Jesus
in
verse
17
verse
17
they
spread
the
word
concerning
what
had
been
told
them
about
this
child
and
all
who
heard
it
were
amazed
at
what
the
shepherds
said
to
them
down
to
verse
20
the
shepherds
returned
glorifying
and
praising
God
for
all
the
things
they
had
heard
and
seen
the
shepherds
these
lowly
dirty
despised
despicable
people
get
invited
to
be
like
the
angels
the
angels
came
and
shared
God's
message
and
praised
and
sang
about
how
awesome
God
is
and
then
the
shepherds
visit
Jesus
and
then
go
off
and
share
his
message
and
praise
God
they
were
the
lowly
and
they
get
brought
into
God's
story
of
salvation
they
had
the
chance
to
see
it
and
spread
God's
story
with
great
joy
we
are
invited
into
God's
story
of
salvation
just
like
the
shepherds
and
we're
invited
to
share
God's
good
news
with
the
rest
of
the
world
and
we
can
be
praising
God
like
the
shepherds
praising
him
because
he
is
awesome
and
mighty
and
he
has
cared
for
us
who
are
lowly
as
we
speak
of
fairy
tales
at
Christmas
I
couldn't
help
but
remember
the
most
common
fairy
tale
going
around
at
Christmas
time
for the
last
couple
of
years
talking
about
Star
Wars
of
course
I
am
not
sure
if
you
are
Star
Wars
fans
is
anybody
a
Star
Wars
fan
here
yes
well
done
it's
nice
to see
there's
some
wise
people
here
years
ago
when
these
movies
were
being
made
in
Sydney
a
friend
of
mine
had
the
chance
to
go
and
do
work
experience
on
the
set
of
one
of
the
Star
Wars
movies
I
tell
you
what
we
were
stories
that
millions
of
people
have
seen
now
11
movies
long
he
got
to be
part
he
wasn't
in
the
movie
he
didn't
have
a
cameo
or
anything
he
was
just
there
when
it
was
being
made
he
got
to
be
part
of
that
amazing
story
the
shepherds
were
invited
to
come
and
to
see
Jesus
to
be
part
of
something
bigger
than
themselves
something
far
more
important
than
sheep
and
God
invites
far
more
impressive
and
more
life
changing
story
than
Star
Wars
and
God
calls
us
to
follow
this
baby
this
man
who
would
grow
up
to
die
for
us
who
is
going
to
return
and
when
we
do
God
has
a
part
for
all
of
us
in
his
story
to
praise
God
which
we've
been
doing
this
morning
in
song
to
reflect
on
how
amazing
he
is
and
to
go
and
tell
other
people
what
he
has
done
so
let
me
encourage
you
at
some
point
Christmas
day
boxing
day
the next
couple
of
days
which
all
kind
of
blur
into
one
long
mass
of
food
and
napping
take
a
moment
to
dwell
on
how
amazing
it
is
that
Jesus
came
and
that
we
get
to
be
part
of
this
story
of
God's
story
and
share
it
with
other
people
Amen
for
if