The Savior is Born - Luke 2:1-20
INTRODUCTION:
For the month of December, we have been looking at Luke’s Gospel record of the incarnation and the surrounding events. He has written for us two parallel events, the first about the announcement and birth of John the Baptist, the second about the announcement and birth of Jesus Christ. Though they are written as two parallel events, their lives are intertwined as John the Baptist is the forerunner to the Messiah, announcing Him and preparing the people for His coming; Jesus is the Messiah that John the Baptist announces.
So far, we have looked at the birth announcements of both John and Jesus, last Sunday we looked at the birth of John and saw that God miraculously fulfilled His Word which had been spoken to Zacharias by the angel Gabriel. This morning we will look at the birth of Jesus Christ and see that what God had spoken of the Messiah in the Old Testament 700 years before His birth is fulfilled just as He said. Let’s pray and then read our passage.
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Luke 2:1-20 our passage for this morning. Please stand if you are able in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Luke 2:1-20,
“Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, 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 the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’ 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. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 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 2:1–20, NASB95)[1]
THE MESSIAH WOULD BE BORN IN BETHLEHEM (Luke 2:1-5; Micah 5:2)
Our Scripture reading this morning came from the Old Testament prophetic book of Micah. Micah was a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah and both prophesied in the land of Judah and in the city of Jerusalem, they both prophesied of the coming exile to Babylon and they both prophesied of a coming Deliverer or Messiah. Our passage in Luke this morning connects with our Scripture reading this morning, even though the prophecy was given 700 years before the events of Luke chapters 1 and 2. This morning we heard Melissa read Micah 5:2 which says, “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 are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” (Micah 5:2, NASB95)[2] The rest of this passage speaks of a yet future time when Jesus Christ will return again and be the King over His people Israel.
As we look at what we know about Mary and Joseph from a human standpoint it looked impossible that this prophecy of the birthplace of the Messiah could be fulfilled. The Holy Spirit had indicated clearly that the birthplace was to be in Bethlehem in Judea, the city in which king David was born, so also called the city of David. How could this be fulfilled, Mary had been back in Nazareth for some time, how long we are not sure but she had been taken into Joseph’s home as his wife, but the marriage had not yet been consummated because Matthew tells us that Joseph kept Mary a virgin until she gave birth to Jesus Christ. She had just made this trip a few months earlier to go to Elizabeth, but now she was many more months pregnant. The trip to Bethlehem was not easy as the only modes of travel were foot or on the back of a donkey or camel, so it took several days to get from Nazareth to Bethlehem about 6 miles south of Jerusalem. So, Mary was living in Nazareth awaiting the birth of this child conceived in her by the Holy Spirit, it seems that there were no plans to go to Bethlehem even though the prophecy said this is where the Messiah was to be born. Did Mary ever think about this, did she remember this prophecy made by Micah 700 years prior? Did Joseph think about it with concern? There is no indication in the Scriptures that they were making any preparations to go to Bethlehem. Then we come to the second chapter of Luke and the first verse says, “Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.” (Luke 2:1, NASB95)[3] Caesar Augustus was the ruler of the Roman Empire, he ruled his empire from the city of Rome. Caesar Augustus was a title; the name of this ruler was Octavius and he was the nephew of Julius Caesar and assumed the throne when Julius was stabbed to death. So, there is a prophecy which said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary are in Nazareth awaiting the birth of the Messiah. God put it in the heart of this pagan emperor, that everyone must go to his hometown, for the Jews the town of their ancestral inheritance and enroll in the census most likely for the purpose of taxation. This was God’s way of ensuring that Joseph and Mary would be in Bethlehem for the birth of the Messiah. Luke goes on to tell us that this was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. History has taught us that Quirinius was governor of Syria twice. The first time from 12 B.C. to 3 B.C., the second time was around 6 or 7 A.D. when a second census took place that is mentioned in Acts 5:37. God so ordered things that before the birth of Jesus Christ, Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem to enroll in the census, both being from the house and line of David. This is exactly what is said in verses 3-5, “And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.” (Luke 2:3–5, NASB95)[4] It speaks of Mary being engaged to Joseph because their marriage had not yet been consummated as I said earlier. God set the whole Roman empire in motion, millions of people traveling to their ancestral cities to register for the census, and all this so that one prophecy in the Old Testament might be fulfilled, and Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the son of David might be born in Bethlehem of Judea, the city of David. God is faithful to fulfill every detail of His Word.
A CHILD IS BORN (Luke 2:6-7; Isaiah 9:6a)
Not only had Micah prophesied of the Messiah, but his contemporary Isaiah had prophesied of His coming as well. Isaiah speaking the word of the Lord to the people of Judah spoke this about the coming Messiah in the first part of Isaiah 9:6, “For a child will be born to us,” (Isaiah 9:6a, NASB95)[5] A child will be born to us, a human child will be the Messiah. That is just what we are told in Luke 2:6-7, “While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:6–7, NASB95)[6] The birth of Jesus Christ was just like the birth of any other human being. It was a natural physical birth, while they were in Bethlehem Mary went into labor and she had the birth pains just like any mother does when she gives birth to a baby. Remember as I said two weeks ago, the conception was supernatural, conceived by the Holy Spirit, everything else about the pregnancy and birth were normal, she gave birth to a human child, just as Isaiah said, “For a child will be born to us,” (Isaiah 9:6a, NASB95)[7] Again, God fulfills His Word in every detail. She gave birth to her firstborn son, but He was not her son alone.
A SON IS GIVEN (Luke 2:6-7; Isaiah 9:6b; Micah 5:2)
Isaiah had more to say about this child that Mary bore, he went on in Isaiah 9:6 and says, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;” (Isaiah 9:6, NASB95)[8] Notice that Isaiah does not say that a son will be born to us, but a son will be given to us. This firstborn son that Mary bore was not only her son, the angel Gabriel had told her that this child would be the Son of the Most High, that her holy offspring shall be called the Son of God. So, this child would be fully human, but also fully God. Micah shed a little more light on this when he said in that same verse in which he prophesied about the birthplace being Bethlehem, he wrote, “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 are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” (Micah 5:2, NASB95)[9] Micah says that this Son whom God is giving us, His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity. This can only be speaking of God, this child that Mary bore was not only fully human, but also fully God. This is the wonderful mystery of the incarnation, God came to dwell with men in human form, God came the only way He could, as man so that He could be man’s perfect substitute. For man’s penalty for sin to be paid for it had to be a man, but it had to be a perfect, sinless holy man and that could only happen if God became man.
That is exactly how John describes the incarnation for us. He first makes it clear that Jesus Christ whom John calls the Word in John 1 because He is the final revelation from God, John makes sure that we understand that the Word is God, he writes in the first three verses, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” (John 1:1–3, NASB95)[10] John says that when time began the Word was already there, He was with God and He was God, not only that but He was the Creator God of Genesis 1. All things were created by Him and apart from Him nothing was created. After establishing for us that the Word was God, John then gives us the incarnation in verse 14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, NASB95)[11] The Word, the Creator God, became flesh, took on a human body and dwelt among us, so that He could be our perfect Savior. Isaiah prophecy of a human child born, of a son given, being the Son of God, God in human flesh is fulfilled by God in the birth of Jesus Christ.
THE SAVIOR IS BORN (Luke 2:8-20; Isaiah 53:4-6)
This is exactly what the angel and the host of angels proclaimed to the shepherds out in the fields outside of Bethlehem on the night that Jesus Christ was born. You know the how this part of the history unfolds, for the rest of our time I want to focus on what the angel said to the shepherds and what the host of angels said as they praised God for what He had done.
Luke writes, “In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, 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 the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’” (Luke 2:8–14, NASB95)[12] Angels were chosen to announce the birth of Jesus Christ, not to priests, not to the religious leaders or those in authority, but to shepherds whose flocks were destined for the altar in Jerusalem, to shepherds who understood that the lambs they raised had to be perfect without any defects or they could not be a sacrifice. Angels came to these men to announce the birth of the Lamb of God, the most perfect sacrifice, the final sacrifice for man’s sins. Three very important names or titles are given to these shepherds to identify for them who was born that very night in Bethlehem.
The first title that was given to them was Savior. “For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior.” What is a Savior? One who rescues or saves someone else. Jesus Christ came to be the Savior for sinners, to rescue them from the penalty of sin which is death and to rescue them from God’s wrath against sin. Did these shepherds know they were sinners? They most certainly did, even though they raised the animals that were destined to be sacrificed for sin, shepherds at this time were the outcasts of society, because they lived out of doors and cared for sheep they were unclean according to the Law much of the time. They understood that they needed their sins forgiven, that they needed to be saved from the penalty for sin. Isaiah had prophesied that this child that was to be born, this son that was given would pay the penalty for our sin, would suffer God’s wrath on our behalf. In Isaiah 53:4-6 God spoke of the One He would send to be our substitute, Isaiah wrote, “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.” (Isaiah 53:4–6, NASB95)[13] He was announced as the Savior that Isaiah had prophesied about.
Second, the angel told the shepherds that this Savior was Christ. The word Christ means “anointed one” and is the Greek word for Messiah which also means “anointed one” in Hebrew. The angel was telling these shepherds that the One who would save them from their sins was the promised Messiah. As I already said Isaiah and Micah both prophesied about the coming Messiah and many of those prophecies were not only about His first coming, but also about His second coming as well when He will come and set up His kingdom and rule over Israel and the world for 1000 years on this earth. This ruling Messiah is who the majority of the people of Israel thought would come the first time and free them from the oppression of the Romans. But the Messiah came the first time to free them from the oppression of sin, Satan, and death.
Third, the angel told the shepherds that this Savior and Messiah was the Lord. In other words, he informed them that this child that was born in Bethlehem was God, the promised Immanuel that Isaiah prophesied of in Isaiah 7:14, he wrote, “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.” (Isaiah 7:14, NASB95)[14] When the angel quotes this verse to Joseph he translates it for us and says in Matthew 1:23, “’Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’” (Matthew 1:23, NASB95)[15] The angel told the shepherds that their Savior and Messiah would be God Himself. Three names or titles that describe the incarnation of Jesus Christ for us.
Suddenly the heavens were filled with a multitude of the heavenly host, in other words an army of angels praising God in response to this miraculous birth of God in human form. They said, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” (Luke 2:14, NASB95)[16] They gave glory to God for this great act, for the mercy and grace that was bestowed on the world that night through the birth of Jesus Christ the Savior. This child would bring peace, true spiritual peace to those men with whom God is pleased. What does this mean? It can only mean one thing, because there is only one way for God to be pleased with men and that is when they agree with Him that they are sinners and put their faith in Jesus Christ believing that He died on the cross as their substitute, that He took their place and suffered God’s wrath for them and payed the penalty for their sin which is death, that He was buried and on the third day rose triumphant over sin, Satan, and death. Through faith in Jesus we are justified by God or declared righteous in Christ, and then and only then is God pleased with us and we have peace with God because we never have to fear His wrath against our sin because it is paid for in full by the death of Jesus Christ. That is what Paul stated in Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:1, NASB95)[17]
CONCLUSION:
The Christmas story as given to us in the Gospels is true, within the pages we see God at work. After silence for 400 years, no revelation, no prophet of God, suddenly there is a flurry of supernatural activity. Angels appear with messages from God, miracles occur, a barren woman and her husband well past the age of child bearing have a child in their old age, a virgin conceives and bears a son without having known a man, the virgin’s son is born in Bethlehem because of the edict of an emperor, angels appear again announcing the birth of a Savior who is the Messiah and is God in human form, Immanuel, God with us. God’s Word fulfilled in every detail. What does this mean for us? Just as I said last week, it leaves us with a choice. The shepherds went and found the child as soon as the angels left them, they worshipped Him and returned praising God for what they had heard and seen. But we do not read of any others in Bethlehem going to see this child, going to worship the Savior even though the shepherds told everyone they saw, all we are told is that all who heard wondered at these things, but no one checked it out, no one believed the message of the shepherds. You must decide what you are going to do with the events described in these first 20 verses of Luke 2. Are you going to believe God’s Word and worship Immanuel, our Savior? Or are you going to just wonder at what you heard like the people of Bethlehem. The decision is a life or death decision because if you dismiss these events as to fantastic to have happened then you dismiss the incarnation and without the incarnation there is no sacrifice for sin and you are still under the penalty for sin which is death, which ultimately is eternal separation from God in the Lake of fire. But if you do believe the events as described here then the incarnation is true, God became flesh and dwelt among us and because He came He became the perfect sacrifice for sin when He died on the cross as your substitute and you can by faith be saved from God’s wrath and be saved from death and have the promise to live with Jesus Christ for eternity in a place He has prepared for you. You must make the choice.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[14]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[15]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[16]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[17]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.