Fourth Sunday of Advent
Sermon Notes
Luke 2:1-20
Good Tidings
December 20, 2015
Lynchburg, Virginia
EXHORDIUM
We are now in the
fourth Sunday of Advent and right on the edge of Christmas. Our anticipation is
great, like a woman waiting in her last few days before delivery. She does some
nesting, getting everything tidy and in order. As we prepare for Christmas, we
get the last of our shopping done and all the hustle and bustle of the season will
settle down into the realization that Christmas has finally arrived. We get to
rest the whole day, bask in the gifts to one another, and eat a sumptuous meal
gathered with family. This is nothing less than the peace of God that has
filled the world.
But we are not
quite there yet. Like Mary, we have a few leagues to travel yet and the angels
must declare that the glory of God has broken into the world.
As we look at
this passage today, we should consider what God has done. As we prepare our
homes, food and gifts, we need to remember to prepare our hearts. The great
need of the moment is simply to see what God has done, to ponder this great
work in our hearts and to believe God in such a way that we give Him glory and
praise. Essentially, this is what we are called to at Christmas, to see and
believe the glory of God and then to reflect that glory back to Him. When we do
this, the peace of God rests in our hearts and thus peace on Earth and good
will towards men.
EXEGESIS
Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that
there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be
taxed.
From Wiki- As part of his actions to strengthen
his political ties to Caesar's former soldiers, in 42 BC, following the deification of Caesar, Octavian added Divi Filius
(Son of the Divine) to his name, becoming Gaius Julius Caesar Divi
Filius.
According to H.H. Scullard, however, Augustus's power was
based on the exercise of "a predominant military power and [...] the
ultimate sanction of his authority was force, however much the fact was disguised."[1
Augustus, from the Latin word Augere (meaning to increase),
can be translated as "the illustrious one".[102] It was a title of religious rather
than political authority.
Matthew Henry- The Roman Empire was called, Terraram orbis imperium—The empire of the whole earth.
The dogma from Caesar
Augustus was that all the world had to come and answer to Augustus. He had no
idea how true this was. Even God showed up. In an ironic twist, the One who
showed up at the beck and call of Caesar is the One that Caesar must answer to.
2 (And this taxing
was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into
his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of
Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem;
(because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
Joseph went up to
Bethlehem because it was his city of lineage, he was of the house of David.
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with
child. 6 And so it was, that, while they
were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 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.
Matthew says that
Joseph took Mary as his wife after the angel appeared to him in a dream. Here
it says that as they go up to Bethlehem she is still his espoused wife. In
Matthew it says that he knew her not, carnally, until after Jesus was born. So,
we can take that meaning here. He travels with her as wife, everyone assuming
the baby is Joseph’s, even though she has not known a man, including her
husband, carnally.
Luke 2:8 And there were in the same country
shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon
them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore
afraid.
That God would visit
Shepherds seems shocking to some. After all, the Egyptians of old despised
shepherds and in the time of Christ, Shepherds were still a despised people,
even in Israel. It is not surprising that the worldlings, the Egyptians and the
Romans, despised shepherds but it is surprising that Israelites thought lowly
of them. After all, two of the greatest hero’s of Israel’s history were
shepherds, Moses and David. And Jesus comes as the antitype of both of these
men. Jesus is the one who would deliver His people from their sins and lead
them as King in the land of promise.
Moses was the type of
the one who deliver his people. David is the type of the one who would rule
over them.
So, God appears in
power and glory to announce to Shepherds that Great Shepherd who would lead the
people from captivity and rule over them in power.
But to such lowly
ones, an angel of the Lord God appears in power and glory.
Glory of the Lord- Shone around- perilampo- shine
all around
Sore Afraid- Megas Phobeo, a mega
phobia.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I
bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Good tidings- the gospel, euagallidzo
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a
Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye
shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Not just an ordinary
savior, but THE savior. This Savior is Christ, the Lord. He is the Messiah who
is Lord of all.
The SIGN- Note the contrast.
This Savior is THE Savior, the one who is God in the flesh, Emmanuel. We would
expect to find such a one in a king’s palace. Instead, the angel visits lowly
shepherds and announces that the Lord God in the flesh can be found in a
manger.
This is not the sign
we would expect. The baby is wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Rather,
we would expect him to be in a palace. Matthew Henry points out that Jesus “would answer the type
of Moses, the great prophet and lawgiver of the Old Testament, who was in his
infancy cast out in an ark of bulrushes, as Christ in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the
heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward
men.
As soon as the
declaration of the birth of Christ is made to the shepherds, the heavens break
loose in praise. Perhaps this is the very moment that Mary gives birth to Jesus?
All the heavenly host declare the glory of God in accomplishing His work among
men. And what is the end of the great work? It is peace, not a Pax Romana,
peace through force but rather Pax Evangelium, peace through proclamation of
the gospel. Only the One True God can accomplish this peace. We should see that
Luke is clearly declaring that God’s peace is declared over and above the peace
of Augustus. God’s Son is the real Son of God. As part of the Roman Empire,
these words are blasphemy to the official emperor worship of Rome.
And Jesus is said to
rule with a rod of iron but it is a sword that proceeds from his mouth. It is
the Word of God, sharper than any two-edged sword. It is the Word of God
declared that converts men of war into men of peace, so that even their swords
are beat into plowshares.
The title of the
sermon is Glory to God in the Highest and it comes from this verse. We should
see in this passage how God works out all the details of His Providence in the
most unlikely fashion.
First, the prophets
had told that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem of Judea. But then an angel
appears to Mary in Nazareth, some 80 miles distant. The distance itself is problematic. Add in
the fact that Mary is pregnant with the Lord Incarnate. In order to get Mary to
Bethlehem, the Lord orchestrates a registration of the people of Israel. Even
given this, it is surprising that Mary travels with Joseph, being great with
child but she does. It was likely that they traveled in a caravan of people
heading to Bethlehem. If so, they may have made their way through Samaria,
enemy territory. If not, then they would have gone around Samaria, which would
have made the trip longer, at least a week.
So, man has his
plans. Caesar August was the so-called son of the divine and thought he was the
ruler of the world. And while he thought he was in control, God was really
doing exactly what He wanted to do. When we think about all the details that
had to transpire to get Mary to Bethlehem and give birth to the Lord Jesus, it
is more than remarkable, it is miraculous. But we really do not notice the
miraculous in this story. Everything appears to happen in an ordinary fashion.
Caesar calls for a registration. The people respond. The city is full and Mary
and Joseph are on hard times. The shepherds are out in the fields. Everything
is happening as if it was simply going along by the will of man, or even at the
whim of chance. But God has orchestrated the entire matter.
This statement of
God’s glory is so that peace could reign on the Earth. Augustus had
accomplished peace on Earth. In fact, it was called the Pax Romana, the Roman
peace. But as stated above, it was not peace created as a result of the reign
of the Prince of Peace. It came at the hands of the man of war. The Roman peace
was an enforced peace, created through the conquering of enemies with the
sword.
God’s peace brings
the beating of swords into plowshares. God’s peace arrives in a very different
way than the Roman peace. We have a modern day parallel. The radical Muslim
wants a Roman peace. He wants to institute Islamic rule through the strength of
the sword. But Christianity does not rightly advance in that fashion. This is
one reason why we must not despair when politics and the game of politics
fought in wars, does not go our way. Our methods are not carnal but are mighty
for pulling down the strongholds of the enemy.
What is that method?
It is simply the foolishness of preaching. That is the message that the angels
brought. Good tidings that the Messiah is here to bring peace on Earth. This
peace comes through repentance and the forgiveness of sins.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from
them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto
Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made
known unto us. 16 And they came with haste,
and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them
concerning this child. 18 And all they
that heard it wondered at those
things which were told them by the shepherds.
The shepherds are
lowly men and they do not seem to have a hard time believing what God has said
to them through the angel. They go to Bethlehem and find the baby lying in a
manger. No doubt, they felt an immediate relief in God’s salvation, that He
would come and appear to the lowliest of people, shepherds, and that He would
deign to have His Messiah born of a lowly poor woman in a stable. Again, we see
that God does things in a way that only He can get the glory. The most unlikely
of events produces the most glory for the storyteller.
People wondered at
the stories of the shepherds. It seems that God could have recruited better
messengers than these? But He is not worried about what you think. He picks
shepherds to be the first messengers of God on Earth. Later on, he picks four fisherman,
a tax collector, and even a greedy thief, who would betray Him. It seems that
God has a very different priority level about the ones He chooses to carry out
His plans.
EXHORTATION
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and
praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told
unto them.
Our application today
is simply what Mary and the shepherds did. They pondered these things and
responded by glorifying and praising God. Think about what we have said this
morning. We know the birth story of Jesus but as we ponder these things, we
realize that it is so unlikely. If we were not reading it in the Bible, we
would have a really hard time believing it. The very fact of the virgin birth
has been disbelieved through all the ages, often times even by those who call
themselves Christians. But God has declared these things in His
Word. And He has brought together such an unlikely turn of events, and players,
orchestrating them down to the fine details in such a way that the only thing
that makes sense at all, is to simply give God the glory and praise Him with
the angels. Glory to God in the Highest! Amen.
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