“The Birth”
[Luke 2:1-7]
December 24, 2012 Second Reformed Church
“Long ago, at many times and in many
ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has
spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom
also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact
imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has
inherited is more excellent than theirs” (Hebrews 1:1-4, ESV).
These are the opening words of the
letter to the Hebrews – we looked at them earlier this year. One of the points
of this text is that Jesus came after a series of prophecies concerning His
coming. We are ending the season of Advent this evening – a season of
preparation – a season of remembering a long prophetic history – some 4,000
years of prophets – before Jesus was born on earth – before God, the Son,
incarnate in the person of Jesus, the firstborn son of the Virgin Mary.
We have said one of the most
important things and one of the most key points of Christianity that makes it
different from other religions is that Christianity stands or falls on history.
Christianity is one of the only religions in which the historical facts of it
must be true – there must be a way of authenticating what is written – or it is
meaningless – it is vanity.
In the opening verses of chapter 2
of Luke's Gospel, he shows us that a number of historical items had to come
into alignment for it to be the right time for God to come to earth as the Savior
of His people and fulfill all the prophecies made about Him. Jesus was not born
at a random time or in a random place or in a random way – all the points of
prophecy had to align for Him to come and be the Savior of all those who would
ever believe.
Chapter 2 opens: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar
Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration
when Quirinius was governor of Syria.”
This is not merely important for
dating when Jesus was born, but also for showing that Israel was occupied by
the Romans. If Israel had not been occupied by the Romans at the time of
Jesus's birth, Jesus would not have fulfilled the prophecies about Him. The
importance of this is not just to be found in Jesus's trial and crucifixion but
in His birth as well, because it was the Romans who chose to take a census – to
account and register the people of the nations that they were occupying – and
this census caused families in Israel to relocate – and that relocation made it
possible for Jesus to be born where the prophets prophesied He would be born.
Israel was a nation which was
subdivided by tribe. We remember that Abraham had twelve: Judah, Issachar,
Naphtali, Joseph, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Reuben, Simeon, Asher, Levi, and Gad.
The Promised Land was divided among the tribes and was to remain in their individual
families forever. Of course, Levi and his family was not given land because
they were the priests, and Joseph was not given land, but his two sons, Ephraim
and Manasseh, were given land. So there were twelve tribes who owned land, and
everyone could trace their lineage back to one of the twelve tribes and their
land – or to the priesthood of Levi.
Knowing this to be the case, the
Romans used this system in Israel as a way to count and register the people of
the land – and when the census occurred each person had to temporarily relocate
and register in the land of their father – in the land of the tribe to which
they belonged.
Joseph, the betrothed to Mary, the
legal father of Jesus, was a resident of Nazareth in Galilee, but he was of the
line of David, and from the tribe of Judah, and so we read:
“And
all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from
Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is
called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,”
“Now
David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had
eight sons” (1 Samuel 17:12, ESV).
And
so the holy family was relocated for the birth of Jesus and, to fulfill
prophecy, He was born in Bethlehem:
As the prophet Micah said, “But you,
O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from
you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose
coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2, ESV).
So to fulfill this prophecy, the Romans had to
occupy Israel, they had to call for a census, Israel had to be divided by
tribes, the Romans had to observe that tribal division and take the census
based on tribal heritage, Joseph had to be a descendent of David, who was from
Bethlehem, in the tribe of Judah, so Jesus would be born in Bethlehem,
fulfilling the prophecy of Micah.
It was also important that Joseph be
a descendent of David so Jesus would also be a descendent of David and be in
the line for the kingship of Israel. As God promised, “But King Solomon shall
be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD forever”
(1
Kings 2:45, ESV).
If Jesus had not been the son of
Joseph, the son of David, who had been promised that the throne would be
David's forever, we would not have the testimony of the Magi – the Jesus is the
rightful king of Israel and also worthy of worship:
“Now after Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the
east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the
Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him’” (Matthew
2:1-2, ESV).
As we looked at yesterday, it was
also extremely important that Mary, the mother of Jesus, be who she was – that
she be a virgin who had conceived by the miraculous Work of God:
As Isaiah prophesied: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a
sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14, ESV).
God caused Mary to conceive a man
without a sin nature, but with both a human nature and a divine nature. Jesus was not born a sinner, but both fully
God and fully human – which we have seen before was necessary for Him to be
able to live a perfect life under God’s Law, died for the sins of everyone who
would ever believe, and then physically rise from the dead and ascend – in His
body – back to the throne of the Son, where He reigns at the Right Hand of God.
“to
be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were
there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn
son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there
was no place for them in the inn.”
Years later, nothing had changed,
“And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but
the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head’” (Matthew 8:20, ESV).
Was the fulfillment of all these
prophecies – and more – merely a coincidence?
The evidence for Who Jesus is is
overwhelming – He is God the Savior. The
evidence can be checked – compared with other historians, compared logically,
compared linguistically... The evidence
is not lacking – it’s just that some people have no place for Him.
Jesus is here now, and we continue
to meet with Him spiritually in the Sacrament.
Think about this birth…see if you
have room for the Savior.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, as we celebrate the
day we set aside to remember Your birth – Your incarnation – as a human,
forgive us for our sins. Open our hearts
and minds and help us to honestly know if You have room with us. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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