Luke 2:1-20
- To fulfill prophecy. “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) “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.” (Malachi 5:2) “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” (Hosea 11:1)
- To show God’s mighty power. God orchestrated every detail. The fact that Caesar and Quirinius started a census to draw Joseph back to his hometown of Bethlehem from Nazareth, was no mistake. God’s hand is powerfully in the details of life. Even when it appears that man is ruling for their benefit, we learn in Daniel that God controls kings.
- To connect with all of humanity. The writer of Hebrews makes this clear. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15
- To re-prioritize our motives. What does the fact that the King of all of Creation was born in an animal feeding trough do for man-kind? It puts our self-glory seeking hearts in check. Matthew Henry states, “But when we by faith view the Son of God being made man and lying in a manger, our vanity, ambition, and envy are checked. We cannot, with this object rightly before us, seek great things for ourselves or our children.”
To Herald the King’s Birth to the Low Was God’s Delight vv.8-14
Humility has always been the mark of a disciple of Christ. Why? Because Christ the King of kings displayed this as the ultimate example. Mark 10:31 notes this “The first will be last, and the last will be first.” I should have told my high school track coach that I was trying to be biblical. James 4:6 states “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
What does it mean that God shared the most important birth announcement with the lowest class of people? The number one reason is that the most important message, the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ is to be given to all people, not only those we might identify with or associate with.
According to scholars, the shepherds could not observe Israel’s ceremonial laws. They were not allowed to give testimony in law courts, and were held to be the lowest class of people. God chose these people to share the good news.
To Honor Jesus Should Be Our Greatest Desire vv.15-20
I want us to see a pattern here. This pattern is what the disciples used to glorify Jesus and what we should use today. What did the shepherds do? They went and taught others what they heart and saw. Mary treasures Jesus. When we are in awe of our Savior Jesus, we do the same thing that the Shepherds and Mary modeled. We are to treasure and tell. We will treasure Jesus above all things and honor Him by telling others what He did.
I know it’s not technically in the Christmas story, but the Wisemen or Magi followed this pattern. Scholars suggest that the Magi traveled approximately 800 to 1000 miles as they followed the star. If you figure about 20 miles a day (by camel or donkey), it would take them about 40 days to reach the house where the child was. They were not deterred by inconvenience to worship the King!
“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” – John Piper