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| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) |
Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, last week Sunday pastor Lanting talked a little bit about Superheroes. He mentioned Iron Man and Bat Man, and of course his favorite: Mighty Mouse.
I know this dates both of us, but I was also a fan of Might Mouse – I can still “hear” the words Mighty Mouse as he took off into the sky (yes, of course Mighty Mouse can fly!) to come to the aid of those in trouble: “Here I come to save the day!”
As pastor Lanting pointed out, that’s what superheroes do. That’s why we human beings are drawn to the idea of a superhero. They’re able to help the helpless and save those in despair.
But then, we realize, this is all fantasy. It’s all fiction. It’s just entertainment. In this world, there are no superheroes like that. Yet, what isn’t fiction, what isn’t fantasy is that in our world, we do feel hopeless. We do face very real troubles, real villains, a real enemy who is out to destroy us.
And everyone, all of humanity is in trouble. We – and all mankind with us – we’re doomed. We’re spiritually fallen and we can’t get up. And to make matters worse, the world, the devil and our own sinful flesh – this Axis of Evil -- they never stop attacking us.
The previous Lord’s Days explained this. We’re all dead in our trespasses and sins; we’re subject to the eternal wrath of God forevermore. A little while ago we were reminded of that in the form for Infant Baptism. These parents were asked if they believe and acknowledge that they, along with their children (by extension, all of us), are conceived and born in sin, subject to the misery that sin brings, even the condemnation of God.
That’s a basic admission that every one of us is in a hopeless situation. Humanly speaking, there’s no way out. There’s no way of escape. There’s no earthly superhero who can save us. But here’s the Good News: God can. Only God can help us. Only God can save us! And of course, this is where Jesus comes in. Our Savior has come to save the day! But how does our Savior come? Does Jesus swoop down from heaven to earth like a bright bolt of lightning? Does he come in all his glory, and might, and power – with his angels at his side! Does he stand toe to toe with the Devil and all the forces of evil and strike them down? No. That’s not how the story goes. Boys and girls, that’s not the story of Christmas, is it. No.
Luke 2 tells us a much different story. It tells us that Jesus our Savior was born in Bethlehem. Let that sink in a moment. Here mankind is perishing in sin, walking in darkness, living in bondage to sin and Satan, and what help does God send? What kind of a Savior does God send? God doesn’t send an army, or a legion of angels, or a Hercules or Superman figure.
No. God sends a little baby to save the world – a weak, helpless, fragile, baby. What is God thinking? How is that going to help us?
Yet, that is exactly what makes the story of Christmas -- the story of Christ’s birth -- so very powerful and compelling, so wondrous and glorious. It the divine mystery and paradox that the Savior of the world, the One God would send to “save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray” was a weak and helpless baby.
Why? Because God chose what is foolish in this world to shame the wise; God chose the weak to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in this world, and the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are. It’s all part of the mysterious, yet wise ways of God.
And this is where Philippians 2 helps us understand Luke 2. Philippians 2 explains the story of Christmas from the perspective of Jesus as the divine and eternal Son of God. As the pre-incarnate Son of God, Jesus willingly set aside, he emptied himself of the glory He had with the Father, and he came down. Jesus humbled himself. He made himself poor for our sake, so that we could become rich. That’s our theme this morning.
If we look closely at Luke 2, we’ll see this humility on display. Notice these two points:
- Christ’s Poor Position
- Christ’s Rich Purpose
1) Christ’s Poor Position
One of the most intriguing aspects of the account of Christ’s birth is the meek and meager circumstances unto which he was born. The first thing we’re told is that Jesus was born while his mother Mary and Joseph were far from their home.
This was due, of course, to the edict of Caesar Augustus. Government taxation is nothing new – and that’s what drove this census. Rome wanted more tax money, so Caesar issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. That forced everyone to return to his hometown to register for the tax. Since Joseph and Mary belonged to the house and line of David, they had to travel from Nazareth to the city of David, to Bethlehem (some 100 miles).
This would have been a very difficult trip for Mary, because she was close to her due date – to the time when Jesus would be born. But that did not matter. Caesar’s decree was binding. But as much of a hardship as it was, we see something else at work here. We see the hidden hand of God – for God will use Caesar’s decree to bring about the fulfilment of his own eternal decree.
It was prophesied in God’s Word that Jesus would be born – not in Nazareth, but in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2: But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.
Here’s what one commentary said about this: Although Caesar would never know it, he unleashed a chain of events that would turn the whole world upside down, for among the millions who had to register was a man named Joseph, with his fiancée Mary. This one little family, seemingly swept up in the tide of earthly power, gave birth to a son who would rule the world.
(May that be a special comfort to us today when we hear statements made by governing officials right here in Canada who want to outlaw certain passages in the Bible – labeling them hate speech; when pastors are arrested for silently protesting Drag Queen Story Hour. Remember, God is not blind; God is not deaf; and God is not powerless; God is not sitting idly by while the wicked freely strut about and persecute his people. No. God’s plans, His decrees and His promises are from before the foundation of the earth. What we see in Luke 2 is true in every age – and we see it especially in the cross of Calvary! The hidden hand of God is always at work – even in the most vile and wicked plans of men, and of the evil one).
Now back to the passage. It is Luke who tells us that while Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, the time came for the baby to be born. But boys and girls, the problem for Joseph and Mary is that they had nowhere to stay in Bethlehem. And there was no clinic or hospital in Bethlehem, so where would Mary have this baby?
They tried to find a room at the local inn (Hotel), but there was no vacancy. All the rooms were full – as you can imagine, there were many travelers besides Joseph and Mary who had to return to Bethlehem. So, all the rooms were full.
As a result, Joseph and Mary took shelter in a manger, in a stall for farm animals. Some suggest the manger could have been a lean-to shelter attached to the Inn. Others suggest that it could have been a little cave carved out of the rock in a nearby field. We don’t know.
But what we do know is that these were not ideal circumstances for anyone to stay in, much less for a woman to give birth. But here again, even in these desperate circumstances, we see that this was all according to God’s perfect plan and foreknowledge. I want to point this out as well: the lowly circumstances of Christ’s birth were not a reflection of the poverty of Joseph and Mary.
That is a widely held belief about Christ’s birth. But Joseph and Mary are not the focus here. No. The focus is on the poverty of God’s Son. The meekness and meanness, the lowliness of these outward circumstances are all arranged and designed by God to focus our attention on the humiliation of our Lord and Savior.
Here we behold the divine and eternal Son of God, rich beyond all measure in heavenly honor and glory; the high king of heaven, the Lord of Creation, the Bright and Morning Star, the object of praise and adoration by all heavenly beings – here he lies, in human flesh, cold and bloody, shivering and needing help – lying in the midst of a dark, filthy, smelly manger stall. The High King of heaven shared a peasant’s birth. That’s the image, the truth, that God wants to impress upon our hearts and minds. We are to see the humiliation of God’s eternal, beloved Son.
Notice as well, there is no welcoming party, no celebration or reception for Jesus when he was born. Right after this, Luke records that a choir of angels appeared to shepherds who were in the fields nearby – and those angels heralded the Good News of the birth of Jesus. Matthew records that wise men were on the way from the east to worship the newborn king.
But on the night of our dear Savior’s birth, there were no multitudes gathered about. God’s people were longing and waiting for the promised Messiah to come for thousands of years - yet on the night when Jesus was born, no one knew. No one welcomed him. John 1:11 tells us: He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Yesterday at the Deacons banquet for the Senior’s, we sang an old Dutch hymn that recounted this very same story of Christ’s humiliation – the hidden hand of God in Christ’s birth!
Come and stand amazed, you people, See how God is reconciled!
See his plans of love accomplished, See his gift, this newborn child.
See the Mighty, weak and tender, See the Word who now is mute.
See the Sovereign without splendor, See the Fullness destitute
See how humankind received him; See him wrapped in swaddling bands,
Who as Lord of all creation Rules the wind by his commands.
See him lying in a manger Without sign of reasoning;
Word of God to flesh surrendered, He is wisdom's crown, our King.
Already at his birth, we can hear the prophet Isaiah’s words: ‘He was despised and rejected’. But we must know and believe that this was all part of the humiliation which Jesus must endure. It was all part of the shame, the guilt, the payment for sin that Jesus had to obediently endure – not just at the end, in his arrest and crucifixion on the cross, but his whole life. From the moment of his conception in the womb of Mary, Jesus suffered humiliation; Jesus was paying for our sins.
So, take heart beloved. Know, and trust, and believe that in these meager circumstances, amidst the shame and humiliation of God’s Son – once adorned in light as a garment, now wrapped in swaddling bands -- the Good News of the gospel is revealed!
Here at his birth. Jesus our Savior is already showing us the depths to which he would go to save us from our sins. Here in the manger, Jesus lies bloody, weak, helpless, and humbled -- stripped of his glory. He is foreshadowing the way he would die on the cross – stripped, shamed, humiliated – wearing a crown of thorns, for you and for me.
Here at his birth, Jesus is already teaching us the pathway to true humility – as Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many!
Jesus came to save those who would look upon him with eyes of faith, with believing hearts, accepting and embracing Him as our Savior in his great humility – not (as the catechism says) looking for our salvation and security in saints, in ourselves, or elsewhere – but only in Jesus. Is that your testimony beloved? Is this Jesus your Savior? Or are you looking elsewhere?
2) Christ’s Rich Purpose
This brings us to our second point this morning. We first saw Christ’s Poor Position. now we see his Rich Purpose. Listen to what 2 Corinthians 8. 9 states: For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you, by his poverty, might become rich.
Contrary to what many false prophets preach today, and what many self-deceived Christians believe, Jesus our Savior did not come to earth to ensure our health and wealth. That is the prosperity Gospel, and that is a false Gospel. If you ever hear anyone preach that God’s will is for you to be happy and blessed, don’t walk - run to the exit. That’s a lie and it will shipwreck your faith.
What that verse from 2 Corinthians 8: 9 is saying is simply that Jesus saves. Jesus did not come to heal the healthy, the proud, those who were rich in their own righteousness. No. Jesus came to help and to heal lost sinners -- poor, destitute, hopeless and helpless sinners
So, he who was rich – namely Jesus – rich in glory and might, in power and in honor – he became poor. He willingly emptied himself of all of his glory, glory that was rightfully his as the very Son of God -- and Jesus “took the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
The steps of Christ’s humiliation are laid out for us in the Apostle’s Creed: he was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified (suffering hell on the cross for us); then he died and was buried.
Again, Jesus did all that for the sake of hopeless and helpless fallen sinners. Remember what we said at the outset of the sermon: mankind is in trouble. We’ve fallen and we can’t get up; we’ve sinned and we can’t stop sinning; we stand condemned and we can’t escape God’s just wrath and judgment. So where do we turn for help?
In God’s infinite grace, in his steadfast love and boundless mercy, God says: “I’ll send my Son!
In his poverty – I will make you rich! In his emptying of himself, I will make you full! In making him to be sin, I will make you to be righteous! In pouring out my wrath and judgment on him, you shall be embraced and welcomed. In his suffering, crucifixion and death, I’ll forgive your sins, and in his resurrection, I will give you new life – and make you rich in heavenly things!
Brothers and sisters, this is what Jesus our Savior has done for us – as his name means: he has saved us from our sins! Now, we (and all sinners) are called to put our faith and trust in him: to love Him, to worship Him, to come to him and adore him, and to live our lives for him – following after his example of humility and holiness.
Amen.
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Pastor Keith Davis, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
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