“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (11)
“Silent night, Holy night, all is calm, all is bright. Round yon virgin mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.” Not too long ago, I wasn’t able to sing that song at all. Though I celebrated Christmas, I didn’t understand the true meaning behind it. My life was restless, was filled with hatred, anxiety, disbelief, fear, doubts, and depression. To be honest, I didn’t really believe in Jesus. I was so messed up and confused. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was like this because I was living in darkness and sin.
I had no peace in my heart because unknowingly, I was living underneath the wrath of God. Many people, including Christians are living like this today. We’re hurt and depressed and are looking for some sort of healing and peace for our hearts. But no matter how hard we look, we can’t seem to find it. That’s because we’re looking in the wrong place. Where should we be looking then? We should be looking in a manger. Luke tells us in chapter 2 that the birth of Jesus is good news of great joy for all those who believe in him. The good news is, the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior brings us the peace we’ve been looking for. This peace was about through propitiation. I’ll explain that word later. And when we understand and realize this, no matter what comes our way –whether good or a bad- peace will always be there. Not only that, we will be able to sing songs of praise to God! What about you? Do you have peace in your heart? Do you know what that peace is and how it comes about? Are you able to sing songs of praise to God? If not, then I invite you to come back with me to the year 4 BC, the approximate time when Jesus our Savior was born.
PEACE (1-7). When Christ was born, the peace of God came to us. What exactly is the peace of God? We think that if we have friends, are married, have a job, money, good health, and a decent government, then we can be happy and peaceful. But Luke shows us otherwise. In verses 1-7, he contrasts the so called peaceful times of the world with what was really happening. Verse 1 says, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.” Before Caesar Augustus’ came into power, Rome was under a constant power struggle. For over 100 years they had faced civil war. Because of this, the Roman world had no peace. But underneath Caesar Augustus’s reign, the wars ended and Rome experienced great prosperity and peace, “Pax Romana”. It seemed that peace had finally come to them. But in verses 3-7, we see otherwise.
Verses 3-6 say, “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, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.” Luke introduces Joseph and Mary, the parents of Jesus. He tells us that they were engaged. Surely, they were filled with joy as they waited for their wedding day. I’ll never forget the day when I asked Angie to marry. After surprisingly saying “Yes” to my proposal, I ran to my friend’s home and shouted with joy, “Now I know God exists!” Looking forward to marriage is indeed a joyful thing. But there was something else that was going on in Mary’s life. Luke says that she was with child. Though her conception was through the Holy Spirit, it was still a very difficult thing for her. To be pregnant before marriage during those times was like committing murder in our times. A lot of people talked and looked down upon her and probably shunned her.
What made matters worse was Caesar ordered everyone in the Roman world to register for a census. Because both Joseph and Mary were descendants of David they had to travel up to Bethlehem to register. Registering must have been a very painful act, not only because it was inconvenient, but because it was a reminder that the Israelites were not free but still under the rule of a pagan power. It was also very painful for Mary. Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus, had to travel 70 miles through mountainous terrain. This is like walking up and down the American Eagle at Great America 79 times while being pregnant. Mary’s burden was indeed great.
But Mary’s hardship didn’t stop there. Luke tells us in verse 7 that while they were in Bethlehem, Mary went into labor. Of course, labor can be a very exciting thing. I remember when Angie went into labor with our first child. As we walked out to the car, she randomly told someone with a smile that we were going to the hospital to have our first baby. But Mary had no place to give birth to her first child. Even when they tried to get a room in the inn, it was full. So Mary had to give birth to her firstborn in a dirty manger.
Clearly peace cannot come from this world. What brings us true peace is the birth of Jesus Christ. Mankind once had peace in the Garden of Eden. But when we sinned against God, God removed his peace and replaced it with his wrath. Romans 1:18 tells us that the wrath of God has been revealed to all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Every single one of us is living underneath the wrath of God because of our sins. God’s wrath is eternal destruction of our souls. God who is our Creator has every right to take away his grace and to send us all to hell. When you think about this, do you have peace? Even if you have everything in the world, can you truly be peaceful knowing this? I’ve heard countless stories of parents who lost their children due to death. I know of a family’s son who is about 7 years old. For most of his life, he has suffered from a brain tumor. Recently, they got bad news saying that his tumor came back and had grown 40%. Now they’re not sure how long he has to live. I can never imagine losing one of my children. Those who have lost a loved one say, that even though they have a lot of good things, there is still something missing in their hearts. This is what it’s like when we have no peace with God. Though we may have everything, we’re still not happy, there’s something missing. So how does the birth of Christ bring us peace?
PROPITIATION (8-12). This is one of those theological words that’s very hard to understand. A lot of Bible translations use “atoning sacrifice”. But this misses the mark. Simply speaking, propitiation means removing God’s wrath against us. In ancient religions, as well as with many religions today, people offer sacrifices in order to appease God. This is propitiation. However, we cannot satisfy God’s wrath through any kind of sacrifice. Whether it be animal sacrifice, going to church, reading the Bible, or even repenting of our sins. We are incapable of satisfying God’s justice. God is the only one who can do it. How did he do it? In a movie based upon a true story, a wife was both verbally and physically beaten by her drunken husband. He would leave her blooded and bruised. Often times he would come close to killing her. Finally, when she could take it no longer, while he was sleeping, she set his bed on fire and killed him. When I saw this part, I shouted, “That jerk deserved it!” But what did God do? Cleary, he had every right to throw us all into hell to burn for eternity. But instead, God did something completely opposite. He appeased his wrath through his Son Jesus. Jesus was born into this world as a helpless baby, wrapped in swaddling cloths, and placed in a manger. Jesus appeased God’s wrath by making himself a sacrifice. He was born as a helpless baby in order to save helpless people. He was wrapped in swaddling cloths in order to remove God’s wrath that was wrapped around us. And he was born in a dirty manger in order to cleanse us from our dirty sins. Jesus is the propitiation!
How did Jesus exactly appease the wrath of God? In verses 8-12, Luke introduces two shepherds who were out in their field keeping watch over their flock by night. These flock were used as animal sacrifices in the temple. So the shepherds stayed outside with them in order to protect them from harm. In the Old Testament, we learn that God had commanded the Israelites to offer animal sacrifices for the forgiveness of their sins. But the problem was, each time they sinned, they had to sacrifice another animal. I think if I lived back then I would have to sacrifice 1000 animals every day. Animal sacrifice was only a temporary appeasement. It could not completely remove God’s wrath. A one final sacrifice had to be made. As the shepherds were watching their flock, suddenly from nowhere an angel of Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. Imagine how shocked they must have been. In fact, Luke tells us that they were filled with fear. Usually, if you saw an angel, it meant that you were either going to die or God had a great task for you to carry out. But what did the angel of the Lord say to them? Verse 10 says, “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’” The angel told the shepherds that he had a message that was good news of great joy. Not a message that they were going to die or a message that was filled with fear, such as the world ending in 2012 or the stocks crashing, or the Colt who were going to lose again. But a message of hope! A message of salvation!
What was the message? The angel said to them “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying a manger.’” (11-12) The good news was, Christ would become the final sacrifice for all of mankind’s sins. There was no coincidence that the angel visited these two people. He came to let two shepherds who watched over sacrificial animals know that a once and for all sacrifice had been born! And to make it even more shocking to them, the angel said the sacrifice would be God’s son, Jesus Christ. Jesus came in into the world in order to appease the wrath of God. He did so by becoming a sacrifice for our sins. 30 years from his birth, Jesus will be arrested, beaten, betrayed, whipped, and crucified. On the cross, all his blood will pour out from him. And finally, he will die. As a lamb pours his blood for the sins of the Israelites, so Jesus will poor out his blood for the sins of the world. By doing so, Jesus will have satisfied God’s wrath against us. And through this satisfaction, Jesus will have saved us from our sins.
PRAISE (13-21). What should be our response to this good news of great joy? At the beginning of this sermon, I sang Silent Night, Holy Night. When I thought more about this song and the night when the message of Jesus’ birth was made known, I realized that it actually wasn’t a silent night after all. In fact, it was a very loud night! Louder than the partiers around my street at night. Luke says in verse 13, “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’" The message of Jesus’ birth prompted angels from heaven to come and sing a song of praise to God! The word “host” is actually a military term. And Luke says it was a multitude of the heavenly host. Revelation 5:11 suggests that the number of the angelic host may be too large for the human mind even to fathom. In other words, it was a huge army of angels, lighting up the sky (9) and singing more glorifully than anyone had ever sung before.
What about the shepherds? How did they respond to this good news of great joy? First, Luke tells us that the shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem to see this thing that had happened. When the shepherds heard the gospel message, they could have responded very negatively. “Yeah right, this is just some sort of a trick.” “That’s good. If that’s what you believe and accept then okay. But as for me, I choose to believe in salvation in my own way.” But the shepherds went in haste to see the birth of Jesus.
When they arrived, they found Joseph and Mary, and the baby lying in a manger. Luke doesn’t tell us what the shepherds did when they got there.. But clearly the shepherds’ accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. In verse 17, Luke tells us the shepherds’ 2nd response to the good news. He says that after seeing Jesus, they shared this good news with others. Naturally, when we hear something that we believe we want to tell others about it. This past week I had an eye doctor’s appointment with a new doctor. After 10 minutes of speaking to him, he told me that 2 years ago he had a heart transplant. I was shocked because, he didn’t look like it. He was over 50 and full of energy. He wanted to tell me because obviously he believed it was worth sharing. And indeed it was.
Finally, in verse 20, Luke reveals to us the shepherds’ third response to the good news of great joy. He says, “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.’” The shepherds’ third response was identical to the angels’. They returned to their fields glorifying and praising God. The shepherds’ praised God for Jesus who brings peace between God and man. They praised God for Jesus who became our propitiation. They praised God for Jesus who became our Savior. What about us? How should we respond to the birth of Jesus Christ? Like the shepherds, we should go to Jesus in haste, share the good news with others, and praise God for what he has done.
When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, Moses broke out into a beautiful song of praise. He praised God who freed the from the bondage of slavery to the Egyptians. He praised God who safely brought them through the Red Sea while killing those who pursued them. How much more should we praise God for the birth of Jesus who brought us peace? How much more should we praise Jesus who appeased the wrath of God through his sacrifice? How much more should we praise Jesus who suffered, bled, and died, in order to save us from our sins? In conclusion, I would like to sing a song of praise to Jesus who brought peace to me, who died for me, and who rose again so that I may have everlasting life in the kingdom of heaven.
These following words are words that I wrote to one of my favorite Christmas songs, “What Child is This”.
Oh Jesus Lord I thank you,
For bringing peace between God and me.
I was in sin and far from you,
But through your birth you saved me.
Chorus:
You, You became Christ my Lord
You turned away God’s wrath from me!
Praise, Praise your Holy name
My Lord, my loving Savior!
It amazes me how you were born,
So Humbly wrapped up swaddling cloths.
You were born in such a dirty place,
In order to cleanse me from my sins.
Chorus:
Thank, thank you Christ my King
For cleansing me from my dirty sins!
Praise, Praise your Holy name
My Lord, my loving Savior!
Let’s worship him with all our strength,
For he brought peace to our darkened hearts.
The King of kings, salvation brings,
Let loving hearts adore Him.
Chorus:
Raise, raise your voice on high,
For Jesus Christ was crucified!
Praise, Praise your Holy name
My Lord, my loving Savior!
