Luke 1:57-2:21

Luke 1:57-2:21

“4 More Things For Your Christmas List”

Part 3 of 2006 Hopewell Advent Series “God Gives Hope” based on Luke 1 and 2

December 17, 2006

Well, it is indeed obvious by now that Christmas is coming.

The goose is getting much fatter – and so am I.

The Sanctuary is indeed decorated beautifully – the wreaths – garrland – bows – Chrismon tree – and now poinsettias give a true feeling of celebration and joy to this already beautiful sanctuary. Three of the candles on the Advent Wreath have now been lit. We’ve been having parties and are making plans for more parties — the Joy Gift program is tonight and the Christmas Eve Communion service next Sunday. A lot of other activities are taking place. The Choir and Praise Choir continue to practice special Christmas music. The pace has indeed picked up a bit. You need a calendar to keep up with everything we’re doing here at Hopewell this month!

Outside the Church the pace has picked up a bit, also. Many of us have decorating, Christmas shopping, parties, family gatherings, etc., etc. etc., that have to be done – hopefully before next Sunday!

Yes – Christmas is indeed fast approaching!

But — with all the activities — there is still a sense of hope.

Children – and some adults – may be hoping for a certain gift from Santa.

Some may just be hoping that it will all end soon.

But this is a season for hope.

A season for hope.

This Advent we’re looking at the first and second chapters of Luke – and seeing how God’s gift of Himself gives hope – and raising the question:

Are you ready for Christmas?

Are you ready for the coming of Christ?

Are you ready for God’s hope coming into the world?

Hope.

2 weeks ago we saw that we have to be ready for the hope of God that can break into our lives at any time as we looked at how God gave hope Zechariah and Elizabeth in a way they never imagined possible. Last week we saw how we need a spirit of humility to truly be ready for Christ’s coming into our lives.

Today I’m going to add 4 things to your Christmas list – 4 things we all need to have to be ready for Christmas.

Now – you’re probably thinking –

“That’s just what I need! 4 more things on my list! “

Well – to truly be ready for Christmas – to truly be ready for the coming of God into our lives through Jesus Christ – we need to have 4 things:

We need to have faith

We need to have obedience

We need to have a commitment to telling others that Christ has come

And – we need to have a spirit of worship and awe for God and Christ.

The stories of the birth of John the Baptist and the birth of Christ are filled with these 4 things – faith – obedience – telling others – and worship.

Listen to both of these stories as we look at Luke 1:56-2:21:

READ SCRIPTURE

Most of us have heard the Christmas story so many times that we think we know what it’s all about, but the fact is, we might have passed over some important pieces. If we look a little harder, we might find a piece of the nativity scene that’s never put out.

You see, in Luke’s gospel, the Christmas story is not just about one birth. It’s about two births. Before we read about the birth of Jesus, we read about the birth of John. In fact, the surprising thing is that John’s birth gets more coverage than Jesus’ birth. John gets 24 verses in Luke 1, while Jesus only gets 21 verses in Luke 2. If we just take Jesus’ birth apart from John’s birth, we don’t really get the whole story. It’s like reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy without reading The Hobbit – the first book that is not really a part of the trilogy – but introduces us to the characters and sets the tone for the trilogy itself.

If we’re going to do Christmas right, we have to look at both of these births:

First – we have the birth of John in Luke 1:57-66

57When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

59On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

61They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

62Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 64Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him

Then – the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:1-20:

1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.

4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[b] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

There is a saying in the real estate business: “Location is everything.” Realtors will tell you that the 3 most important things about selling property are:

Location, location, and location.

Notice the locations of the two births we have before us today.

The first one took place at home, while the other took place far away from home.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were from the hill country of Judea, and that’s where their son was born. That’s how it was supposed to happen in those days – babies were born in the family home. Maybe some of you were born in the family home – or your parents were.

My Dad was born in his family’s home. His legal name was Billy – my grandmother always said that she had one boy and named him John but everybody called him Jack – she had another and named him Robert but everybody called him Bob – so when Dad was born she named him Billy. But – there is a story about how my Dad got the mane Billy. The story is that my Uncle Jack was wanting a Billy Goat. When Dad was born, Jack was down the street playing. Someone went and told him “Jack – go home and see what’s there waiting for you!” He ran home – expecting to see his new goat – but was instead shown a newborn baby. This did not set well with Jack – and he blurted out: “But I wanted a Billy Goat!” – thus the name Billy. I doubt if the story is true, but it was fun to tell!

So – Zechariah and Elizabeth have their son born at the family home – as it was supposed to be.

But not so for Joseph and Mary.

Joseph and Mary lived up in the region of Galilee, in the little town of Nazareth. For the last six months of her pregnancy, Mary had been there, no doubt expecting that to be the place her son would be born. But Luke tells us that when Mary was great with child, Caesar Augustus sent out a decree calling for everyone to return to their hometown for a census. Joseph, being from the line of David, would need to return to Bethlehem. But Joseph wasn’t about to leave Mary alone in Nazareth, so the two of them packed up and headed south for Bethlehem.

It was a long journey, at least a three-day trip, and the timing couldn’t have been worse. Perhaps in the back of their mind was the ancient prophecy about Bethlehem, that it would be the birthplace of the coming Messiah. It might have all made sense at that point; seeing God’s hand in the decree, but it couldn’t have been easy. To make matters worse, Bethlehem was not “lying still” as the Christmas Carol would make us believe – but was filled to the gills with visitors who were there for the census. There was no room for them anywhere – except for in what was most likely a cave or a stable for farm animals.

I heard a story about a little boy who was to play the part of the innkeeper in the Christmas play. When it came time to tell Joseph that there was no room and they had to sleep in the stable, it just seemed so cruel that he couldn’t do it. So instead he said, “There’s no room, but do you want to come in for a drink?”

Well, Mary and Joseph didn’t have it quite so good. They went straight to the stable. Now — don’t be fooled by your adorable nativity scenes. This wasn’t a pretty sight. As they entered the cave, the smell might have been strong.

So –– as the realtors say — location, location, and location.

The locations of Johns’ and Jesus’ births could not have been more different.

But the location was not the only difference between the birth of Jesus and the birth of John.

One of the best things about bringing a new child into the world is getting to share it with your friends and family. In the case of John, all the friends and relatives were in attendance. This is what you want when a child is born. Everybody there — everybody is happy for you – even if an older brother or sister pouts because they wanted a Billy Goat!

That was not the way it was at the birth of Jesus. It wasn’t quite that way for Mary and Joseph. Jesus was born without any doting relatives around; without any fanfare at first. God’s Son – God Himself – came into the world without much celebration or fanfare at first. Imagine the Super Bowl played in an empty and silent stadium and you get the feeling – the greatest event of all creation taking place – it seemed – to no celebration at all.

Well, sort of.

There were the shepherds. The shepherds actually get more attention in the Christmas story than Mary or Joseph. You know the story. They were out there with their flocks at night. An angel — most likely our old friend Gabriel – stands before them surrounded by a bright light.

The shepherds are scared stiff — Gabriel is used to that by now. He tells them not to be afraid because he comes with some good news: the Savior of the world has just been born. Like Zechariah and Mary, the shepherds would get a sign. They would discover a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a feed trough.

The cloths weren’t so unusual – the shepherds must have thought. But the feed trough was a different touch — especially for a king.

So — off the shepherds go to Bethlehem, and sure enough, they find the baby lying in the feed trough.

So Mary and Joseph get to share their joy – if only with a few smelly shepherds. The shepherds were just ordinary, uneducated folk. Mary and Joseph would not be writing home and bragging, “You won’t believe who showed up at the birth! Shepherds!”

That’s not to say there wasn’t a lot of joy in this event. We read that there was rejoicing among Elizabeth’s friends when John was born. But the shepherds brought joy of a different order.

It all started with the angel. He said, “I bring you good news of great joy.” It was customary in the Roman Empire for poets and orators to declare peace and joy at the birth of one who was to become the emperor. Now, in that same pattern, comes the good news of joy occasioned by the birth of a Savior. And where there is joy, singing is usually not too far behind.

At the end of chapter one, Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, blurts out a poetic prophecy that is really more about Jesus than John. He praises God for bringing redemption and salvation to His people. He sings about God’s tender mercy, which will result in the forgiveness of sins. And he likens the coming of Jesus to the sunrise that will give light to those who sit in darkness and guide them in the way of peace.

But Zechariah’ song was no match for the choir of angels that joined Gabriel out there in the fields. There was a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

It was a short song, but the lyrics were significant. Glory should be given to God in the most exalted of ways, while on Earth this child brings peace for those with whom He is pleased.

One more thing that we see in both births: In Jewish culture, after a son was born, friends and relatives would gather at the home to celebrate for eight straight nights prior to the circumcision. At that time, the son would officially be named. In the birth of John, this created quite a stir among the relatives. The angel had told Zechariah that he was to name the boy John. But they don’t know that because Zechariah has been kind of quiet lately. The relatives assume they’ll name him after Zechariah. That’s what you did back then. But then Elizabeth pipes up and says, “He shall be called John.” So they go to Zechariah ask him what he wants to name his son. They know Zechariah will have the final word on this. He’ll straighten out Elizabeth. But Zechariah writes on a tablet, “His name is John.” Not, he’ll be called John — but his name is John. He’s saying: I don’t have the right to name him. God already did that.

It wasn’t quite so hard for Mary and Joseph. As Luke records it:

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

So we have not one birth, but two births. One took place at home, with doting friends and relatives in attendance; the other took place far away from home in a stable with no one there but animals and a few shepherds. Both of them were occasions of great joy and singing. Both of them took place in accord with Jewish law—naming and circumcising the boy on the eighth day.

Now – you might be thinking –

That’s all fine and good, but what does all this mean for me?

Well, I believe Luke lays these two births side by side to teach us something about what to do at Christmas. In the cast of characters of these two births, we see responses to the Christmas event — they’re meant to teach us something about our response to the coming of Christ into our world. They can teach us – I believe – 4 things we need for Christmas – 4 things to add to our Christmas list – and add to our lives as Christians.

First – we see faith.

Look at how the shepherds responded to the angels as Luke gives it in 2:15-20:

15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

The first thing the shepherds teach us to add to our Christmas list is faith. A couple of weeks ago, we saw how Zechariah failed to believe that God would do what the angel promised him. That’s why he’s silent until his son is born. Then we saw how Mary, in contrast to that, believed that what the angel said really would take place. But here with these shepherds we see another example of faith. After the angels leave, they look at each other and say:

What are we waiting for? Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.

They have faith.

There is no debate. There is no procrastination. They don’t decide to sleep on it. They don’t go to the local library for research. They just figure that it’s all true.

That’s faith. You can put that on your Christmas list.

Faith.

Scripture says that, without faith, it’s impossible to please God.

The angel says, ” on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests ”

Who is that? It’s those who respond to God’s gift through faith.

Paul writes in Romans: “For by grace you are saved, through faith…. “

Add faith to your Christmas list.

Faith means you say yes to all that God was doing through Christ.

You say:

Yes, He is the Savior of the world.

Yes, He came to die for my sins.

Yes, through Him I find forgiveness and new life.

Yes, I want to follow Christ as Lord.

Faith isn’t a spectator sport; it’s an active embracing of all that God has promised in Christ. God brings you to a point, and it’s not a time for debate; it’s not a time for sleeping on it; it’s not even a time to do more research; it’s a time act in faith upon what the Lord has said.

That’s why the second thing you should put on your list is obedience.

Obediance.

We see obedience in the naming and the circumcision of both John and Jesus. Zechariah names his first and only son John. It couldn’t have been easy. He faced some pretty serious family pressure: John? There’s no one in our family named John! What kind of name is that?

Zechariah is now obedient. He has learned that he doesn’t call the shots – and neither does his family; God does.

The second thing to add to your Christmas list is obedience.

Mary and Joseph had the same attitude of obedience.

We sometimes think of Christmas as a rather tame holiday. We think of sweet little baby Jesus asleep on a bed of hay—tiny little hands that could do no harm, a bright halo above his head. Everyone loves that because it’s so innocuous, so safe. But Christmas isn’t safe! That baby is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He has come to usher in a Kingdom that rivals the kingdom of self. That’s threatening. He bids those who would follow Him to take up our own cross daily and follow Him—to lay aside our own right to rule ourselves, to surrender to His rule.

The world loves to celebrate the birth of Christ, but they hate to obey him as the Lord of their lives. Everyone wants to keep Christ in the manger. But the manger is meaningless apart from the cross. As one writer put it many years ago:

“This little babe, so few days old, is come to rifle Satan’s fold; all hell doth at his presence quake, though he himself for cold does shake.”

Christmas is a time for faith.

Christmas is a time for obedience.

Add faith and obedience to your Christmas list.

But – there is something else you need to add.

One of the things Jesus told us to do is tell others about him. That’s the next thing to put on your to do list—tell others. We see that at John’s birth. It says that when Zechariah’ friends heard him praise God, they began to talk all about it throughout the hill country of Judea. It was hot, but holy, gossip that spread like wildfire.

But again, it’s in those shepherds that we see it best. Luke tells us that when they arrived in Bethlehem and saw the child lying in the feed trough, “they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child ”

Observe the progression: they heard the angels; they went to Bethlehem; they saw the child; and then they made known the statement. They showed faith – then obedience – then they told others.

You see, you cannot speak of what you have not seen and experienced in your own life. But when you embrace Christ—or should I say, He embraces you—something happens to you. You know it. Paul says, “The love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5). If you, like the shepherds, have experienced that, you have to tell others about it.

By the way – the shepherds were not trained preachers — but that didn’t matter. They had heard something. They had seen something. That something meant salvation for the whole world. If you saw a fire and heard a small child screaming in the window, you wouldn’t wait for the professionals to come – you’d run in there and get that child out.

I’m not one of those Christians who thinks we should get rid of the Christmas trees and eggnog and exchanging of gifts. I like all that stuff. I like Christmas shopping … a little bit. But, do you know what? If we do all that stuff, but don’t talk about Jesus — if we fail to speak of the real meaning of it all; if we neglect to tell someone that this child was born as Savior and Lord, that He was sent by God to die on the cross to purchase with royal blood our own deliverance from sin, death, and the devil; if we neglect to publish that abroad, we’ve failed to do Christmas right.

The angel said that this is good news of great joy which shall be for all the people.

All the people.

Did you hear that? Not just religious people, not just Western people, not just poor people or rich people or smart people or not-so-smart people—for all people.

So don’t let Christmas go by without telling some people about Jesus.

Christmas is a time for faith.

Christmas is a time for obedience.

Christmas is a time for telling others about Christ.

Add faith – obedience – and telling others to your Christmas list.

But there is a fourth thing to add to your list.

The fourth thing to put on your Christmas list is what I would call the work of holy wonder.

We see it in the people who heard the news about John’s birth. In verse 66, it says, “All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, ‘What then will this child turn out to be.’”

We see a similar reaction when people heard what the shepherds were saying—”all who heard it wondered”.

It’s a good thing to wonder. It’s a good start, but you don’t want to stop there.

You get the feeling that Mary took it even a step further. That’s why it says: “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Amidst all the activity, try to just stop and treasure all these things. Try to ponder them in your heart. Try to engage in some holy wonder.

How do you do that?

Maybe that means you stop in the middle of your shopping and sit down and pull out your Bible and just read the Christmas story.

Maybe that means you gather your children around a nativity scene each night this week and unwrap a different piece and talk about the role it plays in the Christmas story.

Maybe that means you wake up really early one morning and find a place you can watch the sun rise and meditate on Zechariah’s words:

“The Sunrise on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace.”

Maybe that means you write the words of the angel on a 3×5 card and pull it out every time you eat:

“Behold I bring you good news of great joy which shall be for all the people. … “

However you do it, it is important that you have and act on a sense of holy wonder – especially at Christmas. I was listening to WMHK, the Christian music station out of Columbia, SC the other day – and heard one of the announcers talking about the fact that we spend so much time on our feet at Christmas – going to parties – going caroling – going shopping – going lots of places on our feet – but we need to spend some time on our knees – filled with a send of hly wonder over God’s gift to us.

The work of holy wonder is the work of treasuring and pondering the fact that God invaded planet Earth on a perilous rescue mission. It’s rolling it around in your heart, like you would finely cut diamonds in your hand.

When you do that — when you really let it sink in – you’ll find yourself doing exactly what the shepherds did next.

Verse 20 said they went back, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.

You can put that on your Christmas list also. Go back! Just because you have seen the Christ doesn’t mean you stay in the manger. You go back to where you came from, but you go back glorifying and praising God. You don’t just wait until Sunday to do that. You go back and do that. You do that in the place He’s called you.

Christmas is a time for faith.

Christmas is a time for obedience.

Christmas is a time for telling others about Christ.

Christmas is a time for wonder and awe and worship.

Faith – obedience – telling others – and wonder.

4 more things for your Christmas list.

Amen.