Good News and Great Joy! (Luke 2:1-20)
Big Idea: God quietly controls events, chooses unlikely people, and rewards those who sincerely seek him.
Dwight Eisenhower said, "Good leadership is getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it." Some people have an extraordinary ability to get others involved in getting things done. One person calls it "planting a seed in someone else's pot." Someone else waters, nurtures, and brings it to fruition, often receiving the credit.
It seems that this is common practice with God. God gets people to do what he wants them to do, because they want to do it – and they have no idea what's happening! We find an example of this in Acts 4.
And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them... for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. (Acts 4:24, 27-28)
I read in Proverbs 21:1: "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases."
God the Father is working behind the scenes, orchestrating the events that culminated in Jesus' death and resurrection. That's God's characteristic way of working. He is behind everything, invisible to us.
Luke chapter 2 is the most familiar New Testament text about the birth of Christ. It offers a great perspective on how God operates behind the scenes—unseen but clearly in control. This classic narrative of Christ's birth discloses several truths about God that are a source of great joy to humankind.
God Controls History
God uses unwitting human agents to do his bidding. Christ's birth proved that God is in charge.
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. 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. 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. (Luke 2:1-7)
God worked through the decree by the supreme ruler of the empire. Caesar Augustus was also called Octavian. He is regarded as one of the great administrative geniuses of history. He centralized the power of the empire in Rome itself, and established the Pax Romana – Roman peace. Rome held dominion over the world. But the Roman Emperor was not really in charge of the world.
Quirinius was governor of Syria. At that time, the Roman province of Syria included Palestine under its jurisdiction. Augustus, a remarkable leader, was unaware that a far greater power was using him. The emperor ordered a census to assess tax potential. A census was never good news. The empire constantly sought to increase taxes. But the plan for a census came not from Augustus, but from God.
It's hard to admit that God could actually be behind increased taxes. Couldn't God have arranged some other means to get the couple to Bethlehem at the right time? But God chose to use the mighty Roman Empire. Hundreds of thousands believed they were obeying Caesar's decree, unaware that he was fulfilling the Lord's will.
The census usually meant that a person had to return to where the family owned property. Joseph's legal residence was apparently still in Bethlehem. He may have owned some property there, so he had to go to Bethlehem for the census. Bethlehem was about 80 miles south of Nazareth. It's only claim to fame was that King David had been born in Bethlehem about 1,000 years earlier.
Joseph decided to take Mary along with him. Maybe he didn't want to leave her alone so late in the pregnancy. You might think Caesar's decree was quite inconvenient for the couple. You probably imagine them saying, "Of all the times for Caesar to order a census – why now?" But it may have been the other way around. Mary and Joseph may have welcomed it. “Yessss! Now we have reason to get away from the staring and the glaring. Bethlehem, here we come!”
When Mary's time came, the only available place for the little family was one usually occupied by animals. We today probably get more upset about the unavailability of a room in the inn than Mary and Joseph were. The inns of that era were neither comfortable nor safe. Travelers were often robbed at inns. In fact, if the inn was crowded, it may have been much better for Jesus to be born in a relatively quiet stable. But in an animal shelter, unknown to the world, Mary delivered baby Jesus. And Mary wrapped him in cloths, and laid him in a feeding trough.
It's amazing to read the story and capture a central truth: God is in control. Caesar's world empire was just a tool in the mighty hand of God. God said in Isaiah 40: "Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust."
God is all-powerful, and in control of history. Who would have thought that Caesar Augustus, the most powerful man on earth, was unknowingly God's tool in getting the Virgin Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem at the perfect moment for the Savior's birth, as prophesied?
God chose to move the world for the occasion. I wonder if it was for the benefit of the principalities, powers, and the gods of that time, along with all their demons. They would see what was happening. The world was supposedly under their control – and here is the Almighty orchestrating his plan. Kind of a holy "in-your-face" to Satan. That's truth number one that brings joy to humankind: God is in control.
Secondly:
God Chooses Unlikely People
God makes the rules. God doesn't conform to our standards.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isaiah 55:8-9)
The people we overlook as insignificant may be the focus of God's affection. God selects unlikely individuals for significant purposes.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 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. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying... (Luke 2:8-13)
God chose to make the announcement to humble shepherds. The good news first came to the social outcasts of the day. The shepherds were considered unclean and insignificant in their culture due to their work.
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (1 Corinthians 1:26-29)
The shepherds were the first among millions of ordinary people throughout history to hear and embrace the gospel – the good news of Jesus Christ, the Savior. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests" (Luke 2:14).
"In the highest" suggests "among heaven's angelic hosts." This was a momentous event in heaven. There were no yawns among the angels. In his first letter, the apostle Peter said that the fulfillment of God's plan, as foretold by the prophets and realized in Christ, captivated the angels. He said, "Even angels long to look into these things." It was good news that evoked great joy in the highest – among the angels.
God's way of inaugurating his greatest act was so contrary to what anyone might have expected. God makes the rules. That's good news. God doesn't rule out humble, struggling people.
These are two amazing truths about God that are a source of great joy to humankind. First, God controls history. Second, God chooses unlikely people. Third:
God Satisfies Seekers
God rewards those who are eager to find the truth. After the sensational announcement by the angel and the heavenly host, the shepherds did not stay put in the fields.
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (Luke 2:15-20)
The shepherds agreed among themselves, "This we have to see!" It probably wasn't too hard to find the stable with the baby. Bethlehem was just a small town. They were God's chosen welcoming party sent to Mary and Joseph.
Picture Joseph meeting the shepherds as they emerge from the darkness, their faces illuminated with wonder. He approaches them with curiosity, gently asking about their purpose that night. They respond earnestly, "Please, sir, may we see the baby, Christ the Savior? Angels have announced his birth to us, and we felt compelled to come." I envision Joseph, filled with emotion and tears in his eyes, turning to Mary and whispering, "Mary, how could we have ever doubted? This child is truly the Son of the living God. Angels themselves revealed this to these shepherds, who abandoned their flocks to be here!" And as the moment unfolds, "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."
If you were making the arrangements, it would have been so different, wouldn't it? I would have invited Plácido Domingo or Pavarotti to sing and Itzhak Perlman to play the violin for the Messiah. God arranged for the shepherds to welcome the Son of the Most High, the Savior.
Verse 17 tells us that the shepherds spread the word. They were the first Christian evangelists. The shepherds were seekers whom God satisfied. The shepherds came looking for Jesus, and they found him. Luke 2:20 says, "The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."
I'd like to ask for your response. How has God been at work in your history? I wonder what God has been doing behind the scenes to bring you to the point where you are right now. But here you are, Christmas Eve, sitting where you're sitting. Do you think that God has anything to do with it?
Are you amazed that God cares about you? That's probably how the humble shepherds felt. But God sent the news to them first. Are you sincere about "checking it out?" Hebrews 11:6 says, "It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him."
Are you seeking him this evening? Are you sincere about checking it out? Have you seen the Savior this Christmas? Have you even looked for him? Or are you mostly focused on all the other activities?
The God who shapes history and chooses unlikely people is ready to reward you tonight if you sincerely seek him. Because God satisfies seekers.
Adapted from a message by Dr. John Crocker
