Luke 2:1-35, Matthew 2
CELEBRITY BIRTH, 5/8/05
Life of Christ #3
Today when
celebrities and famous people have children it makes headlines.
When Jesus was
born there were no newspapers, radios, computers, internet, or televisions.
And his parents were
certainly not celebrities. They were just a poor carpenter and a peasant
teenage girl who were committed to God.
His parents were
not celebrities, but Jesus couldn’t help but be a celebrity. As the very Son of God, He made an impact
from his conception through to his birth, death, resurrection, and ascension.
When Jesus, the
Son of God was born, there were reactions to the birth of this celebrity. We begin in Luke 2.
CAESAR PREPARED
Vss. 1-5 - God used the emperor of the huge
It is safe to say
that Caesar Augustus never heard of the Lord Jesus, but God moved in Caesar
Augustus’ heart in order to insure that Jesus would be born in
Because Joseph was
“of the house and lineage of David”, he was required to go to
Augustus made this
decree at just the right time so that Joseph needed to travel to
Jesus needed to be
born in
When God puts
something in the heart of an individual to do it, they will do it.
When God plans for
something to happen, it will happen no matter how impossible it may appear.
Isaiah 46:11 - …yea, I have spoken it, I will
also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
If, at the prompt
of God, Caesar Augustus, unwittingly planned for the birth of Jesus in
Bethehem, how much do you think God can accomplish in the hearts of people and
in difficult situations?
God can work to
solve any problem and influence the hearts of men for the good and the right.
Why doesn’t he do
more?
He is waiting for
us to ask. John 14:13-14
God is capable of doing
great things, but He has decided to act very often in answer to the prayers of
His children!
ANGELS
PROCLAIMED
Vss. 6-7 – Joseph and Mary were not the only ones traveling. Others had to register too. It was a busy time, and logical that the local
inn was jammed.
So, out to the
stable they went. A humble beginning on
earth for the one is the Son of God.
He was wrapped in
swaddling clothes, long pieces of cloth wrapped fairly tightly around the
child. They would make the baby feel
secure.
Vs. 8 – Meanwhile out in a field, maybe a mile or two away from the city was a
group of shepherds, men low in social status.
Men, who because they were shepherds, were not trusted. Men, who although they as a group were not
liked or trusted, still could have been Godly men.
Vss. 9-10 – When I know I have good news, I find it hard to remain silent. It might be good news about something in my
family, or something in my life, or something in the church. When it’s good
news, I have a tendency to want to share it.
God is like that.
There was good
news to tell about the birth of us Son, and He decided to share it with these
humble shepherds.
The shepherds were
“scared stiff” or “scared to death”, and we would be to if an angel appeared to
us in the blinding brightness of God’s glory.
“Fear not” was a
proper encouragement.
When God does
something great we often fear because we don’t understand it.
This was not a
time to fear, but a time of “Good tidings of great joy”. The shepherds had reason to rejoice.
And the good
tidings of great joy were not just for the shepherds or the Jews, it was all
people.
It was good
tidings of great joy for all people, because all people can have a Savior!
Christ came to die
for all, no matter what your ethnic or religious background.
Vs. 11 - Notice that Jesus is described in three ways.
·
JESUS IS SAVIOR
We are sinners.
Our sins make us
unfit for Heaven.
Our sins make us
candidates for eternal judgment from a righteous and holy God.
But Jesus came to
be our Savior, the one who took the punishment that we deserved and He didn’t
deserve. 2 Corinthians 5:21
·
JESUS IS CHRIST
Christ is the
“anointed one”,
This is a
tremendous promise, for
He delivered from
sin the first time He came.
He will deliver
from
·
JESUS IS LORD
As Lord, Jesus is
God.
As Lord, Jesus is
boss.
As Lord, Jesus has
every right to tell you and I what to do, although we often don’t like that one
bit.
John 13:13, Luke
6:46,
In our heads we
know Jesus is Lord.
In our heads we
know that every knee is going to bow to Jesus. Philippians 2:10-11
But Jesus isn’t
Lord in our hearts unless we do what He says!
We call Jesus “Lord”
all that we want, but unless we obey Him, He is not our Lord.
Vss. 12-14 – The angel tells the shepherds where to find Jesus and then there is a
heavenly choir of tremendous magnitude, and I’m sure of volume that appears
giving glory to God at the birth of His Son.
PROPHETS
PREDICTED
Vss. 21-23 – Mary and Joseph did all that was right
according to the Jewish
law.
They did what they
were instructed to do.
As they were
obeying the law, by bringing Jesus to the temple, a very unusual thing
happened.
Two “prophets”, a
man and a woman Simeon and Anna were involved in predicting things concerning
the Lord Jesus.
Because we know
more of what Simeon said, let’s consider him for a moment.
Vs. 25 – We need
more people like Simeon today.
·
He was just or righteous before
men. He acted rightly towards others.
·
He was devout. He was dedicated
to God. He was careful, serious about
the things of God.
·
He was looking for the
consolation of
·
The Holy Spirit was upon Him,
controlling his life.
Vs. 26 – He was promised through God’s Holy Spirit that he would not die until
he had seen the Messiah.
Vss. 27-28 – Simeon was guided on the right day to the right place, to the right
child by the Holy Spirit.
Vs. 29 – Simeon was totally satisfied when He saw Jesus!
He was now ready
to go “home” after what was undoubtedly a long life!
Vs. 30 – Simeon was satisfied because he had seen the Lord’s salvation. And remember that this salvation was in a
person, not in trying to be good in our own power.
May we learn this
kind of satisfaction, no matter how long our lives are!
If we know Jesus
as Savior, we’ve seen the Lord Jesus. We’ve seen God’s salvation. Let’s be
totally satisfied.
Vs. 31 – The Gospel of the Lord Jesus is for all people!
Vs. 32 – The Gospel gives light to the Gentiles and glory to
Vss 33-34 – Many fell in
They failed to
believe in Christ and were condemned.
Many rose in
And so it is today
throughout the whole world. Every person
either rises or falls according to their faith in Christ. 1 John 5:12
1 John 5:12 - He that hath the Son hath life;
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
Vs. 34 – Jesus was a sign from God.
But many spoke
against Him. They rejected Him.
They followed up
their words with actions.
They crucified
Him.
Vs. 35 - Simeon warned Mary.
A large sword
would pierce Mary’s heart.
It was the pain of
witnessing her own son’s persecution.
A person’s outward
attitude toward Jesus reveals the condition of their hearts.
WISE MEN
PURSUED
Turn please turn
to Matthew 2.
Vss. 1-2 - So who were the wise men?
ê
We know very little about
them.
ê
They have been known as
the “three kings”, but we do not know that they were kings.
ê
We do not even know that
there were three of them. The idea of there
being three wise men comes from the fact that they brought three gifts.
ê
The word used for wise
men is actually “magi”, the word from which we get the word, magic. They were specialists in astronomy.
Evidently God spoke to them through the
stars that the Lord Jesus would be born.
Having seen “His star”, they came to find Him.
I want you to note
3 things about these wise men. These are things we can learn from them.
1.
THEY WERE PERSISTENT
They didn’t give
up until they had seen the Messiah.
They had traveled
many miles.
They had to deal
with “red tape” in Herod’s court.
Sometimes they saw
the star, sometimes they didn’t.
They plodded on!
God wants us to be
persistent in our desire to know God better and to serve Him. Psalm 27:8
2.
THEY HAD A PURPOSE
They’re purpose
was to worship Him. Deuteronomy 6:4-5
3.
THEY BROUGHT PRESENTS
Vs. 11 - Gold –
Because He is king
He deserves our
gold, our money, because He is king.
Frankincense –
Incense – Psalm 141:2
Symbolic of our
prayers going up to God
Myrrh – Used for
embalming the dead. Representative of His death for us, and our willing
sacrifice for Him. Luke 9:23
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