Sunday, April 4, 2010 am
WHO IS THIS JESUS? (3)
Unto Us a Child Is Born
Today, we continue
our study of the life of Jesus.
Today we want to consider His birth.
In this study, we intend to not only notice various events in the
life of Jesus, we also want to make application to our lives from these
events. When applicable we
will notice fulfilled prophecies and other interesting details to
consider as we seek to make Him Lord in our lives.
a.
John the
Baptist’s birth announced –
Luke 1:5-25, Zacharias is
serving as priest in the temple when the angel Gabriel appears to him
and tells him that his wife Elizabeth will bear a son.
This is miraculous because Elizabeth was old and barren.
As a result of questioning this, Zacharias becomes mute and
remains such until John is named after his birth.
b.
Mary is
told she is with child –
Luke 1:26-38, when Elizabeth is 6 months with child, Gabriel
appears to Mary in Nazareth who is betrothed to Joseph, who was “of the
house of David.” and tells her she shall have a Son whose name was to be
Jesus. Mary is a virgin and
thus asks how it shall be.
She is told that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and that the child
would be called “the Son of God.”
She is also told about Elizabeth who had been in hiding since her
conception.
Luke 1:39-56 - Mary goes
to see Elizabeth and when she enters the house, the babe in Elizabeth’s
womb leaps and she is filled with the Holy Spirit and prophecies about
Mary. Mary stays there about
three months and then returns home (1:56).
c.
At some
point, Joseph is told that Mary is with child.
Matt. 1:18-25 records that
Joseph seeks to put Mary away secretly, but an angel appears to him in a
dream telling him to marry Mary and that the child was conceived of the
Holy Spirit. His name was to
be Jesus (which means Savior), “For
He will save His people from their sins.” (1:21)
We are told that this was in fulfillment of the prophecy from Isaiah
7:14 which states that a virgin would conceive and His name would be
Immanuel, “which is translated, ‘God with us’” (1:23).
Joseph complies and takes Mary to be his wife.
He does not “know her” until Jesus is born.
d.
Luke 1:57- 80 records that
John is born and on the 8th day when he is presented and
circumcised, that he is given the name John, even though that was not a
family name. When Zacharias
writes down his name, his tongue is loosed and he is able to speak.
We have recorded a prophecy on that occasion which speaks of both
Jesus and John as His forerunner.
e.
Jesus is
born
Luke 2:1-7 records that
Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem to be counted in a census ordered by
Caesar Augustus. While there
Mary goes into labor and gives birth to Jesus probably in a stable,
because the inn was full.
Jesus is wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger.
A manger was actually a feed trough for animals.
NOT the most glamorous of birth places.
f.
Luke 2:8-20 – that night,
there were shepherds watching their sheep (an indication that this was
NOT winter time, i.e. December 25th).
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to them in great glory and
they were afraid. The angel
announced the birth of Jesus to them and then they saw “a multitude of
heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth, peace and goodwill toward men.’”
The shepherds then go and find Jesus where He was laid in the
manger. They tell the people
about Jesus and there is great rejoicing.
We are told Mary kept these things and pondered them in her heart.
g.
Luke 2:21-38 records Jesus
being presented at the Temple on His 8th day to be
circumcised. While
there more incredible things happen.
A man named Simeon sees Jesus and prophecies about His greatness
to both Jews and Gentiles.
He was old and waiting to see the Messiah which he was promised he would
see before he died.
Then, a prophetess named Anna, who was probably upwards of 100 years old
prophesied of Jesus as the redemption for Jerusalem.
h.
Matt. 2:1-12.
At some point after this, (we are not sure how long) wise men
from the east come to visit Jesus.
Everything points to this being some time later than His birth in
a manger. Perhaps even a
year later.
They inquire of Herod the Great who is unaware of where Jesus is.
He instructs the wise men to return and tell him when they find
Jesus. The wise men DO visit
Jesus while He is in a house (not in the manger) and they worship Him
and bring Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
NOTE that we are not told how many wise men, but 3 gifts are
mentioned which is why 3 wise men are assumed.
After this they return home by a different path, being warned to
do so in a dream.
i.
Matthew 2:13-15, shortly
after this Joseph is told to flee to Egypt by an angel of the Lord and
he goes. The reason is that
Herod, who is jealous orders the murder of all male infants in Bethlehem
under the age of 2. Joseph
takes Mary and Jesus and stays in Egypt until Herod dies.
We are not told how long they had to stay in Egypt.
It was probably a couple of years at the most.
Hosea 11:1 is the prophecy referred to in Matthew 2:15.
j.
Matt. 2:19-23, Luke 2:39-40
– they return to Nazareth where Jesus grows up.
a.
He
was Immanuel – “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with
childe, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel’, which is
translated, ‘God with us.’“ (Matt. 1:22-23).
i.
The birth of Jesus would fulfill
this prophecy of Isaiah 7:14.
ii.
It’s
significance is worthy of serious consideration.
Truly, Jesus came as God among us.
Philippians 2: 5-7 reminds
us that Jesus took on the form of a bondservant and came in the likeness
of man. We must NEVER forget
this. While Jesus is and was
God when He came to this earth (cf. John 1:1, 14), He came to live as a
man. That means that He did
not use His deity to gain special advantage.
He was tempted as we are and understands us –
Hebrews 4:14-16.
It is this coming that qualified
Him to be the sacrifice we needed for our sins.
iii.
But He
also revealed the Father to us –
John 14:7-9, as Jesus
spoke to His disciples He noted how He had revealed the Father to us.
He said that if one knew Him he knew the Father.
Also, whoever had seen Him had seen the Father.
Colossians 1:15 says, “He
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”
Hebrews 1:3, “who
being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person,
and upholding all things by the word of His power,,,”
b.
The
date of His birth is unknown and unimportant.
There is no indication in scripture of special services related
to His birth. Organized
Christmas observance is without Biblical authority. What is important is
to know WHY He was born – to save us.
And that was mentioned in Matthew 1:21.
It is His death that we commemorate – Matt. 26:26-29, 1 Cor.
11:23-26.
c.
A
lowly birth for the King of Kings.
i.
Philippians 2:8 says, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became
obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
His humility is demonstrated in events surrounding His birth!
ii.
Jesus was
born in an insignificant town instead of a capital city.
Jesus is born in an animal stall instead of a palace.
His royalty is announced to common shepherds instead of kings.
Born of a common woman with a common carpenter as His father on
earth. Truly Jesus did
humble Himself.
2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “For
you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich,
yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might
become rich.”
iii.
Lesson:
As our Lord enters this world, we see a glimpse of the difference
between God’s view of majesty and man’s view of majesty.
God does not view anything the way man does.
God doesn’t look at success from worldly standards.
What He looks for is the heart.
Romans 12:1-2 calls for us to be transformed by renewing our minds.
1 Cor. 1:20 notes that the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.
James 4:4 tells us that friendship with the world is enmity with God.
iv.
It is interesting to note that
what brings Jesus to this lowly state was the decree of the king of Rome
who unknowingly yields to King of Kings, fulfilling many prophecies.
d.
Is
there room for Him in your life?
i.
Luke 2:7 tells us that
Jesus was born and laid in a manger, “because
there was no room for them in the inn.”
That was part of His humble beginnings.
ii.
That
saying presents to us an interesting metaphor.
If they had known who Jesus really was, do you suppose they would
have found a better place for Him to be born? How does this compare to
the way He is treated by many today?
1.
Some
have no room for Him whatsoever
– they have hardened hearts that are just not interested in serving Him.
Sadly, most of the world fits in this category.
John 1:11 tells us, “He came to His own, and His own did not
receive Him.”
2.
Some
have no room for Him right now
– Like the disciples who made excuses in Luke 9:57-62, they know who He
is, but there are things they view more important in front of them.
So like Felix they send Him away
for now! Acts 24:25.
Jesus will not accept 2nd place EVER!
Matt. 10:37-39
3.
Some
have given Him a corner in their hearts, but nothing more
– this is serving Him with
divided interests. Jesus
says we cannot do that – Matt. 6:24, Luke 8:14 – which describes the
thorny soil which is unproductive.
4.
Others
have opened their hearts and let Him in
– they have cleared out all that does not belong and let Jesus into
their lives wholeheartedly.
iii.
Have we
made room for Him in our lives?
Rev. 3:20 says, “Behold,
I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to
him and dine with him and he with Me.”
e.
Is
His birth “good tidings” to you?
i.
Luke 2:10-11 records the
words of the angel of the Lord who came to shepherds in the fields on
the night Jesus was born. He
said, “Do not be afraid, for
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all
people. For there is born to
you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
Certainly, for man’s sake there is NOTHING in all of history that
is more joyous than the birth and life of Jesus.
ii.
Who
rejoiced when Jesus was born?
1.
Angels in
heaven –
Luke 2:13-14
2.
Joseph and
Mary certainly rejoiced even though we are not told that specifically.
But we are told of Mary as she saw the shepherds worship her Son,
“But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)
3.
Shepherds
in the field found Him and returned, glorifying and praising God (20)
4.
When Jesus
was presented to the Lord at the temple after the purification of Mary
we read of Simeon in the temple who when he saw Jesus, took Him
in his arms and blessed God and prophesied about Him (2:25-35).
5.
On that
occasion we also read of Anna the prophetess (36-38),
an elderly lady who when she
saw Jesus gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of Him to all who where
looking for redemption in Jerusalem.
6.
Matthew 2:1-12 records the
wise men sometime later worshipping Him and rejoiced with exceedingly
great joy.
7.
Many
others were rejoicing as well.
iii.
Let us
never forget this. The word gospel means “good news” and the word in
this text is based upon the same word as the Gospel.
May we rejoice in the gospel and seek to share it with others!
We must not forget that Jesus is the central point of our
preaching –
1 Cor. 15:1-4.