“The Birth of the Messiah”

HOPE CHAPEL - Sunday, December 5, 202

​Youtube link... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQpaBN5EIyQ
 
HOPE CHAPEL - Sunday, December 5, 2021
 
Teaching Series - “Our Family Tree–Through the Bible in 2021" 
Weekly Topic - “The Birth of the Messiah” 
Texts – Isaiah 11:1-5, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20
 
 
When God sent His son as the Messiah, the Rescuer, His arrival went virtually unnoticed by the majority of people.  And the ones who were privileged to be given a sight of the newborn king, though quick to share the news, were quickly disregarded for the unbelievability of their message.
 
Today, we’re going to examine the birth of the Messiah…probably the best-known story contained in the Bible, outside of creation…but a story nonetheless that is often oversimplified and misunderstood.  Let’s begin with the promise God made to David…that his would be an everlasting dynasty and from him would come the greatest king of all—the Messiah.
 
 
 “JESUS’ LINEAGE”
Isaiah 11:1-5 – “Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot--
    yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him--
    the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
    the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 He will delight in obeying the Lord.
    He will not judge by appearance
    nor make a decision based on hearsay.
4 He will give justice to the poor
    and make fair decisions for the exploited.
The earth will shake at the force of his word,
    and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.
5 He will wear righteousness like a belt
    and truth like an undergarment.”
 
Based on Isaiah’s description, what kind of man did the Jewish people expect the heir to David’s throne to be like? [discussion]
 
Jesus was most definitely a descendant of King David and Bathsheba—both on Mary’s side and Joseph’s.  Matthew lists the descendants of Abraham through to Joseph and has Jesus’ lineage pass through Solomon, David’s son who succeeded his father to the throne.  Luke’s account on the other hand, passes from Adam to Mary and demonstrates a lineage that passes through Nathan, another of David and Bathsheba’s sons.  There is no question, Jesus came from the right blood line…but the right pedigree?  Far from it!
 
Jesus was born to ‘nobodies’ from a backwater town known as Nazareth.  The region of Galilee was viewed by those who lived in Judah much the same way that people from the country, or ‘hicks,’ are sometimes viewed by those from cities…‘nothing good comes from Nazareth’ (John 1:46) was the attitude of many.   And everyone from Mary and Joseph’s hometown knew what kind of people they were…she had gotten pregnant before they were properly married!  Mary and Joseph might both be able to trace their ancestry back to King David, but surely God would not provide His promised Messiah through an illegitimate union.  Never mind that Matthew assures his readers that Mary’s virginity is certain because Joseph refrained from having sexual relations with his wife until after Jesus was born (1:25); the gossip wheel had been set in motion years before.  Not to mention their lack of resources.  Would the Messiah, the future king, not need all the ‘advantages’ wealth could provide in His upbringing to prepare to rule the nation?  All the things Mary and Jospeh would not be able to provide.
 
The choice of Mary and Joseph as the parents of the Messiah, entrusted in His upbringing, made no sense at all from a human standpoint.  A future king should be born to a king…not a carpenter and his teenage wife!  Surely the Messiah’s parents would need wealth and positions to ensure that their son received the very best in preparation—including religious, academic and vocational training, opportunities to lead and influence over others.  What could the son of a carpenter hope for?  No, in the eyes of the world His prospects remained slim…especially considering His place of birth.
 
 
“THE PLACE OF HIS BIRTH”
Luke 2:1-7 – “At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.
 
6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.”
 
Yes, Jesus, the Messiah, was born in Bethlehem, David’s royal city, but in a barn…nothing remotely close to being suitable for royalty.  I don’t think we fully appreciate the nativity scene…our porcelain manger figurines just can’t do it justice.  For starters, we have to place ourselves in a barn, or rather yet more likely a cave or crude shelter.  There are no compact hay bales from which to make a bed for the labouring Mary, just the dirt floor covered in animal feces and loose bedding.  I’m certain that Joseph would have cleared a spot and thrown down fresh straw for Mary, but the birth of the Messiah happened on the stable floor…down in the muck!  And in all the portrayals of Jesus’ birth the sanitizing is not reserved for the barn alone. 
 
The night I gave birth to Shannan at the K-W hospital, 27 other babies were born.  In one room, one of the labouring mothers could be heard screaming.  As a woman from the middle-east she had none of the reserve that is engrained in those of us who descend from many of the countries in Europe.  In our imaginations, Mary is often required to endure a few minutes of groaning and sweat-drenching labour before…tada…out pops the baby Jesus, already cleaned and wrapped.  Now those of you who have never had or witnessed the birth of a child, you’ll have to trust those of us who have.  Labour is excruciating, often lasting for hours, messy, even scary outside the confines of a hospital surrounded by trained staff and the luxury of pain medications, especially for a first-time mom.
 
And what nonsense when we teach children to sing, ‘no crying He made,’ as though a crying infant is unnatural or beneath the Son of God.  Anyone who knows the first thing about newborn babies is that you want them to cry to clear out any amniotic fluids that may be blocking their airway.  The scene in the stable would not have been a serene peaceful affair, but filled with the noises and smells and natural human responses that accompany such a scene.  When we think of the night of Jesus’ birth, we have to take care not to rob it of its humanity and its mess in our attempts to sanitize it. 
 
Why do you think it is that we often ‘sanitize’ the events of that first Christmas? [discuss]
 
We need to resist the urge to reduce the full meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice, which ended at the cross, but began at His incarnation.  He fully experienced what it was to be human.  The Bible does not say without reason that we have an intercessor who understands us because He was one of us.  There isn’t anyone He can’t relate to…which brings me to the first visitors to the newborn Messiah—shepherds.
 
 “BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT”
Luke 2:8-20 – “That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
 
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
 
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”  16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.”
 
A heavenly chorus to announce the birth of the Messiah?  Now that makes sense!  Who better to make known the arrival of God’s promised Rescuer?  But to shepherds?  Why shepherds?  There is some thought that they were considered lazy, dishonest and dirty; however, like the view of Judeans toward their cousins in Galilee, it might just be that they were on the bottom of the societal ladder and were viewed as inferior by their fellow Hebrews.  When God chose to extend an invitation to visit the stable-turned-nursery it was to those on the hillside at night working to care for their sheep…to the working poor.
 
One of my greatest pet peeves with modern day depictions of the night of Jesus’ birth is the presence of the wisemen and at times the absence of the shepherds.  It’s like, subconsciously, we wish to give Jesus the greeting we feel is right for a king.  The gifts of the kings are given more importance than the visit by the shepherds.  How often have I seen the Nativity crèche with only one lonely little shepherd, a lamb slung over his shoulders, and three bejeweled wisemen kneeling and/or standing around the manger?  This is an entirely inaccurate portrayal.  While the shepherds were given a front row seat to the night of Jesus’ birth, it would take close to two years for the wisemen to follow the light of the star that began to shine the night that the angels sang their song to the shepherds.
 
The kings’ arrival with gold, frankincense and myrrh is fortuitous—God’s perfect timing.  I am certain that their gifts were put to good use when Joseph was forced to flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt from Herod’s murderous attempts to eliminate this new king.  But we need to be careful not to reduce the full impact of God’s choosing shepherds, rather than royalty or the wealthy or even those considered ‘desirable’ from a human perspective as His guests of honour. 
 
What message was God sending through His choice? [discussion]
 
 So, on this second Advent Sunday of love, what are our takeaways?
·         The message should be clear…God has no favourites!  From His choice of Jesus’ parents, to the place of the Messiah’s birth, to His first invited guests to visit His Son…God will accept and can use anyone.
·         When God sent the Messiah, His Son, He did not work in such a way that made sense from a human perspective.  He turned what we consider the natural order of things on its proverbial head and showed us His plans…plans that stood in stark contrast to what the people were expecting.
·         Could the same thing be true of Jesus’ return?  Many got it badly wrong as they prepared for the coming of the Messiah.  Might we be holding to wrong-headed ideas about His return?  Just a question worth pondering that we will discuss in more detail on the fourth Sunday of Advent.
·         God’s plans and answers to prayer often do not look like the solutions we deem most desirable; we pray for one thing and He answers, but not in the way that we had thought or hoped.  One thing is certain, however, even in the face of our not knowing, we can trust the One who knows all.  It was true for the first century Hebrews and it is true for us today.
  
For further study…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OLezoUvOEQ (The Bible Project – Luke 1-2)
 
Sunday, December 12, 2021- “The Work of the Messiah” 3rd Sunday of Advent – Shepherds/Peace - In-person and Online 
 
___________________________________________
Pastor Jane Peck, Hope Chapel
(Collingwood EMCC Church)
 
"Learning and Living the Way of Jesus!"