Foretelling and Fulfillment (4): The Birth of Jesus -- December 26, 2010

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

So 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. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

(Luke 2:1-7)

I realize it's Christmas, but I wonder if there's anyone here who has ever felt pushed around by the government or even by the circumstances of life itself. Do you know what I mean? Life happens. And it can be tragic or just plain inconvenient, and you just get sent into react mode.

About five years ago, Miriam and I received a letter from Revenue Canada. Whenever you get a letter like that, you sit up and take notice! Miriam remembers the letter saying that we owed just a couple of thousand, but I remember it being much, much more. But what I can tell you is that we could not afford to pay it at that time! And as a final touch, just to make sure you'd have a good day, it said that the debt was accruing interest, at a pretty healthy rate I might add, daily. It took many nervous weeks and many, many phone calls to convince them that they were in error, not us, and that there was no money owing at all.

But in situations like that, you feel so pushed around, you feel so out of control. It isn't just good ol' Revenue Canada that can make a person feel that way. It could be a breakdown in your marriage. The loss of a loved one. The dreaded test result. And suddenly it seems as though you're not so much in control of your life, but instead the circumstances of life are controlling you.

Well, if there's anybody here who's felt that way, or if you're even feeling a bit like that right now, then just get a load of a couple of phrases here in Luke 2: "In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world... So 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." (Luke 2:1,4)

How did Jesus get His start in this world? He got it being pushed around by the government, strong-armed by the circumstances of life. Jesus entered this world, our world of illness, brokenness, taxes and government decrees. His own family was forced to go from their home town of Nazareth to the little town of Bethlehem--and it was there, according to Bible prophecy, that He was born. When we are feeling pushed around and acted upon by the circumstances of life, Jesus knows that feeling. He understands. He knows where we're coming from. Isn't that comforting? Even the Cross on which He died was a governmental form of capital punishment.

I don't know about you, but the older I get, the more I realize that by myself, I can't really change much. I can change a few things, but I can't change much. I can try to lead. I can influence. I can encourage. I can love. But on my own I am not much of a transformational force. In fact, the day I got a lot happier in my marriage was the day I realized I can't even change my spouse! My job is to stick to my marriage vows and do my level best to love, honor, and cherish Miriam. That's all I can do.

Perhaps you've experienced this in your professional or home lives, but even in my pastoral work, I can't change people or events much. I've heard of situations and stories that'd break your heart--and for the most part, all I can do is say, "Wow. I am so sorry. Let me pray with you." That's it! That's all I can do. Chris Carter can't change a lot. Influence, pray, encourage--yes. Change--no.

But do you know what I've come to realize? God can! God can change hearts, He can change events, God can transform lives. And God came to planet earth, Incarnated in His Son, Jesus. And Jesus literally changed the world. And He is changing the world. And initially at least, He did it so unobtrusively. He was born in Bethlehem because His mom and step-dad were forced to go to Bethlehem by government decree. During His life and ministry, He never wrote a book, He never held any academic degrees, He never held any political office, and yet He changed the world.

A couple of weeks ago, I heard a masterful sermon by John Ortberg on Jesus that was a part of a series based on the question, What if Jesus didn't come? Great question, isn't it? What would planet earth be like if Jesus hadn't been born? Ortberg began his message with this great quote from Yale history professor Jerislav Pelican who said this: "Regardless of what anyone may personally think or believe about him, Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western culture for almost twenty centuries. If it were possible, with some sort of super-magnet, to pull out of that history every scrap of metal bearing at least a trace of his name, how much would be left?" Isn't that a great question? Let me just repeat the last part of that: "If it were possible, with some sort of super-magnet, to pull out of that history every scrap of metal bearing at least a trace of his name, how much of it would be left?"

And in the rest of his message, John Ortberg makes it pretty clear--not a lot would be left at all. When you think the influence of Jesus on this world, and then think of the movement He left behind, that being the Church, and then when you think of the impact His followers have made on this world--it's really hard to imagine a world without the imprint of Jesus. The coming of Jesus literally changed the world!

Think about it (and at this point, I am severely summarizing and shamelessly borrowing from Ortberg's December 5th sermon), what would be left without Jesus? Quite apart from the God-stuff, the spiritual impact, what would be left?

The coming of Jesus changed how we view history. About 600 A.D. a Sythian monk suggested that the calendar be based not on the myth of the Emperor of Rome but on the birth of Jesus. So now we live in the year 2010 AD, Anno Domini, which means in the year of our Lord. Every time pretty much anybody looks at a calendar or boots up a computer, the date is based on a theological conviction that the coming of Jesus is itself the very hinge of history.

Most of the world's greatest hospitals were founded by Christ-followers. Christ-followers were at the base of the creation of compassionate organizations like the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and World Vision. Think about the education movement. The very first universities in Paris, and then Oxford and Cambridge were started by Christ-followers. The University of Toronto was started in 1827 as King's College by the Church of England. Queen's was founded by the Church of Scotland. We could go on and on.

Think about science. Afred North Whitehead said that science emerged out of "the medieval insistence on the rationality of God." The world's first dictionaries and alphabets were developed by Christian missionaries. The Gospels have been translated into 2200 languages, no other book is translated into one fifth that many.

Think about political theory. Jesus said, "My Kingdom is not of this world... and Christ-followers like Augustine, Martin Luther and John Locke developed the concept of limited government, that the state has to answer to a higher power.Think of the arts: Without Jesus there'd be no Dante, no Bach, no Hallelujah chorus, no Mozart, no Bono (had to slip that in!), there'd be no Rembrandt, no Cisteen chapel. Monks of the middle ages developed music notation to spread His praise, other monks of the sixth century developed clocks so that they could know when to be at their prayers.

Without Jesus there'd be no Paul, no Martin Luther, no Mother Teresa, no Martin Luther King--there'd be no church. Jesus has literally changed the world. But here's the best part of this Child of Bethlehem: He is the unique Son of the God Who not only changes the world, but Who is actually in control of the world. In Acts 4, even while persecution is being unleashed on the fledgling church, the first believers in Jesus prayed this prayer to His Heavenly Father and theirs: They prayed, "Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen." (Acts 4:28)

What an awesome statement: They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. It really is true, road to the manger inevitably leads to the Cross. And the powers that be at that time thought they had silenced Jesus for good by condemning Him to a Roman Cross. But through the miracle, power and wonder of the resurrection what that execution actually did was unleash God's love, forgiveness and salvation upon the entire world.

And here's the most spine-tingling part of this Jesus who was born in that humble manger: Not only did He change the world, not only is He changing the world today, not only is He Sovereign and in control of this world, but His number one business is transforming your personal world and mine through His love. Such is the power of this Child of Bethlehem that He so transformed the life of one man that he went from being a passionate persecutor of the church to becoming a passionate lover of Jesus. And it was this man, Paul, who wrote the following words: "... being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6) Christ is in the business of transforming your personal world and mine from the inside out, through the work and power of His Holy Spirit. And it is He Who begins a good work in us will carry it through to completion. So while there may be times when we feel pushed around by life, and begin to feel as though we really can't change much, Jesus changes everything. And He does it all through a power that this world knows nothing about!

And, I realize it's Christmas, but I wonder if there's anyone here who's felt that dull ache of loneliness. Do you know what I'm talking about? I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that it's quite probable that every soul in this room knows what I'm talking about. As Nancy Ortberg has said recently, Christian community is vitally important, but there always comes a time when Christian community has to go home, and one is left alone.

My friends, Jesus knows what that's like. Listen to these words: "... and 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." (Luke 2:7) No room in the inn. Those are some famous words. It's from those words that many-a Christmas pageants have been written. But I find the words just before that famous phrase even more heart-wrenching: "She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger." Not a cradle, but a manger, an animal trough. And she had to do it herself. Not a family member, no doctors, no nurse, no doula, no mid-wife... just Mary... she placed Him in a manger herself. No one was there to do it for her--she did it herself. Coupled with the fact that they could find no room in an inn, the whole thing speaks of utter rejection, total loneliness, complete solitude.

Ever felt like that? Jesus knows how that feels. In Jesus, through Jesus God has even experienced our loneliness. And in Him, there is a Friend Who sticks closer than any brother or sister ever could. He knows what it's like to be lonely! He even said of Himself, "... 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.'" (Matthew 8:20) And yet, here's the great irony of Jesus: Through experiencing our loneliness, God in Christ insures that we will never be truly lonely again. After dying on the Cross for our sins, and being raised again from the dead, just before He was to leave planet earth, Jesus left us with these words: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)

I'll never forget the second sermon I ever preached. In hindsight, it was horrible. There may be some who believe I preach too long now, but in actuality I work pretty hard at pearing my messages down to (what I think at least is) a reasonable length. So in my very first sermons, I just gave 'em everything I had. And if the sermon was 35 minutes long--so be it! Well, I went out to this dinky little church in Oakville. It was Christmas Sunday. And somebody close to me actually had read my message before hand and told me that not only was it too long, it was too depressing as well!

Comedians and preachers share one thing in common--you pretty much know when you've lost a crowd. And on that day, I preached way too long, and I lost 'em fairly early on in my message. Afterwards, most people were kind, some told me point blank I preached too long. But as the people filed away there was an old man and woman kinda hanging back, waiting to speak to me. And behind them was another older gentleman with tears in his eyes. They came up to me and said something to the effect of, "This is our good friend, Bill. And he lost his wife of over 50 years just this past week. And your message really helped him."

It wasn't me at all. It was Jesus. For I had preached on this same text and highlighted this same point that because He became one of us in Christ, God can draw near to us in our loneliness and loss like no other.

Last week while Christmas shopping, we went into a novelty and games store. There was one item there that caught me eye. It was a Jesus play figurine, complete with the five loaves and two fishes. It was displayed in a section labeled "Fantasy games". My dear friends, the Lord Jesus is no fantasy! He came to change the world, and to transform our personal worlds, and to fill our loneliness with His loving presence!

Amongst my all time favorite pieces of Christmas poetry is the second verse to Charles Wesley's well known Christmas carol:

Christ, by highest heaven adored,

Christ the Everlasting Lord!

Late in time behold Him come,

Offspring of the virgin's womb.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;

Hail the Incarnate Deity!

Pleased as man with men to dwell,

Jesus, our Immanuel.

Hark! the herald angels sing,

"Glory to the newborn King!"