The Glorious and Lowly Light - Luke 2

The beautiful facets of a finely cut diamond are always best seen when the diamond is laid against the blackest of backdrops. Likewise the glory and the luminescence of a light shines brightest when it is lit in complete utter darkness.

And this is the illustration that the prophet used when he foretold 700 years earlier the birth of the Messiah. Listen to the words of Isaiah 9. Isaiah 9:2 “2 The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them…Isaiah 9:6 “6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” This child, this Son, this Wonderful Counselor, this Prince of Peace this Mighty God came to us in our darkness to call us out of that darkness into His marvelous light.

This is the story of Christmas. The messiah was not born into the trappings of royalty. Instead His baby body was clothed with rags. His birth was not celebrated by the leaders of his people. Instead, Herod the ruler of Israel caused a genocide of Bethlehem boys in an attempt to murder the Messiah. And this is our message tonight, Jesus was born into the darkness made sin, to end it. Tonight we will look upon the story of Christ’s birth and see how how the Glorious and yet Lowly Light came to redeem us from our lowly and sinful darkness.

The Glorious and Lowly Birth- Luke 2:1-7

We will be spending the majority of our night surveying through Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth, found in Luke chapter 2 If you didn’t bring a Bible, there are Bibles under the chairs in front of you and Luke 2 is found on page X. The verses will also be up on the screen as I preach.

And the first thing I want us to see in this passage is that Jesus’ birth was both glorious and lowly, both praiseworthy and shameful.

Luke 2:1–3 NASB95

1 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.

Read with me as Luke begins this story on an international scale with a providential Policy, Luke 2:1-3 “1 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.”

I want you to just stop and think about your own birth. Did your personal birth story involve a worldwide policy decision made by the most powerful ruler in the world? No, I don’t think so. But the birth of Christ did.

When Caesar Augustus rose to power after the murder of Julius Caesar he began organizing his empire. Similar censuses were ordered by the Emperor in the provinces of Egypt, and modern day Libya and France. Historians note that Augustus’s administrative abilities led to a lasting period of peace throughout the Roman empire. And when we step out of the history lecture and into Luke’s Gospel what we see is the providential hand of God.

Luke 2:4–5 NASB95

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

The sovereign God orchestrated the death of warrior Emperor Caesar. And his death led to the rise of an administrative genius in Augustus. Augustus then institutes a policy of a census in order to register all of his subjects for a global tax. And God uses this policy to rearrange the entire population of Israel so that an engaged couple, Mary and Joseph would relocate to their ancestral town of Bethlehem. Look with me at verses 4 and 5, “4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.”

And the reason that this is so important, the reason for all this talk of Caesars and censuses is that Jesus wasn’t going to be born in Nazareth. He wasn’t to going to be born in the capital of Jerusalem. He wasn’t to going to be born on the side of the road. No, God the Father orchestrated the expansion of an empire, the death of one ruler, the rise of another and a world wide policy so that His Son would be born in Bethlehem.

Micah 5:2 NASB95

2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

As many of you know this was to fulfill a prophecy from over 700 years earlier, from the old testament prophet Micah, Micah 5:2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.” The Messiah wasn’t to be born in Galilee, or on the way to Bethlehem, or on the way back from Bethlehem. He was to be born in Bethlehem the hometown of greatest King in Israel’s history - King David. You see God made a covenant promise to David that his descendant was to be the King of Kings who would rule on His throne forever.

Do you see the glorious and kingly nature of Christ’s birth? Do you see how unique and majestic and amazing it was for Christ to be born in that time, in that place? The circumstances of Jesus’ birth were of global and royal proportions - the birth of Christ was an incredible masterpiece of providence that demonstrated the power of God to rearrange the world for the advent of the Messiah.

Luke 2:6–7 NASB95

6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

But as I said before, this Christmas was both Glorious and lowly, majestic and shameful. And we see the shame and lowliness in the next verses, Luke 2:6-7 “6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” You see Jesus wasn’t born in an inn. The word that the english translators translated inn, is not the word for inn in Luke. It’s actually the word guest room or upper room, like the one that Jesus celebrated the passover in with His disciples. That same word in the Passover narrative is the word we have here in verse 7. Luke actually uses the common Greek word for inn in the story of the good Samaritan. But that’s not the same word here. Jesus did not celebrate Passover in holiday inn or a motel 6. It was celebrated in an upper room in a home. The Legacy Standard Bible which is a translation from the Bible faculty at Master’s Seminary and University reads like this, “And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guest room.”

Now why was there no place? The most common and traditional assumption is that the town was filled with people due to the census. But when you look at this phrase no room or no place for them through the lens of the culture of that place and that day another possibility arises. In the near-eastern culture both then and now there is a high, high value on hospitality. Professor and commentator Abner Chou notes that “Luke is referencing a common colloquialism that reflects ancient near eastern society, “there’s always room for more in our home” There’s always more space.”There’s always a place especially for family. Commentator David Garland notes that, “Because of his lineage, Joseph ‘belonged’ in this village, and room would have been made for him and his wife...most homes in town would be open to him.’ It would have been shameful for the entire community had the couple been turned out” It would have been shameful for those houses to be so inhospitable...that is unless the couple are reckoned shameful themselves.

And what was the reason for this rejection and this shame? Look back up to vs 5 and see that Luke curiously notes that Mary was engaged to Joseph. Let’s look at our first word, engaged. In ancient Israel, when someone is engaged, there is a legally binding covenant which was ratified when the union was consummated on the wedding night. This wedding feast and act of consummation moved the betrothal into marriage. This is why the gospel of Matthew records that Joseph contemplated the legal process of divorce when it was revealed that Mary was pregnant. The legally binding engagement would have to be cancelled with a legal action. But no such feast or consummation had occured between Mary and Joseph and Luke makes the point that they were still just engaged.

So imagine this scene with me.

Knock knock

Oh Joseph glad you made it! So good to see you? Isn’t this Caesar crazy!

Oh Mary…Mary? When was the wedding? Why weren’t we invited to the feast...

There was no wedding, she is my betrothed.

Oh, there was no wedding? hmm *looks at the belly* I see. Shame on you. There’s no place for you in our home.

Dear friends, here is my point, our Savior was born into shame. He was shamed, wrongfully shamed, but He was born into shame nonetheless. Why? So that from the moment of his birth to the moment of His death He would bear our shame in our place. King Jesus was not born amongst the crowns of God’s creation, He was not born in a home surrounded by men and women, He was born in either a cave or a stable surrounded by cows and donkeys. He was not placed in a cradle, instead his head was laid in a feeding trough. He is Immanuel, God with us to the deepest, darkest, most shameful, most painful level. Marvel at the stunning humility of the Son of God who left the glory of heaven for this, this lowly existence of a servant.

On the one hand, His coming was majestic, powerful, incredible and on the other hand shameful, humble and lowly. But what does it all mean? Why this contrast? Luke will show us in our second point tonight the A Glorious Message for a Lowly Audience

A Glorious Message for a Lowly Audience - Luke 2:8-20

Luke 2:8–11 NASB95

8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Read with me starting in verse 8, “8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Up until this moment, the birth of Christ was obscure, quiet and unknown to everyone in that little town except Mary and Joseph. But all of that changed, the silence of the birth night of Christ was triumphantly broken by a message from heaven. Luke writes that in the darkness of the night, the glorious light of heaven shone around the recipients as an angel appeared with a message from God.

But before we get to that message, stop with me and think about who these recipients were. The angel didn’t appear the the powerful high priest, or to the influential court room of King Herod. The angel didn’t come down to the Temple mount to make this proclamation to the people of the capital Jerusalem. No, God sent his messenger to a field outside of Bethlehem to proclaim the most glorious gospel to shepherds. These men weren’t the cutesy little felt shepherds that our kids hang up on their advent calendars. No, as MacArthur notes. “Shepherds were near the bottom of the social ladder. They were uneducated and unskilled, increasingly viewed in the post-New Testament era as dishonest, unreliable, ceremonial unclean, unsavory characters, so much so that they were not allowed to testify in court.

Again see the contrast! On the one hand majestic angels, glorious light from heaven, incredible news - on the other, shameful, humble, lowly, unclean shepherds.

Luke 2:11 NASB95

11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

No with this background we begin to see Luke’s point. Go back to verse 11 and look at the angel’s message and listen carefully, “11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Born for you, lowly, unclean, shameful sinful shepherds- born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. You see from the very beginning of His Gospel it is made clear that Christ did not come to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to the self-righteous, to the religious elite, to the self-sufficient, but instead he came to save sinners. Jesus was the one who ate with prostitutes, drunkards and tax-collectors. He is the one who healed the blind, the def and the lame beggars on the side of the road. He is the one who welcomed the little children into his midst. He is the one who spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well who had five husbands. He is the one who touched the unclean, who healed the gentiles.

Matthew 9:12 NASB95

12 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

When being mocked by the religious leaders for eating at a table with sinners, Christ responded, Matthew 9:12 “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.” He is the Good Shepherd who seeks out His lost and broken sheep. He is the Good Physician who heels the sick and wounded of soul and spirit. He is the Teacher who reveals divine mysteries to the foolish. He is the Servant who does not break the bruised reed or blow out the flickering flame. The Servant who, on the night before His death, stooped down to wash the filth of of the feet of His disciples. He is the Light to those in darkness. His voice is the one who calls dead men to life.

1 Peter 2:24 NASB95

24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

As the angel proclaimed to the Shepherds, this child is the Savior, the Christ who is Christ the Lord. He is the Savior who 1 Peter 2:24, “bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” He did not just come to suffer with us. He came to suffer for us. The reason for all of that is broken in this world, for death and sickness and morning and disease and suffering and shame is sin. When sin entered the world through Adam who disobeyed the command of God, he brought on himself and on all of humanity after him and on all of the universe actually is the curse of death. Everything that exists is in the state of decay and deterioration because of this curse. And on top of this each of us is guilty of sinning too. Each of us is deserving of the wrath of God because we do not love God as we should and we do not love our neighbors as we should. Instead of righteousness, we pursue our pride, our lusts, our greed. You and I chose to worship the god of our appetites instead of the God of the universe and so you and I are equally deserving of His eternal punishment.

Isaiah 53:4–6 NASB95

4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

That’s the bad news of the gospel. The good news is that Christ came to suffer in our place. Listen to the words from our text for this next Sunday’s sermon, Isaiah 53:4-6 “4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.” He paid the price for our sins. He suffered in our place. He bore the wrath of God in His body on the cross so that we might be saved. He is the Savior.

He is the also the Christ, the Messiah, the King of Kings who will rule His people with Truth and Justice in His eternal Kingdom. Under His eternal rule and reign there will be no more death, no more mourning, no more crying, no more pain for He will make all things new. He is the King of Kings, the Messiah.

And lastly He is the Lord who rules and leads His people in righteousness. But He does not rule as cruel master, but as the Divine Shepherd who abounds in loving kindness and compassion as He guides us home.

Luke 2:12 NASB95

12 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

And what was the sign that these lowly shepherds were to look for to find their Savior? Luke 2:12 “12 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Think about how shocking this is! The Savior, the Messiah, the Lord had come in the form of a baby and was lying in a manger. On the one hand Glory and on the other hand lowly.

Conclusion

Remember that the reason the head of Christ lay in a feeding trough was because of the public shame shown to Mary and Joseph by denying them room in the house. It was a sign of shame. And yet it was the sign of salvation for the lowly shepherds. Go Shepherds and and see the savior lying in a wooden trough. Come ye sinners and see the savior hanging on the wooden cross for you sin. Come you weary and broken hearted. Come you who feel ashamed and unclean because of your sin. Come you who find yourself wondering, does God really care about all of this death and disease and destruction. Come and see the one who bore your shame, who died for your sins! Look to Christ lying in the lowly manger. Look to Christ hanging on the shameful Cross and see His heart toward you. This is the good news of great joy. He did not just come to suffer with us. He did not come to just suffer with you. He came to suffer for you.

Luke 2:20 NASB95

20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

And if you have come and you know Him to be your Savior and your Messiah and your Lord I want to encourage you to follow the example of the shepherds and the angels from Luke 2. When the multitude of angels appeared before the Shepherds, verse 13 and 14 says that they were praising God, saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased”. And then at the end of this birth narrative Luke writes in verse 20 that, Luke 2:20 “20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.” Go home tonight and tomorrow and the next day and the day after that praising and glorifying God for He the Glorious and Lowly Light who came to redeem us from our lowly and sinful darkness.

Let’s pray

Overwhelmed by your love, your humility, your beauty

Open our eyes that we might behold more of your wonders

Give the gift of faith, strengthen our faith

Benediction

Oh friends leave your sins behind and come and follow Christ the Savior born for you. Come and praise and glorify Him. I will close with the doxology of Revelation 1.

Rev 1:5-6 “To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. And all the congregation said Amen.”