At the church where I serve, we spent the days leading up
to Christmas in a Christmas sermon series entitled the original Christmas
playlist. We launched into this series by talking about the reality that the
Christmas is a season filled with sights and sounds that provoke memories,
hopes, and aspirations. And perhaps the most powerful aspect of the sights and
sounds of Christmas in found in Christmas music.
So, in the weeks leading up to Christmas, we spent
our time together looking at the first Christmas Playlist that was composed by
those who were involved in the very first Christmas. During this series, we discovered that the Christmas story is told through song as well and a
recollection of events from history. And
as we went through the series, our hope and prayer was that God would move by
the power of the Holy Spirit in our heads, hearts, and hands in a way the
enables us to learn several timeless truths that these songs teach us about the
very first Christmas and its place the grand story of God's activity in
history.
We launched into this series by
looking at a song that was a part of the original Christmas playlist that was
written by a woman named Mary. We know Mary as the mother of Jesus. However, it
is in this song that Mary composed during the very first Christmas that we
discovered a timeless truth about Christmas and God's activity in history in
that the original Christmas playlist contains songs of hope that trust in God's
promises for the future while waiting for that future.
We then looked
at a song that was a part of the original Christmas playlist that was written
by a man named Zacharias. And it is in
this song that was composed and sung by a man who once doubted God’s promise
that would become a part of the original Christmas playlist, that we discover a
timeless truth about the very first Christmas and its
place the grand story of God's activity in history in that the original
Christmas playlist contains songs of God’s faithfulness in the face of our
fallenness.
We then looked at a song that was a
part of the original Christmas playlist that was written by a man named Simeon.
And it is in this song that was
composed and sung by a man who faithfully waited for God to fulfill His promise
that would become a part of the original Christmas playlist, that we discovered
a timeless truth about the very first Christmas and its
place the grand story of God's activity in history in that the original
Christmas playlist contains songs that celebrate God’s faithfulness by
faithfully pursuing Him while waiting for Him.
This week, I would like for us to spend our time together
looking at another song that was a part of the original Christmas playlist.
However, this particular song is unique in that it was not composed by a human
being. Instead, this song was composed and sung by a group of angelic beings.
And it is in this song that was composed by angels that first Christmas evening
that we discover a timeless truth about Christmas and God's activity in
history.
However, before we look at this
contribution to the original Christmas playlist, let's look at the
circumstances the led to this song. We find these circumstances, and this song,
in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of
Luke. So, let's jump into this event from history together, beginning in Luke
2:1:
Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus,
that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census
taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to
register for the census, each to his own city. 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, in order to register
along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
Luke
begins this section of his account of Jesus life by providing us the context
for the event from history that we know as the Christmas story. At this time in
history, the Jewish people were living as a conquered people under the rule of
the Roman Empire, which was the dominant military and political power in the
world at this time in history. And as part of their military and political
dominance, the Roman Empire required that every person who lived under their
rule over the age of 20 pay a tax that was called the poll tax.
So to
make sure that they were receiving the maximum amount of taxes that they were
able to gather, the Roman Empire called for a census. This census required
every Jewish family to travel to their ancestral home town to register for the
census so that they would be counted for tax purposes. And for Joseph and Mary,
that meant traveling to Bethlehem, as Joseph came from the family tree of
David, who was the most famous king to ever ruler the Jewish nation. So Joseph
and Mary left Nazareth and made the trip to Bethlehem.
Now to
understand the significance of this trip, we first need to understand some
things about this journey. First, the distance between Nazareth and Bethlehem
was 80 miles. Second, there are no cars, buses, or airplanes. So Joseph and
Mary walked 80 miles, which would take approximately five days for an average
person to travel. But as Luke tells us, Joseph and Mary are not average;
Because Mary is with child. When Luke says that Mary is with child, she is with
child. Delivery could occur at any moment. Most scholars believe that this trip
would have taken at least one week to accomplish. And as we see in verse 6,
Mary is not just with child:
While they were there, the days were completed for her to
give birth. 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.
After arriving in Bethlehem, Mary discovered
that she was not just with child; it was time to have the child. There was a
problem, however. You see, Bethlehem was not a bustling metropolis filled with
hotels and motels; Bethlehem was a small rural community that was busting at
the seams because of all the out of town visitors that were required to come to
register for the census. Bethlehem was not a destination that up and coming
people moved to in order to start their careers; Bethlehem was a departure
point that people left as soon as they grew up.
So there
was no place for people to reside, unless there were close family that still
lived in town. Bethlehem was so crowded that the only place that they could
find for Mary to give birth and stay in was with domesticated animals. Most
likely this was in a cave on the outskirts of town where animals where kept for
their safety. Instead of a crib, all Mary could lay her newborn in was a
manger, which was a feeding trough for animals.
Now imagine yourself as Mary. How would you be
feeling right now? You are a teenage girl who is in a cave, 80 miles from home,
where you have just placed your firstborn son in a box that a few minutes ago,
farm animals were slobbering in as they ate. And if that is not enough, your
son is God in a bod. God, who has taken on flesh, is lying in a feeding trough.
And where do you think they got the cloths to wrap baby Jesus in?
How would
you be feeling? What would you be thinking? Do you think Mary thought that this
is how the Messiah was going to enter into the world? Do you think Mary thought
that this is how God was going to come to earth? However, Mary and Joseph were
not the only ones who would be impacted by the arrival of the Messiah into the
world that first Christmas.
Tomorrow,
we will see Luke introduce us to another group of people who would be impacted
that by the arrival of Jesus that first Christmas…
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