Luke 2:1-20 – True, lasting Joy

Many people like Christmas time. And a lot of people don’t. Most of the time I’m one of the “I don’t” people.

My Christmas memories from childhood are of my father insisting that we have a traditional hot baked dinner. Forty-degree summer heat with the family crammed into our little dining room eating super-hot food. No air- conditioning, no fan, no fun.

I shared a bedroom with my two older brothers. I learnt early on that there was no point getting good presents at Christmas. My eldest brother would either break it, or take it.

One year my parents bought me a really great toy. But they forgot to buy the batteries needed to make it work. My brother decided to fix the problem by connecting my toy to the 12- volt transformer that he had for his train set.
He then played with my toy for a few minutes until it stopped working. My toy was only 9- volt. He’d burnt out the motor. End of that toy!

Christmas holidays were no fun. Long hours sitting hot and cramped on the back seat of the family car.

I clearly remember looking out the car window late one afternoon. A very attractive young couple were just getting out of a fancy sports car and checking in to an expensive looking motel.

My family’s holiday accommodation was all of us crowding into one room in a caravan park. The bathroom was a separate building 200 meters away. At night, Dad snored so loud the windows of our room used to rattle.

Don’t get me wrong. My parents were actually really nice caring people. But as a child, I was sick of being poor and always having the cheap version of everything- gifts, food, holidays. I wanted to be rich and important.

When Jesus was born, there were some very rich and powerful people who had the best of everything. Luke mentions the Roman Emperor, Augustus. His real name was Octavian, but he took the name, Augustus, which means great, powerful, most important.

He doesn’t sound like the shy, quiet type of person. He called himself great and powerful because he was. He lived in luxury, his servants instantly obeyed his every command, and he imposed his will over millions of people.

Augustus decided to take a count, a census, of everyone living in his empire. It made it easier for him to work out how much he could take in taxes if he knew exactly how many lived under his control.

The local governor, named Quirinius, made sure that everyone obeyed Augustus’ command. He controlled the government administration needed to organize this census, and the soldiers needed to enforce his decisions.

Quirinius, like all Imperial governors, could make a huge amount of money from his official position. Taxes, gifts and bribes could make him rich in just a few years.

But then we read about Jesus and his family. Joseph and Mary were nobodies- not rich, not influential, not well connected to the important people in society.

Augustus said to take a count of everybody. Quirinius said, return to your ancestral town to register for the census. Joseph and Mary obeyed, and went to Bethlehem- not powerful, not important.

Christmas cards often portray a heavily pregnant Mary riding on a donkey into Bethlehem with Joseph desperately looking for suitable accommodation for Mary to give birth. But the bible indicates that the couple had already been in Bethlehem for some time before Jesus was born. [Luke 2:6a].

We know that Mary spent the first three months of her pregnancy with her relative Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. [Luke 1:36,56].

Possibly Joseph heard about Mary’s pregnancy at this time and decided to take her to Bethlehem away from the critical comments she would have received back in Nazareth.

When Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem, they could not afford to rent a large, luxurious home. There was not even a guest room available in a house. So, Mary gave birth and placed Jesus in a hay trough used for feeding sheep and goats.

The contrast between the power and luxury of the Roman rulers, and the poverty and ordinariness of Joseph’s family is stark and confronting. If I was able to choose which family I was going to belong to, I know exactly which one I’d pick.
As the words of an old song go, “I’ve been poor, and I’ve been rich. And now that I know which is which, I’d rather be rich, I’d rather be rich!”

So, what is God doing having Jesus born into a poor and powerless family? Roman and Jewish rulers were born in magnificent palaces with servants to care for their every wish. But Jesus was born in the cheapest rented space available.

What does this tell us about Jesus and his future life and ministry? What insights does this show us into how God feels about the poor and ordinary people in society?

Wealthy, successful people often consider themselves to be more important, more valuable, than the common, ordinary members of society.

But Jesus was born, and lived among the ordinary working- class community.
Next, we meet some shepherds. In Australia, shepherds have enormous multi-million-dollar farms. They own trucks and tractors and have a large homestead built in the middle of their land.

But the shepherds in the time of Joseph, Mary and Jesus were not respected members of society. They were low-class people whose work kept them away from the normal community life in the towns.

We know that shepherds were not accepted as witnesses in the law courts. They were unreliable criminals whose testimony was not to be believed.

Even Jesus was later critical of hired shepherds, saying that when the wolf comes, the shepherd simply runs away. He cared nothing for the sheep or his responsibilities to his employer.

But it was to these poor, marginalized and rejected shepherds that the glory of God was revealed. During the night as these shepherds guarded their flocks,
“Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them.” [Luke 2:9a].

They were understandably overwhelmed and terrified. But God had not sent his messenger to judge and condemn these men. Instead, they are the first to hear this great news of God’s favor. The angel said,

“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior- yes the Messiah, the Lord- has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David.” [Luke 2:10b-11].

Savior, Messiah, Lord. This is no ordinary child. But the good news is announced first to ordinary people. And suddenly the curtain between earth and heaven is thrown wide open. And to this little group of poor, rejected men, the glories of heaven are revealed as the hosts of heaven praise God, saying,
“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” [Luke 2:14].

Roman rulers would have thought that the gods would be pleased with them because of the magnificent temples they built for them.

The Jewish religious leaders would have thought that God would be pleased with them because they worked hard to keep the laws in God’s word. They were much better than the ordinary, common people.

But God reached out to ordinary, rejected men and invited them to experience his peace. And what was their response? They rushed off to see Jesus! And when they found Jesus, in a cheap rented animal barn, they told everybody about what the angel had said about him.

Then, “The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” [Luke 2:20a].

Most of us would rather be wealthy than poor. But where do we find true and lasting riches? More importantly, where can we find something that is truly valuable and satisfying?

Christmas tells us to stop looking for lasting satisfaction in the passing glories and successes of this short life. The lie of this world is that if you achieve money, popularity, celebrity status and influence, then you will achieve deep lasting satisfaction and joy. But the lie cannot satisfy. It will always escape your grasp.

So, where can we find deep, satisfying joy? We, like the shepherds need to hurry and run to see Jesus. In the face of Jesus, we see the lasting glory of God.

In the presence of Jesus in that humble animal shed we find almighty God reaching down to us in our ordinary, unimportant lives. He enfolds us in his arms and lifts us to the glories of eternity.

Stop looking to those things that cannot last and will never bring lasting joy. Come to Jesus and experience the peace of God.

“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior- yes the Messiah, the Lord- has been born today in Bethlehem.”