December 22, 2024 • 15 mins
Luke 2.1-7 | Ps Alex Huggett
Part of a series from Advent 2024
© Bentley Baptist Church Inc.
www.bentleybaptist.org
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Luke, chapter 2, verse 1.
In those days a decree went outfrom Caesar Augustus that the
whole empire should beregistered.
This first registration tookplace while Quirinius was
governing Syria, so everyonewent to be registered, each to
his own town.
Joseph also went up from thetown of Nazareth in Galilee to
(00:21):
Judea, to the city of David,which is called Bethlehem, of
Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, tothe city of David, which is
called Bethlehem, because he wasof the house and family line of
David, to be registered, alongwith Mary, who was engaged to
him and was pregnant, and whilethey were there the time came
for her to give birth.
And then she gave birth to herfirstborn son and she wrapped
(00:42):
him tightly in cloth and laidhim in a manger because there
was no guest room available forthem.
I'm going to take a little walkbecause I forgot my clicker
while I tell a story, and thestory is that when I was a
missionary overseas many moonsago, one of the countries that
we were going to visit was inthe former Eastern Bloc on the
(01:09):
Black Sea.
It was not long after the fallof communism and the Orthodox
Church was gaining a lot ofinfluence in that country, as it
has in a lot of those countriesGreat that Christianity was
returning, but they consideredus, our ministry, to be a cult,
(01:30):
because we were basically anevangelical, not orthodox
ministry, and if you're notorthodox, you're not actually a
church in their theology.
So there was a real battle thatwent on while our advance
planning team went in there andtried to get permissions and in
the end we just couldn't.
We had to give up on going intothe particular port in that
(01:53):
country we were aiming for.
Meanwhile, in Muslim Turkey,there was a city there that was
holding an international bookfair and the ship I was on was
basically a floating bookshopand they were crying out for us
to go to their city.
And it was actually our secondturned into our second visit to
(02:15):
Turkey and I think that visitgot organised in record time and
we had a really fruitfulministry there.
You know, sometimes it can feellike we're just not in control
of the circumstances of our life.
The decisions other people aremaking, society around us is
(02:36):
making, just carry us along indirections we don't necessarily
want to go, and this isparticularly onerous in a
culture like ours thatemphasises individual autonomy,
which, when you think about it,is a little bit of a myth, but
that's what we value.
But, you know, there is one whoworks all things together for
(03:00):
the good of those who love him.
According to his plan, and asthe time of Jesus' birth
approached, we're reminded inLuke that Christ was born in a
society where people had verylittle control over their own
lives.
Well, in the case of the storytoday, it wasn't actually
(03:21):
anything particularly serious.
Joseph and Mary got caught up ina census under Caesar Augustus
and, like today, a census is notsomething you have a whole lot
of choice about.
Unlike today, a census usuallywas related to taxation rather
(03:42):
than planning.
But all the same, it was apretty standard event and in
fact, historians don't think itwas even a requirement for
people to travel to theirancestral home like Joseph did.
That's probably not what beingregistered in your own town
meant.
Registered in your own townmeant, and so it didn't need to
(04:03):
be so disruptive.
But apparently many Jews wantedto be registered in the place
where their heart belonged,their ancestral home.
I'm sure there's people herewho can relate to that.
And so Joseph went on a roadtrip to Bethlehem, the hometown
of his ancestor, king David, andhe took his heavily pregnant
wife, mary, with him.
Now people question whetherMary would have gone on a road
(04:27):
trip like this.
We're not talking a road tripin a car.
Of course the story has adonkey Whether there was
actually one, we don't know butwould such a pregnant woman have
made the two or three, threeday trip from Nazareth to
Bethlehem?
Well, we do need to be carefulin our society, or in any
(04:48):
society, when we judge the pastby the expectations of the
present.
My wife grew up in a culturewhere women sometimes went into
labor while they were working ina field.
So there's always a risk, ofcourse, and perhaps greater in
those circumstances.
But Mary traveling to Bethlehemis not as unlikely as you might
(05:13):
think.
Now, the popular nativityimages of Mary and Joseph alone
in a stable, with no help, andonly Joseph available to deliver
the baby.
In fact, it's quite possiblethat if Joseph wanted to be
registered in Bethlehem, so didother family members as well,
(05:36):
and they probably would havetravelled in a group.
In any case, they probablywould have travelled in a group
just for safety.
We'll come back to that in amoment.
The point is that this event gotMary and Jesus to the place he
needed to be in order to be born, the Messiah had to come from
(06:01):
Bethlehem, as was written in theprophets.
So Micah 5.2 says Bethlehem,ephrathah, you are small among
the clans of Judah.
One will come from you to beruler over Israel.
For me, his origin is fromantiquity, from ancient times.
For Jesus to come from anywhereelse would have meant that he
(06:21):
couldn't be the Messiah, and infact the Pharisees and other
religious leaders thought Jesuscame from Nazareth, and so they
argued he couldn't be theMessiah.
But God had so moved the eventsof history that it would happen
the way he'd foretold.
It would happen the way he'dforetold.
We may feel like we don't havecontrol over our own lives, but
(06:49):
for the one who is committed toGod and trusts in his power and
his plans, it's not such aproblem really, is it?
Well, the time came for Jesusto be born, and there's a lot of
myth that's arisen around thisparticular story.
Typically, mary rides intoBethlehem on a donkey.
(07:10):
There's no mention of a donkeyin the Bible, even though
there's a whole Christmas carolbuilt around it.
Joseph knocks on various doors,like we had portrayed today,
looking for somewhere to stay.
The inn is full, so they'rerelegated to a barn and then
poor Joseph is left to deliverthe baby by himself, at least in
the popular scenes.
Has anyone seen the new Netflixmovie about Jesus yet?
(07:32):
I'm kind of scared to watch it,so I was just curious.
Not a recommendation.
So Joseph's meant to bedelivering the baby by himself,
which goodness knows how all thewomen of Bethlehem would have
let that happen.
As I mentioned earlier, it seemsunlikely that Joseph and Mary
(07:54):
would have travelled toBethlehem alone, and there's
also the debate about whereJesus actually would have been
born.
It's unlikely that Joseph wouldpitch up in Bethlehem without a
plan, and in any case Bethlehemprobably wasn't big enough to
have an actual inn, like, youknow, a hotel or something motel
(08:16):
we'd think of it today.
And the word guest room doesn'tnecessarily mean an inn.
It can, but it can also mean aguest room in someone's house, a
village, probably not unlikeBethlehem but a lot more recent.
Most houses had space to keepan animal inside at night, so
(08:44):
it's altogether possible thatthey found accommodation in the
house, perhaps of a relative,but there was no space in the
guest room at being busy, soMary had to give birth in the
common area.
She probably had a little moreassistance than Joseph, who, I'm
sure, would have been shooedoff by the women anyway.
And then the manger would havebeen the perfect place to lay
(09:09):
Jesus, not really out of the wayactually, not normally where
you lay a baby, but not out ofthe way.
So we can only speculate.
But does that sound plausible?
Speculating is fun, but it'sreally not the point of the
(09:31):
story.
Is it Whether it was a barn orone of the living spaces, or a
cave out in the back, like someearly church fathers thought?
Luke highlights that Jesus wasborn in humble circumstances.
Mary couldn't even get a guestroom, and Jesus would later say
foxes have holes and birds havenests, but the son of man has
(09:53):
nowhere to lay his head, as itwas during his ministry.
So it was at the time of hisbirth.
It's an inauspicious beginningfor the Messiah and, as the
Gospel of John says, though theworld was made through him, the
world did not recognise him.
He came to that which was hisown, but his own did not receive
(10:16):
him.
We live in an age where peoplenot only crave autonomy, they
want to be captains of their ownship I don't know about you,
but my ship feels more like arowboat but they also cry out
for significance.
We all seek significance,whether it's in our society,
(10:38):
becoming Insta-famous or goingviral on TikTok or succeeding in
our career.
We want our lives to count forsomething, we want our lives to
be a big ship.
And when our lives don't countfor what we thought, what do we
do then?
If you're a bit older, like me,you might relate to that.
(10:59):
What do we do then?
Or maybe you sort of guess yourlife will never count for much,
not in the eyes of the worldanyway.
I recently heard an interviewwith journalist, award-winning
journalist, stan Grant, who saidthe principal of one of his
high schools when he was ateenager called him and the
other Aboriginal boys into hisoffice and told them they'd
(11:23):
never amount to anything, sothey may as well leave school
now.
I'm glad what is now?
Dr Grant didn't listen to thatprinciple, but what do you do if
that's society's attitudetowards you?
When we look at politicalmovements around the world, we
(11:47):
see one response to the loss ofsignificance and control over
our lives is the craving forstrongman leaders who we want to
sort of take control by proxyfor us.
I think, to take control byproxy for us.
I think we want them to help usfeel significant by making
(12:07):
something great again.
Should I put that on a cap?
Make something great again?
And of course that never leadsanywhere.
Good, but what did the one humanbeing in all of history who had
a say in the circumstances ofhis own birth because he was
also God what did he choose?
(12:28):
What did the one, the only onewho ever truly had a right to
the halls of power, what did hechoose?
He chose insignificance.
At his birth, he was laid in amanger.
His parents moved him back to atown, nazareth, of which, it
(12:52):
was said, can anything good comeout of Nazareth?
I had a friend from Sydney oncewho said the only good thing to
come out of Melbourne is theHume Highway.
But he didn't know Fletcher andChrissie.
Jesus' ministry was itinerantand when he died he died the
death of a slave and was laid ina borrowed tomb.
(13:17):
So what do you do with a Godlike that?
What do you do with a God whocould have revealed himself from
power and majesty and somepeople don't believe in him
because he doesn't revealhimself that way and instead
revealed his glory in the mosthumble and even ignominious
circumstances possible?
(13:39):
What do you do with a God whogave himself in life and death,
not in the quest for greatnessbut to make others great, and in
doing that he revealed whattrue freedom and significance is
.
What do you do with a God likethat, who calls us to abandon
(13:59):
everything and follow him?
Can we relate to a God likethat?
Could we identify with a Godlike that?
And then could we let go of thesearch for autonomy and
significance and find truefreedom and meaning in obedience
and service to that God and,through him, to other people?
(14:22):
I think Christmas teaches usthat even when things seem out
of our control, there is one whois still in control.
And you know, when we feel likenothing, we're in the company
of the Messiah himself.
In the same way, back when Iwas a missionary and God turned
(14:46):
something that was taken out ofour hands into something that
was part of his plan, when welet go of the need for control
and put ourselves into his hands, we find ourselves in the
middle of a much greater plan,the plan of a God who works out
everything for our good and forhis glory.
Luke, chapter 2, verse 1.
In those days a decree went outfrom Caesar Augustus that the
whole empire should beregistered.
This first registration tookplace while Quirinius was
governing Syria, so everyonewent to be registered, each to
his own town.
Joseph also went up from thetown of Nazareth in Galilee to
(00:21):
Judea, to the city of David,which is called Bethlehem, of
Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, tothe city of David, which is
called Bethlehem, because he wasof the house and family line of
David, to be registered, alongwith Mary, who was engaged to
him and was pregnant, and whilethey were there the time came
for her to give birth.
And then she gave birth to herfirstborn son and she wrapped
(00:42):
him tightly in cloth and laidhim in a manger because there
was no guest room available forthem.
I'm going to take a little walkbecause I forgot my clicker
while I tell a story, and thestory is that when I was a
missionary overseas many moonsago, one of the countries that
we were going to visit was inthe former Eastern Bloc on the
(01:09):
Black Sea.
It was not long after the fallof communism and the Orthodox
Church was gaining a lot ofinfluence in that country, as it
has in a lot of those countriesGreat that Christianity was
returning, but they consideredus, our ministry, to be a cult,
(01:30):
because we were basically anevangelical, not orthodox
ministry, and if you're notorthodox, you're not actually a
church in their theology.
So there was a real battle thatwent on while our advance
planning team went in there andtried to get permissions and in
the end we just couldn't.
We had to give up on going intothe particular port in that
(01:53):
country we were aiming for.
Meanwhile, in Muslim Turkey,there was a city there that was
holding an international bookfair and the ship I was on was
basically a floating bookshopand they were crying out for us
to go to their city.
And it was actually our secondturned into our second visit to
(02:15):
Turkey and I think that visitgot organised in record time and
we had a really fruitfulministry there.
You know, sometimes it can feellike we're just not in control
of the circumstances of our life.
The decisions other people aremaking, society around us is
(02:36):
making, just carry us along indirections we don't necessarily
want to go, and this isparticularly onerous in a
culture like ours thatemphasises individual autonomy,
which, when you think about it,is a little bit of a myth, but
that's what we value.
But, you know, there is one whoworks all things together for
(03:00):
the good of those who love him.
According to his plan, and asthe time of Jesus' birth
approached, we're reminded inLuke that Christ was born in a
society where people had verylittle control over their own
lives.
Well, in the case of the storytoday, it wasn't actually
(03:21):
anything particularly serious.
Joseph and Mary got caught up ina census under Caesar Augustus
and, like today, a census is notsomething you have a whole lot
of choice about.
Unlike today, a census usuallywas related to taxation rather
(03:42):
than planning.
But all the same, it was apretty standard event and in
fact, historians don't think itwas even a requirement for
people to travel to theirancestral home like Joseph did.
That's probably not what beingregistered in your own town
meant.
Registered in your own townmeant, and so it didn't need to
(04:03):
be so disruptive.
But apparently many Jews wantedto be registered in the place
where their heart belonged,their ancestral home.
I'm sure there's people herewho can relate to that.
And so Joseph went on a roadtrip to Bethlehem, the hometown
of his ancestor, king David, andhe took his heavily pregnant
wife, mary, with him.
Now people question whetherMary would have gone on a road
(04:27):
trip like this.
We're not talking a road tripin a car.
Of course the story has adonkey Whether there was
actually one, we don't know butwould such a pregnant woman have
made the two or three, threeday trip from Nazareth to
Bethlehem?
Well, we do need to be carefulin our society, or in any
(04:48):
society, when we judge the pastby the expectations of the
present.
My wife grew up in a culturewhere women sometimes went into
labor while they were working ina field.
So there's always a risk, ofcourse, and perhaps greater in
those circumstances.
But Mary traveling to Bethlehemis not as unlikely as you might
(05:13):
think.
Now, the popular nativityimages of Mary and Joseph alone
in a stable, with no help, andonly Joseph available to deliver
the baby.
In fact, it's quite possiblethat if Joseph wanted to be
registered in Bethlehem, so didother family members as well,
(05:36):
and they probably would havetravelled in a group.
In any case, they probablywould have travelled in a group
just for safety.
We'll come back to that in amoment.
The point is that this event gotMary and Jesus to the place he
needed to be in order to be born, the Messiah had to come from
(06:01):
Bethlehem, as was written in theprophets.
So Micah 5.2 says Bethlehem,ephrathah, you are small among
the clans of Judah.
One will come from you to beruler over Israel.
For me, his origin is fromantiquity, from ancient times.
For Jesus to come from anywhereelse would have meant that he
(06:21):
couldn't be the Messiah, and infact the Pharisees and other
religious leaders thought Jesuscame from Nazareth, and so they
argued he couldn't be theMessiah.
But God had so moved the eventsof history that it would happen
the way he'd foretold.
It would happen the way he'dforetold.
We may feel like we don't havecontrol over our own lives, but
(06:49):
for the one who is committed toGod and trusts in his power and
his plans, it's not such aproblem really, is it?
Well, the time came for Jesusto be born, and there's a lot of
myth that's arisen around thisparticular story.
Typically, mary rides intoBethlehem on a donkey.
(07:10):
There's no mention of a donkeyin the Bible, even though
there's a whole Christmas carolbuilt around it.
Joseph knocks on various doors,like we had portrayed today,
looking for somewhere to stay.
The inn is full, so they'rerelegated to a barn and then
poor Joseph is left to deliverthe baby by himself, at least in
the popular scenes.
Has anyone seen the new Netflixmovie about Jesus yet?
(07:32):
I'm kind of scared to watch it,so I was just curious.
Not a recommendation.
So Joseph's meant to bedelivering the baby by himself,
which goodness knows how all thewomen of Bethlehem would have
let that happen.
As I mentioned earlier, it seemsunlikely that Joseph and Mary
(07:54):
would have travelled toBethlehem alone, and there's
also the debate about whereJesus actually would have been
born.
It's unlikely that Joseph wouldpitch up in Bethlehem without a
plan, and in any case Bethlehemprobably wasn't big enough to
have an actual inn, like, youknow, a hotel or something motel
(08:16):
we'd think of it today.
And the word guest room doesn'tnecessarily mean an inn.
It can, but it can also mean aguest room in someone's house, a
village, probably not unlikeBethlehem but a lot more recent.
Most houses had space to keepan animal inside at night, so
(08:44):
it's altogether possible thatthey found accommodation in the
house, perhaps of a relative,but there was no space in the
guest room at being busy, soMary had to give birth in the
common area.
She probably had a little moreassistance than Joseph, who, I'm
sure, would have been shooedoff by the women anyway.
And then the manger would havebeen the perfect place to lay
(09:09):
Jesus, not really out of the wayactually, not normally where
you lay a baby, but not out ofthe way.
So we can only speculate.
But does that sound plausible?
Speculating is fun, but it'sreally not the point of the
(09:31):
story.
Is it Whether it was a barn orone of the living spaces, or a
cave out in the back, like someearly church fathers thought?
Luke highlights that Jesus wasborn in humble circumstances.
Mary couldn't even get a guestroom, and Jesus would later say
foxes have holes and birds havenests, but the son of man has
(09:53):
nowhere to lay his head, as itwas during his ministry.
So it was at the time of hisbirth.
It's an inauspicious beginningfor the Messiah and, as the
Gospel of John says, though theworld was made through him, the
world did not recognise him.
He came to that which was hisown, but his own did not receive
(10:16):
him.
We live in an age where peoplenot only crave autonomy, they
want to be captains of their ownship I don't know about you,
but my ship feels more like arowboat but they also cry out
for significance.
We all seek significance,whether it's in our society,
(10:38):
becoming Insta-famous or goingviral on TikTok or succeeding in
our career.
We want our lives to count forsomething, we want our lives to
be a big ship.
And when our lives don't countfor what we thought, what do we
do then?
If you're a bit older, like me,you might relate to that.
(10:59):
What do we do then?
Or maybe you sort of guess yourlife will never count for much,
not in the eyes of the worldanyway.
I recently heard an interviewwith journalist, award-winning
journalist, stan Grant, who saidthe principal of one of his
high schools when he was ateenager called him and the
other Aboriginal boys into hisoffice and told them they'd
(11:23):
never amount to anything, sothey may as well leave school
now.
I'm glad what is now?
Dr Grant didn't listen to thatprinciple, but what do you do if
that's society's attitudetowards you?
When we look at politicalmovements around the world, we
(11:47):
see one response to the loss ofsignificance and control over
our lives is the craving forstrongman leaders who we want to
sort of take control by proxyfor us.
I think, to take control byproxy for us.
I think we want them to help usfeel significant by making
(12:07):
something great again.
Should I put that on a cap?
Make something great again?
And of course that never leadsanywhere.
Good, but what did the one humanbeing in all of history who had
a say in the circumstances ofhis own birth because he was
also God what did he choose?
(12:28):
What did the one, the only onewho ever truly had a right to
the halls of power, what did hechoose?
He chose insignificance.
At his birth, he was laid in amanger.
His parents moved him back to atown, nazareth, of which, it
(12:52):
was said, can anything good comeout of Nazareth?
I had a friend from Sydney oncewho said the only good thing to
come out of Melbourne is theHume Highway.
But he didn't know Fletcher andChrissie.
Jesus' ministry was itinerantand when he died he died the
death of a slave and was laid ina borrowed tomb.
(13:17):
So what do you do with a Godlike that?
What do you do with a God whocould have revealed himself from
power and majesty and somepeople don't believe in him
because he doesn't revealhimself that way and instead
revealed his glory in the mosthumble and even ignominious
circumstances possible?
(13:39):
What do you do with a God whogave himself in life and death,
not in the quest for greatnessbut to make others great, and in
doing that he revealed whattrue freedom and significance is
.
What do you do with a God likethat, who calls us to abandon
(13:59):
everything and follow him?
Can we relate to a God likethat?
Could we identify with a Godlike that?
And then could we let go of thesearch for autonomy and
significance and find truefreedom and meaning in obedience
and service to that God and,through him, to other people?
(14:22):
I think Christmas teaches usthat even when things seem out
of our control, there is one whois still in control.
And you know, when we feel likenothing, we're in the company
of the Messiah himself.
In the same way, back when Iwas a missionary and God turned
(14:46):
something that was taken out ofour hands into something that
was part of his plan, when welet go of the need for control
and put ourselves into his hands, we find ourselves in the
middle of a much greater plan,the plan of a God who works out
everything for our good and forhis glory.
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