Merry Christmas!

Even if you aren’t very familiar with church, you have probably heard the story of Christ's birth found in the Gospel of Luke chapter 2, complete with Mary, Joseph, the city of Bethlehem, some shepherds, and a host of angels.

We've heard these words at a Christmas play or perhaps Linus' moving recitation of it on the Charlie Brown Christmas movie.

When we read the story, the main characters emerge. The young women, Mary, was chosen by God, to bear the Savior of the universe. She was engaged to a man named Joseph. He was a descendent of King David, and while she was great with child, the Roman ruler demanded that husband and her young fiancé travel from their home in Nazareth down to his family’s hometown of Bethlehem.

The journey, no doubt, left Mary increasingly weary as she trekked those dusty miles to the south. After they arrived in Bethlehem, the pains of childbirth began. They knew the baby was coming soon.

In Bethlehem the accommodations for travelers weren’t high class. The Inn of this day, especially in a town that size, was quite a crude arrangement. Typically, it was a series of stalls built on the inside of an enclosure that opened onto a common yard where the animals were kept. All the innkeeper would provide would be some hay or feed for the animals and a fire for cooking.

Despite the chaos, the dusty streets, the grimy stable, and the weary couple, the Savior of the universe was entering our world that night. The God of the universe came down to be one of us.

I want to look at two different responses to Jesus’ birth here in this passage. One is mentioned in passing, and one boldly proclaimed.

We will see the difference in the two, and also the warning and encouragement that comes from it. Through it all, how will you respond to Savior born that night?

The City of Bethlehem's Response

At the end of verse 7, we see a little phrase that has always stuck with me, “because there was no room for them at the inn.”  It mentioned in passing really, and we don’t know the details of the scene, but suffice it to say the city of Bethlehem, this inn had no room for Jesus that night.

While we don’t want to cast too much shame on this innkeeper, an angel didn’t appeared to him and reveal that Christ was in his midst. But, this short phrase shows us something very significant: We can be in the presence of the Son of God and totally miss it.

Could it be the busyness of life? I’m sure the innkeeper was quite busy that evening in Bethlehem. He had NOT prepared room for the Savior. He did not realize who had come to his Inn that evening. It wasn’t just pregnant young lady and her husband, but the God of the universe, the Savior of the World.

 Are you prepared for the Savior to show up in your life? Have you let the busyness of life, the hustle and bustle around you cause you to lose sight of God’s presence and power? Don’t be like the innkeeper and the city of Bethlehem that night. Make room in your life for the Savior.

The Shepherd's Response

Look at how the Shepherd's respond to the Messiah.

Luke 2:15-18, 20:

¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they went with hasteand found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they saw it,they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

Verse 20 adds- ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Look at their response. They didn’t just sit and ponder this information. They took action. God had revealed himself through the angel’s words, and the shepherds ran, they went with haste, they went with urgency to see the savior.

Not only that, but they proclaimed this good news to others. Can you imagine these shepherds running through town and shouting the good news of the Messiah? What excitement, what a scene that must have been.

How will you respond to Christ who came to earth? How will you respond to the good news of Christmas?

I want to leave you with one warning and one encouragement-

One Warning and One Encouragement

• Jesus has come and He rules, whether you are prepared or not.

In spite of the lack of room in Bethlehem, Christ still came. God’s plan still worked to perfection. No human power or lack of response will hold back the power and plan of God.

The question becomes, are you prepared?

Unlike the innkeeper, unlike the city of Bethlehem Christ has prepared a place for his people. Jesus has prepared a place for lost and broken sinners to be with him forever. Just before he left the earth, Jesus said in John 14:2-3: 

² In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Jesus is the true and better innkeeper. He makes room for lost and broken people; he saves us and brings us into his family.

If you are struggling in life and discouraged tonight, Remember this:

• If God can show up in a stable in Bethlehem, he can show up anywhere.

We cannot forget that the Son of God who came from Heaven was born on this night. Obviously, God knew and even ordained all that would happen. Think about that. What does that show us about God? He could have chosen to bring Christ into the world any way imaginable, but He chose that the Savior would come into the world in an over-crowded small town in a dirty and grimy stable.  

God meets us in the mess of our lives. He takes seemingly bad situations and uses them for his good and his Glory.

Always remember that we have a Savior, who rules over the universe, but loved us enough to come down into the mess and brokenness of this world, to save lost and broken sinners. It was all part of his grand plan.

May the baby we celebrate at Christmas be more than just a manger scene for us. I pray we see the truth and glory of the Son of God who came down to earth to save the world.

May you know our Savior better this Christmas as you celebrate His birth. 

Pastor Sam