Did You Know?

”In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. Then she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him snugly in cloth and laid Him in a feeding trough — because there was no room for them at the lodging place.“ (Luke 2:1-7 HCSB)

A few years ago, Mark Lowry wrote (with Buddy Greene) and recorded what has become a Christmas classic, “Mary, did you know?” In it, he asks the question of just how much Mary knew and understood about the child she birthed. (You can watch a recording of it here, if you’re not familiar with it. Though I really can’t imagine that: https://youtu.be/bXmfkFoX-PE) Luke doesn’t tell us just how much Mary understood but he does tell us that she treasured “these things” in her heart and meditated on them.

If anyone knew that Jesus was more than a mere mortal, Mary knew. She knew whether His conception was a miracle or not. A young Jewish girl from a tiny rural village in a backwoods section of Judea is chosen by God the Father to be the one who would carry, birth, love and nurture the very Son of God? It seems ludicrous, but it fits with the rest of the Biblical story. God always seems to choose the most unlikely person to be His representative or to carry out His plan.

Honestly, I can’t answer the questions Lowry’s song asks. But I have a better question: How much do YOU know about the baby born that first Christmas night? Did you know He walked on water. Did you know He healed a blind man? Did you know He calmed a storm with His hand. Better yet, do you know Him? Because that’s the invitation we’re given. We’re not invited just to know about Him, but to know Him. To be in intimate relationship with Him. Why? Because in Him is life and that life is the light of men.

”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.“ (John 1:1-5 HCSB)

In some ways, I think our doubts and questions may be more in line with Joseph. As I mentioned, Mary would have known whether the conception and birth of Jesus was truly miraculous. But Jospeh had to trust the word of the angel and Mary. He didn’t have direct knowledge of a miracle, only faith in the message of God and trust in the honesty of Mary. He knew the child wasn’t his, but could He trust God that the child was His? Talk about difficult faith.

In like fashion, we don’t have direct knowledge of the miracles surrounding Jesus and must rely on just the word of witnesses. Last week, we considered the promises of God for a savior from the prophecy of Isaiah. We looked at whether a savior is even needed and I stated that we are incapable of saving ourselves. Sin is the ever present problem in our lives. Some will argue that sin is just a religious concept to invoke guilt and justify the need for religious belief and a savior. A fable used to support and justify religious power and oppression. Yet, our selfish desires are the very driving force behind the problems our world faces on a daily basis. Yet, message of Jesus is not one of religious power and oppressive guilt but of self sacrifice, service to others, forgiveness and spiritual freedom.

So, let’s step back into the story and see what it tells us…

Caesar Augustus had called for a census to be taken, so Joseph and Mary had to make the trek to Bethlehem from Nazareth. The distance is roughly 90 miles and would likely have taken 4 or 5 days to make the journey, on average. Not surprisingly, there was insufficient room to handle all of the housing needs during their stay in Bethlehem. As a result, Mary’s miracle baby was born in a lowly stable, wrapped snuggly in a swaddling cloth and slept on a bed of hay in a manger. The inn keeper always seems to get a bad rap about this situation, but I think that’s just our cultural norms speaking. If anything, he provided them with what he had and it was far better than a shrug and a door slammed in their faces in this situation.

Before you make any judgements about the inn keeper, ask yourself what you’ve done for Him, lately.

Luke’s story doesn’t end there. He tells us that there were shepherds in the fields nearby watching over their flocks. For those who don’t know, Bethlehem has always been surrounded by flocks of sheep. This is the city of David, his hometown. The famous shepherd of Israel who defeated the Phillistine giant, Goliath. He went on to become the shepherd-king of Israel and its poet-laureate and the great, great, great, great (you get it) grandfather of the Joseph in this story.

Not far from the small town of Bethlehem was a location called “Migdal Eder” which is translated “watchtower for the flock.” In fact, it was where the “official” unblemished lambs used as sacrifices for the Temple in Jerusalem were born, raised and kept. The location dates far back into Israel’s past. In Genesis 35, Jacob’s wife Rachel, whose name means “ewe – lamb or sheep”, was buried at Migdal Eder. In addition, the prophet Micah (4:8) foretold that a king would come to Migdal Eder – the stronghold of the flock – and would rule over the true Israel, those whom He gathered or called back to Himself.

”On that day — this is the Lord’s declaration — I will assemble the lame and gather the scattered, those I have injured. I will make the lame into a remnant, those far removed into a strong nation. Then the Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion from this time on and forever. And you, watchtower for the flock, fortified hill of Daughter Zion, the former rule will come to you, sovereignty will come to Daughter Jerusalem.“ (Micah 4:6-8 HCSB)

So, the shepherds of Migdal Eder were watching over their flocks of unblemished sacrificial lambs when the angel of the LORD suddenly stood before them and God’s magnificent glory surrounded them. To say they were frightened is an understatement. They were TERRIFIED! He tried to reassure them, “Don’t be afraid. Look, I bring to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today a Savior, who is Messiah the LORD, was born for you in the city of David. This will be a sign for you: You will find the baby wrapped in a swaddling cloth and lying in a feeding trough (manger).” In essence, the shepherds were told where they could find God’s perfect, unblemished lamb that had come to sacrifice Himself for man’s salvation. The shepherds rushed off looking for this baby, the promised Messiah, who would save them from their sin.

Isn’t it fascinating that the birth of the Messiah was announced to these shepherds and not the Hight Priest. God also chose a young, poor Jewish maiden and her simple tradesman husband, to birth, raise, teach and care for His Son. Jesus chose His disciples from among the fishermen, tax collectors, zealots and tradesmen in a similar way. The scriptures are filled with stories of God using unexpected and unusual people to walk with Him, to do His will and to achieve His purpose. His choice of servant often doesn’t align with our expectations. He constantly surprises me. How about you?

What’s my point? God chooses to use people whose heart aligns with Him and His purpose. Whether He chooses to use you will depend on the same thing. Do you seek Him and His will in your life?

Then Luke tells us that the shepherds didn’t just hear the angels, but they also sought out, found and verified the things they were told. They found Mary and Joseph, and the baby wrapped tightly in swaddling cloth and lying in a feeding trough just as the angel had told them. “Then they reported the message they were told about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.” These shepherds are now on a mission. God has made these things known to them, and they are going to make sure everyone else knows, too. They have first hand knowledge of what God has done and they want everyone else to know!

When something like this happens to you, you don’t keep it to yourself. You tell everyone what has happened to you, what you’ve seen and what you know.

In the past, I’ve compared this idea of sharing what Jesus has done in our lives with discovering some great new place to eat. Where can I get the best barbecue around here? Oh man, there’s this great place across town or up the highway about 15 miles. You’ve gotta go try it. It’s fantastic. Let me tell you, I recognize that I’ve done a HUGE disservice to the gospel using that comparison. This ISN’T anything like that!

Discovering who Jesus is and what He’s done is so life altering it is like nothing else this world has ever known. This isn’t some new fad or trend, this is life or death. This isn’t some lame Super Bowl commercial level stuff, this is ANGEL from the throne of God ANNOUNCEMENT kind of stuff! This isn’t big, this is EPIC!

You see, we’ve turned the message of Jesus into something it was never meant to be – mundane, boring and common. Jesus didn’t come to make us moral, loving, caring and forgiving people. He came to give us LIFE! We aren’t just broken, immoral, sinful people who make bad, selfish choices, we are dead people who need life. We’ve either forgotten this or never realized it in the first place. Jesus didn’t come to make our lives better, He came to make our lives NEW.

That’s an announcement worth sharing, isn’t it?

The shepherds went back to work, glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard, JUST AS THEY HAD BEEN TOLD. In other words, God did what He promised. They recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah who had come to bring them life. Let me rewind, just a bit… That’s exactly how John describes Jesus’ birth:

”Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.“ (John 1:4-5 HCSB)

Jesus is life and light and life without Him is empty and dark. That’s worth sharing… go tell someone about Him! That’s the message and gift of CHRISTmas!

The real Christmas present is Christ’s life-giving presence.