November 3, 2024
Luke 2:1-7
“A Birth Like No Other”
These first seven verses of chapter two are packed with details that move salvation history forward.
The birth of Jesus Christ is set during a time in real history.
The birth of Jesus Christ is set in a real city in a real world.
The birth of Jesus Christ takes place in the simple dwelling of simple people.
The birth of Jesus Christ concludes a miraculous pregnancy.
So the birth of Jesus takes place within a real historical setting, in a real city, in a simple home, concluding a miraculous pregnancy. This is real life.
Let’s now read Luke 2:1-7:
“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”
These are very familiar words. Sometimes things are so familiar we make assumptions about them that aren’t true. And then, sometimes things are
so familiar, we think the things we understand are all there is to understand. Do you understand? This is a very familiar story with very familiar words. With the profoundest of meaning.
If you ask the average non-believer or marginal believer about the story of Christmas, they most likely will know some of the basics found here in Luke. Who hasn’t seen A Charlie Brown Christmas at least once? In A Charlie Brown Christmas, who played the innkeeper’s wife? Right…Frieda. She was not thrilled to learn Pigpen was to play the innkeeper. For bragging rights, was there an innkeeper or an innkeeper’s wife? Absolutely not. In fact, there was no inn. More on that later.
As I said at the beginning of our series on Luke, I liked the idea on preaching the birth narrative before the holiday season. It helps prepare us for the truth about Christmas before all the clutter of the season…partying and decorating and gift-buying and social events of every kind. We don’t want to miss the main points. We want to celebrate the birth of Jesus with the correct understanding of all the events surrounding it. The truth is so beautiful, it doesn’t need embellishment.
The narrative immediately places the birth under Roman rule. In straightforward language, Luke tells us who the Roman ruler was and what rule had to be followed.
Back in chapter one, the rule of Herod served as the chronological marker for the birth of John the Baptist. Here, in chapter two, Caesar Augustus serves as the chronological marker for the birth of Jesus. That’s important. Remember the trajectory of God’s salvation history. His sovereign purpose continues its march, regardless of who’s in charge or the circumstances of life. God’s sovereign will is neither thwarted nor given direction by situation or circumstance.
Luke mentions Herod, and then Caesar, and then Quirinius. It’s a chain of command. It fixes Jesus’ birth in a place of often oppressive and despotic rule. As we move forward, here’s something worth remembering:
LUKE BEGINS AND ENDS WITH THE ROMANS DOING TWO THINGS MOST HATED BY THEIR SUBJECTS: TAXATION AND CRUCIFIXION.
In verse one, Luke says Joseph had to go to Bethlehem to be registered. What were people required to register for? It was for the tax lists. The word for “register” means literally for men to write their names, their property, and income into the public record. Most people didn’t like doing it. But they complied, because Caesar had quite an impressive army for enforcement. As a wise person once said, “The government is just a business with no incentive to deliver agreed upon services because their customers pay them under the threat of incarceration.”
When it comes to taxation, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Luke pins Jesus’ birth right in the midst of this sin-sick system. People didn’t like it then, and people don’t like it now. Rome back then, like our Federal government today, was insatiable. It was a voracious beast, just like today. One thing I don’t like about politicians today is the use of the envy-based trope…rich people need to pay their fair share. Well, who decides who is rich and who decides what their fair share is? As American economist Murray Rothbard once said, “There can be no such thing as ‘Fairness in Taxation.’ Taxation is nothing but organized theft, and the concept of a ‘Fair Tax’ is therefore every bit as absurd as that of ‘Fair Theft.’” How long do you think the federal government could be funded if the wealthiest 1% were taxed 100% of their wealth? Less than a year. So there you go.
Joseph had to travel an inconvenient distance for the privilege of paying Caesar his due. And it was always an unfair amount. You see, then, as well as now, the issue is always government spending and wasting too much of people’s money. And lest you think I’m only anti-Caesar, in all fairness, when it comes to taxes, I am also anti-Democrat and anti-Republican. As I’ve always said, the only difference between a Democrat and a Republican is that both want to spend your money, only Republicans want to spend it at a slower rate. They all burn through it. They’re like addicted gamblers playing with someone else’s money.
Caesar was no different. And so Joseph goes to Bethlehem.
Did you know that the census is mentioned four times by Luke? Four times. Luke wants us to understand two things.
First, Caesar has worldwide authority. His authority is contrasted with the story of a newborn child laid in an animal’s feeding trough. This child, in the shadow of Caesar’s authority, is declared to be the Savior, Christ, and Lord. That’s a bigger deal than Caesar. Especially when you consider that Caesar’s title was self-proclaimed, while the glory of Jesus Christ was declared by an angel of God.
The second thing we understand is how God uses an oblivious Caesar to accomplish his divine purpose so that a child will be born in Bethlehem. Remember the trajectory of God’s salvation history. As Micah 5:2 says:
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel,whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”
God uses the registration ordered by Caesar for the fulfillment of His will.
Luke sees intentionality in the story. He understands what God is saying.
There’s deep meaning in these simple events. And what’s driving me crazy right now is that I had hoped to move efficiently through these early chapters of Luke. But I can’t. To help us move forward, here’s something you might want to write down:
GOD CHOOSES TO VISIT HIS PEOPLE IN THE MIDST OF POVERTY AND POWERLESSNESS, IN A MANGER AND AMONG SHEPHERDS.
Hence the importance of detailing Caesar and why Luke drops taxation into the conversation.
Jesus was born into a world governed by ruthlessness. Rome enforced a well-organized system of taxation. Caesar exercised social control over his people. And Jesus came to turn all that on its head.
I love how one author puts it:
“The child born in Bethlehem to parents subjected to Roman tyranny will ultimately challenge the existing political order and create an astonishing reversal of authority and power, not through violence, but through obedience to God and the giving of his life.”
David E. Garland
So, here we are, fifty-two days before Christmas, laying the groundwork
for a clear understanding of God’s salvation history. What we’ve looked at today was the world setting. Already, in two verses, we’ve seen God’s sovereign will at work in the lives of believers and unbelievers alike. A young couple embark on a miserable trip. The woman is far from family, far from the comforts of home, far from the people who know her and love her, about to have a baby on the road, in an obscure place. We can’t imagine what it was like.
What we can imagine is that is was part of God’s salvation history. Nothing happens by accident. No matter what happened…regardless of what they experienced or went through…they knew all was well because every single detail was part of God’s sovereign will. God holds all things in His hands for His own purposes.
So there’s the world setting. Next week, we’ll look at whether there really was no place for them in the inn.
Let’s pray:
HEAVENLY FATHER, THANK YOU FOR WORKING IN THE LIVES OF
PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW YOU. YOU ACCOMPLISH YOUR PURPOSES NO MATTER WHAT. WE GIVE YOU THE GLORY AND HONOR AND PRAISE. WE HAVE COME TO KNOW OF YOUR LOVE AND MERCY THROUGH YOUR SALVATION HISTORY. YOU ARE OUR PERSONAL GOD. YOU LOVE US. YOU BLESS US. YOU FORGIVE US. YOU FILL US WITH PEACE AND HOPE AND JOY. YOU HAVE GIVEN US THE PROMISE OF ETERNAL BLISS WITH YOU. THANK YOU THAT WE CAN WORSHIP THE SOVEREIGN GOD OF HISTORY. THANK YOU FOR THE MOST MONUMENTAL MOMENT IN HISTORY WHEN JESUS WAS BORN. HE IS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR. HE WAS BORN TO SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS. IN HIS NAME WE PRAY. AMEN.
Bình luận