Disclaimer:
Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
Journey to Bethlehem – Part 3
Three weeks ago we began on this journey to Bethlehem by studying of the reasons for Mary and Joseph to begin their long and dangerous trip. Oh how hard it must have been on them to travel so many miles across mountainous and desert country while Mary rode on a donkey being jostled and tossed while nearing the end of her pregnancy.
This trip was no accident. Its timing was perfect and the circumstances that brought about this journey were designed by the Father in Heaven in the distant past so that Jesus would be born in the city of David, called Bethlehem and would begin the fulfillment of all prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah.
Last week we saw that Bethlehem was not prepared for the vast influx of so many travelers and that attitudes and tempers were running high against Rome for causing so much suffering and undue stress upon the people of Israel. There was little compassion for those in the inn who would not give up their space for Mary to have her child.
Those in the inn only paused their riotous living for a moment as Mary and Joseph stepped into the door. This has been the reception of Jesus to most people on earth who will only give him lip service or a quick glance. Then they will quickly reject Him and continue with their self-centered lifestyle.
Today we want to look at the birth of Jesus again, not from the point of view of a world that is bound in darkness and sin, not from the eyes of those who are spiritually blind, and not from the position of those who reject Him, but from Heaven’s perspective and from the eyes of those who were looking for Him and accepted the fact that this baby, born in Bethlehem in a stable, was no ordinary baby.
Jesus, the Creator of all things, the source of life, the Bread of Life, the Savior of the world was born under the most humble circumstances amidst the animals that He created and was only to be recognized for who He really was by very few.
The Father in Heaven chose to send His only Son to be born under the lowest of conditions, to be revealed to the least in the nation of Israel and to be sought out by Gentile Kings because He knew that Israel, as a whole, would reject the birth of His Son.
Luke 2:13-17, "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child."
Men did not realize that the greatest moment in all of human history had just taken place in the little town of Bethlehem – but all of Heaven knew it and there was great rejoicing. The time had finally, in course of eternity, when God would begin the process that would redeem man and retake possession of all of Creation that had been lost through the sin of Adam in the Garden.
The earth did not realize it, but in the spiritual realm, the angels of heaven rejoiced for they knew that the perfect sacrifice for sin had come and that God had chosen to pay the price for our redemption. At the same time, the forces of darkness kicked into high gear for Satan also knew that Jesus was destined to be the Savior and that He must be stopped at all costs.
As the Hosts of Angels descended around the hills of Bethlehem that night they were so full of joy and praise that they would not be contained only in the realm of the spirit world. Their song of praise and the glory of this moment should be shared with men who were to be the recipients of the sacrifice to come.
God is an unchanging God, forever the same. In His normal fashion, God chose to give the announcement of the birth of his Son to those of Israel who were considered as the lowest class of society with the least education, the least wealth and lowliest of work according to the eyes of man.
That night, on the hillsides outside of Bethlehem, there were shepherds tending their flocks. Shepherds were looked upon as low class by the rest of Israel. They were loners and social outcasts. It wasn’t often that these shepherds would go into town, only when it was necessary to get supplies.
It was these shepherds, whose example Jesus used so many times in describing Himself and His relationship to the church as the Great Shepherd, that were the first to see the glory of God manifest and hear the message of the gospel.
Finally, into a world of darkness, the Light had come. Finally, after so many centuries, the Redeemer of all mankind was born. Finally, into a world of chaos and bitter struggle the Prince of Peace had come and now the heart of man could be healed so that there would be good will one to another.
Outside of Christ there is no Peace or Good will! The world of Islam believes in Allah, who they claim is the same God that we worship, - but their Allah is not the Prince of Peace and does not promote good will for they are taught from the Koran that it is not only right but you are guaranteed eternal life if you kill in defense of Islam. Does that sound like a message of peace or good will?
The world of Buddhism, Taoism and other far eastern religions claim to be religions of peace and good will but they also teach that you must defend yourself and your faith at all costs. People under their banner of oppression are under complete control of those who are considered priests. They suffer greatly if they are disobedient. Does that sound like a message of peace or good will?
There is no religion outside of Christianity that teaches peace and good will like Jesus does. There is no real peace without a personal relationship with the Prince of Peace and there is no good will without the knowledge of the only “good” man. There is only one man who can be described as good – the Lord Jesus Christ!
The lowly shepherds reminds me that God has chosen the lesser things of this world to bring forth the message of the gospel in such a way that only God can receive the glory. Churches are considered as something only to be tolerated by the politicians and financial wizards of the world. Ministers, or those who are radical for Christ are considered out of touch with reality and looked upon as misguided, uneducated, prudish, novices who don’t have a clue.
If you walk with the Lord you will never fit into the mold of this world and you will never be totally accepted by them. Your friends may sometimes respect your views, they may tolerate your views, they may ask you questions, they may pay you lip service but they will never be a part of your world until they surrender totally to Christ. If you hang around them much, you will be the one brought down to their level. We must live different and be different because we are different. This world isn’t our home. Our home is in glory with the Lord and with those same angels that announced His birth to the shepherds so long ago.
Along with the shepherds, the low class of society, God also chose to reveal the coming of the Savior to the Gentiles through the Kings that traveled from the Far East.
Matthew 2:10-12, "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way."
In reading the story of the 3 Wise Men, or Kings of the East, I am reminded of the statements of Jesus when he says in Matthew 7:7-8, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." He repeats this again in Luke 11:9.
God will always reach out to a hungry heart. He will always reveal Himself to those who are searching for real truth and who are knocking at the door of Heaven trying to reach God.
God knew that his chosen people, Israel, would reject Him, but would be accepted by the Gentiles, and so He began to reveal Himself through the astronomers.
We have been studying the message of the gospel that God put into the stars at the beginning of creation so that His story could be told long before the days of books and written history. Each of the constellations tell a part of his story from the birth of Jesus in the constellation Virgo to the Coming of the Lord in triumph as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in the constellation Leo.
We read of the star that shone forth in the sky at the time of Christ’s birth and that astronomers have determined that it burst forth at that very time and then faded away.
Some legends say that, as the Wise Men reached Bethlehem and looked down into a well to draw water, that the reflection of the star was centered in the deep well, letting them know that this was the exact spot to find the King that was born.
Another legend says that, as the wise men approached the stable where the baby lay, a comet flew across the sky over his head and that is this is also the source of the ancient paintings that show a halo over the head of Baby Jesus.
Still another story is that the wise men didn’t even find Jesus until He was two years old because it took them two years to follow the star from their homeland to Bethlehem and eventually to Nazareth where Jesus was at that time because the scripture says that they found him in a house, not a stable, that he was a child, not a baby any longer and that Herod killed all the male children 2 years old and under because it was unclear to him how old the child really was.
Regardless of how it all happened, God revealed the coming of the savior to those hungry hearts of the wise men because they sought Him and desired to know Him.
My hope is that all of us would have the same hunger, the same desire and be willing to do whatever would could to know the Lord Jesus as our Savior.
The wise men gave Jesus gifts of gold, represented the riches of His grace and the wealth of his glory as King of Heaven; frankincense - one of the ingredients in the perfume of the sanctuary used as an accompaniment of the meat-offering and became a symbol of prayer; and myrrh - a principal ingredient in the holy anointing oil, used in embalming, and to give those who were condemned to death by crucifixion as a powerful tranquilizer and to relief the pain.
After presenting their gifts and bowing down in worship before Jesus, these wise men heard the voice of God and left by a different route than they had come to avoid contact with King Herod.
In closing I want to comment on this final scene of our journey to Bethlehem series.
God may choose those of low estate or those who the religious world rejects to be the bearers of His great message of salvation. Those men and women who choose to believe in Him and follow Him are instantly made much wiser by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
I would dare say that our teenagers, who have been filled with the Holy Ghost, and who have begun to walk with the Lord and study the Word of God are wiser than most of the learned men of our educational institutions. They knew why they are here. They know where they are going. They know where they came from. They know why the world is in turmoil and most important, they know the true answer to all the world’s problems.
The wise men gave Jesus gifts that revealed His true nature and purpose for coming into this world of sorrow and death. Jesus came that we may have life more abundantly. He came as God in the flesh, to die as the meat offering or the blood sacrifice for our sin, and to die upon the cross of crucifixion for you and I.
The only gift you can give to Him is the gift of your heart. Give yourself to Him and allow Jesus to be the Prince of Peace and the creator of good will in your life right now.
If you know the Lord as your Savior, you have already discovered the true meaning of Christmas and you know that the real glory and joy of Christmas is found in the love of God that is manifest in your heart for both God and man.
If you don’t know Jesus as the Lord of your life, then you have missed the real Peace and Joy of the Season. Give your heart and life to Christ this morning. Make that baby, born in a manger the Lord or your Life. Allow the sacrifice of his blood upon the Cross to wash away your sin and give you eternal life.
That’s when your journey to Bethlehem will really be completed!
