The Birth of Jesus

Today on Renewing Your Mind… And welcome to Renewing Your Mind.

I'm Lee Webb. We're studying the Gospel of Luke with Dr. R.C. Sproul this week, and we've reached one of the most magnificent passages in all of Scripture, the birth narrative of Jesus. As we study today, we have the great privilege of joining the shepherds and witnessing the heavens open as the choir of angels sing glory to God. Here's Dr. Sproul.

Sproul. The first thing we see about Luke's narrative is found in the opening words. He begins his account by saying, And it came to pass. And then he goes on to speak of the activity of the emperor of the Roman Empire, and of Quirinius, the governor of Syria, real people in real places in real history.

This story does not begin with the words, with the words, once upon a time, because this is no fairy tale. This is sober history announcing the entrance into this world of our Savior. And so Luke sets his narrative squarely in the context of real history.

And it came to pass, he says, in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This story in this narrative, friends, is about three kings. One of those kings sits on the throne as the ruler and emperor of the greatest power on the face of the earth in Rome.

The second king sits not on a throne, but is wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in the manger. This little king is the King of Kings. He rules over the king in Rome. And it's about the eternal King, the Lord God omnipotent, who reigns from the moment of His work of creation to the moment of His fulfillment of His cosmos.

He is the great King who reigns over all things. And so the story approximately speaks of an earthly decree that is issued and executed by the emperor in Rome. But that emperor in Rome issues this decree that all return to their home cities to be registered for the census in order to be taxed by imperial Rome. This decree is done in obedience to a decree that took place much earlier, even in eternity, when God decreed that His Son would come into this world to do His work of redemption for His people, and that He be born at a specific time in the fullness of time, at a specific place in the village of Bethlehem for a specific mission to save His people from their sins. Caesar Augustus celebrated the memory of his great uncle Julius, took it upon himself to build a temple in his honor, acknowledging the deity of Julius Caesar.

What a foolish mistake that was. The only deity within the confines of the Roman Empire, again, was to be found in the manger in Bethlehem. But in obedience to the decree of Caesar Augustus, Joseph left his home of Nazareth and Galilee, and he went up into Judea to the city of David that is called Bethlehem. He did this because he was a descendant of the line of David, and he brought his wife with him. This also had been decreed from all eternity that the babe be born in Bethlehem, as Micah had announced centuries before, that thou Bethlehem Ephrata, thou thou be small among the princes of Judah, yet out of view will come the One whom God has anointed.

And so it was. Days were fulfilled for her to be delivered, and she brought forth her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling cloths, laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. The entrance of Jesus into this world is against the backdrop of humiliation, humiliation in His entrance into the world, humiliation in His exit from the world. However, at that very moment when the babe is wrapped in the cloth of humiliation, the Father God is not satisfied that the circumstances of the birth of His Son be only in terms of humiliation but must also be accompanied with exaltation, that that shame must be balanced with glory, not in the manger, not in the cave or the stable where they were, but on the outskirts of the village.

Out in the fields were the lowest evaluated people of the land. The shepherds were keeping their flocks at night. And so out there on the plains where the sheep were being watched that night, it was quiet.

It really was a silent night. And then suddenly an angel from heaven appeared to whatever shepherds were awake at the moment. The angel of the Lord stood before them, and the angel was accompanied with the glory of God. The glory of the Lord shone around them. Every time I read that in the Bible throughout the Old Testament, any time there is a theophany, an outward visible manifestation of the invisible God, almost every time we see that accompanied by the presence of the Shekinah. The Shekinah was the blazing, refulgent, blinding glory of God Himself, that when that glory was visible on this planet, people hid their eyes from it.

They were overwhelmed by it. They were driven to their knees in front of it, because there was nothing in nature that could compare to the Shekinah glory of God. But there are these shepherds tending their flocks, taking their naps, suddenly are interrupted by the angel of the Lord who was bathed in the Shekinah glory right before their eyes. And those who were asleep before the angel appeared did not stay asleep. We can be certain of that, that they were roused immediately from their slumbers to take part in this sound and light show that filled the plain. Luke gives us this notation, that when the Shekinah glory appeared, that the shepherds were greatly afraid.

I like the old King James. They were sore afraid, because it's one thing to be afraid, but it's quite another to be sore afraid. When you are sore afraid, beloved, you are afraid. You are afraid like you've never been afraid in your whole life. Who wouldn't be trembling in fear at the manifestation of the glory of God at that moment?

The angel speaks the negative prohibition that is the most frequently uttered negative prohibition in the New Testament that comes from on high. Fear not. Don't be afraid. It seems almost in the New Testament record of the life of Jesus that every time He came into the presence of His disciples, He instead of saying, peace be with you, or hello, or good morning, or good afternoon, He would have to say, don't be afraid because nothing is more common for fallen creatures than to be terrified in the presence of God.

And every time I hear this negative prohibition, don't be afraid. I can't help but think of my days of teaching philosophy and in teaching nineteenth-century philosophy, having had the unenviable task of teaching the work and writings of Friedrich Nietzsche, the existential nihilist who said that there is no meaning to life. Everything is an exercise in futility. All there is at the end of the day is das Nietzsche, nothingness. And at the same time, how Nietzsche in his biological heroism called for the superman, the übermensch, to demonstrate what he called dialectical courage.

He said the superman is the man who builds his house on the slope of Vesuvius. He sends his ship in the uncharted seas. He's afraid of nothing. He's defiant. He challenges this meaningless world in which he lives, and he lives his life in the spirit of what Nietzsche called dialectical courage. Dialectical courage. What in the world is dialectical courage? Well, what Nietzsche meant by that was this. Dialectical courage is contradictory courage. It's irrational courage. And he would say, life is meaningless. Be courageous, even though your courage is equally meaningless.

That is, he could give no sound reason for inviting anyone to be courageous, anyone to be fearless. Not so in the New Testament. Jesus says to His followers, be of good cheer. Life is meaningless? No. Be of good cheer, have dialectical joy?

No. He gave a reason for that command. Be of good cheer, Jesus said, for I have overcome the world. And long before He said those words, the angels give a reason here. The angels said, don't be afraid.

Why not? Because I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. Don't be afraid because there is born to you, to us, to the shepherds. The angel says there is born to you. Unto you a child is born. Unto you despised shepherds a son is given. Unto you this day is born in the city of David, a soter, a Savior.

Don't be afraid because this is the birthday of the One who will save you. This is the day your Savior is born. And not only is He Savior, but He's Christ the Lord. And the shepherds understood the meaning of the word Christ, was the New Testament translation of the Old Testament word for Messiah. Today your Savior is born. Today the Messiah is born. Today your Lord is born in Bethlehem, and this will be the sign. You must go and look. Look.

See the sign because the sign is significant. You're going to find a baby wrapped in cheap cloth, not on a throne but in a manger. And no sooner had the angel said that than instantly there was beside this single messenger from heaven this angel, perhaps even Gabriel again. He is surrounded by the entire heavenly host. There was with the angel a multitude of that army of angels that inhabit heaven and surround the presence of our eternal God. And now it's not Zacharias who's singing. It's not Mary who's singing. It's the angels who bring a chorus from heaven saying, glory, dokse, glory, augustness to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

This was the first singing of the Gloria in excelsis Deo. And so it was, Luke tells us, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven that the shepherds began to speak one another. Did you see that?

Did you hear that? To hear the heavens open in that choir of angels singing the Gloria. What are we doing standing here?

Let's go right now. Let us now go even unto Bethlehem. Let's see this sign that the angel has just announced. And so they came with haste, and they found Mary, and they found Joseph. But beloved, they weren't coming to see Mary.

They weren't coming to pay homage to Joseph. They were coming to see the babe that was lying in the manger. And once they had seen him, they made widely known the saying that was told them concerning this child, widely known. They told every single person they knew. They didn't just try to live a good life after that and have people come up to them and say, what's changed you from a sin-blistered soul into a valorous saint?

They didn't just do evangelism by example. They opened their mouths. They told everyone what they heard and what they saw. And everyone who heard it marveled at the things that were told them by the shepherds. You know, you wonder how long they marveled.

You wondered how long the excitement lasted, the duration of their zeal and happiness from their experience, which had to be a converting experience. Maybe every Christmas they made mention of it, not Mary. Mary kept these things. Everything that she saw, everything that she heard, she kept it and pondered it in her heart. Eight days later when she took the child to the temple for circumcision, she pondered that.

When the boy was twelve and confounded the doctors in the temple, she pondered that. Every night that she tucked her son into bed, she pondered these things and pondered them and pondered them till that day she stood at the foot of a cross and watched Him die. She pondered that until Sunday morning came, and He arose, not in humility, not in shame, not in disgrace, but in glory, in triumph, in exaltation. And the shepherds left doing two things, praising God and glorifying Him for everything they heard and everything they had seen.

That's the lot of the Christian. To give glory and honor, dominion and power and praise, we join the angels saying, worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive the fullness of the glory of God. That's Christmas. What a beautiful exclamation point on our celebration today. We're glad you've joined us for Renewing Your Mind as we lift up and honor the name of Jesus on this Christmas day.

Dr. R.C. Sproul's message today comes from his series from the Gospel of Luke. When you contact us with a donation of any amount, we'd like to send you R.C. 's commentary on this gospel.

In nearly 600 pages, he covers every verse of Luke's history of the life of Jesus, and we'll send you this hardbound volume when you contact us with a donation of any amount. Our offices are closed today, but you can give your gift and make your request when you go to renewingyourmind.org. We do thank you for your generosity as you give to this ministry. Your gifts help to provide the life-giving truth of God's Word to millions of believers around the world. And on behalf of all of my colleagues here at Ligonier Ministries, I'd like to wish you a very merry Christmas. May the gift of Jesus provide light and life to you and your family.