Today, on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe, Jesus is born in humility. He's born in obscurity. He's born in rejection. No room in the end. No room for you.
Sorry, but no room. and for the coming of the Son of God. the long-prophesied Messiah. When he comes into the world, there is no kingly welcome. There's no fanfare.
Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe, senior pastor of Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Every detail of Christ's birth was planned by God. The timing of Caesar's decree, the location in Bethlehem, the journey of Mary and Joseph. Today, John explores how the eternal God entered human history at the exact right time and place. With a message titled, No Room at the Inn, Here's Pastor John Monroe.
Today we're looking at a very familiar passage in the Gospel according to Luke. The first verses of chapter 2 Verses which are often read around the Christmas season. I first heard them as a little boy. and the narrative of the birth of our Saviour never fails to amaze and inspire us. The eternal God coming into time and space.
Today, as we look closer, we'll think of the circumstances of the birth of Jesus. From a human perspective, We might think the timing could have been better. And couldn't God have identified some other place rather than a stable in Bethlehem? But our God is sovereign. and ordained the time and place of the birth of Jesus as part of his perfect plan of redemption.
I've called this message No room. At the end. Every detail of the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. the Savior of the world. was sovereignly planned.
By God.
Well, you don't understand that. Jesus was born. at the time of God's choosing. Jesus was born in the place. of God's choosing.
The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Was planned in the eternal and sovereign purposes of God. It was predicted in the Old Testament. It was announced by Gabriel the Angel to Mary. It was, as we saw last week, prophesied by Zechariah.
And now we're going to read. of the birth of Jesus. That event planned in the eternal ages. mentioned in the Old Testament scripture. Anticipated.
By the Jewish nation, that one day. One day the Messiah was going to come. And we're going to read. of that day. It's an astonishing fact, isn't it?
The eternal God The God who always existed coming into time. coming into our world, coming into human history. Think of it, the infinite God, who is so immense that the very universe can't contain him, is now coming. And he's coming. And he's going to be born in a Stable.
Our lives, most of us are familiar with the story, but I want you to. Don't wonder at it for these truths to grip you. as of what we believe is happening at the Christmas message. The incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the becoming flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, the word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. Yes, Emmanuel, God, with us.
We want you to come and see. We want you. to understand, but we want you to respond. with obedience and humble Hearts. We're going to read.
Of the entry of the Son of God. into our world. We're going to read of the greatest birth this world has ever known. There is no birth like it, and there will never be a birth like it. Let's stand and read it as it's contained in Luke chapter 2.
Verses one Through seven. Read with me. 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 time 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 them in a manger because there was no place for them. in the end. Amen.
Please be seated. I want to see, first of all, that Jesus was born at the time of God's choice.
Now we're right here in the opening verses of Luke chapter 2. And we've already said that Luke was a careful historian. He'd done his research. We learned about that. He's writing in an orderly way as he gives an account of the life of our Lord.
And he makes it clear that Jesus was born at the time of the census. Herod the Great was king. Augustus Caesar, the Roman Emperor, was alive at the time because he's the one who gave the decree. And he ruled from 44 BC to 14 AD. He's a Roman Emperor.
And he's making this decree. to expand his power And to gather all of the statistical data that he can throughout the vast Roman Empire in order that he can levy taxes. He wants his people. to pay taxes. After all, the Roman soldiers are there in Israel.
Uh they're keeping the peace. Uh they're doing many things and uh Caesar Augustus says, well, they've got to pay for that. There's no escape from taxes, is there? Wherever you go, somebody wants to tax you. And he's called, verse 1.
He's called Caesar Augustus. You're all familiar with Caesar. We generally think of Julius Caesar. Um this man, Caesar Augustus, is the grandnephew of Julius Caesar and uh the Senate, when he became emperor gave him this title of Augustus. He is majestic.
And so here is this great man. History calls Caesar Augustus, and he's alive at the time Jesus is being born. He's going to die, as I say, in AD 14, and he's going to be succeeded by Tiberius. And for the registration, everyone, we think this train's only. has to return from their ancestral home.
So Joseph and Mary, who are engaged, They have to travel from Nazareth The text says they went up, verse 4, Joseph also went up. From Galilee, from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. They've got to make this journey, a long journey, about 80 miles from Nazareth. up to Bethlehem, Judea. A bit higher.
Not an easy journey, is it? For a young Unmarried, pregnant. Woman. Joseph, the earthly father. is verse 4, of the house and lineage of David.
Luke has made it very clear several times in chapter 1. That the one who's going to be born, Jesus the Messiah, is a son of David. That's very, very important. And so Here are these events coming together. Member.
Rome is the superpower. They are occupying Israel at this time, at the time of the birth of the Lord, Quirinius is the governor in Syria. And history is converging on this little town of Bethlehem. The timing of Caesar's decree was in God's eternal plan. Anthony Everett, in his biography of Caesar Augustus, I recommend it to you if you're interested in the Roman emperors, as I am.
He's written a wonderful biography of Caesar Augustus, and he writes, That at this time Augustus was the most influential man In the world. He's one of the most influential men in human history. This man, Caesar Augustus, a brilliant man, and he was the one who transformed. Rome, when it was a republic, into the Roman Emperor.
So he was, in a sense, the first Roman Emperor. And he's presiding over one of the world's largest empires. As we think of that, I think it's wonderful to note That powerful of those Caesar Augustus was, and humanly speaking, at this time he was one of the most powerful men in the world, one of the most influential men in the world. That He is an instrument. in the hands Yeah.
God's eternal plan. of salvation. is being worked out. in perfect detail. For the birth, of someone who is much, much greater than Caesar Augustus.
The Roman Empire was going to last for a long time, but it was going to collapse. The empire of the one who's going to be born in this little insignificant town of Bethlehem, his empire, his kingdom continues and is going to last forever and ever. We sang, you reign forever and ever. Isn't good to remember that. And so what do we read in verse 6?
While they, this Mary and Joseph, were there, Bethlehem, The time came for her to give birth. Mary was going to give birth Away from home. in the strange place. Her support system would be in Nazareth, not Bethlehem.
So from her perspective, The birth of her firstborn son, doesn't take place in ideal circumstances. But Mary, as we've learned, was a young woman with a deep, deep trust in God. We don't worship Mary. We don't pray to Mary, of course not. But this.
Young woman, Mary, is a wonderful example, a godly woman. God's grace was on her, and we marvel, don't we, at our trust. In God. She travels. These miles to Bethlehem.
From a human perspective The timing of the birth didn't seem right. You would have thought God in His grace would have ordained a more comfortable birth, wouldn't you? for his son, for Mary. But God's timing Have you learned this? It's not always our timing.
You sometimes get frustrated. A timing. A bit impatient sometimes, as I am. We think, why doesn't God act in this way at this time?
Sometimes the time comes at a very inconvenient time for us when God acts. The timing in your family, the timing in your business, the timing in ministry. And we plan. And we have our agenda. And we have our Time.
lying as it were. But God's timing is often very, very different. But I want you to understand, as it was here, as it is in your life and mine as we follow Jesus Christ, God's timing is always perfect. God makes no mistakes. It's always perfect.
And look. doesn't record how long Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem before the child was born. I know in our minds we think of them coming the very night of her birth and wandering around and for a few hours and then coming into this inn. Luke doesn't say that. He says they come.
And when the time comes, for her to give. Burst. He's born at exactly the right time. And when Jesus, the Son of God, is born, Caesar Augustus knows nothing about it. You probably h hardly heard of Bethlehem.
But it was the time Chosen by God. The Apostle Paul writes: For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died. Four. The ungodly. At the right time.
Why did God choose this time? Why was it 2,000 years ago? Why wasn't it 3,000 years ago? Why was it not 1,000 years ago? God is perfect.
God's timing was. In the history of the world, this was the exact time that God ordained for His Son to be born. At the right time, Christ died for the and godly. And then in Galatians 4, verse 4, Paul writes. When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son.
The Eternal Father. is about to send his son into the world. He so loved the world that he gave his only son. When is he going to give his son? Of all of the times he could have chosen, it was this time, at the exact time.
Caesar Augustus is the emperor. This man is the governor. And it is at the right. Time. It was the perfect time historically, geographically, culturally.
It's going to be the best time evangelically for the spread of the gospel. and God's plan of salvation. Jesus is born at the time. of God's choice. I love that.
Secondly, Jesus is born in the place of God's choice. Who would you have chosen that Jesus was to be born? He's born. in Bethlehem. Bethlehem.
Some of you have been there, as I have. Uh It's only about five, seven miles from the bustling metropolis of Jerusalem, the capital. But although Bethlehem was small, it had a very significant history. If you know your Bible, you know that Rachel The wife of Jacob is buried there.
Now, In our culture, we don't think so much about places of burial. But certainly for the patriarchs, the place where someone died, where they were buried. was very, very significant. And Jacob. This great patriarch.
One of the great figures In Israel's history, his wife Rachel. It's buried. And Beth Lab. And then you remember the story of the Young Gentile, Ruth, living in Moab. What does she do?
She comes with her mother-in-law, Naomi. And where do they come to? Bethlehem.
And it's in Bethlehem that Ruth falls in love with boas. And it's in Bethlehem where this couple, Ruth and Boas, have a child. little boy called Obad. And Ovad is going to be the father of Jesse. And Jesse is going to be the father of.
David. King David. The David, yes, the David that killed Bliath. And so Bethlehem is the hometown of David. And the one who's going to be born is the son of David.
And David loved his hometown. Remember the wonderful story where he wanted a drink from the water of Bethlehem? Seems strange to us, doesn't it? with all of our bottled weathers and people carrying all this water if they're gonna die, if they can't get a sip of water. But if you have been away from home for a long time, as David was in battle, you realize there's a great attraction to your hometown.
To the food, yes, even to the water and David clearly loved his hometown, and when the men gave him the water from the well of Bethlehem, he pours it out as an offering to God. And so David. Loves. Bethlehem.
Pathways made a lot of history. But around 700 years before the birth of Christ, David being about a thousand years before the birth of Christ. It seems that Bethlehem had become rather insignificant. Until one of the prophets, Micah, And Micah chapter 5, verse 2 writes this. But you, O Bethlehem Frada, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah.
Pretty small, insignificant town, Bethlehem. Many bigger towns in Israel, but from you, Bethlehem. Shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel. whose going forth is from old, from ancient. days.
The eternal God, when he comes into time and space, is going to come to Bethlehem. Remember when the wise men come, they're told this in Matthew chapter 2. At the Messiah. David's greatest son. The king of kings and lord of lords.
is going to be born. and Bethlehem. And so it was on that first Christmas night. We'll think of this on Christmas Eve, the shepherds. are keeping watch over their flocks by night.
in the in the fields around Bethlehem. And it's there that the angel comes. and tells them that in Bethlehem is born. The saviour. of the world.
These shepherds are humble men. relatively uneducated. With a reputation of being dirty and ceremonially unclean. But events are going to happen at Bethlehem that night. which is going to change the world.
Forever. Because heaven comes to earth. Of all of the places that God would have chosen. Location? Major at Bethlehem.
We marvel, don't we, when we see the the pictures of the world from space. You think of the size of the universe and this great God as he looks down at the world that he had created. And he's going to choose a place for his son to be born. And it's there. in this tiny village.
of Bethlehem. And God sovereignly arranges through the senses for Mary to be at Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus. That the Son of God is going to be born in the humblest of circumstances.
Now when babies are born today, There's tremendous preparation before their birth end.
Some women who are expecting they show me the Ultrasound. They get the best of care. Here in Charlotte, wherever you are, and rightly so. When they go to give birth, they're surrounded by well-trained medical personnel and hospitals full of technology, ready for any eventuality in terms of the birth of the child. Family and friends are there praying for them, there to support them as they can.
How wonderful. Very different, isn't it, here in the first century. Do we notice? It says, verse 7: she gave birth to her firstborn.
Son. And this son of David The Son of God, the Son of Mary. is not born in wonderful circumstances. He's not born in a hospital, he's not born in a palace. It's not really born in a house or a hotel.
But In a stable. At the back of the inn, it says the inn. There was no place for them in the inn. Then I have a footnote in my Bible saying a kind of guest house.
Sometimes in these houses at the back of the house there would be a place for the animals, a stable for the animals, a separate building, and it's there that Jesus is born. This woman is about to give birth to this child, and there's no room in the inn. In a sense, the Saviour is rejected before he's even born. But perhaps someone kindly says, Well, We do have in fact uh a stable. Why don't you?
You go there. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe and a message titled No Room at the Inn. Be sure to keep listening because John will return in just a few moments with some closing remarks for today's lesson. As we reflect on the birth of Christ this Christmas season, we're reminded of God's sovereign plan of salvation. but perhaps you're wondering about your own salvation.
Can you truly know that you're saved? Is it possible to lose your salvation? John addresses these crucial questions in a special and personal booklet called Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Inside John shares his own testimony of coming to faith as a twelve-year-old boy in Scotland. and examines what Scripture teaches about the unshakable promises of God.
To receive your free copy of Eternal Security, just go to our website at theverdict.org. And if these lessons and resources have helped you, Would you consider helping other listeners by supporting the verdict's gospel outreach with a donation of any amount? By helping us cover the cost to produce and distribute these biblical messages, you'll be playing an important part in sharing the gospel with new listeners and communities across the globe. You can easily send your one-time donation of any amount when you go to theverdict.org. And before we close, make sure you're subscribed to the Verdict Podcast, featuring John's weekly podcast exclusive called Avizandam.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with closing remarks for today's lesson. No room at the end. No.
Well, what's your verdict? Today we've learned of the birth of the central figure of all of human history. and it calls for a response. From each one of us, We've marveled at the timing of this unique birth. And thought of the marvelous love and grace of our sovereign God, who sent His Son to rescue us.
Do you know the Saviour? Do you understand that he comes at the right time to give his life for our salvation? Join me next time as we continue to think of the birth of Jesus Christ. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies.
Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
