Sunday
Morning Bible Study
December 19, 2004
Introduction
The Grocery Store Clerk
Jim Davis, a grocery store clerk who loves his job, prides himself on his good
work. One of his pet peeves is out-of-control toddlers and parents who yell at
their kids but do nothing to correct their children’s obnoxious behavior.
One evening, Jim was checking out a customer who had a shopping cart full
of groceries. While ringing up the sale, a child behind him began screaming
very loudly, and an angry man responded by shouting, “Get down!!”
What a jerk, thought Jim, without even looking up. He kept on calling out
prices and moving the groceries past the scanner. The kid behind him was still
crying, and again he heard the man yell, “Get down!!!” Sheesh. Talk about poor
parenting, thought Jim. This guy is a total jerk. He kept on checking groceries
without looking up.
Finally finishing the customer’s cart, Jim looked up and said, “That’ll be
$89.95, ma’am.” Seeing no one, he looked around and noticed that everyone,
including his customer, was lying face down on the floor.
He turned around just in time to see a gunman leave the store. The checker
behind him, still lying on the floor, calmly said, “Jim, you know the second
time you heard ‘Get down,’ his gun was pointed right at your head.”
We can get so accustomed to the noise of our culture and the distractions
of the world that when we hear someone telling us something important, we blow
it off as if it were of no significance. How many times have we been warned
about the dangers of abusing drugs and alcohol or of doing other behaviors that
can kill you? We hear so much of that, we sometimes ignore the messengers,
assuming the warning is meant for someone else. We go on with business as
usual.
You put yourself at great risk when you blow off an important message, one
that can save your life. The time will come when there’ll be no more
opportunities to act on the message. (Edited
from Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks by Wayne Rice; Copyright 1994 by Youth
Specialties, Inc; Forwarded from Brad and Maria Hutchison)
:1-7 The Babe in the Manger
:1 a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
This “taxation” was more like a census, where people were required to go to
their ancestral home, register, and pay their tax.
We believe that this took place around the year 4 B.C.
:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth…
You see, there was a problem. Jesus
was inside Mary’s womb, living up in Nazareth.
Yet there was an ancient prophecy that needed to be fulfilled. He needed to be born in Bethlehem.
(Micah 5:2 KJV) But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that
is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from
everlasting.
So how was God going to get Joseph, Mary, and the baby to Bethlehem?
Through stupid taxes and an emperor who thought he was a god named Augustus.
Lesson
Inconvenience?
Things often happen in life that change our plans or make us do something
we didn’t want to do.
I imagine it wasn’t a pleasant trip on the three day donkey ride from
Nazareth to Bethlehem with a young wife ready to give birth.
Illustration
At a Men's Retreat
years ago, Gayle Erwin shared that back in 1988, he was supposed to fly over to
England for business, but had to cancel his trip at the last minute because of
an urgent situation that came up, requiring him to come home. It was a shame he
had to cancel his trip. Then he found out that the flight in England he was
originally booked on, Pan Am flight 103, was blown up later that day over
Lockerbie, Scotland. He would have been
on the plane.
We’ve seen situations lately with the church where God has put some
uncomfortable things in our path, yet they were things that got us moving in a
certain direction that we wouldn’t have gone in otherwise.
What if some of your “problems” weren’t horrible mistakes, but something
God was using to get you where He wanted you to be?
:7 and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
manger – phatne – An
animal feeding trough. Some think that the location of the manger may have been
a cave behind the inn.
inn – kataluma – an inn,
lodging place; probably a typical two-story structure (the lower level was for
animals) built around a courtyard where travelers could camp.
The King of Heaven finally arrives on earth and this is where He spends His
first night.
(2 Cor 8:9 KJV) For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through
his poverty might be rich.
:8-20 The Shepherds Tale
:8 shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
shepherds – The shepherds of that day weren’t the most respectable
of people. When the shepherds came through town, people locked their doors and
closed their shutters.
It’s possible that with Bethlehem being so close to Jerusalem, these may
have been some of the flocks of sheep used in the Temple ceremonies.
It’s ironic that the King of the Universe would have His birth announced
first of all to lowly shepherds.
It’s also fitting that the Lamb of God was first seen and preached by
shepherds.
keeping watch over their flock by night – This gives us the notion
that Jesus was not born in December when it was too cold for shepherds to be
spending the night outside, but more likely in the springtime.
The December 25 date was originally the date of the pagan festival of
Saturnalia, a time when gifts were exchanged; homes, streets and buildings were
decorated; people came home for the holidays and everybody was in a happy,
party mood. It is thought that the early Christians may have celebrated Jesus’
birth on December 25 as a way of doing it on a day when they wouldn’t draw
attention to themselves, and perhaps even avoid persecution. When Emperor
Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire in the
4th century, December 25 was officially adopted as the celebration
of Jesus’ birth.
:11 …a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Lesson
Who He is
This is the essence of the “good news” – the identity of this little baby
being born.
1.
A “Savior”
To many people in Jesus’ day, they were looking for someone to save them
from the Roman Empire.
To many people in our day, they are looking for someone to save them from
some problem they’ve gotten into.
But God has a whole lot more in mind than that.
Isaiah caught a glimpse of the “savior”
(Isa 53:3-6 KJV) He is
despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and
we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
{4} Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem
him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. {5} But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. {6} All we like sheep
have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath
laid on him the iniquity of us all.
God wanted to save us from a whole lot more than just
having a bad day. He wanted to save us from the worst problem of all, our own
sins.
It’s our sin, our disobedience, that keeps us from having
a relationship with God.
And so God sent His Son into the world for the purpose of
paying for our sins. Our sins were heaped upon Jesus so that when He died, He
paid for our sins.
Illustration
The story was told on the radio of a woman who was out Christmas shopping
with her two children; after many hours of looking at row after row of toys and
everything else imaginable, and after hours of hearing both her children asking
for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the
elevator with her two kids.
She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of
the year---overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming,
taste all the holiday food and treats, get that perfect gift for every single
person on our shopping list, make sure we don’t forget anyone on our card list,
and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.
Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the car.
She pushed her way into the car and dragged her two kids in with her and all
the bags of stuff. When the doors closed she couldn’t take it anymore and
stated, “Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up
and shot.”
From the back of the car everyone heard a quiet, calm voice respond, “Don’t
worry. We already crucified him.”
For the rest of the trip down the elevator it was so quiet you could have
heard a pin drop.
Don’t let the incredible pressure of this time of year cause you to forget
what it’s all about. It’s not about Frosty or Christmas parties. It’s not about
families and learning to be nice.
Jesus Christ entered into our world for one reason – to pay for our sins by
going to the cross. And He did it because He loves you so much that He wants to
spend eternity with you.
2.
The “Christ”
The word Christ is the Greek form of “Messiah”, which means “anointed one”.
The Jews anointed their kings with oil as part of their coronation ceremony.
The oil was to be a symbol of the Holy Spirit, of God’s choice of a king.
The Messiah was supposed to be a descendant from King David, so it was
appropriate that this baby was being born in the “city of David”, Bethlehem.
The Jews had been waiting for centuries for their Messiah to come. This was the day.
3.
The “Lord”
Lord – kurios – he to whom
a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord
This wasn’t some crazed robber that the shepherds needed to pay attention
to. It was their “Lord”, their master.
In America we kind of bristle with the idea that another person could be
our “lord”. We don’t like the idea of
somebody telling us what to do. But the shepherds understood it.
:13 …a multitude of the heavenly host praising God
host – stratia – an army,
band of soldiers
We usually think of this as some sort of “heavenly choir”, perhaps even
dressed up in choir robes with little wings on their backs. Wrong. It’s a huge
army of heavenly warriors that suddenly appear out of nowhere.
praising – aineo – to
praise, extol, to sing praises in honour to God
The warriors of God seem to have no problem in giving God praise. They
certainly don’t seem embarrassed.
:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
The order in the Greek is: “Glory in the highest to God, and upon earth
peace, in men good will”
There are three phrases in their song.
1) The highest glory to God
It could be that this phrase is saying that God who dwells in the “highest
heaven”, far above all, deserves praise.
I think it’s talking about the kind of glory that God deserves for what He
did in sending His Son – He deserves the “highest” glory
They are saying this especially because of what God is doing at this moment,
allowing His Son to be delivered into a dark and sinful world, a world that is
going to turn on this Son and crucify Him.
2) Peace on earth
This isn’t talking about peace on earth as in the absence of wars or as in
“all is calm, all is bright”.
This is talking about peace with God.
Earth is in a state of war with God.
The Bible talks about us being “at enmity” with God (Eph. 2:15). It’s our own rebellion that has put us at
odds with God.
(James 4:4 KJV) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that
the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a
friend of the world is the enemy of God.
It’s interesting that the ones proclaiming this are the warriors of a
heavenly army.
We get a glimpse of this heavenly war in the book of Revelation:
(Rev 12:1-5 KJV) And
there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the
moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: {2} And she
being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. {3}
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon,
having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. {4} And his
tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the
earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered,
for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
It’s almost as if God were sending His Warrior Angels to establish a
beachhead on the earth. Yet instead of dropping off a huge army of trained
Angelic “Navy Seals”, a little baby is born.
And this baby would one day grow up and take His place on a cross to pay
for our sins.
And all that remains is that we come to trust in Him and receive His gift
of forgiveness.
(John 1:12 KJV) But as many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name:
(John 3:16 KJV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Once we learn to put our trust in Jesus, we find this peace that the angels
are talking about.
(Rom 5:1 KJV) Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
3) Good will to men
I know that some of the modern translations have something like, “peace on
earth to men of good will”, but I don’t think this is correct. I think the King
James and the New King James have it correct as “good will toward men”
good will – eudokia –
kindly intent, benevolence; delight, pleasure, satisfaction
A form of this word (eudokeo) was
used at Jesus’ baptism …
(Mat 3:17 KJV) And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
God has provided a way in which He can now be “well-pleased” in us. It’s through
our relationship with Jesus.
(2 Cor 5:21 KJV) For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no
sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
The idea is that God took our sin and put in on Jesus, and then God took
the righteousness of Jesus and put it on us.
Illustration
THE KITE THAT WOULDN'T FLY
Have you ever felt inadequate? Have you tried your best to fit in and be
accepted? Have you known first hand what it feels like to be rejected? If so,
let me tell you a true story about a kid named Charles—a youngster who flunked
every subject in 8th grade and took the honor of being the worst
science student in the history of his school. He was an outcast. The other kids
really didn’t hate him. They just ignored him. But, there was ONE thing Charles
could do—he could draw. And he was proud enough of his art, that one day he
asked that his work be included in the class yearbook. As always, he was never
taken seriously and he, and his work, were promptly rejected. When he grew up,
he submitted his portfolio to the Walt Disney studio, where he was rejected
once again. Disney wrote back saying that they only hired the finest artists
and that Charles did not meet those qualifications. Finally, he did the only
thing he knew how to do—he told his story of rejection and bad luck—by creating
cartoons. He painted the picture of a young kid—the perennial loser, the one
who never got the breaks, and no one talked to... Today, you know that poor kid
as Charlie Brown, one of the characters in the Peanuts comic strip who keeps
holding on to that kite that never seems to fly. For his creator Charles Schulz
found out early in life what rejection was all about. (Lee Simonson, Founder,
Heartwarmers)
We all like Charlie Brown because we all know the feeling of “not
belonging”.
The Question: Many of us are
asking, “Do I have what it takes?”
We do all kinds of things to try and earn the recognition that we’re
“okay”. We do things to try and be liked or approved of by others. Are you
aware of the things you do to be accepted by others?
Sometimes we dress a certain way to be accepted. Sometimes it’s the things
we say, the things we do.
I remember one of the hardest times in life was trying to survive high
school where only a chosen few are deemed to be “cool”.
I think this is why people like to hang out in groups, gangs, or cliques.
It’s why we tend to dress like our friends.
We want to find people who will “accept” us.
Yet the biggest question of all is “Do I have what it takes with God?”
If you trust Jesus, you actually do.
(Rom 8:31 KJV) What shall we
then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
(1 John 3:1 NLT) See how very much our heavenly Father loves us,
for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are!
If you can get a hold of the fact that through Jesus you have become
“well-pleasing” to God – it changes everything.
:15 the shepherds said one to another…
the shepherds – the Greek is literally, “the men the shepherds”.
Luke uses the same word “men” that was used in the previous verse, “good will
to men”.
It’s not just some other person that God is pleased with, it’s you. The
shepherds heard the message that God loved them.
They were included in the “good will toward men”.
:16 they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe …
found – aneurisko – to
find out by search. They found it just as they were told.
Lesson
Search it out
Maybe you have questions about all this “God” stuff.
Search it out. Do your homework. Ask questions. God has the answers.
:19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
Just as we believe that the gospel of Mark carries much of Peter’s
recollections, we also think that Luke’s account reflects much of Mary’s
recollections.
kept – suntereo – to
preserve (a thing from perishing or being lost); to keep within one’s self,
keep in mind
pondered – sumballo – to
throw together, to bring together; to converse; to bring together in one’s
mind, confer with one’s self
Will you “ponder” the things that Jesus has for you? Have you paid
attention to the message God has for you?