“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:1-7

Far more than a quaint story, these verses from Luke, chapter two, describe a historical event that occurred at a real time in history and in a real place in this world. It was the fulfillment of all those ancient prophecies that promised the Seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent and the one who would redeem His people from their sins (Gen. 3:15; Ps. 130:7-8).

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4:4-5).

It happened in the days of the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus. Cyrenius was the governor of Syria.

Though Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth, the Prophet Micah (approximately 700 years before Christ) foretold the birthplace of Messiah to be in Bethlehem: “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” (Micah 5:2).

And God, in His divine providence, moved Caesar Augustus to take a census at just the right time, making it necessary for Joseph and his espoused wife, who lived in Nazareth (some 90 miles to the north), to be in Bethlehem when the days were fulfilled for Mary to bring forth her firstborn son “because he [Joseph] was of the house and lineage of David.” The genealogies of Joseph in Matthew 1 and Mary in Luke 3 show that both were of the “house and lineage of David.”

While we often have pictures in our heads of Jesus being born on that first night after Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, that’s not really what the Scriptures say. Verse 6 of Luke 2 says: “And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.” They could have been there a few days, a few weeks or even a month or more — the Bible doesn’t say. But it does say that, while they were there, the day came for her to give birth.

“She brought forth her firstborn son” while there in the crowded city of Bethlehem — there were many descendants of David who also had to register in Bethlehem. It’s there that Jesus was born.

As we read, Mary “brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” Notice that no mention is made of a donkey on which Mary supposedly rode or of a barn or stable in which Jesus supposedly was born (not even of a cave or shelter), just a manger in which Jesus was laid.

The eternal Son of God, the Creator of heaven and earth and all things (cf. John 1:1-5, 14), humbled Himself and was born a man of lowly birth. Instead of being born in a king’s palace and clothed in royal garments, He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger (a feeding trough).

But God sent His Son into this world not to be exalted here but to live humbly as a man — not to make full use of His divine power and glory but to live humbly like us — that He might take our place under the Law of God and fulfill it for us and that He might bear upon the cross the just punishment for our sins and the sins of the entire world.

“Christ Jesus … being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:5-8).

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people” (Heb. 2:14-17).

And much like the night of Jesus’ birth, Jesus is still relegated to the mangers of this world. The inn is full and there is no room for the Messiah and Savior of the world. Jesus is crowded out — even crowded out of the celebration of His birth!

It is as John wrote: “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:10-11).

Therefore, if we wish to find Jesus, we are not likely to find Him in the biggest and best churches and cathedrals of this world. The place to look for and find Him is where God’s humble means of grace are in use, where the Word of God is preached in its simple truth and purity and people are confronted with their sins and the judgment of God upon them but also comforted with the Gospel of pardon and forgiveness through faith in Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross, where people are joined to Christ and become His covenant people through the waters of Baptism and where believers are comforted in Holy Communion through partaking of the body and blood of the Lamb of God who gave Himself as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Indeed, the day could come when we may need to worship in barns and stables, or outside in the elements, to hear and learn of the true Christ who came into this world to redeem us because there is no room for God’s Christ or for God’s people in the inn. It’s happened before.

What’s the point of this message for you and for me?
Though the world was not awaiting the coming of Christ Jesus with open arms, and though God’s own people (members of the outward and visible church in this world) were too busy to welcome Him, God kept His ancient promises to send the Savior. God’s only-begotten Son took on human flesh and blood and was born a true man of the Virgin Mary so that he might pay the price for our sins and redeem us. He came humbly, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, that He might fulfill God’s plan and go to the cross as our sacrifice for sin.

And where do we find Him?
Where the Word of God is preached in its truth and purity and where the Sacraments are administered in accord with Christ’s institution. There we will find and learn of the Christ who died for our sins and redeemed us. There we will be comforted with the forgiveness of our sins and the eternal salvation He won for us.

O gracious and merciful Father, we thank Thee for the gift of Thy dear Son and His humble birth as a true man that He might redeem us from our sins and grant unto us pardon, peace and life everlasting through faith in His name. By Thy Holy Spirit, open up our hearts and minds to the truth taught us in Thy Word and grant us faith to look to Christ Jesus as our Savior and to receive the eternal blessings He won for us by His innocent sufferings and death on the cross for the sins of the world. In His name, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham: To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.” Luke 1:68-75 (Read v. 67-79)

In the Song of Zacharias, his Benedictus or words of praise to the LORD God of Israel inspired by the Holy Spirit, Zacharias gives the reason for His song of praise to God: “For He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began. …”

We, too, can join together in the Benedictus and praise the LORD God of Israel because He came into this world — He visited His people — in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is God Himself in human flesh. In Messiah Jesus, God redeemed His people by taking on human flesh and blood in the virgin Mary, fulfilling all righteousness for us and then bearing on the cross the full and just punishment for the sins of all and rising again from the dead.

Jesus is that horn of salvation raised up for us in the house of God’s servant David (cf. 2 Sam. 22:2-4; Ps. 18:1-3; 80:17). Jesus’ coming is in fulfillment of God’s promises through the prophets since the world began. Jesus is the Seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15), the Seed of Abraham who would bring blessing to all the nations of the world (Gen. 22:18), Shiloh, the rest-bringer (Gen. 49:10), the Son of David and the Root of Jesse who would establish an eternal kingdom (2 Sam. 7:16 and Isa. 11), the Child born of the virgin who is God Himself with us (Isa. 7:14 and 9:6-7), the One who would suffer and die to make atonement for the sins of all people and rise again in triumph (Ps. 22, Ps. 130 and Isa. 53), and that Ruler who be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2-5a).

By His death and resurrection, Jesus delivered us from our old evil foe, the devil or Satan, who has held mankind captive since the fall of Genesis 3. And He will deliver us from all our enemies and bring us safely through this life to himself in heaven (2 Tim. 4:18), where we will “serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life” — even forever (Luke 1:74,75)!

We also learn from these inspired words (Luke 1:76-79) the mission of John the Baptist as the forerunner of Messiah Jesus: “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

John was to prepare the people for the coming of their Lord and Savior by calling all to repent of their sinful ways and to look in faith to Jesus and His atoning sacrifice as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He was to give his hearers “knowledge of salvation” … “by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us.” John was to point people to Jesus and His cross for pardon and forgiveness.

John was to “give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” He was to shine the light of God’s Word into this dark and sinful world and show lost sinners the only way to have peace with God — through faith in Jesus, God’s Son made man, the only way to be made acceptable to God the Father and to dwell in His presence (cf. John 14:6; Acts 4:12).

And that is what we are still called to do today as we await Christ’s second coming and His judgment upon this world (cf. Luke 24:46-47).

Has the “Dayspring from on high” risen in your hearts? Have you come to know of the salvation God has provided for you when He sent His only-begotten Son into this world to redeem you and give you life? (Cf. 2 Pet. 1:19; 2 Tim 3:15).

O gracious and merciful LORD God, our Creator and Redeemer, grant that we join with Zacharias and Your people of all generations in praising You for the salvation You have provided for us in Your Son, Christ Jesus, our Savior. And may we also share this knowledge of salvation with those around us in this dark and dying world. Amen.

[Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“And the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give to him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary to the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing who shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:30-35 (Read Luke 1:26-56)

Who is Jesus? The announcement of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary leaves no doubt. Jesus is Jehovah God in the flesh! He is the “Son of the Highest” and also the promised Son of David who would rule over God’s people forever and ever.

“How shall this be?” The Holy Spirit caused Mary, a virgin, to conceive; the power of the Highest overshadowed her. It is in this way and for this reason that the Holy Child born to her would be called the Son of God. Jesus is Immanuel [meaning God with us]. He is the LORD [Jehovah or Yahweh] God our Savior, as His name itself tells us.

It is as Isaiah prophesied some seven hundred years before Christ: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14); and, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” (Isa. 9:6-7).

In the Person of Jesus, and by means of the virgin birth, the LORD God Himself took on human flesh and blood and became true man and lived among us that He might fulfill the righteous demands of God’s law in our stead and then bear the full punishment for our sins by going to the cross and suffering and dying as the atoning sacrifice for our sins (cf. John 1:14,29). This Jesus did, and because He is the very Son of God, His innocent sufferings and death were accepted by God the Father as a propitiating sacrifice, making full atonement for the sins of the whole world. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is proof of that fact (cf. Rom. 1:3-4; 4:25).

What a miracle for a virgin to conceive and bear a Son! And what a miracle of grace for God Himself to become a true man and go to the cross to redeem you and me that we might turn from our sinful ways to Jesus and His cross in faith and be pardoned, forgiven, and granted eternal life! “With the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption” (Psalm 130:7).

O gracious Father, we thank You for so loving the world that You sent Your only begotten Son to be born a true man of the Virgin Mary, that He might redeem us from sin and death and grant to us life everlasting through faith in His name. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the Revised Webster Version of the Bible.]

13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. 16 Many of the sons of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:13-17

The words of Gabriel to Zachariah echo the Word of the Lord recorded by Malachi the prophet: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse” (Mal. 4:5-6).

And, as we prepare for the second advent of the LORD, our Lord Jesus Christ, we continue in the ministry of John the Baptist by calling sinners to repentance and pointing them to Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world.

As God’s Word teaches us, we are to preach that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, [and] that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). We are to preach “in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins … to all nations” (Luke 24:47). We are to point people to Jesus and proclaim the truth that Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), that He is our “advocate before the Father … the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1,2).

While many think lightly of Christ’s return and the final judgment and see no need for repentance, it is indeed a serious matter. If the LORD judges us according to His law, as we read in Psalm 130:3, who can stand? The answer, of course, is none of us, for we have all sinned and come short of what God, in His law, demands (cf. Rom. 3:19-20,23).

Malachi wrote concerning the coming of Christ in Malachi 3:1-2: “‘Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,’ says the LORD of Hosts. ‘But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.’”

In Malachi 4:1,5-6, we read: “‘For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,’ says the LORD of Hosts. ‘Not a root or branch will be left to them. … Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.’”

It is for this very reason that John the Baptist came: to call upon sinners to repent and look to Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God, for pardon and forgiveness (cf. Luke 3:2ff.; Ps. 130:4ff.). And the Church, through its ministers, still preaches the same message today (cf. Luke 24:46-47; John 20:20-23; Acts 3:19ff.).

Both John and the Church seek “to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Through the preaching of God’s Word, the fathers and their children are united again in the true fear of the LORD. Those who were disobedient to the true faith are awakened to their sinfulness by God’s Spirit and turned to the wisdom of the righteous — to the wisdom of those who acknowledge and repent of their sinful ways and look in faith to the LORD God for mercy and forgiveness for the sake of the promised Messiah and His redeeming work (cf. 1 John 1:5 — 2:2; Psalm 32; Psalm 130).

The only way for you and me — for anyone — to be ready for the Lord’s return and to escape the curse and condemnation of God’s holy law is to repent and trust in the holy life and innocent sufferings and death of Christ Jesus for the sins of the world (cf. Rom. 3:21-26; Gal. 3:10,13; Acts. 3:17ff.; 4:12).

O LORD God, we have sinned and come short of the righteousness your law demands. We are guilty and justly stand condemned. Have mercy on us and forgive us for all our sins for the sake of the holy life and innocent sufferings and death of Christ Jesus, Your Son, and our crucified and risen Savior, that we might be found in Him, just and holy and acceptable in Your sight on that day when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead. Amen.

[Scripture quoted from the Majority Standard Bible]

“From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. So Jesus asked the Twelve, ‘Do you want to leave too?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” John 6:66-69

As it was during Jesus’ earthly ministry, so it is today. Many are glad to follow Jesus in the hope of receiving some earthly benefit — to be healed of a disease, to be helped with a need, or to be blessed with earthly riches. But, when they hear that they must repent of their sinful ways and place their faith in Jesus as the Messiah and atoning sacrifice for the sins of all — that they must partake by faith of His body given for them and His blood shed for the sins of the world — they turn away from Him and go their own way.

And, at least at times, Jesus’ own disciples may be filled with doubts and fears. Their faith in Jesus and His words is challenged; it becomes weak. They, too, may be tempted to turn away from Jesus and go back to their worldly ways and lives, perhaps to seek another way, an easier way with less resistance from the world.

Jesus’ question could be asked of us as well: ‘Do you want to leave too?’

Simon Peter’s answer is so fitting and instructive for us: “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

To whom would we turn? What other religion or teacher offers the truth and life Jesus offers? They all direct us back to our own lives and works, to our own attempts to please God, whether it be by our deeds, our lives, or our forms of worship, and they all fail and come up short. We stand condemned by God’s holy law (cf. Rom. 3:9-20; Eccl. 7:20; Isa. 64:6).

It is as Peter confessed to Jesus: “You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:68-69; cf. Matt. 16:16-17). Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through” Him (John 14:6).

Jesus is the Son of the living God. He is God in the flesh, and He came into this world to fulfill the righteous demands of God’s law in our stead and to bear on the cross the full and just punishment for all our sins that we might look to Him and partake of Him in faith and be pardoned, forgiven and given eternal life in communion with God our Creator! There is no other way for sinners like you and me to be saved than turning to Jesus and His cross in faith.

As Peter professed of Jesus in Acts 4:12: “Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Don’t turn away from Him! Look to Him and partake of His atoning sacrifice in faith that you may have eternal life!

O merciful Father, grant to me faith in Your Son and my only Savior, Jesus Christ, that I might not be lost and condemned for my sinfulness but be pardoned, forgiven, and granted eternal life for Jesus’ sake. In His name, I pray. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the Majority Standard Bible, freely available at www.biblehub.com.]