Second Presbyterian Church

"Angels, Shepherds & a Manger:
Preaching From the Gospel of Luke"
January 11, 2004

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Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2004 » Sermons for January 2004 » Sermons from the Series on Luke

#5 in the Series on Luke
The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.

• Isaiah 9: 2-7
• Luke 2: 1-20(21)

Here we are on the fifth sermon in Luke and we are finally at the place where Luke describes the birth of Jesus Christ. We have had predictions of John's birth and Jesus' birth. We have had two songs, or prophecies about both John and Jesus. We have had the birth of John the Baptist.

Luke has already given us clues as to how he is developing gospel in that Jesus is the Savior of the world. Jesus is to save humanity from its sin, and not just liberate a particular people from the predominant political empire. And we have already heard evidence that the quickly approaching Kingdom of God would reverse what people consider valuable. The poor will be blessed and the rich will be humbled.

It took 80 verses to do all that. It took only 7 verses for Luke to mark in history the actual birth of Jesus, and in what town and situation his birth had taken place. And it is about Jesus' birth story and the resulting response that I would like to explore with you today.

In some ways the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as developed by Luke, develops something like this: Luke "announces" the coming of the Messiah. He describes him as a savior, the successor to the throne of David, as the one who shall redeem us from our sin. Then the rest of the Gospel enfolds how all this took place and what it means for us.

To briefly preview, The Messiah does not meet expectations of people. We shall say more about this in the temptation narratives. He was not to be a political, economic, or superman Messiah.

The Messiah came to die. The Kingdom of God is introduced by Jesus Christ. It is a kingdom that is spiritual, not political. It is a Kingdom in which common human values are reversed. The out are in; the in are out. The rich are humbled; the poor are blessed. Those whom society counts as worthless are the ones most highly esteemed. Those whom society counts as most important are the ones whom Luke reserves the most criticism. This change in perspective is also consistent throughout all four gospels and the rest of the New Testament. But in Luke it is emphasized.

So it is with this background that we receive the most appreciation of the narrative of the birth of Jesus.

Of the several things that could be emphasized about these verses I would like to mention three:

1. The historical connection,
2. The description of Jesus' birth,
3. Shepherds and angels.

I
The Historical Connection

Please note that Luke makes three connections to the history if the time of Jesus. He mentions Caesar Augustus. He mentions Quirinius, the Governor of Syria. And he mentions a registration that was decreed by Caesar. To be honest with you, the historians have had trouble with Luke's historical dating, but I believe that they are minor issues and have to do with whether or not Luke really was a stickler for historical accuracy.

What is important for us is that Luke wants to emphasize the fact that the Messiah was an historical event. The event in which God actually became human and the Infinite actually became an infant baby boy; this took place in history. God, the timeless One, entered within time as a helpless infant baby.

II
The Description of Jesus' Birth

The description of Jesus' birth is almost as startling. Given the detail that led up to the events of the birth of Jesus, the actual birth itself took only one verse. And it has very intriguing detail.

"And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn."

A. First, Luke describes Jesus as the "firstborn." In Roman Catholic tradition Mary had no other children. This was to enhance the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception,. By having no other children and Jesus being born from God, then Mary would continue to be a Virgin and thus not be tainted by sin.

The word, "firstborn," tends to imply that Mary did have other children, that Jesus was merely the first child. There are other allusions in the Bible to the brothers and sisters of Jesus, including his brother, James.

Mary was just a human being, like the rest of us. She was probably not sinless, although she was obviously a woman of tremendous faith and devotion. The miracle of Jesus being without sin need not depend upon Mary also being sinless. B. The second detail given by Luke was that Jesus was wrapped in "swaddling cloths." Newborns were wrapped in bands of cloth because it helped them to feel comfortable. It simply was a common practice in that time.

C. "Because there was no place for them in the inn" is more interesting detail. Tradition has this to mean that Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, a bustling town that was crowded because of all the people that came to register for the tax. Therefore the Bethlehem Best Western was booked out; so was the local Holiday Inn.

The Greek word for "inn" that Luke used here can mean a place for travelers to stay. But it can also mean something else. The only other time Luke uses this word for "inn" is at the last supper. Luke uses the same word, "kataluma," for the Upper Room in which Jesus and his disciples had their last meal together.

So what? Many of the houses, therefore had guest rooms either above the main house or beside it. In addition, it was common for a house to have a split-level floor. The family lived in the upper level of the floor and the livestock were brought in to the lower floor for the night in order to protect them. A manger was usually a place on the edge, where the livestock could reach it, and feed.

Therefore, it is entirely possible that Luke is describing something entirely different than a hostile, overcrowded village! He is describing an overcrowded village, for sure, but its possible that a family took Mary and Joseph into their own private living quarters since there was no room in the "kataluma," the guest room. Luke could actually be describing Middle Eastern hospitality here, rather than a booked motel!

A point for us is this: Jesus arrived in a situation in which mother and father were away from home and living as company in somebody else's house. This was a pretty humble beginning for the King of the Universe! Most royalty were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Jesus was born in someone else's house and had a feeding trough for a crib! This is another indication that values in the Kingdom of God might be a bit different than in human domains.

III
Shepherds and Angels

As Paul Harvey would say, "you all know the story." We have heard it over and over, year after year. The shepherds are out in the field tending their sheep; an angel appears to them; they froze with fright; the angel announced the birth of Jesus and where he could be found; the night lights up with angels singing about the Glory to God; the angels disappear; the shepherds go find the baby; they report what happened to them; and they return to their fields "glorifying and praising God."

As a preacher I am sure that I should say tons and tons of things about the angels and the shepherds and their significance. But I won't. I will just make one major point that includes both angels and shepherds.

Shepherds were among the lowest class in Hebrew society. They were only a notch above tanners who had to handle dead animals, or carcasses. They were around sheep. They were too busy tending the sheep to worry about how to become and remain ritually clean. Ritual cleanliness was necessary for someone to enter the Temple beyond the Gentile Court. Shepherds didn't have time for that kind of ritual bathing! Therefore most shepherds were not allowed to worship in the Hebrew Court.

And we have the angels. Angels are God's messengers. They go and give messages to people, messages that God desires for people to hear. The angel appeared to the shepherds. God decided to announce to those Hebrew lowlife that His Son was born! That is what is so significant here.

The societal movers and shakers were below the radar. They knew nothing about this Divine event! Caesar Augustus, the Roman Emperor who was known for the Pax Romana, the long period of relative peace in the Roman Era. He was not informed of the Messiah who was good news to all who love peace. Quirinius was not informed of the Messiah. Herod, at least according to Luke, was not informed of the Messiah. He had to hear it from a bunch of astrologers who came a year or so later looking for the Messiah - but that's Matthew's story, not Luke's.

Luke's major theme of the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah is coming through once again. Jesus, the Son of God, came to save sinners. He came to minister to the poor, the downtrodden, the widow and the orphan. And he came to warn the rich to not worship their wealth. This theme is present here, subtly. The Kingdom of God values what society throws away or takes for granted. The Kingdom of God comes to reach out to those whom we humans would usually not think of as all that important. The Kingdom of God places them in first importance.

The Savior is born. The Redemption our Lord Jesus, the Christ, has begun. Praise God! Amen.

The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.