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November 2008
Rightly
Dividing the Word of Truth
(2
Timothy 2:15)
This
is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to
be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1Timothy 2:3-4
Christmas 2014
Home Bible Study
breaks from the regular routine during the Christmas
Season.
Instead of
producing the next Bible lesson in line, I write a lesson about the birth of
our Savior. I’ve been doing this for so long
it’s become a holiday tradition around
here.
We’ll return to the
book of Romans after the New Year holiday.
Before I begin I want
to take the time to wish each of you a Merry Christmas.
Please remember to
be thankful to God
for His gift of everlasting
love,
for His precious gift of grace,
and for
His gift of life, in Christ Jesus.
I’m going to visit Luke’s
account of Jesus’ birth this year and the reason for this will unfold as the
lesson goes along. It’s necessary to fill in some details before
I get started, “to properly set the scene.” First, Luke was not an apostle. Second, it appears that he wasn’t even an eyewitness
to any of these events he writes about.
You pick up on this fact by the use of the pronouns “we” and “us” which
he uses throughout his gospel.
Basically, Luke was
a reporter or better yet a bearer of good
news.
Let’s see what he
has to say about this. Please turn to
Luke, chapter 1.
Luke 1
1: Inasmuch as many
have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished
among us,
2: just as they
were handed down to us by those who from the (what) beginning were eyewitnesses and
servants of the word (Jesus Christ),
3: it seemed
fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully
from the beginning, to write it out
for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus (a Roman official);
Luke
doesn’t claim to be an eyewitness to any of these events, but he does claim to
be a “careful investigator,” receiving eyewitness testimony and then writing it
down.
The
reason for this is given in the following verse.
4: so that you may
know the exact truth
about these things you have been taught.
In
short, Luke is saying that he carefully investigated everything (meticulously)
regarding Jesus Christ from the beginning before he wrote all these events down
in consecutive order so – that you (and
the whole world) may know the exact
truth.
I
added the words “and the whole world” to the text because the birth of Jesus
Christ affects everyone from Adam to this age and beyond; and both Jew and
Gentile alike.
The
book of Luke is the first volume in a two volume set.
The
book of Acts is the second volume (Acts 1:1-2).
The
book of Matthew, an eyewitness, was the first gospel written, as early as 50
AD.
The
book of Mark, an eyewitness, followed between the years 55-70 AD.
The
book of Luke, who was not an eyewitness or an apostle of Jesus, but he was a
companion of the Apostle Paul. Therefore,
Luke had ample opportunity to meet the other apostles who not only knew Jesus
but worked side by side with Him during His ministry here on earth. This gospel was probably written around 62-65
AD.
The
book of John, an eyewitness, was written between the years 80-90 AD.
Luke
wrote his gospel account so that those who are interested may know with all certainty that Jesus was
born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, just as God the Father promised and just as the
prophets proclaimed to Israel (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14, 9:6; Micah 5:2).
Let’s
read some truth together. Please go to Luke, chapter 2.
Jesus Birth in
Bethlehem
1: Now in those
days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the
inhabited earth.
2: This was the
first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3: And everyone was
on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
4: Joseph also went
up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to the city of David which is
called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
5: in order to
register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
6: While they were
there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
7: And she gave
birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in (swaddling) cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because
there was no room for them in the inn.
This
is how Jehovah, the Creator God, the Savior of the world
arrived…unobserved.
Jesus
came but He didn’t descend from the clouds in a chariot of gold, leading an
army of angels, nor did He arrive sitting atop a white stallion leading a vast
Israelite army to overthrow Roman supremacy.
He came silently and simply just as Luke reports it; Mary gave birth, she wrapped Him in
(swaddling) cloths, and laid Him in a manger because there was no room for them.
Jesus
came during a time known as Pax Romana or Roman Peace referring to the Roman
Empire in its prime. This term is a bit
misleading because Roman expansion continued and Rome still had many
enemies. Rome had many gods and spirits
and Augustus wanted to be counted among them.
The senate made him emperor of Rome, but he was determined that his
people would see him as their supreme spiritual leader as well. Early in his reign, Haley’s Comet passed
over Rome, and since Romans were deeply superstitious, Augustus took advantage
of this opportunity. He claimed it was
the spirit of Julius Caesar entering heaven.
If Caesar was a god then he, as his heir, was the son of a god! In 27 BC, the Roman Senate granted Octavian
the name Augustus, meaning the “exalted.”
Our
Savior was born in this environment. The
world was on the move…Augustus the god-man, the most powerful person on earth had
spoken and the world responded. Caesar Augustus had ordered a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. Every male was commanded to return to their
ancestral home to be counted.
This was required for two reasons:
for military purposes and for taxation.
Jews were not required to serve in the Roman Army but they were
taxed. This is why we find Joseph making
his way up to Bethlehem from Nazareth. Women were not required to go with them and they were not counted in the
census, still we find Mary, with child, accompanying her husband on his journey.
Now
we’re used to the Christmas story version where Joseph and Mary arrive in
Bethlehem, just in the nick of time, to deliver her baby but that’s not what
Luke says:
6: While they were
there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
The
Bible doesn’t say how many “days” they stayed in Bethlehem until she gave
birth. It could have one or two or even
a dozen. We do know she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped Him in (swaddling)
cloths.
Most
people overlook the significance of the “swaddling” cloths. But if you read Luke’s account carefully
starting at verse 12 we have this: “This will be a (what) sign for you: you will find a baby
wrapped in (swaddling) cloths and lying in a manger.”
(God used signs and miracles to validate His message or His
messenger to the Jews.)
Jesus’
is proclaimed as the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of David, throughout the
beginning of Luke’s gospel. The angel
Gabriel tells Mary that her Son, “will
be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will
give Him the throne of His father David; (Luke 1:32). The Davidic theme continues throughout the
tale of Jesus’ birth. He was born in
Bethlehem, the city of David. Even the
angels speak of Jesus’ connection to King David in verse 11, “for today in the city of David there has
been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord…
To locate the
significance of the “swaddling” cloths
you have to go back to King David’s first-born son, Solomon. He was known for his humility (until he turned away
from God). Solomon prayed to God for
wisdom; not wealth, not power, and not honor.
In
Wisdom of Solomon 7, we have this: And
when I was born, I began to breathe the common air, and fell upon the kindred
earth, and my first sound was a cry, like that of all. 4 I was nursed with
care in swaddling cloths. 5 For no king has had
a different beginning of existence; 6 there is for all
mankind one entrance into life, and a common departure. 7 Therefore I prayed,
and understanding was given me; I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom
came to me. 8 I preferred her to
scepters and thrones, and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her.
9 Neither did I liken
to her any priceless gem, because all gold is but a little sand in her sight,
and silver will be accounted as clay before her. 10 I loved her more
than health and beauty, and I chose to have her rather than light...
Jesus’
humble birth is a “sign” to the nation of Israel that He truly is the Son of
David, who like Solomon is not about wealth, power, or honor…and then there’s
the “swaddling” cloth.
Moving
further along in Luke’s narrative to,”…no
room for them in the inn,” this is better translated: no space available in the guest room.
There were no road-side inns in Bethlehem, folks. Jesus' birth predates the Holiday Inn era by quite a few years.
The
word, “inn” in the Greek is Kataluma (kat-al’-oo-mah) and is best
understood as a “guest room.” We find Biblical
evidence of this at Luke 22:11 and Mark 14:14.
Joseph
returned to the home of a family member in Bethlehem and because of the census
order this small dwelling was full of people…there was no room for them. There
is no lack of hospitality here. There is
no sinister inn keeper. That’s the Hollywood version.
The
guest room is already taken. The host is
not expected to ask prior guests (or a recently married son for that matter) to
leave so they make suitable accommodations for them. Now this doesn’t mean that Joseph’s family
suggests they go find a stable or a cave to stay in while they’re in town. Please don’t swallow that Hallmark view of the
Christmas Story. The homes of that era usually
contained a place in the rear for their animals. They brought them in at night and let them
out during the day. This was practical for
a couple of reasons. The closeness of
the animals at night helped heat the home in winter and it kept them from being
stolen (Luke 13:15).
In
all likelihood, this is where the holy family wound up. This is certainly where you’d find a manger –
not the kind you see pictured on most Christmas cards though. A manger is an animal feeder that is made of
carved stone; nothing cutesy about it. In
fact, it has been said by some that the manger is another "sign." It's a
foreshadow of the tomb, also hand carved, in which Jesus will one day be laid and buried.
So,
after carefully investigating and interviewing eyewitnesses regarding Jesus’
birth Luke writes his gospel so that you
may know the truth…
But
truth today is subjective. Case in
point: I was following a car that had
four decals in its rear window. In the
upper corners, they had placed two Joy FM stickers, in the lower right-hand
corner there was a decal of a child kneeling at the cross, hands folded in
prayer. I was thinking to myself this
guys obviously a Christian and enjoys Christian radio. But then I looked in the lower left-hand
corner and saw he had placed an Obama/Biden decal there and I started to wonder. Then I thought maybe he doesn't know this president supports the killing of unborn children. He should. It's the voters responsibility to know the facts. It' also a Christian's responsibility to know what the Bible teaches and then support it. The truth is abortion is at odds with what the Bible
teaches. God’s against killing unborn
children. There’s no debate. It’s right vs wrong.
Because we live in an age of Relativism people treat truth like a ping-pong ball.
Relativism is a philosophical position that all points of view are equally valid, and that all truth is relative to the individual. Meaning all moral positions, all religious systems, all art forms, all political movements, etc., are truths that are relative to the individual and constantly changing.
This
philosophy is pervasive in our culture today.
With the rejection of God and His Word in particular, absolute truth is being abandoned. This pluralistic society wants to avoid the
notion that there really is a right
and a wrong.
If
you doubt me concerning this, look at our deteriorating judicial system that
has increased difficulty in punishing criminals, in our entertainment industry
which continues to push the margins of immorality and indecency; our
educational system which is permitted to teach the theory of evolution as fact
but bans the teaching of creationism outright; our society promotes the
protection of animals but kills 1.5 million unborn children annually. In addition, moral Relativism is encouraging
everyone to accept homosexuality, pornography, fornication, pre-marital sex, drunkenness,
same-sex marriage, and many other sins that were once considered “wrong” but
are now deemed acceptable and promoted by our society (Romans 1:28-32; 2
Timothy 3:1-7).
God
has communicated His stance on all these subjects but people aren’t tuning in.
Society
scorns God and His Word…and that’s a foolish activity (Proverbs 3:34); but we
have this.
Jesus was born!
Luke reports the truth. He tells it just as it happened that night in Bethlehem.
Jesus came serenely and simply, shining His Light into our darkened world. He came in at our level, humbly, poor in other words. He wasn’t born in a palace, amongst kings and rulers, such as Caesar Augustus, for no normal person could imagine themselves being united with a Prince of Rome. No, Luke in his gospel conveys Jesus as the Christ, rich in mercy and grace.
Jesus came serenely and simply, shining His Light into our darkened world. He came in at our level, humbly, poor in other words. He wasn’t born in a palace, amongst kings and rulers, such as Caesar Augustus, for no normal person could imagine themselves being united with a Prince of Rome. No, Luke in his gospel conveys Jesus as the Christ, rich in mercy and grace.
Our
apostle Paul writes,“…although He
existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be
grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of
men. Being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on
the cross. For this reason also, God
highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so
that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and
on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:6-11)
Jesus
wants the world-at-large to know, “I am the way, and the truth…”
Truth
doesn’t change. It stands forever. Can you say the same of philosophy and
Science? Yet, this is where the majority
put their faith and their hope. Listen,
when all hope is lost, in steps Jesus Christ not only saying I have the truth
but also saying, “I am the truth! Come
as you are.”
That’s
the point of this Bible lesson – that
you may know the truth.
God’s
Word says that without His forgiveness you are dead in your sins and you’ll
spend eternity apart from Him and His love in a place of torment especially
made for you called the Lake of Fire. You
have a decision to make. No one can make
it for you.
You’re
either for God or against Him. There’s
no middle ground.
Jesus
has already paid the penalty for your sins at the cross. All you need to do is believe in His death, burial, and resurrection to be saved (plus
nothing else). It’s that simple.
The
Apostle Paul writes, “Now I
make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I
preached to you, which also you received, in which also you
stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed
in vain. For I delivered
to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died
for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that
He was buried, and that He was raised on the third
day according to the Scriptures, (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
If
you believe that Jesus’ shed blood
paid the penalty for your sins, past, present, and future, then you are saved
and eternally secure, in Christ Jesus. That’s
the truth!
I
pray you’ll take the time to “investigate” this matter and respond in kind.
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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