I suppose that most of us at some time or another
in our lives have wondered what it would be like
to be able to travel in time. And I think we
would agree that it would be a most excellent
adventure if we could do so. I'd like for you
to come along with me this morning in a sanctified,
imaginary journey back to the past. in a time
machine that will take us centuries away and
worlds away from where we live now in the 20th
century. We leave behind the 20th century with
its world wars, the beginning of flight, the
invention of the horseless carriage as we journey
backwards in time. We pass the Civil War quickly
and the taming of the West. The American Revolution
lasts but for a second in our timeless scene
as we see the Puritans and the Pilgrims quickly
go by. And even now we're at the discovery of
North America by Columbus, according to some,
or Leif Erikson, according to others. We're traveling
to another part of the world and into ancient
times beyond the time of the Reformation, past
the time of the invention of the Gutenberg Press.
The Crusades of the Middle Ages, past the Dark
Ages, we quickly go. We see the collapse of Rome.
But we're beginning to slow down now as we pass
the time of Augustine and Constantine. And we
begin to stop as we enter the era of the Caesars,
Chariots, Legions, Slaves, and Pantheons. We're
beginning to stop as we come to a period of artisans
and vineyard growers, shepherds and carpenters,
Roman centurions and kings. The Gregorian calendar
which we have with us is not heard of here. They
use a Julian calendar which was commenced just
a few years before this by Julius Caesar prior
to our arrival here in Palestine. The world where
we have stopped is a very different world from
the one that we left behind. Life is not lived
here by the clock, but by the sun. It is a much
quieter world, one of slower pace in living.
Dusty paths are the interstates here, horses
the cars, and camels and donkeys are the carriers
of commerce. We might immediately notice the
lack of carbon monoxide in the air, but sanitary
conditions and the ever -present smoke from cooking
fires confirm that this is not a pollution -free
environment. Many oriental fragrances and smells
greet our western noses. We see around us massive
stone buildings and city walls with heavy security
gates. which dwarf the simple stone structures
and tents which most of the people live in. We
are struck immediately by how poor the masses
are, how oppressed and victimized they are by
the powerful, by the military, by the wealthy.
We sense that life is cheap. And yet the people
are a happy people. Their clothing is simple
and colorful. It consists of a tunic and cloak,
sandals or shoes, and a head covering of some
sort. It's interesting that people are groomed,
but they're not quite as clean as the standards
that we've left behind in the 1990s. As we enter
their homes, we notice that there is no television.
There is no radio. There is no CD player. There
is no cassette player, tapes. No newspapers.
There is no mail service. There is no electricity
or gas. Olive oil lamps provide the simple life.
The closest thing to a mall in this community
is the open air market down at the corner where
animals and fruits, Cloth and other basic commodities
are either bought or bartered for. It's interesting
to notice the Greek cultural influence. It's
obvious. Even though Rome governs the region,
there are temples to Greek gods. Theaters, forums,
gymnasiums, stadiums, public baths are everywhere.
That tells of the influence of Athens, even though...
The world around us is presently governed by
a city that is set on seven hills far to the
west. Here where we have stopped, there are no
policemen, but there are many Roman soldiers
who represent the law, the law of the empire.
Augustus has reigned for some 20 years already.
and has many more years in his reign before he
will die. We'll see his image stamped on the
coins and carved in marble. He dominates the
political scene all around us, not only by his
marbled presence, but also by his appointed governors
and other cronies. His occupation troops hold
the lid on simmering frustration in the masses.
and the defiance that is in the Jewish multitudes
of the region. The atmosphere is a mixture of
hopelessness and expectation, of despair and
yet dreams of liberation. And we notice that
the masses are in movement. Something has recently
been ordered by Rome. A census. A census that
is involved with the taxation of the people.
This had been mandated, and every person, according
to the order, must report to his ancestral village
in order to be registered there. Many are finding
it necessary to make long, arduous journeys.
This man, Joseph, and his wife -to -be, Mary,
arrived here in Bethlehem just a few days before
this. They lived in Nazareth, but it was required
for them to come to this city in order to be
registered. They have lingered a few extra days
because Mary is near giving birth to a child,
and they don't want to risk being on the road
home when delivery should come. And it comes
about that while they are here in this city,
the days were completed for her to give birth,
and she does. And our text says that she gave
birth to her firstborn son. O little town of
Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie. Above thy
deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go
by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting
light. The hopes and fears of all the years are
met indeed tonight. For Christ is born of Mary,
and gathered all above while mortals sleep, the
angels keep their watch of wondering love. O
morning stars, together proclaim his holy birth.
and praises sing to God the King in peace to
men on earth. Jesus Christ is born of Mary, her
firstborn. And as we think of him in his titles
as the firstborn, this morning we come to our
concluding one, Jesus Christ, the firstborn of
Mary. An interesting title for him. It tells
us certain things. First of all, it tells us
something about Mary. It tells us that Mary was
his mother, but Joseph was not his father. He
was not the firstborn of Joseph, but merely the
firstborn of Mary. They were, you see, engaged,
according to verse 5 of our text. And they had
not come together yet as husband and wife. Nonetheless,
she was with child. Matthew chapter 1 confirms
that these two had not known intimacy, that in
fact she was still pure as a virgin and yet was
with child. It is Luke who tells us, with the
interest of a physician, that it was the Holy
Spirit who came upon her. and miraculously caused
Mary to conceive without knowing a man. Matthew
reminds us that this is in accordance with what
the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 7 and verse 14,
had foretold. A virgin would be with child. Luke
recounts for us the angelic visit when this was
announced rather to Mary, and of the joy that
filled her heart. and yet the wonder of it all.
The firstborn of Mary, this tells us that she
was the mother of Jesus, but Joseph was not the
father. It also tells us that Mary was later
to give birth to other children, for Jesus was
but her firstborn. In Luke chapter 8, verses
19 and 20, in fact, this is told to us. where
on an occasion it says that his mother and brothers
came to him, to Jesus, and they were unable to
get to him because of the crowd, and it was reported
to him, your mother and your brothers are standing
outside wishing to see you. So indeed, Mary and
Joseph together had a number of other children.
In Mark chapter 6 and verse 3, these words are
found. Is not this the carpenter, the son of
Mary? and the brother of James and Joseph and
Judas and Simeon? And are not his sisters here
with us? And so the New Testament confirms not
only that Jesus had brothers, but that he had
sisters as well, half -brothers and half -sisters.
And some of them are named. This may seem strange
to us in our culture where there is the teaching
that... Mary was a perpetual virgin. In fact,
there are a number of false teachings that surround
Mary as a result of the worship of her in the
Roman Catholic Church. Now, I know that there
are those who deny that the Roman Catholic Church
worships her, and yet if you look at the literature
surrounding her, indeed that very term is used,
worship and adoration of the virgin. We ought
to tremendously respect this young woman, pure
and godly, who was chosen of the Lord to bear
the Son of God in his humanity as he was incarnated
in human flesh. She is a marvelous example of
what a young person ought to be in service to
the Lord. And yet she herself confessed that
she was a sinner in need of the grace of God.
Some of the false teachings that have arisen
around her, however, state that she is born without
sin. Indeed, when you hear of the Immaculate
Conception, and there are churches, in fact,
I was raised in a small Kansas town where there
was a church by that name. That term, however,
in Roman Catholic theology does not refer to
the virgin birth of Christ, but to the immaculate
conception of Mary in their teaching. That is,
that she was born without a sinful nature. The
Church also teaches that she is incapable of
sin. They teach of her bodily assumption into
heaven, that she died and was raised from the
dead and taken directly to heaven. It teaches
that she is a mediator for sinners and calls
her the mother of God. All of these teachings
are blasphemous. They are part of the worship
of the mother and child, which did not originate,
by the way, in that church, but originated in
ancient Babylon. It is a pagan teaching. The
worship of mother and child can be found in many
ancient religions, in far -flung corners of the
world. It was merely adapted and adopted by the
Roman Church, with Mary and Jesus being given
the names of the mother and child. What this
term teaches us, that Jesus is the firstborn
of Mary, is that in fact she and Joseph did have
other children together, and it pokes at least
one hole in the false teaching that surrounds
her. in the Roman Church. Jesus Christ is the
firstborn of Mary. This also tells us something
about her firstborn. Let me mention a couple
of things. In the first place, it tells us that
he was a unique baby. In this baby was joined,
were joined, the nature of deity and the nature
of humanity in one person. That was not easily
understood. In fact, it took several centuries
for believers to sort out exactly what was the
nature of the Incarnation. There were some who
taught that He was of one nature and that deity
and humanity commingled. There was just one nature.
and one person. There were others who said, no,
that's impossible, there had to be two natures,
but there were actually two persons in one body.
Eventually, the correct theology came to be enunciated
as believers studied the Scripture and prayed
and sought the mind of God regarding the Incarnation.
And finally, it was settled in our understanding
as to what the incarnation involved. It involved
deity and humanity being joined, but not mixed.
They were kept separate, and yet joined in a
mysterious union, forming one person, Jesus Christ.
That is unique. There is no one who's ever been
born like that. He was a unique baby. As God
and man in one person. When you think of it that
way, the manger scene becomes very touching.
Because here you see a baby. that is in the first
place helpless. All babies are. They're defenseless.
Babies have to be protected and nurtured by their
parents. And here in this manger we see a baby
that is helpless and yet which is God himself
come into flesh. Think of this. That here is
the omnipotent God himself in human form. That
he lies there as a helpless baby that must be
cared for by his parents and by the angels that
surround him. His life would have been taken
by Herod in his early months had it not been
for the intervention of the angels and the protection
that his parents gave him in fleeing to Egypt.
Another word comes to mind as I think of the
manger scene, and that is the word humble. For
here we see God himself in all of his splendor,
leaving behind not his deity, but the outward
evidence of his deity. The glory that was rightfully
his as God, condescending to be born. in human
flesh and to allow his glory to be veiled there.
Jesus Christ did not think his equality as God
something to be held on to tightly, but was willing
to lay that aside and to come in the form of
humanity. And here we see him as a baby, dependent
upon others for his very basic needs. We see
God in a baby, needing to be fed at his mother's
breast, needing his diapers to be changed, needing
to be carried from here to there, all of his
needs provided for him. This is God. Think of
the humility of God. When I think of this scene,
another word comes to mind. It is the word unawareness.
Here is God who is omniscient, the God who knows
everything, who cannot learn anything because
he knows all. And yet his omniscience, an attribute
of his deity. has now been shielded from his
humanity. In order to preserve the full expression
and the experience of his being human, a man
does not know everything. And so in the miracle
of the union of God and man, the attributes of
deity -like omniscience are shielded from the
humanity. So that God fully enters into the experience
of being human. He knew before what it meant
because he's omniscient. But now he experiences
it in a body. And we see that amazing verse at
the end of Luke chapter 2 that tells us that
Jesus increased in wisdom. The God who is all
wise learned. He was a unique baby. Can you imagine
the wonder that had to fill the heart of Mary
as she looked into the eyes of this baby? And
beginning to understand that peering back at
her through those little eyes and that little
head was God himself. And as she reached down
and took his little hand in hers and felt those
fingers clasp around hers, the wonder of recognizing
that that was the strength of God. human flesh.
Does your heart wonder like mine does? Are you
struck with awe at this amazing thing that God
did that first Christmas? A unique baby, but
He was also authentically human. He was God and
yet He was man. And we see in the third chapter
of Luke, and I invite you to turn there, this
genealogy of Mary's. And it concludes in verse
38 by reminding us that Mary and her firstborn
were related to Adam. Do you see that in verse
38? This one who was born of Mary, in fact, was
the direct fulfillment of Adam. Adam, the first
Adam, was a type of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the
last Adam. That's the way Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians
chapter 15. The point is that what the first
Adam, the Son of God, by creation. But that first
Adam lost because of his disobedience. The last
Adam, Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, was
going to restore for redeemed humanity. He is
related to Adam. He is related to Abraham. Notice
in verse 34 that honored name. He was authentically
human. He was the son of Adam and yet without
Adam's sin. Thus the necessity of the virgin
birth. He was the son of Abraham and as the son
of Abraham could be the one who would bring about
eventually the fulfillment of God's covenant
with Abraham found in Genesis 12 and further
stated in Genesis chapter 15. where God promised
to Abraham that he and his descendants would
enjoy some geography. And he says that the boundaries
of that include the Nile River over to the Euphrates.
We've got news for Saddam Hussein this morning.
He's only sitting as a squatter on that land.
Someday where he is now reigning, Jesus Christ
is going to reign as the son of Abraham. For
all of that has been promised to Abraham and
to his descendants. And Jesus, as the son of
Abraham, will find the fulfillment of that one
day when he comes to reign. If you look further
in the list, you see names that are strange to
you, some names we see nowhere else. But you
look in verse 31 and you see David. For Jesus
Christ, as the firstborn of Mary, was the descendant
of David. And as such would be the fulfillment
of God's covenant with David. That covenant that
said that there would be an eternal reign of
David's seed upon a throne. The immediate fulfillment
was Solomon, David's son, who reigned on a throne.
But Solomon died, as did Solomon's descendants.
But one day there is going to be a son of David
who will reign on a throne forever. And indeed
you see that. Earlier here in the Gospel of Luke,
where it is promised that Jesus Christ will be
the one who will reign upon the throne of his
father, David. You see that in Luke 1 and verse
32, where the angel says to Mary in announcing
the coming birth, He 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.
Mary understood that she was in the royal line
of David. And now she has given the announcement
that this baby that she's about to give birth
to in a few months will be the one who will reign
on the throne of their father David. Authentically
human. He had to be human to fulfill all of these
things. What does that mean to us today? Well,
it means to us several things. Let me just mention
a couple of them. First of all, it means that
because he's human, he knows exactly what it
means to live as a person in this world. It is
true that he was without sin, but that only increased
his sensitivity, folks, to the hardship and the
horror, the sadness and the disappointment of
humanity. He understands exactly what it means
to be a human being. So you and I have one who
stands before God today who knows exactly how
you feel this morning. Are you sad today? Are
you bearing a load? Are you fearful of the future?
Jesus Christ understands every human emotion,
not merely because He's God, but because He's
man and has lived it. And you can know today
that there's someone in heaven standing before
the throne of God who's able to tell the Father
exactly how you feel and tell the Father exactly
what you need. That's good news. What this also
means to us is this. If the Son of God can lay
aside the glory that was His eternally with the
Father and enter into the limitations of humanity
in order to do us good, to redeem us. then who
are we to stand off from people that we see beneath
us and hold ourselves away from their hurts and
their sorrows? Should we not rather fully enter
into their experience with them in meekness and
in humility and seek to do them good? Jesus Christ
is the firstborn of Mary. That title tells us
something about Mary. It tells us something about
her firstborn. And finally, it tells us something
about ourselves. For this firstborn of Mary is
announced here in chapter 2 of Luke and in verse
11 to the shepherds. And to the shepherds the
angel says, There has been born for you a what?
A Savior. Jesus Christ came to save. That tells
us that we are in need of immediate rescue. Not
rescue by and by someday, but today. We are in
need now. Our situation is urgent and desperate.
we are in need of immediate rescue. Because every
moment that we live in this world, we stand condemned
by our sin. Our rebellion against God puts us
in the place of danger, the danger of His wrath
and eternal punishment. Every moment that we
are here, we abide under the judgment of God.
And we know not when the end of life will come
and sweep us away to our destiny in hell. We
are in need of immediate rescue. And it is hopeless
for us to consider seeking help anywhere else.
God has provided a Savior for us. That's good
news. personally received him into your life.
That is your urgent need. It's not something
for tomorrow. It's not something for next year.
It's something for now, this moment. It's an
urgent tug on your heart. God saying to you,
today is the day of salvation. Call upon the
Lord while he is near. All of us are saddened
to learn of the loss of sailors off of the coast
of Israel in a terrible accident as that ferry
overturned the other evening. It's hard to imagine
having been on shore at leave, relaxed, having
fun, and in a few seconds of time. being submerged
in water, unable to breathe, and dying at 19
or 20 or 21 years of age. But there was no rescue
for the 19 or 20 or however many they will eventually
decide have been lost. They died. But there was
rescue for some. There were more than 100 apparently
on that boat. which means that four -fifths of
them did escape. They found rescue some way.
Helicopters were sent out. Boats were sent out.
And believe me, when those rescuers got there,
they realized the danger at hand. They did not
fight against their rescue. They lifted up their
hands. They grabbed the ropes. They put their
arms over the sides of the ships in order that
they might be saved. I hope the same sense of
urgency would grip the heart of anyone here this
morning without Jesus Christ. Because what this
story is telling us in Luke chapter 2 is that
we are in need of immediate rescue from our sin.
It also tells us that we are the objects of eternal
love. For Christ the Lord has come down himself
to enter into our world. And He has suffered
in our place. He has borne our judgment. And
now God can show His kindness toward us because
of what Jesus has done. 1 John 4, 9 says, By
this the love of God was manifested in us that
God has sent His only begotten Son into the world
so that we might live through Him. It's not enough
just to believe in God. We must believe on...
Jesus Christ for salvation. It's not merely enough
to have a head knowledge about Christ, to know
the Christmas story. We must believe it for ourselves.
Because Jesus Christ is the firstborn, we may,
by faith in Him, be secondborn. We can have a
new birth. We can be born into God's family.
But to be so, we must humbly receive Him, God's
wondrous gift. How silently, how silently the
wondrous gift is given. So God imparts to human
hearts the blessings of His heaven. No ear may
hear His coming, but in this world of sin where
meek souls... will receive him still, the dear
Christ enters in. O holy child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray. Cast out our sin and
enter in. Be born in us today. We hear the Christmas
angels, the great glad tidings tell, O come to
us. Abide with us, our Lord. Emmanuel. Someone
has written, though Christ in Bethlehem a thousand
times be born, if he's not born within your heart,
your life is still forlorn. Let him be born in
you today. Receive him as your Savior. God, as
we look at these words telling us about Jesus'
birth and ponder them, our hearts are immediately
filled with wonder and awe. What grace is this
that you, the eternal God, should love us so?
Oh, Father, I pray today that there may be someone
or some servile who, before leaving this quiet
moment, would open their hearts and in meekness
would receive you. May the dear Christ enter
in and be born in them today. And in turn, may
they be born again into your family. Before I
finish praying, my friend, if that is your need,
would you just this moment trust Christ? Right
now where you're seated there. And if that is
your heart's decision today, would you come by
and shake my hand afterward and just let me know
that you've made that heart decision to trust
Christ this morning. And Father, I pray that
all of us who name the name of Jesus may allow
him to be incarnated in us, in our world, so
that we may touch by Jesus' love and his power
the lives of others who are broken and hurting,
disappointed and desperate. and above all, who
are under the judgment of God because of their
sin. Send us on a mission this week, Lord, to
find those that you are seeking and to bring
them to the knowledge of Christ. In his name
we pray. Amen. Let's stand together, please.
I hope that your Christmas will be a full and
meaningful one.