Why Did Jesus Come?
Luke 2:1-35
December
20, 2009
v. 4 - "city
of
The old kingdom of
David had been dismembered,
conquered, and
devastated. The people had been led
away into captivity
from which few comparatively
speaking, ever returned.
II Sam. 23:1-5
v. 7 - The birth of Jesus Christ in
most important birth which ever occurred on
this planet. Had the world
appreciated the
advent, it
would have heralded it on every
shore
instead of the Babe having to steal in
this world
in a stable among cattle!
We are at the
threshold of a similar situation, the
Second Advent of
Christ - one would think that
this event would be
appreciated by mankind today
to the extent that the
most sophisticated technologies of
man would be employed to
get the news out - what we
find is the exact opposite
of this - the repression of any
thing Christ!
"no room for them in the inn" - today lives are so
crowded with cares,
pleasures and the prizes of this
world; or are so
occupied with pursuits which, if
intellectual,
are unspiritual (not at all Christ-like
being "about my
Father's business"), that there is
no room for the
Divine One who comes to speak of
sin, of mercy and of
life, spiritual and eternal.
The door is slammed
shut, the heart is not open
to Jesus Christ, the
only begotten Son of God,
therefore enlightening
truth, perfect rest and
contentment
in heart, nobility of life, and eternal
glory are also shut
out. Oh, what a penalty men
are paying!
v. 8 -
"shepherds" - are the first to hear the
blessed
tidings of a Savior for the world.
Truly, it was the
exaltation of the humble & meek -
ch. 1:52-53
It was not to
priests, not to kings, the media
or even
pseudo-intellectuals of the day - but to shepherds,
to individuals like
Simeon and Anna, did the Lord
reveal the Christ!
Mishna - a compilation of
traditional interpretations
of the Law
Gemara - a vast
collection of interpretations of the
Mishna
The Mishna and the Gemara, together
make up the
Talmud, the text and commentary of the Law.
The Talmud tells us
that shepherds were not allowed
as witnesses in
court, they were apparently of a very
low class.
However, it was at
least, a semi-sacred occupation
because in the pastures
around
raised the sheep intended
for the daily sacrifices
in the
the solemn ritual of the temple.
In those days a
widely circulated rumor was that
the long looked for
Messiah was soon to appear and
that
Micah 5:2
May I point out in our
day the rumor of the
Second Appearing of
this same Jesus is
in vogue.
Haggai 2:6-7 "Desire of all nations"
v. 9 - the Shechinah glory - the visible token of the
presence of
the Eternal God, in the bush, in
the pillar
of fire & cloud which guided the
desert
wanderings - it surrounded Christ
on the
Mount of Transfiguration - the
occasional
presence of this visible glory was
exceeding
precious to the chosen people.
One can imagine the
terror felt by the shepherds
when brought into
visible communion with the
dwellers of the spirit
world (angels).
vs. 10-12 - read
an angel's sermon -
short but its contents priceless!
The message is about a
personal Saviour, the Mighty
God, the Father of
Eternity and the Prince of Peace -
compare Isaiah 9:6-7
The angels song -
The angel had
arranged for a "service of praise" to
go along with his
preaching - vs. 13-14
The preaching of
the gospel is backed up by the
singing of the
gospel. Praise has its part to play
as well as prayer.
It was at the
praise part of the dedication service of
Solomon's temple that the glory of the Lord appeared.
II Chron. 5:11-14
Notice Rev. 5:11-14
v. 14 - "glory to
God in the highest and on earth, peace
and good
will to men"
Peace between man
and man - Rev. 21:27
LIES - not the
least of which is if you blow yourself
up - 100
virgins will be waiting on you
God entered the
world as a helpless babe that the
world might be redeemed
and restored.
On this rock of the
Incarnation rests the restoration
of the human race to
love and likeness to God!
Has this work done
you any good?
vs. 15-16 - the
shepherds come with haste - prompt
obedience
is the way to blessing
"the king's business required haste" - I Sam. 21:8b
v. 17 - the
shepherds told all who would listen of
the good
news.
Thus the men at the
bottom of the social scale,
in
the new born king.
I Cor. 1:26-28, 3:19
Into their hearts
is poured the gospel for all the
ages - the Sent from
God, the Divine Personality
the brightness of His
glory and the express image o
f His person. (John 6:29, Hebrews 1:3)
v. 10 - "good
tidings of great joy" - the most
blessed
message ever proclaimed - one of
unspeakable
blessedness, a joy to which
no bound
can be set, which no geographical
limit can
measure, which no thought of
class, race
or sect can embitter, a joy to
ALL THE WORLD'S
PEOPLES.
It well agreed to
tell shepherds of the yearning of
a strange Lamb, such
a Lamb as might take away
the sin of the
world. Once again, it is not to the
haughty Pharisee, not to
the Sadducee, cold &
dry as dust, not the Essene ascetic and separatist,
not to the Herodian worldly and crafty, not to the mighty
and noble that the
first tidings of the great joy are
brought.
Today, the Second
Advent of our Lord Jesus is
not being
revealed to, nor proclaimed by the civil
libertarian,
the perverted movie producer, the carnal
artist, or the world
renown new anchor or columnist
but to those “who look
for Him shall He appear the
second time without sin
unto salvation” – (Hebrews 9:28)
The first preacher
is the heavenly angel, and the first
congregation,
some lowly, simple men, who are doing
their duty in the place
where God appointed them.
Heaven is always
near the dutiful!
vs. 17-18 - After
short visits and short sermons, the
angels are
withdrawn and these poor shepherds
spread the
glad tidings, telling all who would
listen in
their humble way all that they had
seen and
heard. It is God's plan and must
be best!
v. 19 - One who
heard and profited was Mary
v. 20 - the
shepherds praise God!
v. 21 - Jesus was
circumcised - circumcision
and
purification rites were enjoined on all
and were
intended as perpetual witnesses
to the
deadly taint of imperfection and sin.
Christ did not need
this but was willingly obedient
to the Divine Law
under which He was born.
v. 24 - proper
offering - lamb for burnt offering,
a pigeon or
dove for a sin offering - a
concession
to the poor - could bring 2
pigeons or
doves
You can read about
it in the 8 verses of Lev. 12
v. 25 - Simeon -
many expositors believe that this
Simeon was identical with Shimeon, the
son of the
famous Hillel, and father of
Gamaliel.
Simeon was
president of the Sanhedrin in A.D. 13 -
of this the Mishna is silent - could
it be owing to
his belief in Jesus of
Sounds like some of
the tricks – sounds like the
modern media - I am
speaking of years of clever control!
Remember, it was
not to the priests, not to kings, the media
or even
pseudo-intellectuals of the day - but to shepherds,
to individuals like
Simeon, Anna & the Magi did the Lord
reveal the Christ!
To one who was
"looking for the consolation of
"and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second
time without sin
unto salvation" - Hebrews 9:28b
WHERE ARE YOU
LOOKING TODAY?
v. 29
vs. 30-32 - the great
joy of salvation is that it is
intended
for all people - Jew or Gentile
v. 34 - We have
come full circle - in Roman times
the name of
Jesus of
was a name
of shame, hateful and despised.
Acts 4:28 Psalm 2:1-3
v. 25 - Simeon - “a
man in
waiting,
the Holy Ghost was upon him.
Some expositors
believe that Simeon was the son of
the famous Hillel, and the father of Gamaliel.
This Simeon became
president of the Sanhedrin in
A.D. 13.
The Mishna, part of Jewish traditions, which have
preserved the record and
sayings of the great rabbis,
passes by this Simeon,
perhaps owing to the hatred
which this famous
teacher incurred, because of his
belief in Jesus of
A common Jewish
prayer of that time -
“may I see
the Consolation of
v. 26 - Legend is
that Simeon was puzzled by Isaiah 7:14
At length he
received a supernatural intimation that
he should not see
death until he had seen the
fulfillment
of the strange prophecy, the meaning
of which he had long
failed to see.
v. 27 - “custom of
the law”
In this day the
danger of Matt. 15:6 - “ye made the
commandment
of God of none effect by your
tradition” - Put it to the
polls - skew the polls -
propaganda
- disobedience - tribulation - destruction.
v. 28 - Discerning
the hidden glory of Jesus.
v. 29 - “thy
servant” - Josh. 23:14
I am satisfied -
let me now depart in peace.
Many get their
satisfaction in things that are seen
and temporal - taking
pleasure in money, in wielding
power, in gaining honor –
To these types will the
Second Coming of
Jesus be revealed or will the
be like those during
the time of the Flood, of
which the scripture said
“And knew not until the
flood
came, and took them all away”- (Matthew 24:38)
Scripture - “the
eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor
the ear with
hearing” - Eccl. 1:8
“Peace I leave with
you, my peace I give unto you:
not as the world giveth, give I unto you” - ch.
14:27
vs. 30-32 - “mine
eyes have seen thy salvation”
“which thou
has prepared before the face
of all people” -
Intended for
everybody -
in the early 70’s -
leery of someone who has something
for everybody.
Some believe - some
don’t - Acts 28:24-28
v. 34 - It became
clear as time unfolded that those who
were
ignorantly supposed to be blind were the
souls
seeing God and equally clear that those
who claimed
to know everything had eyes that
were
against the light.
John 12: 39-40 - a moral
impossibility inherited by the Jews
through ages of rebellion &
insensibility to Divine
grace and misuse of
revelation - “they could not
believe. A fixed law - power unused destroys itself -
persistent disregard
for religion makes it more difficult
to obey or believe.
Is challenging a
nativity scene on public property
diffusing this blindness?
A solemn passage quoted
four other places in NT
Luke 8:10 Matt. 13:14-15 Mark 4:12
Acts 28:26-27
The unforced &
willful rejection of the Divine Word
is visited by a withdrawal
of the faculty to receive
even more accessible &
apprehensible truth.
Until - Back to square
one - v. 25
John 14:10-11 -
There is no right understanding of
Jesus Christ until the Father is
seen in Him.
He is the Image of
His substance
Agent of His purpose
Speaker of His words
Doer of His works (salvation from sin &
righteousness of life)
v. 12 - Which is
greater - a soul being saved by the
preached
word or a person healed through
Christ’s word?
v. 34 - for the
next three centuries the name of Jesus
Christ of
shamed and
despised.
A Corner Stone - a stumbling stone.
For some - a
stepping stone, a strong foundation,
Isaiah 28:16-18
For others - a
stumbling stone - Matt. 21:44