Christmas Eve 2013
Hebrews 10:19-23; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-35 · Roger Henderson · Dec 24, 2013
Holidays
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926410372884

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

you Good evening. Welcome to the celebration of Christmas Eve that we're calling All Have the Lamb. Now, at first, that may sound like a menu selection at the restaurant, but we're saying it's Mary's declaration of her willingness to have Christ the Lamb. And so let's take a minute before we begin and take a word of prayer. Lord, thank you for this opportunity that you have provided for us to gather together and to celebrate our Lord's birth. Thank you, Lord, too, that it is not just a sweet or interesting story, but it is, in fact, the birth of our Savior, the one who paid the price that we could never pay and the one with whom we will live forever. And we will be like him because we will see him as he is. Thank you, Lord, for this opportunity you've given us now, for this very special time of year. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's have you all stand and let's sing Angels We Have Heard on High, three verses. Angels we have heard on high Sweetly singing o'er the plains, And the mountains in reply Echoing their joyous strains. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong? What the gladsome tidings be Which inspire your heavenly song? Gloria In excelsis Deo In excelsis Deo.

Come to Bethlehem and see Christ, Jew's birth, the angels sing. Come adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the newborn King. In excelsis Deo. Gloria in excelsis Deo. See Him in a manger laid, Whom the choirs of angels praise. Mary, Joseph, lend your aid, While our hearts in love we raise. Gloria in excelsis deo. Gloria in excelsis deo. Luke 1 26-38 Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin, engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.

And coming in, he said to her, Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you. But she was very perplexed at this statement and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. 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. and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end. Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I am a virgin? The angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and for that reason the holy child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age, and she who is called barren is now in her sixth month.

For nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, Behold, the bondslave of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her." The angel Gabriel told Mary, who was actually likely in her early teens at this time, that she was to give birth to a son who would be the one to fulfill all the prophecies of the gospel of the kingdom. When Mary asked how this was to be, since she was a virgin, the angel Gabriel then told her that she would become pregnant by means of the Holy Spirit. And she said, Behold the bondslave of the Lord. How willing a heart she had.

It is Joseph who would be told that Jesus, whose name means Savior, would save his people from their sins, in Matthew 1.21. Yes, Mary would have God's Lamb.

You see, Matthew tells us about the Christmas account involving Joseph and the Magi and Herod. It's Luke that tells us about the Christmas account involving Mary and Zechariah and Elizabeth and John the Baptist and the shepherds. And it's Luke's account which we'll be following through for the most part tonight. Matthew and Luke both provide their unique and certainly compatible accounts of our Savior's birth. In the first two chapters for each of them, and then both start the third chapter telling about the ministry of John the Baptist, Dr. Luke's gospel is the only one to focus on the birth of John the Baptist.

Elizabeth, Mary's relative, is given to finally bear a son, John, in her old age, who was born six months before Christ. So right now, let's listen to what a conversation between Mary and Joseph might have been like in those momentous times when Mary had just learned that she was going to bear the child who would be the Christ, the Messiah, the long-awaited King of Israel. Joseph, my beloved. I think this is not on. The switch is here. The switch is out of view. Joseph, my beloved, come walk with me a while. I have something to share with you this evening.

An angel of God has appeared unto me, and this is the greeting that he gave me. The Spirit of God has overcome you, and you shall bear His child, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He'll save His people from sin. Mary, oh Mary, how can this be true? How can I believe the words you're saying? I've kept you a virgin, but now you are with child. How can I be sure you are not lying? Joseph, oh Joseph, I've loved no other man, and I serve only one God, Jehovah. Please know I am not deceiving you. I am only believing in His promise.

Matthew 1. 18 through 21. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Mary, my beloved, come walk with me a while. I have something to share with you this morning. An angel of God has appeared unto me. And this is the greeting that he gave me. The Spirit of God has overcome her.

And she will bear his child, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he'll save his people from sin. me, and I shall bear his child, and we shall call his name After the birth of the child, Words like this would be quite fitting. Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water? Mary, did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new? This child that you've delivered will soon deliver you. Mary, did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man? Mary, did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?

Did you know that your Your baby boy has walked where angels trod. When you've kissed your little baby, you've kissed the face of God. The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again. The lame will leap, the dumb will speak the praises of the Lamb. Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation? Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations? Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect lamb? This sleeping child you're holding is the great Ahail! them.

Luke 2, 1-7 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria, and everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth to Judea, the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. but he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was with child. When they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth, and she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

So as we kind of continue in Luke here, as Vern's kind of pointed out, we're going to see a story kind of magnify, unfold a little bit more. And you guys are really familiar with this story. It's so familiar that it's kind of, you know, you think you guys have heard everything about this story, it seems like. So hopefully there's a few little things maybe you haven't heard. And so it's interesting that the first part, the first two or three verses that Ryan read were about the historical setting, basically the fact that it was decreed from Caesar.

They didn't go, hey, we'll just go down to Bethlehem and have a good time. They had to go to Bethlehem. Under Roman rule, they didn't have much of a choice. And if you think about it, another interesting thing, if you look at the genealogies in Scripture, you'll kind of see that both Joseph and Mary, David is in their line. You trace Mary's descendants and Joseph's descendants, they're both in the line of David. So wherever they were, they had to go to Bethlehem, basically, because that was the city of David. What's interesting is, for us in Colorado, There's an elevation change here. It's about a four or five day trip between Nazareth and Bethlehem. And actually, Nazareth is 700 feet below sea level, and Bethlehem is 2,500 feet above sea level.

So this wasn't your stroll in the park little journey. It was a long way. And it's not clear. I'm not clear that she really had a donkey to ride on. But anyway, so it may have been a long way. You ladies could understand, I'm sure. Also, after she arrived, you know, there's depicted in some movies that Christ was born almost immediately. They just rushed there and Christ came immediately. Well, the text says that she was there and her days were completed. It could have been days to weeks she was there before the birth came, it seems like. And then she wrapped him in cloth. Basically, it was strips of cloth, which apparently was the custom of that time. And then she laid him in a manger, which sounds kind of warm and cozy, but actually in reality, it was an animal feeding trough.

And part of that comes about, if you look at the word for inn in the original, it talks about this idea that the inn, they didn't make it to the inn. They didn't get a chance to stay at the inn, but the inn at best was a place where you stayed with your animals. So if you had a favorite horse, you'd hang out with him. But they didn't get to stay at the inn. They stayed at a place sort of like the inn, and apparently a feeding trough was the best they could find.

So now Mark's going to read the next 8 through 12 in Luke. In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened.

But the angel said to them, do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all the people. For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men, with whom he is pleased. Well, the story continues. So now we kind of focus on the vicinity of Bethlehem, the city of David.

And we see here that it's interesting, you know, God's audience, he didn't go to the rulers or the important people. He didn't necessarily even go to the common people. He went to shepherds and shepherds were shepherds. I mean, they were kind of people that hung out with these animals all the time. And I don't think they quite You may not want them over for dinner because maybe they didn't smell too well. I mean, they just weren't the higher strata.

Anyway, the Lord chose the shepherds to announce his birth, the Lord Jesus' birth. And it's interesting that it says the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds. It also said the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in his dreams. So kind of interesting, whereas it was Gabriel who appeared to Mary.

So it's just kind of interesting. I'm not sure I can explain all that, but interesting. And then I think what's kind of really cool When the announcement is made, it is scary, because what happens is the angel of the Lord stands before the shepherds, and it's a sudden thing.

Boom, he's right there. And actually, the Amplified Bible says, the glory of the Lord flashed and shone all about them, and they were terribly frightened. So literally the angel had to say, stop being afraid. Don't be afraid. I mean, he had to be really firm because you'd just be shaking in your boots. I mean, all of a sudden, boom, here's this angel before you. So it was pretty scary stuff. But the wonderful part is that the angel had this wonderful news. And he starts off, he says, basically, I bring you good news of great joy, which shall be for all people. And I think it's really important to realize it was for all people.

Israel was looking for a king to basically overcome their oppression from the Romans. But God had a different idea. He was looking for a savior for the world. So we see in this, then he gets down, the angel gets down to the point of him coming, and he says, today in the city of David, which is Bethlehem, there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And one thing that was for all people, he's a Savior, as I mentioned several times before. And if you remember back, and actually it was read before, when Joseph gave his account to Mary, or gave his account of the angel, it says, she, Mary, will bear a son, And you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

So God's God's plan on all this is is the sin question. He's concerned about the sin question. You know, Israel may be concerned about a king, but he was concerned about man's sin. And he and so we find in scripture other descriptions about how Christ would deal with the sin issue.

And John the Baptist says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And Christ did take away the sins of the world. In other parts of Scripture, it says He is the satisfaction or the propitiation for our sins. So basically, God has accomplished. He has resolved the sin issue. Sins have been paid for.

So the question is, you say, well then, what do I have to worry about? Well, God wants us to believe that and to accept that. And basically, Paul pointed that out in the section in 1 Corinthians 15. He says, For I delivered to you of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, he was buried, and he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. So that's the information that we need to know about the Savior, what he did, what he accomplished.

And that's what we're to believe and put our trust and faith in. So I thought it kind of goes along very well with the statement, the angel said, I have great news. I have good news of great joy, which shall be for all people. So next, we have a special music here by Jacqueline.

Thank you. do you When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, let us go straight to Bethlehem then and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us. So they came in a hurry. and found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as he lay in the manger when they had seen this they made known the statement which had been told to them about the child this child and all who heard it wondered at all the things which were told to them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as had been told to them."

Well, as Roger was talking about these angels and the shepherds, my thought was, why them? You know, what qualification did a shepherd have to receive this grace? And which goes, what qualifications do you have to receive the grace that you have? We're sinners and so were they. But the angels talked of salvation. They said unto you today is born a savior. They didn't say a judge or an attorney or a lawgiver or a politician or a king. They said a savior.

And Paul says in Titus 2.11, for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men. In Second Timothy 1, Paul says, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of the Savior Christ Jesus. So from the beginning of the word of God all the way to whosoever will, from the seed of the woman to the salvation has always been the issue.

So I would say with these shepherds, the thing that entitled them to the grace was that they believed. It's interesting that these men were just doing what they did, but I think they represented the remnant of Israel. A remnant is someone who believes what God has revealed in spite of what the society might be doing. And these men exercised faith in what was told them that night, and they decided to go and check it out.

And they found Mary and the Savior, who is Christ the Lord, and they rejoiced. And the reason they rejoiced is because they knew that they were observing the Christ of God, the Savior. These shepherds rejoiced because the blessing was fulfilled before their eyes. The angel told them what they would find, and so they went and checked it out, and that's what they found. And that caused them to rejoice because they observed what had been told to them. It adds to the testimony of the grace to all who enjoy the blessings of God. Jesus is recognized by them as the remnant of Israel, and he will become the standard for every soul."

And I thought about what is it to be a member of the remnant? Sometimes I feel like we're the remnant around here. The condition of a remnant is that we're sensible of the misery and the ruin of Israel at that time. But they waited upon the God of Israel, trusting to his unchangeable faithfulness for the comfort of his people. They still said, how long is it going to be? We say that. God was with this remnant. He had made known to those who thus trusted in his mercy the coming of the promised one, who was to be the fulfillment of the mercy to Israel.

Thus, in the presence of the oppression of the Gentiles, because Israel was under Roman rule at that time, and the iniquity of the people, the Jews, which had ripened really into evil, the remnant who trusted in God did not lose that which belonged to Israel. Luke 2, 25-35. And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel.

And the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to carry out for him the custom of the law, Then he took him into his arms and blessed God and said, Now, Lord, you are releasing your bond bond servant to depart in peace, according to your word.

For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.' And his father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel and for a sign to be opposed. And a sword will pierce even your own soul to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.

So Simeon is another one of these members of the remnant and he's in the temple And the word says here that he came in by the Spirit into the temple. He just happened to show up at the same time that Mary and Joseph and the babe had come according to the custom of the law.

No, he was led there by the Spirit. Because it had been revealed to him in the past by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Christ or the Lord's Savior. So he sees that there was in this baby one altogether above the law. There's nothing so sure as the testimony of God and his word. And he had the revelation that he should not see death until he had seen the anointed of Jehovah.

And then what does he do? I like it says, and then he took him into his arms and blessed God and said, I bet he grabbed him. This is Him. This is the One. And He said, Now, Lord, you are releasing your bondservant to depart in peace according to your word. You know, it's interesting.

If you lived under the law of Moses and you were a sinful man, you didn't get to depart in peace. Peace must be, in order to be real and righteous, it's got to be from God, who gave the law, but who also gave grace. And Simeon sees the grace of God. And he recognizes that this Savior is somebody that was special.

But I find it interesting that Luke equates his holding and seeing the Savior with the fact that he can be released now and depart in peace. And I thought about that and I thought, you know what? Every believer or every human being that comes to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, shares that same peace. The sting of death goes away. We're ready to go anytime because we've held the Savior. My eyes have seen your salvation. This was what the kings and prophets had desired to see for centuries. And now Simeon saw it in the person of Jesus. And so as it was grace of the most marked character in the favor shown to an aged man, He enters more or less into the dealings of grace by the power of the Spirit of God.

And then he says, which, as Roger alluded to, which you have prepared in the presence of all people. Notice again that he doesn't say just Jewish people, just Israel. The light of the Lord Jesus Christ, the revelation to the Gentiles is for all people.

Salvation is for every human being. So to this godly man, there's an indication of the momentous change that was at hand. The salvation of God could not be restricted to one people or one country or one designated. If God's salvation was upon the earth, it must at least in result be before all nations. As Paul said, the grace of God has appeared to all men. That goes further, no doubt, because it supposes the work has been done to affect salvation as well as the person manifested. Nevertheless, the principle is the same. Now, Jesus is, as it were, he's their shame or rather they are his because they crucified him. They have not yet repented of this sin. but added to it their contempt of the Spirit's message of forgiveness and the faith of the gospel.

And then he turns to Joseph and Mary. Well, Joseph and Mary thought about what was being said there. And I think about them, they're just observing. Mary's a young woman, a girl really, but she's now a mom. And the word says, his father and mother wondered at these things which were said concerning him. So Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, behold, this child is appointed for the fall and the rise of many. In Israel and for a sign to be opposed and a sword will pierce even your own soul. Wonder about what he's saying, Mary's sorrow is alluded to, who is to be the witness of the crucifixion of her own son.

Luke always brings out these touches of human affection and sorrow in his writings. This is a part of his of his province, and because he particularly portrays the Lord Jesus as a man and in accordance with which he brings out the feelings of those so nearly connected with him as his mother. To the end that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. It's very interesting.

When the Lord Jesus is presented to any man, It forces a man to make a decision. It would force the Lord Jesus Christ forces your heart because of the light that's put upon it to decide whether you receive him or not. So, so much so that he is humbled in the world of pride on occasion of the falling to many and the means of the of rising to many from their low and degraded condition. It all depended on whether he's accepted as their personal Savior or not.

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he inaugurated for us through the veil that is his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart and full assurance of faith. having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

O come, O come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, Who ord'rest all things mightily, To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel, Shall come to thee, O Israel. Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer Thy spirits by thine advent here, And drive away the shades of night, And death's dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice!

Rejoice, Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel So Jesus Christ has come, and He's come to die. That's really why He's here. And listen to what the verses that Laban talked about, and a couple others a little further down where the writer of Hebrews says that, but this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. Why is he seated? He's seated because the work is finished. The Jewish temple system had priests working and sacrificing night and day, 24-7, because the most they could do was cover the sins. They couldn't get rid of them. They couldn't take them away, as Roger referred to. So the sins now are taken away.

And what does Christ do from this seated position today? I think he does two things. One, he's an advocate for us, and he's the foundation of our confession. We are to confess our sins, which means we're to agree with God about what he's done about them. And an advocate is one who speaks for another. Our Lord Jesus has entered heaven. now to appear in the presence of God for us as our high priest. A priest represents the people before God. He is in God's presence right now on behalf of us. He is himself the satisfaction and the atonement for sins. And verse 14 says, and by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. Being sanctified means to be set apart.

We have been positionally set apart in Christ, but conditionally we are being set apart on a moment by moment basis. The only thing that gets in the way of that is our sinning, but our position can never be changed. So to sum this up, my thought was, was Christ's birth enough? And I had to answer the question, no, it wasn't enough. He came not just to be born and not just to live a perfect life, but he came to suffer and die for the sins of the world, the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God. He had every right to return to heaven without dying. He hadn't done anything worth death.

Instead, the Lord Jesus chose to allow himself to be crucified And while on the cross he accepted the punishment against sin from a holy God for the sins that others had committed. Now he can fairly offer salvation to whosoever will come to him and receive it.

God's love would never have been satisfied with Christ living a perfect life. Romans 5a tells us, but God demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. My last question to you would be, will you now come to him and receive his salvation, who has now risen from the dead and offers it to you by grace?

Randy has some special music. Jesus born in Bethlehem Heaven sent to carnal men The Word descending to sins offending Only God could make this plan A frail baby so out of place Entirely God, but made to wait Sent to redeem Adam's race Sent to stamp out sin's cruel hate Jesus, born to a virgin young, born of the Spirit, God's own Son, to sacrifice for unworthy lives. Only God could make this plan A frail baby so out of place Entirely God, but made to wait Sent to redeem Adam's race Sent to stamp out sin's cruel hate Jesus trained as a carpenter using tools that would one day hurt. You gave your life that we might Son of God, come to forgive A frail baby so out of place Entirely God, but made to wait Sent to redeem Adam's race Sent to stamp out sin's cruel hate Sent to stamp out sin's cruel hate. Can you hear that? I don't know if you can hear it.

Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace. Glory, glory, glory to the newborn King. Christ the Savior is born Silent night, holy night, Son of God comes from Thy holy face. With the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

We have one more thing that's not in anyone else's schedule, but Wayne came up to me and he said, Randy, you need to call the elders and their wives up to the front, and everybody else can be seated. The elders are looking at one another like, oh no, because it's Wayne. Good. These are the elders and their wives of Holly Hills Bible Church.

These men have a huge responsibility before the Lord to assure that the word that is taught here is accurate. And we thank the Holy Spirit for that in their lives. And we give glory to God for sending them to us. And we'd just like, on behalf of the fellowship, to show our appreciation for them. So if you'd like to stand and clap, we'd be fine too.

And you are to share that with your wives, you know. Thanks so much. There's actually one more thing I need to say. I have one more thing I'm supposed to say. You can sit down or stand up. I don't care. There's there's some some cookies out there, and if you've already had a good Tasty meal already, and you're full and you couldn't eat another bite of cookies.

That's fine, but there's also these really great Booklets called abide in me that are out there next to the cookies so even if you're you know not predisposed to sugar during the holiday season and uh... which i think is rare but whatever uh... they're really good and i'm i'm just a real passage out of the booklet that i thought was uh... humdinger and there's a lot more in there like it This then is the great object for which we are left in this dark world, to shine as lights by exhibiting something of the beautiful character of Christ. This will only be possible as we abide in Christ. We shall never exhibit the character of Christ by simply trying to be like Christ. If, however, we seek His company and come under His influence by abiding in Him, we shall be changed into His image from glory to glory. A great little snippet out of here, but on your way out, grab one for your family. Alright, have a Merry Christmas.