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WEEKLY
Volume 1 Number 30
24 December 2006
No Room for Jesus?
(Message delivered by Pr
Hien Nguyen at the Sunday Worship Service, 2 pm, Dec 24, 06)
Text: Luke
2:1-14
Greetings to all of you in the
name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We truly thank God for
sending His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to this world more
than two thousand years ago to die for sinners and rise again to be the
Saviour of the world. Christmas is celebrated almost everywhere in the
world today. The difference is the hearts of the people. For Christians
like us we celebrate Christmas with joy, reverence and thanksgiving
while non-Christians celebrate with Christmas decoration, parties,
entertainments, etc. For Christians, we know Jesus is not only the
Perfect Man but also the Perfect God, the Saviour of the world. For
non-Christians, Jesus is only a good man, a good teacher, a good prophet
or a great religious leader like others. Many even celebrate Christmas
without knowing anything about the Lord Jesus or who Jesus is. How about
you and me? Christmas story is a true story with historical facts. It
tells about God’s sovereignty and man’s
responsibility. It also tells about who Jesus is and how about our
response. Do we have any room in our heart for Jesus? The topic of the
message this afternoon is the question, “No Room for Jesus?” according
to Luke 2:1-12.
Historical Facts
The Bible is the Word of God and is the truth that we
need to know: the truth about God and His salvation for mankind as well
as the truth about man and his desperate need of the Saviour. The whole
Bible is perfect and true and worthy to have our wholehearted trust
concerning not only salvation and doctrines but also science, history
and geography. Therefore, the story of Christmas in this Bible text is a
true story with real historical and personal names like Jesus, David,
Joseph, and Mary, Augustus, Cyrenius, and with real places like Syria,
Nazareth, Galilee, the City of David or Bethlehem.
“And it came to pass, in
those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all
the world should be taxed”
(v 1). A decree here is the order from the emperor. Caesar Augustus was
the first emperor of Rome, who reigned from 27 BC to AD 14. “All the
world” here refers to the world of the Roman Empire, including most of
the coastal countries around the Mediterranean Sea. “Be taxed,” in
original language, means “to register one’s name in the tax list,” or
“to enrol oneself.” This is
the Roman universal census to number each nation by
family. Therefore Joseph and Mary, descendents of David, had to return
to their hometown in Bethlehem to register.
In verse 2, Cyrenius, in Latin Quirinus, was a Roman
governor of Syria at the time of Jesus’ birth. Syria was not like the
country Syria nowadays. It was a Roman province including Syria and
Cilicia (a region in the Southeast of Asia Minor, nowadays Turkey).
Concerning geography, if we go to Israel today, we
can visit these real places like Nazareth, Galilee, Bethlehem, and so
forth.
Then, the Christmas story is a true
historical story accepted not only by Christians but also by
non-Christians.
God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Responsibility
Another point we can learn from this
passage is God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. God’s sovereignty
means that God is in control over everything and He is doing what He has
planned according to His own will, His own way, and His own timing with
His wisdom and power that no one or nothing can intervene or stop Him.
God even can make everything work together for good to those who love
Him. However, God is never the author of sin or evil because God can
never be wrong nor do anything wrong. God is always holy, just, good,
wise and mighty. It is men who are responsible for all the evils of the
world due to their sins and disobedience. Then, because of God’s
sovereignty, nothing happening to us is by chance or by accident.
God’s Sovereignty
can be seen in the fulfilment of God’s promises concerning the Messiah
in the New Testament. First, the Messiah was born of a virgin (Gen 3:15;
Isa 7:14; Matt 1:18, 25; Luke 1:35; 2:6-7). Jesus was born by the Virgin
Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. Second, the Messiah came from the
seed (singular) of Abraham (Gen 12:3) and of Isaac (Gen 17:19), from the
tribe of Judah (Gen 49:10), from the lineage of David, the heir to the
throne of David (Isa 9:7; 11:1-5). And by God’s sovereignty, this was
fulfilled in our passage, in verse 4, “And Joseph also went up from
Galilee, out of
the city of
Nazareth, into
Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he
was of the house and lineage of David:).”
Finally, the Messiah was born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), and this was
also fulfilled by God’s sovereignty. Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth.
Joseph was a carpenter, and surely they were not rich. They would have
never thought of travelling back to their hometown while Mary was
expecting. A long journey without modern means of transportation would
really be a trouble to Mary who was great with child. Then how could the
Messiah be born in Bethlehem? It was only by God’s sovereignty that
Augustus ordered all people in his empire to go back to their hometown
to register their names in the tax list. Therefore, Joseph and Mary had
to go back to Bethlehem, and Jesus was born there to fulfil God’s
prophecy in the Scriptures!
My dear friends, God is still sovereign whether we
believe this truth or not. All events in the world history are under His
control. Even a bird falling down is not without His will. When you and
I recall all the events in our lives, our birth, our studies, our jobs,
our family life, and especially our salvation in the Lord Jesus, we must
acknowledge God’s sovereignty. Even this afternoon, it is by God’s
sovereignty and providence that you and I are present in this place to
worship the Lord. It is not by chance!
Man’s Responsibility
can also be seen in this Christmas story. Have you ever wondered why God
chose Joseph and Mary in a small town Nazareth and not other rich and
educated descendants of David in Jerusalem? Why did the angel not
announce the good news to the religious leaders and the nobles in
Jerusalem but to the shepherds in the field? That is God’s sovereignty
but also man’s responsibility.
First it is the humble
submission of Joseph and Mary. They believed in God and humbly obeyed
God without any fear of public opinion. A lady who was pregnant without
a husband was to be stoned to death according to the law of Moses.
Surely Mary was worried about the rumours of the public; especially, her
marriage would be finished if Joseph recognized that she was expecting.
And would her parents and siblings and relatives believe her if she were
to tell them that the baby in her womb was from God? However, here we
see that God did take care of her when she
believed in Him, and committed her life, her name, her reputation, her
future to Him with full submission. My dear friends, God does regard
your heart and my heart more than our positions in society, our
education, or our nice appearance. When we hear God’s word, if we
believe and obey His will no matter what other people may say, even our
friends or relatives who may ridicule, despise or forsake us, we will be
surely blessed by our gracious God.
How about Joseph? The Bible says that he was a just
man (Matt 1:19) and intended to put Mary away secretly and quietly when
he recognized that she was expecting. However, an angel appeared to him
in a dream and told him to take Mary his wife because the child was
conceived in her by the power of the Holy Spirit. God could choose him
and use him because he was a just and obedient man. Actually, no man is
just before God (Rom 3:10). Joseph was called a just man as he had a
right relationship with God through his faith in God, in God’s Word and
in God’s coming Messiah. Likewise, we are justified and have a right
relationship with God through our faith in our Saviour Jesus Christ and
in God’s Word. Today, we have the Bible, the complete, sufficient and
final revelation of God, so we do not need an angel to appear to us in a
dream, but we just read God’s word and seek His will with our prayerful
and submissive heart.
How about the shepherds? When the angel appeared to
them and announced the good tidings, they believed and went to
Bethlehem, and found Mary, Joseph and the babe in the manger. Then they
glorified and praised God and shared the good news to others. How about
you and me? Shall we do the same by believing and worshiping our Saviour
Jesus Christ and sharing this good news to others?
Who Is Jesus?
We cannot fully trust the one
we do not know, so we are to know the Lord Jesus Christ so that we may
love Him, trust Him, worship Him, serve Him and tell others about Him.
Let us hear again the announcement of the angel in verses 10-11,
“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which
shall be to all people. For unto you
is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord.” Jesus means “Saviour.” He came
to die for our sins and rose again for our justification. He is still
the living Saviour now and for ever. Christ means the Anointed One.
There are three anointed offices: the priestly, the kingly and the
prophetic. When we say that Jesus Christ is our Anointed One, we must
mean that He is our Saviour as High Priest, King of kings, and Divine
Prophet. We not only believe and receive Him as our Saviour who saves us
from sins but also our High Priest who is our Mediator before the Holy
God, our King who reigns over our lives, and our Prophet whose words we
trust and obey.
My dear friends, many receive
Jesus as their Saviour but how about “Christ the Lord.” Is
He our High Priest, our King, our divine Prophet, and our Lord? We are
to be submissive to Him and His Word wholeheartedly. Do we receive and
obey all His words seriously, faithfully and reverently? The Bible says,
“every soul who will not hear (obey) that Prophet, shall be
destroyed from among the people” (Acts 3:23). May God help us to
hear His voice alone and follow Him alone, our good Shepherd. Thank God
and praise the Lord that today we still have God’s Word perfectly
preserved for us to read, study, and observe.
No Room for Jesus?
In verses 5 to 7, we learn that Mary was
great with child and the days to deliver coming when they arrived in
Bethlehem. She really needed special care and rest. However, due to the
decree from Caesar Augustus, many people went back to their hometown to
register, all the inns were occupied. The owners could do good business
by raising the rent or reserving the rooms for the rich, so there was no
room for Mary and Jesus. We can imagine that Mary was on a donkey,
looking so tired after a long journey, desiring a place to rest and to
deliver the baby, while Joseph was taking her along from this inn to
another, both worrying and praying. Maybe, when looking at them, people
despised them because they were poor.
Nowadays, on the bus or on the
train, there are some signs reminding the passengers to reserve some
seats for the elderly, the disabled, the pregnant, and children. But how
did people treat the pregnant Mary? They did not care for her nor have
any mercy on her. In the end, by God’s grace and care, Mary delivered
the baby and wrapped Jesus and put Him in the manger of a stable, among
the animals, so smelly and dirty! Our Lord and Saviour did suffer a lot
for us since He was born! The people did not know that Jesus was their
Creator, coming to save them. They had no room for Mary and Jesus in
their hearts, so there was no room for Mary and Jesus in the inn. My
dear friends, how about your hearts and my heart at the moment? Do we
have any room for our Lord and Saviour? He wants our whole heart as His
first and great commandment is to love Him with all our heart, with all
our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength. My dear friends,
it is so heartless if we leave the Lord Jesus outside of our hearts
while He is standing and knocking! But we should remember that the Lord
Jesus will come back the second time with glory, majesty and victory to
judge the unbelievers and to bless His children. He has prepared many
rooms for them in His Father’s house in
heaven (John 14:1-2). If we do not have any
room for Him in our hearts today, He will not have any rooms for us in
heaven!
Conclusion
My dear friends, the Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ does love you and me so much that He humbled Himself to become
man, who was born in a poor family. In His ministry, He traveled here
and there to preach the Gospel and to do good to the people and he also
had no place to put His head, even when He died, He was buried in a tomb
that did not belong to Him. Our Lord Jesus went through and endured all
hardships, temptations, trials, and persecutions so He can have sympathy
with you and me and help us in time of need.
My dear friends, God is true and the Bible
is true, and the Christmas story is true whether you and I believe it or
not. The only way for you and me to be saved and blessed is to open our
hearts and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord, our Saviour, our
High Priest, our King and our Prophet. Many are celebrating Christmas
today, but how about their hearts? How about your heart and my heart? Is
there no room for Jesus? He is coming back very soon!
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