 So, beginning at verse one, Luke chapter two, it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the world should be registered. The census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea to the city of David which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and lineage of David. To be registered with Mary is betrothed wife who was with child. So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered and she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Now they were in the same country, shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night and behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were greatly afraid. Then the angels said to them, do not be afraid for behold they bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you. You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men. So it was when the angels had gone away from them into heaven that the shepherds said to one another, let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass which the Lord has made known to us. And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told them. So when my kids are small, this is the passage that I would read to them. And I would share a few of the things that I'm going to share with you. Obviously I abbreviated it for them. They were very small and young and all. I wanted them though to know the meaning of Christmas. And so I tried to impart that to them from the beginning. And so this is a passage that obviously speaks of that event, the birth of Christ. And it helps us to remember those things that pertain to our faith. I'll begin by saying this. The promise of Christmas was given in the Garden of Eden for the very first time. After Adam and Eve took of the forbidden fruit, God had cursed the serpent Satan. And he had said to him, a descendant of Eve would appear one day and would crush his head. Well the promise that he made at that time became more specific. There he told Abraham that his descendants would be a blessing to all the world. This would take place through Abraham's great-grandson, Judah, and then through his descendant, Jesse. And finally through Jesse's son, David. The prophets began giving more specific details concerning this promise. They prophesied that Messiah would be born to a virgin, that he would be born in the town of Bethlehem. He would be preceded by a forerunner. And he would be speaking as a prophet even like Moses. When you read your Bible, there are various numbers that are given. A general number is given of three hundred. And those who study prophecy have stated that there are overall over three hundred specific prophecies that relate to Jesus Messiah. Now by the time of Jesus' birth, the people were longing for deliverance. They were under oppression. They were under the rule of Rome. And they wanted to be free. And so it was at that precise moment in time that God fulfilled his ancient promise. In Galatians 4 verses 4 and 5, the apostle Paul said to the church of Galatia, when the time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law that we might receive the full rights of sons at the right moment when the time had fully come. You see when the angel Gabriel had spoken to Mary, he told her that she would be the mother of the Savior. And when he said that to her, she didn't ask, what Savior? She simply asked, how can this be? It was made possible by God's Spirit because according to Luke 1.37, with God, nothing is impossible. So at this point, Mary and Joseph have traveled from the small village of Nazareth to another small village called Bethlehem. Verse 7 tells us that they had tried to secure a room in a home or a hotel, but nothing was available. It says in verse 7, there was no room for them even in the inn. Well today when we think of inn, we'll be thinking of maybe a motel, Motel 6 or something like that, an inn. But the word inn is not speaking of a hotel. What it's speaking of is a stable. And so Luke's point was there wasn't even room for Mary in a stable. So Mary gave birth in the open. There was no one to help her. There was no one to attend her. She was there in a stable and she wrapped according to verse 7, she wrapped this newborn baby in swaddling cloths, laid him in a manger and she did that herself. So in the midst of her pain, in the midst of her embarrassment, in the midst of the loneliness she may have been experiencing, there was great joy. She had given birth to a Messiah, to our Messiah. Heaven was about to explode with joy. That helps us to understand that even in the midst of isolation, even in the midst of very difficult times, even in the midst or just after having pain, you can still have joy. You see, that's what the Lord has brought to us in a world that is filled with pain and sorrow. He's telling us, you can have your joy. You can have joy because it comes from me. Now people at that time were wrapped in strips of cloth twice. You might find this interesting. They were wrapped in strips of cloth twice. First they were put in swaddling cloths when they were born. I was reading on this how it says that the child would be gently washed with salted water and wrapped from head to foot, leaving a portion of the face uncovered so he could breathe. His body would be held very straight with the hope that he would go up to be free from crookedness of the heart and would walk tall before people. And so after the parents prayed and made their commitment to God, they would unwrap this swaddled child. But there was a second time that a person was wrapped in cloths, and that was for burial. Even as when Jesus died, he was wrapped in cloths. So when Jesus' birth, we have a picture of his death because he was born to die. Prophetically, we know him as the Lamb of God who take away the sin of the world. And I'll share about that again in just a moment. But notice in verse 7 it says, she brought forth her firstborn son. Now when she says, it says firstborn, that speaks of prominence. It speaks of order. It speaks of his importance. And so here comes Jesus Christ, the prominent one, the important one. Well as this is taking place, verse 8 says they were in the same country, shepherds, living out in the fields and keeping watch over the sheep. These shepherds were performing the task of watching over sheep. They kept an eye on them for, in what would be called three hour shifts, because they were there to protect them against the predators and the thieves. These were sheep intended for temple sacrifice. These were sheep that were in the pastures of Bethlehem. And so what these shepherds were doing is they were watching over sacrificial sheep. But now they're going to hear of the Lamb, the Lamb of God. And it's to these shepherds that the good news is first given. There had been over 400 years of silence since the closing of the book of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament. But now again, at precisely the right time, God reveals Himself in the most personal way to men. Verse 8 tells us that, rather verse 9 tells us there was an angel. An angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. So the angel of the Lord is there standing, literally it says standing in place above them. And as this is taking place, I can't imagine, but they saw the glory of God and as they did so, their hearts began to tremble in fear. And that's why in verse 10 he says, do not be afraid, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. You live in a world that lacks joy. You live in a world, he's saying, that has been under oppression for hundreds of years. But I'm bringing you good news, and I want you to know that this good news is not just for you. This is good news for all people. And it's not just that you're going to be removed from under the heel of Rome. That's not the good news I'm bringing to you. You're going to be removed from the bondage of sin, because God has made it possible for you to be completely forgiven. And God has made it possible for you to have a brand new life. And this brand new life isn't just for the Jewish nation. This brand new life is for the whole world. The joy of salvation isn't for Israel alone. The joy of salvation is for every human being. In Isaiah 52 verse 10 it says, the Lord has made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. And so this is joy for the world. That's why we sing joy to the world, because it's joy for the world. A Savior has been born. It says in verse 11, there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior who was Christ the Lord. He didn't become the Savior just out of birth, but he was born the Savior. He's been born because we need salvation. The Bible teaches very clearly every human being has sinned and every person needs forgiveness. We know that nobody is perfect and everybody needs salvation. In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 20, the wisest man outside of Christ who ever lived, a man by the name of Solomon said, there's not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin. Everybody needs salvation. Everybody needs forgiveness. And that's what God has provided. And it's going to come through a baby, a baby that had been born in a small village called Bethlehem. In Galatians 3.22 it says, the Scripture has confirmed all under a sin that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. And that's how you get saved. Right as you believe. You believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you're saved. And so it's going to come salvation through this one who's born. He is Christ the Lord. He's the anointed one. So that points out that the Savior of the world in his prophetic, royal and priestly offices is Jesus Christ. Prophets and kings and priests were anointed with oil when installed into office. So Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one. And he goes on to say in verse 12, and this will be the sign to you. You'll find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger. Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men. We sing silent night, but it really wasn't silent. There was a multitude of angels praising God. I can't imagine the beauty of that. How amazing that would have been. You know, we here in Chino, we who live in this area, we can know that at one time even around here before there was so many more houses built and all, that at night when there were no clouds and it was so dark in so many areas and you would look up into the sky and it would be bright with stars and especially after the rain. And you can imagine what it would have been like 2,000 years ago in these fields there in Bethlehem just outside of the city. There's no lights out there, but suddenly what you have is a host of angels and it must have been a glorious frightening experience for these shepherds. These ones who had been commissioned and were taking care of the sacrificial sheep as they were there and the sky seems to open up with a brightness and a glory that must have caused their hearts to tremble in terrible ways. And then you hear the voice that's speaking to you, glory to God in the highest on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. And that would have been something that would have been just an amazing experience. And it's to the glory of God. Notice that because before they could even react, this heavenly choir burst out in praise and they said first glory to God and then they said peace to men. To the glory of God, Christ who is our peace has been given to man. You see, Jesus is not simply bringing peace. The Bible says he is our peace. In Ephesians 2, 14, Paul said he himself is our peace. Well, the only way to have peace is to have him in the manger of our heart because there is no peace on earth except among those with whom God is well pleased. And when men are reconciled to God through his son, that's when we love one another. This nation is so caught up trying to force us to love each other. It is so caught up with that. I hear that every day in one form or another through the news. I hear how bad one group of people is and how not bad another group is. And it's just a divisive message. And in fact, there is no peace when you're not seeking the Prince of Peace. And the only way that you can ever have peace is when you have peace with God. Because when you have peace with God, the peace of God gives you the ability to live in peace. And when you have peace with God and you're living in peace, you also can have the fruit of the Spirit, which is called love. And so when you have peace with God, living in peace, you have the love of God. And when you have the love of God, you can give the love of God to others. So no law is ever going to make me love somebody else, but grace does. Grace does because grace awakened me to my need. Grace awakened me to what I am. Grace awakened me to my own sin. God's love was demonstrated to me in that I was such a wretch, he sent his son to die for me. So instead of me thinking I'm better than somebody else, I have to recognize myself as being a sinner like everybody else. And when God worked in my heart to do that, the prejudices that I might have had in crusting my heart that I wasn't even aware of began to fall away. Because I began to realize that it didn't matter if they were a black man, a brown man, a white man, a yellow man, or whatever color you want to call them, they were just a man, they were just a person. And that person was made in the image of God. And that person was somebody that God loved. And when I learned those things, I learned to love those that I didn't know. I learned to love those I'd never even spoken of or to. I'd never spoken to an African-American until I was 20 years old. I had never had a conversation with an African-American. Now all I saw was news reports, and then I got drafted. I went into the service. I'm sitting on a bus going from LA going up to Fort Ord. And next to me is a guy named Isaiah Godwin, an African-American. And for the first time in my life, I had a conversation with somebody that wasn't like me in the way I looked and felt. And you want to know something? God began to do that from a very early age of my Christianity to teach me that we're one, that we can love one another. And that all comes through Jesus Christ. That all comes through the washing of the blood of Christ because I'm a sinner in need of a Savior. And so no law is going to make me love you, but grace does. No law makes me love anybody. You can pass 1,000 laws about loving people, but I don't have to. I might act like I do because hypocrisy is easy. But when God transforms a human heart, then the real thing comes through. And that's what changes people. I don't care what anybody is saying. Those who say you can legislate treating people kindly. Yeah, you can control behavior, but you can't change a heart. Only God's spirit can change a heart. And when God's spirit begins to change a heart, then you can see a changed society. And that's just absolutely true. When men are reconciled to God through His Son, we learn to love one another. Well, verses 15 through 20 speak about the angels going away from them into heaven. And what happens is they come and they see Jesus and He's in swaddling clothes. And then they went out and began to share about Him. Now, what is the significance again of the swaddling cloth? Because it said this will be the sign. You will see a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths. This is the sign. One writer was mentioning that these shepherds, as already mentioned, were caring for Passover offerings. Because the lamb was to be without blemish, these shepherds would take special care with them. The shepherds cared for the Passover lambs because they were being offered to God. And so the shepherds would set aside every firstborn male lamb for the feast of the Passover. It was of great concern to the shepherds that these particular lambs remain without blemish in order to comply perfectly with God's instructions. One of the problems they faced was that it was common for newborn lambs to try to walk too soon before their legs were strong enough to fully support them. In those cases, the lamb would often inadvertently break one of their legs and therefore would no longer be without blemish. So it was common practice for the shepherds to wrap the baby lamb in swaddling cloths and place them in a manger until it was strong enough to go to its mother. Because this practice ensured that the lambs remained without blemish. So the shepherds were in a unique position of understanding exactly what this meant. It would immediately click with them because this is precisely what they did. No further words had to be spoken to them by Mary and Joseph because when they saw, they knew exactly what this meant. They recognized that Jesus was the perfect lamb and then they went and they told everybody. And that is what every genuine believer in Jesus Christ will do. They will tell everybody, the Lamb of God has been born and this Lamb of God is to be a sacrifice for man's sin. And so the shepherds took and shared, the lamb is with us. All of these sacrifices, all of these Passover lambs for all of these centuries, all of them accumulated were not worth the one single sacrifice that Jesus gave for us because Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God took away the sin of the world. Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God laid his life down for us. And so on that holy blessed night when Jesus Christ was born, when Mary laid her lamb into that manger, she was placing in the manger the one who was saving mankind it was the one who was going to save not only all others but save her and Joseph also because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And so the one who was able to bear the lamb was also saved by that same lamb. And 30 plus years later at 33 when Jesus was placed on a cross, this woman could remember how she placed him in a manger and could see how others placed him on that cross. And that mother's heart would be broken because he was dying but not just for the sins of others, her son was dying for her. And you can't imagine what that must have felt. I can't imagine what that must have felt like for her to see this one dying, this one she loved, this one she raised, this one she taught him how to do everything because he was born as a human being, he had to learn to walk, he had to learn to talk, he had to learn to do everything else everybody had done and she was there teaching him these things, loving him, caring for mothering him and then one day there she is watching him on a cross as he's dying knowing that he was dying for her. We celebrate Christmas but we look forward to Easter. We celebrate Christmas because it's the birth of our Savior but we celebrate Easter because our Savior died on the cross for us. He died, he was buried but the third day he was resurrected and he did it for us because he's the Lamb of God. And we see that there as a foretelling, a prophetic image of when these shepherds who had taken care of all of these offerings saw the perfect offering and that's why they would walk out and that's why they would tell everybody what they had seen. It says in verse 20, the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told to them. And guys, it's been told to us. The gospel story has been told to us. We ought to go out and tell others what we have seen and what we have heard also.