The Birth of Jesus
Luke 2
1At that time, Augustus Caesar sent an order that all people in the countries under Roman rule must list their names in a register. 2This was the first registration; it was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3And all went to their own towns to be registered.
4So Joseph left Nazareth, a town in Galilee, and went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, known as the town of David. Joseph went there because he was from the family of David. 5Joseph registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was now pregnant. 6While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have the baby, 7and she gave birth to her first son. Because there were no rooms left in the inn, she wrapped the baby with pieces of cloth and laid him in a box where animals are fed.
Shepherds Hear About Jesus
8That night, some shepherds were in the fields nearby watching their sheep. 9Then an angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord was shining around them, and they became very frightened. 10The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I am bringing you good news that will be a great joy to all the people. 11Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is Christ, the Lord. 12This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in pieces of cloth and lying in a feeding box.”
13Then a very large group of angels from heaven joined the first angel, praising God and saying:
14 “Give glory to God in heaven,
and on earth let there be peace among the people who please God.”
15When the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem. Let’s see this thing that has happened which the Lord has told us about.”
16So the shepherds went quickly and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in a feeding box. 17When they had seen him, they told what the angels had said about this child. 18Everyone was amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured these things and continued to think about them. 20Then the shepherds went back to their sheep, praising God and thanking him for everything they had seen and heard. It had been just as the angel had told them.
21When the baby was eight days old, he was circumcised and was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before the baby began to grow inside Mary.
Jesus Is Presented in the Temple
22When the time came for Mary and Joseph to do what the law of Moses taught about being made pure, they took Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. 23(It is written in the law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male shall be given to the Lord.”) 24Mary and Joseph also went to offer a sacrifice, as the law of the Lord says: “You must sacrifice two doves or two young pigeons.”
Simeon Sees Jesus
25In Jerusalem lived a man named Simeon who was a good man and godly. He was waiting for the time when God would take away Israel’s sorrow, and the Holy Spirit was in him. 26Simeon had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he saw the Christ promised by the Lord. 27The Spirit led Simeon to the Temple. When Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the Temple to do what the law said they must do, 28Simeon took the baby in his arms and thanked God:
29 “Now, Lord, you can let me, your servant,
die in peace as you said.
30 With my own eyes I have seen your salvation,
31 which you prepared before all people.
32 It is a light for the non-Jewish people to see
and an honor for your people, the Israelites.”
33Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what Simeon had said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, “God has chosen this child to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel. He will be a sign from God that many people will not accept 35so that the thoughts of many will be made known. And the things that will happen will make your heart sad, too.”
Anna Sees Jesus
36There was a prophetess, Anna, from the family of Phanuel in the tribe of Asher. Anna was very old. She had once been married for seven years. 37Then her husband died, and she was a widow for eighty-four years. Anna never left the Temple but worshiped God, going without food and praying day and night. 38Standing there at that time, she thanked God and spoke about Jesus to all who were waiting for God to free Jerusalem.
Joseph and Mary Return Home
39When Joseph and Mary had done everything the law of the Lord commanded, they went home to Nazareth, their own town in Galilee. 40The little child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s goodness was upon him.
Jesus As a Boy
41Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. 42When he was twelve years old, they went to the feast as they always did. 43After the feast days were over, they started home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44Thinking that Jesus was with them in the group, they traveled for a whole day. Then they began to look for him among their family and friends. 45When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him there. 46After three days they found Jesus sitting in the Temple with the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and answers. 48When Jesus’ parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why did you do this to us? Your father and I were very worried about you and have been looking for you.”
49Jesus said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50But they did not understand the meaning of what he said.
51Jesus went with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them. But his mother kept in her mind all that had happened. 52Jesus became wiser and grew physically. People liked him, and he pleased God.
SITUATION:
Luke gave an account of the birth of Jesus and his early life. In his culture, boys were considered responsible adults around the age of twelve. It was not, therefore, irresponsible of Joseph and Mary to accidentally leave Jesus behind. They must have thought he was traveling with another part of the group.
OBSERVATION:
God’s Son became a person and lived with us for a while. During his life he was sad, happy, excited, and disappointed. God knows what life on earth is like.
INSPIRATION:
The implications of the name “Immanuel” are both comforting and unsettling. Comforting, because He has come to share the danger was well as the drudgery of our everyday lives. He desires to weep with us and to wipe away our tears. And what seems most bizarre, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, longs to share in and to be the source of the laughter and the joy we all too rarely know.
The implications are unsettling. It is one thing to claim that God looks down upon us, from a safe distance, and speaks to us (via long distance, we hope). But to say that He is right here is to put ourselves and Him in a totally new situation. He is no longer the calm and benevolent observer in the sky, the kindly old caricature with the beard. His image becomes that of Jesus, who wept and laughed, who fasted and feasted, and who, above all, was fully present to those He loved. He was there with them. He is here with us…
Most incredible, however, are the times we know He is with us in the midst of our daily, routine lives. In the middle of cleaning the house or driving somewhere in the pick-up. He stops us … in our tracks and makes His presence known. Often it’s in the middle of the most mundane task that He lets us know He is there with us. We realize then that there can be no “ordinary” moments for people who live their lives with Jesus.
Jesus paid a tremendous price to be with us. Certainly the cross was the most obvious cost. But I believe more is in view.
We focus so much on the fact that Jesus died for us, we sometimes forget that He also lived for us and lives for us still. If Jesus had simply come as Himself, and not as one of us, the Bible makes it quite clear that we could not have borne the sight of His presence, any more than Moses could have looked directly at the face of God.
Imagine what it would be like to be at the Father’s side one moment and struggling to sleep in a cattle trough the next. Imagine what it would be like to go from hearing the praise of angels to suffering the taunts of stupid men. The cost to Jesus is an indication of the incredible value of what He came to give us. And because no one will ever fully know what the cost Jesus, we can only begin to understand the incredible value of His gift to us. (From Immanuel by Michael Card).
APPLICATION:
Take a moment and reflect on what “Immanuel” – God with us” means to you in your daily life. Make it a point to seek God even in the mundane tasks of your life.
EXPLORATION:
God with Us – Exodus 33:20-23; Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23; John 14:18-21, Acts 17:28, 2 Corinthians 6:16.
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