A Simple Christmas - Luke 2:1-7

Every year, it really feels like the Christmas ads begin one week earlier. This year, I think I saw Christmas ads before Halloween, excuse me, Reformation Day. If the ads continue to creep earlier into the year, eventually we’ll have Christmas ads year round! We’ll turn on the TV the day after Christmas only to be bombarded by ads for next year’s Christmas. And it’s really no secret, we all know, why this is the way that it is - Christmas shopping makes up an enormous part of the retail industry’s bottom line. Billions of dollars hang in the balance every year around Christmas.

And so it’s really no surprise that so many people overspend at this time of year. I recently read that 86% of Millennials overspent on Christmas. Supposedly, one in five Millennials went over their Christmas budget by $500.

Apparently us Millennials have a problem, but I’d be willing to bet it’s not just exclusive to us. Christmas is the time of year where excessiveness in every form is encouraged! Throw that budget out the window! Go ahead, eat everything in sight!

Obviously, I’m joking but there is a real element of truth here. We might say, “Jesus is the reason for the season,” or “don’t leave Christ out of Christmas,” or faithfully hold the line on, “Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays,” but in reality Christmas has turned into a season of excessiveness, consumerism, self-indulgence, gluttony.

And yes, I know, I’m starting to sound like a joyless Grinch, and in case you’re wondering, yes, we have a Christmas tree and don’t worry our children will get plenty of presents. In fact, I think I’ve done more Christmas-y activities this year than any other year.

But we all know what I’m talking about. Consumerism in the worst possible sense has almost completely taken over Christmas.

My point isn’t to condemn Christmas and all its fun traditions, rather, my point is the actual Christmas story, the one we just read from Luke, emphasizes the exact opposite of the stereotypical Christmas experience!

Luke 2:1-7 stresses the simplicity of Christ’s birth. It really reflects the lives of ordinary lower class people living in the first century. They were yanked around by a government census, forcing Mary to deliver Jesus in a stable because there was no room in the inn.

With a few exceptions like the wise men, and the shepherds, Jesus was born in obscurity. No one really noticed. But Jesus didn’t come into the world to receive pats on the back and win awards! Jesus came to earth to take away the sins of the world!

If you read Luke 1 and 2, you’ll see how Luke compares and contrasts two birth accounts: the birth of John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus Christ. The clear point that Luke wants you and me to see from his comparison between John the Baptist and Jesus is that Jesus is greater! He’s the more important one! If you were here last week, we looked at how Gabriel told Mary of Jesus’ birth, and he told her that she was to name him Jesus because “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.”

In Matthew 1, an angel explicitly tells Joseph why his name will be Jesus because, “he will save his people from their sins.”

Self-Denial in Subjection to Civil Authorities.

Clearly, supernatural events took place around the birth of Jesus. There were prophecies, visions and angels. There were all of these things that surrounded the birth of Jesus Christ, and so when you get to the actual birth of Jesus, you’d expect to read about this grand moment, filled with trumpets, lights, and special effects but instead we get this rather disappointing picture that Luke paints for us in Luke 2:1-7. In fact, Luke paints a rather bland, boring, picture.

We don’t care about Caesar Augustus! We don’t care about some guy named Quirinius who was the governor of Syria! And if we don’t care about Caesar Augustus and Quirinius, we definitely don’t care about their census! If you met Luke as he was writing verses 1-3 down, you might have told him that these are the verses that people will skip over so do us all a favor and leave it out.

But nevertheless, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” These details, as mundane as they might seem, aren't here by accident. God sovereignly ordained that this information be put in here.

These sorts of details are in here in order to confirm to us that Jesus was born in time and space. He really came to earth. Caesar Augustus was a real person. Quirinius was a real person. And Jesus is a real person.

That’s why in part, what Luke is recording is ordinary and mundane. Taking a census in the ancient world was a common practice. In fact, it seems the Roman Empire would take a census every fourteen years. And they required people to go back to their ancestral homes so that families could be better accounted for.

That’s why Joseph and Mary leave Nazareth and head to Bethlehem.

But there’s something more for us here: Jesus obviously took on humanity and became like us, but more than that, he subjected himself to human authorities. He lived under Roman rule.

I’m sure many of you are familiar with Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet. Teddy Roosevelt sent the Navy’s “Great White Fleet” which was the nickname for a group of battleships that he sent on a “peacekeeping mission” to various countries around the world, but really it was a grand demonstration of American military power. It was a subtle, not so subtle message to the world not to mess with America.

And it was from this diplomacy strategy of Roosevelt’s that he famously said, “speak softly and carry a big stick.”

The idea he was trying to communicate was that America didn’t need to convince everyone that it was a powerful nation. Rather, America could show the world that it was a powerful nation.

It’s obviously not a perfect analogy, but it’s somewhat similar to Christ isn’t it? Jesus despite being the second person of the Holy Trinity didn’t come to earth to prove himself to everyone. He too was sent on a peacekeeping mission - to die on the cross and save humanity from their sins.

It’s remarkable to think about the fact that the God of the universe, the God who put the stars into motion, formed man from the dust of the earth, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, not only came to earth and took on human flesh, but subjected himself to human authorities.

And his life was so ordinary that his family had the pleasure of being inconvenienced by the government! They had to pack their bags and head over to Bethlehem for a census, I’m sure they didn’t care about. They had more pressing concerns like, I don’t know, a baby that would arrive at any minute!

But this is in part what makes this all so relatable. Who here hasn’t been inconvenienced by various governmental affairs? Who hasn’t had a frustrating trip to the DMV? Who hasn’t had the pleasure of being taxed by the government? (Because that’s what the census was all about - accounting of potential tax revenue.)

But again, Jesus being yanked around by a census and born in an stable doesn’t emphasize anything extraordinary, rather it emphasizes the ordinary. It emphasizes his humility. It emphasizes his willingness to insert himself into ordinary human life.

Because in order for the Lord Jesus to take away our sins he had to be just like us in every way. He faced every challenge of human existence and yet did so without sin.

Self-Denial in the Fulfillment of the Law

Jesus had to live a perfect life and fulfill all the Old Testament prophecies in order to truly be the Savior of the World. We actually read one of the Old Testament prophecies earlier in the service, that Jesus fulfilled from Micah 5:1-9.

Everyone has understood Micah 5 as a Messianic prophecy that stated the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. When the wise men go to Jerusalem and ask King Herod where they could find the “King of the Jews” the Scribes quote Micah 5 to him. Even the Scribes understood the Messiah would come from Bethlehem.

Which explains why Luke emphasized geography in verse 4. “And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David…”

As I stated earlier, the census required people to go back to their ancestral lands, and as it turns out, Joseph’s ancestral land was Bethlehem. So, they packed their bags and went from Narazeth to Bethlehem in order to be registered.

Again, it really seems like another innocuous detail, however, it is an extremely significant detail because it fulfills Old Testament prophecy! This is why it was so significant that Jesus be born in Bethlehem! The Messiah, the Savior of the World, would have to perfectly fulfill all the Old Testament prophecies.

But not only was the Messiah supposed to be from Bethlehem, he had to be a descendant of King David. And in 2 Samuel 7, the Lord promised David that one of his descendants would rule on an “everlasting throne.” He’d rule his kingdom forever.

We’re given this detail in verse 4. Mary and Joseph went to “the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because [Joseph] was of the house and lineage of David…”

Again, in these simple details, prophecies were fulfilled.

It’s like how in team sports, everyone has a role to play and in the most successful teams, everyone knows their role and performs their duty to the best of their ability. In football, the quarterback needs to throw. The lineman needs to block. In basketball, the center needs to rebound. The point guard needs to dribble. And teams often lose because of a breakdown in roles.

Bad things happen when the linemen don’t block and the quarterback always wants to run. Bad things happen when the center dribbles and the point guard always wants to post up.

It’s why coaches often say to their players, “not to be a hero.” An individual shouldn’t try to do everything. They need to stay in their lane. They need to do their job. They need to play their role.

It’s a display of arrogance to try to do everything yourself and ignore your role and teammates.

But there’s a certain amount of humility that comes with embracing your role. And it’s not just true in sports, it’s true in every sphere of life. Accepting your role and fulfilling it to the best of your ability requires a certain level of humility.

And it’s what we see in Jesus Christ! He didn’t come to abolish the law, rather, he came to fulfill it. And Christ’s willingness to fulfill Old Testament prophecies is an incredible display of humility. Because he doesn’t just do it here at his birth, he fulfills prophecy throughout the course of his life.

Even within the Trinity each member of the Godhead had a role to play in order to fulfill redemption. This is often referred to as the Economic Trinity. The Father hatched the plan of redemption, the Son accomplished redemption on the cross, and the Holy Spirit applies redemption to the Christian’s heart.

Jesus knew his role. He knew that he had to fulfill Old Testament prophecy, he had to live a perfect life, in order to fully take away the sins of the world because that was God’s will and perfect plan.

All of these little, seemingly insignificant, details are absolutely critical for your salvation and mine! All of this is absolutely necessary!

Self-Denial in His Birth

But the most significant, and perhaps, the most obvious detail is that Jesus took on human flesh. He left his heavenly home and came to earth.

It’s really interesting, because if you weren’t paying attention you might miss Luke’s birth account. He mentions Christ’s birth in passing in verses 6 and 7.

Luke writes, “And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

“Oh yeah, while they were at the inn, Mary gave birth to Jesus.” The most significant part of the passage is written so flatly isn’t it?

Luke mentions Caesar Augustus, Quirinius, a census, and seems to almost forget to mention the fact that Jesus was born. Christ’s birth account is very plain and screams of poverty, doesn’t it?

There’s no horns blowing, no grand announcements, no special ceremonies for King Jesus. Instead, he’s born in a stable and slept in a manger.

You see more than anything, it screams of Christ’s humility and it’s exactly what the Apostle Paul refers to in Philippians 2:

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

You see, Paul writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit tells us that the reason Jesus is exalted, the reason he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty is because he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

And this is precisely what we’ve read of in Luke 2:1-7. Jesus humbled himself and was then exalted above every name!

The God of the Universe humbled himself by taking on humanity in order to save his people from their sins.

You see, Jesus wasn’t seeking after presents, accolades, or awards. He didn’t pursue the self-indulgent cares of the world. He came to save sinners.

The actual Christmas story, the one that we read from Luke, doesn’t reflect the excessiveness, consumerism, self-indulgence, and gluttony that has become synonymous with Christmastime.

The true Christmas story is one of humility, self-denial, meekness, and modesty.

They’re almost polar opposites! What we orient our lives around during Christmastime bears little to no resemblance of what Christ’s actual birth symbolized.

Don’t worry kids, I’m not saying you need to return all your presents and tear down your Christmas tree. Don’t do that! Rather I’m asking if you’d use the word “humility” to describe the Christmas season? It seems to me to be everything but that, and yet it’s precisely what we see in Luke’s birth account. It's anticlimactic, no frills, no flowery descriptive language. Just the facts.

And frankly, it’s in every birth account, because that’s what Christ’s birth symbolizes: the selfless humility of our Lord Jesus Christ to take on human flesh and redeem mankind from their sins!

And it’s a wonderful reminder for us today. The humility of Christ should be reflected by his followers. The Christian should be marked by humility.

This is one of the greatest differences between Christians and non-Christians. Christians don’t think they’re better than everyone. Christians are not inherently morally superior to everyone else. Rather, Christians, by God’s grace, have been given the humility to recognize that they are morally flawed, imperfect, and naturally sinful. Christians recognize their only hope for perfection before a holy and perfect God cannot come from within themselves, rather it must come from outside of themself in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ took on flesh, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose from the grave - in the place of those who put their faith and trust in him.

And so, those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ should feel a degree of humility each year, not because of anything we have done but because of what the Lord in His grace and mercy has done for us.

If all the traditions of Christmas ceased to exist, if there wasn’t any exchanging of gifts, no Christmas trees, no twinkling lights, no familiar songs, would you still think that Christ’s birth is something worth celebrating? Jesus alone is sufficient, but do we believe it?

My prayer is that while you're ripping into presents later this afternoon like a wild animal or gently opening presents under false pretense that you’re going to save the paper for next year (every family has one of those people), that you’ll reflect upon the true and perfect gift of Jesus Christ. The humility it took of him to come to earth, and the humility required to acknowledge your need for a Savior.

Let’s pray together.