Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14).
This is a challenging lesson to write because the whole Bible is written about this event and what follows because of it. The savior is born. The promise is fulfilled by God in His time when the “fullness of time had come.” Though this may be a very familiar study to the believer, I challenge you to pause and ponder the details of the nativity with wonder and awe. God becomes man to dwell with us, to experience our lives fully, and to be the rescue plan that takes our punishment and restores our relationship with our Creator. Consider all the prophesies, beginning in Genesis, fulfilled to the letter, so many types and shadows over hundreds, even thousands of years, finding their explanation and meaning in a babe lying in a manger. The Son of God. The champion of Israel. The redeemer of the world. What a miraculous arrival! And He's coming again.
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 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:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 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. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. (Lesson Luke 2:1-20).
When did the birth of our Savior happen? Paul says, But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, (Galatians 4:4).
Daniel set up a timeline for the Messiah’s coming while in captivity in Babylon. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (Daniel 9: 25-26).
Luke even goes so far as to say, during the decree of Caesar Augustus, during the governorship of Cyrenius of Syria. The time is exactly as Luke records; his intentions are to thoroughly document the events that took place. Caesar is Emperor, and Herod is the regional King. Cyrenius had two censuses taken, one of which was during the reign of Caesar Augustus. The second is listed by Luke in Acts 5:37.
So why does Paul call this the fullness of time? There are many thoughts that involve both the scripture and the culture of the time. The law had been put in place long ago, to lay the foundation for the nation of Israel. By now, they understood that no one could keep the whole of the law, in fact, many were abusing the authority of the law to create even more laws and loop holes. The citizens of Israel were under the rule of Rome. They were no longer their own country or kingdom. There was no King reigning from the lineage of David. Isaiah had promised, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9: 6-7).
They are ready for their Messiah to come and be their King. Rome built roads, unified territories, and created peace from thieves and murderers traveling the empire. While these highways and alliances helped spread the good news of Jesus’ arrival, Israel had been promised an anointed one, a King and their own established country. Greece has provided a working common language that allows more people to easily share important news. The time is God’s to determine, and He determined the fullness of time was here.
They go to Bethlehem…But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.(Micah 5:2).
They are both of the house and lineage of David (see genealogies). The King of Heaven is not born in a palace but rather takes on the form of Man and arrives and lives humbly. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2: 7-8).
Jesus is not born into the privilege He deserves. He set aside the glories of heaven to come to his creation, to dwell, live, teach, die, and complete the perfect offering for sin. His resurrection is proof. What is a multitude of Heavenly Hosts? A host of angels is a very large number and scripturally is usually referred to as “thousands upon thousands” or “ten thousand times ten thousand.” God is referred to as the Lord of Hosts, Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah (Psalm 24:10).
What did the Angels say to the Shepherds? Good News! Your Savior has been born! Notice however, He is not only the savior for Israel; He is the savior for all people! As always, God’s promises are exceedingly abundantly greater than we as mere humans can imagine or anticipate. God became a man to be the ultimate, once and forever, savior and kinsman redeemer.
This was news that the lowly shepherds shared abundantly. How could you ignore a host of heavenly beings? No doubt, there were skeptics who would ridicule anyone believing what a shepherd had to say. There were religious leaders who would later hurl Jesus' lineage as an insult to His teaching. Many, however, wondered at this birth and what this child would become. Keep in mind, they had just recently heard of the miraculous birth of John the Baptist.
Four Hundred silent years have passed, but there are people waiting for this King. Strange things were happening, and there was talk, whether good or bad, there most definitely was talk. Mary’s reaction was a little different. She pondered and treasured up these events to recall later. She knows this child is different; Gabriel had already told her. Does she understand all that would happen going forward? How could she? Her heart would break, and the hearts of all men would be revealed in light of the finished work of Christ. Her heart would also rejoice when the tomb is empty, and she sees her resurrected Savior!
Personal Note: I have recently learned through our local church outreach, that there are many adults and children who have never heard the Biblical account of the birth of Jesus. How is that possible, you might ask? Consider that our culture has changed Merry Christmas to Happy Holidays - for fear of offending some unbeliever. Many, when writing the word Christmas, use an X to remove the “Christ” from the word. We no longer allow or frequently greatly discourage nativity displays in the public square. The social norm, whether it be television, movies, or social media, presents the church, churchgoers, and ministers as fundamentally ignorant, liars, hypocrites, and needing to be discounted by intelligent society. All the things the church has passively watched take place, in the name of tolerance and as a way of befriending the world, have backfired.
The church, the true bride of Christ, has not stood up righteously and in wisdom, to honor and defend the greatest gift ever given to mankind. Our Savior! We have missed our purpose, to know Him and make Him known. We need not fear standing for the truth. His word can and will defend itself.
In America, in my neighborhood, among our most vulnerable, there are children who have never heard the true meaning of Christmas. There are adults who have never been to church. They had parents who wanted them to “find themselves” and “do what made them happy.” The church can no longer be passive as salvation is reduced to fable. Without knowing that God sent his son to take on the flesh of man, to dwell among us, to live in us, to be the salvation of the world, future generations have no hope. The called-out true believers have no more time to waste. We know our Savior, the King from the lineage of David, is coming back! This time, He’ll rule and reign; He’s no longer a baby in a manger.
Thank you for studying with us! God bless!