For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.  Luke 2:8-9

When you think of Christmas, what comes to mind?  Many think of wreaths and Christmas trees—the big guy in the red suit and time spent with friends and family.  But, do you ever think of a crown of thorns?  Or the nails from Crucifixion?  Or the Cross?

My guess is that when you think on the last three images, there is a holiday that comes to mind, but not Christmas.  But the truth is that the Christmas story is as Gospel-centered a story as we have in our Bible’s.  We learn all throughout the first part of Matthew and Luke that the Christmas story is a story centered on redemption. 

For example, though the passage above mainly focuses on a group of shepherds and an angel of the Lord, this passage is centered upon God and His Gospel.  In these two verses alone, we learn that God is gracious to sinners—we learn that sinners are the recipients of the Gospel.  Many miss this because they fail to realize how the shepherds were perceived in this area of the world in and around the first century. 

We often view shepherds in a positive light today because that is the way they are portrayed in the Scriptures.  In one of the most well-known chapters of the Bible, we learn “The Lord is my Shepherd” and in John 10:14 Jesus even said, “I Am the good Shepherd.”  We also learn here that God shows His favor toward a group of Shepherds by making His message of Christ’s birth known to them and we also learn that they respond favorably to the message and become some of the first witnesses for the Lord Jesus.  So Shepherds are often shown in a favorable light in the scriptures, but that was not the view of those who lived in the 1^st century. 

Context is key in this passage.  What you learn when you study a bit of the background of shepherds in first century Palestine is that they did not have a good reputation—they were not held in high esteem.  In fact, they were despised—they were unclean—they were viewed as liars and thieves.  Their reputation was so bad that their testimony was not permissible in a court of law. 

They were also viewed by many in the Jewish community as being ceremonially unclean.  The reason being they often came in contact with injured and/or dead animals.  Also, because they were out in the fields keeping watch of the fields both day and night, they were often disconnected from temple worship.  Therefore, they were viewed by many as being wicked low lives—trash. 

Though that’s the case, we see here in Luke 2 that God sends His angels to them.  He makes this grand announcement of the coming of His Son to this group of low down, dirty and wicked sinners.  And Luke by making mention of this story is revealing something exceedingly pertinent to us about God and His Gospel.  Luke clearly shows us here that God has sent His Son to save sinners.  Folks, that’s the reason Jesus came.  And this truth is repeated time and time again in God’s Word.  Jesus came to save sinners—sinners like you and me.  Jesus even said this of himself, did He not? 

Recorded in three of four Gospel accounts, He says that He came to “call sinners to repentance.”  Jesus says, “I’ve come for those who know they need me—I’ve come for people who know they are fallen.  I have come for sinners in need of salvation—I’ve come for sinners like these shepherds whom many of you despise.  I’ve come for the dirty and the sinful—for those you consider being low down and wicked.”  JESUS CAME FOR SINNERS—SINNERS ARE THE RECIPIENTS OF HIS GOSPEL.

Be honest, how many of you think about this at Christmas time?  Though we can’t help but think about Christmas trees, the big guy in the red suit, and presents under the tree, how many of you, when thinking about Christmas, think about the fact that we are sinners in need of salvation?  Christmas should remind us that salvation is needed and that it has been provided in the person and through the work of the Lord Jesus.  

"Quote" of the Week

"During this time of year, it may be easy to forget that the bigger purpose behind Bethlehem was Calvary.  But the purpose of the manger was realized in the horrors of the cross.  The purpose of his birth was his death."  -C.J. Mahaney

(God) has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.  Luke 1:69   

This verse is taken from Zechariah’s song in Luke 1.  In this song, Zechariah is explaining how God is going to redeem us.  He uses an Old Testament phrase taken from David in Psalm 18.  In this psalm, David says,

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  Psalm 18:2

This psalm was a psalm written by David when he was being chased by King Saul and is rescued by God, and the imagery used here of a horn is a picture or a symbol of strength like the horn of a ram.  So David is essentially saying, “God is my mighty savior.” 

That’s why Zechariah reuses this phrase in Luke 1:69.  He’s making the point that God is going to do a mighty work in and through His Son.  He’s making known to his audience that God has sent us a mighty Savior—He has given us His conquering King—He has raised up for us a horn of salvation in the house of David in the person of Jesus.   

The story of Christmas is a story of power—it’s a story of strength.   This story is not about “a  little lord Jesus laying down his sweet head,” but it’s about a mighty savior—a conquering King.  This story is about Jesus—the horn of our salvation.  The child born in Bethlehem is the king who is going to conquer death.  He is the promised one who is going to undo the consequences of the fall—reverse the curse and accomplish our salvation.

There are many who like to overemphasize the sweetness of this event and over sentimentalize Jesus’ birth.  The problem with this approach to the story is that you don’t find that emphasis in the Scriptures.  What you find more often than not are verses like this here in Luke 1:69 that emphasize the power and strength of the Christmas story.  Why?  Because Christmas is about salvation.  It’s about God raising up a horn of salvation for us—it’s about Him sending us a mighty savior to conquer sin and death and make us right with him..

"Quote" of the Week

"The horn is the point of strength of an animal. It is the focus of power for a cow, a moose, or a rhinoceros. Jesus is to be that horn of salvation where all the power of God is focused."  –Bruce Larson

⁵ In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

If you lived in these days, there is no doubt that you would have heard of Herod; he was the King of Judea.  However, unless you lived close by or worked with or were related to one of them, chances are that you would not have known of Zechariah or his wife Elizabeth. 

Now some say, “Zechariah wasn’t that insignificant.  He was a priest!”  But at this time priests like Zechariah were a dime a dozen.  There were tons of priests.  I read recently where there were more priests than there were tasks to perform.

There was, however, only one King of Judea and that was Herod.  So his position and his notoriety far surpassed that of any priest.  Many believed him to be far more significant than a guy like Zechariah, but not in God’s economy.

In Lk. 1:5, Luke glosses over Herod to center upon this priest.  We learn in this passage that Herod is a pawn.  Though he was the king, he was a pawn in the plan of God, and this unknown individual—this unlikely priest—this guy who was overlooked by most was God’s chosen instrument.  

Later in this same chapter we find another unlikely person in God’s redemption/Christmas story.  Luke tells us,

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.  Luke 1:26-27

Once again we see that the Christmas story is an unlikely story.  This time, instead of appearing to an old man, Gabriel goes to a young woman.  Instead of appearing to a priest in the temple of Jerusalem, he goes to a betrothed virgin in a lowly city called Nazareth, and instead of giving news about the coming of the messenger of the Messiah, Gabriel tells Mary of the coming of the Messiah.

So there are some substantial differences in these two accounts with one notable similarity.  Mary, like Zachariah, was an unlikely person who was used in a mighty way by God.  Mary was a teenage girl from the no-name hick town of Nazareth.  She was an unknown, inexperienced and unimportant teen from the middle of nowhere.  She, by the worlds standards, was a nobody, yet she plays a key role in God's story.

Though many in those days viewed Mary as being insignificant and ordinary—not worthy of mentioning," in God’s story, she is is a lead player.  This goes counter to the ways of our world.  What dominates the news in our world are the goings on in Washington, the social statuses of celebrities in Hollywood and the lifestyles of the rich and famous.  But what do we know about the faithful? 

That is who God is concerned with.  He is concerned with what is going on in the lives of His faithful followers—in the lives of His children.  God is concerned with those whom he has chosen as His instruments—those who are making him known and advancing His Kingdom.

Though the world may view you and me and other believers as being obscure and insignificant, in God’s economy kings are pawns and the unlikely are His chosen instruments.  

"Quote" of the Week

“Mary was a nobody from a nothing town in the middle of nowhere.” -Dr. Kent Hughes