1. Lesson One of the Book of Daniel, Introduction to the Book of Daniel

The Book of Luke, The Birth of the Messiah, Part II - Lesson 16

Luke 2:1-7,  And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. ²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) ³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. ⁴And 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:) ⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. ⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. ⁷And 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.

The prophet had prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, a fact that was well known to the Jews:

Bethlehem was the place where Rachel was buried, it was the place where Ruth met and married Boaz, and therefore where David was born and raised, it was the place where David was annointed king by Samuel, it was the place from which David longed for water which was brought to him by his loyal men and then poured  out by David unto the Lord rather then drink it himself.

Micah 5:2,  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah (ancient name of Bethlehem) (fruitfulness, perhaps derived from “Ephraim” Joseph’s second son, which means fruitful), 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.

It was left to Matthew to bring this prophesy out in his gospel for Luke does not emphasize Old Testament prophesy for his gospel is written to a Gentile, who was perhaps not familiar with the prophecies of the Old Testament.

This is what Matthew records that Luke does not.

Matthew 2:1- 6,  Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, ²Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. ³When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. ⁵And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, ⁶And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

But Luke’s mission was to show the humble circumstances of the Messiah’s birth. 

God chose to come in lowliness to show his loving-kindness and power to those who were humble of heart and ready to receive him.

Luke informs us that Joseph and Mary made their way to Bethlehem, which would have been at least a three day’s journey of 60 to 70 miles.

Nazareth was located in Galilee, to the north of Judea.

As Luke informs us, the journey to Bethlehem was “upward”

because Bethlehem was in the hills, just six miles south of Jerusalem at an altitude of 2,700 feet.

The journey was no doubt a hard one, especially for a pregnant woman. 

Neither would the reason for the trip be a happy one, for the census was for the purpose of taxation.

In the Roman empire censuses were taken every fourteen years for assessing taxation and ascertaining who were elgible for compulsory military service.

And hardships were added to Mary and Joseph because they would be far away from friends and family if the baby were to arrive while they were in Bethlehem.

One benefit of course in leaving Nazareth would perhaps be the leaving of the wagging tongues and whispers of the gossips concerning Mary’s “pregnancy, untimely as far as townsfolk were concerned”. 

Much of what Luke's records has been embellished in our tradition and many times tradition is so embedded in our minds that it is thought of as the Word of God.

Jesus was laid in a manger which is a cattle feeding trough. 

We have provided him a stable which may have been or may not have been or he may have been sheltered in a cave or perhaps he was in the open or even in a tent.

We have the wise men meeting him in the stable when we are told in scripture that they came to his house.

But he was indeed born in primitive and humble surroundings.

We have taken what Luke has given and filled in the gaps.

Study to know what is truth and what is tradition.

What we are told is that there was not room in the “inn,” which resulted in the baby Jesus being wrapped in rags or strips of cloth and placed in a cattle feeding trough for a crib.

The trough, perhaps lined with hay, would have provided a soft place for the babe to sleep and the strips of cloth, wrapped around the child, would have kept the cold out, especially if the holy family was “camped” in the open, out in the elements.

Luke 2:8-20,   And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. ¹⁵And 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. ¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. ¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

We are given in our passage that Mary and Joseph are placed by God due to the circumstances that they find themselves in, in the vicinity of a field in which some shepherds are tending their flocks.  

It may very well be, as some have suggested, that these flocks were the animals which were raised to be sacrificed in Jerusalem.

These men, because they were shepherds, most likely would be looked down upon by their countrymen. 

Shepherds, as you will recall, were “loathsome” to the Egyptians and they were also poorly thought of by their own brethren.

One commentator that I read said: “Shepherds were despised people.”

It was also difficult for them because of the nature of their occupation, to observe all the regulations of the Mosiac Law, and especially all the man-made rules added to that law.

They were generally suspected of not being very careful to distinguish what was theres from what was yours and for this reason, they were not allowed to give testimony in the courts.

In spite of their poor reputation as a class of people, these shepherds seem to have been godly men, acquainted with prophesy, men who were looking for the coming of Israel’s Messiah.

All the others who were directly informed of the birth of Messiah in Matthew and Luke were described as godly people, and so it would seem to be true of the shepherds as well.

After all, news of His coming would not be “good news of a great joy” (v. 10) unless they were seeking Him.

The haste of these shepherds to the place of Christ’s birth (vv. 15-16) also testifies to their spiritual preparedness and eagerness for the coming of Messiah.

This is in contrast to the response of the Jerusalemites to the news of Messiah’s birth, as prophesied in their Scriptures and announced by the wise men:

Matt. 2:1-3,  Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, ²Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. ³When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

To these humble shepherds the angel of God appeared in a blaze of glory, which caused them to be greatly frightened.

The angel assured them that he brought them good news, and told them of the birth of Messiah.

This was to be the cause for “great joy” for all the people.

I take it that by this the angel meant that all people, all the nations, and not just Israel, would benefit from the coming of the Messiah.

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a host, an army, of angels, saying ¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (peace among people with whom He is pleased, or peace among men of goodwill)

The idea of people with whom he is pleased alludes to those who are marked out by God as objects of his gracious favor. 

It is not a reference to every single person, so the phrase should not be translated “good will toward men.”

And then is given a confirmation of the angel’s announcement for the angel promises a sign to the shepherds.

The sign was that they would find the child wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a cattle feeding trough.(v. 12).

The sign was not designed to convince the shepherds of the truth of the angelic announcement.

No doubt the glory of the angelic visitor, added to by the host of heaven was enough to do all necessary convincing.

This sign was for the purpose of identification.

No doubt there were a number of babies in Bethlehem at this time so this sign was a way to distinguish this special baby from all of the others.

The way that they would recognize God’s Messiah was by His swaddling clothes and by His unusual “crib.”

No other child would be found in such a setting.

And so the two things that most show our Lord’s poverty, His “swaddling clothes” and His “cattle feeding trough bed,” prove to be the very things which set this child apart from all others, and which identify Him to the shepherds. 

But they do more than this; they also identify Messiah with the shepherds.

One of the names of Messiah is “Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.”  

We are to always remember that Jesus Christ is one of us! 

Otherwise he could not save. 

It took a perfect man to save us, to step up and take our sin upon himself as a man to satisfy God.

The circumstances of our Lord’s birth uniquely identified the Lord Jesus with the shepherds.

The Lord seemingly had no roof over His head, no house to dwell in.

Neither did the shepherds, who, we are told, slept under the stars, as they cared for their flocks (v. 8).

Jesus was poor and of no reputation, as were they.

And Jesus, who was to be both the sacrificial “Lamb of God” (cf. Isa. 53:4-6; John 1:29) and the “Good Shepherd” (cf. Ps. 23:1; Ezek. 34:23; John 10:14), identified with these shepherds by being found in a manger.

This presents to us a beautiful picture of our Lord’s humiliation and identification with men, even the most humble of men, rejected and despised of men.

Eagerly and with great haste (vv. 15-16) the shepherds went to Bethlehem, where they “found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.”

I think it is important to recognize that the angel announced the birth and the location of Messiah not only so that the shepherds could witness this historic occasion, and to worship their King, but also so that they could tell others—be witnesses—of Messiah’s birth.

Think first of all of the impact of the shepherds arrival and announcement upon Mary and Joseph.

Granted, they had both been told that the child, who was miraculously conceived in Mary’s womb, was the Messiah, the promised Savior.

But it took years for this to be understood, just as it took years for the disciples to grasp who Jesus was.

They continued to wonder and marvel at the things Jesus said and did, not putting everything together until after His death, burial, resurrection, and the promised coming of the Holy Spirit (cf. John 1l6:12ff.).

So, too, Mary and Joseph must have been greatly surprised by the shepherds’ arrival and by the report they shared of the angelic announcement and choir.

While all who heard this report wondered, Mary, in some special way, “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”  

This meant she kept at the task of processing these events in her mind and heart as to its meaning and implications.

No doubt the arrival of the shepherds again confirmed to Mary and Joseph that this was indeed the Christ and these circumstances which they found themselves in, was simply in fulfillment of God’s plan.

What had once appeared to be only a sequence of unfortunate events, now is revealed to be the hand of God working through history to accomplish God’s will.

The testimony of the shepherds also had a great impact on the people in that area who were looking for God’s Messiah.

Luke informs us that the shepherds “found their way” to Mary, Joseph, and the child, but how did this happen?

We do not know exactly, but we can imagine how it might have occurred in such a way as to make Messiah’s arrival known to a great many people.

The shepherds were given a sign.  They were not given an address to proceed to. 

They were given clues like you would give clues in a scavenger hunt.

The “clues” they were given were (1) that there was a newly born baby; (2) that the baby was a boy; and (3) that he was to be found in a cattle feeding trough, wrapped in strips of cloth.

No doubt that Bethlehem was a small place but don’t you suppose that the shepherds searched thoughtout the town to find this baby and knocked on doors seeking to find a child meeting these descriptions?

One looking on the town from a distance could have seen the whole town progressively lit up, astir with the news which the shepherds brought.

From every house where the baby was not found, there was probably another addition to the search party.

Perhaps the entire town was awakened and engaged in the search before the babe was found.

All of this served to make the news of the Christ-child’s birth known, as well as to create of mood of expectation and curiosity.

At some of the homes, at least, there may have been the request to come back with news of where Messiah was found.

After the shepherds found the child and shared with Mary and Joseph what had happened, they probably retraced their steps through the town of Bethlehem, bringing all the people up to date on what they had seen.

Luke therefore tells us that “all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds” (v. 18).

These shepherds, who belonged to a class of society banned from bearing testimony in the courtroom, were the ones God chose to bear witness to the birth of His Son.

Why? Because, I suppose, God had always chosen the “weak and foolish” things of this world to confound the wisdom of the wise, and because ultimately it is not the messenger that matters, but the message itself.

If Jesus came to bring salvation and deliverance to the poor, the oppressed, and the despised of this world, why not announce it by means of the despised and rejected? The apostles of our Lord were just such men (cf. Acts 4:13).