Introduction
As we stand on the precipice of a new year, we are bound to look back upon our current one. We might discover darkness and difficulty, pain and agony. We might also find light and joy, gladness and goodness. But, since our world labors under the pangs of the curse, travail and hurt lies in the wake of this year.
For the darkness, Christmas stands as a glimmer of light. It speaks to us of hope -- of light breaking through darkness.a
And we know our current darkness would be called "momentary, light affliction" by so many in times past. History depicts wars and famine, division and pestilence, struggle and oppression.
Zechariah and Gabriel
One such moment of darkness was found at the time of Christ's birth. Long, hard years had eroded the hope of Israel, God's people, and they had not heard the prophetic word of God for four centuries. And the vacuum of God's silence was filled with the authoritative word of the Roman government. The invaders had come, and God's people were under occupation.
But, even though the prophets had been silent, righteous God-seekers remained. Two such people were named Zechariah and Elizabeth. He was a priest, and she was his loving wife. For years, they faithfully sought and served God. And, though they were godly, they were stricken with barrenness. They wanted a child but could not have one. In their younger years, they prayed God would give them offspring, but as they aged, their prayer for a child faded.
One day, Zechariah was chosen to deliver a prayer offering inside the temple. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a priest in those days. And when Zechariah entered the temple to stand before the altar of incense, he found an angel standing to the right of the altar.
Zechariah trembled in fear, but the angel Gabriel spoke, telling Zechariah that his prayer for offspring had not gone unnoticed. The God who miraculously opened the womb of Sarah, Rachel, and Rebekah, would give Zechariah's wife Elizabeth a child as well. They would name him John. This child, Gabriel announced, would come in the Spirit and power of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. God had promised Elijah would come before the Christ, and John would help fulfill that prophecy.
Zechariah struggled to believe, so he questioned Gabriel, saying, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."
Gabriel was equally astounded at Zechariah and told him he knew God personally and was sent by God to deliver this news. It would surely come to pass. But Zechariah would be mute until John was born. Zechariah then went home and, just as God had declared, Elizabeth conceived.
Mary and Gabriel
In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, Gabriel again appeared, this time to a young virgin. Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph, a descendant of the great Old Testament King David.
Gabriel referred to Mary as the favored one of the Lord before announcing to her that she would conceive and bear a son. He said, "You shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
Mary inquired as to how this would occur since she was not yet a married woman, and Gabriel told her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy -- the Son of God."
After announcing this, Gabriel told Mary about her relative Elizabeth and how she was also with child even though she'd been barren for so many years. He said, "For nothing will be impossible with God."
And when Mary heard all this, she said, "Let it be to me according to your word." She submitted herself wholly to the task and call of God. Though it cost her dearly -- in reputation and in the death of her son -- Mary bowed herself to God and his plan.
Mary and Elizabeth
Now, because of the news of Elizabeth's pregnancy, and the shock of her own, Mary traveled to Zechariah and Elizabeth's home in the hills of Judah. When she entered the house, she greeted Elizabeth, and Elizabeth's baby, preborn John the Baptist, lept in her womb.
Elizabeth exclaimed, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! When the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who believed!"
This exclamation from Elizabeth pushed Mary into song. Perhaps prepared, perhaps extemporaneous, Mary praised God by forming Old Testament Scriptures and promises into lyrics of worship. She celebrated him for being a rescuing God who breaks into the darkness to help the poor, struggling, and hurting. And she said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed."
After staying with Elizabeth until she was full term, Mary went home to Nazareth to await the birth of Jesus. Elizabeth's son, Jesus' forerunner and personal prophet, was born. And Zechariah's first words since his encounter with Gabriel were, "He shall be called John." Zechariah sang a prophetic song detailing the life of John and Jesus, and the whole hill country of Judea rumbled with the news of these events.
Mary and Joseph
About that time, the long and painful reign of Caesar Augustus reached a new level of dominance. He flexed by mandating everyone in his empire be numbered in their city of origin. Joseph, being a descendent of David, needed to travel to Bethlehem to be counted as Caesar had said.
Now, by this time, Joseph had determined he would follow through with his marriage to Mary. When he discovered her pregnancy, he had a mind to end their engagement. But the angel appeared to him in a dream and told him the child was from the Spirit, to marry Mary, and to name the boy Jesus. He would save his people from their sins, the angel announced. So Joseph, needing to go to Bethlehem, took Mary with him, even though she was nearly full term.
Once in Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary discovered a swollen city. The census had brought people far and wide back to the tiny village. And amidst the city's frenzy, there was Mary, a young girl ready to give birth. And, like billions of women before and after her, labor pains came upon Mary. Likely scared and worried, they looked for a place to usher in this new life, but the Bible says, "there was no place for them in the inn."
It is hard to be sure what Luke meant when he wrote that phrase. He used the same word for "inn" to describe the "upper room" in the book of Acts, so it is possible "there was no room in the upper room."
Perhaps Joseph and Mary, due to the suspicious nature of Mary's pregnancy, had been rejected by Joseph's relatives in Bethlehem. Perhaps the normal upper room was withheld from them, even though she was with child. And perhaps Mary and Joseph were driven to the outskirts of town where birthing caves for lambs were found. There, Jesus was born.
With Mary's pregnancy and Jesus' birth, God had become flesh and dwelt among us. In anonymity, in the quiet, without the world's notice, the Christ, the Savior, the Messiah was born. On a lonely night in an overcrowded village among an oppressed people, Jesus arrived. The Creator God, the majestic sovereign over all, had become one of us.
Shepherds and Angels
And hardly anyone knew on that night -- except for a handful of shepherds. In the fields outside Bethlehem, the shepherds watched over their flocks, and an angelic choir appeared in the heavens announcing the gospel of peace Jesus would bring. An angel declared, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."
The shepherds, overwhelmed, then headed into Bethlehem and found it just as the angels had said. A baby. Wrapped in swaddling cloths. Lying in a manger. As they left the scene, they glorified and worshipped God, but Mary treasured these things in her heart.
His Mission
And this great birth of Jesus whispered at his ultimate purpose and mission.
At his birth, Mary and Joseph were present. At his death, many Marys, including this one, stood at his cross and came to his grave, one donated by a man named Joseph.
At his birth, his family obeyed the Roman authority, who demanded they be counted in Bethlehem. At his death, Jesus submitted to Rome's Pontius Pilate but told Pilate that his authority had been granted to him by God.
At his birth, Jesus was wrapped in swaddling cloths. At his death, he was wrapped in cloths for his burial in Jerusalem.
At his birth, Jesus was born in the same place many lambs were born -- lambs who would grow up to be sacrificed in Jerusalem's temple. At his death, Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the earth.
At his birth, Jesus was laid in a manger, a feeding trough most likely carved from stone. At his death, Jesus was laid in a tomb carved out of the side of a rock.
And at his birth, the shepherds heard a glorious message hinting at what he would do and told it to Mary and Joseph. At his death -- and resurrection -- a new set of shepherds, the disciples, heard the glorious message of what he had done and told it to the world.
We still proclaim that glorious message today. The light has come. It has broken through the darkness. God has made the way for mankind to be saved. And it is through his Son.
Merry Christmas.
