Sermon Notes

2 1-5 About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.6-7 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel. 8-12 There were shepherds camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.” 13-14 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises: Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him. 15-16 As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the shepherds talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. (The Message, MSG)

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus this coming week, we do so within the context of certain political realities. December 25, 2024, will be the last Christmas celebrated before the inauguration of a United States President who has promised to end the necessity for elections. It will also be the first Christmas celebrated in East Baton Rouge Parish where someone who is neither African American nor a Democrat will be the mayor within 24 years. No doubt as we look back on the Christmas 2024, we might say, “in the year that Donald Trump was reelected to the Presidency,” Or “in the year that Sid Edwards was elected as Mayor/President, this or that happened.” Those political facts will provide a context for what was going through our hearts, minds, and spirits as we commemorated the birth of Jesus in 2024.
In like manner, the writer of the Gospel of Luke seeks to contextualize his narrative of the birth of Jesus with a socio-political marker. “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all should be registered,” Luke says this to ensure that all who read his gospel are reminded that certain political realities shaped the lives of Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and the shepherds, along with the lives of those who would eventually hear his gospel story.
Luke’s gospel is concerned that readers in the 1st century and the 21st century understand that Jesus’ birth occurred in the midst of political, social, and cultural events that affected everyone—regardless of social standing—who were living in Palestine and the Roman Empire at that time. Similarly, as we reflect on Jesus’ birth on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, contemporary Christians should consider how the birth of Jesus affects our lives. His coming is indeed good news for the inhabitants of the city of David and the entire world because it represents God’s love breaking through history to announce, “A savior is born for everybody!”

In the time of the early Church, the circumstances surrounding the conception and birth of Jesus were suspect. Both Matthew and Luke craft their accounts of his birth to address the suspicion that he was conceived out of wedlock. The concept of a virgin birth was—and, outside of this instance, is—an unheard of phenomena. In Jewish culture, great emphasis was placed on the virginity of the bride. Her virginity was to be proven by her bleeding after the groom’s consummation of their marriage on the wedding night immediately following, or during, the reception. The linen from the marital bed was preserved and displayed to others as evidence that the bride was a virgin (Deuteronomy 22:13-22). If a young woman could not prove herself to be a virgin, she risked being put to death by stoning.
Understanding this cultural custom, we have better insight to the situation involving Joseph and Mary before Jesus’ birth. When Mary became pregnant before they were married, Joseph faces a major dilemma (Matthew 1:18-21). Mary appeared to be guilty of a capital offense, not just an embarrassing circumstance. The Gospel of Matthew—written primarily for Jewish Christians—repudiates the suspicion that Jesus was illegitimate by tracing the genealogy of Jesus on his father’s side. Matthew doesn’t seek to establish Jesus as the biological son of Joseph, but his legal son, a descendant of David, with roots back to Abraham.
The Gospel of Luke, on the other hand—written primarily for Gentiles—emphasizes the genealogy of Mary (Luke 3:23-37) because Joseph had nothing to do with Jesus’ conception. Luke reiterates this idea in Luke 3:23: “Jesus was about 30 years old when He began His special work for God and others. It was thought that He was the son of Joseph.” This is not an allusion to deception; rather, it’s simply a statement of fact that people had no way of knowing how Jesus was conceived; they had no knowledge of the Holy Spirit. Luke’s explanation is not so much a defense, but a statement to Gentiles that no man had anything to do with His conception (Luke 1:26-37, 46-49; 2:7-12). Thus, Luke seeks to validate the Apostles’ claims that Jesus was the Messiah by explaining whose he was and how he came to be born.

1-5 About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.
In the opening verses of the lesson, Luke situates Jesus’ birth within the historical context of Caesar Augustus, the nephew who took the throne after Julius Caesar died. However, Luke’s description is at odds with the actual historical data—meaning it is historically inaccurate. Caesar Augustus did not undertake an imperial census during his reign (27 BCE–14 CE). Quirinius did take a census. But, it did not occur until he was named Judea’s governor in 6 CE, which is after t Herod died in 4 BCE. These dates do not fit the biblical timeline of Jesus being born during Herod’s reign and his massacre of the innocents (Matthew 2:16-20).
So why does Luke’s gospel not align with historical events that he would have surely been ware of? It is clear that Luke’s presentation of Jesus’ birth is a theological presentation. While Luke is aware of historical dates and historical figures, he seeks to make a theological point about the historical and social contexts that Jesus would have been born into. By presenting Jesus’ birth within the political and economic context of Roman Imperialism, Luke reminds his hearers/readers that Jesus’ birth foreshadows a theological confrontation between the kin-dom of God and the Roman Empire. As the heir of David, Jesus is a part of the Davidic kingly line which clashed with the Babylonian Empire and lost. However, as the King of Kings, Jesus’ confrontation with the Roman Empire will end in his victory over imperialism at Calvary, and his victory over the Roman Empire as Christianity is eventually embraced by the majority of Roman citizens. Further, theologically speaking, Bethlehem—which means house of bread—is where Jesus symbolically becomes bread for the entire world once he is born.
Luke’s literary construction around the census also indicates his understanding that the circumstances of Jesus’ birth indicate Joseph and Mary are subject to the imperial systems that tax, conscript, and forcibly migrate people regardless of their income, economic, citizenship, or health status. Mary is pregnant—in the latter trimester—yet she must embark on this trip. Mary and Joseph are, for all intent and purposes, migrants while on this trip. The Roman Empire does not care about Mary’s condition, nor the issues affecting her body. She must travel to Bethlehem to be counted along with everyone else.
6-7 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.
Verses 6-7 indicate that the time for Jesus to born occurs while Mary and Joseph are in Bethlehem. Luke clearly outlines her role in this process. She gives birth to her first-born son. She wraps him in a blanket—there is no midwife. She lays him in a manger, because there is no room. The emphasis on Mary giving birth to her first-born son clearly indicates that she had other children and undercuts the idea that she was a perpetual virgin.
The Greek word employed for inn in the NRSVue translation and hostel in The Message is kataluma, which means guestroom. Luke uses this word instead of pandoxeion, which is used in the parable of the Good Samaritan, to underscore this is not a hotel. This is the same word that Luke uses to describe the room that Jesus hosts Passover and the Lord’s Supper with the disciples in Luke 22:11. This is likely an upper room of a relative or friend’s house. While Luke states, “there was no room in the kataluma,” as the reason for Mary laying Jesus in the manger, as the baby is laid in the manger, he symbolically becomes bread for the entire world once he is born. This bread will be available to everyone regardless of their ability to pay, their lineage, or their political status and connections.
8-12 There were shepherds camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.” 13-14 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises: Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
As Mary gives birth, she and Jospeh are near a field where shepherds are tending their flocks. They are the first people to hear the good news of the Savior’s birth—not wealthy magi who come from far away, but shepherds—ordinary people! Historically, shepherds were looked down upon. Scripture says they were loathsome to the Egyptians (Genesis 43:32; 46:34); they were also poorly regarded by their own people. They were suspected of being ethically compromised when it came to distinguishing between what belonged to them and what belonged to others. For this reason they were barred from giving testimony in court. In spite of their poor reputation as a class of people, these shepherds are God’s choice to receive news of the Messiah’s birth. They are worthy to hear the “good news” first regardless of popular opinion about them
The shepherd’s as first witnesses to the Savior’s birth also theologically indicate the kind of savior Jesus will be. Shepherds represent divine care and protection (Psalm 23), and leaders of Israel (Jeremiah 3:15). Moses was a shepherd before he was called to pastor the Israelites (Exodus 3:1), and David was a shepherd boy before he became King of Judah (1 Samuel 16:11).
Although he is born in the “kingly” city of David, Jesus will not live in a palace, nor command legions of soldiers. Instead, he is heralded by an angel of God which appears in a blaze of glory, and is serenaded by an angelic host that sings a song of peace. Jesus will also not wear the expensive robes of a king. Instead, the angel says the shepherds will find him swaddled in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough for cattle—humble implements for a humble child who would become the “Good Shepherd” instead of a militaristic king. Shepherds were considered unclean because of their contact with animals. Thus, so was Jesus. This is a beautiful picture of Jesus’ humiliation and identification with even the most humble individuals, rejected and despised shepherds.
15-16 As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the shepherds talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.
In the final verses of the lesson, the shepherds run to Bethlehem, where they make their way to Mary, Joseph, and the baby. Clearly, the announcement of the birth and location of Messiah was not only so that the shepherds could witness this historic occasion, but also so that they could tell others—be witnesses—of Messiah’s birth. It is inconceivable that God would choose to task shepherds with the responsibility of first seeing the Messiah, then announcing his birth. The testimony of shepherds, as a group, was roundly discarded as being unreliable. But it speaks to the sovereignty and compassion of God that shepherds—those that others prejudicially reject—were chosen for such an important assignment. God routinely uses those that the world rejects in order to accomplish Divine will. This radical inclusion is cause for celebration, because many of us have been rejected at some point in our lives. Luke’s birth narrative reminds us that ordinary people are worthy to serve as vessels of God, proclaim the good news about God, and receive the salvation of God. Luke’s gospel is the original DEI—diversity, equity, and inclusion—because everybody, regardless of station in life, is considered to be equally worthy of being included in God’s salvation through Jesus’ birth.