The message of the manger, we've just sung about a way in a manger, we have a manger scene here, but instead of this making us feel comfortable and nice and warm, quaint and the normal experience of Christmas, the manger scene should actually appal us, it should shock us, it should be disturbing. a baby born in a stable in a cave amongst farm animals in a feeding trough. When you think of how we were born and you think of how we would want to give birth and how we'd want our daughter's wife to give birth and you pass by hospitals as we have probably on the way here and you think of all the hygienic specialized equipment, all the medications and specialists from the gynecologists, the surgeons, sometimes the nephetists, all the nurses and midwives that surround our births and the births of our children, nephews, nieces, grandchildren. It should be absolutely shocking and appalling to think of any baby being born in a cave amongst farm animals in a feeding trough, with nothing but straw for his bed. And it should be shocking, it should be disturbing, it should be, why? How is this possible? But then, it's not just for a baby, but THE Creator of the Universe, Emmanuel, God with us, the Sovereign Lord of the Universe, the Eternal Judge, the Holy God, He not only chose to come to Earth and to be with us, and to abide with us, but to take on human flesh, and frailties, and weaknesses, and needs, that he chose to come, and he could have chosen to be born in the palace, or in the temple, or in a wealthy, privileged home, but here the Lord is born in the most abject poverty, at a time when the Roman Empire demanded everyone to go to the place of birth of their ancestors to be counted in the Roman census, and here was the second class, if not third class, family of an oppressed nation in a faraway province of the Roman Empire, compelled to travel in the mother's third trimester of pregnancy across a long and difficult and dangerous road to come to Bethlehem. And in Bethlehem, which is congested with so many people coming back to their ancestral home, the town of David, Bethlehem means house of bread. And as they're coming to this town of David and there's so many people, there's one young family with a young mother, great with child, near her time of delivery, and there's not an inn that has space for them. And the inns at that time were not exactly like a holiday inns. They were a bunch of stalls built around a courtyard with an open fire for cooking purposes. And it wouldn't have been that great in their inns anyway. It was pretty basic and crude. But there wasn't even space in those kind of inns. There wasn't a home, there wasn't an inn that was willing to make space. There was no younger person willing to make space for an expectant mother. And so here's an expectant mother with the most important person ever born. who has no place and no interest and no compassion from anyone in Bethlehem. Not only is the Mayor insensible to the greatest event to ever take place in Bethlehem, but the High Priest, not that far away, just a few miles away in Jerusalem, he's not there. Not one of the priests who are meant to be serving Yahweh in the Temple are there. There's not a single priest or high priest, there's not a king or prince, there's not any of the leading houses of Israel present, but they're shepherds. In fact, we should read this passage in Luke chapter 2, starting in verse 8. Luke chapter 2 in verse 8. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day In the city of David, a saviour, who is Christ the Lord, and this will be the sign to you, you'll find a 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, goodwill towards men. And so it was when the angels had gone away from him into heaven that the shepherds said to one another, let us go down now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. And they came in haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen him, They made widely known the saying that was told them concerning this child. And all those who heard it marveled at these things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for the things that they had heard and seen as it was told them." So this is Luke chapter 2 and from verse 8 to 20. Shepherds were not exactly at the highest level of society. They were really at the lowest ebb. Shepherds tend to sleep out in the fields with their sheep. They probably smelt like the sheep. They were not welcome in public company. In fact, in Hebrew society, a shepherd's testimony was not even acceptable in court because they were considered so disreputable, so untrustworthy. And so amazing that here, the lowest level of society, they're the ones who get the good news first. It's not pronounced in the temple, it's not pronounced in the palace, it's not pronounced in the court or to the governor. It's given to the shepherds. Bethlehem is so close to Jerusalem, the sheep being kept on the hills of Bethlehem were specifically being kept for sacrifices on the Temple Mount. So they were providing sheep for the sacrificial system in the temple, which is only a shadow pointing to the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. And here the bread of life is born in Bethlehem, the house of bread. Here the son of David is born in the city of David, but also the son of Abraham. And as the son of David is destined for the throne and the crown, so the son of Abraham is destined for the altar of the cross. You've got so much coming together here, You'd wonder whether Mary, young, young mother, in her teens, terrified, surely, discomforted, who wants to be riding on a donkey across mountainous paths in areas where there's robbers and bandits at that time of your pregnancy anyway? It wouldn't be comfortable even if you're in good health. And they arrive there, And here, just six months earlier, she had been told by her cousin Elizabeth, blessed are you amongst women, from now on all generations will call you blessed. Did Mary feel blessed that night? No anesthetics, no treatment, no medical people, no midwife, only a rough carpenter to help deliver the baby in an unhygienic situation. Did she feel blessed? Did she think that this was really a good deal that she was receiving? Surely she would have been troubled. Maybe there was doubts in her mind. Maybe she was thinking, what happened to this visitation from the angel, the annunciation from the angel Gabriel telling her about this? Could God not provide her with better accommodation, better arrangement? There wasn't one man in Bethlehem willing to make his space available in an inn or in a home for an expectant mother on nights of a delivery. Surely they would have been to some degree discouraged. Joseph was not a well-off person. He must have felt inadequate. He must have felt a failure. Could he not do better for his wife and for his stepson about to be born? And along come these shepherds, not exactly the most illustrious of people to come and visit, but as the shepherds told of what they'd heard the angels say and sing, Mary pondered these things in her heart. How it must have encouraged them to have these shepherds come and fall on their knees and worship the newborn king. And later when the Magi, the wise men from the East, came great distances, speaking about how they'd studied the stars, and doubtless they were aware of the prophecies of Daniel, and here they'd come this great distance in order to see this newborn babe. This must have been encouragement too. And for this poverty-stricken family, who were in the most dire of straits, they would have received not just encouragement, but at that point, they received gold. frankincense and myrrh, gold for the king of kings, frankincense for the high priest above all high priests, myrrh for the sacrifice that would end the need for any other sacrifice, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, appropriate gifts but also you can imagine when they had to flee into Egypt to flee from the murderous rampage of King Herod who wanted to massacre the Messiah and end this threat to his power base and his throne. they must have found the gold useful to help them survive in Egypt in their exile. And practical gifts, symbolic gifts, appropriate gifts, gifts of a message and a meaning. But how encouraging it must have been for them that they were not alone and they were not forgotten at a time when they could have easily been tempted to think, why is God allowing this? Why are we not getting any break, any provision? This is the most unhygienic, inappropriate, unhelpful environment possible for any baby to be born. None of us would have wanted to be born in that sort of situation. None of us would want any of our relatives to be born in that situation. So why then did God choose his son to be born in the most disadvantaged, poverty-stricken, unhygienic, difficult situation in time possible, in an oppressed nation, in a place where the Romans were demanding of them to move no matter what their condition, even a pregnant mother's got to travel difficult conditions in order to have the census because Caesar Augustus has demanded. But there's a message here, there's a tremendous message. If the Holy Creator of the Universe, our Eternal Judge, the God who is all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present, the One who knows the thoughts of our hearts, the God before whom we must kneel at the Last Day and give an account of our lives, if He had decided to wash His hands of the world and say, broken my laws, they've broken my commands, they have no place to me, they have exiled me from this world. It's not just that there was no place for God with us, Emmanuel, in the inns of Bethlehem. There was no place for God in his world. God was already rejected, hated, despised, exiled from not just the hearts and homes, but even from the temple and from every aspect of society. There was nowhere for the Lord to come except to a stable. He came to the world while the world was in rebellion to him. And he could not come to the palace because the king there wanted to murder any potential messiah. He couldn't come to the temple because the temple wasn't interested. When they found out that the messiah was there, they plotted to have him murdered. The world was in rebellion to God. The world was hating God. And therefore when the Lord came, he came in the most humble way he could have chosen to just write the wall off. He could have chosen to destroy the entire world in fire. He could have chosen to unleash all the horses of the apocalypse, all the seals and vows of heaven, blow all the trumpets, and unleash great tribulation on the world, and it would be justly deserved by an evil generation, by wicked people and a trade people who were completely rejecting God. The fact that there was no room for Jesus in them is symbolic of the fact there was no room for God in the hearts of His people or any people anywhere in the world. He was rejected by the very people he had made, by the very people he loved and provided for. And so the message of the manger should disturb us on many levels. That's no place for a baby to be born. It should disturb us, the fact that God, when he came to this world, could not find anywhere more appropriate to be born than in a manger amongst farm animals. because the people had so rejected. And you could see it. That when the Lord told the people who he was, they plotted to murder him. They conspired and they campaigned. And when the mob in the streets had a choice, they chose Barabbas. and they screamed, Crucified Christ, His blood be upon us and upon our children. How much clearer can God make it that we were enemies of Him? While we were His enemies, He loved us, died for us, provided for us. God came to a world that was not interested in Him. A world so hard-hearted they couldn't make place for a pregnant mother. and to look at this and then think about problems and then compare our problems that we have with Mary and Joseph on that night or God himself choosing to be born a helpless babe, choosing to humble himself for God to come to this earth accompanied by tens of thousands of legions of his angels in a gold chariot, with angels singing and so on, that would also be humbling himself, because to come to this earth at all would be a great thing for him to do. But he chose not to come as a judge, not to come as a conqueror, not that time, but to come as a helpless babe, to come, taken in human flesh, veiled in flesh the Godhead sea, pale incarnate deity. And when we have something to complain about, we'll just think, well, why do bad things happen to good people? Why do we struggle so much? Why do we struggle so much for basic things? Why do we have to endure infirmity and decay and weakness and all of the other things that we have to do? Well, good question, but it's a better question to ask, well, why did God have to come to this world and be born as a baby. Why did he have to live the life he lived and die the death he died? Why did he have to suffer? Because when we look at a Christmas tree, for example, as Martin Luther said, you should not just think of the wood of the crib, but the wood of the cross. And when we see a Christmas tree, it should remind us of the scripture, cursed is anyone who's hung on a tree. And that Jesus became sin for us, and he suffered on the cross, he is born to die. And the gold ornaments around the tree can remind you of the gold of the crown, the crib, the cross, the crown. The message of Christmas is so much more than about a baby born in the manger. It's about the total depravity of man that required him to come. And it's about the wickedness of men that they were so close to God that there was nowhere for him to be born in human habitation. He had to be born amongst farm animals in a cave. And there was no one else to help. And the Lord saw it most appropriate to announce to the poorest and the most despised section of society first century Palestine. The shepherds looking after the flock on the slopes overlooking Bethlehem, the house of bread. So when we look at the manger scene, we should not feel warm fuzzy feelings and think in terms of this is a lovely part of Christmas. It should be shocking, it should be disturbing, and it should be reminding us of the depravity of man the holiness of God, the love of God, the mercy of God, the graciousness of God, the fact that he took on himself all the infirmities and he didn't choose for himself a better or more privileged situation. He was born to a hard-working carpenter's family. He was in a ministry where he walked everywhere. It's not that he was being carried on a litter, riding in a chariot, or staying in a palace. He chose the humblest. He chose the hardest. He chose the most difficult. And this should be an encouragement to us. So while in one sense the Christmas manger scene should be disturbing, it should also be comforting and encouraging. knowing that our God understands what it is to be weak and infirmed and poor and struggling and to be rejected and to have no place and to have no one to help and to be in a situation where you're about as alone as you can be. I'm sure Mary and Joseph must have been disturbed, frustrated, perhaps even angry. It could have been despairing. You can just imagine some poor carpenter having to help his wife give birth. And what does he know about these things? How capable was he? This was not an easy situation, even though lovely carols, beautiful music, some nice scenes we've got in films make it look a little idyllic. But there's nothing idyllic about it. This is actually an extremely difficult situation. Now, how do you respond? Well, the shepherds responded. We read in verse 20. They glorified God, they praised him for the things they'd heard. But you go right on to Luke chapter 2 verse 21. When eight days were completed for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, and the name had been given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Now, when the days of the purification according to the Lord most were completed, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law, every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord. and to offer a sacrifice. Verse 25, And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ, the Messiah. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, Simeon took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. So we have two reactions. The first reaction of the shepherds is to praise and glorify God. The second reaction you can see by Simeon is quiet and solemn recounting of scripture, recounting of the performance of prophecy and he also adds to Mary. that a sword will pierce through your own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. He gives a somber, serious warning to Mary that along with this blessing is going to come the agony and pain of seeing her son misunderstood, slandered, rejected, falsely accused, condemned in an illegal trial, and she's going to see her son in her lifetime killed. Her heart will be pierced through. She's called blessed of all and yet she's got a hard path to walk as well. And then we read in verse 36, now there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Penel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age and she had lived with her husband seven years from the virginity. And this woman was a widow of about 84 years. So she'd been a widow most of her life. who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers day and night. And coming in that instant, she gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of Him to all of those who looked for redemption in Israel. And when they performed all these things according to the law of God, they returned to Galilee, and the child grew and became strong in spirit and filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him." So you've got different reactions. You've got Simeon's reaction, you've got Anna's reaction, you've got the shepherd's reaction. But again, where are the priests? Where's the king? Where are the princes? Where's the high priest? Where are the people of note? Where's the government? They've missed the greatest event of their lifetime. And there was no room for Jesus in them, there's no room for him in the UN today. And there's not even room for Jesus in many X-mas cards. There's many, many cards for Christmas that don't even mention Christ, which is bizarre. There's some songs that people sing at Christmas that have got nothing to do with them as well. And some people think it's all about Santa Claus, and all about presents, and all about me, and some people think this is an occasion to get drunk. There's many people who don't understand the reason for the season, and who haven't heard the message, who don't understand why he came, and who miss the message of the manger. So it's absolutely critical that we look at this miraculous birth of Christ, think of the absolute desolation and disappointment and frustration that Mary must have felt at the time, and the helplessness and perhaps sense of failure that Joseph felt at that time. And to recognize that in this time, in this Christmas season, there's so much to both shock and appall one, but also to inspire and comfort us when we put our problems and our situations in some kind of comparison to what the Holy Family put up. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his governance and peace there shall be no end." There are many prophecies. The Old Testament has over 2,000 prophecies that have already been fulfilled. And our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled 333 prophecies during his ministry on earth. And one of these prophecies was of the miraculous birth of Christ. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and call his name Immanuel. Sacred scripture records the supernatural birth of Christ. The Holy Spirit came upon the Virgin Mary and the power of the highest overshadowed her. And the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and told him what was conceived in Mary was of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. And all of this was done that it might be fulfilled what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet. Behold, a virgin shall be with child, shall bear a son. They shall call his name Immanuel, God with us. That was the motto of Gustav Adolf, the Swedish king, who came to the help of the land of the Reformation during the Thirty Years' War, and his motto, Gott mit uns, was put on all the military belt buckles of the German army under the Kaiser, and God with us. That comes straight from Matthew 1, verse 23. A miraculous book predicted the miraculous birth of the most miraculous person in history. Our Lord Jesus Christ healed the sick. He made the crippled to walk. He enabled the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. He made the blind to see. He raised the dead. There never was anyone who taught as Jesus taught. There's never anyone who lived a perfect life like He lived. Who died such a death. A vicious, cruel, torturous death. But a voluntary death. He wasn't a martyr. He was a willing sacrifice. Once when R.C. Sproul was asked why do good things happen, why do bad things happen to good people, he said, well there was only one and he volunteered. That's a harsh response, but it's a true one. This takes into account the total depravity of man. There was only one good and righteous person in history and he volunteered. And he took our sins upon himself. But his life did not end with his death on the cross because he rose three days later from the dead and the tomb of Jesus is empty to this day and he lives today and this miraculous book points to his miraculous birth which was a prelude to a miraculous life an atoning death and a miraculous resurrection from the dead and he has promised to return again to judge the living and the dead on that day will he be your savior or will he be your judge Jesus Christ was not born a prince. He was not born an heir to the throne. He's the only one ever born a king. And the wise men from the East Off, where is this one who has been born a king? We have come to worship him. And that's the only proper response to worship. King Herod wanted to murder the Messiah and massacre all still in the manger in Bethlehem. We no longer worship a babe in a cradle. He is the Son of God who died on the cross. The day will come when he will return to this earth wearing the crown of the sovereign Lord of the universe. All of us will have to stand before his throne and give an account of our lives. This is the message of the manger. Jesus Christ is Lord. He is Lord over all. He is Lord over all aspects of life. He is King of kings, Lord of lords, but he is God with us. He is Emmanuel. He is our wonderful counsellor. He is all-knowing. He embodies absolute wisdom. He is the way, the truth and life. We are lost. He is the way. We are deceived. He is the truth. We are dead in our trespasses and sins. He is the life. He hears our prayers. He guides His people. He is mighty God. He is all-powerful, God Himself. He is the incarnation of God. He is the exact image of God. He is fully God and fully man. He is the everlasting Father. He is from everlasting to everlasting. He is eternal, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. And as a Father, He is compassionate and He protects and He provides. He is the Prince of Peace. There is no peace without the Prince of Peace. It is blasphemous presumption for the United Nations to take a Messianic prophecy from Isaiah and put it in stone outside the building without even attributing it to the Bible and attributing this Messianic prophecy itself. They will beat their swords into plowshares and neither shall they make war anymore. That is in New York, outside the UN. And these deluded New World Order globalists think they can bring peace. They can't even bring peace to Somalia or Bosnia. What on earth makes them think they can bring peace to the world? There is no peace without the Prince of Peace, the King of Peace. Those who think they can bring peace anywhere without Christ are deluded, whether they're counsellors or whether they're commissars. Only in Christ can we find peace, as individuals, as families, as congregations, as nations. true and lasting peace with justice. Of the increase of his governance and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time forth and forever. So the ultimate victory and triumph of Christ's kingdom is inevitable. In a time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but of itself will endure forever. This is what we call to in the Great Commission, to make disciples of all nations, to teach obedience to all things the Lord has commanded, because all authority has been given unto Christ. This is what it means to pray the Lord's Prayer, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The earth will be as full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the seas are full of water now. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. They can bow today on the day of grace when salvation is freely offered, or they will bow on the day of judgment when every knee must bow. Even that of Karl Marx, even Mandela, Mao, Lincoln, the whole of them, Caesar, not one will be exempt. Every knee will bow. This is the message of Christmas. Not only the crib, but of a cross. Not only the cross, but the crown. You rejoice that a child has been born, but do you recognize that he is Emmanuel, God with us? Do you submit to his government? Is he your wonderful counselor? Do you obey him as Lord of your life? Is he your mighty God, your everlasting Father? Is he the Prince of Peace in your life? If so, rejoice. His government will no end, his kingdom will endure forever. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this. Let us pray. Lord God, we thank and praise you for who you are, for what you do, for how you were willing to humble yourself and be born and take on human flesh in the most disadvantaged and poverty-stricken of situations. We know that you understand. We know that you care. We know that you love. And we pray, Lord God, that you would help us to love you in return, to worship you, to honor you, to obey you, to serve you. Fill our hearts, we pray, with much joy in this season and help us to share something of this great message to our friends, neighbors, strangers, and those that you bring across our path. We pray it in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Let's conclude this service with Joy to the World. Hymn number 14, Joy to the World, one of the greatest of the Christmas carols. Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her King.