I invite you to open your Bible to Luke chapter 2. We're going to go back to a portion of Scripture that David read earlier. We want to go back to the night that Jesus was born and relive that moment once again. The peaceful scene on that night is painted for us. in vivid color as we read through the birth narrative in the scripture. Somewhere in the countryside, outside of the village of Bethlehem, our attention is drawn to a group of humble shepherds doing what shepherds routinely do. Luke chapter 2, verse 8. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the 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 toward men." Pray together. Our Father, as we focus our attention anew on the birth of our Savior, may our hearts swell with gratitude for the sending of your Son to this earth to die on the cross to save us from our sins. Oh Lord, we marvel. We marvel at your grace. We marvel at the majesty of this moment and we're transfixed as we behold the Savior in a manger. Help us as we direct our attention toward our Savior today. I pray your blessing on this message in Jesus' name. Amen. Let me ask you, do you have a nativity scene in your home? Now I need to interject here. You're not more spiritual if you do, okay? You're not less spiritual if you don't, but we happen to have one. I'm going to ask if we could dim the front lights here. I've got a little slideshow I'm going to show you. Do you have a nativity scene in your home? Well, our scene is set up in a prominent location every Christmas. And it has all the figurines that you would expect. So first of all, to start with, there's a nice background that kind of paints the scene for you. And then, of course, there are all the figurines. We have Joseph. You have to have Joseph. And then, of course, there's Mary. You have to have Mary. And then, of course, as we've been talking about this morning, there's the shepherd. I wish we had more than one shepherd, but it's not an expensive set, you understand. So we're limited to one. But we have a shepherd, and we also, of course, have some sheep as well. And there is an angel, I believe. Yes, there he is. There's an angel. Now, really, the angel shouldn't be right there in the nativity scene. He should be off maybe in the countryside. But that's OK. We'll put him right there. And then we have three wise men. Now, the Bible doesn't say there were three. OK, there are three that we sing about. There are three in our set that we have in our nativity scene. But here's the problem. Really, those three wise men shouldn't be right there in the nativity scene. And so I'm kind of tempted when we set it up to put them across the room there, you know, way over there, because they're not there yet. OK, they'll come later. I'll come later. You know, we kind of put it all together. Oh, I forgot the star. We have a star. It's kind of a humble little star, but it does its thing. And there's a little LED light there to light up the star, so it's kind of cute. So you put it all together, and there's what it looks like. Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that beautiful? Haven't we forgotten something? Haven't we forgotten something? Take a closer look. Haven't we forgotten something? Where's Jesus? Where's Jesus in the manger scene? See, here is the problem with the way we celebrate Christmas in our modern era. We think about the tree and we think about the lights. We think about shopping for presents and the Christmas cards and the hot apple cider with cinnamon and chestnuts roasting on an open fire and Jack Frost nipping at your nose. We think about all the sleigh bells ringing and on and on the list goes. But where's Jesus in all that? Haven't we forgotten Jesus? After all, Christmas is really all about the Christ of Christmas. And so we need to put Jesus in the manger scene. So let's do that. I think I have. There we go. All right, let's put Jesus in the manger scene of our hearts so that when we step back and we take a look at the bigger picture here, everyone is focused on Jesus. Mary and Joseph, the shepherd, if you zoom out a little bit more, everyone has their attention transfixed on the baby Jesus. And that is where our attention ought to be as well. For this babe, wrapped in swallowing clothes and lying in a manger, is the Savior of the world. And so let us behold the Savior in a manger. I want you to imagine for a moment that you were one of those shepherds All your life, you've spent your whole life with the animals, taking care of the sheep, congregating with other shepherds. You do what shepherds do, you take care of your sheep. You lead them, you feed them, you care for them, you tend to them, you protect them. And so on this night, you take your sheep out to graze and then you take them into a sheepfold at night. you and other shepherds and all of your sheep get co-mingled in that sheepfold. It's kind of a semi-protected area. Often in that region of the world, they would actually build a couple stone walls in the shape of a V. And that's where they would kind of put their sheep and then the shepherds would protect the sheep from predators who might come upon them. And there's no problem that your sheep are co-mingled with the other shepherd's sheep. Because your sheep know your voice and you know your sheep by name. And so all you have to do is call your sheep and it's kind of like miraculous to watch it happen, but your sheep will come out from all of the other sheep and they will follow you. Nighttime is usually very peaceful time for the shepherds, unless of course there's a predator on the prowl. And tonight seems especially calm. and peaceful and you're just enjoying the evening. When all of the sudden there is an extremely bright light that appears and you have to shade your eyes and an angelic being appears from nowhere. And you and the other shepherds are paralyzed with fear. And this angel looks at you and says, fear not. Stop being afraid. For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. The angel goes on to tell you about the sign of that birth of that Savior. And then when he stops speaking, all of a sudden, all of heaven just lights up. And the heavenly host appears suddenly. And there is this loud proclamation of glory to God in the highest. Peace on earth. And then poof, they disappear just as suddenly as they appeared. And you're kind of left standing there back in the dark again. And you're looking at your other shepherds and they're looking at you and you're kind of all blinking your eyes saying, what did we just see? What did we just hear? What kind of news is this? A Savior is born? Come on, let's go. Let's get going to Bethlehem. Let us go and see this thing of which the angel spoke. So you and the other shepherds hastily head toward Bethlehem. It's just a small, insignificant village. And as you enter into Bethlehem, it doesn't take you long to find a babe in a manger. And as you approach, you approach with a sense of awe and reverence. And as you enter, you find everything exactly the way the angel described it. Everything. After you admire him and worship him, You leave. And you're reflecting upon this. The reaction of the shepherds is recorded in Luke 2, verse 20. It says, And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. What did the shepherds see? They saw a newborn babe. wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. What a humble birth for such an important baby. He wasn't born to rich parents. He was born to a carpenter. The carpenter's wife. He wasn't born in a king's castle. He was born where the animals were kept. He wasn't dressed in silk and fine linen. He was wrapped in swaddling cloths. And he wasn't lying in a fancy wooden cradle. He was lying in a manger. The shepherds praised God for their unique privilege. They had beheld the Savior in a manger. And so let us likewise this morning behold the Savior in a manger. This morning I want to draw our attention in to the very important proclamation that the angel made to the shepherds on that night. A proclamation that will help us come to understand this baby's true identity. and help us to understand the sign of his birth. So let's focus on his true identity. Who really is this one of whom the angel sang? Well, let's look at what the angel said here in verse 11. The angel said, For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. I want you to notice that the angel referred to the baby with three different titles. He refers to him as the Savior and as the Christ and as the Lord. So we see here, first of all, that a Savior is born. That word Savior refers to someone who delivers and rescues and saves. The title Savior was used of God in the Old Testament, and it's important for us to understand that context because that's kind of the connection that these Jewish shepherds would have made. Even God used this title in reference to Himself. In Isaiah 43, verse 11, it says, I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior. And so it is throughout the Old Testament the prophets repeatedly set the expectation that the Lord as Savior would bring salvation. For example, Isaiah 52, verse 9, where the prophet writes, "...break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem." The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all nations and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Isn't it interesting, the prophet writes of the city, Jerusalem, where our Savior died. And so it was that the people of Israel in the time of Jesus' birth were looking expectantly for the arrival of a Savior. Only many of them kind of had the wrong concept of this. Many of them thought that God would send a Savior who would deliver Israel from the oppressive fist of Rome. But God had something bigger in mind. Dear friends, God did not send a Savior. He sent the Savior. He sent the Savior, His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the savior of the world. First, John 414 says, And we have seen and do testify that the father sent the son to be the savior of the world. You see, Jesus did not come to rescue just the Jewish people. He came to be the savior for the whole world, both Jews and Gentiles, all nations. And he did not come as a political liberator to deliver people from the powers of Rome. This Savior came to deliver people from the oppressive power of sin and its dreadful eternal consequences. 1 John 2 says, and He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. See, the problem in our day is far too many churches present Jesus as the wrong Savior. Far too many churches present Jesus as one who delivers in a temporal sense. One who would deliver somebody from, say, their bad marriages, or their bad relationships, or their bad habits, or their bad debts. And of course, knowing Jesus is going to help with all of these things. But that's not the primary reason that he came. The primary reason that Jesus came was to be the savior, to save us from our sins, to save us from our most serious problem, the problem of sin. And so the angel informed the shepherds and the angel informs us today that the savior is born. The second title that the angel used is the Christ, the Christ is born. Now, like Savior, the term Christ is actually a title, not a proper name. It became kind of associated with Jesus' name so tightly that it becomes a proper name, Jesus Christ. Jesus the Christ is really more proper. And the term Christ means anointed one. Now, from the Old Testament times, people were anointed with oil. in a ceremony associated with that person being placed in an exalted office of some sort. Prophets were anointed. Priests were anointed. Kings were anointed. And as we have learned in recent weeks, as we've gone through a series on Messianic prophecies, Jesus is all three. Prophet, priest, and king. Jesus is God's anointed prophet, greater than the prophet Moses. Jesus is the anointed great high priest who offered himself as atonement for sin. And Jesus is the anointed King, destined to occupy the regal throne of David. He is King of Kings. He is Lord of Lords. He will one day rule all the kingdoms of the world. So Jesus is the Christ. He is the anointed one, prophet, priest, and king. Now, the word Christ in our New Testament is equivalent to the Hebrew word Mashiach, which we would commonly pronounce Messiah. And so when you think of Christ in the New Testament, that title, wherever that's used, is connected and equated to the Jewish idea of Messiah. It's very interesting that the Hebrew word is related to the Hebrew verb, which means to anoint. And so he is the anointed one, no matter which language you are using. The prophet Daniel set the expectation for one who would come who is called Messiah, the prince. And Daniel had that in his 70 weeks vision. You can read about it in Daniel 9. And here's the thing, all of the Jewish people would have known that. They all would have known of Daniel's prophecy. All of Israel, even these unlearned shepherds, would have been aware of the messianic expectation of the Jewish people that God was going to send Messiah the prince. And they were looking for him. But they would not have been looking for him in a manger." Here's the striking thing, that baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, he's the Messiah, the expected Messiah. He is the Savior. He is the Messiah, the Christ. And the third title that the angel uses is Lord, the Lord, the Lord is born. In a literal sense, the term Lord simply means master. It is a term that can be used in reference to those who are in positions of authority, humans in positions of authority. They might be called Lord. For example, Sarah called Abraham Lord, recognizing his authority over her. There are many times when people would call their governmental officials Lord. Even today, that term kind of hangs around, doesn't it? In the British Empire, you have lords and ladies, kind of that idea of somebody who is in a position of authority, someone having great dignity, someone worthy of the title Lord. But in the Bible, this term is often used in a special sense. in reference to God. And whenever it's used in that sense, we are careful to capitalize the L, Lord. He is the Lord. So Lord is often a designation for God, the Father. But we see here it is also a designation for Jesus. Because he is God, the Son. And so it is proper for us to refer to him as Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus, the Christ. He is the Lord. And so whenever God, father or son, is called Lord, it emphasizes his sovereign deity. So to call Jesus Lord is to recognize his sovereign deity. He is God and He is sovereign. He is the ruler. So when the angel used the title Lord in reference to the baby Jesus, it's tantamount to saying that this child is God in the flesh. You see, Jesus is not merely a king or a lord. He is the king of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the ruler of rulers. He is the prince of princes. Who is he in yonder stall at whose feet the shepherds fall? We know the answer. Tis the Lord, a wondrous story. Tis the Lord, the king of glory. At his feet we humbly fall. Crown him, crown him, Lord of all. So this angel that appeared to these humble shepherds on this quiet night made a pronouncement that speaks volumes of the true identity of Jesus, the true identity of this baby who was born, the true identity of Christ, the Lord, our Savior. That baby boy was the Savior of the world who was born to die for the sins of mankind. That baby boy was the Christ, the expected Messiah, the anointed prophet, priest, and king. And that baby boy was the Lord, the incarnate Son of God, in whom dwelt the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form. Let us behold the Savior in a manger, let us behold his true identity and let us marvel at what God has done." So the angel in his proclamation speaks volumes of the true identity of this baby. But he goes on to give us the sign of his birth. Look at verse 12. And this shall be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. What is a sign? Well, in the biblical sense, the sign is something extraordinary that helps us to see that God is doing something. A sign is something very unusual and very unexpected. Occasionally signs are miraculous. God interrupts the ordinary laws of nature and he does something that is clearly outside of those laws. We call that a miracle. And there are many miracles recorded in the scriptures. All of them are true. We believe all of them. So sometimes God will give a sign in the form of a miracle. But often a sign is simply providential. In other words, God doesn't do something that violates the laws of nature. But he orchestrates events in such an unusual way that it catches our attention. And we look at that and we say, God must be doing something. And then what makes it even more special is when God discloses that sign in advance and he says, here is the sign I'm going to give to you. Watch for it. And then when it comes, you know that this thing is of God. Now, the shepherds were not going to witness a miracle by the strictest definition that night. They were not going to find a young child with a halo, right? They were not going to see a green aura radiating from the place where Jesus lay. No, what they were going to witness was something providential but extremely unusual. They were going to witness a newborn baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. What about those swaddling clothes? Well, more properly we should call them swaddling claws. They were strips of cloth, kind of like bandages, large bandages that were wrapped tightly around young infants to keep their limbs straight. That was kind of the practice of the day. And there are some Bible teachers out there, and I've heard this myself in the past, who claim that these swaddling claws foreshadowed Jesus' burial claws. But there actually is nothing biblical or linguistic that would point us in that direction. But perhaps that is the case still. Now the emphasis really here on the swaddling claws is that the shepherds would find a newborn baby. Because that's what you did to newborn babies. You wrapped them tightly in swaddling claws. In fact, as the angel disclosed to the shepherds, this newborn baby is so newborn that he was born within the last 24 hours, probably just within the last few hours. Now, I don't know how many of you have had the privilege of holding a brand newborn baby, but it hasn't been too many weeks ago that Terry and I had the privilege of holding our newborn grandson within a few hours of his birth. And we looked down in that sweet little face, and we beheld an angel. No. Well, he's an angel to us. He's a cute little guy. But that was special, wasn't it? I mean, it's special enough to hold a baby, maybe even more special to hold a newborn. But to hold a newborn within hours of his birth? Precious. Precious. And so the shepherds were told that they would find a newborn infant. One that, according to the custom of the day, had been washed and salted and swaddled by loving Jewish parents. So the shepherds were to look for a newborn. A newborn, just a few hours old. That kind of narrows it down, doesn't it? But they were to look for this newborn lying in a manger. Now, this really is a sign. Because if you stop to think about it, even a small village of the size of Bethlehem, you know, there might have been a few babies born that night, right? There might be a few newborns in town. But surely there was only one newborn baby. lying in a manger. Because the manger was for domesticated animals. It wasn't a very sanitary place. I mean, this is where the animals were kept. It's not a place for a newborn human baby. The manger was hardly a place you would expect to find a newborn baby boy. And so this was the sign the shepherds were to look for. Now, Mary and Joseph certainly would have preferred it to be some other way. They would have preferred to find room in the inn, right? But they found no room in the inn. And as I thought about this, I thought, you know, why didn't someone step in and Show some generosity to this very young couple with the wife clearly very pregnant and ready to deliver. Perhaps she was already experiencing some labor pains at that point as they tried to check into the inn. I just can't help but infer from this thought that people were very cool to them. They didn't show any kindness. Nobody said, no, you take my room. Your wife's pregnant. You know, she's about to deliver a baby. You take my room and I'll go out to where the animals are. Nobody did that. Why not? Well, because God had arranged that this would be the sign for the shepherds to find the baby. You would have expected Mary and Joseph to be treated like honored guests, but they were hardly treated like guests at all. They were relegated to the place where the animals were kept, and Mary delivered her child in the stall of an animal and placed her newborn son in an animal feeding trough. As we ponder this sign that was given to the shepherds, I think it is fair to conclude that this sign gives testimony to the Savior's humble and inconspicuous entrance into the world. He did not come into the world in king's castles. He entered the world in a manger. This was the Son of God. The Son of God, the Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 2.6, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. All of this was part of our Savior's humiliation. He humbled himself when he left heaven. He humbled himself when he took on human flesh. He humbled himself to be born of such a humble family. He humbled himself to be born in an obscure village, Bethlehem. He humbled himself to be born in a manger. Let us behold the Savior in a manger. So let me ask you this morning. Where is Jesus? in the nativity scene of your heart. Where is Jesus? Is he crowded out by all the holiday decor? Is he pushed to the side and forgotten? Oh, yes, he's your savior. But there are so many other things that have your attention. That he is all but forgotten. Or perhaps you're here this morning and there is really, spiritually speaking, no Jesus in your nativity scene. You may celebrate all the festivities of the season, but you have never come to know him as Savior, the Christ, and your Lord. And the good news of Christmas and of the gospel is that today you can receive Him as all three. All you have to do is have the eye of faith to look upon this babe in a manger and realize He is the Son of God, sent from God the Father. He took on human flesh so that nails could go through it, and He died on the cross to pay the penalty of your sin and mine. And with the eye of faith, you can receive him as your Savior and Lord. You can do it today. So that Jesus is in the nativity scene of your heart. If Jesus is not the central figure in the nativity scene of your heart, he ought to be. And the encouragement this morning is for all of us to look upon the Savior anew, to see him in his humiliation and to recognize his destiny for glory. Behold the Savior in a manger. I would like to close by reading a poem entitled Can This Be Christmas? It's written by Martin Ralph DeHaan, better known as M.R. DeHaan. He was a medical doctor who was called into the ministry and he became the founder of the radio Bible class. Listen to this poem. What's all this hectic rush and worry? Where go these crowds who run and curry? Why all the lights, the Christmas trees, the jolly fat man tell me please? Why don't you know? This is the day for parties and for fun and play. Why this is Christmas. So this is Christmas, do you say, but where is Christ this Christmas day? He has been lost among the throng, his voice drowned out by empty song. No, he's not here. You'll find him where some humble soul now kneels in prayer, who knows the Christ of Christmas. But see the many aimless thousands who gather on this Christmas day, whose hearts have never yet been opened or said to him, come in to stay. In countless homes, the candles burning In countless hearts, expectant yearning For gifts and presents, food and fun And laughter till the day is done But not a tear of grief or sorrow For him, so poor, he had to borrow A crib, a colt, a boat, a bed Where he could lay his weary head I'm tired of all this empty celebration of feasting, drinking, recreation. I'll go instead to Calvary. And there I'll kneel with those who know the meaning of that manger low and find the Christ this Christmas. I leapt by faith across the years to that great day when He appears the second time to rule and reign, to end all sorrow, death, and pain. and endless bliss, we then shall dwell with Him who saved our souls from hell and worship Christ, not Christmas." Our Father, we thank You for this season. And yes, it's filled with many things that bring joy to our hearts. But Lord, may we not lose the true focus of Christmas, the true meaning of Christmas. May we not lose the Christ of Christmas. And may we be careful to worship Him and not Christmas itself. Oh Lord, I thank you for the angel's pronouncement that you desired to be recorded in the pages of Scripture and you have preserved this for us that we might read this very announcement and learn from it today. that we may behold the Savior in a manger, that we may understand His true identity as Savior and Christ and Lord, that we also may witness the sign that was given to the shepherds and behold Him in His humility. This is the Savior, the Son of God, lying in a manger in human flesh. born to a virgin. I pray, Lord, that you would help us to marvel anew at your amazing grace that you've given to us in the sending of your Son to be the Savior of the world. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.