For our scripture reading this morning, we turn to Luke chapter two. We read the word of God in Luke chapter two. We'll read the first 21 verses. It came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Sebrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea. unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And 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. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks 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. This shall be a sign unto you. He 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. And 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 has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. They came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And the word of God that we consider this morning is verse 12. This shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Beloved in our Lord Jesus Christ, we have been considering over the past few weeks the glad tidings of great joy that God sent his son into the world. We have considered the great love of God that underlies that decision of God to send his son. and that underlies the purposes that we also considered in God sending his son. God sending his son to redeem us from the law so that we might be adopted as his children and receive the inheritance that he has given to us. And he has done that, not only for us, but for the world. God came, God sent his son, to save the world, not to condemn the world. And he is the Lord of that world. And we saw that the way that Christ did that is by coming and being sent as the propitiation for our sins. And now this morning, we should marvel and be amazed at how God sent his son. God sent his son for us and for our salvation and sent him into the world for the salvation of the world, but he does not send him in the way that we would expect. We would expect that if indeed God is sending his son, God out of God, light out of light, the eternal creator and sustainer of all things. He who is the very word and truth of God. We would think that if God would send him into the world for the salvation of the world, that God would send him in an entirely different way. We would expect that God would send his son from the clouds of heaven so that every eye could see him, and that he would come with the trumpets blaring, accompanied by an innumerable throng, legions of holy angels in their holy garb, wielding their fiery swords, and that he would come to conquer the world and all of its sin with his mighty host in a great battle. But that's not how he comes. He comes being born in a lowly stable and being laid in a manger. And this is not seen by anyone but the beasts. And it is not revealed to anyone but a few lowly shepherds tending their flocks that night. This is not what we expect. That's because this is a sign. It is attended to catch our attention, exactly because it's not what we expect. The Lord draws us closer to take a look. And we understand, even instinctively, a barn is not a place for any child to be born, let alone one who is king of Israel and all the world. A manger is not a place. There one lays a baby, any baby, let alone one who is the Christ, the Son of the living God. That's because this is a sign. That's the announcement to the shepherds. It is not incidental. It is not something simply to pass over, but this shall be a sign to you, not only to lowly shepherds whom he saves and redeems, but to all whom he saves and redeems. The fact that the manger is a sign means that the manger is a powerful means of God's grace to the believing church and also a sign that condemns an unbelieving world. It says, this child, this child is different. His task is different and his work is different. He is laid in a manger. Consider with me this morning this, the Son of God lying in a manger. Lying in a manger, we'll notice the sign, the reality, and lastly, the comfort. In our text, we read, this shall be a sign unto you. The babe lying in a manger is a sign. The manger where the babe lies is a sign. A sign, as we know, is a striking and unusual event in this human world, in our physical world, that calls attention to and reveals a glorious, invisible, spiritual reality. The reality is not the manger as such or even the babe lying in the manger as such, but that itself is a sign of a much deeper spiritual reality. The babe lying in a manger is a sign by virtue of the contrast between the babe that lies in the manger and the manger in which the babe lies. It is a sign because there is a great contrast between the lowliness of that cradle, a manger, and the greatness of the baby who is lying in that manger. That contrast is emphasized in the passage. No less than three times is that mentioned in the passage. In fact, it's the only thing that's really mentioned three times at all. He is lying in a manger. And it's verses 11 and 12 that really explain its significance. When the angel informs the shepherd that the one laid in the manger is the one born to us. who is a Savior, Christ the Lord. There is the contrast. If the one laid in the manger is simply an ordinary human child, then we would take notice, of course. And we would take notice, and our reaction would be one of indignation. or a certain human sympathy. And our reaction to that would not be that of the shepherds, but we would immediately run out to the diaconate and say, here, this is a poor family. Attend to these poor folk. Provide them with a place to stay and with warm clothes for the baby. But inasmuch as the manger is a cradle, For one who is identified as the son of David, the mighty Lord and the Savior, the manger is a sign, a sign that captures and holds our attention and even makes us see that the issue here, the sign here is not simply one of human poverty, but much greater than that. The manger is a sign in as much as the baby that it holds is identified as the Christ of God. That is, the baby in the manger is the one of all human beings who is chosen by God to be his representative in this world. The one appointed by God in eternity to be the savior of his people. to gather his people out of every tribe, tongue, and nation, the one chosen by God to realize his covenant and establish his kingdom on this earth to his glory. That's who's in that manger. That's one reason he must be born in Bethlehem. This explains why his mother and the man to whom she is espoused must travel from the far north of Israel from the city of Nazareth to the southern small city of Bethlehem in Judea, because that is the city of David, the great king. The great king of the kingdom of God whom God had promised would have a son, a son who would not rule merely for a human lifetime like David did, but son who would rule over the nation of Israel forever and ever. The one therefore in the cradle that is the manger is God's elect, God's chosen one. The Messiah, the king of the great kingdom of Judah. The king of the great kingdom of God, therefore, that is represented by the nation of Judah, the church. The one who is the savior of the church. The only savior of lost men and women, he now finds his place in a barn and in the lowly place of a feeding trough for beasts. Even more striking is that that manger is the cradle of God. It is the cradle of God inasmuch as it is the cradle of the Son of God. That's pointed out in verse 7, the first time that we read of the manger. Carefully, the Holy Spirit has explained to us the situation with regard to Mary and Joseph, has explained to us that Mary will have a child. She will conceive and give birth to a child of whom Joseph is not the father. The man to whom she is espoused she has not lived with as a normal human couple and the father of the child is God through the Holy Spirit. That he is conceived of the Holy Spirit and the one who will be born is none other than the Son of God, the very second person of the Holy Trinity. is what's amazing. It's amazing not only because of where the child is lying, but of the child itself that is lying there. Through the wonder of the Incarnation, the Son of God whom we read this morning is God out of God and light out of light. the only begotten Son of the Father, eternal, not made. The Creator has taken to himself in his divine person a human nature of the flesh and blood of Mary and united that nature to himself so wonderfully and so amazingly that the one, the baby, That little infant child there in the manger is God himself in our flesh. That's what calls our attention. The eternal God, the eternal God has come down to us in our time. He who dwells eternally in the bosom of the Father has made himself a cradle and a manger and a barn. He who is light has hid that light. So all we see is a baby, he. who has no birth, who has no beginning or end. He who is not made, indeed is made, made of a woman according to the Holy Scriptures. He is born in due time and he lives as a man. He is a child, a real human child. and he is God. You have to imagine yourself there on the day of that birth with the shepherds looking down in that manger and hearing the same word. That child there is the Son of God. That little baby there wrapped in swaddling clothes who was just born of a woman is God Himself. God Himself. That is the sign. Now what makes all this a sign is that God has made it so. If all this were simply chance, or an accident, or just the way it happened to be, there would be no sign. The child lying in a manger is a sign in as much as God has arranged it all and made it happen just so. God always makes his own signs. We don't make the signs. God does. Throughout the Old Testament, that was so. all the signs that God gave of his great salvation, he made. He was the one who made it so that there were eight souls, the head of which was Noah, who found grace in the eyes of the Lord, that were saved in a wooden boat from the waters that destroyed the earth. It was God who brought his people into the bondage of Egypt and caused them to grow there for 400 years, and then sent Moses, the mighty deliverer, to redeem them, to save them, and to bring them through the waters of the Red Sea as a sign of baptism. It's God. who gives us the sign of baptism today, a sign of the washing away of our sins and the cleansing of us unto holiness. It is God who makes the broken bread and the poured out wine a sign of our life, our life in Jesus. It is God who arranges this sign. Mary and Joseph don't just happen to come to Bethlehem, nor does some far-off Caesar just happen to make a decree that all the world should be taxed in his day. Bethlehem just doesn't happen to be the place where David was born. This child doesn't just happen to be the son of David. This child doesn't happen to be born of the Virgin Mary. It doesn't just happen that her days are accomplished at the very moment that she is in Bethlehem. When we see a sign like this, we need to back up. And we need to replay all of human history in our mind. And we have to ask ourselves, what does God have to do to place his only begotten son in that particular manger at that particular time in that particular city? And the answer really is everything. This child is a sign not because he has some sort of accident or chance end to world history which has been hurtling toward this moment sort of on its own, or even with some gentle guiding by the Lord. But God has made this happen. God is the one who arranges the creation of this world. who arranges and causes it to be that there's an Adam and Eve who give birth, who arranges all of the lines of all of the people and brings everything there to that moment. And all of it has to happen just so. That's the reason it's a sign. And understand the point of the passage is that this must be a sign. It's necessary for there to be a sign. There must be something here that stops us short, that makes us pause and look to see this thing. And the question is, why? And the answer is, because there is a hidden, invisible spiritual reality that we must see, one that cannot be seen by the human naked eye, But all men must see, all men must know, but one that can only be believed, known by believing. You see, that's the problem that stands in the way of much celebration on this day with regard to the birth of Jesus Christ. This is why so much celebration, even when it tends to give some sort of nod to the child born in the manger, perhaps setting out a scene with a nice clean cradle and some hay and places a baby dowel there misses the entire point. What they miss is that it's a sign, a sign of something very, very important and very, very significant about receiving this child and knowing this child and believing in whom he is. ignorant and blind to very truth that God is revealing here in this sign, the truth without which there is no joy, and any joy that there is is short-lived and quickly gone. Oh yes, there may be many that celebrate the idea and the notion of God coming in our flesh in some sort of way. Like the idea of God giving us certain things that we somehow receive. Like the idea of even being saved in some way from sin. might like the idea of having a ruler over the whole world that brings a sort of peace and harmony. But what man rejects is the very reality being taught by that sight. And in that, fulfills the very word of that sign. So what is that reality? What is the reality to which it's pointing? Is it merely the reality that the baby is the Son of God, the Christ, the Savior, the long-awaited Son of David? No, that's part of the sign. Is it just the lowliness of the major, where only hours before the cattle had been taking up their feed? No, that's simply part of the sign. What's the reality to which it points? What it points to is this, that there is no room There is no place, there is no desire, no want for this Savior among human beings. That's pointed out in verse seven, where this manger is first mentioned and we're told that he is laid in the manger for one reason. There is no room for them in the inn. That's the sign of the reality that there is, in this world, no place for this Christ of God. There's no desire to have him. There's no one who asks for Him. There's no one who needs Him. No one who wants Him. No one wants this God-appointed Savior of mankind. No one wants God's only begotten Son. Because no one wants God. That's the reality. Now, it really doesn't make a difference why there's no room for them in the inn. It may have been an accident. It may also have been that they were deliberately turned away, likely the latter. Knowing parents, knowing fathers and mothers, the reason why there's no room likely doesn't have to be mentioned because it should be clear. The innkeeper was asked. Certainly Joseph would have pleaded, would have shown his wife, would have been known to him the desperation, the situation, but there's no room. It's very possible that Joseph himself went door to door, knocking on the rooms of the inn and asking if anyone would give their bed up for the night for his pregnant wife and her child soon to be born. And one by one, the doors were closed. But even if that were not the case, the Bible's explanation for that side is simply that. There is no room for him, not even in an inn, which itself is lowly enough for one who is the son of God. Why is that? Because there's no room for him in the church and nation of Israel. That's clear when the wise men come with the news that the King of Jews has been born. That's why the Bible includes that. There are those who come from afar, Gentiles who come from afar, who see a similarly striking sign, and they announce in the palace of the King, the Son of David, the long-awaited Christ has been born. The Savior is here. And not only are they met with indifference, but the only concern is of the King that he might kill this child as soon as he's born. That's evident in his ministry. When he finally takes up his ministry, proclaiming the good news that he is the savior from sin and from death, and he confirms that good news by many mighty miracles, the vast majority leave him. They reject him. Oh, they want a savior, but they don't want that kind of savior. Oh, they want a deliverer. They want a king who will rule the world instead of these dreaded Romans and that Roman Caesar who taxes them. But they don't want the savior that Jesus is. In his final hours, even his own disciples desert him so that he's all alone in the world. And the only thing really different is that when he's born, he's laid in a manger, and when he's died, he's nailed to another piece of wood. You see in the manger, the cross, and the reason why he's there on that cross, at least from the human side of things. And the church needs to be reminded that there's no room for him there either. Oh, there's churches that claim to want a savior and to confess a savior, but when one looks, there's no room for him on the Lord's day, no room for him in the preaching of the gospel, There's room for football and room for golf and room for time with one's family. There's room to go shopping. There's room to think about your business needs. There's room to go on vacation. But there's no room for the Son of God who was laid in a manger. There's no room for Him in the world, in the institutions of the world. Where do you find this babe lying in a manger? The politicians, they have room for power, they have room for self-interest. The businesses of the world, they have room for money, for capital greed. The schools and the colleges, they have room for the philosophies of men, the ideas of men, but none for Jesus Christ, not even those that are called Christian. Look among the relationships of men, is there room Is there room for this man who is the Son of God, who taught that a marriage is a lifelong bond that is broken only by death? Is there room for this Savior who came along teaching that a wife must submit to her husband and a husband must love his wife as his own body? Is there room for this Savior who teaches that children, the children of believing parents, are a gift of God and children of the covenant? Is there room for the Savior who saves children as children and who commands that they be baptized? Is there room for this Savior in the lives of men? Is there room for Him who said to man, don't fight back, turn the other cheek? I command you to love your enemies. Is there room for this Savior who fulfilled the 10 commandments of His Father and says, now keep them, follow them? Is there room for this Savior among any of the religions of men? Is there even room for this Savior in those who claim that this is their Lord and Savior? The answer is no. This is the condemnation of man and of human hearts. The reason there is this sign is because of the reality that there's no room for him in any human heart, and that includes our heart. There is by nature no room for this Christ of God in our heart. Our heart is stony rock hard. Oh, we would like to imagine to ourselves, oh, if we were there in that inn, if we were the innkeeper, And we were there in our own cozy little room, and this couple, and we knew who that was. We would make room. God says, no, you don't. No, you won't. And that's proven even if you never even knew who that child was. He that says he loves God but loves not his neighbor is a liar. and he that loves not his neighbor loves not God who made the neighbor. Do you not see that? It is our very wickedness toward one another, our very sinfulness toward one another that exposes the hardness of our heart and why there is no natural room for this Christ, the Son of God who is the Savior in our hearts. You see, this is a sign that condemns all of the religiosity of men, all of his religion, all of his piety, all of it that even goes under the name Christian goes up in smoke. The whole Arminian endeavor built upon the false doctrine that man makes room for Christ and accepts him. Oh, he may need a little sprinkle of grace to do that, which God gives to everyone. It's all made false and exposed here. When God sends Christ, the sign is there is no room, no desire, no wanting of Him. He is despised and rejected of men, not just some, but all. The reality is, if God is going to save us through him, oh indeed, he must make his home in your heart. There must be room. There must be a place. There is no salvation unless he lives in your heart. That is your salvation. But if there is to be that, he must make his own way. He must do it. He must accomplish it. He must carry it out. And again, that's another reason why he's rejected. We look at that babe lying in a manger. And the human heart says, that one? Oh, I can accept and receive a glorious, mighty Savior who might come down from heaven in a blaze of gory with trumpets blaring, surrounded by angels and fiery swords and conquering and going about to conquer. Oh, that. But a babe in a manger. That way. The way of suffering and the way of death. No, never. Oh, he comes and he comes and makes a way in human hearts. He redeems his people who are chosen from eternity out of all the human rights. He sends the power of the Holy Spirit upon each of the members of the church so that he makes their heart his own new cradle. But even then, think about it. Think about how he goes about to accomplish it all. and why even today it is true that there is no room for him, not just then, but even now. Where do you find his cradle? Where do you find him? Well, in the hearts of lowly human beings, often not the mighty and the renowned of the world, but the poor and lowly, the rejected of men, there in their hearts he has made his cradle. There the Father has laid him. When you look at where he's found, you find him indeed in a church, in a communion of saints, but often very lowly, small churches. You find him in insignificant places. And so today, even then, men look down at the cradle in Bethlehem and say, I want nothing of it. I want nothing of the suffering that goes along with confessing his name. I want nothing of the lowliness and humility of living as he calls us to live. I want nothing of that whatsoever. Oh, he must make his way. He must make his home. He must do his work. He, as we read, is the Savior. And that's why, indeed, that sign is of comfort. The babe lying in a manger, we read, is born unto you. This shall be a sign unto you. Why? Because this one is born unto you, for unto you is born this day. This is what the church glories, and this is the comfort of the church. This is the assurance of the church. If you make your own room for Jesus Christ in your heart, if that's the way he comes, if that's the gospel that is preached, then you and I are lost. Then you and I will never have comfort, never have assurance, because we can never make enough room. We must acknowledge that about ourselves. We must acknowledge how resistant we are in our natures to this Christ. But the fact of the matter also is he was born unto us. He knew those who were given him by the Father. He knows those who are his sheep. And so in this world where there is no room, in this world where he must be laid in a manger because there's no real love or pity to be found among mankind, only self-seeking, self-righteousness, pride, greed, He makes his place. He goes about his work, even as we see with the shepherds. Look at the message to the shepherds. Look how he operates. He appears to them lowly, out there tending sheep, not among the mighty and the known, And God appears in all his glory with his angels and speaks through them and reveals to them this sign. And when they come, they indeed believe. They receive him and they go away rejoicing. that was the babe, you see. The babe did that. The babe did that through the very sign of the manger. That's the amazing thing about faith. Faith sees the unseen. Faith believes what God says. When God says, this is the Son of God, this is the Christ, even though he's lying in a manger, In fact, we might even put it another way. Faith believes because he's lying in a manger. Faith recognizes that there's nothing in us. There's nothing in us that would receive him and acknowledge him, but only that which would reject him. So don't be offended this day at the manger. Don't be offended at the mangers that Jesus makes today in our hearts or in that heart or in that church or in this church or wherever he might be found. It's who he is. It's what he does. It's how even when we celebrate his birth and his work of salvation, God calls our attention to this one great reality. He, and he alone, is the Savior. Amen, let us pray. Our Father which art in heaven, we thank thee for this sign that we could give witness to this morning. It is a sign that humbles us. It is a sign of what we are and who we are and why it was so necessary to send thine only begotten Son into this world and why it must be done the way it was done. This, O Lord, is to thy glory and honor and not our own. All we can do and all we can say is thanks. And to live lives of thankfulness for so great a Savior and so great a salvation. and being thankful that he has made his home in our heart so that we, like the shepherds, might believe and go away rejoicing in this very humiliation of the Savior. who was humbled, and humbled himself even to the depths and pangs of hell, that we might be lifted up out of hell to the heights of heavenly glory, to live and reign with him, our Lord and Savior, forever and ever. In his name we therefore pray, amen.