Welcome to the Banner of Truth broadcast. This program is brought to you by the Free Reformed Churches of North America. Your host is Pastor Jack Schumann, pastor of the Emmanuel Free Reformed Church of Abbotsford, British Columbia. And now, here is Pastor Jack Schumann. We are interrupting our series of sermons on the book of Ezra in order to focus our attention on the birth of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, which we commemorate today. To that end, I invite you to turn with me to the Gospel of Luke chapter two, as we read the verses one through seven. Let us hear the word of God. And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. So far the reading of the holy and infallible word of God. May the Lord bless the reading and preaching of his word to our hearts. Dear friends, the birth of a child is always very special, especially if it's our child, and especially if it's our first child. It's hard to imagine a greater joy in life than for parents to welcome their first child into the world. To be sure, the birth of a baby involves a lot of hard work. Many preparations have to be made. You have to buy a crib and a car seat, baby clothes and diapers. You have to decorate the nursery. You have to do a lot of work. But when everything is done, you wait until the day that the baby is born and if all goes well, that day will be a day of great rejoicing. Yes, the birth of every child is special. But there's one birth that is more special than any other. This was the birth of a child who was born not in a sanitized hospital room, staffed with doctors and nurses and medical supplies, but in a cold, dark, smelly stable. His cradle was not a pretty bassinet in a beautifully decorated nursery, but a dirty feeding trough in a common stable. And his mother did not dress him in a nice, warm, cozy sleeper, or wrap him in a nice, plush, soft blanket, but in strips of probably discarded cloth. I'm referring, of course, to the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. and it's to his birth that we turn our attention with the Lord's help today. Our theme is the birth of Christ, and we'll consider, first of all, the status he enjoyed, secondly, the suffering he endured, and thirdly, the salvation he accomplished. Joseph and Mary, the earthly parents of the Lord Jesus, were weary from their long journey. They had traveled all the way from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem, a distance of about 130 kilometers. Most Bible scholars believe they would have taken one of two routes. One route, the more direct route, went directly south. It would have taken them across the Jezreel Valley, then through the hills of Samaria into Judea. But there are two reasons why they probably did not take that route. First of all, it is physically demanding. There are many ups and downs, many hills through this route. And Mary was by this time nine months pregnant. Secondly, this route went directly through Samaria. And we know from the scriptures that the Jews hated the Samaritans. That's because in their view, the Samaritans were heretics. They claimed to worship the God of the Jews, but they did not worship him in Jerusalem, but in Mount Gerizim. And they also only accepted the first five books of Moses as the word of God. And for this, the Jews hated them, and the Samaritans hated the Jews in return. As a result, most Jews, when traveling from Galilee to Judea, took another route, a more circuitous route. This route took them around Samaria, across the Jezreel Valley, down along the Jordan River to Jericho, and then up through the Judean Desert to Jerusalem, and then on to Bethlehem. Well, whichever way they chose, at normal walking pace, it would have been a long and arduous journey. Even if, as is commonly assumed, Mary rode on a donkey or some other animal, one could only cover between 17 to 28 kilometers per day, meaning the entire journey would take around five days. If they chose to follow the route along the Jordan River, the last leg of the trip would have been the most difficult. That's because Jericho is the lowest city on the globe, and Jerusalem and Bethlehem are situated at a much higher elevation, about 3,500 feet. So it would have been an exhausting and grueling trip, especially for Mary. But at long last, they arrived in Bethlehem. Now, why did they go there? Well, Luke tells us why in our text passage. It's because the emperor of Rome, a man by the name of Caesar Augustus, issued a decree requiring all of the citizens of the Roman Empire to return to the place of their ancestry in order to be registered. Since Joseph was of the house and lineage of King David, he and Mary had to go to Bethlehem, which is where David was from. Well, not long after arriving there, Luke tells us that Mary gave birth to a son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We read in our text, so it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now, you notice what Luke writes here. He says the days were completed for her to be delivered. Now, that could simply mean that Mary had reached the end of her pregnancy. But it would seem strange if that is all that Luke meant, otherwise why would he even mention it? Most likely he meant something more. Most likely he meant to convey that the birth of Christ took place at the exact time appointed by the Father, in what Paul calls the fullness of time. And so we're reminded here, in this little detail of our text, that all of the events surrounding the birth of Christ took place by God's appointment. At the exact time appointed by God, Mary became pregnant. And at the exact time appointed by God, she gave birth. From the beginning to the end, the birth of Christ was under God's control and God's supervision. Now significantly, the very first thing mentioned about our Lord in connection with his birth is not the fact that he was wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger, or the fact that there was no room for them in the inn. The very first thing mentioned about him is that he was Mary's firstborn son. Now this too is highly significant. In Bible times, the firstborn enjoyed certain privileges and responsibilities. He was the principal heir of the family. And after his father's death, he would become the head of the family. And he would also inherit a double portion of his father's property. Well, according to the law of Moses, the firstborn of humans and animals and even the first fruits of crops were sacred to God. The firstborn of animals and the first fruits of crops were to be sacrificed to God on the altar and the tabernacle and later the temple. The firstborn of male humans were to be consecrated to God. God regarded all firstborn males in Israel as his own. Now this designation, firstborn, is applied in a figurative way as well to describe somebody who enjoys a position of special favor with God. For example, in Exodus 4, verse 22, Israel is described as the firstborn of God, meaning they had a special relationship of favor with God. In Psalm 89, verse 27, David is described as the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. Again, implying that he had a special relationship with God. And in Hebrews 12 verse 23, the church is described as the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven. Well, so it is here in our text. Luke says that Jesus was Mary's firstborn. And by using that word, Luke is not just saying that Jesus was Mary's first child. He's saying that too, of course, but he's saying more than that. He's saying something about our Lord's status. He's saying that despite his humble birthplace and parents, he is the ultimate firstborn in the world. Colossians 1 verse 15, the apostle Paul refers to Jesus as the firstborn of all creation. And a few verses later in chapter 18, in verse 18 rather, he is called the firstborn from the dead. The same phrase is used in Revelation 1 verse 5. Hebrews 1 verse 6, the writer to the Hebrews calls him the firstborn of God. Romans 8 verse 29 Jesus is described there by the Apostle Paul as the firstborn among many brothers. Jesus is the firstborn to whom all other firstborns point and in whom they all find their fulfillment and as such he is worthy to be worshipped and served. Oh my friend are you doing that today? Have you believed on this Savior Jesus Christ who was born in the world and His birth we commemorate this day. Do you believe in Him as the firstborn of God, the firstborn of the church, the firstborn of all of creation? And are you living for Him? Have you trusted in Him? Are you serving Him? Or if not, I call on you to do so today. You see, unless you own Him as the firstborn of God and of all creation, both in your heart and in your life, you cannot and will not be saved. You will surely perishing your sins and incur his terrible and just wrath. And so Christ was the firstborn of God. He's the firstborn of the church and of all creation. And as such, we would have expected him to be born in a palace and dressed in royal clothing and treated with royal honors. But alas, such was not the case. And that brings us to our second point. Despite his exalted status, Christ endured great suffering. And that suffering began already in his birth. Luke mentions some aspects of this suffering in our texts. He tells us, for example, that after Mary gave birth to Jesus, she did two things. First of all, she wrapped him in swaddling cloths. Now in the original Greek, this is actually a verb. Technically it reads, she swaddled him. And that refers to the practice which was common in Bible times of tightly wrapping the arms and legs and torso of a newborn baby in long strips of cloth, something like a mummy. And they did that in order to conserve body heat. And it was also believed that it would help straighten out the child's limbs. And so this is what Mary did for Jesus. She followed the custom of her day. She wrapped him in swaddling cloths. Now sometimes this is cited as evidence of Jesus' poverty. The idea is that Mary and Joseph didn't have money to buy him proper baby clothes and therefore they had no choice but to wrap him in these long strips of cloth, but that's not true. Even wealthy parents swaddled their newborn children. So why is this mentioned then? What is so significant about the fact that Jesus was wrapped in swaddling cloths? Well, that it was significant is obvious from our text passage. In chapter 2, verse 12, we read that after announcing the birth of the Lord Jesus, the angel said to the shepherds, and this will be the sign to you, you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths. Now, the fact that Jesus was wrapped in swaddling cloths was to be a sign to the shepherds, a divine sign, a sign from God. It's a sign, and a sign is a kind of proof given by God. And that's the case here as well. These swaddling claws were a sign from God. A sign of what? Well, for one thing, they were a sign of Mary's love and care for Jesus. In Ezekiel 16, verse 4, the Lord speaks to Israel about the abandoned and desperate condition in which he had found his people. And he says this. As for your nativity, on the day you were born, your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you. You were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. Now, the fact that Israel was not wrapped in swaddling cloths was, for people in Bible times, a sign of great neglect. And it was also a sign that the baby had been legally abandoned and therefore could be claimed by another. Now the fact that Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling bands shows that she loved Jesus, that she cared for him, and she was determined to provide for him in all of his needs, as a mother should. But the swaddling cloths also indicate something else. They were a sign of Jesus' humanity. For the simple reason that a spirit cannot be wrapped in swaddling cloths. Only a human being can be so wrapped. And we're reminded here that the baby that was born to Mary was not some kind of phantom, but a real human being. He was flesh and blood, just like you and me. And how necessary that was, for you see, unless Jesus was fully human, he could not make atonement for our sins, because it was man who sinned, and therefore man had to pay the penalty for his sins. And so these swaddling bands reminds us that Jesus was fully human. But these swaddling claws were also a sign of his humiliation. One commentator I read puts it like this. He said, nothing could signal more clearly the helpless state of a newborn human more than being swaddled. Such a being has relinquished all power even to move, let alone to do at that point much of anything. And that was true also for our Lord. He who was eternal God, and therefore infinite, was now bound up in a tight little bundle, unable to move freely, utterly dependent on his mother and father for everything, and all so that he might save his people from their sins. Oh, my friends, what a condescension this is. What a humiliation. But this is the price that our Lord had to pay in order to save his people. The second thing that Mary did was she laid the Lord Jesus in a manger. Now the word for manger here can be translated as stall or stable, which in those days was little more than a crude shelter open on all sides erected to house animals. But most likely the word can also mean feeding trough, in which case Luke is saying that Mary used a manger as a kind of a crib, which could have been located in a stable or even in the open air. And how shocking this is. He who was in the bosom of his father from all eternity, who was the apple of his eye, who enjoyed unfathomable riches and praise and glory, was now laid to rest in the feeding trough of an animal. How did that happen? How did our Lord come to be born in such a place? Well, Luke tells us, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now, when we think of an inn, we normally think of a quaint lodging for travelers, usually a century home or even a fancy hotel. But that's not what is meant here. They didn't have such inns in Bible times. In Bible times, an inn was usually a very primitive building consisting of two stories with a courtyard in the center. The second story normally housed the guests. And on the ground floor underneath the rooms were the stables for the animals and a place to store belongings. The rooms were not furnished. There was not even a bed. Guests were expected to bring their own blanket and pillow and sleep on the floor. And if they didn't have a blanket or a pillow, they would simply wrap themselves up in their robe and make themselves as comfortable as possible. Well, upon arriving in Bethlehem, this is where Joseph and Mary went, hoping to find shelter. But there was no room. Now, why there was no room, we don't know. Some say it was because the innkeeper was not kind and didn't want to bother of housing a young woman about to give birth, but there's no evidence in the text to suggest that that was the case. Most likely, there was no room because there were so many people in town waiting to be registered. or perhaps because the inn was already occupied with Roman soldiers who had arrived to supervise the census. But whatever the case, there was no room. There was no room for Mary, no room for Joseph, and most of all, no room for the baby Jesus. Well, dear friends, not much has changed, has it? Because sadly, there is still no room for Jesus today. Well, there's room for all kinds of other things, especially on Christmas Day. There's room for Santa Claus. There's room for presents and parties and family gatherings, but there is no room for Jesus, at least not much. Nor is there room for him in our hearts, at least not by nature. Again, there's room for all kinds of other things in our hearts, but there is no room for Jesus. One commendator put it like this, he said, when Christ first came among us, we pushed him into an outhouse and we have done our best to keep him there ever since. And this is who we are by nature, full of enmity towards God, full of enmity towards his son. As John put it, he came unto his own and how did his own receive him? His own received him not. Because we see no value in Him. We see no beauty in Him. We have no desire for Him. And this is why we're so dependent on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has to make room in our hearts for the Lord Jesus. And how does He do that? He does that by showing us our sin and our need for a Savior and our utter inability to save ourselves so that we come to cry out to Him for salvation. Well my friend, has the Lord done that in your life? Is there room in your heart today for Jesus? And I don't just mean a little bit of room, but lots of room. Is He the sole inhabitant of your heart? Does he control your thoughts, your words, your actions, your attitudes, and your priorities? Are you living for him and for him alone? If so, then there will be no room for you in this world. Just as the world had no room for Jesus, so it will have no room for you. You'll be a vagabond on this earth, a stranger and a pilgrim just passing through. Don't be like the inn of Bethlehem. Let there be room. Let there be plenty of room for Jesus in your heart and in your life. And so Christ's birth was a great humiliation. But in this humiliation, our Lord manifested his great love, didn't he? J.C. Ryle, an Anglican writer of the 1800s, wrote this. He said, we see here the grace and condescension of Christ. Had he come to save mankind with royal majesty, surrounded by his father's angels, it would have been an act of undeserved mercy. Had he chosen to dwell in a palace with power and great authority, we should have had reason enough to wonder, but to become poor as the very poorest of mankind and lowly as the very lowliest, this is a love that passes knowledge. It is unspeakable and unsearchable. Oh, my friends, was there ever a love like Jesus' love? He loves us so much that he was willing to be born in a stable and laid in a manger. Oh, since that is so, let us never think too low of him. He who stooped to become the lowest in his birth is willing and able to have dealings with the lowest of sinners. And that brings us to our third and final point. Why did Christ come to this earth only to suffer such humiliation? Why did God send him? Well, he did so for one reason only. It was so that he might save his people from their sins. That's why the angel commanded Joseph to name his son Jesus, meaning Savior, for he shall save his people from their sins. That's what he said. But in order to do that, he who was God had to become man. And I explained this already. Because it was man who sinned. Man was the one that partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden. God told him, the day you eat of that tree, you will surely die. But man disregarded God's command. And he partook of that tree. And in doing so, he brought upon himself and all of his posterity, the wrath and judgment and condemnation of God. From that point forward, man had to die physically and spiritually. And there's nothing we can do to satisfy the wrath of God, because God demands a perfect satisfaction for sin. And because we're sinners, we cannot render such satisfaction no matter how hard we try. In fact, we daily increase our debt. So where does that leave us? How can we be reconciled to God? There's only one way. We need a mediator. And we need not just any mediator. We need a mediator who is fully divine and fully human. He has to be fully divine because only a divine mediator can sustain the wrath of God and obtain for and restore to us righteousness in life. But we also need a mediator who is perfectly human and perfectly righteous. Why? Because the justice of God requires that the same human nature which has sinned should likewise make satisfaction for sin. And one who is himself a sinner cannot satisfy for others. The only one who meets these qualifications is the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He and He alone can make atonement for our sins. There is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved than the name of Jesus Christ. And therefore, beloved, we must look to Him and to Him alone. And those who do will receive the pardon of all of their sins and the gift of everlasting life. Reminds us, doesn't it, of what the Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 8 verse 9. Paul was writing to the Corinthians to exhort them to resume taking up their collection for the needy saints in Jerusalem. And to encourage them, he holds before them the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might be rich. And Paul here makes three important and connected statements. First of all, he says Christ was rich. And indeed he was. He was richer than we can possibly imagine. He was in the bosom of the Father from all eternity, enjoying perfect fellowship and communion. He was the object of the worship of all of the angels. He was perfectly complete, lacking nothing. He basked in the glories and the splendor of heaven. And yet, and that's the second thing he says, yet he became poor. And he did this by leaving those glories and leaving those riches. And taking upon Himself our human flesh, suffering and dying on the cross for miserable, hell-deserving sinners like you and like me. And as a result of His poverty, and this is the third point that Paul makes, we can be made rich. And how can we be made rich? By believing on His name. You see, by believing on His name, trusting in Him, looking to Him as the only hope and ground of our salvation, all of our sins can be forgiven, and we can receive the gift of everlasting life, and we will reign with Christ on His throne forever and ever and ever. My friends, that is the greatest gift imaginable. The person who has this gift is the richest person in the entire world, and this is what makes Christmas so special. It's not the decorations, it's not the presents, it's not the cozy get-togethers by a fireside with family and friends. It's the news that the Son of God became man, so that He could suffer and die, that we might live. Oh my friend, are you saved by Him today? If not, go to the Lord, ask Him to save you, and He will. For this is why he came. This is why he assumed our flesh and blood. He did it so that sinners can be saved. He was made rich that you and I might become rich. Amen. Dear friends, we always appreciate hearing from our listeners. If you were blessed by or have a comment on the message you've heard today, we'd very much appreciate hearing from you. Our mailing address is Banner of Truth, 3386 Mount Lehman Road. Lehman is spelled L-E-H-M-A-N, and that's in Abbotsford, British Columbia, V4X 2M9. If you would like to listen to the message you've just heard again, or if you would like more information about our program, including how to contact us and how to listen to other messages on this program, please visit our website at BannerOfTruthRadio.com. That's all one word, BannerOfTruthRadio.com. Support for this program is provided by the Free Reform Churches of North America. For more information about our churches, including where you can find a church nearest you, please visit our denominational website at www.frcna.org. Your financial support for this program is welcome and deeply appreciated. If the Lord has placed in your heart a desire to help us to offset the costs of broadcasting this program on this station, you can send us a check in any amount. Again, our mailing address is 3386 Mount Lehman Road. Lehman is spelled L-E-H-M-A-N, Abbotsford, British Columbia, V4X2M9. Or you can go to our webpage and make a donation right on the webpage. Our webpage again is banneroftruthradio.com. Thank you for listening and now until next week Merry Christmas and may the Lord be with you all.