When Love Came Near

I love the story of Christmas.  It’s rooted in history.  Its players are ordinary people who anyone can identify with.  But it’s the plot that gets me every time. God breaks into space and time in the most unlikely way with the greatest news that’s still relevant to anyone today. I think that is why our family always takes time to read this story on Christmas Eve before we dive into the presents under the tree.  For before we loose ourselves in the joy of giving, we remember the good news of great joy of when love came near.  That’s the story we’re going to look at once again this blessed night.  And it begins in verse one of the Gospel of Luke, Chapter two.  And it goes like this:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up fromthe town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the city of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in swaddling cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room in the inn.

When love came near, Israel was living in darkness. A pagan power ruled the land.  And their ruler, Caesar, saw himself a king who should be worshiped.  A king who believed his subjects should do their part in keeping his reign secure and paid for.  So he made a law that would guarantee that all of his subjects, including Joseph, would have to pay taxes.  So a census was taken.  And Joseph having no choice, took his pregnant fiancé and made the trip to Bethlehem to do his part.

But once they arrived, Mary was due to give birth.  And even though this was Joseph’s home town, they found themselves homeless.  So the first thing we note about God breaking into the very world He created is this: When love came near there was no place for him.  So Mary wrapped him in swaddling clothes and placed him in a manger.

I love this description of Christ’s birth.  There was no place for him.  God’s Son, left the magnificence and glory of heaven and was born in obscurity.  He was born to an unwed mother, born homeless, born poor, and born rejected.

And as inhospitable as his birth came about, the good news is that there is now no one outside the scope of His grace. Being born in a manager is one of the reasons why Jesus is the hope of the world. By being born in a manger God made himself accessible to anyone.  Jesus was born in the lowest place not in the highest palace.  Jesus was placed in a manger so He could take your place on the cross, so that you might have a place in His family.  That’s the beauty of Jesus being born in obscurity. When love came near there was no place for him so He could make a place for you.

But the story doesn’t end there.  It’s just getting started. Next we read:  And there were shepherds livingout in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

What I love about this part of the story is that when love came near, the first people who we told the good news of Jesus’ birth are lowly Shepherds.  And the angels told them some amazing facts about the good news of Jesus’ birth.  First, the good news was personal. When love came near, the first thing the shepherds heard is that God’s message of good news was for them personally: “I bring YOUgood news that will cause great joy for all people.”  Yes, the good news brings us great joy, but I love that God chose to send His first messenger of the gospel to these lowly sheperds.  These guys were the very ones whose job was to care for the sacrificial lambs: the lambs that were slain in Temple worship.  They watched over these lambs, fed and watered these lambs, protected and loved these lambs whose sole purpose was to be sacrificed for the sins of the people.  Yet, these guys, these lowly shepherds were not good enough to be allowed to join in worship.  They were considered such lowlifes, that the very people closest to God excludedthem from the very temple worship their lambs provided…  But not tonight!  No, for on this night God made certainthey would be the first to be INCLUDED in the message of the good news. “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”

Isn’t that awesome? Again, no one is outside the realm of God’s grace!  If God’s message of great joy was for these shepherds, then His message is for anyone. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never darkened a church door.  It doesn’t matter if you’ve spent all your life far from God.  It doesn’t matter how worthless you feel or how sinful you’ve been. God’s message of good news is for YOU.  It’s personal!  Jesus was born for YOU.  Love came near for YOU.  God loves YOU.  That’s the first fact about the good news of Jesus‘ birth. And that leads to the second fact and that is this: A Savior is born to you.

Love came near to you as a Savior, not as a judge. The role of a judge is to expose your crime, convict you of your guilt and announce the penalty you must pay.  There is no recourse in front of a judge – no way of escape.  You are helpless to do anything to take away your guilt or remove your judgment.  But when love came near, He came to take away your guilt, to pardon your crimes and rescue you from judgment. That’s what a Savior does. He saves you because you are powerless to save yourself.  That’s the good news that causes great joy for all people: Love came near to forgive you of all your sins and reconcile you to God.  Now when anyone receives God’s gift of love found in the manger; God saves you.  That’s His promise:  For God so loved the worldthat He gave His One and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  Love came near as a Savior for you.  Nothing can be more personal, more gracious and more loving than that.

But there’s more.  Jesus was also born to be your King. He is Christ the Lord. And yet He is no ordinary King. He is a humble king who serves his subjects with mercy and grace.  He’s a loving king who is for us not against us.  He is an approachable king who wants you to be with Him so you might live under His rule of love: A love that removes fear; a love that believes in you, never gives up on you and gives His all for you.

Are you starting to see why this is the greatest story in history?  Why this story is still as relevant today as the day when love first came down?  One solitary angel brings the greatest message of good news ever heard – and these lowly shepherds, these religious outsiders are the first to hear it.  And with that, then something even more amazing happens.  In the stillness of the night, all of heaven shows up!   Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,  “Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” I’ve seen some great awe-inspiring moments in the movie theatre over the years.  But boy to be there at the very moment when all heaven announces the gospel… think about it?  All heaven’s angels had been waiting for thousands of years for this moment, and they got one line!  “Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”  When love came near GOD’S GRACE was shouted from the heavens by an army of angels!  So what did the shepherds do?

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured upall these things and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

This story gets me every time.  The shepherds leave the sacrificial lambs behind, because the Savior is born.  And they want to see him, and upon seeing him, they become the very first missionaries of the good news of great joy. They couldn’t contain themselves.  They were the first tellers of the story. And when they were done telling the story, they worshiped God.  They didn’t need to go to the Temple, because God had come down to them. And that too is the good news of great joy for all people.  For when love came near, God broke all the barriers that keep us from worshiping Him.  That is why later on Jesus would say, “True worshipers worship in Spirit and in truth.”  And that’s why we can worship Jesus here tonight in a ballroom or tomorrow in the quietness of your home.  For when love came near, God came to be with us.

And so like Mary did that night, we get to take a moment on this silent night and treasure these things in our hearts.  For indeed, there is no greater treasure available to us then the treasure of Jesus.  For…

When love came near, Jesus came to take your place on the cross so He might give you a place in God’s family

When love came near, Jesus came to forgive you your sin

When love came near, Jesus came to lead you in love

And when love came near, Jesus came to break the barriers that keep you from God

So let us take a moment, and treasure all that Jesus means to us and ponder these things in our hearts… and then let us glorify and worship Him together.